City Council - Regular Meeting

Mayor, it's that time. I'd like to call the meeting to order. This is the meeting of Bella Vista City Council regular meeting for March 23, 2026. We'll start with the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

A roll call, please. Council members Hansel here, Harp here, Hughes here, Newport here, Wilms here, Isbel absent, and Mayor Flynn here.

Thank you. Um, the first item is citizen input and we don't have anyone signed up today. So, uh, that also takes care of council reply. And next item after that is the state of the city report. It's on the website. I'm not going to read the whole report. I'll just give a summary of it. But I am going to read the first paragraph. I am pleased to see the local economy within our city holding strong along with continued growth in both residential and commercial development. We celebrated some big accomplishments in 2025 and have seen some largecale growth that continues to set our city apart from and far above others in our region. But truly, it is our people, the qualified and professional staff members of each department that are the true cornerstone for success in our city. And I would like to thank them for their hard work over the years. And now summarizing some of the other items, we did have a number of new businesses in 2025. Rositas, Little Sugar, Beastro, Table Aa, Veaban Coffee, all in the restaurant category. We also had uh Campfire Ranch be completed and start operation. And that's in the former location of the inn at Bella Vista. And for 2025, we had a 12% city sales tax increase, which was in the top three in the entire state of Arkansas. So, uh, we had a good level of activity. Uh for 2026, couple things coming up

which most people are aware of probably is Oz Trails Bike Park which is slated to open June 12, 2026 and the Veterans Health Clinic on the west side which a lot of people are very enthused about. Uh on the financial side our revenues ended up 2.4 4 million over budget and our expenses were $500,000 under budget. So we were 2.9 million uh ahead of our budget which I was very pleased about. Uh in a similar vein, phase one and two of the town center complex and that was the living quarters for the fire department and the offices for city administration on the first floor and offices for fire and building inspectors on the second floor. It came in almost $600,000 under budget under the we had a guaranteed maximum price and it was almost $600,000 below that. So that was very pleasing. Also on the financial side, our residents approved the uh sales tax extension in November by more than 70 70% positive vote. That sales tax uh bond would be at 3.76%. And I was pleased to see that if our city sales tax stays even, it would pay off in just seven and a half years. That would be fall of 2033. And uh I've been involved in city government since 2015. And our city sales tax has increased every single year. So I think it's highly likely it'll pay off sooner than that because our city sales tax receipts won't stay even. you know, highly likely

to increase. So, uh that bond is going to cover some uh further projects at Town Center, finishing up the planning and development and permitting area and some new bays for the fire department. Uh it's also going to help with the fire department growth of fire station number five and three new radio towers for the police. Well, and that's really for police and fire and streets and also some street resurfacing among other things. Those are some of the things the bond covers. On the transparency front, uh we've been working hard on transparency and the communications department uh did a lot of work last year getting just FOYA in place, which is a uh software platform helping us to respond to uh FOYA requests in a timely manner. We have quite a few foyer requests. So, it's important to keep up with those. In planning and development, we had an amazingly busy year. They had more than 4,000 applications of various types and almost a thousand GEC sets grading and erosion control permits which are a precursor to building. They also established a GIS database that helps to show where parcel lines are, property info, zoning, that sort of thing. And the biggest thing probably they did was we had a new zoning and development code which was completed after two years of work. So it was quite an effort. So I was really impressed with the work of that department. Uh in regard to the building department, they had 787 housing permits and that

was a 24% increase over the prior year. and they had 1,965 total permits. So, they were working very hard to say the least. The street department completed uh 1,240 work orders. They paved and slurried 46 miles of roads and they, interestingly, they paved 35 streets that were gravel. We're working on trying to pave more of those streets each year because the people are building in more and more locations that aren't paved. So, we're trying to knock those off a little bit at a time. And street department also got a grant worth $300,000 to pave Bethno Road, which uh was granted last year, but will the actual paving uh will occur this year. The police department is uh had a lot of success and they're still one of the safest cities in the state of Arkansas. We added a full-time warrants officer which is helping quite a bit with our situation with getting warrants served. And we have a full-time resource officer at Cooper Elementary starting this year, which uh very much appreciated the great relationship the police have established with the elementary school. And there's all kinds of different things the police do. coffee with the cop, police night out, citizens police academy, a lot of different uh outreach to the community. The fire department had almost 5,000 calls in 2025. They had a really successful kids day in October at the fire uh training tower. That's really well attended, very popular event. And uh the fire chief of

course was involved in the ongoing construction at Town Center. And we were able to complete the fire offices and also uh more recently the rehab of the three old bays at uh at the same location, three old fire bays. Uh in the future, of course, we have fire station number five coming up in the two new bays that are going to be located also at Town Center. The library had a great increase in programming, kids programming in particular. They established a new social area with a coffee bar. they have uh the teen advisory board help them uh with remodeling the teen area and uh so we're really pleased with the the way things have been going at the library. So I am looking forward to another year of progress in 2026. My goal for this year is to build on this progress to ensure our city remains a safe, desirable, and well-managed community to those who live and visit here. By maintaining this responsible growth, strong financial stewardship, and open communication with our residents, we will continue to move our city forward. So that's the state of this city for this year and uh grateful for all the help by uh so many different people to to make our city do well. The next item on the agenda is the uh financial report and we do have the year-end report for 2025. Uh as I mentioned we our revenues were 2.4 4 million over budget and our

expenses were 500,000 below. On the balance sheet, the one item I wanted to mention is our total fund balances are still 11.5 million. So, we're in good shape as far as having uh funds. Uh on the revenue side uh on property tax we had an increase of 14.7% over the prior year. As I mentioned city sales tax increased 12%, county sales tax 2.5%. Uh local permits and fees were up uh 32% and that really reflects a lot of the hard work that's been done in the building and permit area. It's just been so active with people wanting to move here here in the building being so active. So our operating revenues in total were up 8.7% over the prior year. That was encouraging. Our operating expenses in contracts were up 5.4%. So, it's always good if the revenue number is a better percentage than the expense number, right? And as I mentioned, the expenses were 500 a little over $500,000 below budget. So, we are very pleased with how the finances went in uh this year and uh very encouraged with the uh department's ability to control their costs and keep things in line. So, uh, that's the, uh, financial report. And, uh, as we move ahead, I'd like to enter, uh, entertain a motion to suspend the rules of order and procedure to allow all ordinances on the agenda to be read by title only.

So moved. Second. It was Mr. Wilms and Travis Hart. A roll call vote. Council members Hansel, yes. Harp, yes. Hughes, yes. Newport, yes. Wilms, yes. Motion carried five to zero. Thank you for that. Uh, next item is the consent agenda, which is uh the minutes um the audit services for 61,000 and amending the city budget. So you can move funds uh within uh departments. Motion to approve the consent agenda.

Second. That was Mr. Wilms and Wendy Hughes. Uh roll call vote on motion to approve the consent agenda. Council members Hanchel, yes. Harp, yes. Hughes, yes. Newport, yes. Wilms, yes.

Thank you. Motion carried five to zero. Next item is an ordinance amending ordinance number 2021-23 to modify and set new development impact fees and for other purposes. Um I think you have all seen the package on the impact fees and the proposed increase that Tishler Bice uh had made. Uh I didn't know if there was any further discussion anyone wanted. My my apprehension Wilms

my apprehension might be uh is looking at some of the long range future needs of the city uh and fire station 6 and what effect that might have if that would reduce or change the rate at all. I'm thinking that might be uh a little far out if we're not able to achieve it within the time window. That's my concern.

Okay. Yeah. I actually had some discussion with Carson Vice about that in the weeks uh the last few weeks and he was quite confident we'd be in good shape with what we had had proposed here. So it is the span he showed is over 10 years. So it's quite a long span. Gives us a lot of time to uh do things. So, so in reality the time window of expending those monies is that is that a constraint for us? Seven years. Seven years. Seven years.

Yeah. And and so my apprehension might be is that the ability to proceed with a second new fire station within that window. I think the timeline for station five is what? Two more years or three more years. Yeah, we Well, we're postulating. Yeah, a couple years from now taking that money down. Yeah. 2028. Yeah, it could be other than that, but that that was our tentative uh schedule for it. I I guess I would like like to see what the what the impact would be if we were to take that station out of the plan.

Yeah. Number six.

It's interesting. You I don't know if you and I discussed this prior previously or not. I actually talked to Carson Vice about that and to Kim Hall also and uh he said if you took FARCS number six out of the plan the uh dollar amounts would still be exactly the same as they are. And so so it begs the question that for me at least is if we are unable to proceed with station six within that seven-year time window of implementation of this new ordinance. Would that create any issues for us? Yeah, I I think we we'd still be able to uh spend money in a sufficient fashion, but I I appreciate you're bringing it up because I had the same thought, explored it with them. Anybody else? Do we want to talk to our consultant about that and see what the impact would be?

Well, I I already did talk to him and he said uh that really the numbers weren't based on necessarily doing faration number six. They were based on the uh the the growth and what the growth justifies. That's what the funds really were based on. And I think, you know, he's done this in a lot of cities and They normally don't have a situation where they uh cannot spend the money in time. He seemed quite confident we wouldn't have a problem that way. Also talked to the fire chief about some of the items on there, the ladder truck and some of the equipment that was on there we would get whether we did fire station number six or not. And that makes sense.

They become pretty pretty costly. Yeah. that the uh you know we got this bumper truck or ordered this bumper truck recently and it cost what a ladder truck cost two or three years ago. Yeah. So it's it's the timelines are getting longer and the uh price is getting higher unfortunately but it's it's basically custom work as opposed to that you know you go on a lot and buy a Toyota Camry and they're cranking out a million of them. It helps the price quite a bit. Travis,

thanks, Mayor. I can tell you, Larry, without a doubt that we're going to need to fire station 7 if we continue to see this growth. If we want to sustain the uh the services that we're providing right now and without decreasing our insurance rating, we're going to need another fire station to service the growing population. And I also have no doubt that the city will be able to spend the money. My my bigger concern is that we're kind of competing with other governing bodies, if you will. The POA also has an impact fee that they collect anytime you build something. So, my concern is that it's getting pretty expensive, but compared to the surrounding cities, we're still looking pretty good. Even though I'm against fees, I understand that these are important and the fire station is not a want, it's a need. Um, if my memory serves me right, this is our first reading. Is that right?

Yeah. And so, um, is I don't know if anyone else on the council feels like an an urgency to move it forward. Okay. We want to let it go all three because obviously the faster we pass it, the faster we'll collect these new fees. Is that right?

Yes. Actually, I was uh going to ask the council and you know, you need to do what you're comfortable with. I was going to ask you to go to third and final and my reason is that I my experience is everything we've passed that has to do with building you know it takes a while to become effective then everybody rushes out and gets a permit and so we'll create a uh we'll create a log jam in the building department. I'm quite confident. So, I actually would I would be in favor of going to third and final and having an emergency clause because otherwise we're gonna set some kind of record for permits in the next couple of months.

Mayor, do you want that handed out? Well, if you're contemplating going the third and final, we have the emergency clause drawn up, which is a separate item from the third and final part, right, Travis? No, I would prefer this to go to the third reading, personally. I'm fine with it, so why don't we first vote on the third and final and then we can pass those out. Can't can't do it in that order, mayor. So what what we need to do is is we need to amend the proposal to include an emergency clause. Mhm.

And and then uh proceed with with further consideration of it. Yeah, I see what you mean. Yeah. Okay. So, is there a motion to add an emergency clause to the I'll I'll I'll make that motion. Mayor, we've we've got an amendment in writing that we need to Yeah. Why don't we pass that out? Did someone that that is an emergency clause and then could one of the counselors propose that? One of the count one of the council members will need to make that motion. Yes, sir. Uh yeah, I have one. Thanks.

Yeah, I have one. That's okay. So, if there's a desire to to proceed with consideration of an emergency clause, there'll need to be a a motion to amend the proposal as presented on this piece of paper. Motion to amend the proposal as presented on this piece of paper. Great. I'll second. All right. So, Wendy Hughes and Larry Wilms. So there's debate on that and then there can be a vote on the amendment some more before we have a vote if you'd like

to be uh transparent. I'll discuss I uh I was I had him draw this up. I was waiting to see uh what the comments from uh the public might be like because if people are excited about something they come and comment and if nobody does and usually they're not that means they're no one's excited. I I could be comfortable with allowing us to continue with the ordinance as proposed to be amended um for the first reading, take it up at our next meeting for action.

Okay. So, so you can you can amend to add a proposed emergency clause and leave it and go to second reading next month with an emergency clause. You can do that. That's what I would propose to do. That's that's certainly y'all's decision to make. Travis,

I don't see the emergency I don't see an emergency need for us to collect additional fees from development. We just passed a multi-million dollar bond that does a lot of this. Obviously, we're talking about for an additional fire station, for additional police vehicles and those sort of things, but I think right now I don't see an emergency uh personally. So, I'm I'm not in favor of an emergency clause. Okay, I think maybe we're ready for a roll call vote on the emergency clause.

So, this is again, this is on a motion to amend the proposal to consider an emergency clause. There there will be a final vote on the emergency clause should the ordinance finally pass. Council members Hansel, yes. Harp, no. Hughes, yes. Newport, yes. Wilms, yes. Uh, motion to add the emergency clause passes 4 to one. Okay. So, mayor, at this point, you're still on first reading and um you may proceed as you see fit.

Just to make sure I'm tracking at this point, I can make a motion to go to third and final to you could move. It would be in order to move to suspend the rules and go to a third and final reading if that's what you want. I I don't know if there's any discussion, but I'll make the motion to suspend the rules and go to third and final. Second. That was Craig Honchel and Shane Newport. Is there discussion on that? Craig and Wendy, right? No, it was Shay, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah, Shay report, right? Okay. Okay.

I have a better view than he does. I'm closer. So, any more discussion or you want to just go ahead and vote? I I don't see any reason to prolong it. I mean, it seems like we're all on board, so just get it going. And I I kind of agree. We don't really see public comment and Larry had a couple of prepared remarks and questions, but I didn't really hear anything from anyone else. So, I'm kind of aligned. I'm not really sure what waiting two more months um benefits us, but I support my council members right to their opinion.

Okay. Why don't we have a roll call vote on the motion to go to third and final? Okay. Council members Hanchawel, yes. Harp, no. Hughes, yes. Newport, yes. Wilms, yes. Motion carried four to one. I'll read the ordinance for a third and final time. So, mayor, the the title has changed. It it does uh right before you say and for other purposes, you should say declaring an emergency.

Okay. Declaring an emergency. Thank you for that. Okay. I'll read it for a third and final time. Amending ordinance number 2021-23 to modify and set new development impact fees declaring an emergency and for other purposes to approve second. That was Craig Honchel and Wendy Hughes. Is there discussion? My my only apprehension is that station number six, but whether it should be in the plan,

Shay, I just want to clarify that um just for my own understanding that unlike a bond issue where we lay out the plan to spend the funds and we are legally obligated in layman's terms to do those items, this is not aligned that way. We can you have more flexibility, right? There's still certainly guidelines but uh not a firm commitment. Thank you.

The only thing it does is it does have the category so much goes to police so much to fire so much the library and so much to the side path. So you are the stuff in the police side can only be spent on police things and fire but yeah it's not quite as strict as the bot. Uh did you have something Travis? Yeah, I just want I'm a supporter of the impact fees even though I have hesitation to just because it's getting expensive, but but I'm a more strong supporter of letting the ordinance go to the third and final reading so that the people that are impacted by these impact fees have the opportunity to approach the council and voice their concerns. So, I just want to get that off my chest.

Yeah. Okay. Okay, I guess we're ready for roll call vote. Council members Hanchawel, yes. Harp, yes. Hughes, yes. Newport, yes. Wilms, yes. Motion carried five to zero. So, mayor, at this point, you need to entertain a motion to adopt the emergency clause. Okay. Motion to adopt the emergency clause. Second. It's Wendy Hughes and Larry Wilms. Uh, any more discussion? Okay, we'll have a roll call vote. Council members Hansel, yes. Harp, no. Hughes,

yes. Newport, yes. And Wilms, yes. Motion carried 4 to one. So, the ordinance has passed with an emergency clause. The next one is an ordinance waving the requirements of formal competitive bidding and authorizing a contract with Superior Automotive Group in a total amount not to exceed $60,000 for the purchase of a 2026 Ford Transit van for use by the police department and staff requests a move to third and final. Uh any discussion about this motion to approve?

Motion to Well, we need to have a motion to go to third and final first motion. Oh, you want to do that? Yes. Okay. To suspend the rules and go to third and final reading. Yes. I'll second. Okay. That was Wendy Hughes and second by Larry Wilms. Okay. Uh roll call vote on Well, there more discussion about that. Okay. Roll call vote on motion to go to third and final. Council members Honcho, yes. Harp, yes. Hughes, yes. Newport, yes. Wilms,

yes. Motion carried five to zero. I'll read it for a third and final. waving the requirements of formal competitive bidding and authorizing a contract with Superior Automotive Group and a total amount not to exceed $60,000 for the purchase of a 2026 Ford Transit van for use by the police department. Motion to approve. Second. That's Wendy Hughes and Larry Wilms. Uh roll call vote. Council members Hansel, yes. Harp, yes. Hughes, yes. Newport. Yes. Wilms. Yes.

Motion carried five to zero. Next one is an ordinance prohibiting camping and vehicle habitation on certain public property, providing definitions, establishing enforcement procedures, providing exemptions, providing penalties, and for other purposes. Is there discussion? Travis.

Um, so here we have an opportunity tonight to prevent a problem that's affected thousands of communities across the country. Um, before this I've reduced myself to writing so I could make my point clearly. Uh, the ordinance before you. It carries zero downside and offers significant protection for our residents. It's a simple proactive step that keeps Velva ahead of challenges that other cities were forced to confront only after it was too late. And again, we could prevent a problem from ever occurring in our community. I know in the work session many of you were quick to point out the fact that this isn't a huge problem now, but I never came up with this and never brought this to you all because I said it was a huge problem now. I think that in the future we're going to see this become a problem. So, I'm asking each of you to evaluate this ordinance on its merits and set aside any personal opinions you may have about the sponsor. Our responsibility is to look beyond today and prepare for issues that could impact Bella Vista in the future. Like in sales, they do sales forecasting. Here, we need to have strategic planning abilities. To assume that we're somehow immune to the same problems that strain cities nationwide isn't a realistic thought. We're not special in that regard. But what makes us different is whether we choose to act before a problem arrives or wait until we're reacting under pressure. This ordinance is a proactive safeguard. It costs nothing. It harms no one. and it positions our city to avoid the challenges that have burdened so many others. And all I ask for you is to give it your honest, thoughtful, and careful consideration. And if you're able to do that and you still decide not to move forward with it, I will respect that decision.

Craig,

I will concede I was a bit hasty during the work session. Um that is one thing that I've considered uh with the bike park coming. Um and and I'll be making amendments I'm sure. But that is the one concern that I have is that we have I think we are going to get inundated with a lot of confused people that aren't familiar with the area and aren't familiar with the fact that we don't have a ton of hotels readily available and stuff like that. So, um I do understand your point, Travis, and and I do apologize for coming off harsh last week. Uh the thing that jumped out to me was just the fact, you know, if somebody's sleeping in their car, it's I could almost say 99% positive. That's not by choice. Um the only thing that I would look at is just uh how those citations are tiered as far as like a warning, you know, and then you know, something like that. just uh have it structured to where it's not a hardship on somebody who's already in a terrible situation. So, um but I do see merit to it. I I think it's worth discussing um and moving, you know, just moving on with it. So, that's my thoughts.

Anybody else? I I guess I' I've won that have had the experience recently to sleep in my car because the rooms were a an event came to town and I was out of town and the rooms were instead of $125 a night, $395 a night and there weren't any rooms available in the entire metropolitan area. So I ended up sleeping in my car. Uh, so that can happen. We could have an event that would actually fill up all of the available accommodations and then you have some people that still come to town not knowing that and ending up with a situation like it. So

Travis, thank you Council Member Honchel and Wilms. I appreciate the input. Uh to your point though, Larry, I would just point out the fact that, you know, sometimes the speed limit's 25 and I drive 30 and the police don't give me a ticket or take me to jail. They have leniency. They use their judgment. And I don't think that this ordinance is any different. I think they'll still be able to use their sound judgment. If someone's sleeping somewhere for the night, that might be different than if they've been sleeping there for a month and piling up their trash, you know. So I I feel like there's some protection in place by, you know, the staff of the police department having good judgment and utilizing it and having the ability from their command staff to utilize their decision-m skills. And I I don't see them just hauling someone off to jail because they're broke down or they're sleeping because they're tired on a road trip or just for a night thing. So I feel comfortable about about those concerns. Do we do we know how many other municipalities in Northwest Arkansas have a similar ordinance to this? Could we do a survey? Could we have the clerk do a survey of the areas, the communities around us here with the clerks to see if they have a similar ordinance to the like this in force now and who they are and maybe what they are. I could always reach out on list serve to the other clerks.

Okay. We wouldn't have to do it statewide, but just to the northwest Arkansas area. Oh, okay. That's different. Benton County as an example. Asylum Springs is a big city, bigger city. We feel much more comfortable knowing whether they perceive this as a problem or have perceived it. Not to say that we shouldn't and I agree with Craig that uh Mr. Honchel that we may encounter this with the growth that we're seeing now. So,

so uh we can go to second reading and look into a little more people think that might be prudent. Okay, good discussion. Next one is an ordinance amending ordinance number 2025-16 establishing a business license to exempt shortterm rental management businesses from the license requirement and for other purposes. Travis, did you want to say a few words?

Yeah, thank you, mayor. I think there may still be some confusion on this on on maybe my end, maybe on the city's end. I know last week uh staff attorney Kelly said that uh you're not required to get a business license if you're managing properties out of your house. Is is that correct, sir? It's a homebased business.

It's a homebased business. But our planning director, I think, is enforcing that differently. Uh she said, "Please remember that there was an amendment to the business license ordinate exemption from another council member that did require short-term property managers to achieve a business license. Council adopted this. And if someone's managing STR properties for other owners, they do need a business license per that amendment, even if it's a homebased business."

No, she didn't say that. She she was saying there there are certain exceptions in the business license ordinance. One of them if it's a homebased business, that's an exception. And then there was an exception for short-term rentals, but that exception didn't count if you happen to manage other properties as well, which is what Mr. Wilms offered.

So, if it's a homebased business, it's exempt. If it's not in a home, if it's in a storefront, it's not exempt. and it would not be exempt uh uh it would not be exempt pursuant to the homebased business exemption and it would not fall under an exemption as a short short-term rental. So there's a distinction that she's talking about ones that do not operate in a home. But I I mean I would let her speak to as I've told you I would let her speak to her comments but that's how I read what she intend what she said. Okay. The one that was in question that made me bring this up is a management company based out of that person's home.

Okay. And and I don't know why they applied for a business license or if they did or if they were just asking a question. Um so that's that's curious. The city told them to Well, I I didn't I didn't so I I don't know. You know, we'll have to ask the people involved to get more particular. I'm not denying anything, but well that I didn't think it was the council's intention to make someone who's managing properties out of their home get a business license. And so

the idea was that if if that was a part of their business, but their business also included management of other properties, nonshortterm rentals, they're they're doing a business that we would normally regulate. And so simply because they have additionally STRs doesn't wouldn't exempt them. And that was the amendment that I asked to be made and the council supported that. So uh beyond the fact if they operate out of their house, that's an issue that would the planning director would evaluate based on the circumstance and either be a yay or a nay. Um, but if they do other properties beyond the short-term rentals, then they fall in a different category to to my way of thinking. So,

I thought that your amendment, Travis, had the word exclusively in it. It It does. So, you're talking about somebody who operages exclusively short-term rentals.

Correct. And I I really think um we could just wait till next month so we can hear from uh the planning director. I know she's on a much needed and well-deserved vacation right now. So, uh, she wasn't able to get back to me with clarification on this, but I I read you the email that she sent me and and I interpreted that to mean that this particular property manager who manages short-term rentals out of their house. They don't have another location where clients can come is required by this new ordinance to get a business license. So, that that is a part of my uh amendment. It it it would seem that clarification is needed of what the person does really and what they had in discussion with the planning director. So

So you're okay with going till next month? Yes, of course. Okay. So I do have a question though. Ju just for clarification. When when we're saying other properties, are you saying other properties, not their properties, other people's properties, or what are we other types of businesses? Uh, commercial business. Okay. Okay. Other types of rentals.

Okay. Okay. So, the the proposal, I just want to make sure it's clear that that what you have in the agenda is going to exempt short-term rentals, which it already does, and property management businesses. So, it doesn't it's going to exempt both of those type of businesses. That's separate from the exemption that exists for homebased businesses. They may qualify for an exemption based on that if they're doing it at home. So you you could be exempt because of this or exempt because of this or exempt because of something else. And so they they may as long as they meet any one of those exemptions, then they're not going to have to get a business license.

Well, and that's the only issue I have with it is that when we start carving out all these different kinds of businesses, I mean, we're we're chipping away at the the base of the

Yeah. ordinance alto together. And I'm not I'm not condemning. I'm just saying that I don't want to get to Jason's point. I would rather not have just a a recurring well, we're not exactly that, so we need to be isolated and and separated from that. Also, I and I just I just don't want to get into this cycle where where everybody is keeps coming at us with or or other people may come at us with all these uh special nuanced reasons why they should be. And I'm I'm not saying it to be ugly. I'm just that that's the concern that I have is that once we start chipping away foundationally at at what was passed,

we're getting a completely away from what we started out with. So, but it's worth discussing. Mayor Travis.

Yeah. No, I I completely understand your your stance on that. The only thing is is that the fire department and the planning director, how I understood their their frame of reference for this was for brickandmortar businesses. Uh, one, the planning director wanted to ensure that it is zoned properly before someone takes over that business or sets up shop in that business. And the fire department, they wanted to ensure that they know when someone leaves a business or moves a business for pre-planning purposes. And if you're operating out of your house, neither one of those things are applicable. So maybe next month I'll propose I'll do an amendment to my amendment and just say that if it's solely a homebased business then you should be exempt. But I guess that's

that's already but they're enforcing it because of this amendment. They're not that's whoever you're communicating with is totally misunderstood. That's what I can say. Okay. I I I think the planning planning director had information that maybe provided I think I think it doesn't do us any good to guess what the planning director was saying. She ought to be here to Yeah. That's not fair to her. Yeah.

Well, the only concern I have and this is not for or against any particular amendment is uh I don't like ambiguity. I like to have a law where somebody can pick it up and read it. They don't have to talk to their attorney. They can read it and say, "Oh, I got to get a license." Or, "Oh, I don't got to get a license." You know what I mean? It's nice if we can make things that they're clear. No matter how we do it, I'd like it to be crystal clear to people because right now, I think people are, "Wait a minute. Do I or don't I?" You know? So,

yeah, I'm I'm fine waiting till uh we can have those conversations with the planning director and can revisit this topic then. Okay. Uh we'll move along then. The next one is an ordinance requiring the Bella Vista Advertising Promotion Commission to publish financial statements on its official website and for other purposes. And this I think we discussed this a bit at the work session. Travis, you have a comment?

Yeah, you know, uh I regret that I didn't just add this to the first one that we we captured with the minutes. Uh it was a mistake on my part and oversight on my part. I I fully intended that ordinance to do this as well. Uh but we we left this part off. So, I would just like to add this to that requirement so that they have to post their financials because I believe that people would probably like to know how that money is being spent. Um, I have a lot of examples. I've requested their financials on several different occasions for several different things and I was really surprised to learn about some of the money that they spend on some of the things and some of the items like you know paying them $7,000 to take pictures and videos at a bike race in Bentonville with equipment that we had to also rent. Um, I I just feel like the public would be interested in knowing those things. And right now you have to go through the FOYA process to to get that information. And if you say anything wrong or if your FOYA is not perfect, they'll deny that information from you. And so I think it's just beneficial that the public would be able to see this tax money and how they're being how those dollars are being spent. So, it's just a transparency issue for me.

I guess the only thing I I will ask is that that that is a a foyer foyer opportunity. I mean, if if somebody could request it, do they have to go through the foyer process to request that information? I I just want confirmation. A request for information is a foyer request and it doesn't have to be written or I mean they can communicate with the AMP commission and or with their executive director and request a document that's an FOI request. Okay. So they would be subject to release.

I didn't know if somebody could just pick up the phone, have a conversation and and get the information that they're asking for. And and I understand you're delineating FOYA, but that's what I mean. I didn't know if it was just a casual conversation you could obtain the information or if you have to go through the as council member uh Harp is saying that you have to fill out, you know, an FOI request can be made by phone. So someone can call I mean they could call Wanda and say, I'd like to see a copy of X ordinance. That's an FOI request. They may not use those words. Okay.

Uh there we cannot require them to use any particular form. They may we we provide an online outlet for them to request it, but that's a freedom of information request. I I can tell you I don't represent the AMP commission, but their financial records are public. All anyone has to do is to request them to see them and they would be by the FOI act. They would have to be presented to the requester copy or inspection. This is to require that to be posted online for ease of access. I will let Mr. Harb speak to it, but but that's an additional step, but the documents are already public upon request. Okay.

Yeah. This this just makes it easier for people to to go and visit those financials. H have you ever foied their financials? But you No, but you might look at them if they were already online and available. So, a lot of people I think would be interested to learn about the AMP's financials, but they may not pick up the phone or they may not email them to to solicit that information. But if it was available to them, they may go and look.

I understand the threats behind it. I just I mean, I guess in my mind, it just seems a little redundant. I I'm and and I'm not poo pooing on it. I'm just saying that it just seems like if the information is there by request, um, you know, then it's there. And so I'm not it's available.

I'm not saying this is a terrible proposal or anything like that. And it's not a transparency thing to me. I mean, if somebody can pick up the phone, have conversation, they can get the information they want. But I understand what you're saying. I mean is uh as far as just being curious or you know that type thing that could satisfy that need. So it's worth the discussion. I can't get too excited about it myself because the information is available upon request. Have you ever requested it? What's that? Have you ever requested it? I have haven't had a a curiosity need to do that.

That's a problem in my opinion. That's how a lot of people feel. So, a lot of people have no idea how this money is being spent cuz cuz they don't pick up the phone. They won't send an email. So, if we make it available to them, I think more people would look at that. More people would your curiosity wouldn't be as challenging to fulfill if you could just go to the website and see it. I think more people should see how this money is being spent and and perhaps perhaps not being fully informed about the rationale for doing that uh may result in drawing a a false conclusion on why it was spent. So,

well, like like last week in the work session said, "Nobody even cares about the AMP." But whenever I tried to abolish it, we had 13 people from Bentonville show up and stand up for it and say, "Don't get rid of it. Don't get rid of it." I foied all of their names from the signin sheet and found out that they were paid collectively $100,000 to ride bikes and make videos and they live in Bville. I think that's information that the taxpayers would like to know and nobody knows right now because you have to ask for it and and it is available if you ask. I think we should make it available without asking. So, do people want to go to third and final or wait till next month or

or you Travis, would you rather not go to third and final? I'm willing to have the conversation and not to interrupt. But yeah, no, I'm I'm willing to keep going and maybe maybe the, you know, people will show up and tell me they don't want this posted, but I just can't imagine even I can't imagine anyone not wanting transparency in government to be posted online and easily accessible. No one has ever told me don't post that information. No one's ever said that. Yeah. Well, people as a general matter, people do like transparency and transparency in government especially, I would say.

So, I guess we'll be in second reading next month. And does as a question, does the as clarification, does the Bentonville Chamber publish their financial statement online? I'm not sure. I don't live in Bentonville. Shay,

I I will say with all due respect, I'm I'm just worried and and the mood of the room feels a little bit vindictive that perhaps if one wasn't successful in abolishing the A&P, then we might just continuously pass regulations as a form of punishment. So, that's my concern. I feel like that's the line that we're close to walking here. I mean, the one thing I would add is that if this is published and then I I just I I think we can have a good a good conversation next month. I'll just leave it at that. I don't want to go down a rabbit hole and sit here and talk about it for an hour. We can talk about it next month.

Okay. So, we'll be on second reading next month. Next one is a resolution expressing the willingness of the city of Bell Vista, Arkansas to utilize federal aid funds for a trail extension project for Blowing Springs phase 2. Um Megan Workman, would you like to say something about this? Sure. So, can you hear me? Essentially, this is requesting the city council's approval to submit a grant application to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission for a surface transportation block grant in in the area of 3,539,264.30. This is to cover the estimated construction cost of Blowing Springs phase 2. From its current terminus point at the Metfield Skills Park to Sleford Lane. It's about 1.6 miles of new trail. It's 10 ft wide and proposed to be concrete.

So it' be very similar to the uh uh part of the trail we have now on Houston. And uh we'll go from Blowing Springs up to Houston and ending at Metfield. Correct. It's a direct extension. So there would be no change in width. Yeah. Do you know how many miles that is total? That's I was thinking it goes more than a mile once it turns onto fog or the entire blowing spring blowing springs greenway with the extension would be a little over four miles long. Yeah. Okay.

So would that make a loop then in that trail? No, it's um just a straight extension. It'll take it up to Trafalgar where we'll turn and then it will head up to Sleford Lane and it'll stop there for now. Uh Wendy, first I want to say it's very impressive the way you rattled off that number total. Um that was beautiful. Where is she reading this from? Um second motion to approve. I'll second. That's Wendy Hughes and Larry Wilms. Uh Travis, can I have discussion still? Sure. Okay. Yeah, you after motion and second, you can still discuss.

Thanks for that, mayor. Um, I'm I'm excited about this. I think a lot of residents are too, but I had a couple of questions. One, has the work already been started? And my other question is, uh, is any of this trail or are any future trails going to be in the city's rightway or on private property? So the work for this trail, the design work has started that was started by the trailblazers in late 2021 or early 2022. However, they stopped work on that design when there was a lack of funding on their side. So they have agreed to turn those plans over to us and then we could utilize them to pursue construction contracts or funding and then hopefully contracts if it's all approved. um with the location of it. There are two locations where a temporary construction easement is needed. So it gives workers area to work say set um BMPPS or silt fences for runoff. Um those will be acquired privately. The trailblazers have advised that they would take care of those acquisitions. So none on the city side.

Um okay. I received a complaint that there was a soft trail on someone's property in between the so they had to walk over the trail to get to their mailbox. Is did they have permission to do it in that person's property? Okay. So the soft surface path that's the recreational path that's was associated with one that was established earlier last year by just residents in that area. Um, we did look at their proposed alignment and it was all within city rideway, but if there is an area where there's a concern or a lack of distance between the property, we'll take a look at that. If it is outside of the public rideway, we will return it back to a, you know, original condition to get it sought.

Thank you for that clarification. Will you, if you know where that is, will you let me know or have that property owner just reach out to us? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. I I would note just informally this soft surface path is very close to the road and people usually think of this land in front of their house as their front yard and it's a little surprising when you see the actual parcel map that what we think of and I do the same thing everybody else does what we think of our front yard turns out a lot of it isn't actually our front yard it's in the rightway Yeah. I I would also rather the bike riders be off of the road and not on the road.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. But it's there's mixed mixed emotions in that topic. So, there's a lot of support for that amongst bike riders, walkers, and the people driving the cars. Seems to be a lot of uh belief in that from safety viewpoint. So anyway, I believe the deadline is early April to apply for this grant. So that's the point of having it on tonight, right? That is correct. The deadline to apply for local through regional planning is April 2nd. Okay. So we have a motion and second. I think we're ready for a roll call vote. Council members Hansaw, yes. Harp, yes. Hughes, yes.

Newport, yes. Wilms. Yes. Motion carried five to zero. Thank you for that. Thank you. Next one is a resolution changing the meeting time for city council work sessions from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Jay, did you want to say something?

Sure. Um, I'm not sure if anyone noticed I'm having a very hard time getting here at exactly 5:30. Um, I know not only myself, but a lot of, uh, residents here do work. Um, and we work until 5:00. And I don't know if anyone's noticed, uh, traffic doesn't get any better. Um, and so I was just hoping to have some consistency and have both meetings start at 6:00 p.m. I know it will help me, uh, get here with maybe more than 30 seconds of, uh, of time before we start, and I think it would also make it easier for the public to attend those sessions. So, I appreciate your consideration. Uh, Wendy,

yeah, absolute full support for this. Um, one, just for ease of having the same times, starting times for both the work session and the regular session, but also our demographics are changing in Bella Vista. We have a lot more people who are not retirees, but are still in the workforce, and being able to have access to watch the meetings a little easier and safely or be able to attend in person is fantastic. Motion to approve. Second. Uh, was that you, Shay? I was looking the other way. Motion by Wendy Hughes, second by Shay Newport. Uh, roll call vote. Council members Hansel, yes. Harp, yes.

Hughes, yes. Newport, yes. Wilms, yes. Motion carried five to zero. Thank you for that. Uh, I have a note uh that Wendy Hughes would like to say something. Go ahead.

Yes. So, this weekend a property management owner reached out to me with a concern. They had a guest staying in a short-term rental who on their back porch the rental could smell gas and they were very concerned. Asked what they should do. I told them to call the non-emergency number to the police department and the fire department came out did check it out. saw that a neighbor had recently had their propane tank topped off a little too much and it was just shooting out propane um into the valley which could have been a disaster. Um a cigarette butt would have taken out probably four to six homes in that little valley area. So, thank you so much one to the property uh management owner who had the foresight to kind of check and see what to do, but also to the fire department for their quick um work on that and making it a safe environment for everybody. Thank you guys. Well, thank you for that. Um, appreciate all the work of our fire department. They uh do a lot of great things kind of behind the scenes and people aren't always aware of it. It's it's a very big positive. Uh, I'd like to make the announcements. The next city council work session is 5:30 p.m. on April 20.

Oh, that's right. 6 pm. on Monday, April 20 at Bella Vista District Court. Next city council. We didn't want to assume it would pass. Thanks.

Next city council regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, April 27 at Bella Vista District Court. Planning Commission work session 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 2 at Bella Vista District Court. Planning Commission regular meeting 4:30 p.m. or immediately following BCA Monday, April 13 at Bella Vista District Court. Board of Construction Appeals 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, if necessary, at fire station number one, conference room 103, Town Center. Uh, with that, we're adjourned. Thank you.