CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR
MEETING
Mayor Kathy Harrison called the
regular meeting of the City Council to order at
PRESENT: Mayor Kathy Harrison,
Aldermen Penny Carroll,
Robert “Butch”
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE
FLAG:
Mayor Harrison led the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Mayor Harrison said Aldermen Berry
and Ott had requested the addition of item #7 under New Business as a
discussion of a special election.
Ms. Carroll and Ms. Money asked to
have Ordinance 1928 added as item #8 and discussion of the mayor’s veto of the
council’s vote to rescind the firing of City Administrative Assistant Kim
Dickens as item #9.
Mr. Ott and Mr.
Ms. Money asked to postpone item #1
of New Business regarding discussion of Ordinance 1926, regarding city attorney
duties. She asked to add a discussion of scheduling regular weekly city council
meetings be added as item #10 under New Business. Mr.
Umland seconded the addition of item #10.
Ms. Lindblad protested the adding of
so many new items to the agenda at the beginning of a meeting without public
notice.
Ms. Money moved to approve the agenda as amended. Mr. Umland seconded. All voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
Ms. Money moved to approve the
minutes of
COMMISSION, COMMITTEE
REPORTS AND VACANCIES:
Planning
Commission – Position 2 – expires
Hospital Commission - Position 1 – expires
CAPC
– Position 1- Expires
City
Council
DEPARTMENT HEAD COMMENTS:
Parks
Director Bruce Levine reported 14 members of the
Police
Chief Earl Hyatt reported the recent motorcycle poker run had raised
more than $2,000 for the Eureka Kids program. He thanked all the volunteers and
businesses who participated in putting on the day-long event.
He said in the past 30 days officers
have booked 27 persons into the police facility; answered 253 calls; issued 95
traffic citations; filed 83 incident reports; issued 67 written warnings; and
served 18 arrest warrants.
Public
Works Director Kirby Murray reported McClelland Consulting Engineers are
preparing a bid price for the Hayes St. portion of the sewer line replacement
project and their work is not to exceed $2,500.
A new denitrification pump has been
installed in the tank in the city’s wastewater treatment facility on Highway 23
north and the pump and tank should now be operating properly.
Public Works employees have been working cleaning up the city cemetery.
Work on the Planer Hill sidewalk now
has a completion date of Oct. 10, Mr. Ott’s birthday. The original contract bid
price on the project was $434,162.40. There have been five change orders for
the work and a sixth is pending. Three of the change orders have added
$14,577.18 to the construction cost brining the total to $448,739.58. Of that
amount, $327,000 will be paid through grant funding. The city’s portion of the
cost will be $121,739.58.
Transit
Director Lamont Richie reported delivery of a new trolley paid for
entirely with grant funds: 80 percent or $218,000 from the Arkansas Highway and
Transportation (AHTD) program and 20 percent from the Arkansas Transit Fund
made up of collection of a tax on rental vehicles.
He has submitted three grants totaling $425,000 to purchase another trolley, enhancement of the city’s property at the top of Planer Hill/intersection of Highway 62 and 23, and for an addition to the trolley barn behind the Transit Department office/Visitor’s Center at 162 W. Van Buren/Highway 62 West.
Additional information is included
in a written report he submitted to the council, which is attached to the
office copy of these minutes.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
1. Discussion regarding Ordinance 1923, an ordinance
amending the 2003 adopted budget for the remaining six month period beginning
July 1, 2003, and ending December 31, 2003. (3rd reading)
Ms. Money moved to suspend the rules
and put Ordinance 1923 on its third reading by title only. Mr. Umland seconded.
By roll call, all voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
Ms. Sell read the title of the ordinance aloud.
Mr. Berry moved to table any vote on
the ordinance pending results of another
City Council 9/22/03 2
budget
workshop. Mr. Ott seconded. All voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
The budget workshop was set for 5 p.m. Monday Sept.
29.
2.
Discussion regarding Ordinance 1924, an ordinance to waive competitive bidding
for the lights at Lake Leatherwood sports fields (3rd reading)
Ms. Lindblad moved to postpone the
third reading. Mr. Umland seconded.
Ms. Lindblad said she had given
written questions to Parks Director Bruce Levine and had just received the answers
just before the meeting and had not had time to read or consider the material.
Mr. Ott reminded the council of its
promise to give Ms. Lindblad time to get her questions about the lighting
project answered before taking final action on the ordinance.
Parks and Recreation Commission
Chairman Bill Featherstone said the project could be delayed another week or
two, but he hoped no more than that because the project needs to be completed
before winter.
All voted aye on the motion to
postpone the third reading. Motion passed 6/0/0
3.
Announce date for workshop with the HDC, regarding amending the Municipal Code
regulating Historic Preservation. (October 1st, Wednesday, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.)
Mayor Harrison announced this
workshop has been set up so the Historic District Commission (HDC) members
could talk about the proposed amendments to the code and the reasoning behind
them. Ms. Sell said a video tape recording of a portion of the workshop with
North Little Rock City Attorney Paul Suskie, author of the amendments, and the
HDC would be played so council could hear him explain the amendments’ purposes.
4.
Discussion of legal issues dealing with the Writ of Mandamus and steps the City
has taken to comply with Enforcement of City Ordinances.
Mayor Harrison read from a prepared
list of actions taken:
Prior to receiving the writ, she had
hired a Building Official per requirement of the International Building Code,
adopted earlier this year. She had requested Ms. Dickens to show the file of
all permits and requests for construction, and instructed her to call Mr. (Red)
Perkins immediately start inspecting the properties. There were approximately
22.
Since the writ was delivered, she
has taken the following steps: Called Police Chief Earl Hyatt requesting an
investigation. This must be done by an outside entity to ensure no conflict of
interest. She has given all copies of information provided with the writ to
Carroll County Prosecutor Tony Rogers with a request that he investigate.
Called the state Attorney General (Mike) Beebe’s office, and is on record
reporting the need for an investigation. (The ombudsman in the A.G.’s office
suggested being on record with the state police in this situation. Spoken with
the Little Rock office of the state police who, in turn, gave her the local
bureau’s contact in Fort Smith. She has called but has not spoken with an
investigator at this time.
Ms. Carroll asked if the information
regarding the writ had been sent to the Municipal League as per the council’s
instructions in the regular meeting of Sept. 8.
Mayor Harrison said the information
had not been sent to the Municipal League
City Council 9/22/03 3
because
no writ of mandamus had actually been filed. The council had been given an
opinion of a private attorney on material that might be included in a writ. She
said she was trying to bring the city into compliance with requests made in a
letter accompanying the information so the writ will not be filed.
5.
Discussion regarding deer challenges in the city. (Ott, Berry).
Removed by Mr. Ott’s request.
The regular meeting was halted at
6:57 p.m. for a short break.
The quarterly public forum
was called to order at 7:13 p.m. by Mayor Harrison. She said speakers would be
given three minutes each. Names were called from a sign-up sheet.
Barb
Deschner, director of the Eureka Kids after school program. She said
the program had opened on April 1, 2002, following the closing of the Boys and
Girls Club of Carroll County. The program had served 250 children in 2003.
Since June 1, 150 new children had participated in activities in the program,
now conducted in the community building in Harmon Park. The program is out of
funds and owes the city $5,000 for the summer program. She asked for assistance
from the city council and the public to find funding for the program.
Ernst
Schrader, former city council member. He said he wanted to back up Ms.
Lindblad’s objection to adding discussion items to the agenda at the start of
each meeting without public notice. He reminded the council it should stick to
the rules it has adopted for setting agenda items and publishing notices.
Margaret
Leighty said she wanted to discuss changing the style of government in
Eureka Springs. She understands that changing the style of government requires
a petition from the citizens, not a proposal from the council. She thinks more
research is needed before action is taken.
Margaret
Slater said the intersection of Pivot Rock Road and Highway 62 is a
very dangerous intersection. The school bus stop is a blind spot. She and other
residents in the area are very concerned about safety in this area.
Kerry
Leigh Pittenger said she had received information about the possible
appointment of “coordinator of city
service.” She wants everyone to be aware of what all that implies and that it
might not be in our best interest to appoint someone with so many duties and
responsibilities. She wants the opportunity to elect a person to the position.
She suggested combining the $52,000 salary of the administrative assistant and
the mayor’s salary of $6,000 and dividing it between the two.
Eric
Scheunemann, member of the Planning Commission. He said Ms. Dickens had
been very helpful to him when he was first appointed to the Planning
Commission.
City Council 9/22/03 4
He
began reading an excerpt from the commission’s June 25, 2003, minutes regarding
a tree cut at the Faith Christian Church. He ran out of time before he could
complete the excerpt.
Steve Roberson, member of the City Advertising and Promotion
Commission (CAPC). He began reading from a statement. He said he was
disappointed in the way the mayor and council members have conducted themselves
regarding the firing of Ms. Dickens. He is looking for long-term solutions and
wants the city to operate as the big business it is, letting department heads
control their departments, etc. He expressed his concern that future mayors
might not be able to give the time and attention to the job that Mayor Harrison
has and who would be in the city hall to provide continuity and take care of
daily issues. A full-time position is needed with the guidance of the mayor and
council. He also ran out of time before he could complete his statement.
James
DeVito, former city council and former CAPC member. He read a quotation
from Thomas Jefferson on the importance of newspapers. He said he is concerned
about the factual reporting of information by the two newspapers in the
community so the citizenry can have factual information about issues before them.
Tori
Bush, former city hall employee. She said a report in the Times-Echo newspaper contained false
statements attributed to Dan Krotzer, a computer consultant for city hall. She
distributed copies of a letter from him regarding the story and wanted the
council to know “about all the false statements out there.”
Ms. Sell, editor of the Times-Echo, said she would publish a
correction in the paper tomorrow (Sept. 23).
Mickey
Schneider, representing the South Main Street merchants. She said the
group is concerned that there is not attention being shown toward tourists. She
said more trash cans are needed in the downtown area. She said a broken pipe
repair job on Main Street, which should have taken four hours, took four days
and cost merchants business. She wants benches for the elderly to sit on, more
trash cans, more accommodations for tourists. She wants the council to put the
city first.
Wit Brittain complimented the young people (Leighty,
Pittenger) who had spoken earlier in the forum. He said the recent bad
publicity is “not playing well along the (Highway 71) corridor. We need to keep
it down.”
Joe
Zickmund wanted to address the civility or lack there of in Eureka
Springs. He feels that outside businesses will not look at Eureka Springs for
location if the government is not stable, nor will entities, which might give
grants for city projects. He is concerned about the number of empty businesses
in town and the number that are for sale. He wants the citizens to consider
Title 14 Chapter 48 in the state statues, which outlines the method for
changing to a city administrator form of government. He ran out of time for his
discussion.
City Council 9/22/03 5
Jan Watson, former city council member,
said she wants more fairness in government. There are communication problems
among the council and city government. We need more respect. She is tired of
all the bad publicity in the newspapers. She wants the city to have a better
presentation in the state.
The regular City Council meeting resumed at 7:42
p.m.
NEW BUSINESS:
1.
Discussion of amendments of the Ordinance 1926 regulating the duties of the
City Attorney (Money, Umland)
This item is postponed at the request of Ms. Money.
2. First reading – amended Section 94-3, the Municipal Code regulating sidewalks.
Ms. Money asked if the material presented is in
ordinance form. Mayor Harrison said it is not and she would have an ordinance
written to amend Section 94-3.
Mr. Ott moved to postpone the reading of the
ordinance. Mr. Umland seconded. All voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
3. First reading - Ordinance 1830, an ordinance regulating Landscaping and Screening.
Mr. Ott moved to defer the ordinance to another
meeting. Ms. Money seconded. All voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
4. Discussion of drafting ordinance and adoption of the International Fire Code.
City Fire Marshall Jim Kelley said he had been
trying to work with attorney Tom Kieklak in drafting an ordinance for the
adoption of the Fire Code. He said he had spoken with Ms. Dickens about it in
January of this year and been told she would take the matter to the attorney.
Kelley said he had made several attempts to set up
discussion sessions with Kieklak, the fire marshall in Rogers and the city
attorney in Bentonville and had not been successful. He said he had gathered a
lot of information for Kieklak but had not been able to meet with him to give
it to him. Kelley said there were several state amendments to the fire code,
which needed to be included in the ordinance and adopted.
Kelley said he had been told not to bring this
matter to the council’s attention.
Mr. Ott moved to have a draft Kelley’s information
into ordinance form for the next council meeting and to have all three readings
with an emergency clause done at that time. Ms. Lindblad seconded.
Mr. Umland asked Kelley who had told him not to
bring the matter to the council.
Kelley said Ms. Dickens had told him not to put
himself in the limelight.
On the motion, all voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
City Council 9/22/03
6
5. Set workshop with the Walton School of Business, University of Arkansas, on salaries and job descriptions.
Mayor Harrison said she was waiting on two
professors to be able to schedule time to work with her on these matters.
6. Discussion of Western District – Johnson –vs- Carroll County Ambulance lawsuit.
Mayor Harrison said she was hoping Scott Johnson
would be available to represent Carroll County in this lawsuit. (The issue is
regarding proper tax collections with which to fund the Western Carroll County
Ambulance District.)
Mr. Ott reminded the council that in the letter from
City Attorney Tim Weaver he had said there were questions (interrogatories)
that need to be answered by Oct. 4.
7. Discussion regarding a special election. (Berry, Ott)
Mr. Ott said there had been a lot of discussion in
the community recently about having a special election to change to a city
administrator form of government. There will be a special county election Nov.
4. Mr. Ott said he has talked with Carroll County Judge Ed Robertson about the
possibility of a Eureka Springs issue being included on the ballot. Mr. Ott
said there were a lot of things for people to do if they want to make the
deadline for getting something on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Mr. Berry said he had been contacted by a lot of
citizens regarding this issue. He said the people have options about their city
government and holding an election is the way to make the change.
There was no action taken by the council. This was
an information discussion.
8. Discussion of Ordinance 1928, an ordinance establishing the position of coordinator of administrative services for the City of Eureka Springs. (Carroll, Money).
Ms. Carroll moved to have the ordinance place on its
first reading. Ms. Money seconded. Ms. Carroll, Ms. Money, Mr. Berry and Mr.
Umland voted aye. Mr. Ott and Ms. Lindblad opposed. Motion passed 4/2/0
Ms. Sell read the ordinance aloud.
Ms. Carroll said the recent situation around the
firing of Ms. Dickens has been very stressful and an enormous waste of time and
energy for council members. She wants a professional person in the position of
coordinator of administrative services interested in the council’s well being.
Ms. Lindblad said the council is going into areas
the council is not supposed to deal with in trying to hire and manage such a
position. She said the city needs to have a balance between elected and hired
personnel. She believes hiring someone for this position would create a
redundant position and duplicity of efforts.
Ms. Carroll moved to approve the ordinance on its
first reading. Ms. Money seconded.
Mr. Umland said the public has made it clear the
council needs to get on with the matters of the town and that is the economy.
The council needs to concentrate on solutions to economic problems.
City Council 9/22/03 7
Ms. Money said she did not feel like she had anyone
at to go to for information or quick answers to questions if there was not an
administrator present.
Mr. Ott said the mayor has the right to hire and
fire her own assistant. He does not want to become part of the executive branch
of city government.
Ms. Sell said many of the duties the council members
want to assign to the new position are traditionally done by the city clerk and
could be done that way again if the clerk’s position is returned to full-time.
Mr. Berry said he was not concerned with creating an
ordinance for a person. He said he is embarrassed by recent newspaper
publicity. He believes the city needs someone to coordinate day-to-day
activities. He wants job descriptions for department heads. He wants to get on
with the business of the city.
On the motion to approve the ordinance, Ms. Carroll,
Ms. Money and Mr. Berry voted aye. Mr. Umland, Mr. Ott and Ms. Lindblad
opposed. Mayor Harrison did not vote. Motion failed 3/3/0.
9.
Discussion of the mayor’s veto of the council’s vote to rescind the Aug. 28
firing of City Administrative Assistant Kim Dickens.
The council met in special session Sept. 4 and voted
to rescind the firing. Mayor Harrison presented her veto to the council just
prior to this meeting, as required by state statute. (Copies attached to office
minutes.)
Ms. Carroll moved to override the veto to rescind
the firing of Kim Dickens. Ms. Money seconded.
Ms. Carroll and Ms. Money voted aye. Mr. Berry, Mr.
Ott, Mr. Umland, Ms. Lindblad voted nay. Motion failed 2/4/0
Request for an executive session.
Ms.
Money asked for an executive session to discuss a severance package for Ms.
Dickens. Mayor Harrison suggested putting the session at the end of the regular
business. Council members agreed.
10. Discussion of scheduling weekly City Council meeting. (Carroll, Money)
Ms. Money moved to temporarily have weekly city
council meetings to take care of city business. Mr. Umland seconded.
Ms. Money amended her motion to include the setting
of the agenda for the next meeting at the end of each weekly meeting. Mr.
Umland seconded.
Mr. Ott moved to continue regular meetings on the
second and fourth Mondays of each month, to use the meetings of the first,
third and fifth Mondays to finish discussions not finished on the second and
fourth Mondays, to have the agendas for the second and fourth Mondays
published, and to limit debate in the alternate meetings to one hour.
Ms. Lindblad seconded.
All voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
Mayor Harrison announced a short break at 9:07 p.m.
The meeting resumed at 9:25 p.m.
City Council 9/22/03 8
11. Request for executive session to discuss severance package for Ms. Dickens.
Mayor Harrison said she did not believe the council
could discuss matters regarding a person not employed by the city in an
executive session.
Mr. Ott moved to suspend the rules
and add a discussion of severance package for Ms. Dickens to the agenda. Mr.
Berry seconded. By roll call, all voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
Ms. Money said Ms. Dickens long term
employment and service to the city should be considered.
Ms. Carroll suggested three months’
pay and benefits.
Mayor Harrison said she would check
with the city’s Finance Department to see what was customary and to see if Ms.
Dickens had any accrued vacation time for which she might be paid and what
insurance benefits might be available.
Ms. Lindblad suggested that
information be available for the Sept. 29 meeting.
Ms. Money moved to table the discussion
to the Sept. 29 meeting. Mr. Ott seconded. All voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
Mr. Ott announced he and Mr. Berry
would no longer do “Politicians in the Park” due to a lack of attendance and
Mr. Berry’s scheduled absence in the next two months.
Mr. Money said she would like to see
an agenda item regarding the time limitations on discussions, as earlier
suggested by Mr. Ott.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS:
Mayor Harrison said Building
Official Deborah James was working to schedule regular breakfast meetings for
area contractors as a way to disseminate information about code issues.
ADJOURNMENT:
Mr. Ott moved to adjourn at 9:50
p.m. Mr. Berry seconded. All voted aye. Motion passed 6/0/0
This is the signature page for the
City Council minutes of Sept. 22, 2003.
______________________________
Mayor
Kathy Harrison
_____________________________
City Clerk Mary Jean Sell
City Council 9/22/03 9