Eureka Springs City Council met Monday, August 24. Alderman Rachael Moyer added an update regarding the low to moderate income survey (LMI) to the agenda; discourse that brought attention to a new topic of discussion.
The survey is a first step towards qualifications for obtaining a federally funded grants including community development block grant (CDBG), which provides financial assistance for specific infrastructure projects in smaller communities with low-income populations.
Moyer worked with city and Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee to define a service area and the residents living within converted hotels. The survey began July 27 and was conducted by volunteers who went door to door. They ended up with nearly 400 households to survey, and with the third wave completed, a 59 percent return rate was reported. “Which doesn’t sound like success, but it is,” Moyer said, giving credit to the hard work of volunteers.
In advance of official results, Moyer said she was confident the city would qualify. Surveys will be accepted through the end of August.
Mayor Butch Berry explained the city had qualified for CDBG funding in the past. The city lost its eligibility thereafter, with surveys showing income at 51-54 percent over the LMI rate. Berry said the results at that time reflected the entire city. He credited Moyer for proposing isolation of a specific area considering the recent hotel conversions, which showed to have increased the city’s population by approximately 150 residents.
Moyer described the takeaways from doing the survey, including the question: what is our unhoused population? Although the LMI survey was not aimed to collect data on unhoused populations, Moyer said the process opens up an important topic for city council.
Moyer said she’d like to invite community members to talk to council and share what they know about the unhoused population of Eureka Springs.
“We do know that our unhoused population compared to housed residents is uncharacteristically high,” Moyer said. “We are the highest in Northwest Arkansas, and it appears to be growing at an alarming rate.”
Moyer also reported that of Northwest Arkansas’ unhoused population, “many of them are women, many of them are children, and 54 percent of them identify as trans.”
Alderman David Avanzino thanked Moyer for recognizing the trans population and asked about the boundaries of the survey, and whether it included Dr. Paul’s Rehab Center.
Moyer responded the survey did include the rehab facility; if an individual was in a treatment plan for 30 days or more, they were considered a resident. “A lot of folks who are living in those hotel rooms are people who came here to receive treatment and ended up making this their home,” she said.
Alderman Terry McClung asked for clarification on what projects the grant money could be used for. LMI grants must benefit infrastructure projects within the specific LMI area; and the grants are awarded to projects that are “shovel-ready.” For example, Berry explained the wastewater treatment plant would not qualify, but a new lift station at Lake Lucerne would. The survey’s boundary includes Hwy. 62 E. to Ozark Village and Hwy. 23 S.
“We’ve seen a fundamental change in our community,” said Moyer. “Gone from commercial to residential. And those people are really struggling. We have a responsibility.”
Public Comments
Ferguson Stewart warned citizens, particularly senior, of growing incidents of scammers. Stewart said his accounts had been hacked but were able to be rectified thanks to a good banking relationship. He encouraged people to check bank accounts daily and foster relationships with their banks. Ferguson also said the Sheriff’s offices has held two scam conferences and will be scheduling another in the fall.
Lloyd Leibee of Adventure Art returned to emphasize the negative economic impact of the 90-day entertainment district trial period. Leibee said he’d “heard something from the CAPC that lent the reader to believe the CAPC was responsible for advertising and getting tourists to come to town, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
He suggested the uptick in tourist traffic earlier in the year stemmed from global wars, which contributed to more tourists vacationing in the interior U.S. rather than traveling overseas.
Leibee said revenue at Adventure Art has dropped 80 percent of its increase from the beginning of the year because of the ED trial period. His comments were cut short when his three minutes timed out.
Two letters were submitted by email; read aloud by Mayoral Assistant Kim Stryker. The first was Dede Larson, who expressed concern about the expansion of Dr. Paul’s Rehab Center. Having worked as an RN in a recovery facility in Texas, Larson stated that “any addition to an already transient treatment population will be catastrophic not only to the unique character and charm of our town, but to our police force, hospital, EMS, services, housing, transportation, and social services.”
Concluding public comments, a letter submitted by former Eureka Springs Hospital employee Richard Webb was read in which he pointed to three years of “well-documented illegal employment practices” at the hospital and accused Mayor Butch Berry of blocking probes and scrutiny. “What do you plan to do? Address it or continue to ignore it,” wrote Webb. “Inquiring minds want to know.”
Other Business
- Planning Chair Ferguson Stewart and Director of Planning and Community Development Cassie Dishman presented amendments to the sidewalk ordinance that would require new construction, substantial development, or subdivisions to install sidewalks. Council requested the Planning Commission re-review the amendments for more clarification and definition.
- Rumors were quashed by Berry and City Legal Counsel Heather Owens that the county intended to or were even able to take away the Eureka Springs Courthouse.
- Vacancies remain on Planning, CAPC, and Cemetery Commissions.
- William Schmidt was approved for Hospital Pos. 2.
- Alderman Steve Holifield and Avanzino reminded citizens to register to vote. Deadline to register is Oct. 5. Early voting begins Oct. 29. Election day is Nov. 3.
- Alderman Harry Meyer stated that he’d pleaded a misdemeanor in his court case and expressed relief to have it behind him. He urged people to be cautious of ticks, saying he was diagnosed with Alpha-gal syndrome. Meyer also underlined the issues with signage and loss of business during the trial ED and said it should be shut down.
- McClung and Berry echoed disappointment over ED signage. “It sucks,” Berry said. New, smaller signs, are expected to arrive within a few days.