Members of the Eureka Springs City Council got some clarity from police chief Brian Young at their regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 25, about the recent purchase of a “sniper rifle,” with Young explaining that the weapon wasn’t as expensive as had been suggested at a previous council meeting.
Council members requested Young’s presence at Monday’s meeting after some discussion at their Sept. 11 meeting of recent police department expenditures, including what was described as a $13,000 price for the high-powered rifle.
The rifle actually cost $3,075, Young told council members at Monday’s meeting.
“It wasn’t a $13,000 sniper rifle,” Young said. “As the invoice shows, it was $3,075.”
The rifle was purchased at Wilson Combat in Berryville and will be the responsibility of one officer who is certified to use it, Young said.
“The reason we have one is because we have members who are on a shared [special response team] with other agencies,” Young said when asked why the department needed the weapon.
Council member Harry Meyer, who was the most vocal critic of the purchase, asked why the police department couldn’t have gotten a free weapon from the U.S. Department of Defense.
“Because the Department of Defense, the stuff we could have gotten from them for free is not like what this is,” Young said. “I know because we have a contract with the Department of Defense. The rifles we can get from the Department of Defense are old and outdated ex-military Vietnam-era rifles.
“We have an obligation with this community to protect this community,” the chief continued. “As part of that obligation as officers, we have to account for everything we do. So, if we fire a shot, whether it’s an animal, whether it’s putting a deer down or anything else, we have to account for that. If we’re going to protect our people, do we want to rely on something that’s from the 1950s or 1960s or do we want something modern that they know is going to work very well? If you want to protect yourself, do you want to protect yourself with something that was used in a war and probably fired 15,000 or 20,000 times, or do you want to protect it with something you know is going to work every single time?”
Meyer questioned the need for such a high-powered weapon.
“What are the chances that we are going to have any sort of situation like that?” he asked.
“We don’t know,” Young responded. “But, we have to be trained and be prepared for it. We hope nothing ever happens. God forbid something ever happens.”
Meyer asked Young why the department doesn’t leave situations that would require a high-powered rifle to the Carroll County Sheriff’s office or the Arkansas State Police.
“State police has the same certification that we do,” Young responded. “Our officer, whoever it’s issued to, has to be certified on that from the state. … [and] depending on the time of the day, it could be an hour for a trooper to show up.”
Young went on to explain that each officer in the department is issued a pistol, a shotgun and a rifle that is not the caliber of the recently purchased rifle. Only one officer will have that kind of rifle.
“So, are these normal guns that any police department is issuing and not above and beyond?” council member Autumn Slane asked Young.
Council member Melissa Greene later asked: “So, what you’re really saying is this is not uncommon for police forces in Arkansas to have his rifle?”
“No,” Young replied. “The main difference between this weapon and, let’s say, your typical average patrol rifle is basically the caliber. And the company that makes this weapon guarantees its accuracy. Also, if anything happens with this weapon, it’s literally the town next door. We don’t have to ship it off … they fix it and bring it right back at no charge.”
Slane said she understands the need to protect the community, but said the gun purchased from Wilson Combat was top of the line.
“There’s no doubt that our community has an ebb and flow of guests coming in that reach above and beyond our local residents and I understand that you have to protect that on any given day,” she said. “If these are normal guns and normal things, I understand that. But, I also know Wilson Combat. That’s a nice gun. That’s a really nice gun.”
Young replied: “… unfortunately, you’ve got to pay for quality. And with quality, it’s guaranteed a certain accuracy that other companies don’t have. And we’re responsible for accuracy.”
In the end most council members seemed to warm up to Young’s explanations, especially with the clarification on the price of the highend gun.
“With your budget being one of the highest in the city, I think it is our responsibility to see what these things are for and if it’s going to a good cause,” Slane said. “Because, we’re over here making sidewalks to nowhere because we can’t afford to make them any longer. I feel like this should have went through this board to approve.”
“I budgeted for it last year,” Young replied. “I had it for my budget for this year’s budget and the budget was approved and we purchased it.”
Meyer later asked about the purchase of “three flashlights for $580.”
“Those are patrolman flashlights,” Young said. “They are rechargeable flashlights for a little over $100 apiece.”
Slane assured Young that council members were just doing their job monitoring the city’s budget.
“I think all of us respect you at this table,” Slane told Young. “And I don’t want this to feel as an attack.”
Young replied: “Oh, I don’t feel attacked at all.”
“We are responsible for maintaining the budget and it’s concerning when some things are brought up and we feel as if it was not brought to this table,” Slane said.
MEYER WANTS BUDGET COMMITTEE
During talks regarding the gun purchase, Meyer said things in a budget that the council members aren’t necessarily aware of are reasons why he suggests a budget committee to meet publicly to go through expenditures.
Earlier in the meeting during talks about the mid-year amended budget, Meyer had a contentious exchange with Mayor Butch Berry when he brought up the topic.
“While we have the budget in front of us I think it’s time for the council to think about having a budget committee for next year,” Meyer said.
“That would be a separate issue,” Berry replied.
“I’m talking,” Meyer interjected.
“It’s still a separate issue,” Berry said.
“I have the floor,” Meyer said.
“Point of order,” Berry replied.
“I have the floor, I have the floor. Robert’s Rule of Order states I have the floor,” Meyer said.
“I disagree,” Berry said. “It’s point of order.”
“We have spent 19 thousand and some dollars on two police cars, $13,000 on a sniper rifle and accessories along with extra stuff,” Meyer said before Young’s explanation that the gun was just over $3,000. “If we had our own committee we can look these things over. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
OTHER ACTIONS
The council did approve a resolution which amends the 2023 budget.
The full amended total revenues approved were $15,067,773 which is an increase of $622,105 from the $14,445,668 that was previously approved.
The total amended expenditures approved was $14,609,987 which is $567,489 more than the original budget of $14,042,498.
The council also approved the first reading, second and third readings by title only and an emergency clause of an ordinance that vacates a portion of Hyden Street between Block 147, Lot 1 and Block 136, Lot 12.
The emergency clause was enacted because the property is on contract for sale, according to Berry.
Also approved was the third and final reading of the an ordinance to amend the city’s tree preservation code.
The only changes to what was approved at the last council meeting were changing “large species tree” to “large diameter tree” to clarify the definition.
At its regular meeting held Monday, Sept. 11, the council approved the second reading, which defined specific amounts of fines for those who violate the ordinance. The changes from the original amendment increased the fees by five times to $250 for a small tree, $750 for a large tree and $1,000 for a heritage tree.
Simon Wiley, the city public works director, also updated the council on the water leak remediation plan.
“They’ve completed the assessment of the city and that’s a good thing for us,” Wiley said of the company hired to help locate water leaks. “We saved us a little money because we had less miles of water lines than we assumed we did.”
Wiley said there were four leaks found on the “customer side of the meter” and nine leaks were discovered “in our distribution system.”
“We have fixed seven of them,” he said. “We have two more that we are working on.”
Wiley later told council members he would get some information from Carroll County Solid Waste regarding options after Slane brought up an agenda item wanting to look at how residents utilize recycling services.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Two residents spoke against the police department’s purchase of the sniper rifle during public comments and former mayor Beau Satori voiced his displeasure after he was recently told that “the city building inspector had directed the postmaster to cut off the limb” of a red buckeye tree located at the post office.
“This tree is not only rare to Eureka Springs but was most remarkable due to having just one branch, nearly seven inches wide, at chest height,” Satori said. “I’ve watched children play on this limb for decades, especially over the past nine years that my gallery was located across the street from the post office.
“Over the past few months, this one limb had become unusually heavy laden with buckeyes and then began hanging down over the sidewalk.”
Satori said he shared his concerns with postal employees and suggested they have someone prune it back.
“At which time they told me the city building inspector had directed the postmaster to cut off the limb,” he said.
Satori said he reached out to Slane who brought up the topic at the last council meeting.
“Ten days ago, on the Friday after your last meeting, the limb was needlessly butchered into the trunk and may not survive,” Satori said. “One bit of advice I’ve given every council in the nearly 50 years I’ve been here … any decisions you’re making, ask yourself, is this going to make Eureka Springs more charming or less charming? We’re all banking on Eureka’s charm. We all moved here because of Eureka Springs’ charm.
“And we’ve lost one of the most charming aspects of Spring Street by having this limb needlessly butchered. … Eureka Springs’ charm is slowly eroding and we need to be more attentive to the little things that make life in Eureka Springs magical.”
