Basin Park was of interest to city council at their Monday meeting, and Parks Executive Director Scott Miskiel was there to give aldermen an update on the bandshell.
Miskiel presented aldermen with photos of the columns sliding off their pedestals. Photos also showed interior rot on the roof of the bandshell and where water has caused rot along the perimeter of the structure. He told council that Parks had only made “band-aid fixes” to the park leading to major problems now.
Miskiel said Parks had finished receiving proposals for an architectural and engineering firm to assess what repairs are needed in Basin Park. Alderman Terry McClung described Basin Park as Eureka Springs’ version of a town square and emphasized that the design of Basin Park remains unchanged after repairs.
Miskiel was tentative to give a timetable of when repairs would be completed when asked by alderman Bill Ott. He said meetings for the public to weigh in would be needed as well as involvement by the HDC. Miskiel said the Request for Proposal only covered assessment and he hoped that would be completed by Dec. 1. In terms of actual construction, he said costs would be an issue and that “The reality is we [Parks] don’t have the funds.”
McClung took time to say he did not think to put the full blame of Basin Park’s deterioration on Parks and that it had not been dealt with for multiple administrations. This led into discussion among aldermen on how the city may assist monetarily. Ott suggested that the city put in a line item in the 2022 budget, but Mayor Butch Berry said they should wait until an assessment is completed before allocating funds.
Miskiel told aldermen that the full costs of repairs to the park may be close to $500,000 and that “This will be a painful process, unfortunately.”
Sound ordinance changes still cause pause
Aldermen passed Ord. #2315 that amends Title 7 of Eureka Springs Municipal Code for its second reading but not without discussion. City Clerk Ann Armstrong said that the ordinance was amended after a clerical error was found and clearer distinction of when the ordinance is talking about C-1 and C-2 versus C-3 zoning was made.
The ordinance amends code by defining what an officially approved music festival is and when certain businesses zoned C-1 and C-2 may apply for an amplified sound permit to play music at a higher decibel threshold and for longer.
McClung asked if private businesses organized music over multiple days if they could apply for that permit to which Armstrong said no. Ott questioned if that was limiting to not allow downtown business to organize a music festival and apply for the permit. Armstrong explained that an “officially approved music festival” in code would require music to include public property such as Basin Park.
Alderman Melissa Greene also said that the rules acted as a “safeguard for town” so that music would only be louder during certain times of the year. She used the example of the Folk Festival where there may be weeks or months that those living in town know what weekend to expect louder music.
Ott suggested that an amendment be added to the ordinance that would allow businesses to organize a music festival and apply for the permit. Armstrong said that would be a separate issue and that the amendments to city code were not changing anything from the past, only making the rules clearer.
Other Items
- #2314 to vacate a portion of Owl Street passed unanimously in its third reading.
- Nominations for Jonathan Teigan to be placed on the Parks Commission passed in a 4-1 vote with McClung in the negative and Randy Maddox for position 1 of HDC was renewed.
- Resolution #809 allowing two-hour free parking from Dec. 1 – 31 at metered parking spots on Spring and Main Sts. passed unanimously.
- Aldermen voted on nominations for David Avanzino and Nicholas Roberts for the vacated seat previously held by LauraJo Smole. A recess was called to swear Roberts onto City Council.