City Council - Regular Meeting

an agenda item if you will sign up. So I'm like glad you were here.

If you are here to speak on an item that's not on the agenda, you there's a sign up sheet as well for that. And then we do have um online sign up as well which I think I've got everybody in front for that. So, if you need to sign up in person, now is your opportunity. Okay. I don't see anybody else running to sign up. So with that, I will call us to order for the Bentonville May 12th city council meeting. If you'll please rise for the pledge of allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silent for our military.

I pledge allegiance 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. Thank you, mayor. We have a question. Are you Are you our staff today or Oh, I'm sorry. They didn't tell me that you had Do you want to come up and introduce yourself? Hi, I'm Stefan. Nice to meet you guys. from Troop 36 at Northwest Arkansas.

Okay. So, if if everyone will oblige me. Normally, we have scouts start us and I didn't know we had one tonight because we haven't had one for the last few weeks. So, does everybody remind to do it one more time? All right. Good for us. Okay, Stephan. I pledge algiance 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. Thank you. Thank you. And we do have a coin for you as well. Okay.

We very much appreciate our scouts. We went a few weeks without them and I didn't know we had one tonight. Thank you. Roll call, please. Sanchez. Patterson here. Aree present. SA here. Sudtor. Birkhart here. Cook here. A motion to approve the minutes of the April 28th, 2026 Betinville City Council meeting. Second. Motion in a second. Roll call, please. Patterson. Yes. A. Yes. Da. Yes. Bart, yes. Yes. Yes. Would

any council members like to make a preliminary motion proceedings or proceedings? I make a motion to suspend the rules regarding the reading of all ordinances on three separate days and further move that all ordinances and resolutions be read by title only. Second. A motion and a second. Roll call, please. Yes. Yes. Birkhart. Yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. Making a motion to open um tonight with the committee of the whole. We have a motion. Second. A second. All in favor? I.

So, normally Chris is your chair and I would turn it over to Chris. Chris is not here tonight. So, um if it's okay with everything, I will just um chair this portion or you can nominate someone to temp to chair for this evening. to you.

All right. Um, we do have a quarterly financial update and probably our staff is in the coming through the door. Well, so a couple weeks ago I sent you the financials for the first quarter and I was just want to hear you have any questions, any commentary? No, I really don't have a presentation but was just looking for some input. you had any comment on

didn't see anything extraordinary out of the reports except that uh page number 14 I think it is much prettier prett prettier than before okay it has the expectation of income as well as the uh budget that it is uh for the whole year okay so it can be it is easier to compare it now okay but if you have any uh specific comments on something that it is uh uh remarkable out of those reports. We we really don't have anything remarkable out of the first quarter. So that's what I said. Thank you. Question. I appreciate

the last one was shorter. Thank you for sending out everything well in help. And feel free any time to send emails and ask questions. We're an open book, right? You've been sending those out usually about two weeks in advance of doing a quarterly. We're trying to get them out at least if not a few days more than two weeks just so you have time to go through them. Just like I said, we we set up the quarterlys at the committee of the whole, but feel free any time if you get into them, send us an email, call one of the three of us. We'll answer your questions.

There's no question. Thank you. Are there items that you um like to put on consent agenda? Is there a recommendation? Well, I didn't I usually listen to finance committee and I didn't know if you'll anything from recommended all items move toward uh move forward city council and if anything's able to be placed on consent agenda you wish to do so.

Okay. So you could you could place on consent agenda item number six, 7, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22. Yeah. What what' you say after 22 under 22 and number two under util the resolution.

No, it's fine. Want me to read them for you one more time? Item six, seven, nine. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 and under utility board item number two. Can we pull 21 off? Well, we don't have a we haven't had a motion and a second on the consented. Is that

We have A motion in a second. We vote. We didn't vote, but to amend it. Yes, all amended. 21. Second.

So, one more time, the amended consent agenda. Item six, 7, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, and item number two under utility board. We have a motion and a second for that. Roll call, please. Da, yes. Sitter, oh, sorry. Uh, Burkhart, yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. Yes. Um any other discussion under committee of the whole

one item mayor I would we talked about just briefly on finance that uh maybe in the next committee of the whole or following I'd like to just discuss the process for official and bullified offers made to the city on land and so if we could enter just have a conversation about that. Yeah, we actually gonna do that because we did have an offer um given to us um today I believe and so we were actually already planning to do that great in two weeks. Yeah. Or like Yeah. And we may do it on as under committee of the under committee of the whole and just have a discussion.

Yeah. I didn't get a chance to look at it. Um I just saw it come in and glanced at it. But is there a time frame on It has a pretty tight dead frame actually and it in their proposal it's 90 days but coming from them. So um we can we'll discuss all of that. Yeah. No, that's great. I just I look it came today. So, okay. With that, I'm going to ask for a motion to close this um from committee of the whole.

We have a motion and second and we will open up um our new under new business for city council agenda. That's our first item which is a proclamation recognizing May as ALS awareness month. And I believe we might have a representative here. And if you will, I'll read the proclamation and then um have you come forward for a picture. ALS, also commonly known as Lou Garrett's disease, is a progressive fatal neurodeenerative disease in which a person's brain loses connection with our muscles, slowly reducing a person's ability to walk, talk, eat, and eventually breathe. And whereas people who served in the military are more likely to develop ALS and die from the disease than those with no military service. And whereas securing access to new therapies, durable medical equipment, and communication technologies is of vital importance to people living with ALS. And whereas the ALS Association is the largest philanthropic funer of ALS research globally and has committed more than 154 million to support more than 550 projects across the United States and 18 other countries. And whereas clinical trials play a pivotal role in evaluating new treatments, enhancing quality of life, and fostering assistive technology technologies for those living with ALS. And whereas the ALS association is committed to accelerating the pace of discovery fueled by the hope that one day ALS will be a livable disease for everyone everywhere until a cure until a cure can be found. And whereas ALS Awareness Month provides an opportunity to increase public awareness of the dire circumstances of people living with ALS, acknowledge the terrible impact this disease has on those individuals and therefore and their families and support research to eradicate this disease. Now therefore, I Stephanie Orman, mayor of the city of Ventville, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as ALS

awareness month in the city of Bentonville. I call upon all to support ALS research, advocate for increased funding, and stand in solidarity with those affected by this relentless disease. Given this 12th day of May, 2026 in Bentonville and the great state of Arkansas and the United States of America, thank you for coming. Would you like to like to say anything? So, a lot of our, just so everybody knows, our proclamations, um, we've done this one for years, but they are submitted by, uh, residents of Bentonville, and we, um, do our proclamations around a lot of the, um, um, uh, causes, medical causes, and then also proclamations around city departments. Would you like to say, would you like to say anything else?

I just I am involved in the ALS of Northwest Arkansas. uh m Lou Garri's disease some people know us better by the old baseball player and um the nice thing about it is University of Arkansas has opened up a wing dedicated to ALS patients and that's a beautiful thing for us. Uh the other issue is is we usually have meetings about once every six weeks. We have guest speakers come in and it's a good support system you know for our patients and unfortunately you know two to five years is life expectancy. So by the time you get to know somebody they they move on. So my mother passed from ALS in 1998. It's been an agenda of mine a lifetime agenda of mine to do all I can do to support its endeavor. So thank you very much.

Thank you. Our second proclamation for tonight is to recognize emergency medical services. Proclamation reads, "Whereas," and I think we have some of our

Come on, our staff coming in.

Oh, man. Whereas emergency medical services is a vital public service and whereas the members of emergency emergency medical services teams are ready to provide life-saving care to those in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And whereas access to quality emergency care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury. And whereas the emergency medical services system consists of emergency physicians, emergency nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, first responders, educators, administrators, and others. And whereas the members of emergency medical services teams for their career or volunteer engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills. And whereas it is appropriate to recognize the value and the accomplishments of emergency medical services providers by designating emergency medical services week. Now therefore, I Stephanie Orman, mayor of the city of Bentonville, do hereby pro proclaim the week of May 17th through 23rd, 2026 as emergency medical services week in the city of Bettinville with the theme improving outcomes together. I encourage the community to observe this week with their appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. Thank you. I just want to thank our team. They do an amazing job training all the time constantly. Everything's always evolving in EMS. Things get more and more complicated and these guys are stay on top of it. They work really hard to provide the best.

I just want to say thank you. This is one of our um department. They work 247 hours and day and night. Thank you. Okay. And our final proclamation for tonight is for National Police Week. Have some of our officers here. Proclamation reads as whereas there are over 800,000 law enforcement officers serving in communities across the United States including the dedicated members of the Bentonville Police Department and whereas approximately 60,000 assaults against law enforcement officers are reported each year resulting in injuries to more than 16,000 officers. And whereas since the first recorded death in 1786, over 25,000 law enforcement officers in the United States have made the ultimate sacrifice and been killed in the line of duty, including one member of the Bentonville Police Department in 1997. And whereas the names of these dedicated public servants are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. And whereas the new names of fallen heroes are being added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial this spring, including 111 officers killed in the line of duty in 2025. And whereas the service and sacrifice of all officers killed in the line of duty will be honored during the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund's 38th annual Candlelight Vigil held on the evening of May 13, 2026. And whereas the candlelight vigil is part of national police week which is observed this year May 10th through 16th. And whereas May 15th is designated as peace officers memorial day in honor of all fallen officers and their

families and US flag should be flown at half staff. Now therefore I Stephanie Orman the mayor of Bentonville do hereby proclaim May 10th through 16th 2026 as National Police Week in Bentonville. I publicly salute the service of law enforcement officers in our community and communities across the nation. want to thank the community. We can't do this job without community support mayor office out on services and access right now but we got a great men public safety ours to keep the city safe. So appreciate can't do without men here every day doing this job. So thank you all.

This is another 247 Emergency. Okay, we will move to item number four, which is an ordinance approving a waiver of bid to purchase additional public safety radio equipment. New business item number four, an ordinance authorizing the mayor and city clerk to wave competitive bidding and enter into an agreement with CACOM, Inc. to purchase additional public safety radio equipment in the amount of $12,6157 amending the 2026 budget and further purposes.

Second motion and a second. Any other discussion? Roll call, please. Birkhart, yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. Arie, yes. Da, yes. Item number five is an ordinance approving a waiver of bid to enter into an agreement with AT&T for 911 equipment. New business item number five, an ordinance authorizing the mayor and city clerk to wave competitive bidding and enter into an agreement with AT&T for 911 equipment in the amount of $68,500 and further purposes. So move. Second. Motion and a second. Any other discussion? Roll call, please. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes.

Yes. SA. Birkhart? Yes. Item number six starts our consent agenda. So, would you like to read all titles of all consent agenda items, please?

New business item number six, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into an agreement with GTS Technology Solutions, Inc. for the purchase of emergency communication center video system in the amount of $96,862.11 and for other purposes. New business item, sorry. Thank you. New business item number seven, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into an agreement with Russ Basset Corporation to purchase emergency communications center consoles in the amount of $71,3316 and other purposes. New business item number nine, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into an agreement with Software House International and the estimated total amount of $81,6558 for the purchase of Solar Winds service desk to support the city's IT service desk and further purposes. New business item number 16, a resolution accepting a loan of 12 artworks from Oz Art for display on public property in the adult recreation center at no cost to the city and for other purposes. New business item number 17, a resolution amending a resolution approving amendment two with Garver LLC and an amount not to exceed $24,600 and further purposes. New business item number 18, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into a contract with APAC Central, Inc. for Rainbow Curve Improvements in the amount of 7,527,37155 and further purposes. New business item number 19, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into a change order with Flintco LLC extending the contract duration for the Dave Peele Park project by 273 days and further purposes. New business item number 20, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into a change order with Design Workshop, Inc. in the amount of $9,800

and for the purposes. New business item number 22, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into an agreement with Craft and Toll in the amount of $300,000 for design services for a future pickle ball complex at Memorial Park and for other purposes. Utility board item number two, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into an agreement with Ground Zero Construction, Inc. for the shoe maker interceptor rehabilitation phase 1 construction bid in the amount of 3,743,51910 and further purposes moved

second have a motion and a second it any other discussion roll call please Sanchez yes Patterson yes yes Eva, yes. Burkhart, yes. Hug, yes. Passes unanimously. So, we will go to item number eight agenda, which is an ordinance for a waiver of bid to enter into an agreement with Axon Enterprise Inc. for purchase of 80 tasers.

New business item number eight, an ordinance authorizing the mayor and city clerk to wave competitive bidding and enter into an agreement with Axon Enterprise, Inc. for the purchase of 80 tasers in the amount of $48,246.51 and for other purposes. Second motion in a second. Any other discussion? Call please. Patterson. Yes. Yes. Yes. Bart, yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes.

Item number nine was on consent agenda. So we'll go item number 10 which is a public hearing and ordinance vacating the utility easement west side block two lot eight of Rovenire Heights. At this time I will open the public hearing. Is there anyone online or in person to speak on this item?

Seeing and hearing none I will close public hearing. New business item number 10. An ordinance vacating utility easement located at lot 8 block 2 of Robin air heights of the city of Bentonville Arkansas BAC26-000025. Motion in a second. Any other discussion? Roll call, please. Yes. Yes. Birkhart, yes. Yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. Passes unanimously. Item number 11 is an ordinance updating zoning and development code references.

New business item number 11, an ordinance amending the Bentonville Municipal Code to update references to Appendix A Zoning Code and Appendix B, Land Development Code, recently repealed and replaced with the Bentonville Community Code and other purposes. With a motion and a second and open, thank you for all your hard work. Yeah. Roll call, please. Ba, yes. Birkhart, yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. A yes. Item number 12 is an ordinance updating zoning district references in the Bentonville Municipal Code.

New business item number 12, an ordinance amending the Bentonville Municipal Code to update zoning district references for consistency with the recently adopted Bentonville Community Code and other purposes. Move. Second. Have a motion and a second. Any other discussion? Rooff, please. Rokart, yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. A, yes. SA, yes.

Item number 13 is an ordinance relocating certain code sections code. New business item number 13, an ordinance amending the Bentonville Municipal Code to relocate certain provisions from former appendix A zoning code and appendix B land development code that are not included in the recently adopted Bentonville community code and further purposes. Second motion second. Any other discussion? Roll call, please. Hook, yes. Sanchez, Patterson, yes. A yes. Eva, yes. Yes. Item number 14 is an ordinance establishing fees for the Bentonville Community Code.

New business item number 14, an ordinance establishing fees for the Bentonville Community Code and for other purposes. So move. Second. A motion and a second. Any other discussion? Thanks for reaching out to me. Appreciate that. Thank you. Call Sanchez. Yes. Patterson. Yes. Yes. Stea. Yes. Burkhart. Yes. Hook. Yes. Item number 15 is an orange repealing municipal code section 82-86. Roller skates, rollerblades, and skateboards.

New business. Item number 15, an ordinance repealing Bentonville Municipal Code section 82-86 roller skates, rollerblades, and skateboards prohibited and further purposes. Very good. A motion, a second. Any other discussion? Call Patterson. Yes. Yes. Siba. Yes. Yes. Book. Yes. Sanchez. Yes. Okay. Item 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. We're on consent agenda. So, we go to item number 21, which is a resolution authorizing transfer AROT grant funds.

New business item number 21. A resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to transfer Arkansas Department of Transportation grant funds previously allocated to Elmtree Sideep Path Trail to the McCullum side path project and for other purposes. So move second and second. Any other discussion? Yeah, David, could you just give us I just I kind of wanted to talk about this one because I kind of wanted to make sure the public knew moving that money did not mean we were not doing the tree side project. We have the money and if you could give us the mllum has been a long time coming but it's finally bidding. If you could just give us like an update on the financials and

No, you got it. So um we received a bid from a we received a grant from McCullum as long ago as 2016 and there has been a lot happen with McCullum even down to the transfer of ownership of that road and that's what a lot of that was caught up in um o over the course of the years. That's why we're not there. We did phase one several years ago. Phase one went from um central to I believe was Gardens Trail. Um this is from Garden Trail all the way to the um um Graceoint Church. And then Tiger the Tiger overpass project will pick it up from there and carry it on to the to the to the future bridge that's out there. What we have here is a um uh we're transferring funds from an AR DOT grant, a second AROT grant. So there's the the grant that we received in 2016, but then we received a grant for the Elm Tree Side Path a couple of years ago. Actually, we accepted it like we accepted it last year. Right after we accepted that grant, the Walton Family Foundation awarded us a grant for the full cost of of Elmree. So we went to ARDOT and we said, "Hey, listen. Um, we have an opportunity to not use any taxpayer dollar, not even just Bentonville taxpayer dollars, but the state taxpayer dollars as well. um we'd like to use the funding from the Walton Family Foundation. ARDOT was really supportive of that and they said what you can do an option for you is to move the money that you've been awarded for Elmree and as long as it's in an adopted plan like the Connect Bentonville plan, you can move it over there. So, we moved it to McCullum. So, what we have now um in a project that bid a couple of weeks ago, we open it in about two more weeks till we open the bid is we have a million dollars of grant funding from ARDOT um to to start that project. the the rules behind an ARDOT grant is that it has to come with a 20% match. We know we have $100,000 from sidewalk money fee and Lou from the church and then we have about half a million dollars in our budget. I do not think that we're going to touch anywhere close to half a million dollars of of our funding. Um but I do think we'll have to use some because I think

it'll cost more than half a million to build the trail. The good news is is that um when we do open a bid in a couple weeks and we do bring you a a bid award to from a qualified firm to to construct that trail, the percentage of that that's coming out of our city coffers will be very will be very small. And so it's a it's a well-needed project. The connection in general is a multiplestep process, but this next piece is is is really key to get ready for when Dan and his team come behind us with the with the Tiger project. So, um, project's 100% live and well. We've been working on it for a really long time and excited to, uh, to bring that to the public not too distant future. Yeah, lots of good things. Glad to have both. So, thank you.

Thank you for that update. Great. Have a motion in the second moved. Second. We already have one, but okay. Okay. All in favor? Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Item number 22 is on consent agenda. So, we'll go to item 23, which is an ordinance to wave competitive bidding for emergency bridge repair on West McNelli Road. New business item number 23, an ordinance waving competitive bidding for the repair of the West McNelli Road Bridge, authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into a construction contract for said repair and amount not to exceed $500,000, providing for the emergency clause and further purposes. Second,

a motion and a second. Any other discussion? Roll call, please. A yes. Eva, yes. Bart, yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. Section four, emergency clause. The need to contract for this repair is immediate and an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from the date of its passage and approval. Second. Motion in a second. Roll call, please. Eva, yes. Bart, yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson. Yes. A. Yes.

Is there any way like I mean if we knew who hit it to get like this is obviously caused by if we if we can prove who hit it, we will always try to go after just if it's not reported or whatever. There's no way to know. Yeah. Okay. Item number one under utility board is an ordinance to wave competitive editing and purchase two substation transformers.

Utility board item number one, an ordinance authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into an agreement with Prolle G for the purchase of two substation transformers in the amount of 6,44,984.73 waving competitive bidding amending the 2026 budget providing for the emergency clause and for the ores. Second a motion in a second. Any other discussion? Roll call, please. Ricard, yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. A, yes. SA, yes.

Section five, emergency clause. The need to make this purchase is immediate and emergency is hereby declared to exist and this ordinance shall be in full force in effect from the date of its passage and approval. Motion and a second. Crossley. Hook. Yes. Sanchez. Patterson. Yes. A yes. Eva, yes. Burkhart, yes. Item number two on utility board was on consent agenda. So we'll go item number one under planning which is a final plat for the Walmart campus subdivision phase 22.

Planning item number one, an ordinance accepting a final plat of lot one of Walmart campus subdivision phase 22 to the city of Bentonville, Arkansas and for other purposes. Project number FP25-000012. Second motion and a second. Any other discussion? Roll call, please. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. A, yes. SA, yes. Burkhart, yes. Hook, yes. Item number two has a final PL of lot one of Walmart campus subdivision phase 23.

Planning item number two, an ordinance accepting a final plat of lot one of Walmart campus subdivision phase 23 to the city of Benville, Arkansas. and for the purposes project number FP25-013 move second motion in a second any other discussion profile please Patterson yes yes sa yes yes hook yes Sanchez yes item number four is a lot split of lots one and two of burrow subdivision item number three I'm sorry I'm sorry. Item number three, the property line adjustment of lot 27 block six of Clark's second edition.

Planning item number three, an ordinance accepting a property line adjustment of lot 3 in the west 40 ft of lot 2 block 6 of Clark's second edition creating new lot 27 block 6 of Clark's second edition to the city of Bentonville, Arkansas and for other purposes project number PLA26-00009. So move motion and a second. And any other discussion? Roll call, please. A, yes. SA, yes. Burkhart, yes. Hook, yes. Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes.

Item four of a lot. It's a lot split of blocks one and two of Burough Subdivision. Planning item number four, an ordinance accepting a lot split of parcel 01-0000876-0000 creating new lots 1 and two of the burough's subdivision to the city of Bentonville, Arkansas. And for other purposes, project number PP25-00008 motion second. Any other discussion? Roll call, please. Eva, yes. Yes. Hook. Yes. Sanchez. Patterson. Yes. Aree. Yes. And the next item is a city council vacancy discussion. And

real quick, mayor, and I don't know what protocol is for this, there's a group of young students from the signed up to make public comment. And you know, in before we get into the bulk of tonight's discussion, they were wondering could they potentially speak just about a project they've been working at as on uh as public comment before we hop into item one here. Just a quick question.

Okay, they need to go to bed. I'll be in bed before they will. I mean, it's disco. Come on. Just trying to help him out. Thank you.

Hi. Uh, my name is Ashton Peas and this is my partner, uh, Sophia.

Sophia. Uh over the past couple months, we've been doing a community based learning project on or trying to raise awareness for immigration rights and also trying to kind of spread their stories throughout local leaders and also kind of just general citizens. Um yeah, today we'll be sharing three stories on immigration rights for immigrants and kind of the struggles that they went through. That's it. We will be sharing our stories as well as talking a little bit about our project and what we've learned through the research. And this research on immigrant rights is not just on the United States in general, but they are cases in our community and as well as um resources and immigration rights in Arkansas specifically. And we've connected a lot of partners in our area to really do research on what how we can help as community members as well. So I will start by reading the story of anse all of these identities on immigrants. We kept them completely confidential. um for their privacy and just their sake. So Anace came to the United States from El Salvador with her husband and child crossing the desert in search of a better opportunities and education for her family. While she hoped for stability and freedom, she now lives in the constant fear of uncertainty. She is afraid to drive, feels forced to hide, and struggles with limited access to information and resources about the immigration process. Anna shared that although her son was born in the United States, he has greater opportunities and he she worries deeply about the unequal future her daughter faces because she was not born here. Her story reflects the emotional toll, fear and barriers many immigrants families experience daily. This story is on Gabriel M. Gabriel M left Guatemala and cross the desert alone, leaving behind his wife and two children in hopes of creating financial stability for them. A trained chef, Gabriel came to the United States because economic opportunity in Guatemala were li Guatemala were limited. During his journey, he became lost in the desert and experience that an experience that deeply affected him.

Today, he works carefully and avoids unnecessary risks because he lacks health insurance and fears losing his ability to provide for his family. His greatest dream is to reunite with his children, but limited legal pathways make that future feel almost impossible. Gabriel's story highlights the sacrifices immigrant parents make to support loved ones from afar.

Uh the final story is about Jane D. Jane D fled from El Salvador after enduring domestic abuse, sexual violence, gang violence, and death threats from her ex-husband. She walked from El Salvador to the United States seeking refuge and safety. Although she was tempor temporarily allowed to stay in the US, her protection was not extended despite the ongoing dangers she would face if she returned home. She now feels trapped without a clear pathway to citizen citizenship or long-term safety. Since arriving, she has had a child in the United States, and her greatest fear is being separated from them. Jane's story demonstrates how immigrants come not only for opportunity, but for survival. These stories are not isolated experiences. They represent the realities many immigrant families in our community face every day. Immigrants contribute to our workforce, workforce, schools, culture, and local economy. Yet, many continue living in fear due to a lack of resources, uh, legal support, and protection.

And we are here today to talk point of order. Public comments reach three minutes if you'd like to extend. Close. Done.

Almost. Just one more minute. We are here to urge you to expand accessible immigrant resources and legal aid programs in Bentonville. Increase multilingual community outreach so families understand their rights and available services. Support partnerships with local nonprofits and immigration advocacy and organizations. Create safer, more welcoming spaces where immigrant families can seek help without fear. Advocate for policies that protect family unity and provide clearer pathways to legal status. And ensure that all residents, regardless of immigration status, can access basic resources, education, and community support safely. A stronger community is built when every family feels safe and formed and supported. These stories remind us that immigrants that immigration is not just a political issue. It is a human issue that affects real families, parents, and children in our city who are also our neighbors. Thank you.

So, I just um I think we have one one other person to comment on something that's not on the agenda. And so um want to make you aware of that. We had talked about not changing our order in case we do have those. So I think if we done that we might need to go to and I'm not sure if the Scott Spencer Tiger Boulevard overpass I do think we need to in most cases not change but I think today's an extenduating circumstance with this and we let both speak before the So I think just so we're

I think we need to keep yeah keep it fair for tonight but also for the most part still not do that.

Agreed. Well, good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak with y'all tonight. I just wanted to advocate for the um beginning and completion of the Tiger Boulevard overpass project that will connect uh McCullum Drive to Northeast Grammarcy Road. Uh several people on our side of the highway that live in Bentonville are eagerly awaiting this project to ease traffic on East Central and uh uh East Central and that 49 intersection that has a lot of traffic problems right now. We actually had a community or one of our neighbors created a website that scrapes data from the Bentville Police Department and analyzes vehicular uh accident data and it shows there's a disproportionate amount of traffic accidents in that area. And we think that completing this project might help alleviate some of that and create a more accessible access route to the city center for uh pedestrians, cyclists, and children to go to school and things like that. We recently had a bike to school event last week. There were a couple of dozen students that were excited to ride to school. However, were relegated to having a police escort simply to get to school by bike. And I know the city supports uh that means of transportation. And so we would just like to say that we support this project. We'd like to see it begin. We email the city probably every six months and every six months it seems like delayed a little bit. And so we're just excited to have this project completed and would appreciate maybe if this project could move up in the priority list or whatever it takes

to bed it in the fall. Um we're finishing design and there's utilities electric um that have to be moved there. Okay. Or we can actually do but the the goal is to bed it in the fall. In the fall this year. Okay. Well, great. We'll hold you guys to that. We'll be back. Gonna start the McCollum slide path and stuff. That's a separate project. Um, so you'll see you're you're gonna you're getting ready to see work on that piece that's further up. Okay. And then it will connect to the Tiger overpass project and there's a side path connection there, too. So, you're going to see work out there, but it's actually a separate project, but it is going to be excited. So, yeah.

Well, yeah, we won't get excited because we moved here in 2023. We were excited to be in Bittenville. We heard about this project before we moved. It was part of the reason we kind of chose the house where we did. And it seems like every six months it's going to be like another nine months. And just to shout out my neighbor that created that website, it's called bentonvillecrashdata.org. And it makes crash data really easy to digest and understand kind of where accidents are happening. And I know with the construction around that Mavericks, whatever is happening back there behind that uh church there, it's kind of seems like it's exacerbated some of those traffic issues and and all that. So, we're just excited to have a safe way to get to the other side of town. So, thank you so much.

Okay, I don't show anybody else signed up for an agenda item outside of the agenda. So, with that, we will go to the last agenda item, which is the city council vacancy discussion and action. What we did provide for you is um all the applicants that we had received up until the last one came in right before the the meeting. I'm not sure is Michael over there think he brought one down too. So he did.

Um what we also have prepared is a list in reverse alphabetical order. Although the one that you brought down we'll have to plug in there. So um so if you would like to hear from all of those that have um put in an application um tonight, you will need to make a decision of one of those three options of how we u move forward. Going to discuss that

we discuss it prior. you are welcome to um one one comment that has been made to me from the last time there was an appointment was that um should you choose something that is doesn't involve an appointment um you have you the people have shown up and they haven't been able to speak to you so I just want you to be aware if you want to hear from them before you make that decision I'm going to leave it up to y'all but

I I have a proposal uh everybody should have a couple of minutes or three to explain themselves to the to the board to the council and uh then we should nominate one person we should select one of those persons for the remaining of the year as as a temporary on a temporary basis and then have an election in November for the following uh two years and the election could be open for the person who nominate and for anybody else in the city the ones who have applied and the others who have not applied. Everybody will go to their regular election on November, but it will be a special election because he'll have an additional candidate that it is not regularly schedule.

It was my understanding that the law required you fill the term. Can we shorten that term and did the county you can? So the three options that were given to you um as appoint a qualified individual for the remainder of the unexpired term, call a special election and appoint a qualified individual to confirm on an interim basis until the election is held or call a special election and leave the position bank vacant until the election. I did confirm with Bonnie that we could divide the term up like that and finish for 26.

Second question is could we do a special election during the general election? So, it it actually you could do there's two dates you could do a special election. You could do one um August 11th or it's still even if we do it with the general election, it is actually still a special election. The difference is if you elect to do the August 11th date, we incur costs that um outside of what we would normally occur with it um happening with the general election, which are estimated to be at about 17,000. And if you had a runoff with that, another 15,000. So if you choose to do the special election with the November ballot, we don't incur those additional costs.

The difficulty that was mentioned last time is that if we have a special election, it is likely that we'll have very little participation from the citizens. So in this particular manner that I mentioned is uh if we do a temporary assignment from here to uh December and then the re the special election in November for the term to be continue for the following two years.

Yeah. We don't have $17,000 to budget. So I think an August election is to me is off the table because like we would have to pull that money from something and I don't think that's appropriate. And I'd rather include more opportunities for the community to participate. And we all know that the turnouts are low on and off general watch.

If I u I agree somewhat with you on your on your proposal about uh having a special election in November. Uh but appointing somebody here today means that we're we are putting our stamp of approval on a person that will then be able to have that in November saying that we are the incumbent. We are the one that seven people picked in one night uh with two weeks to look at all the applications that we have visit with a person in one evening and appoint somebody that will then be able to place their name on the ballot as the council member. That is a tremendous advantage. Uh I know many of you that have made applications. Uh I I don't know a lot of you. There's so many. Uh and I've appreciated all of the uh emails and phone calls and discussions that I've had. I have visited with some staff members and I I have researched the law and I can't find any reason why seven members of this committee cannot make it till November. uh and hold the special election during the general election. Uh by appointing somebody, I know personally that I'm not qualified this evening with as limited time as I had and some within a day or less and make an appointment that in all intents purposes would be elected in November. We have such a good field of candidates. We have such a large array of of uh knowledge base and opportunity here that I would like to see the candidates run a good serious campaign for November and let the citizens discuss and hear what they have to say and let the citizens determine this at the greatest ability for the citizens to come out and that would be during the general election. uh

unless there is a reason why that a seven member council would be uh inappropriate or cause harm to the work of this council and the body of this city, then I would prefer to let the citizenry speak when they're the greatest numbers are voting. And the number eight as the council is uh used in a in a way to allow the major to uh vote on ties on tai votes. Uh a situation that was uh crashing this concept happened a couple of months ago perhaps two or three months ago when we voted for a particular situation four on one side and three on the other side. I considering the item that it was and the experience that I have seen in how we vote, I imagine that the missing person will have voted this way will have been four to four which

which will have allowed the major. How would you know that? As I said, you have a crystal ball. I I have one the small one.

Okay, good. as but as I said in in my understanding it it is obviously that we we know each other to a certain degree and obviously not too much but to a certain degree we can we can understand what is the reasoning so as I said four to three and in my imagination the missing member at the time will have made it to fourth if that had been the case I'm imagining but just imagining that the mayor will have voted on this site I'm sorry on this side which will have made it five which will have completely changed the mechanics or the result of the item and that is what happened. So she could have tied it in the case if there's only seven of us

there could not be a tie if it is four to three. If it is seven of us then the the mayor can intervene if it is a tie but if it is 43 she cannot. So you you don't think it's possible for us to be able to run our agenda appropriately uh for a period of time until the general election.

As I said, the example that I gave you happened only a few months ago and it could happen again. So to avoid a situation like that in which the majority vote will have been on this side five to three instead of three to four uh to avoid a situation like that that's why I think it is better to have to fill the vacancy at this moment but only for a temporary time I certainly understand that the person who gets the title is going to be is going to have perhaps a statistical marginal advantage or whatever the level of advantage the person may have But on the other hand, if that is the case, then it is the result of us select actually six members here today uh to uh go through all this and have uh the selection that it is best for the whole city uh in the understanding that it is going to be a short-term uh assignment. I don't think it's in our privy to believe that we know the will of the people and the six people on this council this evening to make a decision among 13 or 14 individuals this evening and only have an ability to see their applications for maybe a week and a half that that uh I would much rather lend lend the citizens to be able to vote for those people and not put our thumb on the scale for the election. So, it sounds like we have two different opinions and I don't know where everyone else stands, but if we go ahead and listen to the those that have applied and there's a standout someone that we all agree to, then we can decide on that. And if there's not, then we can discuss it again and decide if we want to leave the seat vacant until a special election. I

I think we need to determine now what we're going to do before they speak. Is there anybody here that would like to speak on the mat other than candidates? I don't know if anybody signed up or not. Has anybody signed up? That's not as I say, we have gotten I have I don't know if you guys some um push back from some of our constituents um about making the decision tonight, which was interesting because when I tried to pull people and tried to get feedback,

a lot of them didn't even know that there was a vacant seed. So, it's it's it's definitely been a challenge. I'm I just trying to get the feedback, which is what I often do, um has certainly been more challenging because mainly I guess the shortness of time.

Everyone I spoke with was there wasn't anybody saying appoint somebody that I have spoken within the last two weeks. you know, they were concerned that we're going to be making this decision so rapidly uh especially with so many candidates and they urged urged me in this case to to which I had already talked about at the last meeting um having the citizens vote for the candidates. So um that's really I guess what's on the table at the moment. It seems same experience. Multiple people have contacted me to find out how the process worked and wanted some assurances that they would be able to participate in a special election. I think some also assumed it would be sooner than that. But I think the bottom line was what I was told is they wanted to say so it seems quite clear that we are in agreement that there should be an election or the election should be in November not in August or June or any other time. If that is the case, then the only the only uh situation that we need to resolve is do we name somebody on a temporary basis from here to December or do we not?

That is that is the key. That is the question. That is the question.

You think we give them and I I know you say it's a minuscule difference on the ballot and I I believe it's more than a minuscule difference on the ballot. If you're running as an incumbent and you show yourself as a a city council member, it is more than a minuscule amount of of advantage on there that it's history tells us this and statistics tell us this. And so, uh, I know some people very well that are candidates today. Majority of those I've barely met and we have resumes in front of us. Um, but to try to even remember the first person's comment after 13 is going to be challenging at best. Um, I can do it. But I just I I'm very concerned that that we're we're we're making that decision when it's not necessary. And I I disagree with you that it's it's necessary to have that seat filled immediately. I disagree in that. So I respectfully disagree.

I understand. So the question at this moment is do we name somebody today for the remaining of the year or do we not because we agree or seem to agree that in de in November we make an election for the following two years. I would like to hear from the people that have come to apply and I don't think it's in vain even if we decide that we're going to not appoint someone tonight because if these are people that are interested in serving on city council and plan to run it is an opportunity for them to get their names out there their platforms whatever on the record right now which gives a a a little preview for our constituents going forward. So, I don't think there's any harm in allowing

everyone to speak. I agree in allowing everybody to speak after we make a decision if we are going to name somebody or not. I don't know if I can make that decision before I'm not prepared personally. Maybe everybody else is. I'm not prepared to make that decision at this drop second. If it is, then I my vote would be very clear. If I if I I think we give everybody an opportunity either way, we might as well do so. Um

I'm very confident that there's a person in this room perhaps more that can fill a seat and do a very problem. There are multiple people that are more than qualified before I make decisions on. So what I heard from Bill and Holly and Cindy is that there are concerns about naming somebody for the for the remaining of the year. If that is the case, then it seems quite clear that we should not name anybody for the rest of the year. Oh, November. Second. You mean through to the general election?

Until until no November election. Yes. So we we are going to fill this vacancy in the in the special election that will take place in November. Nick, could we seat someone immediately in November? Yes, it is a special election, so you don't have to wait till January. So, as soon as the election is as soon as the election results are confirmed, that person can be done. And so, they can they can start immediately as soon as that um it is just for the remainder of the correct. It's just for two years just two years and one month they would run and they would they would only get the two years and have to run again. this race two years and one month

they would run again in 2028 if they wish to run again. Yes. So it it seems as I said to me quite clear that uh we make a we fill the vacancy in November as an special election and the person will take place as soon as the results are confirmed for that for that whoever wins that election and then we become empty the council the seats the seat becomes empty for the following seven months not seven it'll be six months as soon we could do a special is August and it's going to cost $30,000.

Yeah, I think we've taken that off the table. But I mean, you guys have a voice. I mean, I have like I'm still somewhere in between on what I was stating was it's been definitely hard in the time that we've had to know and feel great about all the candidates. But I too am like Becky, I I would love to hear from them because I'm finding out more and more just through me reaching back out to them and then they tell me something. I'm like, "Oh, I didn't realize that or I didn't know that." But if we don't make a decision at this moment, they will not know if they are speaking for the job or not. Well, they're speaking for the job whether it's I appreciate what you're saying. I mean, yeah,

they're if they want the position, then they're from this moment on, they're they're working hard for it. And I also think it I mean, it's a question for everybody that put in an application. Are you going to run if we don't appoint someone? Because there very well may be people that say, "No, I was up for it for an appointment, but I'm not up for a campaign." So, they have an opportunity right now to say, is that a legal commitment? No. No. Well, I mean,

well, I would think that if somebody's going to ask for an appointment, knowing that that we're going to hold a special election that they would expect to run. So, I think it is good to know if you if you're not up for the battle, not up for the campaign, you might want to rethink things today. Either way, there there was one person that said that they didn't intend to run for the Yes. If they were appointed, they would just interim sold the seats. Oh, I didn't know that. And that's not I mean they could change their mind. So that's that is the point. Yeah. So well

so you need to decide if you would like to you need to make a decision and I I guess I'll we'll just kind of do it as a show of hands. Would you like to hear from all of the candidates that are here tonight? Let's do it by a show of hand after we make a decision. Okay. Well, what if we can't make Would you like to hear from the applicants before you make a decision? No, I would. Yes. Raise your hand before. Raise your hand if you raise your hand. Take a break. Yes. Yes. Her hands up though. There's fourth. So, we we will do that. We're going to take a five minute recess if you would like to stay and be able to present in front of city council. Thank you.

move that we listen to all candidates and then choose one to appoint for the remainder.

I second I was thinking I I second that. Okay. So, we do have a motion and a second on the floor. vote on that.

No, yes. Yes. No. Yes.

43 46 42 There's only six passes. So motion is to will you reread toward

All right. Well, we will do now do the everybody clear what they just did? Say again. Yeah, they lobbied while we were in the restroom. Should have gone to the bathroom. Um so we will um the motion was to um so we will actually appoint someone this evening. So we um to fill the term until November. All right. So with that go with them. So well he didn't know I was going to do that. We did not plan that. That's why he didn't back me up. But I didn't go with them. Okay. Well we have the vote and that's how we'll proceed. So now we will we're pointing at

Did you understand what you just Well, I did but like I had said earlier I would have liked to listen to them first. I mean because well you had a motion and I did it.

That's um so that's how we will proceed um tonight. Um with that we have our candidates here. We will call you up in reverse alphabetical order. Um, we would ask that you keep it to three minutes or under if possible. Um, this evening. Um, and then if you have a question for them, um, city council can ask a question. Okay. With that, we will start with Heather Wardle. Heather did email me and she has 103 fever and is positive for COVID. So, apparently it's 2020 and so she is not going to be here. She did ask if it would be possible for her statement to be read. I don't know what the

is she online? She is. No, she has 100. This is one of the reasons I I opted maybe not to there a little reason why she asked somebody. You all want to hear a statement? There's no reason. She did not ask me to read it. She just asked if someone if it could be read. So I'm I don't want to read it. I'm I think it's fair to read the statement if you all want the statement read. I'm happy to read it if there is alignment from the Are you talking about statement of I mean we've all read it. I don't know if there

but she didn't message anything in addition to what's in all was email and say she's sick. I don't know how that should be handled, but I just I did get an email asking that. Well, I think it's going to be your call if you I don't I did not get a request to do that. If you got the request and if it's just what's in the packet, I think we've all I think you can do that. I mean, I've read through it and

Okay. All right. With that, we'll go to um our second applicant um in reverse order, which is Carla Thompson. Good evening everyone. I'm Carla Thompson. Mine is not even going to be three minutes. Um I as a lot of other folks didn't know this vacancy was open. I got attacked by the community to apply. Uh so I did. Uh and one of the reasons why and here's my short statement. and I have been here close to 30 years, 28 of in Bentonville, serving in Bentonville, growing in Bentonville. And I think that everyone in this community needs to have the opportunity to flourish where they're planted. That's my statement. Questions?

Anybody have questions? I didn't know we were Yeah, I guess that's a point of order. We need to decide. Are we Is this a question and answer? Um, at the last council you asked if you all could ask questions of them and we did say yes. It is entirely up to you. Okay. If we have questions, we make the questions. I guess I have the question for all candidates. If you were to be appointed, would you be running? Would you at this point would you plan on running again running for this seat in November? I didn't think that far ahead. Uh I'm being honest. Uh so I don't know. That was I just learned that this evening as y'all was deciding it. Uh so I don't I don't know.

It's it would be like a pilot. See how we flow y'all. That is fair. Thank you, Carla. Thank you. Thank you. The next one I have is John Skags, but I believe we emailed and called everybody today and I believe he he withdrew his name. So then we will go to Benjamin Prout.

All right. Good evening and thank you everyone for the opportunity to be here. I've spoken with most of you uh but not all. Um and I'm proud to call Bentonville home. So, I currently work um for Walmart as a senior product manager where I spend my time bringing people together, solving problems, and turning ideas into real practical outcomes. But beyond my profession, I'm someone who's deeply invested in this community, not just in where Bentville is today, but where it's going. My background has really been about service and responsibility. I served in the US Air Force reserves as an intelligence analyst where I learned the importance of accountability, clear communication, and making decisions that impact others. After that, I worked as a project manager and project engineer at Baller Aerospace, managing complex programs and coordinating teams to deliver results. And today, as a senior product manager, I focus on aligning people, priorities, and long-term outcomes. Yet again, those experiences shaped how I think. But what grounds me is my life here. My family and I are active in the community. We attend New Life Church in Bella Vista. And this area isn't just where I work. It's where we're building our life. I've also tried to contribute in small but tangible ways. For example, I worked with the city twice to advocate for stop signs at a neighborhood intersection by Thomas Jefferson and Sugar Creek um to improve safety for families. I've also used the common tools like 311 to report and help address safety concerns um like in infrastructure and potholes. They may seem like small actions, but that's exactly how good communities are built. Those experiences reinforce something important. Good local government isn't abstract. It's something you feel every day. It shows up in safety, responsiveness, and whether people feel heard. And that's why I'm interested in serving in city council. Benville is at a pivotal moment. We're growing quickly. And that brings opportunity, but also real challenges. Housing, infrastructure, traffic, and maintaining the character of our community all require thoughtful, balanced decisions. I believe bringing a perspective that is both practical and collaborative. In my work, I regularly do this with bringing people and

decisions together. Compromise is an art. Not everyone has it. If selected, my approach would be grounded in three things. Listening, clarity, and accountability. I'm not coming to this with a fixed agenda. I'm coming in ready to listen, to learn, and to contribute with all of you in a meaningful way. And I'll say this, I don't claim to have all the answers, and I don't think there's a perfect set of qualifications for a role like this. But I do bring my experience, values, and willingness to do the work. And as one of your current council members put it on the phone, this is about making decisions the best that we can for our community with the information we have at that time. And that's exactly how I'd approach it like all of you do. Before I close, I want to thank all of you. I don't think you guys are publicly recognized enough and it's seriously appreciated in a community like this. So, thank you. And it's not unnoticed. And at the end of the day, I'm not seeking to be the most qualified person in the room. I'm sure there's a lot of us here. But I am seeking to be the person you're most proud to hand the torch to. Someone you trust to carry forward the same values. whether that's later this year and commitment to this community as we work together to build the future of Bentonville. Thank you for your time and I yield the rest of my time for questions.

Yes, I would rerun or run about your background in finance. I think one of that's really concerning to me and maybe other members is that council member, former council member Agu was very strong in finance. She brought a lot to finance committee and that's a that's something that I'm looking for. Could you speak to that?

Yep. In grad school they teach us all about finance and then also in aerospace contracts and government contracts. We have to be good with budgets and accountability for timelines. If you miss the launch window, it's detrimental. So yes, you have to be on track on schedule and within budget because the government's always watching. So yep, no stranger to that. Any other questions otherwise? Thank you. I don't want to hold everyone else out. Thank you, Eric.

Hello. I'm not actually here uh for an application. I'm just here to advocate that I would like that special election to happen, not an appointment, because that is not what the voters want. They do not know any of these people. These people are on the ballot. this is uh undemocratic even though technically yeah this is the rules and how it goes. But if it's in your power to um have an election then you should do everything you can to do that. That's all. Melissa, they're not here.

I'm sorry. You just mentioned local that I think that was a lyric. Yeah. Um just he was just spoke speaking about the special not actually although I have you listed as an applicant. So I apologize but um Melissa MSAS wait we have an application. So are are you not you are you running putting your name in for or you are I guess might as well go for it. Your name's right here.

All right. Melissa Msas do not see that she's here or online. Go to Jacob Holtz. Jacob Holt Tom Hol's here.

Tom's here. Um, so this is my trailer. So, yes, I would consider running if I um Tom Hoen, 206 Southwest 2nd Street. Um, good evening, mayor and city council members. Thank you for hosting this tonight. Um, you know me as a visible, engaged member of this community. Um, but you may not know some of my background. So, I I urge you to look at that application that I put together. Um, but let me touch on a couple areas just tonight. First is experience. I've been married to my wife Paula for 41 years. I can't believe we've been married longer than I've been alive. It's I don't know how that works, that math, but we have four adult children. Two are married, two grandkids, and that's kind of the center of everything, as you know. Um, I've been a marketing and marketing executive my entire career, digital marketing specifically since 1995. So early early days and been a pioneer for that and I worked with Kodak for a number of years in Rochester, New York. I got a call from Walmart 14 years ago. Actually, I got one of those Facebook notifications today that it was 14 years ago today that we broke ground on our house a couple blocks from here. But Walmart recruited me here to lead social media for Walmart and that was really on a big big stage and it was a great experience while I was at Walmart. Was there for quite a number of years and then took a role at Michael's Arts and Crafts for a while. So this throughout this whole career I have managed large teams, small teams, multi-million dollar budgets to help with the financing. So proving return on investment, managing again tens of millions of dollars of budget in these projects, managing agencies, managing worldclass events, and managing large and complex programs and projects throughout all of that. And if you just don't want to hear from me in my application, I had seven different quotes from various residents of Bentonville that are lifetime residents, transplants, entrepreneurs, nonprofit person, um, business leaders. So, it's not just me talking and I I just

solicited some input from residents and neighbors here as well. The second point I want to leave you is just the engaged citizenry. You've seen me at many many events and I currently serve on the board of directors of the RAV Cultural Foundation which is an Indian um arts and community organization um here in Bentonville. Former member of the Peele Compton Foundation and worked with them when they brought on Osage and Coler as part of their um properties that they manage there. I've been involved in various capacities in all 12 of the Bentonville film festivals and as it's been growing over the years. I'm involved in various active transportation efforts, notably Arkansas moves, formerly Bentonville Moves Coalition, as well as Ride to Work Wednesdays. And you probably know me best as the vice chair, currently the vice chair of the public art advisory board and super proud of the work that has happened on that over the last like 12 years. And I've been on it for like two different stints during that time. And um I love the fact that um public art is cited as one of the top things that people love about Bentonville. Um when when Tyler was doing his planned Bentonville session on the square that rose in the top three and I'm just super proud of that and you've seen evidence of that as well. And I hope you had a chance to see the new sculpture that just went in last week. It's over by Becky. I saw you there driving by Waven when I was standing out there. Um over by the Amazium and Crystal Bridges on that roundabout. Hopefully you love that one as well. So, in closing, I just I humbly suggest that my experience and track record of community engagement position me well to further serve the citizens of Bentonville, and I appreciate your consideration. Thank you. Any questions?

You answered the one question that everybody's getting right at the beginning. So, great. Thank you. Thank you. All right, Dan Grover. Thank you. Thank you, mayor, and thank you, city council members. Uh, my name is Dan Grover, and I am a Bentonville believer. My wife, Lindsay, and I chose to make Bentonville our home 20 years ago. We didn't just move here, we invested our lives here. Uh we've raised six children who have been shaped by the city. All of whom who've been educated in Bentonville schools, played soccer with parks and wreck, basketball with boys and girls club. They participated in city races and summer programs, who utilized a world-class trails, checked up books at the Bentonville Library, uh got their first jobs at our local restaurants and bakeries, and lifeguarded for our pools, for our city pools. Uh they performed in school orchestras and choirs, hung out at the square with friends and youth groups, and tried every flavor of ice cream at the spark. This community's given so much to my family. My desire to serve on the city council is rooted in deep s in a deep sense of gratitude and a commitment to ensuring that 20 years from now when I'm still here, my children want to come back and visit. My platform is built on three pillars. first responsible growth as we navigate the upcoming population boom. I stand for strategic balanced development that protects the unique character of our neighborhoods while ensuring our infrastructure and services keep pace. Two, strong community resources. Having served a six-year term on the Bentonville City Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and now in my 20th year as a youth sports coach in Bentonville City, I'm a fierce advocate for the programs and spaces that define our

quality of life. Three, literacy in the arts. through my established platforms and as the current president of the supporters of Bentonville Orchestras, which is the nonprofit organization that supports the Bentonville High School orchestra program and its feeder schools, I'll champion family literacy and the arts, providing parents with tools they need to engage in healthy conversations about the media their family consumes. I bring 25 years of professional experience in the CPG industry, nearly two decades of local volunteer experience here in Bentonville. I was deeply honored to have recently received the Spirit of Bentonville award. My goal is to be a pragmatic, collaborative, and datadriven voice for the citizens of Ward One. Not just asking for a seat. I'm asking to continue the work I've already been doing for two decades. I am and will always be a Bensonville believer and I would be honored to earn your support to work alongside you in the service to the city we all believe in. And if I were to be appointed then yes, I would run again in run in November.

Thank you. Could you speak to your finance background? Yes, as an employee in the world of CPG calling on Walmart, um it is a standard to work with large numbers and I've run desks that uh at Coca-Cola for example, the largest desk in all of Walmart, $8 billion and been responsible for performance on that desk. So, I'm I'm used to numbers and and uh making the bottom line add up. Yep. Thank you so much,

Julia Gregory. Mayor Orman, council members, thank you very much for the brave decision that you made earlier today to pick somebody for this seat. I think I think that was the right decision. I don't think that this seat deserves to sit vacant in the coming months between now and November. You don't know me. I was the first to apply, but you don't know me. I haven't been emailing you. None of you are my friends. We haven't crossed paths in the years since I've lived in Bentonville since 2008, but I am an Arkansas born and raised native. I grew up homeschooled in West Fork, just 50 minutes south of here. When I moved back after college, I had spent a year working at the Arizona State Senate. And so I'm not I'm no stranger to civic procedure or government responsibility. In the 18 years since then, I have worked across roles of increasing responsibility in the business world, much like many of the other qualified applicants who you've heard from today. In that time, I managed hund00 million IT spends across 11 countries in my work at Aldi. Most previously, I lived over in Europe for three years where I lived and breathed what it's like to live in a walkable, modern, urban city, and I understand what it's like to balance the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, public transport, as well as cars. I've also managed desks at at Walmart. So, when I was a category manager, I managed a $2.2 billion digestive health desk. It was the second largest category in D40 at the time behind vitamins. So

again, numbers, not afraid of them. I did a master's program in business analytics at Harvard University in 2018 through 2020. It's not going to be an easy decision for you today. You have to decide who can fill the seats of outgoing council member Richardson. And she was she has big shoes to fill. and I would humbly res humbly request that you allow me to be your colleague and try to fill those shoes. What I know of her legacy on this council is that it comes with a a record of advocating for affordable housing and for Arkansas families in Bentonville. And I would want to fill that exact same mission that her voters voted for. And if allowed to be uh selected for the seat tonight, I would seek re-election in in with the endorsement of this council. And so that's not an ask that I know is is easy. That's a a leg up from a statistical perspective. Absolutely. You're right, Bill. That would give a huge lead to whoever runs um in November, which I will be on the ballot one way or the other. So you'll see me again even though we don't know each other. Any other questions? My last comment I would say is if the other 14 candidates who I researched before coming today actually was on a ballot today as a voter in my ward, I would select Carla. She's across the street from me. And I don't know I don't know anyone in Northwest Arkansas who does more for the local homeless population and for doing the day-to-day work that isn't glamorous in making sure that people are housed and fed and cared for here. Thank you

has her daughter for tonight. She is uh sorry I think she is no by order alphabetical order she puts Alis on she did not apply till 5:30 today she's the one that said that to solve the problem of giving an incumbent she would be a placeholder to fill the seat and kind of commit to not running in November if we decided to go that route. So I think I think that's

heard that and her her we did get her applicated.

Yes. So, she did say that she she ran she's run previously for the seat and um that she yeah would not would not run if we wanted to make a choice to avoid that. Austin Brian, mayor, council members, thank you. Thank you for making the choice tonight to appoint someone into this seat. I know that it is a hard one and I'm here to ask for that appointment this evening. I am a principal and chief operating officer at Hogan Taylor Wealth. My expertise is in accounting and finance. I'm a certified financial planner and I help individuals, families, and organizations think clearly through complicated consequential decisions. I've also spent time inside of Bentonville's own institutions serving on the Plan Bentonville steering committee, the parks and recreation advisory board, and the mayor's community council. Three things are guiding me to wanting to sit in that seat next to you. First, fiscal responsibility because Bentonville's growth has been a gift. But costs are going up and every dollar the city spends should hold up to the same careful scrutiny a good financial planner brings to a client's accounts. That is a long view, no shortcuts, and no surprises. Second, smart and thoughtful growth. Because Bentonville isn't going to stop growing. And the question isn't whether to grow, but how to do it without letting development outpace the roads, utilities, and services that make our neighborhoods work. And third, protecting what this city has already

built, our parks, our public safety, our best instate schools, and the neighborhood character that drew people here and keeps them here. My son will start school here in Bentonville public schools soon. The decision that this council makes between now and then on growth, infrastructure, and the services that make Mentonville strong will shape the place that he and my daughter grow up in. And I think about that often. And it's why late last year before this vacancy opened, I started laying the groundwork to run for this council. I started and it's why I'm here before you right now. I want to be at the at the table for the decisions that come next and I believe I've prepared in a way that would make me useful to this council and the people of Ward One immediately. I am planning to rerun if I get appointed to the seat and I believe that my accounting degree and years in finance have helped prepare me for this position as well.

Thank you all. Alexander Bryce

I to all um first of all I'd like to thank this uh council because a lot of the reason why I'm here is because of you. I have uh come before this council many times many years ago and from then on I just got the bug to you know I would like to serve here and it grew and grew until I just finally decided you know what I'm going to turn in my application because I feel like this city has really given me so so much. I moved into Northwest Arkansas in uh 2004. So I've lived in the area since then. Moved into Bentonville in uh 2010. So, I've been here since then, living in um downtown Bentonville, which has, as you all know, grown from what was um a hole in uh the middle of the uh Crystal Bridges, what is now it was just a a hole, but now it is amazing. And we've grown, grown, grown, and to be a part of this council would be an honor because I I just love Bentonville. the my dad always he always asks um you do you ever think of moving? No. No. And um one of the things that I feel like I would bring to this council is I do have a finance degree uh MBA from Vanderbilt. I've worked with the um uh accounting in um my job for before I even moved to um the northwest Arkansas area. That is um what I was doing for various uh retailers. And then one day I got a call for somebody to they needed me to help build the Bentonville office. Um and uh that's how I ended up working not for

Walmart, but you know how everybody here either works for Walmart or works for Walmart. So,

so I would appreciate your vote um to be on this council and um at this uh when I came here the question was well will you run again? And I got asked that by people besides y'all and uh I said you know what I I don't know. I don't know because um to to serve in this uh position, it's it's probably way more than I'm thinking it is, but at the same time, it's probably an honor. I know it's going to be an honor, but it's just things that are going to come up that I'm not even expecting. And I'm ready for those because that is what I've uh done in my job is things come up that you don't expect because there's a lot of gray areas out there. And you need to be able to listen to all of them. And you need be able to listen to people besides yourself, besides everyone here. You need to go out and ask what is it that is the best for Bentonville. Any questions?

Jonathan Barry Jonathan Barry, Kimberly Bell, but be terrible. Hi everybody. Um, I've had the pleasure of getting to meet a lot of you over the past couple of weeks, which has just been great. Um, my name is Kim Bell. I've lived in Bentonville for 22 years. Um, I have lived downtown on um, Southeast D Street now for six years and absolutely love it down there. Um, my husband and I raised our son here. He's 25 and we moved here when he was three and just feel fortunate to be able to have raised our son in this wonderful community and I hope that it's my hope that families continue to feel that same way. Um, I want to run for city council. It's been something that's been on my heart for a while and um with all of the change that's happening, I just really want to be a part of that change and be able to affect things and I've talked to a lot of you about that and all of you have felt that you were able to um affect change. So, I really would love to be a part of that. Um I love Bentonville and I would be excited to be the voice of people in Ward One. Um I am at a stage of my life right now where I have the time to dedicate to this and would be excited to um dedicate my time to this. Most importantly, I have a passion for Bentonville people and Jesus. Um what do I bring to the table? Um I have a lot of business skills. I haven't done a lot in city work. Um that will be changing. Um, but I have a lot of business skills that are applicable for this position. First of all, budgeting skills. I ran a billion-dollar desk at

Walmart where I was responsible for, you know, as everybody here knows, you know, sales, inventory, margin, all that kinds of stuff. Um, and I would really look forward to being a part of managing the budget for Bentonville. I just that'd be fun to to get into and dig into. Um I also in my last role set budgets for the company and in addition to that multi-million dollar budget and in addition to that then made sure and that we adhered to that budget and that was whether it was um payroll samples etc. In addition, through my um through my career, negotiation skills has been uh forefront. As a merchant, I had to negotiate with suppliers for the best cost and best terms so that we could give our customers the best um value, the best retail. I think that would be fun to continue to bring here. Um I was also a part of contract negotiations with Walmart as a um thirdparty contract supplier. My last job was VP of strategy and it's what one thing that I really enjoyed and in that role basically it was digging in and figuring out where opportunities and issues are and then figuring out how do you correct those issues opportunities and then aligning the team on how are we going to execute to that. So enjoyed that a lot. also as a merchant for Walmart was responsible for setting a strategy and aligning the team on a path to achieve that strategy. And my most favorite thing is people skills. I love people. Um I led I've led and trained teams both reported to me directly to me and where I was able to influence them by working around them. And it's one of my strengths. Um, I tend to, uh, what I do is influence people

with the use of facts and that's how I've usually come approached things and been able to work with people. Um, I have a passion for mentoring young people through Fellowship Bentonville. Um, I enjoy being able to help them comments reach three minutes. I'm almost done. to combine their professional skills and spiritual beliefs. If I'm if I am selected to do this, I look forward to doing everything I can to be um a part of this role. Appreciate you guys today. And yes, I would run in November. Thank you. Any other questions? Sorry I went long. I thought I'd go short.

Grant Anderson. Grant Anderson. I think he was going to be online but is okay. And then um Bill Akins um also withdrew I believe that got us through our applicants. Is there anybody else in the audience or Yeah. May I ask of the procedure and we'll be passing one, two, three maybe. How are we going to handle the vote? Are we going to pass this down in the vote? Are we going to

are we doing uh how are we going to do this uh to be able to tally the votes properly with I don't want to get back and forth in discussions of individuals but I would like to just uh it was maybe see if we can come up you did a ballot previously

two weeks ago I presented that idea but that idea came with some questions uh once from uh two questions from the lawyers in relation to the possibility of a going against FOYA the the the the freedom of information act. That's one possibility. There is a a little bit of a question and the other one most stronger one was uh from a state senator who mentioned that if if we don't get if somebody gets for example out of 35 points uh 18 points that is a majority but it is not for the equivalent of four members. So it has to have some refinement in in the process and so we can

I think the outcome will be reported and we could each write our first and second person and if there's a commonality in the first person then we can move forward. I don't I don't think I'm following. So Octavio's proposal we were confident does violate FOYA. Our recommendation would be that it'd be an open discussion. There would be a motion, a second, and a vote if that person did not meet the requisite for votes. There would be more discussion. There would be another motion for a different candidate or the same candidate again potentially. Um, and go through that.

Well, I didn't hear that disc that part of that discussion at the last meeting. So, that is your new opinion this meeting. That's that has been my opinion. Yes. I move we nominate Dan Grover for the remainder of the 20 26th term. Second that have a motion and a second on the floor we will call. Okay. So

or I mean now what we can discuss I mean yeah that's so if there's

I don't necessarily like here we just this is what happened last time when we appointed somebody a long time ago somebody made a motion boom bada bing the election was done and there wasn't it's a very challenging situation not opposed to Dan I think he seemed very qualified um I've heard very good things about him as a upstanding member of our community um it sounds like there are things that you would bring to this council that would be very helpful Um

the problem that you're that Bill is looking at is the same situation that I saw uh years ago. That is precisely what that I that's why I said the vote has to be secret based on a on a scale of five points for each one of us. But uh as I said the method is uh weak in some points and it cannot be it could not be done today because of that. I thought your concern was last time not everybody got a chance to speak. Not all not any of one of us or the candidates? Not the No, the candidates all of them speak but the council members do not.

Was this information that Nick just stated? Was this sent to us prior to tonight or am I just hearing this? This is consistent with what I said at the last city council meeting that he didn't know that he would I was I was confident that what Octavia had presented would violate FOYA no secret I had said that executive session was not necessarily applicable I did not say explicitly state that it would need to be discussed on the open record but by saying that the other two things would not be applicable it would be yeah I all I heard was I'll check into it and get back our our legal with what Nick Yeah and I I get that I never shot and back bit.

We couldn't list the remaining candidates one through five and and put our top two, one or two, list whatever number you'd like and and have a third party count the ballot. Is that considered a secret ballot? Yeah, they are the third party. That's what I presented the last time. I mean, let's it will be something. We're not hiding anything other than I think what I would be comfortable with is if you want to write them down and then each of you go through and say who you have ranked in some order. I think that would be a more appropriate method to have everything on the public record from an audio and video perspective. If that's what you guys want to do, I'll withdraw my motion. If if writing down and saying it out loud is what the council

I would want state it on the record what you wrote down instead of the the top two being announced that these are the top two and then we we can vote on the top two correct the top two are consistent multiple this is why I didn't want to do this so what we and we've asked multiple we do believe that if you were to do it in some type of secret ballot that it would violate FOYA and could make your nomination that could be challenged. So that is our legal recommendation on that. Another reason why we are saying that

I'm learning a lot just by sitting here and I I mean I wanted to hear from you guys. I mean, that was my whole reason because what I heard said before our break was we have to decide whether or not we're going to appoint somebody tonight to be able to hear them. And I mean, now I've heard them. I've heard some different things from when we left from the last meeting. Um, I I'm back to where I don't know that I'm the one that needs to make this decision based on what I've heard tonight. I mean, there are some really good candidates and there's a lot of constituents that I feel like should and need to weigh in on this. We already decided

well I know already and but we made that decision based on I made the best decision I could with what I know and now I know all of this and I know that this change where we're not going to be able to have so is it different if we've done a we've done a ballot in the past what the constituents will decide in November ballot either way your ballot is to be on the public record not read by a third party and calculated and tabulated outside of the public record. The public won't be deciding in November either. Public record. You could count it and give everybody your feedback. If we did it that way, I would be reading it as who the council member is and I would be saying who they ranked in what order. That is how I would be calculating it.

That's precisely the way that I say that two weeks ago when I said everybody votes the ballots are given to you. You calc you tabulated them and then you present them b indicating who voted for what. So, but we are going that route. We cannot have executive session. Okay. I I'll say who my I think we have a lot of qualified advocates. Like I think we can all agree on that for sure. And I think we can all agree that all of them the constituents are voting in November. Yeah. I mean I

that wasn't written on paper. The the method the method that Bill is suggesting is similar to the one that I presented two weeks ago and it does not have in my understanding a foyer violation because the the vote will be secret and it will be given to the clerk or the lawyer who will present them on the screen and we'll put it on the record including the copies of the ballots that each one of us has. So the way this is going to go is motion in a second. we're going to go through this and you may not even get to the fourth person, right? It it's just it's just an odd setup. Uh it's not a it's not a a broad-based election is been hard.

No, that I've been through this numerous times and and uh I didn't want to do it again because this is exactly what happens. And uh not that it's fault. No, I mean I agree. Just you'll get emotion in a second. you may not even get to fourth person and it's just it's uh it's a it's it's challenging for all of us and uh I appreciate y'all's patience with this discussion because it's it's it's ch certainly a challenge for me. I care a lot a lot of it. Anyway, um so however you all want to handle that I will I lost the vote on this. If we stay for top two are then just continue. You've got a motion on the table. I have a motion on the table.

All those in frame of if the consensus is that we prefer to rank instead. I will withdraw my Thank you also resend your previously approved motion if brought forward by the winning. I want to resend my previous motion of making you could propose tonight let it go to a tie vote because you voted to in favor of hearing from the candidates and nominating someone correct hearing from Yeah. So you would prefer we leave the seat open until November. Yes. Is that what you're saying? Yes. So you would be proposing hearing what I've heard tonight and new information majority vote that would be rescending that motion to put a new motion on the table motion. No you would be pro you would be rescending for a new vote.

So if it was 33 would the mayor decide or would that make it fail? If she proposed so if Holly switches her vote and we revote that would make us 33. So, does that make the motion fail because it doesn't have enough support or does it make the mayor break the tie? The motion is to let me think through this for a second. The motion is to resend, then it would not pass a majority. If it doesn't have four, if it doesn't have four voted to the tiebreaker, then it would pass. So, she would vote any tie. So, that would put mayor in the position, too, unless other people also changed their Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So then at that point it would become a mayor appointment because

Yeah. And that's and and the the statute specifically states it should be a city council appointment just so I don't think it could become a mayor appointment. We didn't pass. We're back to where we Well, she's making the deciding vote as she's actually deciding which way to go or appoint the person. The mayor cannot vote on this. I'm talking about the motion to res break the tie. She should not vote for that. would she would have to break the tie. It's It's up to us. I don't want to leave it up. Not that I wouldn't mind having you take the take the weight of this, but I think this is on us. So, you do need to make a decision tonight. One way or the other

or within the boat and that makes the decision. Well, here's here's where I am right now. There's a motion and a second for Mr. Glover. I have no reason to vote against him. So, I'm not going to vote against him when there's a when he's a perfectly great candidate. We have to deal with her though, don't we? I just don't see an easier way to do it. So, I thought throwing out who I thought was a top candidate, but like I said, if we prefer to rank, I will withdraw that motion. I agree with you. Do we have to take action on the motion on the table?

No. Like the motion discussing the motion, but I will withdraw if council decides they would like to do the ranking method instead. Everything's out. If if everybody's going to have to go through this, then what's the difference? I don't know how the ranking the the ranking method will be more complicated. I agree. That's I So question is, do we move forward with appointing somebody or not? And if if if unless she resends her vote, then your motion stands and you've got a second on that. So we can vote on Mr. I already put that. So we're kind of back to decide thinking we might not want choose any of the will. No, no, no. I say that.

We have a motion on the table. I know, but decided she wants to resend hers. Well, she can only I think she can only rescend it if like who has to decide if that original motion is rescended. Well, the ones who won. I think the winning side would bring it forward. She's not on the winning side. She is. She is. She voted in favor of it. She voted in favor. Sorry. So, we can do that. Let's I mean, if we decided we want to go a completely different direction and leave the seat empty,

my position hasn't changed. Okay, we have we have to make a decision. So, Holly, you'll have to either decide if you want to resend your vote and recall that or you do have a motion and second on the table.

I mean, it feels very awkward. I mean, and again, I don't have anything against we have to we have to make it shouted something out fast. Do what? Yeah, I would have shouted out too if we knew this this is how it was going to happen. You know, it's it's uh and that's what happened last time. The reason this came up. This is unfortunately the because somebody did this last time shouted out a name, got a second real quick. Yeah. The only thing that happened differently this time is you did allow all of them to speak because last time when we I thought that was the concern was last time we didn't let everybody this is the process and we have to make a decision. that I agree with you. I think is be better luck to the voters.

I'm not hearing a retention of that. So, I'm going to say you have a motion and a second on the floor and you should vote on that candidate. Okay. We're voting wait for the candidate. Voting for the candidate. I have made the offer to the council to withdraw that motion. If does not accept if we have another method of selecting that is better. I am happy to withdraw that motion. Does anyone have a better method? He was not. I think it's direct and it's because I am totally open to a better something better if you guys have something like we can rank give our top two.

I've I've made my my position pretty clear. So, whatever else y'all want to do, I'm based on what I know now because I made a decision based on what I knew then. I want to rescend my vote and let the people vote which and have the mayor decide. I feel like I don't should have at this point if she rescends we're 33 and the mayor well she would be rescending there would need to be a second and then there would be a vote to rescend the winning vote. Does that make sense? So the second has to come from another person.

So now this is a vote to rescend the original motion. You already heard from the candidates, so you can't resend that part. But to nominate someone to fulfill the 2026 term, you'd be voting to rescend that from the floor. We have a motion. You'd have to have a second to her motion, a majority vote. So you any other discussion? Yes. Do you want to discuss it? So basically this motion to resend would result in this would be if we decide we want to leave this seat vacant. We're not deciding anything by but by resending it to

we'll have to go back and make a decision again from either side is or one other person from the vote to the point will have to change their mind. Basically the only reason we would vote to rescend is if we've decided we want to leave the seat vacant. No, you would you'd be back to the all three options back to the beginning. There would be nothing on the floor deciding anything. You can also propose. We'd have a vote at the end and then it probably versus is it would be if decided we want to leave the seat open. Yes, you would resend it unless that was the Yeah, we would not rescend it unless we've decided we want to leave the seat open. So we want to leave this unless there's another way to do six months just vote tally

and have all these wonderful people run without having this leave that seat vacant and just have seven of us until mid November or simply stay let the people decide. Well people will decide in November either way. This is like we're the nove the election will occur in November whether we appoint someone or not. the pat one that brought up the point of the competitive advantage of it is an advantage. It is. It's estimated 20%. But if we feel like there's a qualified candidate in here and there is then there there's a few I mean there's there are I mean there are down the line.

It says a lot for our city that there are so many qualified people. I mean it does. Yeah. I mean we Yeah. And I want to restate um obviously Dan Dan or Don can't be my own was one of my top two. I'll just say it out there. My top two are Kim and Dan. Does anyone else want to say their top two? My top two are Kim and Dan. Thank you. Kim and Dan. Okay. Then why don't you take a vote? Okay. that was proposed already to nominate then and it is a motion on the table that has not been

so I feel like we're all fairly aligned in our thoughts I well I don't I okay now I feel like we can well we do you have a motion to second on the floor to resent on resend. Yes, we have to vote on that first. We're going to resend. We're going to vote on that. You don't have We don't There's a motion in a second. I claim that it's free. You could make a motion to nomin, you know, to do something else to approve somebody else, too. Or the original. We do have to motion first.

Well, we had a motion on the floor to nominate. We have not withdrawn my motion yet. We're still on Dan. We have We have multiple motions on the floor. The most recent motion in a second was a vote to rescend the original motion of listening to the candidates and nominating someone to fill the 2026 term. Listen, I I I'm really disturbed about this whole process. We didn't have a process set up on how we were going to do this other than the three options. Not how we were going to take a vote, not how it was going to be triggered or anything. And I think this is not how you handle things myself.

I agree that I think it would have been I think having a process in advance would have probably would have been can I feel like we're process but we can't come up we still can't come up with a better pro with a with a process. I don't think we need to go back the motion resend. Well, she's already rescended. So there's it's 33. Well, well, she's brought forward a motion to vote on rescending that. Oh, second her motion. I second it. She's been moved and second. We need the vote. Call the question. Look, you're voting to

voting to res. We are voting to resent the original motion, right? So, okay. So, yes is yes to resent. Yes. Is yes. Yes. HS no Patterson no yes noart yes but it's documented now so now we put the mayor with it I

so you're if you let me think through this for a second if you abstain so you can approve it which would be Um, if you abstain, then it wouldn't resent. Does that make sense? Then we vote. So, I'm I'm going to abstain. I think you need to stick with what you did first and you need to make a decision. We have another motion on the floor then. Wait a minute. So, we're make a decision on the candidate or make a decision on how we're doing this. We have a motion. We have a motion for Dan to be his motion to second. Y'all vote. I'll vote on how you want to vote on the candidate. Just vote on

I am recommending we make a decision. Make a decision. So to do that, I'm abstaining and asking you to make a decision. But now we deal with your motion. Have you you? I have not rescended my motion. I will resend my motion if someone comes up with a better better option for deciding and voting. Been moved in, but I haven't heard one yet. So, so we have a motion in a second for Dan Grover. I'm going to ask Are you ready to call?

Uh, Sanchez, yes. Patterson, yes. Yes. Eva, yes. Bart, no. Hook, yes. Congratulations. Sorry everybody. Congratulations. And I don't nothing personal. I just likely gotten through or have a different We have amazing candidates. Thank you each and every one of you for coming and tonight.

Okay. Do you do we want to do committee review? I honestly don't either. Thank you. It's good to meet you. It was nice to meet you. What a train. The process of Megan on like you did. You have you have to you have to vote on you know it feels it feels rough but like Thank you for checking it out. Looking forward to working with really good and good luck to you. For the record, I mean, when does he come on board? Um, he can come. He can come on. Is it emergency clause? Do we have a process for need to be sworn in prior to the next meeting? Okay.

By the time So, we can visit before the next meeting, right? Yeah. By the next meeting. Yeah. And I definitely was not I just haven't met you. Did you get all that? You wanted Yeah, we have not adjourned yet. A statement of finding employment. We're still in session. That's kind of a little bit. Okay. But we have to sworn in. He should be sworn in. They don't technically collect it till the beginning of the year, but we we've kind of created a process. Did we make that complicated enough for you to write on? That's our goal, Thomas. That's our goal. Keep you up all night. So, if you'll get it all done for you. Okay.

Stand. Yes, sir. Right. I told you nothing. We have fun. Yeah. We like each other despite what are you trying to convince them? I told you the game is easy and the pay is good. He lied. Okay. All right. Many reviews.

Uh the library has been doing an excellent job in using the uh what is it? not pacemakers but some kind of space maker uh space and they have had a lot of uh a lot of participation from the citizens. There is a long line of people trying to get to the machines and work on the subjects that uh they are making over there and they have now a color 3D printer uh which is something incredibly fantastic very much advanced and and things like that. So they are they are doing a very very good job. The utility board met and we discussed the items that we voted on tonight.

And if you haven't gone over there 101 class, you need to do that. It's phenomenal. And I didn't know they also have a digital the maker space. I did the maker space 101. They have digital lab. You can do podcasts and Yes. It's amazing.

Yeah. Really cool. I don't really have I didn't they didn't meet everybody was at the the AMP or the visit Bentonville uh kind of release of their plan. So I don't need a don't need to fill you in because you were all there. So and we did have our meeting and approved the homecoming parade of September and same list of traffic congestion sites that we still have not resolved. one being McCullum and Central and the other 72 and being um Tater Black. There's just Oh, you know, we've just got a lot of issues, not enough money to take care of it. So, we're trying to do the best we can. We we will be putting a temporary light up at McCull

really central. I was just going to ask you when that gentleman was speaking like is that something possible intersection? We've already decided there needs to be a temporary solution there and I don't know how long it'll take us to get that done, but I know the committee has agreed that that's something we are going to do. Good. Good. Mayor, have we gotten a lot of calls on yard m I feel like I'm getting a lot of calls on yard maintenance. Grass is growing and

can we maybe like I don't know address kind of the the bad actors. we can do is we can look at the process to see if we can speed it up any but that needs to come through you all because we are doing our process right now with the letter and so we're talking about if there is a a way to yes and how do if it's a repeat offender that question is coming up and so can we can we just I think put that on has a thought process that we would like to bring for you we just haven't had time to get if it's if it's in the works I it would nice to maybe we can have that ready in the next The process is really lengthy. I know your hands are tied because of the code like if there was a way that we could maybe get that.

Yeah. So, we have thoughts on that. So, let me see if we can get something to you at the next council meeting. I'm not making any promises. So, we're crazy busy right now. But, um we have and you're just in the time of year right now where the grass is growing and that is, you know, code enforcement is a week ago and it's already two foot our code is responsive to that also. nuisance yards. Our coach has been responsive to that. Um our the challenge we're having is we do have some repeat offenders where the person's having, you know, it's and that's I think those are the ones that we're figure out if we can have a little better process for it. Change fine process. Yeah. For the bad actors.

Yeah. So, okay. Thanks. Glad it's kind of in the works. Maybe Okay. Um, ATAB and art are next week and I had to miss the airport board this week because of my kid is graduating and I've got all senior stuff going on. So, congratulations. But I'll review that and give you an update on that. But next those next week are ATAB and art we meet next week. Okay. Um, so, uh, four committees.

Someone I would I'm going to have Dan set on the finance committee unless there is somebody that wants to talk to him and change what current committee you're on. That was my thought process is to have him just fill that finance. If you guys are now that does finance committee does meet Dan at 4:30 that I don't know if that's an issue for you or not. on Tuesday right before council meetings. Okay. Fine with me passions around

doesn't sound like anybody is jumping up though. You don't be on the finance committee. guarantee. But the art board could you willing to give up give up the art board? Well, so dietary said on the finance committee and so the easiest thing would be to do to do that if that the only thing is we do try to from a scheduling standpoint that one does meet at 4:30. So about half the time at five about half the time at Yeah. Sometimes they do move it back to five because if there's not very much on it, we get closer toward the second half of the year, it gets a lot more busy.

It's second and fourth these days. It meets right before council. Okay. All right. With that, I think we're done. Okay. Well, that was shorter than I thought it would be. It was our regular is Yeah, it was. It was all