The Eureka Springs City Council has been left with two vacancies after the sudden resignations earlier this week of David Avanzino and longtime member Melissa Greene.
One of the two, however, may not be gone for long.
Mayor Butch Berry announced news of the resignations at the council’s regular monthly meeting on Monday, Feb. 26.
“Both David Avanzino and Melissa Greene submitted their resignation, effective immediately, because they have moved out of their position, as per state law,” Berry said, indicating that Avanzino and Greene had moved from their residences in the wards they represented. “So, the positions now become vacant after city council approves a vacancy.”
Avanzino held the Ward 1, Position 2 seat and Greene was in the Ward 2, Position1 seat.
No other explanation on the resignations, or if they were expected, was given at the meeting. However, Avanzino told the Eureka Springs Times-Echo on Tuesday, Feb. 27, that he is hoping to be “reinstated on the City Council within the month.”
Just in a different ward. Avanzino said he and his husband recently purchased a home in Ward 2, the area that had been represented by Greene.
“My husband and I purchased a home in Ward 2 at the end of last year,” Avanzino said. “Since then, I’ve been splitting my time between our residence in Ward 1 and our new home in Ward 2.
“However, with Melissa Greene’s resignation [Monday], it became clear that the only way for me to fully transition to living in Ward 2, and effectively represent its residents, was to resign from my current seat in Ward 1. I took action on this decision [Monday] by submitting my resignation and [Tuesday] sent a letter of intent to occupy the vacant Ward 2 position.”
Greene said Wednesday, Feb. 27, that she has moved to Berryville.
“It would be unethical for me to (remain on the council) because I no longer live in my ward,” she said. “That just goes against everything I believe in. And that was why. Like I said in my resignation letter, it was a privilege, an honor and a pleasure to serve my city.”
Avanzino said he still wants to serve the citizens in the city and hopes to also retain his seat as one of two council representatives on the city advertising and promotion commission.
“My hope is to be reinstated on the city council by within the month, allowing me to fully focus on serving the needs and interests of Ward 2 residents, and if selected, represent city council on CAPC,” he said.
Council member Steve Holifield was absent from Monday’s meeting attending the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Jonesboro as a representative of the CAPC, leaving just three members — Terry McClung, Harry Meyer and Autumn Slane — to vote on approving the council vacancies. Berry provided the necessary fourth vote.
“We will be asking citizens who are interested to apply for either one of these positions,” Berry said.
Maps showing what streets are located in each ward are on the city council section of the city website, eurekaspringsar. gov.
“It would be best to look at the map,” Berry said. “You have to live in the ward that you’re applying for.”
There will be a deadline of Friday, March 8, to apply for the seats, the mayor said.
“March 8 is the deadline for all people who are interested in submitting an application,” he said, adding that the remaining council members would receive the applicants on Monday, March 11. “Then we will be able to submit to city council for their review and to contact members who have applied. Then, at our next meeting, which would be March 25, we would be voting on the new members.”
Berry urged anyone with questions about the process to call City Hall.
“Put your application in attention to the city clerk and we’ll get them distributed to city council,” the mayor said.
During comments at the end of the meeting, McClung said he’s never known two council members to leave at the same time.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever known that to happen, to have two go at one time, in the nearly 50 years I’ve lived in this town,” McClung said. “It kind of feels naked up here, actually, depending on the mayor to be the deciding vote [in actions taken at Monday’s meeting.] Boy, that’s scary.
“It’s important to participate in the livelihood of your city and this is one avenue of doing it. If you have any interest in city government and getting involved, and you’re in these wards, please submit your applications. No reason not to. Come one, come all.”
Meyer agreed. “If you don’t want the four of us to make all the decisions, you better run for office,” Meyer said.
During his mayor’s comments at the end of the council meeting, Berry expressed gratitude to the outgoing members.
“Melissa, of course, has been on city council for quite a few years,” the mayor said. “And David, even though he’s only been on here a short time, they’ve both have submitted excellent service in their qualifications and what they’ve done for the city.”
CHANGE IN ALCOHOL PERMIT ORDINANCE The council approved the first, second and third and final readings to amend an ordinance that changes municipal code for alcoholic beverages.
According to city clerk treasurer Ida Meyer, the biggest issue for business owners is that the payment date each year for alcohol permits was June 30, the same date required for state permits. The new ordinance pushes that date to July 31 each year.
“I had a lot of business owners complaining to me that in paying their liquor taxes … they have to bring their state alcohol permit before I can renew their city alcohol permit,” Ida Meyer said. “But, our due date was the same as the state’s due date.
“So, I was calling people … and they hadn’t received their state permits. And even if they pay weeks in advance, the state is notorious for being late in sending those out.”
Council member Autumn Slane, who owns multiple restaurants and a tavern in the city along with her husband, was happy with the change.
“Thank you, thank you,” Slane said. “This has been years of an issue.”
There also hasn’t been a penalty for not paying the the permit fees by the due date in the past, Meyer said, but the new ordinance will include a 25 percent fee if the fees are paid after July 31.
“Unless the business commences after July 1 of the year,” the new ordinance reads.
WATER LEAKS UPDATE City public works director Simon Wiley told council members that his staff is continuing to locate and repair water leaks around the city.
Old two-inch lines that are possibly “running the length of Van Buren” have been causing issues of late.
“They didn’t eliminate it when they put the main water line in,” Wiley said, adding that he wasn’t sure which areas are served by the two-inch lines.
“Once those twoinch valves are installed we’re going to shut it off and see what happens and try to identify the places that are affected by it, because we don’t have any maps for that two-inch line,” he said. “We don’t know who … the only place I know that’s tied to that line over there on Main Street, the bank across the road…” Wiley said when the city does future projects in the area they will plan on eliminating that water line.
“We will eliminate everything and tie everything in at the points where they intersect,” he said. “I understand that’s what really what should have happened on Van Buren. They should have eliminated everything and tapped everything into that one big main, but for whatever reason, in the past, they just didn’t do that.”
Work on the water lines does cause some residents and business in the city to lose service or pressure. Berry and Wiley said they encourage those affected to call public works so they can identify who is being serviced by certain older lines.
“Because we need to know where those lines are that are in effect, because we don’t know at this point,” Berry said.
After checking with a member of his staff, Wiley said the department does have a software component that could send out alerts to customers’ email addresses about potential water shut-offs.
“If you haven’t given us your email address, give it to us so we can put it in the system and we can send those alerts out through the email system,” he said.
AWARD FINALIST
Berry told council members that Eureka Springs has recently learned that is is one of three finalists in cities nationwide with populations of less than 50,000 for The National League of Cities’ “2024 City Cultural Diversity Award” for Eureka Cares.
The winner will be announced at the National League of Cities Conference on March 11 in Washington, D.C. , Berry said.
“This is a big deal,” he said. “This is really. Eureka should be real proud of themselves for being nominated one of three. Again, it’s for cities under 50,000 population, so there’s a lot of cities out there and we’re one of the top three.
“I think the city deserves a pat on the back for that. It’s an excellent job and it is because we do care. And we accept a lot of everyone in town. … I think we will win, but we’re in the top three and that’s exciting.”
Berry said the city has also been named a “strongest town” competitor is the “public engagement category” that will include national voting that happens online from March 4-8. To vote for Eureka Springs, go to strongesttown.com, Berry said.
OTHER ITEMS
City finance director Michael Akins reported that the city received sales and use tax distributions of $413,582 in December, from taxes collected in October.
“$60,000 went to the street fund, $262,000 went into our general fund, $65,000 went to parks and $25,000 went to our bond payment,” Akins said.
Akins reported that of taxes collected, 24 percent came from lodging, 15 percent from food and beverage and 61 percent from other areas where taxes are collected.
The total actual revenue for the end of the year was $14,156,569, Akins said, and total expenses were $13,414,690.
In another approval, Debbie Davis was voted in as a member of the Historic District Commission.
