City officials plan series of town hall meets

Riding on the success of a series of town hall meetings that were held in 2019, city officials have begun scheduling another series of meetings for 2020.

First up is the Ward 1 town hall, which is set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the ELKS Lodge, 1525 E. 19th St., across from Lions Club Municipal Golf Course.

Ward 1 is represented by council members Michael Rice, Position 1, and Billy Blann, Position 2.

Upon starting her first term in office Jan. 1, 2019, Mayor Veronica SmithCreer announced plans to call on members of the El Dorado City Council to organize town halls in each of the city’s four wards.

The meetings are part of an overall effort to keep local residents informed about the goings-on of city hall.

Smith-Creer said the gatherings would allow residents to meet face to face with their city representatives and city department heads, including the fire and police chiefs and the director of public works.

The meetings also doubled as a public awareness and education initiative to help residents better understand how to conduct business with the city, such as how and where to report an issue, where to buy a city building permit and other city polices, processes and procedures.

Residents turned out for the meetings and brought questions and concerns about such issues as crime, city code enforcement and the process by which city streets are repaired.

Following the conclusion of the 2019 town halls, Smith-Creer said city officials would assess the effectiveness of the meetings before deciding whether to host them again.

She later said that she largely received positive feedback from attendees who reported receiving helpful information and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to have their issues addressed directly by their city representatives and department heads.

The mayor has also said she would like to expand the town halls this year to include Union County officials, the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce and the El Dorado School District.

The town halls can also serve as a platform to present other issues, such as the 2020 Census, she said.

Since late 2018, Council Member Willie McGhee has been stressing the importance of an accurate census count for El Dorado and Union County, raising awareness and urging residents to participate.

A kick-off rally was held in downtown El Dorado a few months ago and McGhee, who heads the city’s Complete Count Committee, has been speaking to local groups about the 2020 census, which began Jan. 21 in Toksook Bay, Alaska, according to information provided by the U.S. Census.

Lizzie Chimiugak, a 90-year-old resident of the rural Alaskan village, was the first person to be counted in the decennial U.S. Census.

Census enumerations will begin in March in

other parts of the U.S.

During a city council meeting Jan. 23, McGhee suggested that council members ask businesses in their respective wards to encourage their employees to participate in the census.

He also discussed ways by which residents may complete census forms, including online, by phone and by mail.

“And if you don’t know how to fill it out, you can call me and we will help you,” he said.

The 2010 Census validated concerns that the city’s population had fallen below 20,000.

The count came in at 18,884 and a follow-up count in 2012 dropped to 18,491.

With the most recent population estimate at 18,030, El Dorado sits on the list of the top 10 cities in Arkansas to lose the most population during that seven-year period.

“Those are the types of things that we can discuss at the town halls,” Smith-Creer said.

Ward 2 council members Vance Williamson and Judy Ward have scheduled a town hall for March 2 in the SouthArk Library Auditorium.

The time of the meeting will be announced at a later date.