Green Forest mayor vetoes splash-pad funding

Green Forest Mayor Jerry Carlton announced Wednesday, Oct. 12, that he was vetoing a measure approved by the city council at its regular meeting Oct. 10 to construct a splash pad.

Carlton said in a memorandum to council members that he was unhappy with the way the proposal was handled at the Oct. 10 meeting.

“(A)nd after thinking about it for a couple of days and because I’ve received negative feedback about, I’ve decided to VETO the measure and not move forward with it at this time,” Carlton’s memo says.

Carlton’s memo goes on to explain that the mayor wasn’t aware that the council would be voting on a contract for the construction of the splash pad at the Oct. 10 meeting, nor that a representative of the company that would build the facility would be present at the meeting.

The council approved the proposal by a 3-1 vote after a motion by council member Willa Kerby.

In his memo, Carlton said the motion “was not introduced properly as we were in discussions and the council members was not recognized by the chairperson to have the floor before introducing the motion. I should have shut it down at that moment and tabled it.”

Kerby said there was a pause in the council discussion when she made her motion and said the procedure was not any different than what has been common during Carlton’s term as mayor.

“We’ve always been very informal,” Kerby said. “I’ve never said: ‘May I have the floor?’ and he’s never said: ‘Alderman Kerby, you have the floor.’ ” Kerby said she plans to speak with Carlton to clear up what she described as an apparent “miscommunication.”

The city council budgeted $186,000 for the splash pad project in 2021 and the measure approved at the Oct. 10 council meeting appropriated $180,000 for the construction to be completed by RJR Enterprises of Rogers. But Carlton says in his memo that he’s not sure that’s the best use for those funds.

“I believe the community has not been well informed about this project, the community building project or the fact that it may be quite a while before there is money available to do both,” Carlton writes. “They should weigh in on this decision, especially since we are sitting on donate money for over 4 years now that is to go to the community building.”

The city council can override Carlton’s veto with a two-thirds majority vote. The council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14.

Kerby is one of three candidates seeking the mayor’s office in the Nov. 8 general election. The others are longtime District 8 Justice of the Peace Don McNeely and former mayor Charlie Reece. Carlton is not seeking re-election as mayor but is running unopposed for a seat on the city council.