The topic of firearms was back at the Nov. 23 Eureka Springs City Council meeting with alderman Harry Meyer proposing an ordinance that would require the police department to keep firearms at the station when officers are not on patrol.
Meyer said that he wasn’t sure the officers received the same training as state police officers (regarding Special Response Team training) and that there was little need for the police force to be armed beyond the issuance of handguns. He also said that other “long weapons” had disappeared from other departments and that officers at home and off duty have no need to carry them in their vehicles.
Police Chief Brian Young clarified that the state mandates that officers qualify with firearms once a year, while the city mandates a qualification three times annually. Young also said that there is a difference between being qualified for a patrol rifle versus being part of SRT. He also said that each officer’s weapons are controlled by that officer and no one else.
Meyer questioned what would happen if one “goes berserk” and Young asked for Meyer to explain what he meant. Meyer referenced “what happened in Green Forest” and Young said that a rifle was stolen out of a vehicle, and said that all ESPD vehicles have gun locks.
Alderman Autumn Slane asked if there is a place to keep those weapons when not in the vehicles, and Young said they’d need to get more safes for the department. Alderman David Avanzino asked what the increase in response time would be if officers had to return to the department to pick up their firearms and Young said that it could take up to forty minutes. Young explained that if long weapons were kept in safes at the police station, the department would need to hire an armorer to keep chain of custody on those weapons. And if that armorer is not present when officers need those weapons, it increases response time.
Young also clarified that while three Eureka Springs officers are members of the county SRT, only one member has access to the firearm that Meyer seemed to originally refer to. In a previous meeting Meyer had called the weapon a sniper rifle, and in this meeting called it “the super-duper one.” Meyer argued that Eureka Springs has no violent crime, with Young saying that the reason there was no violent crime was that people coming to Eureka Springs know that the department is armed. Meyer, under his breath, said that they don’t know that and motioned to read the ordinance for passage. The motion did not receive a second and died.
Lift station getting a facelift
Director of Public Works Simon Wiley gave an update on the cost to Infrastructure and Improvement for updates to the sewer plant, as well as smoke testing Eureka Springs’ water system. Wiley said he had received a single bid of $113,950 for repairing and updating lift pumps at the sewer station. The cost would include replacing eroded electronics and fiberglass panels with stainless steel panels to keep the electronics safe.
Wiley explained that the caustic gases from the plant had eroded the wiring, requiring major overall. He also said that the new electronics would allow for an alarm system that activates whenever there is spillover to alert staff, even if they are not on site. He said they would be wired through cell signal, and while he did not have an exact annual cost of how much the service would cost he said it would be around $1,000 – $2,000. He also said the cost of the smoke test would run $173,000.
Wiley was questioned how important the electronics update was and she aid that the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality had cited the need in 2007 and were looking at the station closely due to a recent spillover.
Finance Director Michael Akins reminded council that electronic meter heads were to be installed at a cost of $147,000, though that cost had already been approved last year. Akins said that the Infrastructure and Improvement fund has around $1 million, thus the city has the money to fund all these projects.
Alderman Terry McClung asked Wiley if they should approve the smoke test as well, and Wiley said that council should not. At council’s last meeting Wiley mentioned that the new electronics at the lift stations would help them identify what parts of town still had leaks, and Wiley iterated that it may be possible to “camera” the system once they know where to look.
The city approved the new electronics with McClung saying that the price will only go up as time goes on.
Other Items
- Akins gave council a breakdown of benefits the city offers to employees including healthcare and ways the city is seeking to help employees since the city can’t give as high paychecks as others.
- Kent Turner presented council with information on why the hospital is seeking redesignation.
- Council is looking to meet with the Planning Commission to discuss sidewalks and ways the city can get involved with the issues of uneven terrain they present.
- A motion to rezone 104 S. Main St. from R-1 to C-1 died after not receiving a second.
- City Clerk Ida Meyer said that the launch for the new city website is tentatively set for Oct. 31.
Alderman Meyer needs to let law enforcement worry about law enforcement. They do not tell him how to do his job so why on earth is he trying to interfere with how they do theirs? He kept saying that Eureka Springs is a town of 2,200 residents but he fails to remember that this small town swells to at least 3 times it’s size on a busy weekend with these people coming from all over the nation. As a reminder more law enforcement officers are injured and killed responding to domestic disturbances than anything else. What leads to a lot of these domestic disturbances? Alcohol. And for a town of 2,200 people how many restaurants and or bars serve alcohol? This Sir is why the small town police department MUST BE READY FOR ANYTHING! So I completely understand why they are prepared.
The SRT officer who has the rifle that the City bought for almost $4000 keeps it locked up in a safe at the PD! So why would the beat cops need instant access to a scoped rifle? I certainly understand why they would keep their handguns with them 24/7. A rifle bouncing around in the trunk of a patrol car of an officer who lives over a half hour away from town is ridiculous!
Perhaps when a new police chief is hired we can get some community policing.