Council splits on declaring vacancy in Ward 1

Debate over declaring Alderman Penny Carroll's Ward 1 council seat vacant came to a stalemate Monday evening as other council members split their votes on which action to take.

Alderman Earl "Bud" Umland brought up questions about Carroll moving from Vaughn Street, in Ward 1, to Eureka Street, in Ward 2, during the June 28 meeting.

Carroll emphatically denied then that she was living in Ward 2. She said she would have documentation to prove her statements at the July 26 council meeting when she returned from vacation.

In Monday's meeting, Umland and Alderman Karen Lindblad argued for the vacancy.

Aldermen Robert "Butch" Berry and Gayle Money wanted to wait until the 26th to hear what Carroll had to say. They didn't want to discuss the issue without her at the table.

Alderman Bill Ott was absent.

The council had agreed in the June meeting to wait until the 26th to put the discussion on the agenda.

Umland said he received several telephone calls the day after the June meeting and he asked that it be put on Monday's agenda.

Lindblad said she had calls from citizens demanding that the council follow the law or "don't expect the citizens to follow the same laws."

Lindblad insisted Carroll had plenty of time to provide information about her residence during the June 26 meeting and she did not.

"I live on the street in Ward 1 where Ms. Carroll used to live," Lindblad said. "I watched her move her furniture and belongings out of the house.

"She has her furniture in a house on Eureka Street. The owners were here over the weekend to remove some of their furniture so she could expand her furniture arrangements in the house. She has boxes and clothing in two of the four car spaces in the garage.

"Her furniture is not out on the street, it is in that house. Ms. Carroll is not living on the street, she is living in that house.

"She has known for some time she was going to be moving. She should have told us (the council)," Lindblad said.

Berry said it wasn't fair to continue to discuss Ms. Carroll's situation when she wasn't at the table to contradict the other aldermen's statements.

Money asked City Attorney Tim Weaver about the legal situation.

"The state code says the council recognizes the vacancy," he said. "If a council member moves out of her ward, she is no longer representing the ward. You (the council) have to be satisfied in your own minds about the situation. The state code doesn't provide guidelines."

Money agreed the code is "pretty simple, but I don't have any proof one way or another. I want to hear what Ms. Carroll has to say."

The four aldermen split their votes on a motion to postpone the discussion to July 26 with Berry and Money voting in favor; Umland and Lindblad voting against.

Lindblad made a motion as the discussion started to recognize the vacancy on the council and Umland seconded.

After the split on the vote to postpone, Mayor Kathy Harrison made it clear that if Lindblad's motion to recognize the vacancy failed, it could not be brought up again.

Lindblad withdrew the motion, putting the discussion on the July 26 agenda.

Carroll was appointed to the council in December of 2002 to replace Kelly Simon in Ward 1, Position 2. He did not run for re-election and no one ran to replace him.

Zaboly problem solved

Betty Zaboly can now get a clear title to her property at 44 Owen St.

After nine months of talking first with the Parks and Recreation Commission and then the council, an ordinance to vacate the parcel of an undedicated alley known as Dunlap Street under her garage was approved with an emergency clause Monday night.

Dunlap Street goes up the hill between Owen and Mountain Streets, but had been held by the Parks Commission as Green Space.

The council had to take the property back from Parks by ordinance and then follow procedures to vacate the land.

Ordinances presented

Ordinance 1959, setting procedures for collection of the City Advertising and Promotion Tax (CAPC), and Ordinance 1962, providing for election of aldermen by ward, were given to the council for review.

The CAPC went over part of Ordinance 1959 during a special meeting Friday and voted to send it to council for approval. The ordinance is based on Hot Springs' ordinance.

Action on Ordinance 1962 will have to be taken during the July 26 meeting in order to have voting by wards in the general election Nov. 2.

Filing for council seats opens Thursday and closes Wednesday, Aug. 4.

Aldermen currently must live in the wards they wish to represent, but they are elected at-large.

One of the reasons given in the ordinance for changing to ward-only voting is to reduce the expense of campaigning, hopefully encouraging more qualified candidates to file.