Concrete pouring order sparks meeting

EL DORADO — A special called meeting has been set to sort out matters revolving around an order that was issued by Mayor Fran Hash in February to stop a private citizen from pouring a concrete driveway in his front yard.

The action has led to allegations of an abuse of power and calls for Hash to reimburse Rex Graham for $651 that he lost as a result of the work stoppage.

The council was expected to discuss the matter during a regular meeting on Thursday, but Alderman Mike Rice requested that the item be removed from the agenda and hashed out at a special called meeting.

The meeting is scheduled for noon on Tuesday.

Former Ward Three Alderman Tony Henry, who was in the audience Thursday, said he will invite the resident, Rex Graham, to the meeting on Tuesday.

Hash has said that he halted the project at Graham’s residence in the 2000 block of East Main to allow time for aldermen to review city Ordinance 1773.

The ordinance, which was adopted in 2008, prohibits the parking or storing of vehicles “on the grass in a yard between the residence and the street right of way” on a prescribed list of main arterial and collector streets.

Main is one of the collector streets listed in the ordinance.

The mayor said the ordinance is not clearly worded, and he wanted the council to have the opportunity to evaluate it before Graham proceeded with the project.

Hash said he sent city code enforcement officers to Graham’s

residence once after he first noticed markers in Graham’s front yard indicating that concrete or asphalt work was forthcoming and a week later when he saw that workers had arrived at Graham’s residence to begin pouring concrete.

Hash also said he briefly spoke with Graham after he initially stopped the work and provided Graham with a request form to be placed on the council’s agenda, but Graham did not return the form.

Former Ward Three Alderman Tony Henry said he spoke to Graham after receiving calls about the issue and learned that Graham had spent $651 on the concrete.

Graham declined to comment on the matter, and Henry has spoken on Graham’s behalf.

“Mr. Graham is building a driveway so he won’t have to back out on East Main. That’s the safest thing to do is make a circular driveway, so you can come in one way and go out the other,” Henry said.

“That should be the number one priority for the mayor — the safety of the citizens,” Henry continued.

Henry said he had also spoken to Hash about the matter.

Hash said he provided Henry with a copy of Ordinance 1773 at the time of their conversation.

Hash said it appeared as if Graham was planning concrete the entire front yard of his residence.

Henry previously explained the intent of Paragraph B of the city ordinance, which says in part, “In addition, no person shall pave or gravel a yard to the extent that such paving or graveling violates the zoning ordinance.”

During a city council meeting on March 23, Henry said the paragraph was designed to prevent citizens from starting businesses in prohibited residential zones.

The former alderman said he would like to discuss the matter further with Hash and city council members because he has additional questions that he would like to ask, such as how Hash knew the moment when the concrete crew had arrived at Graham’s residence.

Hash has said he noticed the workers as he was driving by Graham’s house, noting that he passes by the East Main residence on his way to and from work each day.

Henry and former El Dorado Mayor and Alderman Larry Combs have called for the city or Hash personally to reimburse Graham for the money he had paid for the concrete.

Combs has accused Hash of abusing his power as mayor.

Hash has said he does not feel responsible for Graham’s financial loss, since Graham had been advised not to proceed with the job.

Henry has said Graham moved forward with the project under the understanding that he was not violating the city ordinance.

City Attorney Henry Kinslow has said the project is in compliance with the ordinance, as has El Dorado Planning and Zoning Commission chairman Michael Rogers, who was asked to review the matter by the city code enforcement office.

On Thursday, Hash asked Ward Three aldermen Kensel Spivey and Willie McGhee to look into the matter, noting that Graham lives in the ward they represent.