By Tia Lyons
The El Dorado City Council has begun sorting through the process by which it will change the composition of the city’s public facilities board in anticipation of a new, city sales tax for economic development.
Aldermen convened for a special called meeting Monday and after some discussion, they agreed to disband the existing El Dorado Economic Development Board on Dec. 31 and move forward with a new public facilities board on Jan. 1.
A new city sales tax for economic development will go into effect on Oct. 1, and revenues – in the form of state turnback funds – will begin rolling in two to three months later.
Applications to serve on the new board will be accepted until Sept. 15, and they are available by calling the city clerk’s office at (870) 881-4877 or the mayor’s office at (870) 862-7911. Nine applications have been submitted so far. The existing, five-member EEDB maintained the same makeup throughout the life of the eight-year El Dorado Forward economic development tax, which expired on June 30.
El Dorado voters approved a new tax on June 9. The effort was championed by a group called El Dorado Works, who developed the breakdown of how the new tax will be spent over the next 10 years: 32 percent for public works/municipal projects; 15 percent for community development; 15 percent for economic development; 12 percent for Festival City development; 20 percent for construction and maintenance and 6 percent non-designated.
Following the approval of the new tax, Mayor Frank Hash said he thought the time was ripe to address concerns he has heard since he was elected to his first term in 2010: the lack of “complete diversity” of the EEDB.
“We had some diversity, but we didn’t have complete diversity. We didn’t have any ladies on the board,” Hash told aldermen on Monday. “You’ll select the people who are best qualified, but you’ll keep full diversity as part of the process.” The role of the EEDB in the El Dorado Forward tax was to vet economic development projects that were proposed by various task forces that were constituted per recommendations in the El Dorado Forward economic development plan.
If approved by the EEDB, the projects would then be presented to the El Dorado City Council for final approval.
The five EEDB members who facilitated the 2007 tax were Robert Reynolds, chairman; Joffre Long, vice-chairman; Alan Gober, treasurer; Kenny Van Hook and Robert Green.
The new board has been dubbed the El Dorado One Cent General Sales Tax of 2015 Board in a draft ordinance that was distributed by Hash on Monday.
“This is simple, clean and not overly complicated or whatevers,” Hash said, noting that the 2006 city ordinance that created the public facilities board, known as the EEDB, contained some errors.
Of the nine applications that have been submitted so far, Hash asked how many candidates were women and minority, and aldermen responded that one woman and two minorities have applied so far.
Per the draft ordinance, the new board would also consist of five members, whose initial terms would be staggered at one, two, three, four or five years. Successive members would be appointed to five-year terms.
Alderman Judy Ward said feedback she has heard from citizens is that members of the new board all reside within city limits, since it is a city of El Dorado tax.
At least one member of the existing board lives outside city limits.
There was some discussion about a state code that allows for residents who live outside the city to serve on city boards and commissioners, per the city’s population and Hash noted that the city could address the situation in an ordinance so as not to supersede state law.
Several aldermen also said they would like to retain a couple of members from the EEDB to serve on the new board, at least for the initial terms.
“I think we’re going to need them for historical knowledge … It’s important to have a couple of them on the new board. There’s some stuff that’s going on that happened in the past and we’ll have at least two people who know what happened in the past,” Rice said.
Alderman Billy Blann, who is spearheading the application process, asked if any remaining money from the old tax would roll over into the budget for the new tax and Hash said yes.
A few commitments are outstanding – such as the remaining amount from $9.02 million the city contributed to assist with the El Dorado Festivals and Events, Inc., $50-plus million plan to develop an arts and entertainment district downtown – but the checks have not been cashed, Hash said.
Hash said the council could tentatively pick a new slate of public facilities board members from the pool of candidates who have submitted applications.
Ward said she favored selecting the new members in advance, rather than a tentative slate, to allow them time to familiarize themselves with their roles as board members before the EEDB is dissolved.
“We don’t want to put them on the board one day and then have them coming to a meeting the next,” she said. “Plus, we don’t want to pick somebody and then have them back out and say, ‘Well, you never voted on it.’”
Alderman Mary McAdams agreed, saying, “Can’t we elect them and say it’s effective Jan. 1?”
Alderman Vance Williamson said the council also had to contend with the recent resignation of Long from the EEDB. The resignation was to have gone into effect today, but Hash said he would speak to Long about the matter.
“I think he thought it was going to be something that was immediate, but I think he can be persuaded to stay on until Dec. 31,” Hash said.
“I see my role in this process as changing. I am determined to see through to the best of my ability a better El Dorado. In order for me to better serve our community, a change in direction is required. I am going to transition my role on the EEDB into other areas, requiring that I resign my position on the EEDB,” Long wrote in an email on Friday.
In other business on Monday, Rice asked that the council consider scheduling a retreat to allow time for aldermen to discuss matters for which they may have questions.
For instance, Rice said he has some questions about the El Dorado Water Utilities that he would like to address. Hash told Rice to just let him know who to invite to such a meeting.