Zane Lewis of McClelland Engineering reported at the Eureka Springs City Council meeting on Oct. 14 on work accomplished regarding water and sewer and gave advice on how to proceed. He said staff have been working for weeks to drain the sludge storage tank where they found valves at the bottom of the tank designed to allow groundwater in getting clogged with trash. This is causing leaks of effluent. There are other pipes and valves on the sides of the tank that are corroded and need replacing.
They are finding quite a few issues with pipes and valves running beneath the tanks, and there are patchwork repair jobs on wires and the booster system which, although currently holding, is not optimal and will cost tens of thousands of dollars to get in acceptable shape. The conveyor and press system to process the sludge is in poor condition and overtaxed by the system.
It will cost more than $200,000 to repair the basin to hold sludge, an estimated $85,000 to replace the valves, and to get a mixer and aerator and fix the sludge pump and filter will be around $500,000. Lewis also recommended a basket system to be lowered into the tank to collect trash and debris.
Lewis said these need to be fixed quickly so the system can continue to run while McClelland works out the long-term update plan. To keep it functioning in the meantime will run the city between one and two million dollars.
Lewis did say that all changes could be refunded from the $6,000,000 the city is trying to raise, and that all the work done would be included in the long-term updates. Public Works Director Simon Wiley reiterated the work being done, but also described one of the major issues as being the trash that people are flushing down their toilets, which included: sweet potatoes, “flushable wipes” which can be flushed but don’t actually decompose so they clog the system, rags like ripped up T-shirts, and disposable hypodermic needles which are dangerous to the system, the public, and workers at the plant.
Alderman Harry Meyer suggested having Sharps Disposal Containers made available in all public restrooms in town. Council asked Lewis to explain how McClelland would get paid out of all of this work. Lewis said that based on the contract between the city and McClelland, they agreed to one lump sum regardless of how much work and equipment is bought, and that will not change, even though more work may occur.
Under alderman Steve Holifield’s recommendation, Mayor Butch Berry had arranged for an uninterested third party to look at McClelland’s plan and let them know what they thought as oversight. Slane and Meyer stressed that they needed to make decisions that ensured the system would not come to such dire straits in the future.
Talking trolleys
Transit Director Ken Smith presented a report about system issues and budget, saying the main problem is that Transit is suffering from a driver shortage. During Covid they lost several workers, and since the pay is $15 an hour, they are struggling to find people to fill those positions which has caused them to cut routes and hours of operation.
They have received some complaints that they are investigating, and they are also installing camera systems in all trolleys to have a way to record and assess interactions and behaviors of drivers and passengers.
The Federal Transit Administration and ARDOT have spoken highly of the Eureka Springs transit system and given them awards in the past. This month will be the last month the system receives funding from the CARES act which was $530,386.
Transit has recently bought several upgrades, such as automatic doors for the station and a heavy-duty lift. They had made a funding request to the state to replace two trolleys and were told they would only get funding for one, so they will have to pay for the other. They will also be getting a new tour tram that is fully electric and comes with a charging station.
Smith said there has been a major slowdown in ridership that was up at the beginning of the year but dropped off in August but is rising again. He said he wanted to revisit the on-demand service that had been proposed by him and alderman Autumn Slane. Tourists are taking advantage of the service, but locals are not using it as the two had hoped. He explained that the whole transit system is mainly paid through a mix of federal funding and money from parking fees, tram tours, advertising, and the transit trust fund.
The trolley runs May through October from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 to 8 on Saturdays, and in November, March, and April Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with Saturdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and December through February Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. He said the transit system had made $210,000 in fare revenue.
Trash talk
The trash bag ordinance to allow people two 35-gallon containers or bags per household or business and Ordinance 2362 was passed four to two, with aldermen Steve Holifield and Susane Gruning objecting. There was also an Ordinance 2363 to amend membership in the Parks Commission to allow three of the seats to be open to both city residents and those who live in Eureka Springs West in Carroll County. This passed five-to-one with only Slane objecting, and the ordinance was amended to say that the chair of the commission had to live within city limits. They also voted on Resolution 874 for the setting up of a public hearing on vacating parts of Carroll Street.
During council comments alderman David Avanzino pointed out that if the CAPC tax is voted down it would leave the city in a precarious situation. Berry addressed people complaining that the city has not done enough to raise funds for infrastructure, saying that in 2016 he had proposed a one-cent sales tax that would have mainly come from tourists, but it was voted down. If that tax were in place, they would be in a better place financially, he said.
The meeting ended with council pointing out that Carroll County Solid Waste Authority will no longer be picking up recycling as of Nov. 1 and those who want to continue recycling will have to take their recycling to the recycling centers.