Eureka Springs City Council seeks applicants for vacant seat

Ward 1 residents in Eureka Springs who are interested in the vacant seat on the city council have a little less than a week to put their names in for consideration.

During its first regular meeting of the year on Monday, Jan. 13, the Eureka Springs City Council officially declared vacant the Ward 1, Position 1 seat most recently held by Autumn Slane.

Slane did not seek re-election, and Michael Welch, who won the seat unopposed, recently announced he would not be taking the council role. After being contacted by the Carroll County News following his announcement, Welch said in published reports that he recently was contacted by the Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney’s office informing him he was ineligible to serve on the council because of a felony marijuana conviction in 1975, when he was 18.

“As you know, Michael Welch had ran and was elected for this position,” Eureka Springs Mayor Butch Berry told council members at Monday’s meeting. “Then he decided to, after winning the election, decided to resign and not accept the nomination. So, we have a vacancy and the council needs to declare that there is a vacancy so we can nominate people…” After the council voted 5-0 to declare the vacancy, Berry announced that applications submitted would be distributed to council members at the next council meeting set for Monday, Jan. 27, and then a vote to fill the seat would be set for the following scheduled meeting on Monday, Feb. 10.

“We will be accepting written applications from interested citizens to the clerk’s office, and then the clerk will distribute those to the council,” Berry said. “Let’s go ahead and have the applications due by the next council meeting, and then we can distribute those … then the following council meeting we can make a nomination and elect a new council member.”

ANNUAL APPROVALS

The council approved a series of annual measures as is customary during the first meeting of the year.

Council members David Avanzino and Steve Holifield were approved 5-0 to continue as the council representatives on the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission.

Avanzino and Holifield, who has been serving since July as the CAPC chair, were the only council members who raised their hands when Berry asked who was interested in being on the commission.

The council also voted unanimously to accept the Arkansas Municipal League’s recommended procedural rules for municipal officers for conducting council meetings, and OK’d keeping regular council meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. In the only change from recent years, the council will have a new mayor pro tempe in 2025 with Holifield being selected.

Terry McClung, who has been mayor pro tempe for many years, was nominated again for the role by Harry Meyer while Holifield was nominated by council member Susane Gruning.

McClung voted for himself, along with Meyer. Holifield voted for himself, along with Avanzino and Gruning. Berry also cast a vote for Holifield, giving Holifield the four votes necessary for approval.