CITY OF EUREKA SPRINGS
280 CITY
COUNCIL MINUTES, REGULAR MEETING
TUESDAY, May 27th, 1997
The motion was made and seconded to adjourn. All were in favor,
5/0/0. The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 a.m.
APPROVED:
CITY OF EUREKA SPRINGS
COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA
TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 1997 9:00 AM
AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL,
ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
APPROVAL OF THE
AGENDA:
APPROVAL
OF THE MINUTES: Regular Meeting
May 27, 1997
OLD BUSINESS
1. Ordinance No. 1700-A to amend Ordinance No. 1700, Zoning, (Third
Reading)
2. Authorizing for signage to Historical District at 23 N at Planer
Hill, Committee Report
3. Annexation of Lake Leatherwood
NEW BUSINESS
1. Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame
2. Authorization to hire a City Planner
3. Set workshop date for vision plan
4. Authorization to offer Individual Medical Policy to those
employees not covered by AML Health and Accident Insurance under the cafeteria
plan. Resolution 442
5. Banners
with advertising for the Zyde-Caj, Ms. Larimer
MAYORS COMMENTS
ADMINISTRATIVE
ASSISTANTS REPORT:
COMMISSION,
COMMITTEE, AND AUTHORITY REPORTS:
1. Auditorium Commission, Position 1, expires August 11,2000;
Position 3, expires July 11, 1997; Position 7 expires July 11, 2001.
2. C.A.P.C. Commission,
3. Cemetery Commission,
4. Historic District Commission.
5. Hospital Commission,
6. Parking Authority
7. Parks and Recreation Commission,
8. Planning Commission
9. Carroll County Solid-Wastes Authority
10. Four-County Solid-Wastes Management District
11. Eureka Springs Solid-Wastes Advisory Committee
12. Tourism Advisory Committee:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CITY OF EUREKA SPRINGS
REGULARLY SCHEDULED COUNCIL MEETING 281
Mayor
Barbara OHarris called the Council Meeting to order at 9 a.m. on
Tuesday,
June 10th, 1997, in the jury room in the Western District
Courthouse.
PRESENT:
Mayor
OHarris, Alderwomen Dickens, Seratt, and Watson, and Aldermen
Jeffrey
and Freeland. Alderman Christman was absent.
ALSO
PRESENT: Earl Hyatt, Sharon Hamm, Kirby Murray, Don Young, Don Matt, Jay Miner
and Clerk Lee.
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:
Mr. Young
led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL
OF THE AGENDA:
The
motion was made and seconded to approve the agenda. All were in favor, 6/0/0.
APPROVAL
OF THE MINUTES:
The Clerk
said that the minutes were not ready. The motion was made and
seconded
to postpone the approval of the May 27th, 1997 minutes until the
June 24th
Council meeting. All were in favor, 5/0,0.
OLD
BUSINESS:
1. Ordinance
#1700-A to amend Ordinance #1700, Zoning, (Third Reading):
The
motion was made and seconded to suspend the rules and place Ordinance #1700-A
on its third and final reading by title only. By roll call, all were in favor,
5/0/0.
Mr. Young
read the ordinance by title only.
The
motion was made and seconded to approve. By roll call, all were in favor,
5/0/0.
2. Authorizing
for signage to Historic District at 23 North at Planer Hill:
Mr.
Shepherd will meet with Mr. Runge next week.
The
motion was made and seconded to postpone until the June 24th
meeting.
All were in favor, 5/0/0.
3. Annexation
of Lake Leatherwood:
McClelland
is still checking on land descriptions to see if the land is contiguous to the
City limits.
The
motion was made and seconded to postpone until the June 24th meeting. All were
in favor, 5/0/0.
NEW
BUSINESS:
1. Arkansas
Entertainers Hall of Fame:
Gayle
Larimer, Chairperson of the Auditorium Commission, said that the Auditorium
Commission has endorsed getting involved provided the criteria is not too
burdensome. The word is that there is grant money involved. $50,000 of the
grant would be kept in a revolving fund, for presentation dinners, etc.
$225,000 would be available to use to prepare the site. The Auditorium has a
lot of space downstairs, and the money would go a long way toward making that
space desirable including an elevator, and heat and air. They really appreciate
Mr. Troillet, who is an architect, who is a commissioner and can give them
advice. The Master Plan is in place and there are employees who already work
there. So far, nobody has sent a criteria. The Council decided that until they
do, there is no reason to do anything. Once the criteria is available, the City
will know what is possible.
282
2. Authorization to
Hire a City Planner:
Alderwoman Watson
made the motion to pursue the hiring of a City Planner. Alderwoman Seratt
seconded.
Mr. Young had
contacted several sources to obtain job descriptions, and all the information
that the City can use in the writing of a tailor-made job description. Mr.
George Whittenberg is willing to help. The Mayor also suggested that the
Council ask the Secretary of the Arkansas Planning Association to come next
Tuesday night, for the Agenda-setting meeting. Alderwoman Dickens made the
motion to postpone discussion until June 17th.
The vote was 5/0/0,
to pUrsue hiring a city planner. Since the vote was done Alderwoman Dickens
withdrew her motion to postpone.
Mayor O’Harris said
if we have a city planner, we are going to have to talk about a place to put
them. She sai& she had an appointment for the next day to discuss office
space with Tom Johnson, who has been working with the City on the old Police
building.
3. Set Workshop date
for Vision Plan:
The Council has never
discussed the Vision Plan, and how it should be used. Alderman Jeffrey said the
council needs to decide if everything will be used in the plan, or if something
is not used, why. Also will the City follow it to the letter or will it be used
as a guideline. Alderwoman Seratt reminded the council that they would be gone
a good portion of next week. The council decided to discuss at the July 1st
Agenda-meeting, and it will be on the July 8th Council Meeting agenda.
4. Authorization to
offer Individual Medical Policy to those employees not covered by AML Health
and Accident Insurance under the cafeteria plan, Resolution #442:
The motion was made
and seconded to read Resolution #442. All were in favor, 5/0/0.
Mr. Young read the
resolution.
The motion was made
and seconded to approve. By roll call, the vote was
5/0/0.
5. Banners with
advertising for the Zyde-Caj, Ms. Larimer:
Ms. Larimer said that
it is too late to do much about banners this year. When they do them, they want
them to be just right. The Mayor asked about the difference between Zydeco
music, and Cajun music. Mr. Jeffrey said that Cajun is the old fashioned
two-step kind of music. Ms. Larimer said that Zydeco is the more modern
southern country Cajun. She said that the several of the B&B’s and the
Hotels and Restaurants will all be serving some Cajun dishes for the occasion.
Mr. Jeffrey asked that next year, the commission hire a Cajun chef to come. He
said that it is very entertaining.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS:
The Mayor read that
Congress has declared the 21 days between June 14th, Flag Day, through July
4th, Independence Day, as a period to honor America. There will be public
gatherings and activities at which people can gather and honor their country in
the appropriate manner. Help the handicapped, appreciating the aged, and
helping the young to understand the opportunities and responsibilities inherent
in our constitution.
Governor Huckabee’s
wife, Janet, will be here July 7th and July 8th. She wants to find places for
young single mothers to come with their children. This is her project.
CITY OF EUREKA SPRINGS
REGULARLY SCHEDULED COUNCIL MEETING 283
JUNE 10th, 1997
Since this time of year is the birthday of Eureka Springs the
City will hold a birthday party at Lake Leatherwood to celebrate. Mrs. Huckabee
will have her own decorated HRH Janet (Her Royal Highness) canoe, and there
will be canoes, and flat bottomed boats, and lots of activities for everyone.
Mrs. Huckabee likes athletic activities.
The Mayor also announced that she and Kirby Murray and Don Young had a
recent meeting with the State Highway Department representatives. She said she
felt that it was productive. They understand the City’s insistence on concrete.
They that whether it is concrete or asphalt, the whole road will have to come
up. She said that they discussed Highways 62, 23, the light at the top of
Planer Hill, the Planer Hill sidewalk, a turn lane at the Police Department and
stop lights. There is no grant money available to assist in moving utilities,
so that the highway can be widened.
That was all she could say for now. The next thing is to see what the
State Highway Department will do.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
Mr. Young announced that in February, we took a $22,000 loss, but in
March, our check was $75,000, which set a record clear back to 1992. Our April
check was $84,524.19, which also set a record. We are playing catch up on the
deficit in February; we’re only down $3000 for the year, which is minus 1.24%.
With the trend set in the last two months, we may have an excellent year. It is
early in the year, but it is a good start.
Mr. Young reminded everyone that it is long past time to buy business
licenses.
Mr. Kirby Murray came to the council meeting prepared to refute the
charges Anna Liggett made about him and the use of dangerous herbicides. She
also maligned 0. C. Brown, the company that prepares and sprays the areas that
the City has done. The City has never sprayed her hillside. Kudzu was growing
up the guy wires and would spread across the road. It was his belief that
SWEPCO did the spraying, which they do when it is necessary. They have the
easements to do so. The only area on her hillside that was dead was directly
under the guy wire. He brought beautiful pictures of the dam, and showed that
only the dam is sprayed, not the area around the dam. He believes Lake
Leatherwood is the largest hand-cut limestone dam in the nation.
Mr. Murray had letters from the Monsanto Company, and G.C. Brown, which
refuted the charges Mr. Liggett made against the products and the Companies
involved. The applications were well within the mixing guidelines for local
terrain.
Alderwoman Dickens said that Mr. Murray made it clear to the Council
when he came for the Council’s support about using Rodeo that he is not
comfortable using herbicides unless it is absolutely necessary. Alderman
Freeland said if we can’t trust State approval, and County approval, and the
other endorsements that we’ve had, who can we trust? We do the best we can.
Mr. Murray said that is why he has a company that is expert in applying
it do the job. They keep records of everything.
Chief Earl Hyatt came recommending Bert Sigg for the position of
auxiliary reserve officer. He finds this man to be likeable and professional.
He has already been trained and certified as a reserve officer. Mr. Sigg’s
duties would be those of a regular officer, under the direction of a full time
certified police officer. He has the same authority, when he is on duty, as any
other officer. He doesn’t receive compensation for his time, but is under
workmen’s compensation. The Council voted unanimously to approve Mr. Sigg
5/0/0.
284
REGULARLY
SCHEDULED COUNCIL MEETING
Sheila
Seratt gave a brief comment on the work session between the
Council
and the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Auditorium
Commission.
She said it was productive and that everyone had a better
understanding
when it was over.
Alderman
Jeffrey reminded everyone that there is a vacancy on the Equalization Board.
The
motion was made and seconded to adjourn. All were in favor, 5/0/0. The
meeting was adjourned at 10 a.m.
APPROVED: