CBID II ordinance to be read a second time

The Hot Springs Board of Directors will hear the second reading Tuesday night of an ordinance to dissolve the Central Business Improvement District II.

The board will meet at 7 p. m. Tuesday in City Hall, 133 Convention Blvd.

The district has been in operation for 25 years, having been formed to provide streetscape improvements along Central Avenue from Prospect Avenue north to the 100

block. Improvements included sidewalks, trees, benches, trash receptacles, and decorative lighting.

Property owners have been assessed annual fees to maintain the improvements, a portion of which was paid to the city for labor and materials associated with streetscape and holiday decorations.

Petitions signed by at least two- thirds of the owners of real property in the improvement district were filed with the city clerk’s office in early February.

The petitions, signed by property owners comprising 67.63 percent in value of the real property within the district, were determined to be sufficient to petition for the dissolution of the district.

State law says that once the necessary requirements are met, “it shall then be the duty of the governing body to adopt an appropriate ordinance dissolving the district and providing for the distribution of its assets.”

Directors Peggy Brunner- Maruthur and Tom Daniel will recuse themselves from Tuesday’s vote on the ordinance, since they both own property in the district. If the remaining five directors vote unanimously to suspend the rules, the ordinance could be read by title only and voted on.

At the April 17 meeting, Hot Springs Mayor Ruth Carney voted against suspending the rules and the ordinance was read in its entirety, but could not be voted on or discussed further.

A companion ordinance to retain certain regulations pertaining to the dissolved district was also read in its entirety at the previous meeting and will be heard again Tuesday.

In a related matter, City Manager Lance Hudnell will ask the directors to confirm a list of initial action steps relative to various downtown issues. The list was devised in response to a letter sent to Carney by Dave Byerly, president and CEO of The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce earlier this month.

Byerly’s letter requested the city board “immediately implement” numerous actions, including eliminating the city vacant building code, implement a downtown inspection code, review and assess the building code to ensure requirements are relevant, commission a fire and code compliance study of downtown Hot Springs, and commission the Downtown Historical Commission to conduct a study of the contributing properties with the historical district.

“With the assistance of staff, I developed a response memo, which sets forth specific initial action items. The purpose of this agenda item is to provide the board an opportunity to comment, and to confirm, modify or deny the proposed action steps outlined in my memo,” Hudnell said in his board action request form.

He said the action steps are intended to simply “get the ball rolling” and open a dialogue with the various stakeholders.

“I anticipate that the direction of the project and the resulting outcomes will be modified throughout the process as input is provided by all interested parties,” he said.

“Ultimately, all final decisions will be made by the board as work projects are presented to you over the next several weeks.”