Eureka Springs Mayor Butch Berry contacted members of the city’s Historic District Commission by email in mid-September after some commissioners were critical of the city’s decision to settle a lawsuit brought by city council member Bill Ott.
Following the recommendation of city attorney Forrest Jacobi, the council voted Aug. 22 to accept the settlement that called for Ott to pay a $1,000 fine and admit that he failed to properly control renovation work at his home on Spring Street. The home was damaged in May 2021 when it was struck by a city truck that had slipped out of gear.
Although the HDC approved Ott’s application to repair his porch, he was later served with a notice of code violation that said the materials used in the project had not been approved. Ott’s second application to the HDC was denied and he filed suit in Carroll County Circuit Court.
At the HDC’s Sept. 7 meeting, commissioner Marty Cogan expressed concerns over the settlement of Ott’s claim.
“Allowing one of the homeowners to keep his non-approved, non-conforming porch, I think sets a precedent that denigrates any kind of work that the HDC does,” Cogan said during the public comments portion of the meeting. “It takes away the power of the HDC to address what people do or did not do to their historic properties.
“The consensus seems to be you just pay a fine and do what you damn well please. And I think that is absolutely wrong.”
Commissioner Judy Holden and HDC chair Steve Holifield — who is running against Ott for the Ward 2, Position 2, seat on the city council in the Nov. 8 general election — also shared their disappointment over the settlement.
In his email to commissioners, Berry says: “After listening to last HDC meeting, there are several concerns that I want to discuss.
“The first one, is the fact that Kylee (and Glenna) is an employee of the city and as Director of the HDC and Planning Commission, this position comes under the Mayor’s office and authority. She is not an employee of the HDC nor the Planning Commission, she is a senior Staff member responsible to the Mayor, the same as the other department heads, ie The Police Chief or Fire Chief. I was amazed that a citizen got up and said she answers to the HDC and that She should do what you tell her to do. This is not how this job works. Again, she is a staff person who provides Support to the HDC. This is probably my fault in that I have never explained to the HDC or the Planning Commission her responsibility.”
Berry was referring to Kylee Hverdejs, the city’s director of planning and community development and historic preservation officer Berry’s email also addresses the settlement of Ott’s lawsuit.
“In regards to the Bill Ott settlement. I discussed with the city attorney if we should present The settlement offer to the HDC. He responded, as previous attorneys have, that it is a financial Settlement to a lawsuit and only the City Council can approve it. Some of you may remember the Roundhouse Lawsuit. This was also a settlement between the various parties. The Federal Judge explicitly had only the city council and the two other parties who were involved in the lawsuit discuss settlements. The Federal Judge did not say, oh by the way, you need to run this by your HDC Commission their approval.
“It is also important to remember that this is a legal issue and as such does not have any bearing on what the HDC thinks.
“Legal issues should never be brought up in commission comments or council public meetings for obvious reasons.
“For obvious reasons I have bcc all The HDC commissioners,” Berry writes. “Please do not send group emails as that may be considered an FOIA violation.”
Hevrdejs resigned her position Sept. 13, effective Oct. 21. She addressed her resignation at the HDC’s Sept. 21 meeting.
“I want to emphasize what a difficult decision this has been for me, both professionally and personally,” Hevrdejs said. “By all accounts, this should have been an ideal partnership. Me being a qualified, experienced historic preservation professional and this an absolute gem of a historic town.
“I’ve struggled with the disparity between my high expectations for this role and the experience that I’ve had, and I’m so disappointed that this is the outcome. However, I’m happy with the achievements of this commission and my office during our time together.”
