Restoration work okayed for house above Spring St.

The new owners of the houses at 138 and 140 Spring St. have gotten permission from the Eureka Springs Historic District Commission (HDC) to start work to save the structures and put them in usable condition.

The two houses on the bluff overlooking Spring St. have been purchased by Greg and Kathy Hughes and Jon Myer from John Mitchell.

The house at 138 Spring is still in fairly good condition, according to Hughes. The house at 140 Spring appears ready to slide off the bluff.

"My wife and I have been watching these houses since we first came here in the early 1990s," Hughes said. "We bought a house on First Street, where we live when we are in town. We just couldn't let these houses go to waste as they are."

The porch at 140 Spring was heavily damaged during a snow storm in the winter of 2001-2002. The porch roof collapsed and the structure had to be removed.

The house was declared structurally unsafe by former Building Inspector Don Underwood in October of 2002.

Hughes proposed to restore the double porches on the house, based on historic photographs.

Both houses will be repainted and re-roofed.

Hughes said interior work will be done on both structures.

"We just want to get them in good shape and resell them," Hughes told the commission Wednesday evening.

Commission members thanked them for their proposed projects.

Hughes did ask to be allowed to remove an accessory building behind 138 Spring.

HDC Chairman Debbie Frisbie said that application would have to be dealt with as a separate application on the May 19 agenda.

He also wants to put a deck at the back of 140, but that will have to be discussed at the next meeting as well.

Frisbie said she had contacted Boyd Maher, Certified Local Government (CLG) Program Coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP) in Little Rock regarding an application to build a gallery and studio space adjacent to the building at 184 N. Main.

The property owners had provided historic photographs showing a monument company building next to the two story structure.

In Maher's opinion, the new additions will "overwhelm" the old building, according to Frisbie. He had suggested an open-air structure between the old and new buildings.

Frisbie said the new owners "will have to think about it a while."

The concept for a new structure adjacent to the building at 35 N. main was approved for Lee Pohl.

Architect Tom Johnson presented the plan to build a single story space behind the small brick building at 33 N. Main, which will include two public restrooms.

Existing stairs and balconies at 35 will be connected with the new building. The top of the new building will be used as an outdoor deck, according to Johnson.

He said he would come back to the commission with finish details. He was only looking for approval of the concept last week.

Rex Gustin got permission to construct a 40-foot by 18-foot deck on the west side of his building at 121 E. Van Buren, the Quarter.

Gustin said he would bring the grill work on the front of the building around the deck area and install railings.

The existing metal siding will be covered with a material resembling stucco and painted to match the dark red of the building.

On the lower level, mostly invisible from the front, he will install a vinyl siding to cover the concrete walls.

He wants to build a 72-foot long retaining wall on the west side of the building as part of Phase II of the entire project. He wants to get the area filled with dirt so it will have time to settle before other work starts.

A basement area at the back will be enclosed which will become the floor for Phase II. A door and two windows will be installed in the basement walls.

Mike Klecha got permission to install three small vents on the front of his building at 29 S. Main to help deal with a moisture problem under the floor.

Building Official Randy Mills assisted in presentation of an application to remove an existing small porch in front of the Parker Law Firm at 104 Spring St. and to install a curved concrete porch 6 feet wide and 16 feet long.

The concrete will be colored and imprinted to resemble brick pavers.

Mills also presented the application to repair the stone wall at 82 Spring St. on behalf of Karen Lindblad.

Mills said the repairs need to be made at the entrance to a parking area where vehicles keep bumping the wall and knocking stones loose. The proposal is to restack the 4-foot wall and place grout between the stones to help hold them in place.

Commissioners approved the plan.

Janice Smith got permission to repair and replace her wooden front porch at 67 Mountain.

She also got permission to put a window in the lower level of the back wall of the house. She said she was "almost certain" there had been a window in the same location, but it was covered when a bathroom was installed at that level.

Handrails were approved for the street-level stairways at 38 Mountain St. and 232 Spring St.

Diane Stull's request to amend the design of the addition to the back of the log cabin at 55B Center St. was tabled for drawings of the finished project.

Murphy resigns, council wants tax appeal process

Eureka Springs Mayor Kathy Harrison announced the resignation of Finance Director Diane Murphy as another marathon city council meeting got underway Monday evening.

Restoration work okayed for house above Spring St.

The new owners of the houses at 138 and 140 Spring St. have gotten permission from the Eureka Springs Historic District Commission (HDC) to start work to save the structures and put them in usable condition.

HISID approves larger pump for golf course well

The Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID) apparently has a "gusher" of a new well to irrigate the golf course.

Column: "Sauntering":Would things really be different?

One of Eureka's biggest problems, and greatest assets, is that the people who live here are too darn smart.