CITY OF EUREKA SPRINGS
COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
Mayor
Beau Satori called the
It
was held in the courtroom of the Western District Courthouse.
PRESENT: Mayor
Satori, and Alderpersons Taylor, Schrader, Stoppel, Freeland and Sumpter. Alderman Jeffrey was absent.
ALSO
PRESENT: Susan Lourne, Ed Leswig, Diane
Murphy, Earl Hyatt, Jack Dozier, Lisa Liggett, LaVonna and Will Schell, David
White, Jeff Pratt, Don Matt, Kim Dickens, and Clerk Lee.
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE: Ms. Dickens led in the
Pledge of Allegiance.
The Mayor
called for a moment of silence in respect for our late City Attorney, Tom Laub.
APPROVAL OF
THE AGENDA:
Ms. Dickens
suggested that the Beautification Proclamation be moved up because of the
people who have come from the Master Gardeners of
Alderman
Freeland mentioned the resolution the CAPC would like the Council to draw up,
and it was added to the agenda as item no. 5 under New Business.
Mayor Satori
added a discussion about Ordinance No. 1827 at number five, under “Old
Business”. Also, he added a discussion
of Trolley Maps at the end of New Business as number six.
The motion was
made and seconded to approve the agenda as amended. All were in favor, 5/0/0.
APPROVAL OF
THE MINUTES:
The motion was
made and seconded to approve the Minutes of
The amendments
were noted. The minutes were approved as
amended, 5/0/0.
The minutes of
April 2000 is
City Beautification Month. The Master
Gardeners of Carroll County organization gave the City a proclamation to be
read at the March 16th, 2000, City Council meeting. The Mayor read and signed the Proclamation
for City Beautification Month and presented it to LaVonna Schell, President,
and Donna Perkins. Donna Perkins said
that every month from May to October someone can enter their gardens and win
Garden of the Month. She realizes that
the Garden Club of Eureka Springs already has a contest every three months.
COMMISSION,
COMMITTEE AND AUTHORITY REPORTS AND VACANCIES:
Mayor Satori
nominated Richard Harper, a person with a lot of city planning experience from
He nominated
Debbie Frisbee to Position 7 of the Planning Commission, which expires
The Mayor had
nominated Calvin Cotton for Position 1 on the CAPC, which expires
Ed Leswig,
Chairman of the Planning Commission gave a brief report. The Tree Preservation Ordinance has been
drafted, and a public hearing has been held.
The commission is making the final changes based upon citizen input, and
is expected to approve a revised copy at the next meeting which is March 23rd. It will then be given to the Council. The Landscaping Ordinance has had a public
hearing and recently the commission had a very productive workshop. Input helped to revise the ordinance and it
should be coming to the City Council within the next two weeks. A new Zoning Ordinance has been drafted and a
public hearing has been set for
Mayor Satori
thanked the commission for their dedication and hard work.
DEPARTMENT
HEAD COMMENTS:
There were
none.
CITY
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
Ms. Dickens
reported that she has received a schedule from McClelland about the wastewater
treatment plant. There will be a Public
Meeting on
Ms. Dickens
also gave the Council information for the City Attorney Position. An attorney will have to be appointed to fill
in until the November election and then someone will have to be elected for a
two year term. Once that term of office
is over it will go back to being a four year term. A temporary appointee doesn’t have to live in
the City but a person who runs for election for City Attorney does. The position will be on the November election
ballot.
Ms. Dickens
said she would be on vacation and then would be out of town for a Planning
Commission Workshop on Friday, March 24th.
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS:
Discussion regarding burying the power
lines under Planer Hill:
Diane Murphy
brought the Council up to date on the money used for burying the conduit for
power lines. She said that Marc Marley,
the State Auditor said it cannot come out of Street Funds. She said the money for the $35,000 matching
funds would have to come out of General Fund Capital, and it is not in the
present budget.
The Mayor said
he continues to look for property that could be sold that the City has no use
for. He suggested the 15 acres behind
the Public Works building. He suggested
that the property be appraised.
The Clerk
reminded him of the liability that goes with the property if it is sold. Part of it is the old City dump. The liability for that property will always
be the City’s. Also that is a buffer
zone for the composting unit. If there
is even one complaint about that unit, it can be shut down, and that would cost
the City many thousands of dollars.
Mayor Satori
said that it would cost around $7,000 to get all of the City’s properties on a
map, so that it is clear where it is and how it can be used.
Alderman
Schrader said he believes that a City dump would fall under different laws than
other pieces that the City might own.
Jack Dozier
introduced himself as a charter member of the Eureka Springs Improvement
Committee. This is a group of
businessmen who are concerned about the unplanned direction of our City. He said Mr. Hornaday of SWEPCO said the
conduit that is laid may not be useable to bury utilities. Has anyone asked the cable company or the
telephone company if they will use the conduit?
Mr.
Mayor Satori
said some engineers from SWEPCO had been here last October, and had given an
idea of what needed to be done. The idea
was to get this done before the highway department finished laying the
road. The conduit has been inspected by
a licensed electrician. There is no
wiring there.
Alderman
Schrader suggested that the Mayor follow up on Mr. Dozier’s comments. Alderman Sumpter said perhaps a letter of
commitment from the utility companies might be a good idea.
Discussion regarding special election
issues:
Alderman
Schrader said he had Mr. Laub draw up an ordinance but it was unfinished. The ordinance would call for Councilpersons
to file and run only in their own wards.
The second
thing Alderman Schrader mentioned was to sell packaged liquor on Sundays.
Apparently
many people drive to
Ms. Dickens
said the City certainly has attorneys that we can call on to write what ever
Ordinances the
council wants to.
There was a
long discussion about how this all should be done.
Alderman
Freeland made the motion that the Council proceed with whatever legal council
the City needs at this point to bring us to a point that we know what we are
discussing and how to get it on the ballot.
The motion was
seconded.
The discussion
included bonds for
Alderman
Schrader said there was a lot of discussion about adding the building of the
Sportsplex to the ballot but it was difficult to find wording to truly
represent what the question is. Ms.
Dickens asked if it is legal to reconsider whether to build the Sportsplex,
after it has gone through all of the steps, and the perception is the tax is
for the building of the Sportsplex. The
Mayor said the City has made the commitment and we should go forward.
Alderman
Freeland said it would benefit the City to be able to poll the community
through Cable TV
The vote on
Alderman Freeland’s motion was 5/0/0.
Mayor Satori
said he is interested in including the Black Bass Lake property for annexation.
He would like to look into annexing City owned property to connect Black Bass
Lake with
Alderman
Freeland said he would like to see a list of what had been given to Mr. Laub to
prepare so that the Council has some idea of what needs to be done.
Discussion regarding Ordinance No. 1835,
adopting a new code for the City of
The motion was
made and seconded to place Ordinance No. 1835 on its first reading.
All were in
favor, 5/0/0.
Ms. Dickens
read the ordinance in its entirety.
The motion was
made and seconded to approved.
Ms. Dickens
explained that the codification had five areas that had been left open, which
were Zoning, Landscaping, Trees, Subdivision Regulations, including signs. The sign ordinance that was in the old code
has been sent to the codifiers because there is no telling how long it will
take to get the sign ordinance approved.
After much
discussion, the vote on the first reading was
Discussion regarding stop signs at
Alderman
Stoppel encouraged the Council to put stop signs at these three places.
He said it
would be safer.
Police Chief
Hyatt said he had not had a chance to put the officer on traffic patrol,
because the officer has been in school. He suggested that the Council let him put this
officer on patrol starting March 30th, and see if it made a
difference before spending the money for stop signs.
Alderman
Freeland asked that a report be given to the Council by June 1st. The
Mayor Council discussed it further and decided to go with Chief Hyatt,
and have the subject on the June 1st agenda.
Discussion regarding Ordinance No.
1827:
The Mayor said
that he had received a copy of a petition for referendum. It had not been filed. Alderman Schrader said a petition is taken to
the
Joe Zickmund
spoke in favor of supporting the City employees, and all of the work they had
done. He told the Council that they had
voted for the Police Department and done everything, and now they should “stick
to their guns”.
Ms. Dickens
said everything is ready to go in the event that the ordinance does not go
down. The general consensus was to leave
things as they were and let the petition take its natural course.
The motion was
made and seconded to take a ten minute break.
The vote was 5/0/0. The meeting was recessed at
NEW BUSINESS:
Discussion regarding Ordinance No.
1836, Basin Spring and Center Street Parking, (Earl Hyatt):
Mayor Satori
said this subject only pertained to the loading zone in front of the Basin Park
and had nothing to do with Center Street.
The motion was
made and seconded to place Ordinance No. 1836 on its first reading.
All were in
favor, 5/0/0.
Mayor Satori
read the ordinance in its entirety.
The motion was
made and seconded to approve.
Chief Hyatt
explained that the way the area in front of the Basin Park is now, it is
basically not being used to unload passengers, as much as it is a place to park
and talk. It creates a bottleneck, and
reduces traffic flow. It was never
intended to be used for parking.
Ed Leswig
suggested the City could create an exclusive use loading zone and an annual fee
could be paid to the City. It is done in
many cities.
The vote on
the first reading was 5/0/0.
Discussion of commissions, (Ernst
Schrader):
Alderman
Schrader mentioned a memo to the mayor, the clerk-treasurer and the
administrator to request a report from Diane McClelland, chairman of the
Hospital Commission to give a report on the status of the Hospital Commission’s
CD’s. He wants to be sure that the
Hospital Commission is putting a million dollars worth of CDs out for bid. He wants to be sure that the Chairman of the
Hospital Commission is not making decisions about the commission’s money
without the discussion of the commission.
Alderman
Freeland said that our commissions fall under the joint legislative audit and
what stands between them and the legislature is the Council. There is fiscal responsibility and
accountability. If it is proven that
there is not, it is the Council’s responsibility, and the Mayors, to take care
of the problem.
Trolley Maps:
The Mayor was concerned about the contract that was
entered into with CJRW to do the trolley maps.
He felt the maps could be done a lot less expensively. After discussion
of costs, etc., the consensus was that the city had entered into a contract and
that we should honor the contract. The
City can investigate other options for next year. Alderman Sumpter said breaking contracts makes
it very hard for anyone to continue to make contracts in the future.
Mayor Satori
was going to check into the legality of putting the Eureka Taxi in the one
empty space on the trolley map. He said
he would check into it and call Lisa Liggett so that the maps would be ready
for when the trolleys start to run on April 1st,2000.
Resolution No. 471, Utilizing
Federal-Aid Enhancement Monies:
The motion was
made and seconded to postpone the reading.
All were in favor, 5/0/0.
Proclamation for Arbor Day:
Mayor Satori
read the Proclamation naming March 20, 2000 as Arbor Day. He announced that there would be a
celebration in Basin Park at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 20th, 2000,
Arbor Day.
CAPC/ Auditorium:
Alderman
Freeland said that the Council had turned the Auditorium over to the CAPC, but
it had given no official mission to the CAPC.
He made the motion that a resolution be created stating the obligation
required by the CAPC in taking control of the Auditorium. Alderman Schrader seconded. The Mayor said that it was a matter of
intent. The vote was 5/0/0.
COUNCIL
COMMENTS:
Alderman Sumpter
made the motion that the proceedures for animal licensing be put on the agenda
for April 6th. Alderwoman
Taylor seconded. The vote was 5/0/0.
Alderman
Freeland said he would contact people such as people from the humane society
and a veterinarian, and Alderman Sumpter said he would help.
MAYOR’S
COMMENTS:
The State
Highway Department has agreed to postpone the resurfacing work on North Main
St. and reschedule. Next November they
will replace the street from Spring and Main down to Flint and Main. Then the City will do the sewer main
replacement from Mill Hollow to Flint St.
The sewer main replacement won’t start until after Halloween.
The motion was
made and seconded to adjourn. All were
in favor, 5/0/0. The meeting was
adjourned at 11:00 p.m.
APPROVED:
______________________
Beau
Zar Satori, Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________
Mary
Ann Lee, City Clerk-Treasurer