CITY OF EUREKA SPRINGS

COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

JANUARY 23,1996

Mayor Barbara A. O’Harris called the regularly scheduled meeting to order on Tuesday, January 23, 1996, at 9 a.m.

PRESENT:

Mayor O’Harris, Aldermen Jeffrey, Seratt, Riker, Watson, Earngey and

Rubley.

ALSO PRESENT:

Don Matt, Kirby Murray, Paula Stitz, Melinda Morrell, Terry McClung, Jack

Holly, Kathie Boler-Schmidt, Rosemary Zieroth, Jay Miner, Jim Walden, Don

Young, and

Clerk Lee.

Mr. Walden led us in the pledge of allegiance.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Mr. Walden asked the Council for its indulgence in adding Destruction of

Obsolete Records to the agenda for the Clerk. It would fall under #5, New

Business. Mr. Rubley made the motion to approve the agenda as amended.

Alderman Watson seconded. All were in favor, 6/0/0.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

January 9 minutes were amended: at the bottom of page two, put a space between “meets and ‘in”. Alderman Earngey amended page 3, paragraph 6 to read that agenda-setting meetings would be for discussion with public participation and Council Meetings with limited public discussion. Then under New Business the Nicklesons, who now own Sherwood Court, (to add the commas.) Alderman Earngey then asked under Old Business, #5, to delete “the next’, and he reminded the clerk that he and Alderman Seratt left at 1 p.m.

Alderman Jeffrey said that our minutes reflect a lot of extra words and that it would be less time-consuming to just record the motions and actions and the vote. Alderman Earngey asked that it be discussed at the next meeting.

The motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as amended and the vote was 6/0/0.

Minutes of the Special Council Meeting held on Tuesday, January 16, 1996, at 7 p.m., the topic being Transit Department:

Alderman Earngey asked that the minutes be amended to read that after “line item~’, add “with the conclusion that Mr. Graebner’s Budget projection and Mr. Fargo’s were very close; Mr. Fargo’s was only $2400 higher”. The motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as amended and the vote was 4/0/2, with Alderman Rubley and Seratt abstaining because they were not present.

The second Special Council Meeting held on January 16th began at 7:46 p.m. and the topic was the Recycling Funding Agreement:

Alderman Earngey said that even though he voted for the agreement he was not in favor of the Funding Agreement in principal, and that the clerk should have recorded his remarks. After some discussion, Alderman Watson made the motion to postpone the minutes until the February 13th meeting. Alderman Earngey seconded. The vote was 6/0/0.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. Presentation, Transit Department Study, Mr. Graebner:

Mr. James Graebner discussed each aspect of the draft copy of his report

for the benefit of those in the listening audience as well as those present. For the benefit of the listening audience as well as those present . Mr. Graebner’s report will be filed in the City’s offices. Mr. Graebner thanked the members of the Council for their input. He then answered questions. Alderman Serrat asked how often transit study should be done? He said that he felt that it should be done annually in house and not have an expensive study done each year. He said it should be done

in the summer even though everyone is busy; then the Council has time to debate and discuss what needs to be done and the plan for the next year is in place in December so that things are done in a timely fashion. Alderman Seratt then asked about the downtown being pedestrianized and what that would involve. Mr. Graebner said that Emergency Vehicles should always be allowed. You ban auto traffic but allow Transit through there. He said that most of the malls that people visit are much longer and larger than the downtown of Eureka Springs, and that most of the studies that he has read say that pedestrianization actually increases business.

Alderman Earngey asked For Mr. Graebners opinion of how the routes should run. Mr. Graebner said to reverse the red and green routes and leave the rest the way they are. He did say that the City needs more transit vehicles. Alderman Earngey also asked if he had an opinion about trams, versus trolleys. Mr. Graebner said that trams haul more people and they are more cost effective. Trolleys fit in more with the Historic District and can be bought with 80% federal funding and the trams can’t. He suggested that trams should be a public/private partnership to give tours of the Historic District, perhaps by granting a franchise, so that the City still has control over the kind of tours that are given, but it is run by private enterprise.

Alderman Rubley spoke about the Chamber of Commerce Book. He said that a loose map that can be changed during the year would be more practical, instead of paying the Chamber to put in a trolley map. The consensus was that then, the money paid to the Chamber for that map couJd be used somewhere eJse. Alderman Rubley asked Mr. Graebner if it would be a good idea to have someone in the trolley depot to announce the buses as they leave and where they are going. Mr. Graebner said it would be very useful, but costly unless the City used volunteers. Mr. Walden said that the City has not been able to find people who qualify for the Green Thumb Program, which is a volunteer program. It was suggested that we might start our own organization.

Alderman Jeffrey commented on the way Mr. Graebner segregated each area in his presentation. He said that the green route circulates people within the downtown, but that the red route brings people in from the outside. He thought that point should have been made more clearly. Mr. Graebner said that the red route has had a significant drop, and it is a point welt taken. Highway 62 East has also experienced a significant drop in ridership, for whatever reason, and so has the yellow route. It was pointed out that the Passion Play had a down year, also.

Alderman Riker thanked Mr. Graebner for his well thought out work on this project, and that he hoped that they could come up with plans from this study. Mr. Graebner said that the Planning Commission and the Whittenberg study have some exciting ideas, also, and that he hopes that the City will utilize them.

At that time the Mayor announced that Thursday, January 25th, 1996 at 5:30 Mr. Whittenberg would be discussing his proposals with the Planning Commission.

The motion was made and seconded that there be a seven minute recess.

All were in favor. The meeting was recessed at 10:45 and reconvened at

10:55 a.m. Alderman Jeffrey and Earngey came in a little later.

It was announced that Mr. Matt will be running Mr. Graebner’s report again for our television viewers at a time to be announced on Channel 31.

2. Ordinance #1685, City Collection of CAPC Taxes,(Postponed from 1-9..

96): Alderman Rubley made the motion that the reading of Ordinance

#1685 be postponed until the February 16th meeting. Alderman Earngey

seconded. All were in favor, 6/0/0.

3. Sewer Line, Highway 23 South, School District’s Request, Mr. Miner:

Mr. Miner reported that everyone is still working to come to an agreement. It looks favorable. They will be meeting again at the end of the week.

4. Howell St. Wall, Mr. Miner:

Mr. Miner reported that Mrs. Brown had indicated that the people from Texas may still be interested. Mr. Miner will contact Mr. Clark, her attorney, and report to the Council at the next agenda-setting meeting, which is February 5th, 1996.

The Council decided to have a work session to discuss suggestions by the

State Highway Department and get ready to decide on them at the next

Council meeting. The meeting was set for Tuesday, January 30th, at 7 p.m.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Ordinance # 1688, Amending the City Council Order of Business:

It was moved and seconded that Ordinance #1688 be placed on its first reading in its entirety. All were in favor, 6/0/0.

Mr. Walden read the ordinance in its entirety.

It was moved and seconded to approve the ordinance. There was discussion that Committee Reports could be removed and the items under it could be integrated under Commission, Committee, and Authority Reports.

It was moved and seconded to amend the ordinance by removing #9 and renumbering the items. All were in favor of the amendment, 6/0/0. Ordinance #1688 Amended was passed unanimously on its first reading, 6/0/0.

The motion was made and seconded to suspend the rules and place

Ordinance #1688 on its second reading by title only. All were in favor,

6/0/0. Mr. Walden read the ordinance by title only.

The motion was made and seconded to approve. The vote was for, 6/0/0.

The ordinance was passed on its second reading.

The motion was made and seconded to further suspend the rules and place

Ordinance #1688 on its third and final reading by title only. Vote: 6/0/0.

Mr. Walden read the ordinance by title only.

The motion was made and seconded to approve. Ordinance #1688 was

unanimously approved on its third and final reading, 6/0/0.

2. Request for Authorization to Select an Architect for the Proposed Public Works Building:

The motion was made and seconded to approve an architect to be selected to help develop the bid process. The architect would draw up plans and specifications for the Public Works Department to put out for bid. Mr. Walden then stated that when the City ran an ad to request statements of qualifications from firms interested in providing Architectural, Engineering and Land Surveying services, only one architectural firm sent in a Statement of Qualifications. There was a long discussion on why the City does not ask for bids instead of Statements of Qualifications. Mr. Miner said it is State Statute 9-11-802, under Procurement of Professional Services and is a matter of State law. Alderman Earngey wanted to amend the motion that more architectural firms should be allowed to bid the process. It was not seconded. Mr. Miner explained again, that you do not bid for professional services. We did what is required by law and advertised for Statements of Qualifications, and only one architectural firm answered. The vote on the motion was unanimously for, 6/0/0.

3. Administrative Assistant Position, Mayor O’Harris: She has appointed Mr. Don G. Young to the position of Administrative Assistant. He will be attending as many of the Agenda-Setting and Council meetings as possible before he comes to work, and he will be coining to work full-time on the 19th of February.

4. Follow-up, Concrete samples for Planer Hill Walkway Project:

Mr. Murray said that he has mailed all of the information on the samples to the members of the HDC but that he has not had time to attend an HDC meeting and he has vacation plans. Mr. Murray hopes that they will make a decision about the finish so an ordinance can be drawn up to amend the City street ordinance so that the project can be put out for bids. Since Mr. Murray can’t be at the February 7^th, HDC meeting Mr. Rubley said that he would attend, This is holding up the Planer Hill Walkway.

Anyone wanting to see the samples can see them on Howell Street.

5. Destruction of Obsolete Records:

The Clerk submitted a list of records that can be destroyed for the years 1989 and some 1988 ones that didn’t get destroyed last year.

Mr. Jeffrey asked about Construction Permits and do they need to be kept for historic value? Marvin has all of the information in files in his office, but the construction permits only have the address and what will be done and the value. A motion was made and seconded to approve. All were in favor, 6/0/0.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS REPORT:

Mr. Walden reported that the November 1995 sales tax check was down $8,572.32 from last year at this same period. This check represented the month of October in spending. We get them one month later. We are down $9198. from 1994.

Mr. Walden commented about the on-going detail work to set up the system by which each city will send their checks and how it will be handled. He said the Board will be voting on Wednesday as to who will be hired as the Director of the Solid Waste Authority. Five or six people applied and of those, only two have been interviewed. Those two are Bryan Ukena and Bruce Gully. It is a tough job. In addition to providing the over-all supervision for the transfer station in Berryville and the over-all supervision of the relationships surrounding the recycling center, one of the major tasks that this person will have to accomplish by July of 1997, is to plan, develop and implement the collection system for all of the people in the county to have mail box pick-up. Mr. Walden believes that at this point the Authority has accomplished something that is unprecedented. They have managed to get three Municipalities, three Councils, and a Quorum Court to all converge at the same point through some very lengthy decision making processes. There is still a lot of work to do. Alderman Earngey asked how this would affect our recycling operation, and that now it is a diminished job. Mr. Walden said that the is not diminished. The City will have to set up a whole new accounting system. Mr. Gully will not be our director if he is hired for the Director’s job. The City will hire a new director for the recycling center. The amount of work will increase according to volume, and the budgets and management still will have to be done. The budget will be considerably smaller for Eureka Springs. The Four-County District has done some good aerial photography and pin pointed every illegal dump site in the county.

The pictures are so good they can show the make of the old refrigerators

in the sites. The fines for illegal dumping can be as high as $250,000.

The new Director will have offices at the County Building out by the King’s

River Bridge.

Mayor O’Harris asked Alderman Earngey and Alderman Jeffrey to report on the Tourism Advisory Committee. She thanked them for being advisors on this committee and asked what they are working on now. Alderman Earngey said that they have consolidated and they’ve agreed to review ordinances. Alderman Jeffrey said that they are discussing definitions and time tables at the next meeting, which will be January 24th at 3 p.m. Mr. Rubley asked for copies of the minutes of the Tourism Advisory Committee.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

Mayor O’Harris asked that each liaison for a department be ready to give a

report on their department at the second Council Meeting of each month.

Alderman Seratt, as liaison for the Police Department, reported that

Melinda Morrell has attended the instructor course at The National

Communications Institute and has completed the criteria to become an

Emergency Communications Instructor. She is the first person in this

county to do this. She had already passed her 40 hour course in Emergency

Medical dispatch.

Cheif Paula Stitz said that now the Police Department has two dispatchers that are trained as Emergency Medical Dispatchers.

The department started about two years ago to prepare for the enhanced 911 which will be coming up in a few years.

Alderman Jeffrey announced that he, Mayor O’Harris, and Kirby Murray will be attending Lake Water Quality Conference in Branson on Friday, January 26, 1996. The conference will be looking specifically at the quality of Table Rock Lake. The Branson Mayor has thirty eight communities and state officials from both states involved.

Clerk Lee spoke on the importance of people getting caught up with CAPC tax and Freeman’s Waste Management fees and grease trap fees before applying for the 1996 license and that since the ordinance has been amended people who are opening their businesses without a 1996 Occupation License are opening themselves up to stiff fines.

Alderman Earngey said people are asking if there will be a reduction in their bills because Freeman’s Waste Management did not pick up in the bad weather for two weeks. Mr. Walden responded that it costs the same amount of money to collect and dispose of the wastes and the $9.75 per cubic yard will still have to be paid at the transfer station, regardless of when it is done. It may cost more to collect that trash at different times than it does if they can collect it on the regular routes and times.

Alderman Seratt made the motion to adjourn. Alderman Watson seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 12:10 p.m.