[4:01] We'll go ahead and begin. I welcome each

[4:03] and every one of you to this afternoon's

[4:05] meeting or early evening meeting, the

[4:07] 16th meeting of the year uh for 2026 of

[4:10] the city board of directors. We'll begin

[4:12] with invocation by Father Mark Neighbors

[4:14] with St. Luke's Episcopal Church. And

[4:16] I'll lead the pledge. All rise.

[4:21] Let us pray.

[4:27] Almighty God, our heavenly father, send

[4:28] down upon those who hold office in this

[4:31] community the spirit of wisdom, charity,

[4:34] and justice that with steadfast purpose

[4:37] they may faithfully serve in their

[4:39] offices to promote the well-being of all

[4:42] people through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[4:45] Amen.

[4:46] >> Amen. Please join me in the pledge. I

[4:50] >> aliance to the flag of the United States

[4:52] of America and to the republic for which

[4:55] it stands. One nation under God,

[4:59] indivisible, with liberty and justice

[5:01] for all.

[5:08] » We'll now call this meeting to order.

[5:10] Please call the role. Director Aaron

[5:12] Holidayiday,

[5:15] » Director Phyllis Beard,

[5:17] >> present.

[5:17] >> Director Marcia Dob Smith,

[5:19] >> present.

[5:20] >> Director Dudley Webb,

[5:22] >> here.

[5:22] >> Director Karen Garcia,

[5:24] >> here.

[5:24] >> Director Steve Trusty

[5:26] >> here.

[5:26] >> Mayor Pat McCabe

[5:27] >> here. At this time, we'll consider

[5:29] approval of the agenda. Are there any

[5:31] additions, deletions to the agenda or

[5:33] items on the consent agenda to be moved

[5:35] to new business?

[5:37] >> Director Webb.

[5:38] >> Yeah, thank you, Mayor. Um

[5:40] B, I want to give you a question before

[5:44] making any type of potential motion. Um

[5:47] item four, R-26-139.

[5:50] This is the

[5:52] um resolution to consider setting the

[5:55] time and date of a public hearing on the

[5:57] multi-purpose improvement district.

[5:59] >> Yes, sir. if is there are some residents

[6:03] in my district who have questions on

[6:05] this and I know the purpose of it being

[6:08] on our agenda this evening is to

[6:12] consider setting a time for a hearing

[6:15] but would there be anyone here available

[6:18] including yourself to answer a few of

[6:20] the questions that I have before the

[6:21] hearing so that I can uh be better

[6:24] prepared to provide details to those

[6:26] with questions

[6:29] >> okay that's the case, then would a a

[6:32] move to new business be appropriate for

[6:35] this evening?

[6:36] >> Um, you're you're at liberty to move it

[6:38] to new business if you'd like, but

[6:39] there's no action to be taken tonight

[6:41] other than setting the date and time,

[6:42] which is required by the statute,

[6:45] >> right? Uh, I want to make that motion to

[6:48] move it to new business.

[6:52] » Well, we we could just we don't have to

[6:54] have a motion. We just move it, can't

[6:55] we?

[6:55] >> You'd like, mayor,

[6:56] >> we'll just move it to the first item on

[6:58] new business. Thank you.

[7:02] » Okay. So, we have a item moved to uh to from a

[7:09] consent agenda to new business. That was

[7:11] resolution R-26-139.

[7:15] So, motion to approve the agenda as

[7:18] modified. Director Garcia.

[7:20] >> So, move to approve as amended.

[7:23] >> Thank you. Seconded by

[7:25] >> second.

[7:25] by Director Do Smith. All in

[7:28] favor signify by saying I.

[7:30] >> I.

[7:30] oppose. Same sign. Agenda is adopted.

[7:35] This time we'll consider approval of the

[7:37] minutes of the regularly held meeting on

[7:39] August 4th, 2026. Are there additions,

[7:42] deletions, or corrections to the minutes

[7:43] as presented?

[7:46] >> Hearing none, I'll entertain a motion to

[7:48] approve.

[7:48] >> So move.

[7:50] >> Got a motion by Director Web, seconded

[7:51] by second.

[7:52] >> Director Do Smith. All in favor signify

[7:54] by saying I. I.

[7:56] >> Post same sign.

[7:58] Minutes are adopted.

[8:00] Our recognition of guests, we have Mr.

[8:02] Cole McKascal, interim president and CEO

[8:04] of Greater Hot Springs Chamber of

[8:05] Commerce and Metro Partnership. Uh Cole

[8:07] will deliver the economic development

[8:09] report. Welcome.

[8:12] >> Thank you very much, mayor, directors.

[8:13] Good to see you. Um real quick, I wanted

[8:16] to make a a special presentation.

[8:20] As [clears throat] you know, um the

[8:21] Metro Partnership has investors in our

[8:24] organization. Um, and every now and then

[8:27] we like to give a little something back

[8:28] to show our appreciation. And so this

[8:31] summer we've been going around and and

[8:33] giving uh a little something to that

[8:36] people can display at their place of

[8:37] business. Uh, and the city of Hot

[8:40] Springs is our largest investor and

[8:42] qualifies for our largest uh investor

[8:44] level. And last week I came over and

[8:46] presented this to the mayor and the city

[8:48] manager uh and and they thought it'd be

[8:50] nice if everyone saw that. So, we are

[8:53] deeply appreciative of your investment

[8:55] in economic development for our for our

[8:57] area. Thank you very much.

[8:59] >> Thank you.

[8:59] >> I'm going to leave this in Lance's poss

[9:02] possession.

[9:11] » So, it's uh it's only been three weeks

[9:13] since my last report here, but I do have

[9:15] a few updates for you. Um, as you know,

[9:17] we've been updating you on uh new

[9:19] business leads coming from the state

[9:21] economic development agency. Uh, I'm

[9:23] proud to say we are now up to five new

[9:25] manufacturing leads uh totaling a

[9:28] potential new job creation numbers

[9:30] around 925 new jobs, $450 million in

[9:34] investment. Of course, these are very

[9:36] competitive projects that are looking at

[9:38] most communities in Arkansas and

[9:40] probably other communities in the

[9:41] greater region. But we are in the game

[9:43] and competing for those, putting our

[9:45] best foot forward the best we can. Um,

[9:48] since we last met, uh, we did open a new

[9:50] expansion project with a local

[9:52] manufacturer that's that's needing to

[9:54] create over 50 new high-paying jobs in

[9:56] our community. U, they just need some

[9:58] help working through some logistics and

[10:00] some real estate issues, uh, which we

[10:02] are helping them with. That brings us up

[10:03] to a total of 15 open job creation

[10:06] projects, uh, that we're working right

[10:08] now. Uh next week we're hosting a site

[10:11] visit from an out ofstate economic uh

[10:14] development prospect. This will be their

[10:16] third visit um to Hot Springs. So things

[10:18] are getting pretty serious. Uh the city

[10:21] manager has been involved in some of

[10:22] those discussions. Um July 31st was a

[10:27] deadline to to nominate new opportunity

[10:29] zones. So the federal government

[10:31] reauthorized opportunity zone program

[10:33] for opportunity zone 2.0 is what they're

[10:35] calling it for the next 10 years. and

[10:37] states had um are able to nominate new

[10:40] opportunity zones in their areas. Uh and

[10:43] so when this news came out, uh the city

[10:45] and the county and the metro

[10:46] partnership, the planning development

[10:48] district, Visit Hot Springs, we all got

[10:49] together to discuss um strategy here and I'm proud to say we put our best

[10:54] foot forward in trying to get as many

[10:56] opportunity zones in Hot Springs as we

[10:58] possibly can. Um the governor has the

[11:00] ultimate decision on where to nominate

[11:03] opportunity zones. Um and we've got a

[11:05] real great advocacy effort um going

[11:07] right now. The deadline to officially

[11:09] nominate to the governor was July 31st.

[11:12] We got some real strong nominations in

[11:14] and we should hear more from the

[11:15] governor's office um within the next few

[11:18] months. Um we hosted the Windows USA

[11:21] ribbon cutting at their new facility.

[11:23] That has been uh much discussion of this

[11:24] group. Uh and so wonderful uh that we

[11:27] could host that. Just a great story for

[11:29] Hot Springs. Um, in business retention

[11:32] and expansion, I'm proud to say it's

[11:33] been a major focus for our organization

[11:35] this summer, especially with Gary

[11:37] Jackson, since workforce development is

[11:39] slower when the schools are out. Um, we

[11:41] are now up to 74 business retention and

[11:44] expansion visits year to date. Um, and

[11:46] so that concludes my report. Happy to

[11:48] answer any questions.

[11:50] >> Any questions of call? Director Garcia.

[11:53] >> Thank you, Mayor. in the uh five leads

[11:56] of manufacturing,

[11:58] how important is the uh water supply to

[12:03] what they're looking at?

[12:04] >> I would say three of the five uh real

[12:07] high water capacity was very very

[12:09] important and of course with all of them

[12:11] having access to water is extremely

[12:13] important.

[12:15] >> Thank you.

[12:15] >> Yes, ma'am.

[12:16] >> Director Trustee. Thank you, Mayor Cole.

[12:19] Um the opportunity zones that we have

[12:21] now, do they expire at the end of the

[12:23] year?

[12:23] >> They certainly do. So there's no

[12:25] guarantee that those even those will be

[12:28] renewed.

[12:28] >> That is correct.

[12:29] >> We nominated or submitted

[12:33] how many did we submit?

[12:35] >> We had three for the last 10 years. Uh

[12:38] and we submitted four this time.

[12:41] >> Great. Thank you.

[12:42] >> Yes, sir.

[12:43] >> Director Web.

[12:44] >> Thank you, Mayor Cole. Out of the four

[12:46] that were resubmitted, are are three of

[12:49] those, excuse me, out of the four that

[12:50] were submitted, are three of those to

[12:52] continue the three that are currently in

[12:53] place or they new?

[12:54] >> Um, they're a little bit different area.

[12:56] Okay.

[12:58] >> Thank you.

[13:00] Any further questions of Cole?

[13:04] Hearing none. Thank you.

[13:06] >> Thank you.

[13:07] >> This time we'll hear from our city

[13:09] manager, Mr. Bill Burrow.

[13:10] >> Uh, thank you, mayor, members of the

[13:12] board. Uh, want to start off welcoming

[13:14] several new employees to the city of Hot

[13:16] Springs. Daniel Malsh in our planning

[13:18] and development as a permit clerk.

[13:20] Marcus Reed is a 911 operator in our

[13:23] police department. Lucas Roads, a

[13:26] records clerk in our police department.

[13:28] Steven Barber coming in with solid waste

[13:31] as a commercial helper driver. Uh,

[13:33] several utilities employees, Howard

[13:35] Carter and water distribution. Mark

[13:38] Richard, Zachary Wood, and sewer list

[13:40] station technicians Hagen Tyler and our

[13:43] utility billing AMI tech. We also had

[13:46] several promotions uh since our last

[13:48] meeting. Alexander Lee promoted to Hot

[13:51] Springs Police Department officer first

[13:53] class. Uh Aaron Combmes was promoted to

[13:56] corporal. Matthew Cham was uh promoted

[13:59] to sergeant. And Eddie Fleming over in

[14:02] animal services was promoted to animal

[14:04] services supervisor.

[14:06] Eric Vice as our senior tractor trailer

[14:09] driver in solid waste. A couple others

[14:11] in uh Lance Graves uh moving into a

[14:15] supervisory role in our weld shop. A lot

[14:17] of steel in in that particular

[14:19] department. So that's a a really big uh

[14:21] task, but congratulate Lance on being

[14:24] able to move into that role. Joshua

[14:27] House promoted to street division crew

[14:29] leader and then Tyler Gwyn was uh

[14:32] promoted to a truck driver in the street

[14:34] division. Also want to recognize uh

[14:37] Sergeant Chris Atkins and the Hot

[14:39] Springs Police Department. August 31st

[14:41] will be his last day with us with 28

[14:44] years of service serving the uh

[14:47] citizens, residents, visitors of the

[14:49] city of Hot Springs. Just a a really

[14:52] great great guy, great officer, going to

[14:55] be sorely missed. Uh 28 years of uh

[14:58] strong dedication. So we we wish uh

[15:01] Sergeant Atkins well in his uh in his

[15:03] future endeavors.

[15:06] Water's been a big topic with the heat

[15:08] that we've been under for the last

[15:09] couple of weeks. Uh I don't know if

[15:11] you've seen in the news, we've got

[15:13] several cities throughout Arkansas that

[15:15] are either in strict conservation,

[15:18] uh volunteer conservation,

[15:21] uh watering. If your address is an even

[15:24] number, you water on an even day. If

[15:26] it's odd, you water on an odd day. And

[15:28] then there's others that just got a

[15:29] complete moratorum on on lawn watering

[15:32] or vehicle washes, any of that. Um, I

[15:36] can tell you that as of July 31st, had

[15:40] we not had this new plant, we would have

[15:42] been back where we were in 2012 where we

[15:45] would see tanks falling quicker than we

[15:47] can fill them up. Um, we have no uh

[15:50] volunteer or mandatory conservation.

[15:53] We're in very good shape with both of

[15:56] these plants and supplying water. But

[15:59] had we not had it, you know, and we

[16:01] [clears throat] said this several times

[16:02] moving through that, the only thing

[16:04] different today than 2012 is we have a

[16:07] lot more users on the system and better

[16:09] weather and you just can't depend on

[16:11] weather on whether you can provide water

[16:13] um on a peak day to your to your

[16:15] customers, to your residents. So, want

[16:17] to point that out. Um that goes back to this board and your prior board just

[16:22] having the wherewithal to uh to build

[16:25] this new plant and it is paying off. We

[16:27] see it today and we'll see it for years

[16:29] to come.

[16:31] We've had the cooling shelter open at

[16:33] the community resource center. Um this

[16:35] past weekend they had several uh that

[16:38] were partaking in that. it. Of course,

[16:40] it's open from 8:00 to 5:00 Monday

[16:42] through Friday, but on these hot

[16:44] weekends, if it's going to be over a

[16:45] hundred, we're going to have it open on

[16:47] the weekends as well. I know Saturday,

[16:50] this past Saturday, they had 47 check in

[16:53] for for the cooling shelter. Um, had

[16:56] another 16 join right around lunch. So,

[16:58] had 63 there for Saturday. Uh, they're

[17:01] able to to take a shower, wash closed,

[17:04] have lunch. uh coming back on August the

[17:07] 16th. They had another 48 uh that were

[17:10] there and and were able to take part in

[17:12] the hygiene facilities there at the

[17:13] community resource center as well. Um it

[17:16] will be open this coming weekend, August

[17:19] 22nd and 23rd, uh from 10:00 a.m. to 400

[17:22] p.m. They usually kind of migrate from

[17:25] there uh over to the Salvation Army um

[17:27] during the weekends for dinner there at

[17:29] 4. Uh so real real happy with the work

[17:33] that Chris and and everybody at the

[17:35] community resource center is doing. I

[17:37] get com I don't have a week go by that I

[17:39] don't get a comment about that facility.

[17:41] So still doing great work there.

[17:45] Uh baseball camp or basketball camp. Hot

[17:48] Springs Park and Recck Department is

[17:49] partnering with the Memphis Grizzlies

[17:51] and National Park College to host a free

[17:55] junior grizzly basketball clinic for

[17:57] kids ages 6 to 14. That's going to be

[18:00] Sunday, September 6 from 10 to 11. And

[18:02] it's going to be out at National Park in

[18:05] uh what do they call that out there? The

[18:06] kettle.

[18:07] >> The kettle.

[18:07] So, if you're interested uh

[18:11] you can get in contact with uh with the

[18:14] college and get your uh son, daughter,

[18:19] grandchild signed up for for a free

[18:21] basketball camp. Kicking the stigma is

[18:24] something coming out of the police

[18:25] department. uh come out and support the

[18:27] Hot Springs PD and various teams as they

[18:29] go head-to-head in the sixth annual

[18:31] Kicking the Stigma kickball tournament.

[18:34] It's law enfor law enforcement and first

[18:37] responders versus recovery uh on

[18:39] Saturday, August the 29th. Games start

[18:41] at 9:00 at Majestic Park at 105 West

[18:44] Building. Uh Chief, hopefully you guys

[18:46] are going to bring in a win there.

[18:49] >> Bringing in a lot of water, sir.

[18:51] [laughter]

[18:53] >> Uh we do have a burn ban in effect. Um,

[18:55] this ban is based on the potential fire

[18:57] hazard associated with just low fuel

[19:00] moisture levels, dry conditions, and

[19:02] little to no precipitation. Uh, it

[19:05] prohibits all controlled burning within

[19:06] the city limits. All burn permits issued

[19:09] prior to the burn ban have been

[19:11] rescended. They can be reissued and

[19:13] extended when the ban lifts. Uh, the

[19:15] burn ban will be in effect as long as

[19:17] these conditions are present. Uh we will

[19:20] put information out if the chief uh

[19:22] calls for a discontinuation of the burn

[19:25] ban, but we're going to have to have

[19:26] quite a bit of quite a bit of rain to

[19:28] get to that point.

[19:30] >> Speaking of the fire department, we've

[19:32] uh added two new apparatus to the fleet.

[19:36] U very happy to report that we have

[19:39] received our new ladder truck. It's been

[19:41] delivered currently housed at the

[19:43] central station on Broadway. Um I'm not

[19:45] sure if it'll stay there, if it'll make

[19:47] its way out to station six. Uh but that

[19:50] is a $2.3 million apparatus

[19:55] and those don't come around just every

[19:57] day. Um as you know, we had several of

[19:59] these on our unfunded uh capital

[20:01] projects list and glad to see a couple

[20:04] of these coming in. Uh in addition to

[20:06] this, we've got a new pumper truck for

[20:08] our Park Avenue station. Pumper trucks

[20:10] about 800,000. So, uh, glad we've

[20:13] received those two pieces of equipment.

[20:14] Our fleet director, Grace Bees, is in

[20:16] the audience tonight. I know that, uh,

[20:18] you've had to check those out pretty

[20:19] well and get them out there in service.

[20:21] So, appreciate your work as well. Uh,

[20:23] Hot Springs Parks and Recck in the early

[20:25] stages of creating a little over,300

[20:29] square foot outdoor batting cage

[20:31] facility at Kimry Park. Uh, we've heard

[20:33] that for for several years that they

[20:35] wish they had a batting cage there. So,

[20:38] it's a live arm full four full four

[20:40] multi-lane amenity. Will be a first

[20:42] come, first- serve basis, but it'll

[20:44] provide a safe net enclosed space for

[20:46] individuals and teams of all ages to

[20:48] practice hitting. So, glad to get that

[20:50] up. Hopefully before now and the end of

[20:52] the year, we'll have that built in and

[20:54] in play. With that, mayor, I'll be glad

[20:56] to answer any questions.

[20:57] >> Very good. Any questions of our city

[20:59] manager?

[21:01] hearing. Now, we'll move on to

[21:04] [clears throat]

[21:04] board of directors announcements of

[21:06] upcoming events. Director Garcia.

[21:09] >> Thank you, Mayor. I would like to uh

[21:11] announced that uh food for thought,

[21:14] their monthly uh food and resource

[21:17] distribution will be scheduled uh the

[21:21] this Saturday, the 22nd, from 10:00 a.m.

[21:25] to 12:00 p.m. at 3:24

[21:28] Malvin Avenue. This is hosted by the

[21:32] giving team to help individuals and

[21:35] families in need throughout the hot

[21:38] springs community. They hold this every

[21:41] fourth Friday at 324 Malvin. And the

[21:45] event provides free food,

[21:49] clothing, personal care items, and

[21:52] social services resources and

[21:55] connections

[21:57] to additional resources.

[22:00] And uh this is critical for our

[22:02] community. Many in our community are uh

[22:07] experiencing

[22:09] u great needs. Yesterday I u volunteered

[22:13] at the community resource center and I

[22:16] witnessed uh donations. Uh the Elks

[22:20] Lodge came in with donations of toilet

[22:22] paper, water, Gatorade, single uh uh

[22:28] items of snacks and fruit. And uh we

[22:35] prepared and served 155 meals yesterday.

[22:39] And a lot of these are veterans. There

[22:42] were families with children. It's a big

[22:45] need in our community. And I'm so

[22:48] thankful we have the community resource

[22:51] center because it's providing a big

[22:55] need in our community and the food for

[22:59] thought Saturday with a resource of food

[23:03] and distribution also is part of our

[23:08] overall

[23:10] community appreciation to help all in

[23:14] our community.

[23:16] Thank you.

[23:16] >> Very good. Director Web.

[23:18] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, same day this

[23:21] Saturday for those that attend Food for

[23:24] Thought, even if you don't, uh,

[23:28] that later that afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

[23:30] to 7:00 p.m., you should stop by the

[23:33] 12th annual Hot Springs Community

[23:36] Resource Fair. Uh, this is held at the

[23:40] historic farmers market, which is

[23:43] located at 121 Orange Street. And the

[23:46] 12th annual Hot Springs Community

[23:48] Resource Fair this year will be held in

[23:49] conjunction with the Beerbra Coleman

[23:53] back to school bash and Samaritan's Feet

[23:56] Ministry shoe giveaway providing an

[23:59] afternoon filled with free community

[24:01] resources, school supplies, shoes,

[24:03] refreshments, and familyfriendly

[24:05] activities. So, there's two great events

[24:09] to do this weekend. one that morning,

[24:11] the food for thought 10 to 12 and then

[24:14] one in the afternoon 4 to 7, both taking

[24:17] place this Saturday right here in Hot

[24:19] Springs, Arkansas. [clears throat] Thank

[24:21] you, Mayor.

[24:22] >> Director Trusty.

[24:23] >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh just a reminder

[24:25] about the Hot Springs Chamber bingo

[24:27] night. That'll be next Thursday, the

[24:29] 27th, at 6 PM at the Convention Center,

[24:33] uh just across the street from here. Uh

[24:36] Thursday, August 27th at the convention

[24:38] center, hall D and E for an evening of

[24:41] cash prizes, fun and friendly

[24:42] competition. Doors open at 5:00. The

[24:45] games begin at 6. Tickets are $25 in

[24:49] advance. That includes all 20 games, or

[24:52] if you wait and buy a ticket at the

[24:54] door, if any are available, that will be

[24:55] $30 at the door. Every game pays a cash

[24:59] prize. The final game is worth $1,000.

[25:02] You'll also have the chance to win even

[25:04] more by entering the 5050 cash raffle.

[25:08] Says, "Please bring cash for bingo cards

[25:10] and raffle tickets, but credit cards

[25:12] will be accepted for concessions and

[25:15] refreshments only. You can contact the

[25:18] chamber to reserve your tickets at

[25:20] 321700

[25:22] and that's a week from Thursday night at

[25:24] six o'clock."

[25:26] >> Very good. Any other uh director Bob

[25:29] Smith?

[25:29] >> Yes. Well, this one combines fun and um

[25:33] for a cause. Join the friends of the

[25:35] national park in the celebration of

[25:37] Bakas, the Roman god of wine and the

[25:40] arts by raising your glass to help raise

[25:42] the glass for the Maurice. If you know

[25:44] the the last bath house that hasn't been

[25:47] restored is the Maurice. It had a

[25:48] beautiful roytoft um stained glass

[25:53] windows that would are up in the top and

[25:55] they've been lost, broken, damaged

[25:57] [clears throat] and and this is to uh

[26:00] help restore those. You can um the

[26:02] evening includes curated wines, upscale

[26:05] bites. It has uh food from the secret

[26:08] handshake, JNS hospitality, 501 prime,

[26:12] and the vault. So, it's some upscale

[26:14] food and you get to vote for the

[26:16] celebrity that wears the best toa and

[26:18] there is a sexy leg contest that's going

[26:21] to be there with with local celebrities

[26:23] to be unnamed. I don't know if I know

[26:25] any of those. Uh that's going to be this

[26:27] Thursday, the 20th um at the 315 Park

[26:32] Avenue. The tickets are $75 and you can

[26:35] uh reach out to Roxan Butterfield at

[26:37] give.com

[26:39] for those tickets. Sounds like a fun

[26:40] time and it's only two days away. Wow.

[26:44] >> Evenings.

[26:44] >> Any other uh comments?

[26:48] I want to follow up a little bit on

[26:50] Director Garcia's comments about the

[26:52] community resource center and the meals

[26:54] that they they produce. Rotary Club, Hot

[26:57] Springs National Park Rotary Club uh had

[27:00] a meeting there about a month ago and we

[27:02] ate alongside all those others that were

[27:05] there for for food. And uh I had an

[27:09] occasion to talk with Chris the other

[27:11] day. who's here today in the audience

[27:14] and asked him how much he's spending on

[27:16] food. He says, "Pat, everybody's been

[27:18] donating food." He says, "We don't we

[27:20] spend very little on food and they reach

[27:23] out and you'll see uh Sally Carter or

[27:25] others reach out on Facebook what what

[27:28] their needs are." And there's really the

[27:31] reason I'm saying this is there's no no

[27:34] contribution is is too small. uh our

[27:38] place at my wife and I's place of

[27:39] business, Hotel Hail, we changed our

[27:41] hamburger buns. So, we had a few

[27:43] hamburger buns left over, just shy of

[27:45] four dozen. So, I brought them by last

[27:48] Thursday, last Wednesday before I went

[27:51] to Rotary. And and the staff there is

[27:54] really most appreciative of of all those

[27:56] type of gifts. So, to the degree that took care of 40 burgers, you know,

[28:02] that week or the next week. And so if

[28:05] you do have a extra coin and you're

[28:08] going to your Sam's or Walmart or

[28:10] Kroger's, if you just buy, if there's a

[28:13] bargain bid bay basket, grab something

[28:16] and bring it by. It's easy in and out is

[28:19] about the easiest in and out that you

[28:21] can probably hope for. So [snorts]

[28:23] continue to support the community

[28:25] resource center. And thank you. There's

[28:28] no other items of uh Oh, wait. We got

[28:31] upcoming events here. We got uh going

[28:35] out a couple months. Uh election day is

[28:37] Tuesday, November 3rd. We meet on the

[28:40] first Tuesday of every month. So, we

[28:42] probably don't want to necessarily meet

[28:44] on that day. Uh move it up to uh Monday

[28:48] the the 2nd possibly or as Bill and I

[28:52] have talked, you know, if we don't have

[28:54] much on the business-wise, we could

[28:57] forego it, but we just want to

[29:00] contentively have it for Monday. the

[29:02] first or excuse me, Monday the 2nd or or

[29:06] really try to forego it. Any thoughts?

[29:09] >> Forgo.

[29:10] >> Pardon?

[29:11] >> Forgo.

[29:14] it. Okay. Well, if we have to have

[29:18] a a special call meeting or so, we can

[29:21] do that. If we can find a date, certain,

[29:23] but we could do it the next week if we

[29:26] needed to at the agenda meeting.

[29:29] Okay. Is that okay, Bill?

[29:31] >> Yeah.

[29:31] >> All right. We'll get it out to staff

[29:33] that uh if they've got anything, we'll

[29:35] try to get it on the meeting before or

[29:36] the meeting after and keep that one keep

[29:39] anything off that particular day.

[29:40] >> Yeah, we get a little jumpy because

[29:42] there's only so many we've only got four

[29:45] meetings left the year and we're giving

[29:46] one away. [clears throat] So, uh we got we may end up having to have a

[29:50] special meeting. Okay. Uh moving on to

[29:54] the consent agenda. These are of a

[29:56] routine nature. They do not merit

[29:58] individual discussion. So I entertain a

[29:59] motion, a second to approve the agenda,

[30:02] >> the consent agenda as represented

[30:04] director Garcia, seconded by director

[30:06] trustee. All in favor signify by saying

[30:08] I.

[30:08] >> I.

[30:08] Post same sign. Consent agenda is

[30:11] adopted. Now we had one item that was on

[30:14] the consent agenda. We move to the first

[30:15] item on new business and that's uh was

[30:18] item 4 R-26-139.

[30:21] I entertain a motion a second

[30:23] >> to uh I think I'm sorry. You got to read

[30:26] this. Will you please read? Yeah. So,

[30:28] this is resolution R-26-139,

[30:31] a resolution setting the time and date

[30:32] of a public hearing on the petition to

[30:34] establish a hot springs municipal

[30:36] property owners multi-purpose

[30:38] improvement district number 26-75 of

[30:41] Garland County, Arkansas, Cali Ridge,

[30:42] estate subdivision. We'll need a motion

[30:44] and second to adopt and then we can have

[30:47] the discussion.

[30:47] >> Motion to adopt. So, move

[30:49] >> second.

[30:50] >> Director Trustee seconded by Director

[30:53] Web. And I guess you can provide the

[30:55] staff report.

[30:56] >> Yes, mayor. I'll I'll I'll set the table

[30:58] for this. You may end up having more

[31:00] questions from Mr. Perry Young who's

[31:01] here as well. Arkansas code annotated

[31:04] section 14-94-101

[31:06] at seek establishes the uh procedure by

[31:09] which an improvement district may be

[31:11] formed. Uh this particular improvement

[31:13] district is coming to you by virtue of a

[31:16] petition that was filed uh and signed by

[31:19] all of the uh uh you you have to have

[31:21] unanimous property owner uh

[31:23] participation in this. This particular

[31:25] parcel is owned by by one individual

[31:28] owner, an LLC. Uh so that is the

[31:31] signature that appears on the petition.

[31:33] That petition uh was received by the

[31:35] city clerk on July 28th of 2026.

[31:39] Uh pursuant to Arkansas code annotated

[31:41] section 19-94-106.

[31:44] Upon the filing of that petition, a date

[31:47] and time of not more than 60 days, not

[31:49] less than 30 days shall be set for a

[31:52] hearing before the governing body to

[31:54] hear all of the parties desiring to be

[31:55] heard uh and for the consideration of

[31:57] the petition. Uh should this uh

[32:00] resolution be adopted, uh then there

[32:02] would be a a public hearing uh scheduled

[32:05] September 1st at your regular board of

[32:08] directors meeting uh at 6:00 pm. Uh this

[32:11] will be on the petition that's been

[32:13] filed for the improvement district. Um

[32:15] the petition includes the description of

[32:18] the property. Uh it's approximately 25

[32:20] acres. There's a meets and bounds

[32:22] description that's attached to the

[32:23] property and for the purposes uh to be

[32:26] used uh constructing waterwork, sewers,

[32:28] and other utilities within the described

[32:30] lands as well as for the grading,

[32:32] draining, paving, curving, and laying of

[32:34] streets and sidewalks together with

[32:36] facilities related to any of the

[32:38] foregoing. Um so that's that's

[32:43] the background of this. Um this is a

[32:47] statutory scheme that uh provides a

[32:50] ministerial duty for the board to to set

[32:52] a hearing.

[32:54] >> And you said that hearing was going to

[32:56] be set on September 1st

[32:58] >> at 6 at 6 p.m. Yes, sir.

[33:00] >> Was there was there a

[33:03] an action item under after the hearing

[33:06] for that evening?

[33:07] >> There would be. Yes. So you would have a

[33:09] public hearing and then the action item

[33:11] on on on the creation of it after you

[33:13] have heard from from the parties who

[33:15] have an interest in in it.

[33:17] >> Okay. So but we're required to establish

[33:20] a a date and time for a hearing.

[33:22] >> You are sir.

[33:23] >> Okay.

[33:26] Director Web.

[33:27] >> Yeah. Thank you, Mayor. Um I appreciate

[33:30] all the clarification be um you know

[33:33] this is for the most part a procedural

[33:35] matter tonight that uh we have to enact

[33:38] on by law right to set set a hearing. Uh

[33:41] but before we do um I asked previously

[33:44] if any representative uh on behalf of

[33:48] this group is here today and it is

[33:50] conveyed to me that there is somebody

[33:52] here. So, uh, if we don't have any more

[33:55] questions amongst ourselves for you, um,

[33:58] can now be a good time that we call that

[33:59] person up. Mayor,

[34:01] >> again, there's no action items, so

[34:03] anything we hear tonight will probably

[34:05] hear in two weeks.

[34:07] >> Okay.

[34:08] >> Mr. Young, if you would come forward,

[34:10] this this is Perry Young, uh, attorney

[34:12] at law representing the, uh, the

[34:13] petitioner.

[34:15] >> Good evening.

[34:16] >> Welcome.

[34:17] >> Thank you for having me.

[34:18] >> Yeah. Uh, Mr. Young, I appreciate you

[34:21] being here. My name's uh Dudley Webb

[34:24] III, city director for district 4. And I

[34:27] just, you know, there's some residents

[34:28] in my district, which is where Cali

[34:31] Ridge is located in district 4, who have

[34:34] some questions over the potential

[34:38] creation of this particular district.

[34:40] and I'm glad you're here tonight to

[34:42] where I can give you some of those

[34:43] questions just so that in between now

[34:46] and when the hearing is scheduled to

[34:48] take place I can provide some details to

[34:51] those who might have questions. Um, I

[34:54] guess I'll start with, you know, as this

[34:56] was being introduced to us, uh, at the

[34:58] agenda meeting last week, it was

[35:00] somewhat compared to that of a POA, um,

[35:04] if I remember right, uh, and POAS in

[35:07] typical fashion are made up of

[35:10] homeowners that live in that said

[35:12] subdivision. But it looks as though

[35:14] based upon what was presented to us in

[35:16] this packet that the commission for this

[35:19] particular district will be made up of

[35:22] three individuals who don't currently

[35:24] have a home in that subdivision. So can

[35:26] you share with me uh and I can give you

[35:29] the names that were provided to us. It

[35:30] was Todd Havens, Paula Alderman, and

[35:33] Daniel or Danielle Barlo, I believe

[35:36] those three. uh can you share with me

[35:38] how these three uh were nominated to be

[35:41] on this commission and if any of those

[35:43] three live here in Hot Springs or are

[35:46] intending to live in this particular

[35:47] subdivision.

[35:48] >> Uh thank you very much. The subdivision

[35:51] is in the uh initial stages of

[35:54] construction. Now this allows the

[35:56] defrainment of some of the construction

[35:58] costs over a period of years.

[36:01] Uh it is unlike a PLA in that uh this is

[36:06] not a recreational improvement district

[36:08] which would continue to collect and

[36:10] spend money on maintenance and

[36:12] improvements of ongoing projects. This

[36:15] is assistance with the construction

[36:17] costs to keep prices down uh for

[36:20] affordable housing is what it's going to

[36:22] be uh in in the long run. And the answer

[36:25] to your second question is no. Uh they

[36:28] are uh three people nominated by the

[36:31] developer.

[36:32] Uh the developer doesn't intend to move

[36:36] from where they live. Um I come from

[36:39] Selen County as does the developer.

[36:41] That's our problem, our misfortune, but

[36:44] that's not the intent.

[36:46] >> Um thank you. Uh, can the

[36:51] uh commission be changed? Uh, if there

[36:55] are homes that are constructed within

[36:58] the near future in this development and

[37:00] the three that are currently on this

[37:01] commission don't live there, but there

[37:03] are three who do live there and they

[37:06] feel like servant upon this commission,

[37:07] can they? And how does that work to do?

[37:10] >> Not only can they, but pursuant to new

[37:12] law passed by the legislature and Brian,

[37:14] I'm going to apologize. I don't have the

[37:16] exact site on the top of my head, but I [clears throat] think you'll confirm

[37:20] the commissioners do need to rotate off

[37:23] uh at maximum. My understanding is, and

[37:26] if I'm getting this wrong, it's two

[37:28] three-year terms. Uh and you're gone. Uh

[37:32] and that was to make sure it wasn't kind

[37:34] of an old crony kind of old boy club

[37:36] kind of thing. Uh running it. I would

[37:39] expect that there would be three uh

[37:42] people within the uh within the uh new

[37:46] neighborhood that would uh want to step

[37:49] up. There's not much to it. It's really

[37:51] ministerial. You file a report once a

[37:53] year and you make sure that the trustee

[37:55] is paid and if somebody's not paying uh

[37:57] the taxes that are collected by the

[37:59] county assessor

[38:01] >> uh as part of your special improvement

[38:03] district taxes uh they make decisions

[38:05] whether or not to pursue any kind of

[38:07] action against those non-paying uh

[38:10] properties. That's really their only

[38:11] responsibility. Would would there be any

[38:14] um legislative stat statute in these

[38:18] codes to prevent somebody who lives

[38:20] there from being on this commission?

[38:22] >> I haven't found any, but

[38:24] >> no. Okay.

[38:26] >> We would encourage it and I would think

[38:28] those would be the people with the most,

[38:30] you know, the most uh skin

[38:32] [clears throat] in the game, if you

[38:33] will.

[38:33] >> Um it was also mentioned u Mr. Young

[38:36] that there are some examples of this

[38:39] particular type of district, the

[38:40] multi-use district that are in Benton.

[38:43] Um, however, I'm not seeing any details

[38:45] of that in our packet. And how does

[38:48] someone learn more about those districts

[38:51] that are in Benton? Uh, is there any

[38:53] information about those is the question.

[38:56] And then the second one, um, is were

[38:59] these districts also created by this

[39:02] same development

[39:04] company? two of the three were that I

[39:07] have been involved in as council. I sit

[39:10] as commissioner on improvement district

[39:12] number 131 of uh Benton. Uh we in part

[39:17] of developing Hurricane Lake of which

[39:19] I'm a member. Uh it's my side gig from

[39:22] practicing law I suppose. Uh

[39:26] knew what the process was, believed in

[39:27] it, got myself in the middle of it, put

[39:29] myself on as commissioner, and I really

[39:31] do hope to retire off soon. Uh but I can give you two sources besides Mr.

[39:36] Albbright uh that might be of some

[39:40] uh comfort if you will. Uh one is Ray

[39:43] Owen. This has not only been done in

[39:45] Benton or any other county. I know Mr.

[39:47] Owen has formed in in the in the past uh

[39:51] several improvement districts or been

[39:54] instrumental in in forming them. And the

[39:55] other is the bond council that we hire

[39:58] to make sure that everything is uh the

[40:00] tees are crossed and the eyes are dotted

[40:02] as far as the debt that is being uh if

[40:06] you will collected by the county

[40:08] assessor for their 3% fee and forwarded

[40:11] to the trustee for forwarding on to the

[40:13] bond holder and that is Hartzell Reagan

[40:16] Rh over at the Gil firm up in Little

[40:19] Rock. Uh we've worked with them twice

[40:21] before. I've also on my own worked with

[40:24] uh the uh Friday firm on setting them up

[40:27] and I I know the uh right Lindsay

[40:31] Jennings firm does them as well. So this

[40:34] is not very esoteric but I know for a

[40:37] fact there's at least 141 such districts

[40:40] most of which are these municipal

[40:42] improvement districts and not

[40:43] recreational districts in Selen County

[40:46] and that number is 75 here in here in

[40:48] Garland County.

[40:49] >> Well yes sir. Um the

[40:54] details that we have are stating that

[40:55] there's about 250 active uh improvement

[40:58] districts in 20 counties around

[41:00] Arkansas. Are you familiar if any of

[41:03] those are defined as multi-use

[41:06] improvement districts or would they have

[41:09] some label such as, you know, sewer

[41:12] infrastructure improvement district or

[41:13] so forth?

[41:15] I don't know what the I'm I'm not going

[41:17] to tell you I know what the ratio is,

[41:19] but I know that most developers uh when

[41:22] they write a check to a contractor,

[41:23] they're looking at what um the total

[41:26] improvements are, not just one element.

[41:29] And and that seems to be I don't know if

[41:31] there's a trend, but I can tell you

[41:33] anecdotally that they are the majority

[41:35] of the newly formed ones. And I I'll

[41:38] spend an hour at the uh Selen County uh

[41:41] circuit clerk's office. I'm excuse me

[41:43] the Selen County county clerk and the

[41:45] Benton and Bryant city clerk's office

[41:48] and I'll do the same thing here in

[41:49] Garland and probably provide you with

[41:52] dozens of them but I'll be happy to Is

[41:55] that where it gets its name like the

[41:57] multi-use is that because there are many

[41:59] uses for this particular type of

[42:00] district being created and that's if

[42:03] that's the case yeah what what are its

[42:05] intended uses for this district being

[42:08] created

[42:08] >> towards which type of infrastructure

[42:11] sorry

[42:11] >> towards the extension of existing

[42:13] utilities and the buildout of utilities

[42:15] within the uh the subdivision. And

[42:18] again, it's wholly owned by the

[42:20] developer at this point. And our goal is

[42:23] along with the contract buyer Lenar,

[42:25] which you may know to be the successor

[42:27] to Rous Coleman, that's already part of

[42:30] their agreement. And Rash Coleman, now

[42:32] Lunar has okayed it. And Mr. Albbright,

[42:35] I have letters saying that they've

[42:37] received it. They don't need certified

[42:38] mail copies. Um

[42:41] now the the other detail [clears throat]

[42:43] here is that this type of district may

[42:46] be used to borrow money um to construct

[42:49] this infrastructure. Uh

[42:52] if that's the case, uh how does that

[42:55] said money get paid back? Who does that

[42:58] fall on? Would that be uh something

[43:00] that's incorporated into interest that's

[43:02] picked up by potential future property

[43:06] owners within the subdivision?

[43:08] uh could it be uh their you know the

[43:11] price or value of their property goes up

[43:14] because there are existing debt loans

[43:16] out on infrastructure. How how does it

[43:19] get paid back? It lowers the the barrier

[43:21] to entry for moderate priced housing uh

[43:25] in that part of your development costs

[43:28] are not uh obtained, you know, plus

[43:32] whatever a reasonable profit might be.

[43:34] But it part of your development costs

[43:36] are being deferred, paid back over a

[43:39] 20-year amortization,

[43:41] uh, where they're being, uh, charged,

[43:44] uh, no greater, pursuant to the

[43:46] agreement with Raj Coleman, uh, $600 per

[43:49] year per lot.

[43:51] >> Okay. So, the three that are currently

[43:53] on the commission would have the say as

[43:54] to how much is to be borrowed and how it

[43:57] is to be paid back, or where does that

[43:58] come from? That's the resolution that's coming next. Once we get the

[44:02] appraiser, we excuse me, I meant to say

[44:05] assessor. Once the assessor is sworn in,

[44:08] once the commissioners are sworn in, we

[44:11] have a limit that's pre-imposed by

[44:13] contract with uh, as I said, Raj

[44:15] Coleman,

[44:16] >> is that going to something that's

[44:18] included in our packet prior to the

[44:20] hearing, too, or can that not be

[44:22] established until you have a formal

[44:25] multi-use district? that's

[44:26] [clears throat] going to be established

[44:27] after the district is established.

[44:29] >> Yeah.

[44:29] >> Because the other part that I noticed is

[44:32] that you know if and when any such

[44:35] establishment were to be approved such

[44:37] as this multi-use of uh

[44:39] >> multi-purpose um district once approved

[44:44] the city has no legal authority over the

[44:45] district. So what exactly does that

[44:47] mean?

[44:48] >> Well you really don't have any legal

[44:50] >> would there be any need to have any

[44:51] authority and what might that be?

[44:52] >> You don't really have any legal

[44:53] authority over it now. Um it

[44:56] [clears throat] it has to be established

[44:58] uh this way in order for them to do do

[45:00] an assessment uh just like you would on

[45:02] a water improvement district or sewer

[45:04] improvement districts. And that goes on

[45:05] the tax roles. And so the property

[45:07] owners going forward on each one of

[45:09] those lots pay their taxes and the

[45:11] assessment to the collector. That money

[45:14] is then used to pay off the debt.

[45:21] » Thank you. Uh I'm just looking over my

[45:24] notes. I'll pass the mic.

[45:25] >> Director Garcia,

[45:26] >> thank you. Uh, some of the residents uh

[45:30] had questions because they didn't

[45:32] understand everything. They didn't know

[45:34] if they needed to come to the hearing

[45:37] once we set the hearing date. And uh,

[45:42] who does the clerk submit the money to

[45:45] once they the county clerk collects the

[45:48] money? Who do they submit that to? Uh

[45:52] usually there's a trustee involved or at

[45:54] least a paying agent. It can be

[45:55] Centennial Bank. They do that. Pilaski

[45:57] Bank and Trust, whatever they're called

[45:59] now, uh does that. Uh Allan King of

[46:03] Improvement District Inc., which I'm

[46:05] sure Mr. Owen has worked with dozens of

[46:07] times, he will act as a non-fiduciary

[46:10] trustee, meaning he doesn't have to go

[46:12] sue people if they don't pay. That's

[46:14] optional. Uh and that's the real only

[46:16] difference there between a paying agent

[46:18] and a trustee. But that's who your

[46:21] county collector pays.

[46:24] >> And uh who pays this assessment or or

[46:28] tax?

[46:30] >> The residents per lot for a designated

[46:32] period of time.

[46:33] >> So it's only the owners that buy lots or

[46:39] homes [clears throat] within Cali Ridge.

[46:41] >> Absolutely. Is that correct?

[46:42] >> 100%. It has a defined geographical

[46:45] perimeter

[46:46] >> and uh I'm familiar with the developer

[46:50] taking care of the POA until there's

[46:52] over 50 or 55% of uh owners and then

[46:58] they have the option to uh take over the

[47:01] POA. But this would stay in TAC until um

[47:09] whatever the amount to be paid back is.

[47:12] that how that works?

[47:14] >> Yes. As I understand it, our contract

[47:16] purchaser does not want POAS in their

[47:19] subdivisions. What they

[47:22] >> do allow for is this to assist with the

[47:24] initial development costs.

[47:26] >> So, it's only for the infrastructure of

[47:28] the initial development and then once

[47:31] that's paid off,

[47:34] uh it's there's no more assessment.

[47:38] >> Correct.

[47:39] >> Okay. And uh that's all handled by the

[47:43] clerk and this uh improvement district

[47:47] once it's established. Is that correct?

[47:50] >> Really, it's the clerk and the trustee

[47:51] the

[47:52] >> or the trustee for the improvement

[47:54] district.

[47:54] >> The commissioners meet once a year to

[47:56] approve the transparency report which is

[47:58] filed with the state and really there's

[48:00] not much more than that usually.

[48:03] >> And once this is done, uh what is the

[48:06] city's role? city has no role

[48:09] >> or no expense.

[48:11] >> It has no expense.

[48:12] >> Thank you.

[48:15] >> Well, I'll I'll clarify that. Uh once

[48:17] the assets are are constructed and

[48:19] they're dedicated to the city, then the

[48:22] city has go, you know, ongoing

[48:24] maintenance for that. But they're paying

[48:26] for all of the infrastructure until it's

[48:29] dedicated to the city, which is the

[48:32] engineer periodically comes to us and

[48:35] says, "These assets are being will you

[48:38] approve to take them over?" And then

[48:41] they're in our maintenance. Until then,

[48:43] it's the maintenance of the special

[48:45] improvement district. Is that correct?

[48:48] >> Well, so that the assets are dedicated

[48:50] to the city when it's closed out. So

[48:52] when when our city engineer brings you a

[48:54] list, bear in mind that our water has

[48:57] been going through those lines for over

[48:59] 20 years, sometimes 30 years. And yes,

[49:02] we've been maintaining them. That's what

[49:03] we do because we charge uh our customers

[49:07] not only on&m uh [clears throat] but uh

[49:09] you know the sinking fund and so that's

[49:12] what the money is intended for is for

[49:14] the maintenance

[49:15] >> on water and sewer.

[49:21] But there's no lines in if they don't

[49:23] have the infrastructure in there now.

[49:25] There's no lines in there being used.

[49:27] >> They have to put they have to put them

[49:29] in.

[49:29] >> Yeah.

[49:30] >> And and and the money that they're

[49:31] wanting to raise from this assessment is

[49:33] going to pay for a portion of that. It's

[49:35] my understanding with your cap of $600

[49:39] per year per lot. That's only going to

[49:41] get you a little south of a million

[49:43] dollars.

[49:44] >> That's absolutely correct. And when I

[49:46] said nothing, I meant to say there's no

[49:48] difference. the dedication to the city

[49:50] and the city's acceptance process and

[49:52] the time frames, those aren't impacted

[49:55] at all by the existence or non-existence

[49:57] of a of a uh of an improvement district,

[50:00] >> but the developer would pay any fees for

[50:04] the that's been adopted by the city

[50:07] board for uh water and

[50:09] >> Oh, absolutely. They're they're water

[50:11] customers just like anybody else. uh

[50:13] just like Royal, just like all

[50:16] >> uh almost our entire water system was developed through improvement over

[50:23] the years outside the city

[50:24] >> from 1972 till today.

[50:27] >> Um and so that's the [clears throat] way

[50:28] that those have have all gone in

[50:31] >> but we won't we were having to do um

[50:36] work in the uh city municipal

[50:41] water

[50:43] on billing that we won't this won't

[50:46] entail

[50:47] >> this will not royal is the only one that

[50:50] we collect in the in [clears throat] the

[50:51] billing theirs is per meter this is an

[50:54] assessment like most improvement royal

[50:56] is is it's only one that I know of that

[50:59] they they base it per meter um all the

[51:03] others are assessments on the tax roles

[51:05] >> okay

[51:07] >> thank you

[51:09] >> any additional questions [clears throat]

[51:12] Director Web.

[51:13] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um,

[51:16] was was bringing this concept of having

[51:19] a multi-purpose district always part of

[51:22] the plan or did this just come up? Uh,

[51:25] is it because there are some added

[51:28] expenses that were unforeseen and now

[51:31] you're are you looking for a way to kind

[51:34] of compensate maybe the fiscal um

[51:39] responsibility for it or how how did it

[51:41] happen that you want a multi-purpose

[51:44] district? Now

[51:44] >> it it is uh part of uh contracts that

[51:48] commit you to sell to uh LAR uh when a

[51:53] certain threshold has been reached. the

[51:54] grading is within 3% of their specifics

[51:58] and the streets are in and the water and

[52:00] the sewer and the electric and I believe

[52:04] even fiber optic. Uh again, every one of

[52:07] those things cost money. They don't want

[52:09] a POA. Uh this was and is the best way

[52:13] to lower the uh

[52:19] to lower the entry barrier to moderate

[52:22] priced housing. uh on the front end.

[52:25] >> Okay. Um so be hearing that are there

[52:29] any other wouldn't it disclose to us

[52:30] that there's zero other multi-purpose

[52:32] districts in Hot Springs? I know there

[52:35] are you know uh specific districts that

[52:39] are in place.

[52:39] >> I I don't recall there there being one.

[52:42] That's not to say that there never has

[52:44] been. I I I don't recall one.

[52:46] >> Okay.

[52:47] Um, most of those, you know, might have

[52:50] been done through a POA type of format

[52:53] as opposed to an improvement district.

[52:56] >> Okay. So, you were saying this was part

[52:57] of the plan the whole time?

[52:59] >> Yes, sir.

[53:00] >> You were planning on uh establishing a

[53:02] multi-purpose district?

[53:04] >> Yes, sir.

[53:04] >> Okay,

[53:07] >> that's all I have.

[53:08] >> Thank you very much. Time. Yes, sir.

[53:09] >> Appreciate you, sir. Uh since uh this is

[53:12] kind of opened up to people coming to

[53:14] the podium, is there anybody in the

[53:15] audience since this was not a subject

[53:17] you could sign up on? If anybody else

[53:20] wants to come to the podium and talk for

[53:22] three minutes, you're free to do so.

[53:26] Anybody once, twice, thrice? Okay. Well,

[53:30] next Tuesday we'll have a hearing.

[53:34] [clears throat]

[53:35] Okay. So, now we'll move on. Oh, we got

[53:39] >> call the roll. Yeah.

[53:40] >> Or directors uh discussion amongst

[53:43] directors

[53:45] >> hearing none. Please call the role.

[53:47] >> Director Beard

[53:50] >> I.

[53:50] >> Do Smith

[53:51] >> I.

[53:52] >> Web

[53:52] >> I.

[53:53] >> Garcia

[53:54] >> I.

[53:54] >> Trusty.

[53:55] >> I.

[53:55] >> Mayor McCabe.

[53:56] >> I. Resolution is adopted. Moving on to

[53:59] consider resolution R-26-145.

[54:02] I ask city [clears throat] turn to read

[54:03] by title.

[54:04] >> Resolution R-26-145.

[54:06] A resolution authorizing the filing and

[54:08] acceptance of fiscal year 2026 community

[54:11] oriented policing development microrant

[54:13] program funding to support Hot Springs

[54:15] Police Department's drone as a first

[54:17] responder program. That concludes your

[54:19] reading. Mayor, if you would entertain a

[54:20] motion second to adopt.

[54:21] >> Motion moved.

[54:22] >> We got director trust trustee seconded

[54:25] by director web. And our staff report

[54:28] will come from none other than chief

[54:30] Chris Chapman. Welcome.

[54:32] >> Thank you, sir. Appreciate you guys

[54:34] giving me the opportunity to talk about

[54:35] this tonight. Pretty excited about this

[54:37] opportunity. So, this is a zero match

[54:39] grant. $200,000 fully. If we are awarded

[54:42] this grant, it'll be fully funded uh

[54:43] with zero match from the city. So, in

[54:47] 2022, the Hot Springs Police Department

[54:49] had deployed its first drone programs.

[54:51] Uh our current drone program is very

[54:53] reactive. Uh it is those drones are

[54:56] assigned to either the SWAT team, C or

[54:59] our patrol units. And so they are

[55:02] deployed after an event has already

[55:04] started. Uh take for example if we have

[55:06] a lost child, uh patrol officers

[55:08] respond, they put the drone up looking

[55:10] for the child. Um if we have a fleeing

[55:14] suspect, uh patrol officers get in the

[55:16] area, we put the drone up. So uh that's

[55:18] our current drone program. This program

[55:21] is very unique in the fact that the

[55:23] primary goal is to launch the drone.

[55:27] Imagine a helicopter on standby at the

[55:29] PD fully wound up ready to go and a 911

[55:32] call goes in and that that helicop

[55:35] helicopter responds immediately. That's

[55:36] what this drone program is. It's nested

[55:39] at the police department. It's tied to

[55:40] our CAD system. Uh a 911 call comes in

[55:44] and that drone immediately responds. And

[55:47] so that's what the program is all about.

[55:48] So the primary goal of this project is

[55:50] to launch central Arkansas's first drone

[55:52] as a first responder. It's called a DFR

[55:54] program uh by transitioning from our

[55:56] reactive current drone program which I

[55:58] just described to an integrated DFR

[56:01] framework. Uh HSB HSPD will

[56:04] fundamentally change how critical

[56:05] incidents are managed. So fund funding

[56:08] from the FY26 micro grants program again

[56:12] was $200,000 and it'll be used to

[56:14] procure advanced drone technology

[56:15] infrastructure and software capability

[56:18] of automated and remote launch upon call

[56:21] receipt. The DFR infrastructure will

[56:23] integrate seamlessly into our dispatch

[56:25] center and our new real-time crime

[56:27] center. The integration of the DFR

[56:30] technology represents a quantum leap in

[56:32] operational capability of the Hot

[56:33] Springs Police Department's uh dispatch

[56:36] center operations and real-time crime

[56:38] center. Again, rather than acting alone

[56:40] as a tactical asset, the DFR platform

[56:42] serves as a mobile airborne sensor

[56:44] network for the real-time crime center,

[56:46] our dispatchers, and our officers,

[56:48] creating an unprecedented level of

[56:50] situational awareness. So, it really

[56:52] acts as a force multiplier. It it acts

[56:56] as an advanced incident deescalation uh

[56:58] device able to tell us and provide us

[57:00] information before we get there. And in

[57:03] precision pre precision dispatching and

[57:05] resource allocation, a lot of these

[57:07] drone programs that we're seeing across

[57:08] the country, the drone will get there

[57:11] several minutes before the officers get

[57:12] there. They're able to determine what's

[57:14] actually going on and instead of us

[57:16] pushing three or four or five different

[57:18] assets there, maybe we only have to send

[57:20] one. And so that information is being

[57:22] monitored immediately. So how the system

[57:26] works very quickly. So we receive a 911

[57:29] call in our dispatch center. The

[57:32] technology allows for that 911 call to

[57:36] automatically be sent to the drone. So

[57:39] as our CAD information is being entered

[57:41] by our dispatchers, the drone is being

[57:45] sent automatically. Sometimes even

[57:47] before we're on the radio dispatching

[57:48] the officer. So the drone has the

[57:51] capability of 45 to 47 mph. So the

[57:55] expectation is that it'll get there

[57:57] several minutes before the officer 7

[57:59] mile range. So it can it can respond

[58:01] anywhere in the city from the police

[58:03] department. And once it gets there, it's

[58:06] automatically um cameras down to the

[58:09] scene and that information is

[58:11] automatically transmitted back to the

[58:13] dispatch center, the real-time crime

[58:14] center, and the officers responding will

[58:17] have the capability of seeing that.

[58:18] Again, think about the tactical

[58:20] advantage that gives us. Uh so

[58:22] highdeinition video uh secur uh securely

[58:25] to a certified remote pilot. Um so the

[58:29] other great thing about this is our

[58:31] pilots uh could be in route. Dispatch

[58:34] has control of this drone and then they

[58:37] turn it over to the pilot who is on the

[58:39] ground at the time and able to use that.

[58:41] So just a number of areas that can be

[58:43] used. Crowd and event management. Think

[58:45] about our St. Patrick's Day parade and

[58:47] the number of people we have downtown

[58:48] able to monitor that search and rescue

[58:51] again talking about the lost child

[58:53] elderly uh person wonders off we have

[58:56] that quite often. It also has thermal

[58:58] imaging uh imagery which would help us

[59:01] with fires. Our fire department could

[59:02] use it. We could utilize it. Uh natural

[59:05] disasters. Uh think about if we have a

[59:07] massive ice storm or a tornado and our

[59:09] roadways are closed. It takes us time to

[59:12] cut trees to get in there. We could

[59:14] deploy the drone ahead of schedule,

[59:15] ahead of our work crews to see those

[59:17] things. Uh traffic deescalation, uh

[59:20] deploy the drone, see exactly where

[59:21] assets are needed, where tow trucks are

[59:23] needed or ambulances are needed. And of

[59:25] course, officer safety and suspect

[59:27] tracking. That for me, that's the number

[59:29] one thing. We're putting information out

[59:31] there during a critical incident so

[59:33] those officers are more aware what's

[59:34] going on. Uh if there's a guy hiding

[59:36] behind a car with a shotgun, we're able

[59:38] to see that with a drone before those

[59:40] units uh those officers step out of

[59:42] those units. So, response speed, I told

[59:44] you guys how fast it responds.

[59:46] Deescalation, again, we're giving real

[59:49] information, updated information to

[59:50] those officers as they respond. Uh,

[59:52] maybe it's a mental health crisis and

[59:54] not a true disturbance, and we'll be

[59:56] able to see that and pass that

[59:57] information along. Obviously, missing

[59:59] persons, there's a multitude of of ways

[1:00:02] that can be used. Now, I want to tell

[1:00:03] you what it's not maybe, so that'll help

[1:00:06] answer some of the questions. So, it's

[1:00:08] incident driven only. So, this is not

[1:00:10] patrolling for us. It's not just up

[1:00:13] there randomly turning corners in the

[1:00:14] sky looking down to see what's going on.

[1:00:17] We're sending it somewhere sending it

[1:00:19] somewhere based on a need. Okay. No

[1:00:23] facial recognition. All right. I know

[1:00:25] that's a big concept right now. The

[1:00:27] software integrates for automatic uh

[1:00:29] does not integrate for biometric

[1:00:31] tracking. Um strict evidence purging.

[1:00:34] So, noncriminal footage is obviously

[1:00:36] purged. policies will be in place where

[1:00:38] that information is deleted and then

[1:00:40] public accountability. Uh there will be

[1:00:43] a place on our website where we show the

[1:00:45] number of deployments, the type of

[1:00:47] incidents it was deployed to. So that's

[1:00:49] how it will be used. Be glad to answer

[1:00:51] any questions.

[1:00:52] >> Any questions, Chief? Director Garcia.

[1:00:55] >> Thank you, Mayor. Chief, uh we know that

[1:00:58] you have dispatchers

[1:01:01] around the clock working and you have

[1:01:03] officers around the clock. Uh what about

[1:01:06] the crime center analysts? Are they

[1:01:09] working around the clock or do you need

[1:01:11] uh more resources there?

[1:01:14] >> No, ma'am. So, our crime analysts, we

[1:01:16] have one full-time and one part-time

[1:01:18] crime analyst. Now, they work as needed,

[1:01:20] but primarily during the day. Each day,

[1:01:23] the information from the overnight um

[1:01:26] incidents is pushed to them so they can

[1:01:27] catalog that, build out reports, start

[1:01:29] putting the puzzle together, so to

[1:01:31] speak. But currently they're primarily

[1:01:32] dayshift ma'am or as needed.

[1:01:35] >> So if this came in while they weren't on

[1:01:39] u duty then u they it it could still be

[1:01:44] dispatched.

[1:01:45] >> Absolutely. So the again multipitude of

[1:01:47] ways to dispatch it primarily from the

[1:01:49] dispatch center. So the dispatchers will

[1:01:52] actually own the drone so to speak uh

[1:01:54] from that initial call that 911 call

[1:01:56] comes in the GPS coordinates they're

[1:01:58] loaded in the CAD right. So techn is

[1:02:01] fantastic. Works smarter not harder. Um

[1:02:03] but that information from the cell phone

[1:02:05] call, the 911 call that's automatically

[1:02:08] populated in our CAD system, which is

[1:02:09] our computerenerated dispatching system,

[1:02:12] that's also being sent to the drone. And

[1:02:14] so it's automatically sent. The

[1:02:16] technology is absolutely amazing. Again,

[1:02:18] imagine that helicopter sitting on top

[1:02:19] of the police department, right? And and

[1:02:22] then they can turn the operation of the

[1:02:24] drone. and they can either maintain

[1:02:25] operational capabilities within the

[1:02:27] dispatch center or they can turn it over

[1:02:29] to one of the drone operators, pilots,

[1:02:31] FFA licensed uh pilots that we have on

[1:02:34] each shift.

[1:02:35] >> Okay. Thank you.

[1:02:36] >> Yes, ma'am. Director Web.

[1:02:39] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um and Chief, I'm not

[1:02:42] trying to steal any of our thunder by

[1:02:45] this being projected as a potential

[1:02:47] project to launch Central Arkansas's

[1:02:49] first drone. I remember you bringing

[1:02:51] that up even in our uh agenda meeting,

[1:02:54] but I I do have a question that can give

[1:02:56] us some pretty serious data that I I

[1:02:59] think you're prepared to give us. uh

[1:03:01] with the other drones that are similar

[1:03:03] to what we are considering to pass here

[1:03:06] tonight being in operation and other law

[1:03:09] enforcement agencies, how much real time

[1:03:11] or real data is available uh to share

[1:03:15] with us here tonight to show how these

[1:03:18] drones can bring safety, better safety

[1:03:20] for our officers. Uh which in essence, I

[1:03:24] guess, allows for more preparation going

[1:03:26] into a scene to apprehend suspects. Uh

[1:03:29] that's part one. Part two, how much data

[1:03:33] is available to see to witness to show

[1:03:35] that there is safety being or an

[1:03:38] extended offering of safety being

[1:03:40] provided for potential victims to allow

[1:03:43] response time to not only maybe increase

[1:03:46] but to know how to respond?

[1:03:49] Can you share with us any of that?

[1:03:52] >> Yeah, so obviously we don't have we

[1:03:54] haven't created the data for hot springs

[1:03:56] because you know it's a it's a tool,

[1:03:58] right? And so we still have people

[1:04:00] making decisions on the ground. So that

[1:04:02] data is not here. But from the programs

[1:04:04] that do exist, uh, Chula Vista, several

[1:04:07] other, you know, cities that have used

[1:04:09] the programs, one of the biggest stats

[1:04:11] that I am just absolutely amazed by is

[1:04:13] the 20% on average reduction in calls

[1:04:17] that officers actually have to respond

[1:04:18] to because the the drone is providing

[1:04:21] that real life information to the

[1:04:23] dispatch center and we're able to negate

[1:04:25] some of the the multiple officer

[1:04:27] response to events. So, that's huge to

[1:04:30] me. Uh but again, take for instance,

[1:04:33] we're responding to that that active

[1:04:35] shooter event. And you know, an active

[1:04:37] shooter event, everybody and their

[1:04:39] brother is going to that event. Not just

[1:04:41] HSPD, but Arkansas State Police, Garland

[1:04:43] County Sheriff's Department, National

[1:04:44] Park Service, anybody with a gun and

[1:04:46] badge is going. But if we have that

[1:04:48] drone over the top, instead of mass

[1:04:51] chaos, everybody kind of showing up and

[1:04:54] not knowing what to do, we're able to

[1:04:56] see ahead of time before those officers

[1:04:57] get there, start directing to them to

[1:04:59] where the bad guy is or where the

[1:05:01] critical issue is and pushing those

[1:05:03] resources there. So, we know that works.

[1:05:06] We've seen that with our current drone

[1:05:07] program. Uh on on average, the drones

[1:05:11] are responding in in a minute to a

[1:05:13] minute and a half. Our average response

[1:05:15] time is about three minutes to a call uh

[1:05:17] quicker than that to a critical

[1:05:19] incident. But again, so you're you're

[1:05:21] doubling your your speed capability to

[1:05:23] being overhead providing information

[1:05:25] that is giving us such a tactical

[1:05:27] advantage. uh whether that's for a to a mental person, a subject in a mental

[1:05:33] crisis where we know that hey there's

[1:05:35] not a weapon involved. He's he's just

[1:05:37] having a mental crisis. We can slow down

[1:05:39] the response, have EMS coming in instead

[1:05:41] of a number of officers that would

[1:05:43] escalate that situation. So, we haven't

[1:05:45] created our own data yet, but there's

[1:05:47] plenty of data out there from other

[1:05:48] cities who have deployed these, and

[1:05:50] they've been deployed, I think, since

[1:05:52] 2017 was the first one, uh 2017 or 2019.

[1:05:57] So there's plenty of data out there that

[1:05:58] we can provide to the citizens and then

[1:06:00] we'll do a monthly report. Uh with our

[1:06:02] monthly report, we'll add that data,

[1:06:04] >> you know. Uh thank you, Chief. The one

[1:06:07] thing that I I hear a lot, my my kids

[1:06:10] and I keep up with a lot of um body cam

[1:06:14] police videos that are on YouTube u to

[1:06:17] watch. And then just in policing in

[1:06:20] general, I think one line that we hear

[1:06:22] are there are good people who just make

[1:06:24] a bad choice.

[1:06:26] >> Yes. So, as important as it is, and it's

[1:06:28] highly important to ensure officer

[1:06:30] safety and victim safety, I think it's

[1:06:33] fair to say that most, if not all, law

[1:06:36] enforcement officers also, when they

[1:06:38] can, want to see the suspect uh

[1:06:41] apprehended in a safe manner, too.

[1:06:42] >> Absolutely.

[1:06:43] >> Would you say that this drone uh allows

[1:06:46] for the process of apprehension of

[1:06:48] suspects to be granted a little bit more

[1:06:51] safety being utilized? Well, I think it

[1:06:54] enhances all three of those areas to be

[1:06:56] honest with you. Obviously, we talked

[1:06:58] about the tactical uh safety aspect for

[1:07:00] the responding officers, but also for

[1:07:02] the suspects, uh for the victims. Um you

[1:07:05] know, and and a lot of people aren't

[1:07:08] suspects, they are victims. They're

[1:07:10] lost. Uh this drone would help us find

[1:07:12] them much quicker than sending, you

[1:07:14] know, six officers in a in a grid line

[1:07:17] into the woods looking for someone.

[1:07:18] We've got the drone up there with with

[1:07:20] thermal capabilities showing us that,

[1:07:22] hey, there's a subject 100 yards into

[1:07:23] the wood line laying on the ground. We

[1:07:26] can send people to that direct spot. So,

[1:07:28] we're obviously able to help sus uh

[1:07:30] victims much faster. But also, yes,

[1:07:32] actually there we we have an obligation

[1:07:35] to protect the suspects as well. Uh and

[1:07:37] so if we have that drone overhead, we

[1:07:39] can see where that suspect is, maneuver

[1:07:42] those resources in in a safe manner,

[1:07:44] which allow allows for a safe

[1:07:46] deescalation uh situation where we're

[1:07:49] protecting them as well.

[1:07:51] >> Thank you,

[1:07:52] >> Chief. You had indicated that the range

[1:07:54] was 7 miles. I don't Is that because of

[1:07:59] radio connection or fuel or

[1:08:01] >> Yes, sir. The the cellular data uh

[1:08:04] connection is about seven miles. Okay.

[1:08:06] Um, if the program is successful, if we

[1:08:09] do what we hope to do, uh, and and show

[1:08:12] proof of concept, uh, eventually we

[1:08:15] would request that a secondary drone be

[1:08:17] put in like the south part of the city,

[1:08:18] the south southwest part of the city,

[1:08:20] uh, enhancing our capabilities. Again,

[1:08:23] such a multiuse tool for our fire

[1:08:26] department, our our storm crews as they

[1:08:29] go out in these natural weather

[1:08:30] disasters. uh such a tool, multi-use

[1:08:32] tool for the entire city and our other

[1:08:35] partners, National Park Service, county,

[1:08:37] uh obviously, you know, our lakes border

[1:08:40] our city limits and think about if we've

[1:08:42] got a a drowning victim or a boating

[1:08:44] accident or something like that. So,

[1:08:46] just a great resource to have.

[1:08:48] >> Very good. If there's no further

[1:08:50] questions, thank you.

[1:08:51] >> I'll make this last statement. Uh,

[1:08:52] Senator Boseman, Cotton, and Congressman

[1:08:55] Westerman have all written letters of

[1:08:57] support for this program and so we're

[1:08:59] hoping that DOJ takes notice of that.

[1:09:01] So,

[1:09:02] >> okay, we got one more question or

[1:09:04] questioner, director, trustee.

[1:09:06] >> Thank you, Mayor Chief. [clears throat]

[1:09:07] We discussed this briefly at the agenda

[1:09:10] meeting, but as the information comes in

[1:09:13] to the dispatch center and it's entered

[1:09:15] into the system, does that automatically

[1:09:20] um send the drone or does someone have

[1:09:22] to push that button say yes, this is a

[1:09:24] drone

[1:09:26] response?

[1:09:26] >> So, it can be deployed either way. The

[1:09:28] technology allows it to automatically

[1:09:30] deploy based on certain criteria, but

[1:09:33] more than likely we're going to be

[1:09:35] pushing that button button. Yeah. And

[1:09:37] then of course all the information

[1:09:39] that's being gathered as the dispatcher

[1:09:41] is entering that additional information.

[1:09:43] Of course that's going straight out to

[1:09:44] our officers. Uh they can transition to

[1:09:47] the other pilot who can add additional

[1:09:48] information. So again the technology is

[1:09:51] above my pay grade and but it is it's

[1:09:53] pretty neat.

[1:09:55] >> All right. Thank you.

[1:09:56] >> Very good. Thank you.

[1:09:57] >> Thank you sir.

[1:10:00] >> Anybody sign up?

[1:10:01] >> No sir.

[1:10:03] >> Discussion amongst directors hearing

[1:10:05] none. Please call the role.

[1:10:07] >> Director Dob Smith

[1:10:08] >> I.

[1:10:09] >> Web

[1:10:10] >> I.

[1:10:10] >> Garcia

[1:10:11] >> I.

[1:10:12] >> Trustee

[1:10:12] >> I.

[1:10:13] >> Beard.

[1:10:14] >> No.

[1:10:15] >> Mayor McCabe.

[1:10:16] >> I. Resolution adopted. Moving on to

[1:10:19] consider or ordinance O-26-31.

[1:10:23] I'll entertain a motion and second to

[1:10:25] suspend the rules and read by title.

[1:10:30] >> A motion to suspend the rules. director

[1:10:32] of trustee seconded by director Garcia.

[1:10:35] >> I have a motion and second to spend the

[1:10:36] rules. All in favor signify by saying I.

[1:10:39] >> I. I.

[1:10:40] >> Oppos same sign. Council please read by

[1:10:42] title.

[1:10:42] >> Ordinance 0-26-31

[1:10:44] an ordinance amending the zoning map for

[1:10:46] lots two and part of lot three of Sour

[1:10:49] Rock Spring subdivision from RN2

[1:10:51] residential neighborhood 2 to CR

[1:10:53] regional commercial zone district.

[1:10:55] Changing the future land use plan map

[1:10:58] from residential low density to linear

[1:11:00] commercial corridor to correct a mapping

[1:11:02] error and for other purposes. That

[1:11:04] concludes your reading. Mayor, if you

[1:11:04] would entertain a motion, second to

[1:11:06] adopt.

[1:11:06] >> Motion to adopt. Director G. Director

[1:11:09] Adob Smith, seconded by director Trustee

[1:11:11] and staff report will be provided by

[1:11:13] Kathy Salman, planning and development

[1:11:15] director. Welcome.

[1:11:17] >> Thank you. Um, excuse [clears throat]

[1:11:20] me. We have two zoning map errors that

[1:11:23] apply to this land. And Hot Springs code

[1:11:26] does establish standards for amending

[1:11:28] the zoning map. One of those is to

[1:11:32] correct an error in previous map

[1:11:34] amendment action. I don't think we've

[1:11:36] ever had one where there were two errors

[1:11:39] in two different years on one piece of

[1:11:42] land, but here we do. A 2002 application

[1:11:47] to reszone this land to commercial

[1:11:50] included a map which used a now very

[1:11:53] faded highlighter to outland outline the

[1:11:56] subject land. The board of directors

[1:12:00] approved an ordinance that had no map

[1:12:04] and contains

[1:12:07] what looks like a partial legal

[1:12:09] description of the area that was

[1:12:11] highlighted on the original application.

[1:12:16] Uh there isn't any doc documentation

[1:12:19] that exists to explain why the

[1:12:22] ordinances legal description differs

[1:12:24] from the applicant's map. The area

[1:12:27] depicted on the application exceeds the

[1:12:30] area the ordinance described, but there

[1:12:32] is nothing in either planning commission

[1:12:35] minutes or board of directors minutes uh

[1:12:38] from that meeting in 2002 to reflect any

[1:12:42] amendment of the area being reszoned. In

[1:12:46] 2004,

[1:12:48] planning commission approved a

[1:12:50] conditional use for a self storage use

[1:12:54] and structures on the entire multiple

[1:12:57] lot parcel despite the fact that one of

[1:13:00] the lots was and still is residentially

[1:13:03] zoned. Um self- storage facility still

[1:13:07] is a prohibited use in residential

[1:13:09] zones.

[1:13:12] Um the meeting minutes from the

[1:13:15] commission's meeting um demonstrate that

[1:13:20] the commission was incorrectly advised

[1:13:24] prior to their vote approving the

[1:13:26] conditional use. And what they were told

[1:13:29] was that because an adjacent lot also

[1:13:32] owned by the same owner as these three

[1:13:36] was already zoned commercial, then the

[1:13:39] residential zoning could be interpreted

[1:13:41] as commercial zoning. Um, that's not

[1:13:46] true. And the zoning map wasn't amended

[1:13:49] after the fact either to reflect that

[1:13:52] interpretation.

[1:13:55] The current use on lots one to three

[1:13:58] appears to be vehicle and both storage.

[1:14:01] This storage is in keeping with the

[1:14:03] approved 2004 conditional use um which

[1:14:07] specifically approved additional storage

[1:14:10] buildings again even though the mapped

[1:14:13] residential zone prohibited that use. So

[1:14:16] as currently mapped the use that was

[1:14:20] developed subsequent to the conditional

[1:14:22] use being approved um is not lawful. So

[1:14:27] um the

[1:14:30] approval standards for map amendments

[1:14:33] cover this situation. The map amendment

[1:14:36] errors affecting lots one, two, and

[1:14:39] three, part of three saw rock spring

[1:14:42] subdivision occurred in both 2002 and in

[1:14:46] 2004.

[1:14:47] Correcting the map to zone the subject

[1:14:49] land CR regional commercial will remove

[1:14:53] a nonconformity

[1:14:55] and would allow both the use and future

[1:14:58] development consistent with the 2004

[1:15:01] approved conditional use permit. A

[1:15:04] future land use plan map designation of

[1:15:07] linear commercial corridor is consistent

[1:15:10] with the surrounding regional commercial

[1:15:13] CR zoned lands and the future land use

[1:15:17] map should be adjusted to reflect that

[1:15:20] new designation.

[1:15:22] >> Very good. Any questions of Miss Sel?

[1:15:28] » Director Trustee.

[1:15:29] >> Thank you, mayor. Kathy, this is just on

[1:15:32] the storage units behind the commercial

[1:15:35] property.

[1:15:36] >> It It is on two and a half lots that are

[1:15:41] to the immediate east of those storage

[1:15:45] buildings. Takes it over to

[1:15:49] I want to say S Rock Springs Road. Okay.

[1:15:52] Right.

[1:15:54] Okay.

[1:15:57] >> Any additional questions of Miss Selman?

[1:16:01] Thank you.

[1:16:02] >> Thank you.

[1:16:03] >> Did we have anybody sign up?

[1:16:04] >> No sir.

[1:16:04] >> Discussion amongst directors

[1:16:08] >> hearing none. Please call the role.

[1:16:10] >> Director Webb

[1:16:11] >> I.

[1:16:12] >> Garcia

[1:16:13] >> I.

[1:16:13] >> Trusty

[1:16:14] >> I.

[1:16:15] >> Beard

[1:16:16] >> I.

[1:16:17] >> Bob Smith

[1:16:18] >> I.

[1:16:18] >> Mayor McCabe

[1:16:19] >> I. Ordinance is adopted. Our final

[1:16:22] action of the item for this evening is

[1:16:24] to consider ordinance 0-26-32.

[1:16:28] I entertain a motion, second to suspend

[1:16:30] the rules and read by title.

[1:16:32] >> So move.

[1:16:33] >> Director Do Smith, second by director

[1:16:35] Garcia.

[1:16:36] >> I have a motion and second to spend the

[1:16:37] rules and read by title. All in favor

[1:16:39] signify by saying I.

[1:16:41] >> I.

[1:16:41] >> Oppose. Same sign. Council, please read

[1:16:43] by title. Ordinance O-26-32

[1:16:46] and an ordinance calling for an election

[1:16:47] to be held during the next general

[1:16:49] election November 3, 2026 on the

[1:16:52] question of authorizing Sunday sales of

[1:16:55] alcoholic beverages for off- premises

[1:16:57] consumption in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

[1:16:59] That concludes your reading. Mayor, if

[1:17:01] you would entertain a motion and a

[1:17:02] second to adopt.

[1:17:03] >> So second

[1:17:05] >> director trustee second by director Dob

[1:17:07] Smith and our staff report we provided

[1:17:11] by our city attorney, Mr. Brian

[1:17:12] Albbright. Thank you, mayor. Uh the the

[1:17:15] underlying question here is sale of

[1:17:17] alcoholic beverages on Sundays for off-

[1:17:19] premise consumption. Hot Springs does

[1:17:21] have onremise consumption does not have

[1:17:24] off-remise consumption on on Sunday. Um

[1:17:27] but this is this is a product that comes

[1:17:30] to you through our constitution. Article

[1:17:33] 5 section one of our constitution of

[1:17:35] 1875

[1:17:36] uh deals with initiatives and

[1:17:38] referendums. that is the right that the

[1:17:40] people uh of this state reserved unto

[1:17:43] themselves when the when the uh

[1:17:45] constitution was adopted and so we

[1:17:47] follow that process uh in the form of

[1:17:50] petitions. Um al Sunday off- premise

[1:17:53] alcohol sales in Arkansas is governed by

[1:17:55] statute Arkansas code annotated section

[1:17:58] 3-3-210

[1:18:00] sub paragraph B. Um, this uh subsection

[1:18:03] authorizes cities to permit Sunday

[1:18:05] off-remise sales for retail sales,

[1:18:07] meaning grocery stores, uh, convenience

[1:18:10] stores, liquor stores, similar retail

[1:18:12] outlets. It does not expand uh the

[1:18:15] ability to to sell beyond the the on

[1:18:19] premise license. So, in other words, an

[1:18:22] establishment must have an on-remise

[1:18:24] license in order to uh I'm sorry, it

[1:18:26] doesn't it's not really what I meant.

[1:18:29] to say is that they have a

[1:18:31] license to sell other than Sundays. Uh

[1:18:34] if they if they have a license uh to

[1:18:36] sell other than Sundays, then this would

[1:18:37] apply to them. That have anything to do

[1:18:39] with on premise. Um in looking at the uh

[1:18:44] the law regarding the number of of

[1:18:46] signatures required, it's 15% of those

[1:18:49] uh that uh uh voted for voted in the

[1:18:52] governor's race at the last general

[1:18:53] election. uh here in in Garland County

[1:18:56] those numbers uh in Hot Springs were

[1:18:59] 13,020.

[1:19:00] So so the number that must be reached is

[1:19:03] 1953.

[1:19:05] On August 5th, 2026, the city clerk's

[1:19:08] office received a petition uh and began

[1:19:11] the verification of the signatures on

[1:19:13] that uh with the county clerk's office.

[1:19:16] Um once the requisite number of

[1:19:19] signatures were verified and certified,

[1:19:22] our uh pro procedure here in Hot

[1:19:24] Springs, Hot Springs Code section 1-2-1

[1:19:27] uh 1.5 deals with referendums and

[1:19:30] initiatives. Uh and it states that once

[1:19:32] those signatures are uh received, an

[1:19:35] election shall be called. The election

[1:19:39] is called pursuant to Arkansas code

[1:19:42] 3-3210B

[1:19:45] uh which states um that the election

[1:19:48] under this subsection on the Sunday sale

[1:19:50] question shall be held in accordance

[1:19:52] with the procedures established for

[1:19:54] onremise consumption. So our our

[1:19:57] legislature gave us a statute for

[1:19:59] off-remise consumption and told us to

[1:20:02] follow the procedure under for the

[1:20:04] election that is established under the

[1:20:07] onremise consumption which is 3-9-201

[1:20:11] at seek. When we look to 3-9-206,

[1:20:18] it states that the election shall be

[1:20:20] called by order of the quorum court in

[1:20:22] accordance with section 7-11-201

[1:20:25] at seek, which is a statutory scheme

[1:20:27] that uh codify amendment 7 to article 5

[1:20:31] section one of the constitution.

[1:20:33] So in any event, uh the law says that

[1:20:36] when you get the signatures, you call

[1:20:38] for the election, but it also says that

[1:20:40] the manner uh includes asking the quorum

[1:20:43] court to also call the election. I

[1:20:46] question whether or not that is

[1:20:47] absolutely positively required. However,

[1:20:50] uh belt and and suspenders and wanting

[1:20:54] to to preserve the right that was

[1:20:56] reserved to the people under the

[1:20:58] constitution to have their referendum on

[1:21:00] this law. uh part of uh the ordinance

[1:21:03] that's before you includes a request for

[1:21:06] the county to also uh call this

[1:21:08] election. So, in looking at the uh the

[1:21:11] ordinance itself, um there were 1957

[1:21:16] signatures that were certified. Uh those

[1:21:19] uh will be going to the uh county clerk

[1:21:22] as well as the commission, the election

[1:21:24] commission. Um

[1:21:28] and we request that u the quorum court

[1:21:30] also call such a such an election.

[1:21:37] It does not expand as I said only if you

[1:21:40] already have a license uh to sell on the

[1:21:43] other days of the of the week would you

[1:21:45] be able to sell on Sunday.

[1:21:50] » Any questions of Brian?

[1:21:53] Director Web.

[1:21:58] » Thank you, Mayor.

[1:22:00] I'm just sitting here thinking of how to

[1:22:02] ask these questions. So, um

[1:22:06] [clears throat]

[1:22:07] I I think you've tried to maybe answer

[1:22:09] some of the questions that I have. Um

[1:22:13] because the initial thought for me upon

[1:22:15] seeing this on our agenda last week was,

[1:22:19] you know, um the body of people that

[1:22:22] took this action for this particular

[1:22:25] initiative to get signatures and file

[1:22:28] all the necessary filings had nothing to

[1:22:31] do with the city board of directors. So

[1:22:34] the question for me is why are we even

[1:22:36] seeing this item here before us? And

[1:22:40] it looks upon first glance, it looked to

[1:22:43] me like having this in front of us looks

[1:22:46] like a measure to have us show

[1:22:49] favorability for this particular ballot

[1:22:52] initiative when in my opinion we should

[1:22:54] remain neutral and allow the people to

[1:22:57] vote their mind without any input from

[1:23:00] the city. Um, would that be right or

[1:23:04] wrong is the question. And I guess the

[1:23:07] follow-up question to that is if the

[1:23:13] signatures that were needed to be

[1:23:15] obtained were obtained by the group of

[1:23:18] said people for this particular

[1:23:19] initiative,

[1:23:21] would they not be able to get it on a

[1:23:24] ballot without having anything passed by

[1:23:26] the board of directors or quorum court?

[1:23:30] >> Okay. Um, yeah, I think there's

[1:23:32] basically three questions there and I'll

[1:23:35] if [clears throat] I miss some of them,

[1:23:37] follow up on this. Okay. The reason that

[1:23:40] it's coming to you this way is because

[1:23:41] this is way the Constitution says it

[1:23:43] comes. Article 5, section one of the of

[1:23:46] the Arkansas Constitution says if there

[1:23:48] is a petition filed with the requisite

[1:23:50] number of signatures, you will put it on

[1:23:53] the ballot. People don't put it on the

[1:23:55] ballot. The the governing bodies put it

[1:23:58] on the B. have to call for the election.

[1:24:01] Okay, they they they've sought the

[1:24:03] election. They've they've reached the

[1:24:05] number of signatures. And so our first

[1:24:07] statute that we looked at is 33210B,

[1:24:10] which says uh that an election on Sunday

[1:24:14] sale question shall be held in

[1:24:15] accordance with procedures established

[1:24:17] on prem for on premises elections.

[1:24:20] Okay, that's what we have to send to the

[1:24:22] county because 39206

[1:24:27] says that they also have to call the

[1:24:28] election.

[1:24:31] Our our initiative and referendum

[1:24:33] section of of our ordinances, our code

[1:24:36] that we adopted that or again article 5

[1:24:39] section one of the constitution says you

[1:24:41] do says that when we receive that that

[1:24:44] requisite number of signatures, we call

[1:24:46] the election.

[1:24:48] Um,

[1:24:49] >> we're not endorsing the election.

[1:24:51] There's nothing in here whatsoever that

[1:24:54] shows any indication of how we want

[1:24:57] people to vote or that you're in favor

[1:24:59] of it. One iota. This is merely to call

[1:25:02] the election so that the people, the

[1:25:05] registered voters of the city of Hot

[1:25:07] Springs can vote on the measure.

[1:25:09] >> Um, having listened to all that, if um

[1:25:13] would uh it also have to be passed in

[1:25:15] quorum court to be placed on the ballot?

[1:25:17] Is there not any way that this

[1:25:19] particular measure could make it onto a

[1:25:21] ballot without the passing of our board

[1:25:24] in a quorum court or one of the other?

[1:25:26] >> It has to be. It has to be by this

[1:25:27] board. But again, it it's a ministerial

[1:25:30] act kind of like we were talking about

[1:25:31] with the other petition. When you

[1:25:33] receive petitions of referendum pursuant

[1:25:36] to the constitution, you act on that.

[1:25:38] Otherwise, you're sued for mandamus.

[1:25:40] >> Right.

[1:25:41] >> Um so this is a ministerial duty for you

[1:25:45] to call for the election. I'm not

[1:25:47] convinced a thousand% that the quorum

[1:25:50] court must also do it, but the other

[1:25:52] cities who have followed this statutory

[1:25:54] scheme in 2024 also send it to their

[1:25:58] quorum courts. Um, so again, as a belt

[1:26:01] and suspenders

[1:26:03] abundance of caution, I think that that

[1:26:06] they should be asked to to also pass uh

[1:26:09] a measure to put it on the ballot. So,

[1:26:11] it's it's your uh belief that the

[1:26:15] petition

[1:26:17] did obtain all necessary and that this

[1:26:19] was confirmed by city and county clerk,

[1:26:21] right? I mean, all the all the ballot

[1:26:23] signatures were there. So, it's your

[1:26:24] position that uh if the board were not

[1:26:28] to act on this by calling an action that

[1:26:31] there could be lawsuits against the

[1:26:32] city,

[1:26:33] >> it's called a mandamus. Well, uh, what

[1:26:36] could happen if the board, even though

[1:26:38] it's coming to us, said, "No, we don't

[1:26:41] want it on the ballot." Would there be

[1:26:42] any violation of the constitution in

[1:26:44] doing that?

[1:26:46] >> It would be it would be a mandamus,

[1:26:48] >> like voting no.

[1:26:49] >> Yeah. If you if you don't put it on the

[1:26:51] ballot, um, the petitioners would have

[1:26:54] grounds to sue for mandamus to force you

[1:26:57] to to fulfill your ministerial duty. Uh

[1:27:00] the packet did show a number of cities

[1:27:02] that were successful

[1:27:05] uh with this one being Fagatville,

[1:27:08] Rogers, looks like Bentonville and

[1:27:10] Springdale. Are there any who have

[1:27:13] completed this process, put it on the

[1:27:14] ballot, and it wasn't successful?

[1:27:16] >> Uh

[1:27:17] >> to your knowledge?

[1:27:18] >> Not to my knowledge.

[1:27:20] >> How has any kind of ballot measure like

[1:27:22] this ever been uh presented to voters in

[1:27:25] Hot Springs before?

[1:27:26] >> No. We we had we had the local option uh

[1:27:30] just for Sunday sales on on premise. Uh

[1:27:33] but the off- premise came along with uh

[1:27:36] the act was uh

[1:27:39] let's see act 294 of 2009

[1:27:43] um open this up to where you could have

[1:27:45] off-remise consumption sales for

[1:27:48] off-remise consumption.

[1:27:50] >> So is it is it then your um belief and I guess testimony. We're using legal

[1:27:59] terms that this isn't an ordinance on

[1:28:01] our agenda to alleviate this group from

[1:28:05] having to do further work to get it on

[1:28:07] the ballot, like cutting some red tape,

[1:28:09] per se. Are we alleviating that group

[1:28:11] from do from any additional work to get

[1:28:14] it placed on the ballot? You know,

[1:28:16] providing a uh an expedited process for

[1:28:18] the group. Are we doing any favors to

[1:28:21] this group or are we just following the

[1:28:23] constitution?

[1:28:24] >> We're just following Yeah. First of all,

[1:28:26] I never testify before you

[1:28:29] ever.

[1:28:31] Um,

[1:28:32] we we are doing our best to follow the

[1:28:35] Constitution that requires us when we

[1:28:38] receive the requisite numbers of a

[1:28:39] petition for referendum or initiative

[1:28:42] that we call an election.

[1:28:44] >> So, we're not doing we're not providing

[1:28:46] any favors for this group.

[1:28:48] >> Absolutely.

[1:28:48] >> Is that what you're saying?

[1:28:50] >> This isn't out of the norm, per se?

[1:28:52] >> No, sir. In your opinion? Okay.

[1:28:54] >> No, sir. there uh over the you know uh

[1:28:57] the the last 27 years there have been

[1:29:01] petitions that have that that have come

[1:29:03] to the city clerk's office and I think

[1:29:05] in every instance whether it was Lance Hudnull uh whether

[1:29:10] you know they have attempted to do

[1:29:14] everything that they could to assist

[1:29:17] them in the procedure but there's no

[1:29:20] favoritism here.

[1:29:22] >> Okay. Thank you.

[1:29:24] Director Garcia.

[1:29:26] >> Thank you, Mayor. I interpreted this

[1:29:28] that uh we were just doing what was

[1:29:32] constitutionally correct. We're not uh

[1:29:35] in favor or not in favor. We're just

[1:29:38] putting

[1:29:40] what we're supposed to do to pass this

[1:29:43] to be on the ballot. But the county

[1:29:46] clerks already done the verification

[1:29:49] that the signatures, they've met

[1:29:51] everything. In the same vein that the uh

[1:29:55] state attorney general puts things on

[1:29:58] the ballot statewide, they're not

[1:30:00] endorsing anything, they're doing their

[1:30:04] uh what they're supposed to do to verify

[1:30:07] and get on stat statewide ballots. I

[1:30:10] don't see us doing anything different.

[1:30:12] Each member of the board will vote how

[1:30:15] uh their conscience wants them to vote.

[1:30:18] And we're not doing anything out of

[1:30:22] ordinary uh for business in that this

[1:30:25] was a citywide

[1:30:28] um petition for it's just applying to

[1:30:31] the city limits in its current form to

[1:30:35] be voted on by the city residents.

[1:30:37] However, I'm not opposed for it going to

[1:30:40] the quorum court, but the county won't

[1:30:44] be voting on this, just city. Is that

[1:30:46] correct?

[1:30:47] >> It will be city-wide election, not a

[1:30:48] countywide election. Um I I think that

[1:30:51] the the perhaps the reason uh that the 33210

[1:30:56] uh ended up sending us to the 39206 [clears throat]

[1:31:02] is because the election commission is an

[1:31:04] arm of the county

[1:31:05] >> and they're the ones that put uh

[1:31:07] everything on the ballot and they need

[1:31:09] the they have to have this to put it on

[1:31:11] the ballot. Our vote.

[1:31:13] >> That's right.

[1:31:14] >> Okay. And so your your vote to put it on

[1:31:17] the ballot is certainly not a vote in

[1:31:19] favor of the measure.

[1:31:21] >> Yeah. It's not for or against. It's just

[1:31:24] to follow the constitution.

[1:31:26] >> And you know, if if you're against the

[1:31:27] measure, then you vote no at the polls.

[1:31:32] » All right.

[1:31:33] >> Or if you're for it, you vote for it. If

[1:31:35] you're not, you vote against it.

[1:31:36] >> Right.

[1:31:37] >> But it's city residents that will vote.

[1:31:39] >> That is correct.

[1:31:41] >> Director Web.

[1:31:42] >> Thank you, Mayor. um based upon the

[1:31:45] outcome um let's say it is you know on

[1:31:48] the ballot um um if the measure fails

[1:31:52] there's there isn't any action uh and

[1:31:54] this is through the vote of the people

[1:31:56] at the ballot if the measure fails there

[1:31:58] isn't any action the city does if the

[1:32:00] measure passes will this be something

[1:32:02] that comes back to the board to uh amend

[1:32:06] codes

[1:32:06] >> yes thank thank you for bringing that up

[1:32:08] and I I mentioned that in in passing I

[1:32:11] think at the end of uh uh the uh the

[1:32:14] VARF u if the voters approve the ballot

[1:32:16] measure, the board would need to amend

[1:32:18] the city code sections pertaining to

[1:32:19] Sunday sale of alcohol for off- premise

[1:32:22] consumption. And of course, the reason

[1:32:23] for that is because it's prohibited now,

[1:32:25] >> right?

[1:32:26] >> Um so you would you would have to amend

[1:32:28] your codes in order to deal with that.

[1:32:31] >> Okay?

[1:32:32] >> In order in order to give u give me to

[1:32:35] what the people have have enacted,

[1:32:38] >> right? So to clarify, this is a vote

[1:32:41] just to place it on the ballot to be

[1:32:43] given a choice to the people, not so

[1:32:45] much to vote in favor or against it.

[1:32:47] >> That's right. It is it is purely

[1:32:49] ministerial.

[1:32:50] >> Right. Thank you.

[1:32:52] >> We have one individual who signed up to

[1:32:54] speak on this, Mr. Tyler Draper. Please

[1:32:57] come forward. Restate your name,

[1:32:58] address, and district, please.

[1:33:05] » Good afternoon, y'all. My name is Tyler

[1:33:06] Draper, uh, district 5 chairperson for

[1:33:09] the, uh, keep our dollars in hot

[1:33:11] springs. So, uh, to clarify, we're a

[1:33:14] ballot question committee. We're

[1:33:16] registered through the ethics

[1:33:17] commission. We've reported all of our,

[1:33:20] uh, donations. We've taken about $35,000

[1:33:23] from Walmart and had, you know, support

[1:33:26] from uh, many places across Hot Springs.

[1:33:29] We already have al Sunday alcohol sales

[1:33:31] in the city. you just have to go drive,

[1:33:33] drink there, and then try to get back

[1:33:36] home. This puts it on the ballot and

[1:33:39] will allow the people to vote for or

[1:33:41] against having the freedom to buy at a

[1:33:44] store and take it to your house. This is

[1:33:48] not anything. Nobody gave me any favors.

[1:33:51] I've done background checks. I've sworn

[1:33:55] affidavits, followed all the new laws

[1:33:58] from the Secretary of State, turned in

[1:34:00] everything. uh no favors. Uh we've had

[1:34:03] stores that support it, stores that

[1:34:05] oppose it, and uh that's fine with us.

[1:34:08] Let's put it to the people, and uh

[1:34:11] they'll decide if we can get it there.

[1:34:13] So, uh to be on the general election, we

[1:34:16] had the choice. We could have done this

[1:34:17] and put it on the primary election when

[1:34:20] the issue for y'all being paid was on

[1:34:23] there, but we decided, hey, we're going

[1:34:25] to put it on the general election to

[1:34:26] make sure we have, you know, the correct

[1:34:29] turnout and everybody gets their chance.

[1:34:31] So, uh, we followed, in my opinion, we

[1:34:35] followed all the laws. We've done

[1:34:36] everything right ethically. And uh I

[1:34:40] don't see uh any any favors and I would

[1:34:43] just like for the city and the county to

[1:34:46] put on the ballot. We could have had

[1:34:47] this countywide, but the amount of

[1:34:50] signatures and the amount of time we

[1:34:53] decided, hey, let's just try it in the

[1:34:55] city first and if we're successful,

[1:34:58] maybe it could go to the county in

[1:35:00] another attempt next time. If we fail,

[1:35:02] oh well, so be it. zone. Uh we just want

[1:35:05] the people to decide for uh we're a

[1:35:07] tourism town. People come here from

[1:35:09] Texas and Tennessee all the time and get

[1:35:12] blindsided at the store on Sundays

[1:35:15] because their states already do this. So

[1:35:18] that was that's our plan is to make us

[1:35:20] competitive with other uh states around

[1:35:22] us and give people, you know, more

[1:35:25] freedom and less hassle. Thank y'all.

[1:35:27] >> Any questions to Mr. Draper?

[1:35:31] >> Thank you.

[1:35:33] discussion amongst directors,

[1:35:36] director, trustee.

[1:35:37] >> Thank you, Mayor

[1:35:39] Brian. Being a former banker, I'm all

[1:35:41] about belts and suspenders. I get the I

[1:35:44] get the principle there. But on 97, page

[1:35:47] 97 of our packet, it talks about the end

[1:35:50] of that uh paragraph A, it says or.

[1:35:54] >> Yeah. And so it really is just

[1:35:59] doing what the other folks have done and

[1:36:01] having the quorum court call the

[1:36:03] election also.

[1:36:05] >> Yeah. So um [clears throat] I apologize

[1:36:08] for this in in some our barf goes into a system called I compass.

[1:36:14] >> Okay.

[1:36:15] >> And so sometimes the ores and the the page breaks and the so forth don't

[1:36:21] always jive up. Okay. Um, so the or

[1:36:24] under paragraph, see that's supposed to

[1:36:25] be a one and then or there was a two. B

[1:36:31] doesn't go with A. B stands by on its

[1:36:33] own.

[1:36:33] >> Okay.

[1:36:35] >> So, it would have been clearer had I

[1:36:37] just left A out.

[1:36:38] >> Gotcha.

[1:36:39] >> Um because that's where we are.

[1:36:41] >> All right. I don't have any problem

[1:36:43] asking court to place it on the ballot.

[1:36:46] Thank you,

[1:36:48] >> Director Web.

[1:36:49] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, Brian, does this

[1:36:52] cost city any to put it on the ballot?

[1:36:56] Isn't there some cost involved to put a

[1:36:57] measure on the ballot to be voted on?

[1:36:59] There would be.

[1:36:59] >> And if it's a cost, where does that come

[1:37:01] from?

[1:37:02] >> General fund.

[1:37:04] >> Okay. Would it not be upon the

[1:37:05] responsibility of the party who's

[1:37:07] bringing the referendum to us to pay for

[1:37:10] the cause to put it on the ballot?

[1:37:12] >> It is not.

[1:37:15] >> Is it not at ever any time to do that?

[1:37:19] What what is the cost in approximate

[1:37:22] value?

[1:37:22] >> Um we had an estimate the last election

[1:37:25] um

[1:37:25] >> about $1,800. Is that what you said the

[1:37:28] last time?

[1:37:28] >> It depends on what else is on the

[1:37:30] ballot. The um the Garland County

[1:37:32] Election Commission will take everything

[1:37:34] that is on the ballot and divide that up

[1:37:36] between the school district, the city,

[1:37:38] the whatever's on the ballot.

[1:37:40] >> And and and so in a general election, it

[1:37:43] should be less than it would be in a

[1:37:45] special

[1:37:46] >> special.

[1:37:48] Okay. Would it I mean would it be

[1:37:50] $160,000?

[1:37:53] >> Okay.

[1:37:54] >> Usually three four.

[1:37:55] >> Yeah.

[1:38:00] » No other questions. Please call the

[1:38:02] role.

[1:38:03] >> Director Garcia.

[1:38:04] >> I.

[1:38:05] >> Trusty.

[1:38:06] >> I.

[1:38:06] >> Beard.

[1:38:07] >> I.

[1:38:08] >> Do Smith.

[1:38:08] >> I.

[1:38:09] >> Webb.

[1:38:10] >> I.

[1:38:10] >> Mayor McCabe.

[1:38:11] >> I. The ordinance is adopted and the item

[1:38:15] will be put forward to the voters.

[1:38:18] Um that concludes the action items that

[1:38:21] we will act on today. There we're under

[1:38:25] board uh items for discussion.

[1:38:29] Board members have any items they'd like

[1:38:30] to discuss?

[1:38:34] Hearing none. We do have a uh public

[1:38:37] comment session after for a couple

[1:38:40] reports, but uh Director Garcia.

[1:38:43] >> Thank you, Mayor. I move to adjourn.

[1:38:47] Second

[1:38:48] >> director web seconded. All in favor

[1:38:51] signify by saying I. I.

[1:38:53] >> I post same sign.

8-18-26 Board of Directors Meeting

Transcript