The quorum court met Monday with a light agenda. This was the first meeting for Justice of the Peace Duane Coatney, who was sworn in as the representative of District 4 prior to the meeting. Coatney filled the vacancy after the resignation of Marty Johnson.
In public comments at the outset of the meeting, Steve Barnes asked for help in dealing with a vicious dog. Barnes said he lives in the northwest part of the county, and a neighbor’s dog has twice severely injured his dog. In one of those instances, the neighbor’s dog reached through the pickets of Barnes’ fence and got hold of his dog. That attack was so severe that the owner of the dog initially said he would get rid of it, but later changed his mind. Barnes said it would only be a matter of time before the dog gets out again to attack other dogs or even children.
Barnes asked the JPs to consider a vicious dog ordinance similar to those in place elsewhere in the state. Barnes left copies of the Eureka Springs ordinance. He said an ordinance would allow a sheriff’s deputy to investigate a complaint and a district judge could then decide if a dog met the description of a vicious animal. Barnes said he has been told his only option now is to shoot the dog if it comes after his dog on his property. JP Jack Deaton said he thought the county had a vicious dog ordinance on the books, but others thought it had been repealed.
In other business:
- Jerl Swofford was appointed to another three-year term as the quorum court’s representative on the five-member Equalization Board.
- Lucilla Garrett, Mark Minton, Fran Carlin, Martha Fargo, and Tyson Burden were appointed to terms on the Eureka Springs Library Board. Some of those three-year terms are retroactive to the start of 2020 because the board did not know members needed to be approved by the quorum court.
- JPs allocated $1,800 for a new garage door for the eastern district courthouse.
- The county ordinarily uses detention center inmates to mow around county buildings. Those inmates cannot leave the detention center because of Covid protocols, and JPs allocated $4,500 to hire a company to mow around five county buildings twice a month. Deaton said the budget committee will anticipate this cost in next year’s budget. The budget committee will meet in two weeks.
- JP Matt Phillips said the County Health Unit will hold a Covid clinic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 28 at the Fairgrounds.
- At the end of the meeting, County Clerk Connie Doss read an order from the county court to allow the disposition of old ballot boxes and other obsolete election equipment.
- JP Craig Hicks, who arranged the use of the Southern Heights fellowship hall for meetings, informed the court that the room would be unavailable for the May 17 meeting. That meeting will be held at the Road Department.