At Monday’s Eureka Springs City Council meeting, aldermen amended Ord. 2364 at the suggestions of the Planning Commission saying that all bed and breakfasts must advertise as a B&B to keep that designation. It was read by title and passed.
Planning Chair Susan Harman presented the case of an appeal of the non-conforming status of 5 Ridgeway, the Sunnyside Inn B&B belonging to Draxie Rogers. The property had not appeared to be open and when Planning was going over properties not in compliance they contacted Rogers, who had said she hadn’t been having people since COVID but was going to have guests at Halloween, so she still was operating.
Commissioners learned that Rogers did not have a certificate of occupancy, and needed one before guests came on Halloween, and that they would postpone making a decision on rescinding her license until the November meeting. Harman claimed that the owner did not get the certificate and did not show up for the November meeting because she was out of town, so Planning revoked her status.
Rogers then appealed to city council. She claimed that Harman was wrong, that she had acquired the certificate and paid the CAPC regularly, although aldermen David Avanzino and Steve Holifield, both on the CAPC, objected and said the last time she had paid and turned in her forms was September.
Rogers insisted she had paperwork proving otherwise, and she was hoping to sell the property. Mayor Butch Berry said they would give her until the next council meeting on Jan. 13 to get her paperwork together and present it.
Wastewater plant repairs
Public Works Director Simon Wiley said a bar screen was installed to catch rags and trash in the sludge basin. He said that water from a pipe that discharges into the basin is coming in at an extreme velocity, so he’s making plans to build a diffuser over the bar screen to dissipate that energy.
There was a “hiccup,” Wiley said, where the SBR-1 decant stopped working due to blockages from rags, but Parks loaned Public Works a kayak so workers could get to the problem and clear it.
On SBR-2, the air compressor is not working properly so they are not discharging from it. On Thursday they removed UV bulbs and ballast from the channel that needed replacing.
Wiley addressed the application for funding for the wastewater plant from the state natural resources commission, saying there was a mistake and Eureka Springs wasn’t on the agenda. McClelland Engineering is resubmitting the application to be on the January agenda.
New Year’s Eve and beyond
- Ordinance 2366, allowing biodegradable confetti for the “Bash with a Splash” New Year’s Eve celebration OKs hand-tossed and cannon-shot biodegradable confetti in the Basin Park area that will be cleaned up by Public Works. The ordinance will only apply to New Year’s Eve, and was passed with alderman Harry Meyer dissenting.
- Resolution 876, establishing a temporary entertainment district from 8 p.m. Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. Jan. 1 was approved. The temporary district is on Main St. from the Aud to the Grand Central Hotel, Spring Street from the funnel cake stand to the stairs at Pendergrass Corner, and on Center Street. Participants must wear a wristband and drinks must be in non-glass containers not to exceed 24 oz. Any business wishing to participate must be adjacent to the district. Damon Henke is the liaison for businesses according to the Christmas Committee Chair Jack Moyer.
- Ord. 2365 vacating a section of Carroll Street was passed.
- Resolution 877 to clean up the amended budget for 2023 was passed, as was Res. 878 for reallocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds for government services. ARPA funds were given to the city from 2022 during the COVID crisis to give employees pay and raises. Any leftover amounts, according to ARPA, could be reallocated by the cities they were assigned to pay for government services if applied by Dec. 31. Aldermen decided to reallocate $325,597.22 to be used as reimbursement to the city’s water and sewer revenues for 2024.
- An ordinance to amend the municipal code about peddlers and solicitors, which currently states they are not allowed to go door-to-door, turns out to be illegal, Berry said. As this was two hours into the meeting and alderman Terry McClung asked if this was urgent, Berry said no it was tabled.
- Five food trucks entered the lottery, fewer than the slots available, so all trucks were approved and allotted their preferred spots.
- Alderman Autumn Slane announced that this was her final meeting and that she had enjoyed serving.
- Council approved Ken Trimble for the vacant Parks and Recreation seat.
- Avanzino called for the immediate resignation of the CEO and CFO of the Eureka Springs Hospital, saying his opinion was based on the overwhelming number of complaints about a hostile work environment and violations in the way the hospital was being run. He also thanked EMS for saving his mother’s life.
- Holifield said that the CAPC does not pay for the Chamber Visitor’s Guide, and all the CAPC had done was to send out an email to businesses encouraging them to advertise in the guide.