Meadowbrook neighbors object to parking overflow

The Berryville City Council heard from residents of the Meadowbrook subdivision at the council’s July 16 meeting who are frustrated over what they described as vehicles “parked up and down the street all the time,” in connection with a business operating from a house.

“There’s a lady there that’s been running a sewing business, and there’s like 13 vehicles parked up and down the street all the time,” said Ken Collins, a resident of the subdivision.

Collins said the owner of the house recently moved to Eureka Springs.

“So she doesn’t live in the house,” Collins said. “I guess when it was brought up before, it was because she was still living there you couldn’t do anything.”

“It was kind of a difference of opinion, whether it was a home business or not a home business,” Mayor Tim McKinney said. “But it’s definitely not a home business if you’re not living in the home.”

McKinney suggested that the city send the homeowner a cease and- desist letter.

“Then if she didn’t respond to that, I think we would probably just have to cite her into court,” McKinney said. “I’m going to defer to our attorney on that.”

City attorney Clint Scheel said he had looked into complaints about the parking on a previous occasion.

“I’m familiar with it,” Scheel said. “Months ago, it came up and we went and looked at it a couple times, just on my own and I didn’t — and maybe it’s gotten progressively worse, but the days that I looked at it with my own eyes, there were four cars in her driveway, which accommodated four cars.”

Scheel said he sent the homeowner a letter and received a response from her attorney that indicated she was in compliance.

“There’s nothing in the ordinance that would prohibit her from having these cars in her parking lot, there’s no noise, emissions or things like that that would be a trouble to the neighborhood,” Scheel said. “… If there would have been something in the city ordinance that we would have been able to hang our hat on to write her a citation and bring her into court, I would have told him to do that. The times that we looked at it, there weren’t 13 cars that you could, as just a person driving through that neighborhood, could attribute to that residence.”

Scheel said he would look into the matter again.

“But as far as just from a prosecutorial standpoint, it just was, we were never going to get a conviction in court,” he said.

The fact that the owner of the house is no longer living there might help accomplish something to alleviate the neighbors’ concerns, Scheel said.

“We’ll readdress it,” he said. “Now that there’s new information available, we’ll look at it. We’ll send her another letter and if she’s not in compliance with the ordinance, then we’ll cite her.”

MUSEUM UPDATE

In other business, council member Linda Riddlesperger said attendance at Saunders Museum declined slightly in June compared to the same month in 2023.

“It’s probably heat-related or economy, one of the two, but it’s held in pretty good,” Riddlesperger said.

Riddlesperger said the museum has been approved to receive a grant of $2,500 to help pay utility expenses.

CHIEF’S REPORT

Police chief Robert Bartos presented his monthly activity report, telling council members that the police department wrote 100 citations in June, down from 110 in June 2023. Seventy-eight offenses were reported, up from 70 a year earlier. The department had a 78 percent clearance rate and took in $1,380 in fines and bonds. Berryville police responded to 14 accidents in June, up from 12 in the same month in 2023.

‘NEW RETAILER’

McKinney teased pending news regarding a new business.

“Hopefully we’ll have an announcement for a new retailer that’s going to be moving to town here soon,” he said. “I think they’re in the process of purchasing some land, so it’s going to be a good store.”

APPROVALS

The council approved a request from the Carroll County Historical Society to use Pioneer Park for its annual Pioneer and Heritage Days on Sept. 19-21 and a request from the Carroll County Fair Board to hold the annual fair parade starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 17.

The Berryville City Council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, at City Hall.