City officials want public input

The Eureka Springs City Council is asking for public input on a pair of topics that could generate an array of views from residents.

A workshop is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, March 23, to discuss the possibility of placing a proposed city sales tax increase on the ballot for the November general election.

The workshop will be held immediately before the council’s next regular meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m.

Proceeds from a tax increase — likely 1 percent — would help pay for repairs and renovations to the city’s water and wastewater systems. Council members have said that a sales tax increase would result in tourists and other visitors helping to foot the bill for infrastructure improvements, rather than leaving the burden solely on residents.

If a tax increase is not approved, city officials say residents will continue to face increases to their monthly water bills and there will be no opportunity to eliminate the current Infrastructure and Improvement fee.

“Water bills will keep going up,” city finance director Michael Akins said at the council’s regular meeting on Monday, March 9. “I and I will stay there, and then for any large projects we would have to rely on more loans and more grants.”

Akins said a 1 percent tax increase would generate an estimated $1.7 million annually, which could be used for ongoing operations, repairs and infrastructure upgrades.

The city has identified around $30 million in needed improvements over the next 10 years, including upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and replacement of aging water and sewer lines.

Council members stressed the importance of educating the public on the need for a tax increase and on how the funds would be used.

The council has until August to adopt a proposal and until September to have it submitted to the county clerk to be placed on the November ballot.

“To get the ball rolling, I believe that we ought to go for a full 1 percent,” council member Terry McClung said at a March 4 workshop on the issue. “My reason for that is things go up so quickly that it’s, you know, a 10-year deal or 20-year, however long … and if we’re going to do a sunset or just inactive, that’s another thing we’ve got to look at, too.”

Some council members wanted to decide on the amount of a proposed tax increase, but public works director Simon Wiley suggested making that decision after he gets a better idea of the cost to complete the necessary work.

“I personally and wholeheartedly agree we need to involve this as a public hearing to get resident involvement,” council member David Avanzino said. “We can sit around and say: ‘Yes, it’s going to be a 1 percent sales tax’ or we can take it to the ballot, but in between that we have to hear it. We have to make sure that we have resident involvement and say whether it’s good or bad or indifferent…”

PERMANENT ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT

Council members also plan to hold another workshop to get public input on a proposed permanent entertainment district in the downtown area.

At the March 9 meeting, members of the council and a handful of restaurant, lodging and bar owners voiced approval for the new proposal, but council members said they wanted to get input from additional interested parties — especially retail owners — before making a decision.

“The permanent entertainment district brought up a lot of questions that still need answers, and I think that before we vote on a permanent entertainment district, we need all parties involved to be represented,” Avanzino said.  “I see zero retail people here today, and I only saw one bar owner here today that’s in the district.”

The council heard positive comments on the proposal from Eureka Springs Police Chief Billy Floyd, who said having a permanent district shouldn’t cause any added issues for his department.

Others who spoke in favor of the proposal included Autumn Slane. Slane and her husband, Rodney, own Grotto’s Wood-Fired Grill and Wine Cave and Slane’s Tavern downtown, along with Sauced BBQ and The Filling Station on West Van Buren Avenue.

Mike Maloney, executive director of the city advertising and promotion commission, also spoke in support of the idea, saying the CAPC would be willing to help manage the district. Devin Henderson and Damon Henke, representing the chamber of commerce, also support the proposal along with Jack Moyer, general manager of the Crescent and Basin Park hotels.

“Personally, I would like to see an entertainment district set up and then not allow any others,” council member Terry McClung said. “This will be where the entertainment district is, and this is what it’s going to be, and so there won’t be any temporaries, this will be the entertainment district and that’s what I’d like to see and to have a set boundary on it and go with that if that’s possible.”

McClung was asked to clarify whether he’d like to do away with any temporary districts, saying he’d approve the one permanent district and that be it.

That would mean getting rid of the permanent district at Pine Mountain Village, other council members said.

“It wouldn’t bother me if it goes away, really,” McClung said. “I mean, it’s been ineffective.”

Avanzino responded: “Well, I haven’t even seen them do anything.”

Council member Harry Meyer noted more than once that a previous decision by the council to establish a permanent entertainment district was rejected by voters after a successful effort to have it placed on the ballot.

“If we’re going to do this, since it’s been defeated in the past by the citizens, by the voters, I think we ought to put it on the ballot instead of the council deciding that we’re going to shove this down the throats of the citizens who rejected it in the past,” Meyer said.

Acting quickly is important for the city to continue to compete with other tourism-driven towns that already offer such an entertainment district, supporters said.

“Why do we want to do this?” Maloney said. “Because we want hospitality to be at the top of everything that we do in Eureka Springs. This is one of those things that suggests that we are a community that is hospitable to our guests, giving them the opportunity to have really an enjoyable time in our community. I think the thing that bothers me is the notion from some people that all it will be is a bunch of drunken people walking up and down the street with a beer can. I do not see that as an issue. I really don’t. The reason I don’t is because we have Billy Floyd, and we also have the protection of all the bartenders and the people that run the institutions right now in our city that won’t serve people who already have been drunk.”

Moyer suggested the district include all days of the week to eliminate not utilizing weekdays that include events in town, and Autumn Slane said it’s an issue that should have been approved a while ago.

“I say put this thing to bed and pass this thing,” Slane said. “The worst that could happen is we get more business, and right now, quite frankly, all of us are suffering.”

The chamber supports the idea, Henderson said.

“I’ve already run that past my board and they’re very aware that we’re on board with the project,” he said. “And, yes, we think it’s important. We’ve really got to stay competitive right now more than ever. I mean, you know, the cities around us — Bentonville, Rogers, all of these other areas — they’re offering a lot more today, a lot of their own outdoor music, a lot more of their own events. … There’s more competition out there, and so we need to make sure that we’re staying competitive.

“Temporary entertainment districts and entertainment districts are just becoming synonymous with tourism these days. I’ve got guests that will ask …: ‘Are you guys going to have an entertainment district for your New Year’s Eve party?’ So the public understands what these are and it is just kind of meeting expectations at this point.”