The Holiday Island City Council has a vacancy.
At a special meeting held Thursday, Jan. 2, the council declared the Ward 3, Position 1 seat vacant after the resignation of Pat Elwood, effective Dec. 31. Ward 3 encompasses the easternmost portion of the city.
“Arkansas State Law and Holiday Island City Code require that a candidate be a U.S. citizen, a registered voter of Carroll County, Arkansas, and a resident in Ward 3,” Mayor Dan Kees wrote on the city’s website. “This is a non-partisan position.”
Applications for the seat will be accepted until Monday, Jan. 20, with the council expected to make a decision the following day, at its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
“Please submit a letter stating your interest in serving the Holiday Island
FAMILY LAW community to contact@cityofholidayisland. com, or drop it off at the city office at 5 Forest Park Drive,” Kees wrote. “Please include your name, phone number, and physical address. You may also mail your letter to: City Clerk’s Office, P.O. Box 3099, Holiday Island, AR 72631.”
Each applicant will be contacted before the Jan. 21 meeting, Kees said.
“If possible, you should plan on attending the January 21st City Council meeting when the position will be filled,” he wrote.
The vacant seat’s term will end Dec. 31, 2026.
“We need to actively, I guess, solicit somebody from Ward 3 to fill that position,” Kees told council members. “I have one interested candidate and I told him that if he wants to follow through with officially throwing his hat in the ring he should talk to the Ward 3, Position 2 council member…” That position is held by Barb Kuhn.
“I can tell you that for the last two years I’ve been trying to find Ward 3 people interested in running for council and have been quite unsuccessful,” Kuhn said.
OTHER ITEMS
Also at the special meeting, council members and recorder/treasurer Wesley Stille took their oath of office following November’s General Election.
Ken Mills, who holds the Ward 1, Position 2 seat, was the only city official who had an opponent in the election with Stille, Kuhn, Lynn Dumas, Sharon Lawlor and Linda Graves all running unopposed.
The council also approved resolution 2025-001 establishing the annual interlocal agreement with the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District on street maintenance for the city.
“…The City of Holiday Island is responsible for maintaining the streets for which the city has accepted by ordinance right of way responsibilities,” the resolution reads. “…It is not cost-effective for the city to operate its own street maintenance department. … The Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District has the capability to provide such maintenance service to the city…” Kees told council members that the HISID road department budget for 2025 is $401,399, excluding any capital expenditures, adding “since the Board of Commissioners is not prepared at this point to dedicate any more streets to the city, we’ll move forward with an interlocal agreement using the current HISID 2025 road department budget and the same percentage as last year.”
“And with the city’s percentages, 6 1/2 percent, our commitment is $26,091,” he said.
