Prairie Grove Council Appoints New Member

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove City Council unanimously voted last week to appoint Rick Ault to fill a vacancy on the council created by the resignation of Ward 3, Position 2 representative Gina Bailey.

Bailey resigned because she was moving out of Ward 3 but not out of the city limits. She has been appointed to serve on Prairie Grove Planning Commission, replacing her mother Pat Lyle, who recently resigned from the commission.

Ault will serve the remainder of Bailey’s four-year term, which runs through 2020.

Three Ward 3 residents expressed interest in the position and each addressed the council to tell about themselves and answer any questions.

Rochelle Caswell, who ran for Ward 3, Position 1, in the November 2018 election, pointed out that 44 percent of the people who voted in the election supported her as a candidate. Caswell challenged incumbent Doug Stumbaugh for the Position 1 seat.

Roswell has lived in Prairie Grove her whole life, is a hair stylist and said she wanted to serve the community.

“We have an awesome town and it’s something that’s very important to continue,” Roswell said.

Ault said he and his wife knew they had made the right decision to settle in Prairie Grove about 14 years ago when their neighbors invited them to dinner after they moved into their new home.

Ault told council members he started with Walmart in retail security, has held other positions with the company and now is director of global security with Walmart. He and his wife own Prairie Grove Town Center in downtown Prairie Grove. He chairs the steering committee for Main Street Prairie Grove and started Prairie Grove Historical Society.

“Kara and I both believe being a part of the community is important to us,” Ault said, adding that he believes respect, integrity, compassion, transparency and knowledge are important when serving on the council, as well as just being a member of a community.

Matt Gerlt was the third person to stand before the council. Gerlt, who lives in Sundowner Estates in Prairie Grove, is a former member of the Bethel Heights City Council and owns a construction company with his father, Kevin Gerlt Construction. He also has an insurance agency in Springdale.

“I enjoy serving the community and local government… and would love to serve,” Gerlt said.

Following the comments, the council briefly adjourned to executive session. Coming back into public session, council member Rick Clayton made a motion to appoint Ault to fill the vacancy.

The consideration to fill the position was the second item on the council’s June 17 agenda.

After the meeting, Mayor Sonny Hudson said he knew that Rick Ault and his wife, Kara, were going to be named recipients of the 2019 Buddy Lyle Citizenship Award, which was happening later on the agenda. Hudson said he did not want the award to be given prior to appointing a new council member as a show of fairness for all those interested in the position.

Hudson addressed Gerlt and Roswell, telling them to “stick with it” and be involved because other opportunities will come up.

“This has been a great experience,” Hudson said, noting “To have three of you as qualified as you are is great.”

In other news, Chris Hall and Erin Needham with Olsson Associates engineering firm gave a one-hour presentation on an analysis of Prairie Grove’s water distribution system. (This will be covered in a future issue of the Enterprise-Leader).

The council approved $31,355 in expenses to modify the former Prairie Grove Library building to be used as part of the fire department. The city plans to create living quarters in the building for a 24-hour fire department. Changes include new walls in the building and a covered breezeway from the building to the current fire station. Jobin Kirk has been hired for the project.

In addition, the council approved an ordinance to rezone the lot across from Bank of Fayetteville in Prairie Meadows subdivision from Office-1 (O-1) to Residential-2 (R-2) for a duplex. It will be located next to other duplexes.

An informal plat for Ruth Dial subdivision also was approved. The land will be split into three new lots, each about 3.5 acres in size.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Prairie Grove Mayor Sonny Hudson gives the oath of office to Rick Ault, who has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the City Council. Ault was appointed to Ward 3, Position 2 by a unanimous vote of the council on June 17.