CITY OF EUREKA SPRINGS
COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
The
PRESENT:
Mayor Satori, and Alderpersons Jeffrey, Stoppel, Schrader, Freeland, and
Sumpter. Alderwoman Taylor was
absent. She came in for a short time
during the meeting and left again.
ALSO
PRESENT: Robert McVey, Kirby Murray, Diane Murphy, Lisa Liggett,
David
Reuter, Joe Hammond, Diane McClellend, Nikki Cherry, Roger Mullis, Vicki
Thompson, Lewis Epley, Robert Jackson, Kelly Simon, Don Matt, Kim Dickens, Tom Laub, and Clerk
Lee.
PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE: Ms. Dickens led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL
OF THE AGENDA: Alderman Jeffrey
suggested that items one and two of Unfinished Business be turned around,
because item one would probably take some discussion. He then made the motion to approve the agenda
as amended. Alderman Schrader
seconded. All were in favor, 5/0/0.
APPROVAL
OF THE MINUTES:
Alderman
Jeffrey made the motion to approve the minutes from the June 3rd,
1999, City Council meeting. Alderman
Freeland seconded. Alderman Schrader
mentioned a typo on page two, and then on page four, he clarified the subject
of the committee on deer population management.
He said he would give the clerk an amendment to change the minutes to
reflect the situation in a better manner, (which he did after the meeting). Alderman Schrader made the motion to amend
the minutes, which amendment was a clarification and Alderman Stoppel
seconded. All were in favor, 5/0/0.
The
vote on approval of the minutes was 5/0/0.
Alderman
Jeffrey then made the motion to approve the minutes of the June 8th,
1999, City Council Meeting. Alderman Schrader
seconded. Alderman Schrader said he did
not think the price of the signs was correct.
Alderman Jeffrey made the motion that the clerk check the tape for the
price of the signs to be clarified.
Alderman Schrader seconded. All
were in favor, 5/0/0. Alderman Sumpter
made the motion to place under ”Present”, that Bill Freeland arrived
later. Alderman Stoppel seconded. All were in favor, 5/0/0. The vote to approve the minutes as amended
was 5/0/0.
COMMISSION,
COMMITTEE AND AUTHORITY REPORTS AND VACANCIES:
Mayor
Satori nominated Carolyn Green to Position 6 of the Planning Commission, which
expires January 1, 2001.
He
nominated Jack Van Caulil for Position 3 of the CAPC, which is a four year
term.
Mayor
Satori named David Jeffrey, Kirby Murray, Roy Hebert, Barbara Harmony, David
Meyer and Kipling Vandenberg to be on the Wastewater Task Force.
He
named David Stoppel, Sally Riker, Earl Hyatt, James DeVito, and himself for the
task force for the Blues Festival.
DEPARTMENT
HEAD COMMENTS:
Diane
Murphy reported that the City had hired Linda Wishon to be the new Accounts
Receivable Clerk. She said there was
some re-organization to separate the Mayor’s Office employees from the finance
employees, which seems to be helpful.
The water/sewer audit should be finalized and an exit conference
scheduled by the middle of July. The
State audit will take a little longer and should have something for us by the
middle of August. Department Heads have
had their mid-year conference. The
wastewater rate increase was reflected on the bill and 90% of the difference
amounts to just over $19,000, which has been set up in a separate account. Budget revisions are almost ready. Current CD rates are competitive with what we
are getting now.
Bob
McVey reported that August 1st, Dr. Lawrence will be leaving and
will no longer be the City’s Medical Director, and Dr. Kresse will be taking
his place for the same amount of money.
Washington Regional Medical Foundation pays for $1500 of the $3000 that
Dr. Kresse will be paid. That money is a
donation to the department from Washington Regional.
Two
more firefighters have completed their firefighter #1 Certification and they
are Brent Updegraf and Tim Collins. The
certification is from Oklahoma State University which is nationally recognized,
and then they apply to Arkansas and certified in Arkansas on a reciprocal
agreement. He passed out packets for the
budget meeting to the Mayor and the Council.
Libby
Freeland reported that during the May Fine Arts Festival, Alexis Pittenger did
chair massages in the Park to benefit the Auditorium’s lighting, and she raised
$800. Everyone clapped in appreciation.
Cajun
Festival is coming up soon. They have a
sponsor, Abita Beer. They would like to
sell it in the Auditorium. The
Auditorium gets 10% of the proceeds.
They will have a non-profit organization
selling the beer as a fund raiser for their organization, and she asked
for permission from the Council to do it.
Alderman
Schrader said many people do not think the Auditorium is the proper place to
sell beer, but he would vote for it. The
Council voted to allow beer to be served in the Auditorium for Cajun Festival.
Missoula
Children’s Theatre is putting on Cinderella.
It is an impressive production.
It will have 50 of our own cute little kids in it. The question was asked if the production
could be taped and possibly televised at a later time. It may be allowed but the taping would be
broadcast only once. It would be a good
chance to teach people about taping and editing.
Nikki
Salazar Cherry said that right now all that is going on is plans for the Fourth
of July. There will be activities all
day at Lake Leatherwood, and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Basin Park. K Tours is Shuttling people from the high
school parking lot from 1 p.m. on and there will be signage to remind people to
park and ride. Admission at the park is
$2.00 per person, and will cover the cost of the shuttle. A person in the audience said that there is
always Eureka Taxi, if people need more transportation. The park will have two people for security
and one person directing parking.
CITY
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
Ms.
Dickens introduced the new Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer to the
City Council. His name is Roger Mullis
and he lives in Carroll County. Mr.
Mullis said he has been very busy and that is the way he likes it.
She
reported on the $50,000 matching grant that Parks and Recreation had
received. The will be a workshop coming
up for that grant.
The
City has received a $15,000 grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation
Program, and will be used for the
sidewalk in front of the Courthouse.
That will be put out for bids as soon as the City receives the check.
Ms.
Dickens had a meeting with Judge Jackson on the 911 numbering and there are two
companies to be considered. That project
should be started within the next month, and she will introduce the Council to
the representative when the company is chosen.
Numbering shouldn’t take more than two months.
She
said the Council should set up a workshop for amending the 1999 budget. The time set was July 8, 1999 at 2 p.m.
Mayor
Satori said that he has not received any feed-back on the Van Buren/Kingshiway
preference
for a street name.
He
said he has made an agreement with the County to pay them a flat $23,000 per
year, instead of splitting the money off of the lots around the Courthouse like
the City has been doing.
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS:
Ordinance no. 1814, red zone
at St. James Church, (second reading):
Alderman
Stoppel made the motion to suspend the rules and place Ordinance No. 1814 on
its second reading by title only.
Alderman Schrader seconded. All
were in favor, 5/0/0. Ms. Dickens read the ordinance by title only.
Alderman
Stoppel made the motion to approve and Alderman Sumpter seconded. All were in favor, 5/0/0.
Alderman
Stoppel made the motion to further suspend the rules and place Ordinance No.
1814 on its third and final reading, by title only. Alderman Jeffrey seconded. All were in favor, 5/0/0.
Ms.
Dickens read the ordinance by title only.
Alderman
Stoppel made the motion to approve and Alderman Jeffrey seconded. All were in favor, 5/0/0.
Ordinance No. 1813, providing for
CAPC professional services contracts, (second reading):
Alderman
Schrader made the motion to suspend the rules and place Ordinance NO. 1813 on
its second reading by title only.
Alderman Freeland seconded the motion.
All were in favor, 5/0/0.
Ms.
Dickens read Ordinance No. 1813 by title only.
Alderman
Freeland made the motion to approve.
Alderman Schrader seconded.
Alderman
Jeffrey said no plan has been presented.
He has not seem a vote from the CAPC to ask the Council to pass this
ordinance. This is a discussion of
millions of dollars, and it is not good business not to have a plan to follow.
Alderman
Schrader said the big money is paid to the media. It is not paid for the salaries of the free
lance contractors. He also said that if
this is to work, there needs to be a central director to oversee the
contractors, and make sure everything the CAPC pays for is done properly.
Alderman
Jeffrey said he would like to be able to vote for this but there is no plan in
place.
Mayor
Satori said that the last ad agency did not pay people after we had paid the ad
agency. It would be better to have our own
people so that we have more control.
Attorney
Tom Laub said that the City is causing a hardship to those who have been doing
a job, and haven’t been paid because of this ordinance not being passed.
The
point was made that everthing that the CAPC does is done in a meeting with a
vote. It is all public.
The
was a lot of discussion covering the same concerns.
Alderman
Sumpter called the question. Alderman
Stoppel seconded. The vote was 4/1/0,
with Alderman Schrader voting no. The
vote on the second reading was 4/1/0, with Alderman Jeffrey voting no.
Becky
Taylor came in at 8:45 p.m.
Alderman
Freeland made the motion to further suspend the rules and place Ordinance No.
1813 on its third and final reading by title only. Alderwoman Taylor seconded. The roll call vote was 5/1/0, with Alderman
Jeffrey voting against.
Ms.
Dickens read the ordinance by title only.
Alderman
Schrader made the motion to approve.
Alderman Freeland seconded.
Alderman
Sumpter said he was supporting this ordinance because of the need. He did not approve of the way it was
done. The idea is to set up the new
system first before getting rid of the old one.
Alderman
Schrader said he agreed, and that there will still have to be a functionary to
coordinate everything.
Alderman
Jeffrey said the way the ordinance is written, it still will not work. All of the information is not written under
4.32.04(d), and so it will not be included in the law and the municipal code.
Mr.
Laub pointed out that if it had to be amended, it would have to go on its first
reading again at the next meeting.
The
vote on the ordinance was 6/0/0, failed.
Mr.
Laub will re-write the ordinance, which then will be Ordinance 1813-A.
Alderman
Freeland made the motion to amend Ordinance NO. 1813 starting with the words
“that the areas to be contracted for” after the semicolon, duplicate that
portion clear through to the end of the paragraph, strike “as above defined”,
replace with “as hereby defined”, and add that this shall not restrict the
authority of the Commission to contract other professional services as provided
by State Law. Alderwoman Taylor
seconded. The vote to amend was 6/0/0.
Alderman
Schrader made the motion to place Ordinance No. 1813-A on its first reading and
read it as it will be amended. The motion
was seconded, and the vote was 6/0/0.
Alderman Schrader read the whole ordinance with the amendments.
Alderwoman
Taylor made the motion to approve.
Alderman Schrader seconded. The
roll call vote was 5/1/0, with Alderman Jeffrey voting no.
Alderwoman
Taylor left again, as she was not feeling well.
Alderman
Freeland made the motion to have a ten minute recess. Alderman Schrader seconded. All were in favor, 5/0/0. The meeting recessed at 9:05 p.m. and
reconvened at 9:20 p.m.
NEW
BUSINESS:
Turpentine Creek Shuttle, (Robert
Jackson):
Mr.
Jackson said that Turpentine Creek has had a bus donated to them, and would
like to paint it like a tiger and shuttle interested visitors back and forth to
Turpentine Creek. He mentioned that the
Crescent Hotel, Gem of the Ozarks, and Victoria In had already given them
letters of intent, and they were still working with the Chamber of Commerce and
the Statue Road Inn. Those would be the
five destinations that the bus would run to and back. The shuttle would be free. The Mayor asked if the bus would have to be
licensed by the State. Mr. Jackson said
it would be license, and the insurance company was researching requirements for
insurance. At this time the Council took
no action. There were many questions
about the legality.
Amendment to the Lease for
Hospital with Washington Regional, (Diane McClelland):
Ms.
McClelland explained that Medicare cut backs were really causing problems for
our hospital and hospitals all over the nation.
What Washington Regional wants the City to do is amend the lease for a
three year period, and pay the City $1.00 annually for the next three years, to
help offset the cutbacks. The
information was given to the Council at the Council tables during the meeting.
Alderman
Schrader said that it seemed rather strange to have something handed to him at
the meeting, and be expected to act on it right away. Usually the Council has time to read material
before they are asked to vote on it.
There was a long discussion.
Lewis
Epley said that the City has a 25 year lease with the hospital, and that after
five years, Washington Regional has the option of withdrawing. He said that when they took over managing the
hospital here they laid out a great deal of money for capital expenditures and
debts then owed by the hospital. Also,
Eureka Springs had gone through a lot to have and keep a hospital here.
Joe
Hammand, the Hospital Administrator, said he was in at the beginning of this
lease. Alderman Schrader asked how could
the hospital misjudge their budget of that time to such a great extent. Mr. Hammond said that nobody could have for
seen that such large Medicare cuts would happen down the road. He said that Washington Regional has invested
4.6 million dollars in capital expenditures and losses in this hospital. He said that other cities pay handsomely for
a hospital. This city has been paid to
have a hospital. They need some relief,
and they feel it is fair for Eureka Springs to help them keep the hospital
open.
Mr.
Epley said that other hospitals are grappling with the same problem, who may
not be as fortunate as we are. We have
options. When Washington Regional came
in to help this City, we were within two weeks of having to close the
doors. They didn’t just make a
commitment to the City. We also made a
commitment to them. This hospital cannot
be all things to all people. We are
providing basic health care for our citizens and the people who visit our City.
Alderman
Sumpter made the motion to read Resolution No. 462. Alderman Stoppel seconded. Alderman Schrader said he saw no reason that
it had to be done at that meeting. The
vote was 4/1/0, with Alderman Schrader voting no.
Ms.
Dickens read the resolution.
Alderman
Stoppel made the motion to approve.
Alderman Sumpter seconded. After
more discussion, Alderman Jeffrey made the motion to postpone the vote until
the next council meeting which will be held on Thursday, July 15th,
1999, and leaving the dates in the resolution intact. Alderman Freeland seconded. The vote was 3/2/0, with Alderpersons Sumpter
and Stoppel voting no. Mayor Satori
voted yes, so the vote was 4/2/0. Mr.
Epley asked if Washington Regional would be held in beach of contract if they
do not pay today. The answer from the
Mayor and Council was no, they would not be.
Resolution No. 457, Signatory
Authority, (Wastewater Project):
Alderman
Stoppel made the motion to read Resolution No. 457. Alderman Sumpter seconded. All were in favor, 5/0/0.
Ms.
Dickens read the resolution.
Alderman
Stoppel made the motion to approve.
Alderman Sumpter seconded. All
were in favor, 5/0/0.
Government and Community Service
Package, (Kirby Murray):
Mr.
Murray had handed out packets to the Council and Mayor and Clerk. Ms. Dickens said that this is a rough out of
what might or should be in the packet, and she and Mr. Murray and Vicki
Thompson have been working on it. The
packet was to be looked over and ideas
are welcomed. This a very rough draft of
an idea. There was some discussion as to
how it could be gotten to the people who need it. The final produce will be brought to the
Council again before it goes out. The
Council was very receptive to the idea and gave them the “go ahead”.
All Convertible Car Show, August
7th, 1999:
Alderman
Stoppel made the motion to approve the All Convertible Car Show for August 7th,
1999. Alderman Sumpter seconded. All were favor, 5/0/0.
CITY
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
Alderman
Sumpter asked what is happening with the Planer Hill Sidewalk.
Ms.
Dickens said there is a checklist of 104 items that has to be gone through to
make sure everything is perfect. Also,
since the State has plans to change the top of Planer Hill, the City wants to
make sure a brand new sidewalk is not damaged by their roadwork.
Alderman
Schrader read a letter by Carl and Enid Swarz thanking the Council for
authorizing Public Works to put up speed bumps on their street. They said they are very effective. He had expected that the private sewer
discussion would go on this agenda. He
feels that things are not getting on the agenda that he feels are
important. He also feels that the City
must go out for bids on financial instruments.
Ms.
Dickens took responsibility for what does and does not go on the agenda. In regard to the private sewer lines, Ms.
Dickens said the Mr. Mullis is a brand new employee, and there were many things
he had to do right away. The private
sewer lines issue is a complicated one, and he has really only had time to
touch base with Public Works on it.
Alderman
Jeffrey said we really need a task force to offer guidelines to work on this
project.
Mayor
Satori said it wouldn’t hurt to put the agenda on the website, so the Council
can help to trouble-shoot the agenda.
Clerk
Lee pointed out that City Secretary, L. J. Smole, has been putting the agendas
on the website as soon as they are given out.
This past week the Administrative Department has been doing adjustments
to the computor system, but usually the agenda is on there.
Alderman
Jeffrey mentioned that George Christman has been interested in serving on the Hospital
Commission.
Alderman
Freeland reported that it had come to the Eureka Group’s attention that there
are grants available similar to what was made available to the Larc Study. The areas of interest are buried utilities,
matching street lights, and some other ideas- perhaps five or six
projects. They will put everything in a
more cohesive report.
Mayor
Satori said it was discussed to hire a project manager, because there is so
much research that needs to be done before a project can even be started, and
nobody really has the time to do it justice.
MAYOR’S
COMMENTS:
The
Fourth of July celebrations will be informative and fun, and he hoped everyone
would turn out and enjoy.
Alderman
Sumpter made the motion to adjourn.
Alderman Stoppel seconded. All
were in favor, 5/0/0. The meeting was
adjourned at 10:55 p.m.
APPROVED:
_____________________________________
Beau
Zar Satori, Mayor
ATTEST:
________________________________
Mary Ann Lee, City Clerk-Treasurer