Cooler heads prevail in Aristocrat AC standoff

Outside temperatures are approaching 90 degrees, but it’s a comfortable room temperature inside the Aristocrat Manor Apartments.

Hot Springs City Manager David Frasher said Monday that owner Skip Coffman agreed to connect a portable chiller to the building after it had been without air conditioning for more than a week. The city said it began receiving complaints from residents almost two weeks ago, with temperatures climbing to the upper 80s and low 90s in a building with few windows that open to the outside.

Building Manager Susie Beck said the temporary unit began pumping cool area Saturday afternoon, providing relief to the more than 90 elderly and disabled residents who live at the U.S. Housing and Urban Development rent-subsidized building.

“Thank God we had it before Sunday got here,” Beck said, referring to the 88-degree high reported at Hot Springs Memorial Field

Sunday.

The mobile unit is on a truck trailer parked in the private lot at 222 Central Ave. Frasher said the lot owner told the city that Coffman agreed to rent space for the unit. He balked at the idea last week, telling The Sentinel-Record Friday night that the price was too high. Coffman couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.

Frasher said the city ordered the mobile chiller Friday in hopes that Coffman would agree to connect it to the building. He said the city was prepared to place a lien on Coffman to secure reimbursement for the rental unit and parking payments.

“When it arrived, it’s my understanding that Mr. Coffman went ahead and signed for it,” Frasher said. “As far as I know, the city doesn’t need to be reimbursed.”

The Hot Springs Fire Department notified residents Friday evening the building would be declared unsafe and evacuated if temperatures inside got too warm, and that a temporary shelter for them and their pets would be available at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

Fire Chief Ed Davis said Monday firefighters and LifeNet paramedics monitored temperatures inside the building Saturday and Sunday and determined the air conditioning was “cooling the structure at an adequate level.”

Coffman had a portable chiller delivered Wednesday morning, telling the newspaper Friday that the city had authorized him to keep it in the parking lane along Central Avenue until a new chiller could be built. He said vendors have told him it could take up to two months to fabricate a new unit.

The city said Coffman didn’t fully communicate his plans when he spoke to city officials early last week. The noise and size of the portable unit were problematic for nearby businesses, the city said, and keeping it in the Central Avenue right of way for an extended period posed a hazard to pedestrians using the nearby crosswalk.

“We got complaints from pedestrians, saying it blocks the view for people using the crosswalk,” Frasher said. “Another citizen said it was loud and obnoxious. We definitely made the right call in getting it off the street and sidewalk.”

The unit was removed Thursday night after the city informed Coffman he couldn’t keep it in the parking lane.

The unit that’s now on site is connected to the Aristocrat through the Medical Arts Towers, the majority of which is also owned by Coffman. Lines have been run from the parking lot, through the tower’s lower floor windows, and into the basement of the Aristocrat.