[0:04] All righty. We're going to call the Thursday, January 15th, 2026

[0:10] regular meeting of the Cherokee Village City Council to order

[0:14] with care to join in the pledge of allegiance. real quick.

[0:20] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[0:25] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:31] justice for all. >> Recognize a short moment of silence,

[0:35] please.

[0:54] Roll call, please.

[0:59] » Harrison, >> here.

[1:00] » Rachel Tatum. Thompson.

[1:05] Martin >> here.

[1:06] » Jeff Tatum. Low

[1:09] » here. Ishmail Roland

[1:14] mayor clerk attorney in attendance quorum not established

[1:18] without a without a quorum we can't do official city business tonight so about

[1:22] all we can do just have a little informal

[1:25] uh I know there's some people that was wanting to talk uh uh Mr. David Lad and

[1:31] Mr. Dr. Wayne Bennett from Waste Connections is here to answer questions

[1:34] about the waste contract. And uh I know I'm going to pronounce this wrong. Is it

[1:42] » Leon Rumber? >> Remor. Okay. Le. So, uh we'll just have

[1:50] a little informal meeting. Do you have any updates on stuff you've been working

[1:54] on? >> Yes. So, um, I am going to be submitting

[1:58] to attorney >> Jason,

[2:01] » make sure you speak into your mic. >> That's probably the first time anyone's

[2:07] ever told me I need a microphone. So, um,

[2:12] » the video, >> um, so I will be submitting I took a

[2:16] stab at the writing an ordinance for the ADUs, uh, with some guidance from other

[2:21] towns in Arkansas as a template. So I will be turning that into you guys take

[2:24] a look at as kind of like our jumping off point. Uh then at that point get

[2:29] planning and zoning involved and we can kind of go from there.

[2:32] » Okay. >> All righty. Uh Mr. David, Mr. Wayne, you

[2:37] want to anything you they they submitted the

[2:43] contract the new updated contract for the collection and hauling of the waste

[2:46] disposal in the village which they I mean they they actually met all of our

[2:50] criteria that we asked for about the uh so I mean and they uh we actually

[2:58] I'm sure I seen it in there. I hadn't got a chance to read all the way through

[3:01] it, but we did we did the uh three-year u it was a three-year contract with the

[3:07] optional 2-year extension at the end. >> Yeah, I believe that's correct.

[3:11] » Yeah, that's what So, go ahead and get that. We was we've been talking about

[3:16] this what since October or November. >> Yeah, I think

[3:19] » it's been it's been a little while, but anyway,

[3:21] » October, >> they're here. They're here for any

[3:23] questions. Anybody's got any questions, you can hit them up hit them up about

[3:26] the waste connections. I I wanted to give you a heads up. I went to the

[3:31] townhouse association meeting Tuesday night and I think uh Ed Soja is going to

[3:36] get in touch with you about trying to see if they can get smaller garbage cans

[3:40] for the townhouse um residents just cuz they're having tr

[3:46] some of the elderly having trouble. Yeah, we um so we have acquired we do

[3:52] have some 65gallon we don't you know something we don't usually don't carry

[3:56] but we have acquired some they're 65gallon tote um that you know we have

[4:02] replaced I've placed some with some of the elderly here in Cherokee yes

[4:06] » so we do have some yes >> is it do you have a a direct number I

[4:10] could forward that has he already called you that just happened Tuesday night so

[4:14] » do you have a number you want me to give him

[4:16] » uh yes it'd be 870 0. >> Uh-huh.

[4:19] » 8475158. That'll be my direct work phone.

[4:23] [clears throat] >> Is that 51? What?

[4:25] » 5158. >> And what was your name?

[4:27] » Wayne Bennett. Wayne. >> Yeah. Wayne Bennett.

[4:29] » Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Thank you, Mr. Wayne.

[4:33] Mr. David being here. Let's see if we have any more questions.

[4:39] Jason Peter, any questions? All righty. Uh,

[4:48] Mr. Mr. Leon, if you want to, like I said, I know we're just being a

[4:53] little informal and out of out of out of out of sorts, but we we don't have a

[4:58] quorum to do any any legal voting business tonight.

[5:10] There's three pictures there. >> Okay.

[5:19] » I just want to say, Mr. Mayor, just council council members, my name is uh

[5:24] Leon Remore and I reside at 83 Pauhhatan Drive. Thank you uh for allowing me to

[5:31] speak. I'd like to address ordinance 99-11

[5:36] dated July 20th, 1999 and ordinance 200414

[5:44] which was a amending uh 9911 on December 2nd, 2004.

[5:50] Uh it concerns rules and regulations concerning garbage and trash disposal

[5:55] and regulating abandoned property, rubbish, and abandoned motor vehicles.

[6:01] I provided photos taken today, January 15th, 2026, of three properties, 88 90

[6:10] and 80 Phatan. 88 Pahhatton has been abandoned for some

[6:15] time before I purchased my home at 83 Pawatan on March 11th, 2024.

[6:24] It was totally abandoned until the summer of 2025 when lumber was dropped

[6:28] off in the driveway and some work was done on a back deck. Since then, some of

[6:35] the lumber from 90 Phatan was placed on a trailer and dropped in the driveway of

[6:41] 88 Powhhatton, which you can see in the photo.

[6:45] The front door must be uh must not be locked since from time to time it is

[6:51] left open and could be a danger to kids in the neighborhood and who live across

[6:56] the street. Nothing has been done for the last few months with that property.

[7:02] Concerning the property at 90 Phatan Drive, it is my understanding that this

[7:06] property is owned by the same individual or individuals as 88 Phatan.

[7:12] This home apparently burned down 3 to four years ago from information that I

[7:17] obtained from neighbors. This property is very dangerous and unsanitary and the

[7:23] floor now is actually caving into the basement and again is very dangerous for

[7:28] the neighborhood kids uh as well as adults besides being unsightly and

[7:34] affecting the value of our property. the ordinances already referred to as

[7:40] well as 2008-05 that provides for the removal or rzing

[7:46] of buildings within the city limits of Cherokee Village that are dilapitated,

[7:51] unsightly, unsafe, unsanitary or detrimental to the public welfare need

[7:57] to be enforced and followed through on. The last photo submitted is of 80 Phatan

[8:04] Drive, which shows three abandoned vehicles parked in a row and two tires

[8:10] stacked next to them. An older Chevrolet pickup, an older Cadillac sedan, and an

[8:15] older Ford pickup from the 1980s have not been moved or running since I

[8:20] purchased my home in March of 2024. I doubt that they are registered or

[8:26] licensed either. These vehicles need to be removed as addressed in ordinance

[8:31] 9911 and 202502. I know there are other areas of our city

[8:38] that are in even worse condition such as Skyline Drive and Hayawa Drive. I would

[8:44] hope that your honor, the mayor and the city council will address these concerns

[8:50] and enforce the ordinances that are already on the books. I am concerned for

[8:55] the welfare of our neighborhood, the children and adults and for the loss of

[9:00] property values in our city. It is very difficult to attract new residents and

[9:06] to be proud of our city when we do nothing to keep it clean and attractive.

[9:12] Thank you. >> Mr. Leon, have you uh contacted the code

[9:17] enforcement here? >> No. No, I have not. So, this is your

[9:20] first um information to the city. Okay.

[9:26] » We're gonna f we're gonna forward this on to Charlie Acres, our city inspector

[9:30] in the code enforcement team. >> All right. I appreciate that.

[9:43] » Anybody else got anything? Miss Hannah?

[9:47] » Yeah.

[9:50] Do I respond to last month? >> Huh?

[9:53] » Can I respond to what happened last month?

[10:00] » Well, you mean >> there's nobody here to respond?

[10:02] » Yeah. I mean, we don't we don't have a quorum. We can't really do anything

[10:05] tonight. There's nothing we can vote on. >> Well, other than being updated, so Okay.

[10:10] » Yeah. Thank you. >> I'm I'm okay with it.

[10:26] Thank you very much for allowing me to to speak tonight. I appreciate it.

[10:30] Again, my name is Hannah Eisenberg and I'm uh responding to the property at 7

[10:35] Kelan Trace in Cherokee Village, Arkansas here. Um, what I wanted to do

[10:40] was list some corrections from comments that were made last month with regards

[10:45] to our my property and I wanted to refute some of the things that was uh

[10:50] said and shared at that meeting. Number one, since um Cherokee Village Council

[10:55] distrusts me regarding being approved for a refi, they may call upon the bank

[11:00] for a request. But I do know privately that Thompson and my banker had had a

[11:05] conversation outside of the realm in a social thing to verify that that was

[11:09] true. Um so I can't present papers to you. It has to come directly from the

[11:15] bank. Okay. Uh specific to that refi and I have not been before the council

[11:22] several times about this project as alluded to by Councilman Thompson.

[11:26] September 20 of 2022 was the first time I had been to the Cherokee Village

[11:30] Council Chamber where I wasn't even invited to the planning and zoning

[11:33] meeting. I introduced myself to the board after all was heard, answered

[11:37] questions, and then um after the questions, the gentleman who had the

[11:42] gavvel was the one that actually said I could go ahead and design him anything

[11:47] that I was a really good designer. And everyone in unanimously approved of the

[11:52] project and by that time I'd already had a permit. But I was in response to my

[11:56] next-door neighbor who was Tom Rupart who at that point has told many many

[12:01] buyers of my property before construction started that the property

[12:05] had been condemned over and over again. He did it eight times. And it wasn't

[12:09] until the eighth man that I actually recorded. So I had proof of it when I

[12:13] went to see then Mayor Stokes to talk about this that it was now going to be a

[12:17] civil case because he introduced himself as Councilman Tom Rupert. Um,

[12:24] [clears throat] and then as alluded by the cong uh the

[12:26] councilman again, Thompson, my neighbor again, uh, Tom Rupart, he did not move

[12:31] because of my home's construction. Rupart left the area right after that

[12:36] meeting, leaving furniture and all behind because he was going to be

[12:39] arrested for terrorist threats of bringing out a 410.

[12:43] » Yeah. >> Okay. But, you know, Thompson had said

[12:46] that he had moved because of the construction, and that was not true. He

[12:50] left everything in his house there and Perryman and Perryman turned around and

[12:54] sold everything and our chief um Monty Hall is here to verify. The straw that

[13:00] Councilman Thompson also alluded to being used in construction was taken

[13:03] perhaps from the carport which I find trespassing. The construction worthy

[13:08] straw bales are protected on the enclosed wrapped uh structure. and he

[13:12] did the same thing exactly what Councilman Rupert did by taking

[13:16] materials from the site and he actually threw the materials in a Ziploc bag to

[13:21] the planning and zoning committee that that was what the house was going to be

[13:24] built from. So it it u it likens the same thing of what Councilman

[13:31] Rupert had done. I had told that there was an amount of photographs that were

[13:35] presented to the council last month and again um nobody asked me whether they

[13:41] can go on my property and I should be allowed to view those photos. Um a

[13:45] neighbor who doesn't live next door said she saw a black animal with something in

[13:49] her mouth with a longtail presumably a rat.

[13:52] » The only place the animal could have come into is the open porch area on the

[13:56] west side upstairs. And no rats nor other pests do. They do

[14:01] not like to eat straw in any way. Hay, yes, but not straw. If it had been the

[14:08] black cat that visits and may have um had a chipmunk in its mouth when

[14:12] dividing bales for structure, we had noticed very small animal trails within

[14:16] some of those bales. And two of us us yesterday swept clean the whole entire

[14:21] area to find absolutely no poop. So there has been no animals that have been

[14:25] in there. I do know of a bird or two and why the [clears throat] neighbor who

[14:30] lives in Memphis allowed to harass the city with numerous phone call complaints

[14:34] and have neighbors read letters from her. She visits every so often and my

[14:38] attorney had commented that perhaps the city is being pressured due to this

[14:41] harassment. That neighbor has been doing this ever since she purchased the place

[14:45] from Perryman and Perryman when um Congressman or Councilman Rupert had

[14:50] vacated his property. My ordinance of 2015-1 has been completely and totally

[14:56] satisfied. We planned on our last burn tomorrow, but I see we have a burn ban.

[15:02] So now it's been postponed. That will be the very very last burn of a pile that

[15:05] we had made. I've always notified the the fire department each and every

[15:10] single time when we've done that before, so they're very aware of what's

[15:13] happened. Uh, best of all, I advertised in several places to give exterior straw

[15:18] bales away from under our black cover in the driveway to be used as mulch for

[15:22] folks to keep their garden warm to no avail. However, this afternoon, I got

[15:25] two calls from that advert advertisement that I put in this afternoon. So,

[15:29] anybody that needs straw bales for your garden, please give me a call. They're

[15:32] all rice bales and they're in fairly good condition. Uh, since the structure

[15:37] itself is well built, both my attorney and the Arkansas State Building and

[15:41] Safety do not know why my building permit was revoked. As my attorney

[15:45] stated, life happens during construction and was sorry to learn that neighboring

[15:48] folks who purchased their homes knowing full well it was a construction site.

[15:52] Um, should show some grace around some traumatic events which I have shared

[15:58] before in another letter. Both my attorney and the attorney and the

[16:02] Arkansas State Building and Safety had not heard of changing a building's

[16:05] permit expiration date. It's a legal document and is typically revoked for

[16:10] substandard construction, which this construction is not. Communication from

[16:15] the city to me has been sorely lacking. Cherokee Village building inspector and

[16:20] I hope to remedy that because there had been no early information at all. It was

[16:25] just ordinance after ordinance and then the permit was revoked with no warning.

[16:30] Um friends are um oh as of last Monday I have made 42 applications of employment

[16:37] the last few months. All but one possible employer directly asked how old

[16:43] I am and what my birth date was. I am now 72 and I've heard absolutely nothing

[16:49] from any of them. It's very disheartening. friends now are helping

[16:54] me with two YouTube channels which uh of which this straw bale project is one of

[16:59] them and another friend has already gone to start writing up the GoFundMe that

[17:03] will be online tomorrow. So I have a list as well for if you're interested of

[17:10] the project chronological times because um Congressman Thomp Thompson had said

[17:15] it was a very long time and indeed it's been three years. Granted, I I do know

[17:20] it's been 3 years when we started and I've been down a whole year because of

[17:23] medical and all the other terrible things that happened with losing even my

[17:27] partner. So, if you'd like to see those, I would be more than happy to give those

[17:31] to you. So, you actually get to see every single thing of the dates and all

[17:35] that other good stuff. So, it's up to you now.

[17:39] I appreciate this. Thank you. Then >> you said you had dates.

[17:43] » Yes, sir. >> If you got you got three.

[17:46] » Yes, sir.

[18:03] We really appreciate this. >> Thank you, ma'am.

[18:11] » Don't send this for me. >> Thank you, mayor.

[18:14] » Mhm. Thank you.

[18:23] » Yeah, if I would.

[18:37] » Hey, Penny, do you want her to leave the copies for them to go in the mailboxes

[18:40] of the others? Would that be easiest if she's got them?

[18:43] » Copies of these.

[18:47] are all scan.

[18:53] » I have one question for you. This this whole project you have starts in 2022,

[19:00] but your house burnt down in 2009. What happened between the time that the house

[19:06] burnt down and this project started? >> I tried to sell it,

[19:10] » but the house the house was in the condition that it's in.

[19:15] So, so this is this actually has started >> after the house burned down, let's say

[19:20] 2009 to now. So, so the residents that have been near you have been dealing

[19:24] with it since 2009, not since >> uh

[19:29] 2022. >> Correct.

[19:32] » Correct. >> Okay. Thank you.

[19:33] » In fact, I live next door to my neighbor in 2009.

[19:44] I make a motion we adjourn. Any other business?

[19:52] » Well, after him. >> Yeah. My name is Tim Sample. I live in

[19:55] Santa Fe. Last time I was here, we discussed the uh situation at 16 Gon

[20:01] where the man and woman is living in a shed.

[20:05] Have you all come to any kind of decision on this? And also I understand

[20:09] that the code department give these people permits to extend this shed and

[20:15] make it you know bring it up to the standards of the Santa Fe which is being

[20:20] raised up and tied down. I'm assuming all that has to come along with it.

[20:24] » How long do these permits last? >> Usually half a year.

[20:28] » You usually >> half a year.

[20:30] » Is it half a year? That was a full year. >> Well, it depends on the permit but

[20:33] usually it's a half a year. >> Yeah. Yeah. depend on it does depend on

[20:36] the permit but most of them are year to year you know it's it it would be in the

[20:41] 26 2026 year you know >> okay so he has all year to start

[20:46] construction on this or >> without the permit I don't know like I

[20:49] said some of them are 6 months some of them are 12 months as long as it's in

[20:52] the same year >> okay all right

[20:55] » yeah it should be on the permit >> well has there been anything done about

[20:58] the situation out there with this gentleman

[21:02] » and and >> I mean allowing him to live in his shed

[21:05] shed. >> Well, you're saying it's a shed. Okay.

[21:09] » You're saying it's a shed, but I got to not a shed. It's a house.

[21:13] » Yeah. >> So,

[21:15] it's apples and oranges. >> Yeah.

[21:17] » All right. It's like having a mini home or or something of that nature. That's a

[21:21] new thing that has >> come out in the United States that

[21:24] people are wanting to do. The state just passed legislation that we're going to

[21:29] look into now about actually having extra small things on a lot that's

[21:34] already owned. So you you say the word shed, but to that

[21:40] person it's a a house, a home. >> It's not a shed, it's a

[21:43] » Okay. >> So So I mean a shed is a little 10 by8

[21:49] little thing in the backyard. Bigger than 10 by eight.

[21:52] » Okay. If this structure was next to your house and you talking to a buddy of

[21:57] yours, you would say that's a shed. [laughter]

[22:00] » It's not a house. >> You You don't understand what I'm

[22:03] » Yeah, I do. I understand. It's a shed that has a bedroom, a bathroom, and a

[22:07] kitchenet. >> It's a person that's trying to be a

[22:10] » It's alternative housing is what they call

[22:12] » alternative housing. And the zoning, you know,

[22:18] » okay, this zone is the whole village. There's so much Cherokee Village that

[22:22] it's that it's hard to know. You're in a uh over there. You're in a um

[22:27] » Santa Fe edition. >> Santa Fe Edition. You have mobile homes

[22:30] and everything else there. >> Yeah. But it doesn't say Santa Fe

[22:34] edition mobile home area and sheds or tiny buildings. Right.

[22:40] » I'm just saying, you know, if I bought a piece of property on Thunderbird and

[22:44] parked this thing next to a $200,000 home, this building would be full of

[22:48] people saying that's a shed. >> But and it's not. It's not. It's out in

[22:54] the middle. >> It's not just sitting on the ground.

[22:57] What about the stipulation of it being tied down?

[23:01] » My understanding is supposed to be tied down next week.

[23:04] » Next week. would have to be jacked up to be tied down, right?

[23:09] » I'm not a construction guy. >> I'm I'm not a construction guy, so I

[23:12] couldn't tell you that. I don't I don't >> So, this guy's going to get to fly with

[23:16] us out there, right? >> Get a petition up and start getting

[23:19] signals. I mean >> I mean

[23:22] » if if I go back in time, I'm from up north Chicago

[23:27] » and back in the 30s and 40s, people would come in and they build the garage

[23:33] and they'd live out of the garage until their house was built.

[23:36] » That >> and that's no bigger than that's no

[23:39] bigger than you're talking about. >> But that's not allowed here, Peter.

[23:43] » It doesn't say it is. >> You can't

[23:45] » It doesn't say it is. It's all gray. Actually, it does say that you can't

[23:50] build a garage first. You have to build the house first. There is

[23:53] » say that >> there is an ordinance that says that

[23:56] » have a res. >> Yes.

[23:58] » Or you can have a home. >> And well, I also I I know that I know

[24:03] that there are things that we the city is talking about doing to incorporate

[24:07] alternative housing. And I'm first of all, I'm very excited about those

[24:11] conversations. But as of now, the letter of the law, there's no, we don't have

[24:16] any provisions for anything other than a mobile home or a sightuilt house.

[24:20] Period. No other types of construction is outlined as acceptable in the

[24:24] village. Now, that can change and it could change, but I don't think being

[24:28] that we know that that permit was issued erroneously that that puts us in a very

[24:33] precarious situation and we can't just because we think it's okay move forward

[24:38] when we know that that issue that permit was not issued correctly. It should

[24:42] never have been issued. >> Exactly. I agree 100%.

[24:45] » And that's Jason Jason here's the deal that uh and I

[24:50] and and I know where the confusion you're getting with Peter. Some people

[24:54] some people's junk is other people's treasures. You call it a shed. You think

[24:58] it's a shed. It is a shed, >> right?

[25:01] » But if it's all they have to live in, >> well, that is their problem. Hold on a

[25:06] minute. I've let you talk. Let me talk. I I'll let you talk. Funny. Let me talk.

[25:11] » It's all they have and that's what they live in. It's their

[25:15] home. They call it their home. They don't call it their shed. They call it

[25:18] their home because it's all they have. So, you're asking me and basically, and

[25:23] maybe I'm taking it too literal. Look, look me in the eye. Are you telling me

[25:26] you want me as the mayor of the city to go over there and put them out in the

[25:29] cold >> until it's 40 foot long, jacked up, tied

[25:33] down, and it meets all the codes that a trailer does? Yes, sir. That's what I'm

[25:39] saying. >> Well, then I'm telling you, as mayor, I

[25:41] will not put a family out in the cold in the winter time.

[25:44] » Well, that's their Okay. Hey, it's election year. This gentleman,

[25:50] this gentleman purchased his property with the ideal, the people he bought it

[25:54] from. >> It should have been called an

[25:55] alternative housing is what it should have been called instead of a

[25:58] » that he could put a trailer on there, a camper RV.

[26:02] » Yes. >> Okay. Code guy told me absolutely not.

[26:05] No way. >> No, we don't.

[26:06] » Okay. He told me, "Call me when he pulls up." So, I called him. He went out

[26:10] there. They moved that RV off the lot. Somebody told this gentleman that he

[26:16] could put that shed or alternative housing there and live in it.

[26:21] » Yes. >> And it's 20 foot long. I mean, come on.

[26:25] Cut me some slack. >> It it it there is no there is no

[26:31] property. There is no square foot shed for Santa Fe edition and rent them out

[26:36] for 500 a bond. >> But that would be nice if we had people

[26:39] in the village. That way we could tax them. So we we have to find ways to

[26:42] bring people into Cherokee Village. And if alternative housing if if alternative

[26:48] housing brings them in and they are taxpayers, then that's going to increase

[26:51] the money that we as Cherokee Village have. And as long as they're taking care

[26:55] of the property, I wouldn't be bitching about it.

[26:59] » That's and and that's where I'm at. >> Chicken coop to live in. And then he

[27:03] went out and bought a brand new shed better than the one he's living in and

[27:08] put out there on blocks. >> Yeah. Both of them are brand new.

[27:12] » Poor man. He can't poor man. Both of them are improved. That's where I'm at.

[27:16] » Yeah. The one we're living in was used. What are

[27:18] » you going to do? They're trying. >> It had a hole cut in the back of it for

[27:21] the chickens running. >> Taking care of the property. I

[27:24] » had a home out there. I live in Long

[27:28] » and I mean it way up there. And now when I walk out my door, I look at that.

[27:34] » But the appraisal means nothing until the the the house is sold. you were

[27:38] living next to us. >> Yeah, I probably

[27:40] » Hey, mayor. Mayor, do you know if cuz this all came up last month, the same

[27:45] story. Do we know or did we ask Charlie to find out was um

[27:50] » the electrical the electrical was put in by a licensed contractor has been

[27:53] inspected. The plumbing was put in by a licensed plumber and was inspected. The

[27:57] water department is supplying them a water service to a home. They have

[28:03] sewer. They have trash disposal >> occupancy permit. They have

[28:07] I've never I don't know about occupancy permits that stuff. You know what

[28:14] » this is? This is this is like what we was talking about. One of the one of the

[28:18] persons come up and talked about the houses on Phatton.

[28:22] » Yeah. >> Literally we had we we wrote some you

[28:25] know the code enforcement guy went out wrote tickets and I know he's he's done

[28:28] it throughout the year but we wrote tickets for maintenance of properties

[28:31] last February that we still can't get adjudicated in court. shouldn't have to

[28:36] go for it. >> It should what?

[28:39] » No. If people's yards are junked up, you should be able to go up there and tell

[28:43] » That's not the way the law >> That's not the way the law works.

[28:46] » You have authority to do that. Everybody Every every person gets their every

[28:50] person gets their day in court. >> Going to have to clean it up.

[28:54] » That's That's That to me, you're talking about government overreach, and I'm not

[28:58] about government overreach. Everybody deserves the the due process of law.

[29:02] » That years ago, what did they do? How come it didn't look like it used to

[29:06] look? >> Because after 42 years,

[29:09] » because because if you want to know the truth, and I'll just put it out there,

[29:13] irresponsible people don't take care of their premises or their pets anymore.

[29:18] » Then why don't the judge make them do it?

[29:21] » Elect better judges. It's an election year.

[29:23] » Yeah, >> you have choices.

[29:26] » Why was the issued in the first place? I

[29:30] » why building >> I can't answer why it was issued. I just

[29:35] can say that it was issued.

[29:39] » I can't ask you why it was issued. I know it was issued. It was issued for a

[29:43] shed. It probably should have been It more than likely should have been issued

[29:47] for alternative housing. >> Well, I can tell you why it was issued

[29:51] because the code people said that Santa Fe had been reszoned. They can't reszone

[29:56] that without the residents knowledge. >> And breaking the law.

[30:01] » I personally drove out there and I've looked looked at it and I drove around

[30:05] guy and >> I mean, yeah, it's a you know, it's a

[30:08] small house on a piece of property. He's he's he had it's a it's a lot cleaner

[30:14] than the three trailers at the end of the road.

[30:16] » Well, that's Gary Lawrence's problem >> there. That's a problem all in. But my

[30:21] my deal is this act 313 which brought this all about

[30:26] » which has states right in there. There must be an existing residence on that

[30:30] property before you can put a shed out there on mother-in-law.

[30:35] » That act is not applicable to what this is.

[30:37] » Okay. There is no existing residence. It was a drug house. It burnt down.

[30:42] » This act doesn't that act has nothing to do with that. It's not it it doesn't

[30:46] hold it. Again, that is that is why that is why the clerk said that she that the

[30:51] permit was issued was because of her interpretation of house that house bill,

[30:57] which we've determined it's incorrect. So, we're we're kicking this can down

[31:01] the road kind of like playing a game of repeat and repeat when at the end of the

[31:06] day it was issued erroneously. It should have never been issued and the

[31:10] interpretation of the bill was incorrect. So, now what are we going to

[31:14] do to fix it? >> Exactly. Well,

[31:16] » I agree with those two 100%. >> Well, then Jason, you'll have to take

[31:20] over being the person that's going to evict

[31:24] everything is to gaslight everybody the minute someone challenges you to swing

[31:28] around like we're villains that we're doing something wrong.

[31:30] » So, tell me what you want done. >> You want You want to know?

[31:33] » Tell me. >> We need

[31:35] » It's an election year. I hope you're announcing for mayor.

[31:38] » We need We need to revoke the permit. We need to either We either need We need to

[31:42] revoke the permit. We're creating liability that we do not need. We are we

[31:46] are setting a precedent. We're setting for the city. Okay. How?

[31:50] » Because what do you think? >> What do you think's going to happen?

[31:54] What do you think's going to happen when they when they challenge their bill of

[31:57] assurance? >> Go to court

[32:00] and then and then they're going to look back. They're going to look back and see

[32:05] that we issued a permit outside of our own ordinance.

[32:08] » Mhm. >> And which put them in that position. And

[32:11] then what do you think's going to happen? I hate that I'm having to

[32:14] connect put these dots so close together like I'm some kind of monster. I'm just

[32:18] trying to look out for the city. This is not good. And things like this fall into

[32:22] the cracks and just get kicked down the road and gas lit and we we blow it up

[32:27] into something. It's very simple. It should have never been issued. It needs

[32:30] to be revoked. >> Exactly. Well,

[32:33] » and it doesn't make me a monster. I'm not an animal. I understand what the

[32:37] what the ramifications are, but I mean, we can't we've set a precedent that

[32:42] until we decide as a city where we want alternative housing to go, we can't just

[32:48] arbitrarily pick a lot, make an exception, and then tell everyone to get

[32:51] over it. That is not how it works. >> Right.

[32:54] » You got my

[33:00] motion. >> Do you want the job right now?

[33:03] » Don't Don't start that. I made a motion we adjourn.

[33:07] » Yeah, we're just arguing back and forth. It's not going to be anything settled

[33:11] tonight. >> The the needs of the many outweigh the

[33:13] needs of the one or the few. I'm sorry. >> Well, I just I don't know. I'm sorry.

[33:19] We're we're in an impass that I can't get by because I I know you're you're

[33:24] saying it in this fancy words that I can't comprehend in my redneck mind

[33:28] saying that we're going to revoke their permit and we're going to we're going to

[33:33] revoke their permit. Well, so what are they supposed to do?

[33:37] » I and and that that this community, the one thing that we do really well is we

[33:41] do rally around people that need help. And that's all I'm saying. We can figure

[33:45] something else out, but I just it sets a precedent that is dangerous. And we're

[33:50] not in a position as a city to take on any more liability or any more of these

[33:54] types of an issue. And we've got to get that department educated on what how to

[33:58] do their job and how to do it effectively because this is not working.

[34:02] » They have ample. Why don't they put it in the trailer department so they can

[34:06] come and go with it? I'd rather see the camper, the RV. They can close it in and

[34:11] strap it down and they can live there. I don't see no junker campers, but I don't

[34:16] live with a camper. That's nice. >> I know I know a city down the road at

[34:21] Cave City had a uh they had a city ordinance about I believe it was 10

[34:27] years old. They you couldn't move an art a mobile home into the city. was more

[34:32] than 10 years old at the time it was put up and uh that they got taken to court

[34:36] and the city lost because you're the city was creating a financial hardship

[34:41] on an individual so the city lost

[34:48] » yeah but I'm just saying that the way the laws are going right now

[34:51] » I know >> most of the time the cities lose

[34:55] » two or three trailers come into the Santa Fe that had I mean they look like

[35:00] they got them from a junkyard and Cherokee Village made them out

[35:05] » cuz we had enough that looked like that already without bringing them in.

[35:09] » Yeah, I don't know about that. Not since I've been here.

[35:12] » Yeah, not since I've been here. But >> three of them.

[35:15] » Well, oh anyway, that's

[35:21] no more. >> No, no, I know. No, that's said people

[35:26] will sue for anything now. Most of the time they win.

[35:30] » Amen. I mean,

[35:35] » well, you can you can vote anybody you want, but the problem is, first of all,

[35:40] we don't have enough revenue to run the village. The village is too big, and

[35:44] people have to get together one of these days and decide what Cherokee Village is

[35:48] because there's too much land mass. There's too many things going on out in

[35:52] the middle of now place. So, that's the first thing. Cherokee Village has to

[35:55] decide what it is. Then it has to decide what kind of rules and what kind of

[35:59] standards it's going to have because the other thing that could happen that

[36:03] people have been saying is we could unanic we could we could abolish

[36:08] Cherokee Village just as easy. >> And a lot of people said let's go back

[36:11] to SID and I hear a lot of that too. So Cherokee Village cannot all live to the

[36:18] standard of a person that's sitting up on u like Thunderbird. They can't.

[36:23] They're not that. There's a lot of people by by me that are young kids,

[36:27] young adults coming in and trying to have a living, trying to get by, trying

[36:32] to live with with what means they have. They find a cheap house they can pick up

[36:36] for $30, $40,000 and they move in and it has all sorts of

[36:41] problems cuz they were built back in the 60s. And a lot of those houses back in

[36:45] the 60s don't have drywall in them. All they have is u

[36:49] » paneling in them and stuff. But they're they're living in their and they're

[36:53] moving, which this building that you're calling uh a garage or shed probably has

[36:59] drywall in it. It probably is set up a lot nicer than some of those are.

[37:02] » I don't care if it's got marble ceilings in it. Is a 12x 20 shed. I mean,

[37:10] » and I I'm I'm coming from the thing I'm coming from the thing of affordability.

[37:15] If they're if they're a good citizen in Cherokee Village, I want to do anything

[37:20] I can to help the citizen out. >> Well, I've been here 43 years and I'm

[37:23] not a good citizen because I'm bitching about this.

[37:26] » No, no. It it's what what has to happen is people have to sit down and discuss

[37:32] what Cherokee Village is going to be. That hasn't been done since we were

[37:36] created. What that is, >> Peter? There's there's rules that

[37:40] planning and zoning >> planning and zoning doesn't know what

[37:44] the heck planning and zoning is doing. And that has been like that for over 10

[37:47] years. >> Okay, then quit

[37:48] » for over 10 years. >> Let Let her let her finish

[37:51] » and quit yelling at me through your mask. Um

[37:55] » I I go without a mask. I'm just being polite.

[37:58] » Well, I mean, I'm right here. You don't have to yell. The point is you have your

[38:04] thoughts about the shed and he has his thoughts but the bottom line is that the

[38:08] permit should have never gotten given to the people and that's where the that's

[38:13] the original problem of this whole thing is. So then what we do is like what do

[38:18] we do now? It's not the kicking out or the telling whatever it's the problem is

[38:24] is that permit from our department should have never been given. So, what

[38:30] do we do? Because we gave out a permit that we shouldn't have. And that's what

[38:34] the solution. That's what we got to come up with that answer.

[38:37] » We did. You guys put a hold on all permits on structures under 1,000 square

[38:41] ft. And we can't issue them without they coming to the city council for approve.

[38:47] » Still, that takes care of future problems. It doesn't take care of the

[38:50] problem with the guy that got the permit and that he shouldn't have. I'm saying

[38:53] we still got to we still got to figure out how

[38:55] » we rectifi we rectified the problem moving forward.

[38:59] » But then I think the problem you already have

[39:02] » we got a lot of problems. Have you seen the latest that's going on with SID?

[39:05] » Well, we lost but the problem right now is affecting you live there for 40 years

[39:12] and take pride in and I appreciate that because a lot of

[39:16] people don't anymore. >> They don't. I want to go I want to say

[39:19] that I also do agree with Peter that the the village does need to come together

[39:25] and decide exactly what it wants to do and wants to be long term. Peter's

[39:30] exactly right because in current form we're too big to be small, too small to

[39:34] be big. We are a town whether or not anyone likes it or not. We are a town.

[39:39] We are the largest town within Sharp or Fulton counties. yet we we have the

[39:44] resources of the smallest. And all that to say, he is exactly right. And um his

[39:50] his um position on the this alternative housing out there, I think honestly is

[39:56] the perfect position as to why we do need to look at lots in the village and

[40:00] sections of the village and determine those sections for this type of house.

[40:05] So, if you pull up to this section and you want to um get a bald eagle building

[40:11] and you want to convert it to a home, you and your neighbors and your

[40:15] neighbor's neighbor and your neighbor's neighbor are all doing the same thing.

[40:18] And when you look out your front door, you're seeing what is seeing exactly

[40:23] what you've got. And that is that is what we owe this that's what we owe the

[40:27] citizens is when you walk out your door, you're you're looking at similar and

[40:32] like because we are incorporated. We're not unincorporated. We're not rural. We

[40:37] have ordinances. And that's that's the only thing I'm saying because I agree.

[40:40] We need to look at the village and think about ways to bring people in and make

[40:45] it bigger. >> The grant was for and everything that

[40:49] they had to look at the future of Cherokee Village.

[40:52] » That that was more of a wishful dream that was done. They didn't do anything

[40:59] to do any uh substructure. nothing's done about uh sewers and we have to

[41:06] start thinking about that. >> Uh there's there's no infrastructure or

[41:10] anything that was there. It went to a planner and they

[41:15] they came up with some pretty stuff that nobody is going to do because nobody has

[41:20] the money to do that. >> So it was money wasted.

[41:24] » It was not money wasted. >> It was a lot of money wasted.

[41:27] » No, it was not. That's your opinion. But if you don't have rules, where are you

[41:32] going to start? >> That was a pipe dream.

[41:36] » Yeah. >> We have no dream. We have nothing. We

[41:39] have shoot it here, shoot it there. Do what you want because my freedom is

[41:44] important. >> Or I'm going to do what I want to do

[41:48] because guess what? Cuz I because Cherokee Village will let me get away

[41:52] with it. Why do we have rules? >> Cherokee Villagees cuz if you don't want

[41:56] them, take them off the book. And I agree with you. Let's take them off the

[42:00] books because all that should be all all the only thing that should be there is

[42:05] safety issues that are on the state books right now. That's all that should

[42:09] be there right now. Safety >> issues and health codes enforced when

[42:14] this building went up. >> But we can't enforce any

[42:17] » were they did we you have to inspect what you expect and

[42:23] we're not inspecting. They're just letting people do whatever the hell they

[42:27] want. And that's why you're going to have a city. Mr. Low is correct. You

[42:33] want to have consistency. I don't want to live next door to my house and have

[42:38] my neighbor put up a shed that has people in it.

[42:44] Okay, that shouldn't be allowed. >> That's already been happening in the

[42:49] village. It already has been happening. >> And why are you going to allow it in the

[42:53] future? because this person is is immigrant and and and poor and needs and

[42:59] getting their life together. Well, I am getting my life together. A lot of

[43:04] people in this room are getting their life together, too. And we want

[43:08] consistency out of the city, and we're not getting

[43:12] it. We can't even pave the freaking roads,

[43:16] let alone consistency. How many people do we have on the road department right

[43:20] now? Do we have six full-time employees, or we still down to three?

[43:25] There's too much Cherokee Village and that's the only thing I can say and I

[43:30] think >> that there's a lot of good ideas. All

[43:33] right, but Cherokee Village has [clears throat] got to sit down and

[43:36] decide what it wants to do. One instance is maybe we take and separate from Sharp

[43:43] County from uh the other county >> and that would and that would make us

[43:47] smaller which would get us grants and would would put us in a place where we

[43:53] might be able to do something. So if the city splits like you know Little Rock

[43:58] split you know that's an idea but if we don't sit down and have meetings and

[44:04] discuss these ideas not something online you know we have to sit down as a

[44:09] community and start planning our community cuz Cooper's going

[44:13] » you want to set a date >> when when Cooper left

[44:15] » a date because it's just political rhetoric Peter

[44:18] » it's it's not rhetoric >> I've been I've been I've been saying

[44:23] this stuff 20 years ago when I came in here 20 years ago and I got the

[44:29] recordings to prove it. I've been saying the same thing. We need to plan. We need

[44:33] to plan and planning and zoning has not planned. It has no long-term plans. And

[44:39] that's the problem with the city. Every time we have a regime change, things

[44:43] change. But the citizens, depending on where you live, if you're living on a

[44:48] lake and you got a third $300,000 or a million dollar house,

[44:53] don't, you know, leave us alone. But if you're out there with the old community

[44:57] when when Cooper uh left, buildings went under, you got the young kids coming and

[45:03] picking up. We don't have section 8 in the in the community yet, but we got the

[45:08] younger people trying to get by, people uh working for a living and and and

[45:13] really pushing it. And we're the only community that has this multitude of of

[45:20] rules. Harvey doesn't have it like this. Highland doesn't have it like this.

[45:24] They're booming. Ash Flat doesn't have the rules that we have and they're

[45:28] booming. So >> commercial property

[45:33] » and and that's because that's the way Cooper made it. Cooper didn't we were

[45:38] just a >> we what? Right. Right. So we're living

[45:41] on the cotell of what Cooper had and it's not working for us.

[45:46] » Screw the past. Let's talk about what we're going to do tomorrow. Okay.

[45:51] » And that's what needs to be done >> of always going backwards and going well

[45:56] could have would have should have. But that's what you're right that needs to

[46:00] be done. >> An action plan, Peter.

[46:03] » Well, there you go. >> Where are we going as a community?

[46:06] Because you got serious financial problems

[46:09] » problems. Yes. >> And you need you need to attract people

[46:13] here right now. And worrying about the past isn't going to get new people here.

[46:19] » Correct. >> A new plan might get new people here.

[46:23] » Correct. >> But we have no plans at all. Correct.

[46:26] when we depend on >> and we can't enforce the plans we have

[46:30] » and everyone else and guess what I really don't give a damn about those

[46:34] people. I give a damn about how this city is going to be performing and

[46:39] progressing in the future. >> Yeah, I agree with you 100%. We need

[46:46] this. No, we need an action plan which is going to require the entire council

[46:51] and the mayor to go >> what do other cities do that are

[46:55] successful? >> But no, you can't go around other cities

[46:58] cuz we don't have the same thing other cities have. Other cities have a

[47:02] downtown. Other cities have a a place where you can do business. What

[47:06] happened? We had a place we could do business and now a church is sitting

[47:09] there. We lost a retail opportunity to a church. Not that I have anything against

[47:14] church, but they could have had that building off the main street and just

[47:18] put a big sign up there and left it for retail.

[47:21] » But there's there's no plan. No business is going to move here if there's

[47:26] correct. You are 100% you are 100% right.

[47:32] » Mhm. >> And but then

[47:34] » and no one will approve the tax increase. No.

[47:37] » So there you go. There you go. >> The school's been trying to do it. The

[47:41] city's tried three times to do it. the schools tried six times to do it. So,

[47:46] you got to look for alternatives. Uh the lawyer and I

[47:51] are are working on one. And that one, I'll announce it now, is everybody with

[47:57] the little vehicles that are on the street that aren't licensed. Well, they

[48:01] should start being paid uh paying for a license so we can get some revenue for

[48:04] the uh street department because we have stuff to to work with which we get a

[48:11] turn back from the state but we don't we can't spend any money on the employees

[48:16] and the retirement or anything like that until we get another revenue source in

[48:20] because that got lost. Sorry, I'm going back to the past when the lawsuit

[48:25] happened with SID because part of SID's responsibility was to provide funding

[48:31] for the roads and streets and to provide for a fire department. That was in their

[48:36] original >> paperwork. That got blown away and

[48:41] that's why we're in a deficit now. So now we have to have creative thinkers

[48:46] not thinking in the same, you know, not going down the same route.

[48:51] We're going to go for taxes, we're going to go for tax. Let's find ways to

[48:56] exploit what we can in Cherokee Village or or bring revenue in. And until we

[49:02] have a sit down, >> how do we go about all this? I mean, if

[49:07] if we're all if we get the whole community in here one night and we have

[49:10] a discussion like this, which actually is very good if you ask me, it's a good

[49:13] discussion without the >> Yeah.

[49:17] But do we bring ideas to the city or does the city and the planning and

[49:22] zoning and all the departments and everything like that? Do they come to

[49:26] this community with the plan? Well, how do you move? How do you

[49:30] » The the thing of it I think is first of all discussion like this. Maybe we

[49:36] should quarterly for for nothing better than quarterly have a citywide meeting

[49:42] and we all get together and the topic is how to make Cherokee Village a vibrant

[49:48] town. Let's just give it >> the village people to come. It's at

[49:52] night. Most of them are seniors. Well, see

[49:56] » when when do you find a time or find a place or a way to tell all of them and

[50:02] yet I understand the whole online thing. There are

[50:05] » lots of them don't have any idea what online is

[50:10] get to them and tell them look we're going to have a community meeting and we

[50:13] want everybody to come if possible. It would be wonderful but how do you do it?

[50:19] » Put out flyers. >> Put out flyers is one way. putting a

[50:23] bailing is another way. And yet the buffalo, but the benefits for the

[50:27] benefit are tfold. >> You have everybody here.

[50:31] » Well, somebody's got to spearhead it is what it boils down to. And it's no

[50:34] different than us having the economic exploration committee. And we openly

[50:38] invited people to come. We openly asked for opinions. We told them it was a

[50:42] broad objective. It was talking about tax incentives, um, revenues coming in,

[50:50] all kinds of subjects, which to me falls handinhand with everything we've been

[50:54] talking about for 20 minutes. >> Mhm.

[50:56] » And at the very most, we might have had at the most we might have had four

[51:01] guests show up to our committee, the last six months of the last six

[51:06] months of 2025. So, it's just going to take somebody spearheading, somebody

[51:13] gathering phone numbers and names who want to be a part. Then those 10 people

[51:17] try to contact 10 more of their people that they know are on the same page as

[51:21] them and and come together. But it's going to take leadership, somebody

[51:25] taking it by the reigns or three people taking it by the reigns and and making

[51:30] that happen. This is all good, but you know, and and how do we do it? Is it

[51:35] community involved? Is the council steering it? It doesn't matter. I mean,

[51:38] you come together and make those decisions together as a group and and

[51:41] move on. But somebody's got to fall on the sword and be the guy

[51:47] » and >> or the girl to be able to get the word

[51:50] out. I did not I was not on top. >> It's it was on the computer. It got

[51:55] announced at I did not get the paper. I look online for stuff,

[52:00] » but it's not part of the city. >> It's the same place that you find out

[52:04] about these meetings. It was in every city council meeting,

[52:07] » but communication can always get better around here for for sure.

[52:10] » Any public meeting is posted outside. It's posted on the Facebook

[52:17] page. It's posted on the website shaking his head because it's sent to all of the

[52:23] media. So, that's the only thing. We've hit every way that we can put it out

[52:28] there >> as fast as we can to get it out there.

[52:32] Now, if somebody wants to do flyers and you guys drive around and do all this,

[52:37] that's great. But we've hit every and that is done for every public meeting.

[52:42] » Okay. Why don't we start Why don't we start today? Penny gets a blank sheet of

[52:46] paper. Anyone that's here, get your name and number on that so that maybe by word

[52:52] of mouth and talking about this and and and people listening to this after

[52:56] tonight's over with, somebody might want to say, "You know what? let me take a

[53:00] hold of that list and let's add to it and maybe first part of the year someone

[53:07] can decide I mean it's no different than we were waiting on after budget uh after

[53:13] we finish the budget our economic exploration committee was going to

[53:16] restart in 2026 so it could be kind of a spin-off of that instead of having a

[53:22] bunch of committees or not call it a committee if you don't want it an

[53:26] official committee we don't have to I mean we can still all meet without it

[53:29] being an official committee. So if y'all want to get that's could be the starting

[53:33] point is get everyone's name and number from tonight and then

[53:37] » but what could happen is if something was decided before September. No,

[53:45] we could possibly put it on a a question on the ballot so that people can vote on

[53:51] this is what we're going to do with Cherokee Village instead of just being

[53:54] this word of mouth thing. You don't tell people that you're going to do it. You

[54:00] say, "What are your suggestions?" You start.

[54:01] » Well, well, I'm I'm saying >> this. No, no. I'm saying we we we come

[54:06] up with a plan, but every two years the ballot comes up and we and it could be

[54:11] put on a ballot. It doesn't matter >> or a survey or a survey at the at the

[54:15] right, you But I mean, there's all sorts of questions put on the ballot uh when

[54:20] we vote and and you could say yes or no to it and that way we'll get a response

[54:26] from the people of Cherokee Village at election time.

[54:30] » So I mean, but this is something that that should start. I mean,

[54:35] » I've I've been in politics most of my life. My family's been in politics. When

[54:42] my family gets together, I say this a number of times, that's all we talk

[54:46] about is is is things and and how cities work and how uh municipalities work. And

[54:53] there's several different kinds. And I have fire chiefs in my family. I have um

[55:00] people that used to work on water departments in my family. So, we have

[55:05] been a service family. That's what we've done. My dad did it from 1963 to 1997.

[55:11] and the community he worked for um you know has garbage pickup for free because

[55:18] uh they thought about it when they were looking for a transfer station. So they

[55:21] said yeah our little community will take the transfer station and look now they

[55:25] have free garbage pickup because they got the transfer station in their

[55:28] community. if you got to start planning and that's

[55:32] the problem. We go from administration to administration

[55:36] and there is no consistency and that's that's that's what I see here

[55:42] in Cherokee Village. That's that's that's

[55:45] that is a difficult thing. Yes, sir. Sorry.

[55:48] » One thing that's consistent is we are organized with our articles of

[55:52] incorporation of the state of Arkansas. >> Okay.

[55:55] » We are officially a city. We are a small city and we have a lot of challenges and

[56:00] we know that. But we need to follow our rules and our ordinances and our laws,

[56:04] the structure that we've got and the hand that we're dealt. And I'm sure

[56:07] we've made some mistakes in the past, but we need to stick with following the

[56:12] rules and the laws and the organizational plan put forth as a city

[56:17] and be very careful to do our eyes, cross our tees moving forward so that we

[56:22] don't have these little breakdowns of planning and zoning and permitting and

[56:27] who's got a house and who's got a shed. I mean, we've got a couple hot button

[56:31] issues we have to deal with, and I'm hopefully we can move forward and deal

[56:35] with those sooner than later, but we just have to be as a community and as

[56:40] citizens, as a legislative body here, we've got to be looking at the future in

[56:45] all aspects. >> Correct.

[56:46] » I mean, this is the hand we're dealt. We've got 5,000 happy campers who call

[56:50] Cherokee Village their home. We have to try some way to reach them all, have our

[56:57] meetings at the right time of day. And I'm

[56:59] happy with 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. You got people that work, you got people that

[57:03] retired, you kind of have to go where the most people.

[57:07] » But what I want to just emphasize is that we have to follow the rules and do

[57:12] our best. If we make a mistake, that's up to it. Try to correct it and do it

[57:17] sooner than later so we don't have this burden of this millstone around our neck

[57:23] that is just dragging us backwards every time we have a meeting. So after tonight

[57:29] when we get a quorum, we can move forward. Let's please as a body and this

[57:33] community make some decisions that are going to be to the benefit of the entire

[57:38] community and help these people that are a little bit outside of the rules and

[57:42] regulations help them fall into the into doing things right. In my position as

[57:49] the director of community compliance for my company, I have the unsavory job of

[57:53] evicting people from where they live. I do not like making people homeless. But

[57:58] within the structure and the laws and the organizational things that we have

[58:02] in the communities that I manage, that is part of life.

[58:07] » That is part of life. We have to be adults. We have to come to grips with

[58:10] what life is. And we need to deal with it. And as as good, God-fearing citizens

[58:16] in this part of the country, we can help people out that are hurting. We can help

[58:20] them find resources and help them as a community get around some of these

[58:24] challenges. But we don't want to start bending law or breaking the law. We're

[58:29] going to set a precedent that is going to be haunting us as we go down the road

[58:33] in the future. We need to stay on task, follow our rules, our ordinances, and

[58:39] make sure that we treat everybody fairly and equitably at that point.

[58:44] » Thank you.

[58:50] Mayor, can I say something? >> Peter, in your words, you said something

[58:56] » when I >> that I took very offensive, but you're

[58:59] not even listening. >> So, sorry. I was

[59:03] » Say that again, Penny. Sorry. >> I said you said something that I took

[59:07] very offensive when you sat there and said that the people that live on the

[59:13] lake and their $300,000 just don't bother me. Excuse me, but I do care. And

[59:20] don't put people in classes because I don't know why you did. But that was

[59:26] » No, I live on. >> That was totally rude and inappropriate

[59:30] to speak out. >> I don't why I don't know. You don't live

[59:35] on Lake Thunderbird. >> You didn't say like Thunderbird.

[59:38] » But this isn't the This isn't about halves and have nots,

[59:42] » right? You you you can but you could see it in the city is my

[59:46] » there's no ifs abouts about its whether it's a little house you said that's fine

[59:52] that's a little house whether I live on Thunderberg whether I live on Janud or I

[59:56] live up in Timbuktu that doesn't matter we as people still care

[1:00:02] » everybody no matter

[1:00:07] » and I apologize if I offended but I didn't mean it in that partic I was

[1:00:11] there's a different mindset from a person that's got a million dollars than

[1:00:15] a person that has no income. >> And and there is a different there there

[1:00:19] is a different mindset there. And I've seen it. I've I've I've known lots of

[1:00:23] millionaires in my life and I've known lots of really poor people in my life.

[1:00:27] So there there is a mindset where a person with a lot of money goes, "Well,

[1:00:32] let's just raise taxes." But they can't think about the poor little guy that

[1:00:35] can't afford the taxes. We have a a lady here that's trying to get a house up and

[1:00:40] she's gone through a lot of things and she just can't afford to knock down a

[1:00:45] $200,000 to get a project done. So, I mean, that's Cherokee Village is too big

[1:00:52] and we have to figure a way to to make it like you said that we're

[1:00:58] following the law, [clears throat]

[1:01:03] but we have to find a way to bring people here

[1:01:07] to increase our revenue because our only revenue is basically the taxpayers.

[1:01:13] » The growth of our community is a multiaceted problem. Yes,

[1:01:17] » there's short-term solutions, midterm solutions, and long solutions

[1:01:21] » for attracting people, attracting business, and fostering community

[1:01:24] growth. >> You can't flip a switch and make things

[1:01:27] happen overnight. Correct. >> We have to sit, think, talk, and

[1:01:31] strategize how we're going to get our community to survive, how we're going to

[1:01:35] get it to thrive. And I think if we're just all patient, and keep moving

[1:01:39] forward, we're going to get there. But it's not going to happen in 2026. It's

[1:01:45] not going to happen in 2027. It's going to be slow growth. The slow

[1:01:49] growth is better than no growth. >> And we have to be open to ways to where

[1:01:53] we can attract more business to build our tax base.

[1:01:57] » That means reszoning some of our lots, reszoning some of our land, taking

[1:02:01] advantage of the things that are right in front of us. But oh, that's never

[1:02:04] been done before. Let's think outside the box and try to do some things

[1:02:08] strategically that can improve the situation. And when Mr. Cooper developed

[1:02:14] our sleepy little bedroom community. He didn't do us any favors by not having

[1:02:18] any zone business land or enough business land and being off the highway.

[1:02:24] It's the hand we're dealt and we're going to have to create it and it's

[1:02:27] going to be >> we're going to have to focus for quite a

[1:02:30] while to get where we're going. >> All right. So, all of those topics that

[1:02:33] you just discussed are is what we discussed in the economic exploration

[1:02:37] committee. So, like I said, if y'all give y'all want to give at the very

[1:02:41] least if you want to give Penny your names and numbers, I can let you know

[1:02:45] when that committee meets. And if that committee turns into a larger community,

[1:02:51] we want to call it something different, then so be it. But everything that he

[1:02:55] just said and all the other things I just said are all the things that we

[1:02:58] talk about in that committee. So, it covers a broad spectrum.

[1:03:01] » Rename it the Trickyville Steering Committee. And then one other thing too,

[1:03:06] thinking about how to um really make sure that our all of our seniors who

[1:03:10] don't have computers or um are learned and I'm I'm not even trying to be funny,

[1:03:14] but carols go to carols. Have a committee of volunteers that literally

[1:03:19] have flyers and are just parked at carols for the day or a couple days and

[1:03:24] just >> Yeah. just and literally just like go up

[1:03:27] to greet them and make sure they know that we have this economic development

[1:03:31] committee and we're looking at you know ways to grow and they may not be

[1:03:35] interested but they may be interested and that may be how they find out. So

[1:03:39] just a suggestion there >> all of those notices are put outside too

[1:03:42] between here and the senior center >> everything that way

[1:03:46] » all you have to do is walk out there because we know some people don't have

[1:03:49] computers they don't >> so we do put it there

[1:03:53] » Miss Hannah's had her arm up for a little bit I would venture to say that a

[1:03:57] good percentage of the residents here don't have a clue that we're in trouble

[1:04:02] truly and and I don't know the survey sounds good but if we put out an AP that

[1:04:10] you know we are in trouble we'd like your opinions

[1:04:14] we need some help got any great ideas you know by soliciting more I love the

[1:04:20] idea about carols by the way that would be great with them with them writing

[1:04:23] even things in carols ideas and shove it in a box. But that

[1:04:28] most people here don't know in these look who's

[1:04:34] » well it's got to be grassroots advertising. So my 10 people have to

[1:04:39] contact 10 of their people and it's got a

[1:04:42] » and ask for their help. >> Yeah. Literally. Hey, believe me,

[1:04:47] » cuz we have I know we have a wealth of people here with wonderful businesses

[1:04:51] that they've had and certainly they've got a lot of spot, you know, with

[1:04:55] regards to what they could provide for us in ideas and and changing things.

[1:05:01] I didn't know that we were in trouble till I started coming here to my own my

[1:05:05] own case. I didn't know I didn't even know we've had enough

[1:05:15] » maybe three times except a lot of people don't want to

[1:05:20] move because of all the rules and that >> over and over and over and I think

[1:05:25] that's

[1:05:28] different I'm just sharing

[1:05:33] » well I I'm hoping for more positiveness negative ative rhetoric uh on Facebook

[1:05:38] or online is not helping this community out at all. I mean, it's the negativity

[1:05:44] is reaching Memphis. It's reaching Jonesboro. It's reaching Little Rock.

[1:05:47] And it's reaching people who didn't even ask to see that on their phone. It just

[1:05:52] randomly pops up. Then they click on it and then they happen to maybe know

[1:05:58] somebody maybe that lived here. And then they call that person and says, "What's

[1:06:02] going on?" And heaven forbid if they were anybody

[1:06:05] who thought about coming here in the next 5 years to retire or have a

[1:06:10] vacation home or whatever. So this group and this count council I mean we have

[1:06:16] got to all get together on being positive and proactive. And I'm not

[1:06:21] saying that that bad things don't happen or negative things don't happen but I

[1:06:27] mean we need to be a a glass half full not half empty here. Right. So,

[1:06:33] » we just need to be grateful that we have >> Yes.

[1:06:36] » Well, I'd like to uh motion for adjournment and I'd like to thank

[1:06:41] everybody because this is better than the regular meeting, I think, so far.

[1:06:44] » Yeah. >> This has been very informative.

[1:06:47] » Yeah, this is the most public attendance I've seen.

[1:06:49] » Oh, I do want to say this with uh the Can I have these? I wanted her to pass

[1:06:53] them on to Charlie, but just to remind you, I've said this before in a council

[1:06:57] meeting, go to the Cherokee Village website, go under planning and zoning,

[1:07:02] click on that, then you can click on being able to do a court enforcement

[1:07:08] um complaint and and Robert gets that every single

[1:07:13] day. I mean, you could wear it out. I mean, if you want to be going on a

[1:07:16] Sunday drive and find 10 houses that you don't like, then do it and put it in the

[1:07:21] planning and zoning complaint box. >> But the other thing to that is start

[1:07:25] coming to courts on Fridays and watch what the judge does.

[1:07:30] » Yeah, it's it's only two judge. >> It's split. There's it's we're split

[1:07:33] district. It's two judge. It's the uh Mark Johnson and is it Alex? Yeah, Alex

[1:07:39] bigger. But but pay attention to how the judges

[1:07:43] dole out their justice or >> or support the audience and advocate for

[1:07:48] your village. >> Yes. Cuz the mayor the mayor did say

[1:07:51] something earlier and I didn't get to to amen him but the the other issue is is

[1:07:57] that citations are being issued, warnings are being issued. uh we are

[1:08:02] following a procedure in house but once it reaches the point to the next step is

[1:08:07] going before a judge um more often times than not that is where that is where the

[1:08:13] ball gets dropped um so that's very important to figure out who the judges

[1:08:18] are it is an election year advocate write letters send emails I know that's

[1:08:24] a lot of work it shouldn't take in one sense it shouldn't take all of that but

[1:08:28] in another sense the squeaky wheel gets the grease

[1:08:31] So, I encourage you to to find that out. But we do have a process in place. We

[1:08:37] just need to work the process. But it does hit kind of a it hits a wall. And

[1:08:43] the wall, unfortunately, is the >> Friday morning.

[1:08:46] » It'll be next next >> is it once a month. Mayor, when is it?

[1:08:50] » It's next Friday. Usually >> Yeah.

[1:08:52] » Yes. In this room, usually it's the Friday after a council meeting, but

[1:08:56] because of the month and the holiday being Monday, it's it'll be next Friday.

[1:09:00] It's not like a particular Friday of the month. It's just like a scheduled date.

[1:09:04] » It's usually always the third Friday of the month.

[1:09:07] » Friday. >> Oh,

[1:09:08] » but but with the holiday Monday holiday, they moved it back a week.

[1:09:12] » Gotcha. >> I second I second your motion.

[1:09:17] » Motion to adjurnn. Second. >> All in favor?

[1:09:21] There we

Cherokee Village City Council Meeting January 15th, 2026

Transcript