DECATUR -- Utilizing all the safety protocols set forth by Governor Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas Municipal League, the Decatur City Council gathered both in person and via the internet for its second regular meeting since the covid-19 pandemic outbreak began in early March.
While Decatur's mayor, Bob Tharp, the city clerk, Kim Wilkins, and council members Sandy Duncan, Danny Harrington and James Jessen gathered in the conference room at city hall May 11, council members Ladale Clayton, Linda Martin, city attorney Michael Nutt and fire chief Jeremy Luker joined in via Zoom. James Boston and police chief Steve Grizzle waited in the hall outside of the conference room until they were called in by Tharp.
Each person present in the meeting room observed the 6-foot rule and wearing of masks during the proceedings.
The council had several items on tap for the May agenda, the first of which was finding a temporary replacement for Robin Holt, who resigned her seat on March 19, 2020.
Since each seat on the city council is up for re-election in November, the Ward 1, Position 2, seat vacated by Holt, was filled by council appointment of Randy Boone.
"We appreciate Randy stepping forward and accepting the leadership role in the city government," Tharp stated. "Previous to serving on the Decatur City Council, Randy served on the Decatur Planning and Zoning Commission, so he is no stranger to city government. He will continue to serve on the planning board as a member and also as the council representative replacing James Jessen, who stepped aside as the council representative on the board."
The council addressed the questions of several citizens about park usage and the opening of the Old City Park pool. As of the meeting date, the parks are open for area residents to enjoy. However, the public buildings like the "Bunker" at Veterans Park as well as the pavilions at Royce Johnson and Old City Park remain closed, as do all of the play equipment, benches and any other facility, including the frisbee golf course at Veterans Park. All facilities at Edmiston Park, including the concession stand and restroom, will remain closed as well. All of these closures will be reviewed again during the June meeting.
The question of opening the pool was discussed at length and the council voted to close the pool until 2021.
"We feel like we could not control social distancing without hiring additional personnel," said Tharp. "Currently, the pool is on an annual basis. With the number of certified lifeguards, we are simply losing money, sometimes as much as $10,000. This is not a new problem for the city of Decatur. We believe this is a public service but, in years past, former mayor Charles Linam decided to close the pool for a year because of economics."
Over the past few years, the city spent money to renovate the buildings and the pool itself to make it a much safer place to go. Because Tharp and the council believed it to be a benefit to the community they decided to leave the admission price the same to help low-income families enjoy this facility.
But times have changed so drastically over the last three months, it forced the council into the decision to curtail the operation of the facility.
"With the pandemic in place and not knowing what is going to happen in the next few weeks, the council decided to close it at this time," Tharp concluded.
At present, the Decatur Council only allows citizens' comments via email. Any Decatur resident wishing to bring an issue or concern to the council can do so through the city clerk's office at 479-752-3912, Option 4.
Note: A few days after the meeting, several council members and the city clerk's office received emails expressing disappointment in the pool closure. Councilmember Ladale Clayton posted a response to those citizens' complaints on her Facebook page.
"With everything going on, we didn't need to open it. Our pool is so small that with all of the rules and regulations on top of not having certified lifeguards, it isn't a smart move. It is not only for safety, but financially not a good idea," Clayton wrote. "The pool and the rules, with it being a small place and social distancing, loses money if you can only let in a few people, and then with everything going on, the lifeguards haven't been hired and (there is) no time to certify."
One email to Clayton called the pool closure "silly to not open because it puts people in danger" by forcing swimmers to go to area creeks.
Even with warning signs posted at Crystal Lake and several articles in this publication warning people of the dangers of swimming at the lake and area creeks without a lifeguard on duty, people still flock to these bodies of water in large numbers.
At least for now, the Old City Park pool will remain closed throughout the 2020 season.
General News on 05/20/2020