Council mulls bills, City Hall standards

As the El Dorado City Council mulled over the latest batch of bills for approval this week, two more motions were thrown on the table for consideration.

By the end of the business day Friday, council members Vance Williamson and Paul Choate made and seconded a motion, respectively, to approve bills totaling $298,545.56, sans an invoice of $23,766.34 from Concrete Service Inc.

Bills over $2,000 require a vote for approval by the council.

The bills were sent to council members via email Thursday.

Williamson made his motion to approve Friday morning and Choate followed up with an inquiry about the Concrete

Service invoice, which stems from street repair work that was done on 10th Street.

Choate and Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer said Robert Edmonds, director of public works, is looking into the matter.

Williamson agreed with Choate and later amended his motion to approve the bills with the exclusion of the $23,766.34 invoice “until the (council) is made aware of what specifically this is for.”

The amended motion drew a second from Choate.

Council Member Mike Rice introduced two more motions Friday morning — one requesting that the council return to its regular meeting schedule of the Thursday after the first Monday of the month and then two weeks later.

Rice also called on his fellow council members to approve a motion to lift restrictions on public access to City Hall.

City Hall has largely been closed to the public since March 13 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Since then, residents have been encouraged to conduct business with the city by phone and other available means.

Residents who have been permitted inside City Hall to attend public meetings, such as city council meetings, have had to adhere to safety guidelines, including social distancing and undergoing temperature screenings before entering the building through the sallyport in the rear parking lot.

Smith-Creer the council meetings were curtailed and public access was restricted to City Hall because of COVID-19.

She said city officials are working on a plan to ease the City Hall restriction, explaining that her office is hammering out details.

“We have not solidified how many people we’re going to let in at a time. We want to make the sallyport the point of entry and let people know how to get to what office they need to go to,” Creer-Smith.

She said social distancing and temperature checks will remain in effect and those who enter the building will also be encouraged to wear face masks.

Public meetings in City Hall have also been restricted, as city boards and commissions have met in alternative locations.

For instance, the El Dorado Advertising and Promotion Commission recently met in the El Dorado Conference Center.

The El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex Board has met at the complex on Champagnolle Road and the El Dorado Water Advisory Board, which normally meets in a small conference area in the El Dorado Water Utilities’ office, has met in the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium to allow for social distancing.

The El Dorado Historic District Commission has conducted its business with Zoom, the online, videoconferencing service, while the El Dorado Airport Commission has met via conference calls.

The airport commission typically meets in the second-floor conference room at South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.

The El Dorado Works Board — which administers the city’s 1-cent sales tax for economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects — is tentatively scheduled to meet at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall.

Smith-Creer said the board is welcome to meet in City Hall because the meeting is scheduled after hours when city employees have left the building for the day.

The meeting will be open to the public and Smith-Creer said she anticipates that the EWB will set safety guidelines to guard against the spread of COVID-19.

Council Member Dianne Hammond seconded Rice’s motions late Friday afternoon.