Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

We'll go ahead and begin I'd like to welcome each and every one of you to the eighteenth meeting of the board of directors for calendar year twenty twenty six on this Tuesday evening September fifteenth having finally received our belly washer rainfall over the weekend Rather have it in over a few days versus in a few hours. But nonetheless, communities throughout Arkansas that received some of that are probably very happy. So we're going to begin with an invocation by Mr. Billy Kitchens with Grace Apostolic Church, and I'll lead the pledge. All rise.

Let us pray. Dear Lord Jesus, I just want to start this meeting with saying thank you for being with us each and every day. I ask that you'd be here with us tonight in this meeting as we do our very best to decide the correct actions to take in order to make our city a great place to be proud of. Help us always to seek your ways in all that we do in order to be the example that you'd have us to be. We thank you and praise you for the very breath that we breathe and know that everything is only because of you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We'll now call this meeting to order. Please call the roll.

Director Erin Holliday.

Here.

director Phyllis Beard here and happy director Marcia dot Smith president director Dudley Webb here director Karen Garcia here director Steve trustee the mayor Pat McKay here at this time will consider approval of the agenda are there any additions deletions to the agenda or items on the consent agenda to be moved to new business

Hearing none, I'll entertain a motion.

Director Garcia is seconded by? Second. Director Dudley-Webb III. All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposing sign. Agenda is adopted, is approved. Now we'll consider the approval of the minutes of the regularly held meeting of September 1, 2026. Are there any additions, deletions, or corrections to the minutes as presented? Hearing none, I take a motion to approve. So moved. Second. Seconded by Director Doff-Smith. All in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed, same sign. Recognition of guests. We have a special guest here today. It's Constitution Week. And on behalf of this will be presented to Cindy Smith, Regent, John Percival Chapter, The Daughters of the American Revolution. Cindy, please come forward to the podium. I'm going to read this and then present it to you. Whereas the Constitution of the United States, the guardian of our liberties, was signed by the delegates of the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, and it stands today as the oldest continuing charter of government in the world. And whereas it is fitting and proper to recognize this magnificent document and its memorable anniversary officially, and to celebrate the enduring wisdom and guiding principles it represents. And whereas Constitution Week provides a special opportunity for all Americans to reflect on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and to renew their commitment to the ideals of our founding fathers. And whereas the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution initiated the observance of Constitution Week in 1955 and continues to promote the ideals of the Constitution through education, historic preservation, and patriotic service. And now, therefore, I, Pat McKay, Mayor of the City of Hot Springs, on behalf of the entire Board of Directors, do hereby proclaim the week of September 17th through the 23rd as Constitution Week in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and ask our citizens to reaffirm the ideals that the framers of the Constitution had in 1787 by vigilantly protecting the freedoms guaranteed to us through this guardian of our liberties, remembering that lost rights may never be regained. A witness whereof I hereunto set my hand and call to seal the city to be affixed on this 15th day of September, the year of our Lord, 2026. Presenting this to Cindy.

And I would like to present to Mayor McKay and the city of Fox Springs a copy of the Constitution.

We're good with 15. know we're appreciate each other one of you being our guest here this evening if there's no other guests we recognize we'll call upon our very own city manager mr bill burrow for the same managers report bill uh thank you mayor members of the board i want to start off by recognizing some of the new hires that have joined the city of hot springs since your last meeting david reeves and planning and development neighborhood services inspector

Jackson Reeves, Public Works Traffic Signs and Marketing Technician, Casey White in Public Works Stormwater Coordinator, Michael Fink in our Utility Wastewater Lift Stations, Hayden Brunt in Water Distribution Construction Tech, as well as Carmelo Chua, Also in utilities, water distribution, construction. And then Richard Mendez, utility water production plant operator. Want to welcome those seven to the city of Hot Springs. And also want to recognize the promotions. Joshua Jester was promoted to Hot Springs Police Department Officer First Class, as well as Austin Rogers, who was also promoted to Officer First Class in the Hot Springs Police Department. Aaron Carter was promoted to property maintenance supervisor. And we wish them all well in their newly acquired duties. Moving on, Kenneth Adair Memorial Park. From 8 to 1 on Thursday, this Thursday, Kenneth Adair Memorial Park will be closed for maintenance. So I want to get that out to all of those that like to frequent that particular park in our downtown area. The seventh annual Monarch Mania, the City of High Springs Park and Recreation Department and the Diamond Lakes Arkansas Master Naturalists are encouraging the community to be outdoors by hosting the seventh annual Monarch Butterfly Mania event on Saturday, September the 19th, that's this Saturday, at the Monarch Butterfly Garden at the corner of Valley and Runyon. It kicks off at 9.30. There will be a lot of activities that are kid-friendly. including monarch tagging and information tables. Then at 10 a.m., the butterfly garden, pollinators, and then the release of the monarch butterflies. No registration is needed. Just come if you'd like to enjoy that event. Of course, if inclement weather, it will be canceled and rescheduled. David F. Watkins Memorial Park splash pad ribbon cutting. This has been something that's been in the works for quite some time. A lot of that was actually paid for by the Park Avenue Community Association. So in partnership with them, we are inviting the community to the ribbon cutting for the long-awaited splash pad. It'll be 10 a.m. Tuesday, September the 22nd. That's at 811 Park Avenue. Typically, we'd be closing a splash pad towards the fall, but with our remaining warm weather, this season's operating hours will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends only, starting September the 26th and runs through Saturday, October the 31st. Citizens Feedback Survey. The City of High Springs Police Department is conducting a citizen feedback survey to help gain input. from the local community to formulate plans based on the collected survey data. This is the Hot Springs Police Department's five-year strategic plan. This will guide that particular plan. It'll identify priorities and present its vision for the future once they have that completed. Participation in the survey can help strengthen community relations, pinpoint areas for improvement, And more, we want to make sure we get as many people filling out this survey as possible. Our community's input matters in the direction that the strategic plan will take the police department over the next five years. The anonymous survey will run from Monday, September the 14th through Friday, September 25th. And you can find that on the city's website and on our social media pages. Advisory committees and commissions, we've got a few that still have openings. We have two openings on the Animal Control Advisory Committee. So far, we have not had anyone that has stepped up to serve that four-year term. I want to ask those that are interested in things that are happening in animal control to think about joining or coming in and applying for the Animal Control Advisory Committee. We also have one opening each on the Towing Service Advisory Committee. It's a five-member committee. We have one opening there. And then the Transportation Advisory Committee also has one opening. If you're interested in applying for one of these positions, you can do so through our city clerk's office or online, right? On the website. Back on our website. Valley Street Skate Park. I had a couple of calls on this one already. It was our staff that was down there, but we've got a company coming in. We've completed the early stages of renovations of the south side of the Valley Street Skate Park. It includes removing the existing concrete slab and ramp in preparation for a remodel. We're bringing in the American Ramp Company. They were instrumental in building the current skate park. Work is scheduled to begin the week of September the 21st, and it's going to take probably four to six weeks to have that completed. Improvements will include a new concrete slab, a new 24-foot-wide ramp. featuring different features that will also seal all the existing cracks that are at the park. The park will remain open unless otherwise noted. I'm sure once they come in and they start building the larger ramp that they'll have to close some of that, but we've had a couple of calls on the skate park being closed. I drive Valley Street often, and I see a lot of activity on Velocity Park, the Skateboard Park. It almost rivals the Recycle Drop-Off Center that's in between both of them, but it gets a lot of use. We finally got the last pipe in on the Gulfa Basin project, so Gulfa is complete from where it starts over on East Grand all the way to the the Davidson Drive wastewater treatment plant. It does hit the Gulf of Pump station that you've heard a lot about over the last 10 years. But we've got a new station. Both the rebuilt station and the new station are working as they should. All of the pipe is in. We have... Water flowing through those and making it out to the plant I'm gonna knock on something because we haven't had an overflow in in several months. I know it hasn't rained much but we have had some pretty significant rain and Everything worked as it should so we we certainly appreciate that I say that to lead into we have one CAO that We're on track to close out in October The other is our 2030 consent administrative order. We are we are well ahead of the of the work to be able to close that one out but it is nice to be able to at least close one of our consent orders and we'll be doing that towards the end of October and then finally staff is is grinding onto the budgets right now with I guess week after next Karen and I and the deputy city manager will be meeting with all the departments but that's a that's a huge document as you as you know And I appreciate the staff and the staff time that they've got working on that, but it is keeping us pretty busy. Mayor, that concludes my report. I'd be glad to answer any questions.

Any questions for our city manager? Hearing none, we'll move on to director's announcements regarding upcoming events. Director Garcia.

Thank you, Mayor. I would like to remind everyone that beginning October 1st, the Bridge Street Live will return and will be here every Thursday. Visit Hot Springs is bringing great entertainment in, and the entertainment district will open up at 5 and music will begin at 7. On the first Thursday, October 1st, the Pink Piano Show The October 8th is Sad Daddy and Melissa Carper. And there will be the best bird costume contest. Because we have the birding festival coming up. And in recognition of that, the contest will be the best bird contest. On the 15th, we have Electric Avenue. And the theme is 80s night, and the contest will be the best 80s outfit. Now, I know you've got that down. I've seen it, Mayor.

It's deep in the closet.

The October 22nd, the mixtapes, and the theme is 90s night in the contest, best 90s outfit. And on October 29th, Manhattan Orchestra and the theme is Halloween and the contest is best Halloween costumes so that will be very exciting so make plans to be downtown on Thursdays in October all right director Webb

Thank you mayor. The first event I want to share with everybody is the annual Tikes, Trikes and Trails event that is coming up actually this weekend, Saturday, September 19th. Starts at 12 noon and goes until 2 PM. It will take place just over here at Velocity Park on Valley Street. There will be bike giveaways and other kind of prizes for participants. And this is being hosted by our very own Hot Springs Parks and Recreation Department. This is an annual event. And I think we're on, is it seventh annual or eighth? Something along those lines. So, again, the tights, tracks, and trails, always fun to do. This Saturday, 12 noon to 2 p.m. at Velocity Park. And then also, September 26th and 27th, Second event that I want to share with you is the Hoot Play Street Basketball 3-on-3 and Fest. And as I'm sharing this, Bea, Mayor, Bill, Steve, I want you all to be thinking about maybe being on my team for this event.

I'll shoot some threes.

So September 26th and 27th, 9 AM to 5 PM. This is at the Transportation Depot at 100 Broadway Terrace. at this event contestants and those that are playing in this three on three fest should get ready for fast-paced court action at the hoop play street basketball three on three and fest this will be taking over the transportation depot in hot springs on both of those days the 26th and 27th and it's actually designed for ballers of all skill levels aged 8 to 80. This exciting weekend pairs high-energy three-on-three street basketball competition with the lively festival atmosphere. Teams will compete for top honors, bragging rights, trophies, and cash prizes. There you go.

You know I can't jump.

We'll nickname our team the Three Pointers. That's all I have, Mayor. Thank you. Very good. Other announcements? Director Holiday?

Thank you. I'm actually going to say something I can't believe I'm going to say. I'm going to dovetail on what Director Garcia said talking about Bird Fest. But I couldn't think of another word. Dovetail. Dovetail. I know. So everyone's proud. Dovetail. So the the Birding Festival of the South, just like she had mentioned, is coming up October 8th and 10th. It's a little bit early to announce it, but I did want to let everyone know also on that Thursday, October 8th, there's a new annual event that's going to start this year, which are ostrich races. The Black Diamond Dash is a short fund run where individuals will be dressed up like ostriches. Costumes are encouraged and However, flapping is required. So registration, yeah, I know. But registration will go up. We lost him. Registration will go up this week. There will be information on hotsprings.org with the birding fest as well as on emergentarts.org. And so hopefully we'll have several ostriches running up Convention Boulevard. It'll take place in between the opening flocktail party and I didn't make that one up. and the Bridge Street Live event. So if you don't have to jump, Bill, you just flap your arms, man. You got it. So I just wanted to let people know that that registration will be coming open this week. And if we don't see you in the Fun Run, then maybe we'll see you on the sidelines enjoying the view there. So thank you.

OK. Well.

The end.

We look forward to that. Other announcements.

There's one that we missed. Do you dare? Yes. Director Dov Smith, please. Yes, yes. We're not going to do it. Bring us back to the center. But we're going to hop on over to the Spa City Food Truck Festival that is at Bridge Street. live area. It says, calling all foodies, get ready to tantalize your taste buds at the Spa City Food Truck Festival. It will bring together a diverse array of the state's finest food trucks, offering a delectable selection of culinary delights to satisfy every craving. So I think that sounds like a fun event and it'll be right there and it will dovetail, hop on right on into the hoop play the same day.

Well, we certainly have some varied activities here. Three-on-three basketball, ostrich racing, Bridge Street live events.

Big steam.

Big steam. All right. Any other announcements of those who had no announcements so far? They're easy to beat. You just have to come up with something simple. All right, moving on to the consent agenda. These are of a routine nature and do not merit any individual discussion of these particular items. So we'll entertain a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda as presented. We've got Director Garcia, seconded by Director Webb. All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. Consent agenda is adopted. Moving on to new business. We have two action items under new business. The first is to consider resolution R-26-164. And that's the city attorney to read by title.

Thank you, Mayor. This is Resolution R-26-164, a resolution declaring a certain structure located at 1307 Spring Street a nuisance and condemning same percent to Title 17 of the Hot Springs Code. That concludes your reading. If you would entertain a motion, second to adopt.

Motion to adopt. So moved. Director Dobson was seconded by Director Trustee. And Mr. James Harditch, neighborhood services manager, will provide a staff report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Board, for allowing me to be here tonight and to be entertained by your announcements. 1307 Spring Street is a single-family residential structure located in District 1. Current county records indicate that the property is owned by James Thomas Varnum of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and that the taxes are current. Mr. Varnum has owned the property since May of 2024. Between 2019 and 2026, Neighborhood Services has issued notices to comply to three separate owners. In all notices, we requested that the structures, windows, and doors be secured and the damage to the roof and walls be repaired, as well as the exterior property be maintained. After a limited title search showed that Mr. Varnum was the only owner of the property, We sent a file to the Attorney-at-Lotum on June 9th, and all notifications for tonight's meeting were handled by the Crawford Law Firm, including a posting in the Sentinel Record. In addition to the Attorney-at-Lotum, the Planning and Development Department, with the help of the Public Information Department, posted a request for more information about the owner on the City's Facebook page, and no one contacted our office following that post. However, Mr. Varham did receive a written notification from the Crawford Law Firm, and he contacted our office and requested information on how to stop the condemnation and removal of the structure. We explained to him that he would need to obtain a permit from the Building Safety Division and make significant progress to the structure and surrounding property. Mr. Barnum did obtain a vacant structure permit on August the 12th, and these particular permits are good for 30 days and can be extended once it's determined that progress is being made. And that having been obtained on August the 12th was set to expire last week, and that has been extended to give us time to discuss this tonight and him time to do some more work. I was able to meet with Mr. Barnum on September the 1st, and we inspected the property and discussed tonight's process and the things that would need to be done to bring the structure up to code. I did re-inspect again today. The work has not started yet. The building was secured today when I was there and a gentleman was there working on the exterior property. They had a little mini grinder set up and was getting rid of some of the brush. So they've done a lot of work on the exterior property. If you look at some of the photos, the earlier photos, you can just barely see the structure up there and now it's completely clear and you can see it very well. The structure has been inspected and deemed unsafe for habitation because of that extensive structural and foundation damage. And due to the extent of that deterioration and with the understanding that Mr. Varnum will be given opportunity to make the necessary repairs, we still recommend that the structure be condemned. And Mr. Varnum is here to speak on that.

Any questions of Mr. Hartage? Director Garcia.

Thank you, Mayor. How long was the extension?

It'll be for 30 days.

And then if there is enough work, you would continue extending it?

Correct. So it would have expired on September the 11th, since that's a Friday, and it'll go out to October the 11th now.

Thank you.

Mister artist what is the difference between a vacant structure permit and a building permit well building permit is for a new new construct new construction and it's the one is good for six months with all the with any extension from a past in former from a past inspection A vacant structure was created for this purpose, for buildings that were condemned. So it's not to give somebody just come in and obtain a six-month permit and then not do anything for six months. This way, we inspect it every 30 days and give the extensions as we're going.

It seems like this may be, unless I'm mistaken, this is maybe the first time I've seen that term in a staff report.

We've had the vacant structure permits for several years. It used to just be called a rehab permit, and they changed the wording from rehab to vacant structure because it's more extensive than just a rehab permit. I just always remember us still using the term building permit And several of the ones that we brought to you in the past they obtained building permits but these More recently we've we've ensured that they're obtaining the 30-day permits to give us opportunity to to inspect because with building permits We don't go inspect unless they call us. And so then they could slip through the cracks. And this way we're guaranteed to be out there every 30 days. okay so the time limit for a vacant structure permit is 30 days but you can continue we can extend it with every inspection just like a regular permit and if after a certain period they begin to it gets to the point where they've obviously made progress then we can switch them over to we can have them go to a building permit with longer inspection periods and And but that's this this way we're ensured that we get the inspections done and it doesn't slip through the cracks and we have some of the ones like we brought to you in the past that was condemned 10 years ago and was never removed because we forgot to inspect it.

Director Webb.

Thank you, Mayor. Mr. James, can you share with us again what you were saying needs to happen to bring this off a condemnation status? I heard there's some roof work, wall work, exterior. Can you share the rest of that list?

Yeah, there's extensive roof damage. You can see some of the pictures, just the soffit edge. The fascia is missing, so you can see the rafter tails are pretty well shot in several locations. And when you go inside, the rafter looks exactly the same. There's a lot of rot from ridge to soffit. The walls are in pretty decent shape. But the flooring is not. When we were there, there is one section that is concrete.

Has this structure got a crawl space?

There is one section that has got a slab, and the rest of it has a crawl space. And so when you're walking through, you can feel it giving. And if you look at some of the pictures, you can see a V shape where the center is flat. is collapsing quite a bit. And then there's a couple of rooms where there's no floor at all. It's completely gone. And the benefit to this one is that the concrete wall goes all the way to the footing. So the floor is built inside the concrete walls, but the floors are completely gone. And as long as that concrete wall is stable under there, then they would be able to reattach the rim joist to the concrete wall and put the joist in and go from there. But you've got to make sure that concrete is still in good shape because those are some pretty old blocks.

So looking at the timeline, so before I get to the timeline, so it was pretty extensive roof damage, soffit, walls, exterior, flooring. And the home is split between having a foundation on a portion of the home and then the other portion has crawl space. So you can tell it's got to be. The permit was pulled August the 12th. You had a meeting with the owner. September 1st, and then you went back today to examine where you noticed that there was some work taking place How much of a difference did you notice in what you observed today versus say the previous time you've been in the property there

There wasn't any work having been done since the first one and today. It didn't look like anything. From what I could tell, it didn't look like anything had been done to the structure between the first and today. They've done a lot of work on the exterior of the property, the grass and the shrubbery, but the structure has been secured, and they have the no trespassing sign up, and he has his permit attached to the boarding. But it didn't look like, from what I could tell, because it was secured looking through the windows, it didn't look like any of the work had started yet.

Had it been secured prior to your visit to today?

There have been multiple times when I've been there that it hasn't been secured in the past.

So today you did see that it was secured and they're working on the grounds? Correct.

And when I was there on the first, he was there, so he had it open so that we could walk through.

And so the permit was extended another 30 days, correct? Correct. What's a realistic time frame based on what needs to be done to the home to take it out of condemnation status to get everything completed? And what might be some of the things that you would look for when you visit in the future to check off, you know,

guess enough satisfactory work being progressed so that it could meet that timeline well there's there's two things that would have to be that would have to be fixed right off the bat and that's the roof and the floor When you build a house, you start at the bottom and you work up. Most people, when they repair a house, they start at the top and work down. And the only issue with that is if you put a new roof on and then you have to work on the subfloor and you have to jack anything up, you run the risk of tearing up the roof. So you kind of have to work on both of those things at the same time. So the thing that would need to be done first is... one of those two things. They've got to start making progress on either one or both of those two things.

When you had a meeting September 1st, did Mr. Barnum, and I understand he's here tonight so he can speak to us on this too, did he express his desire to address those items in a timely fashion?

Absolutely. He intends to make the repairs. I don't know his personal time frame. I'm not aware of that. But he does intend to do that. And my understanding is he's done something like this in the past. And so he has experience doing this type of thing.

So when you were to do, if you were to do another visit, say in the next 15 or 20 days, what kind of things might you expect to see to think, okay, this is worth another extension. It looks like this is moving along at a pretty good pace.

We need to have at least removed some of the damaged roof because you're not going to be able to just reshingle it. You're going to have to replace the decking as well. And some of that decking is one by sixes, one by eights. So you're going to have to remove that and replace it with plywood and then be working on the roof to get that replaced.

and a lot of those rafters are going to have to be replaced as well some of them can be can be repaired but a lot of them is going to have to be replaced thank you any additional questions of mr hartage thank you thank you sir mr james barnum please feel free to come forward and restate your name address and district please

Hello James or known thirteen oh seven spring. District one.

So yeah, I guess just answer any questions and we'll just give us a kind of an overview of what your intentions are in the time frames that you're planning in your capability to to actually get all this performed.

sure um i think i agree with everything you know mr harsh was saying um and i think that's basically we're on the same page so um we have we did start um removing bad um wood um and we actually have filled one dumpster and they took that Yesterday and we have a new dumpster. So we're on a dumpster to There is there is progress of and yet in addition to securing it We have started to remove a lot of the internal damage But that's kind of like he was saying to start the process really get a sense of the foundation and then after that the roof structure because lot of the roof structure is good and there are specific spots where the roof failed probably a decade ago potentially that are bad they're specific I mean it was raining really bad the other day and I was walking through just like seeing exactly every spot that was you know clearly has been letting you know rain and probably for the better part of a decade so um those spots are the source of the floor damage and then they're also the source of the specific roof uh structural issues so we also did pull a lot of the fascia and soffit boards that were you know damaged off to get a clear kind of perimeter you know plan so

So you think your your your time frame is to continue to make progress on a rolling thirty day basis.

yeah I'm and I'm speaking to kind of what you're saying I'm personally comfortable with you know whatever process you know you all are comfortable with however that gets handled administratively I mean we're gonna keep making progress and keep yeah working with the city no matter what The only thing as far as a condemnation today, so I have the capability and funding and everything to definitely fully resolve any condemnation issues. The only, I have a ongoing relationship with a lender and I haven't done this in the past and the issue I've come into is just once it's condemned funding financing is trickier and that's the only thing as far as further down the line that being said you know again however that needs to be handled I think I can make work but Yeah, but in terms of what he was saying, I have done very similar projects before. I've gotten into a project that has actually already been condemned, has already had a contract to be torn down, has been within days of actually bulldozers showing up and have essentially worked through it to salvage it. So this is the type of thing that I... You know kind of I get it really interested in is finding kind of neglected properties that have a lot of you know This is this is an interesting house. It's an interesting part of history, you know part of hot springs history So I really do want to keep it.

Yeah, I Think we all save what we can as well. I'm happy that people are taking on projects. Brian, I hate to call on you unannounced, so to speak, but I was watching your mannerisms a little bit recognizing the lending situation. What kind of thoughts might you have?

It certainly could affect his ability to go forward with the necessary lending opportunities that he might have it may be a situation where the board I know we've done this recently table and maybe yeah, maybe it's been too often, but This does look like a situation where tabling it allows him the opportunity to make more progress In such a way that it doesn't impede his ability to borrow So we're on September October

table for ninety days director trustee thank you mayor was formed you have lending relationship now that has a mortgage in place on the property that can provide this funding up so I don't have a mortgage of the property itself is

No financing, but I do have a relationship with a lender that, yeah, is capable of providing financing, yeah.

Okay. I guess secured by other properties or on an unsecured basis, one or the other?

Yeah, a bit of both. I mean, it would be – there would be collateral, but it's also – it would be collateral too, yeah.

Okay.

Director Garcia, thank you mayor and if you back maintain active permit to just as this one was extended from last week and you know the city wants to work with you to keep that going if you have the active permit with your lender. Take that into consideration for any decisions. He's was saying yes keep going. Even if it's condemned?

I mean, based on my past experience and then even just conversations about this project, it wouldn't, while it's condemned, at least the lenders that I've worked with won't finance it, no.

And what were the other properties here that you restored? You mentioned one was already condemned and you restored it.

Yeah, so this is my first. I'm hoping to keep going in hot springs. This is the first. So my family's from Oklahoma. We have a farm in Seminole. So I've done projects in Oklahoma. The one I'm mentioning was an eight-plex apartment building that was in an arts district in Oklahoma City called Paseo. Yeah, I think it literally was like five days out. And I had a business partner on that one, and so we were able to go through the process of getting all that removed before getting financing. So that's how we did that. And then ended up, yeah, rehabbing it and turning it into, it was like a mixed use kind of community art space there in the Paseo. So that's kind of, I've done other projects. This one, those are kind of in parallel. That was actually a bigger project.

But this is your first project in hot springs.

Yeah, it's the first time. So I actually came up in between Louisiana and Oklahoma. And so I've actually ended up starting to spend kind of here time in between and I've gotten in. Even just the first time, I have friends that have lived here and done things here. and I came in for like an art show and just really thought it was a You know a special place. Yeah, so I've been interested, you know that old speaking of Neglected buildings those couple kind of international apartments when you come in on seven That was one of the first things I saw and I was like, this is kind of up my alley. So I was Still still sitting there. I don't know. I don't know what anyways. Yeah, I

Thank you.

Director Dudley-Witt.

Thank you, Mayor. The bottom line is, is your intention to bring this property to life, back to life, I should say? Yes, definitely. That's the perception that I'm hearing. That seems to be the pretty accurate response that I'm even receiving from Mr. James through these inspections. I want to give this gentleman an opportunity to bring that property back to life. I think it's a good thing for our city. I like that you've taken an interest in Hot Springs and that you've done these projects in other cities before. And if you knock this one out of the park, I hope you continue to do that in Hot Springs. And I think if we were to establish any type of condemnation, it's definitely going to impede his chances of having any type of financial backing to do this project and maybe others. down the road, it might even deter him from even wanting to be in Hot Springs in general. So with all that being said, I want to make a motion to table.

Can you just give us, I think Steve had an extra comment. We'll come right back to you. OK. I'd like to make sure everybody has their opportunity to comment.

Trustee? Thank you. This question for Mr. Hartage, can you ask? That's fine. James, can you come back?

Mr. Barnum, you just step to the side for a second. You're good.

Yes, sir.

of how often how many times I guess can I vacant structure permit be renewed we can renew it as often as we need to there's no limit on that correct secondly you may have said earlier I was looking at some information here but at what point does it move from the vacant structure permit to building permit what has to happen I know you mentioned about course it needs to be secure and it's been dry but what what has to happen to get it would essentially be a judgment call we know that we would be

we're looking at it and we we see that he's honestly making effort and he's passed multiple had multiple extensions and didn't basically didn't stop work and disappear then we would we would perfectly fine with with making that a six-month cycle instead of a 30-day cycle and last comment

in your experience how long would it take to get this property to that point to get a building permit what is it three months six months I mean I I've seen pictures I drove by yesterday with with consistent work it could it could be done in three months that it if I mean we're coming up on some some weather periods here hopefully November and you know hopefully won't we won't be as

dry and hot as we are now.

Well, hopefully we'll have a new roof on and we'll have all the windows and doors.

Hopefully by then they'll be working inside, but if something were to happen and they get delayed, whether it's finance or weather or something like that, we can continue to work with them, but that might delay changing over to the six-month permit.

Okay. All right. Thank you, Mayor.

Mr. Albright. Mayor, I know this isn't part of the packet, but Director Dobbs-Smith has located a website that shows some photographs of this property and what it could look like. This is on Trulia. Very unique. Very unique. So it'd be a nice one to try to save.

Director Holliday, do you have any comments?

I mean I will say I did look him up and I actually found a really great article on Americans for the Arts he actually has a nationwide article about the project he did in Oklahoma City and so I know we have a lot of conversations here when people have best of intentions and we kind of have to balance capacity with intent but I do think I think the direction that director Webb seemed to go a minute ago with tabling and giving a little bit more time I think would be wise but I also this particular structure I mean we've all seen the pictures it's it's incredibly unique from an architectural standpoint and it would be a loss uh in that respect um there are very few houses like this in hot springs so um as far as how long anyone wants to table it you know that's that's a conversation for the rest of us but um but i would like to see this come back and i think having someone who is an architect and who's passionate about um reuse in that way coming in and investing is something that we should try to work with director beard did you have any comment

My comment to director Dobbs Smith was the website of what this could be is that something that we can all okay then we'll go back to director Webb thank you mayor I want to make a motion to table this matter out and to ninety days second

So we'll do the second meeting in December. Approximately. Is that the 15th? Oh, just.

Perfect.

Well, we. Very good. OK. So we have a motion to table till December 15th. There's our second meeting in December. Do I have a second? Second. Director Dobsmith, Director Garcia, they all stacked up. Director Holladay and Director Beard. So. got motion table please call the roll. Director holiday I beard I dobsmith I went I Garcia I trustee all right mayor mccabe I motion tables approved no Mister varum just remember you got to keep your your structure vacant structure permit active and keep moving forward yep thank you I appreciate you all thank you thank you. our last action item of the evening is to consider ordinance O dash twenty six dash thirty four and I intend to motion a second to suspend the rules and read by title director of the trustee seconded by director Doug totally well all in favor of the motion to suspend the rules and read by title signify by saying aye aye opposed same sign council please read by title ordinance O dash twenty six dash thirty four in ordinance accepting jet circle

as a Class A city street, and for other purposes. That concludes your reading. Mayor, if you would entertain a motion to adopt.

Motion to adopt. So moved. Director Dobson is seconded by a hand motion. Director Trustee and Ron Siebert, public works director, will provide a staff report. Welcome.

Good evening. Staff recommends accepting Jet Circle for maintenance by the city. The developer of Waymaker Way Luxury Garden Homes A subdivision within the city of Hot Springs has requested that the city accept for permanent ownership and maintenance the road jet circle, the only road constructed in the subdivision. The street has been inspected and meets street specifications. Jet circle runs from Lakeshore Drive approximately 1,085 feet back to Lakeshore Drive, and it includes 40 feet of right of way.

All right. Any questions of Ron? Director Webb?

Thank you, Mayor. Mr. Ron, you said that the street was inspected. Does that mean there aren't any immediate fixes or at cost to the city that we've got to do to bring it to compliance for City Street? No, sir. OK. It's good to go.

He is making some concrete repairs that we requested of them and they were all formed up in the concrete had been poured as of today.

OK. Thank you.

Any further questions or comments? Thank you. Anyone sign up?

No, sir.

Discussion amongst directors? Hearing none, please.

Call the roll director beard. I stop Smith. Hi Webb.

Hi Garcia I trustee holiday Mayor McCabe I Ordinance is adopted that completes the action items for this evening will now move to board of directors items for discussion Are there items for discussion? amongst directors

director Garcia I wanted to ask about the burning do are we still under aren't we even though we had some rain aren't we still under a burn permit I know we've got in southwest part of the state a lot of fires wildfires Garland County and the city hot springs is still under a burn ban So I think that's important to remind the public about burning because I know one of the fires last week started from someone burning trash outside. So that it's critical for us to adhere to burn ban.

Correct. Director Webb.

Thank you, Mayor. I want to just give a big thank you to Hot Springs Police Chief Chris Chapman and also Hot Springs Fire Chief Ed Davis for doing a September eleventh assembly and presentation for Lake Hamilton intermediate school this past Friday the day of September eleventh it was a very honorable presentation that took place that in in caps it in caps a lot of the heroic actions that took place by ordinary people and I think the way that chief Chapman was describing it to students at the presentation what it was that it was extraordinary actions by ordinary people. And those kind of people, along with the first responders to include police, fire, and rescue, EMT workers, were part of the heroic group that helped provide aid to so many that day. And so I appreciate our fire chief and our police chief for being present that day to provide this historical

preservation assembly for the young minds of Garland County it was a very good assembly thank you thank you any other items for discussion hearing none if there's no other comments I move to adjourn a motion saying to adjourn all in favor signify by saying aye aye opposed same sign we are adjourned you have plenty of daylight enjoy