OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Springdale City Council Regular Meeting - May 29, 2026

City Council Meetings — Friday, May 29, 2026
BodySpringdale, Arkansas
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateFriday, May 29, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

The meeting before I call the meeting to order, I'll invite you to stand and join me in the pledge.

0:14

And then uh let's see, who's doing the uh Mark Foodrews?

0:18

Bring the invocation.

0:33

Let's pray.

0:34

Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this uh time of year when we are able to just be blessed by you, blessing our city, blessing our families.

0:44

And Lord, we just pray that you be with us tonight and just help us to make good decisions to be what's best for the city and not for ourselves.

0:53

And Lord, just uh watch over our country and all of our leaders and all the times that we're going through right now, and for all these things we pray in your name.

1:01

Amen.

1:10

All right.

1:12

I'd like to welcome everyone again to this regular meeting of the Springdale City Council.

1:16

This is Tuesday, May 26th, 2026.

1:20

And to start things off, I will uh ask our city clerk Saber Jeffers to call the roll.

1:26

Mayor Sprouse, Brian Powell, Emilia Taldell, Jeff Watson, Mike Overton.

1:33

Here, Mike Lawson.

1:34

Here.

1:35

Aaron Huntley.

1:36

Here.

1:36

Randall Herman.

1:37

Here.

1:38

Mark Foodruse.

1:39

Here.

1:39

Garrett Harlan.

1:40

Here.

1:42

All right.

1:42

Thank you.

1:43

And uh we're at item four.

1:45

We'll move right into that.

1:46

This is the portion of each council meeting that the council sets aside for citizen comments.

1:52

If there if we have any residents that would like to address the council concerning an item that is not on tonight's agenda, you're welcome to come to the podium.

2:00

Please state your name and address and uh keep your comments to no more than three minutes.

2:05

And understand the council won't take action tonight on whatever you have to comment about to bring forward.

2:11

So uh is there anyone that would like to address the counsel concerning an item that is not on tonight's agenda?

2:17

All right, thank you.

2:18

We'll seeing none, we'll move on to the approval of minutes.

2:21

Item five.

2:21

Uh council, you've had an opportunity to look those over if there are no changes or additions, I'd entertain a motion to approve them as presented.

2:28

So moved.

2:29

We have a motion and a second to approve the minutes.

2:33

Uh all those in favor, please say aye.

2:36

No.

2:36

Any opposed, same sign.

2:39

Okay, thank you.

2:41

That takes us to procedural motions.

2:43

Item six.

2:44

What's your pleasure, Council?

2:45

I'll move for both A and B.

2:47

Second.

2:47

Okay, we have a motion of second for both A and B.

2:50

And I'll call for the vote.

3:05

Passes 6-0.

3:06

All right.

3:07

Now it's my pleasure to have a presentation for our former city attorney Ernest Kate.

3:12

Ernest, if you'll meet me at the podium, we'll uh we'll do it there.

3:28

All right.

3:30

When uh when Ernest's retirement date came up, I knew I was gonna miss something because uh I we had had a Sandy and I had had a trip plan for about a year and a half, and uh so I'm I'm glad it worked out where we still get to do this.

3:46

Uh you get to do it twice, kind of, but but anyway, uh thanks for coming back for this and and just wanted to have a little formal thing.

3:54

I I didn't want to I didn't want to get it to start an open-ended thing where I just talked a whole lot, so I had the office prepare a proclamation for you.

4:02

So we're gonna do I'm gonna read that, okay?

4:04

It'll help me stay on track better.

4:07

All right, this is a city of Springdale proclamation, whereas Ernest Kate has devoted nearly 28 years of distinguished public service to the City of Springdale and its citizens through his leadership, legal expertise, and unwavering dedication to municipal government.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████51%
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████28%
Procedural████████████████18%
Transportation Safety██2%
Fiscal Sustainability█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Springdale City Council Regular Meeting - May 29, 2026

Note: The transcript states the meeting occurred on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, but the provided meeting timestamp is May 29, 2026. This summary uses the given date.

The Springdale City Council met in regular session on May 29, 2026, with Mayor Doug Sprouse presiding. All council members were present: Brian Powell, Emilia Taldell, Jeff Watson, Mike Overton, Mike Lawson, Aaron Huntley, Randall Herman, Mark Foodruse, and Garrett Harlan. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and an invocation by Mark Foodrews. The council approved a series of reappointments, zoning changes, waivers, and financial resolutions, all by unanimous 6-0 votes. A highlight was the presentation of a proclamation honoring former City Attorney Ernest Kate for 28 years of service.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public addressed the council during the citizen comment period for items not on the agenda.

Proclamation for Former City Attorney Ernest Kate

  • Mayor Sprouse read a proclamation honoring Ernest Kate for nearly 28 years of distinguished service, including his tenure as Deputy City Attorney (1998), Senior Deputy City Attorney (2006), and City Attorney (2013–2026). He was re-elected in 2014, 2018, and 2022, and served as Springdale District Court judge (2011–2012).
  • Kate thanked the council, noting that he was never denied a request and expressed confidence in new City Attorney Garrett Harlan.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were approved unanimously.
  • Procedural Motions (Items 6A and 6B): Approved 6-0.

Discussion Items

  • Reappointment to Advertising and Promotion Commission (Item 8A): Resolution reappointing Rick Cole was approved 6-0.
  • Planning Commission Report (Item 9): Director Sharon Tromberg presented four items:
    • R26-10: Rezoning 1365 West Sunset Avenue from SF2 (low-medium density single-family) to C2 (general commercial) to correct split zoning. Approved 6-0 with emergency clause.
    • R26-19: Rezoning 2.94 acres at the northwest corner of Wagon Wheel Road and Robins Road from C2 to C5 (thoroughfare commercial). The property had a prior denied rezoning 18 months ago; this is a substantially different request. Approved 6-0 with emergency clause.
    • R26-21: Rezoning property south of 3501 West Huntsville Avenue from SF2 and A1 (agricultural) to MF12 (medium-density multifamily, 8 units per acre by right) for infill development. Approved 6-0 with emergency clause.
    • W26-15: Waiver of street improvements, drainage, curb, gutters, sidewalks, and street lights for Wildwood Lane in connection with a non-large scale development (plant nursery relocation). Approved 6-0.
  • Committee of the Whole (Item 10A): Resolution authorizing an application for the Arkansas Rural Health Transformation Program (Heart/MOVE initiative) for approximately $2 million for genetic testing blood panels and supplements for city employees. Approved 6-0.
  • Finance Committee (Items 11A–E):
    • 11A: Resolution to partner with a developer to mill and overlay portions of Water Street, Johnson Avenue, and Graham Street, costing $70,000 from the street fund. Approved 6-0.
    • 11B: Resolution for a Federal Railroad Administration Railroad Crossing Elimination grant application to construct an overpass at County Line Road and close the Randall Wobey crossing, with local match to come from bond, general fund, or street fund. Approved 6-0.
    • 11C: Resolution to provide an additional $7,238 for emergency access to Butterfield Gardens from Ford Avenue (original partnership approved November 2025 for $25,681; actual cost $32,919). Approved 6-0.
    • 11D: Payment of $1,258,413.51 to Any Sap & Son for the Watkins Avenue Bridge project. Approved 6-0.
    • 11E: Payment of $1,513,855.67 to NAB Holtz Excavation for the Sunset Avenue project. Approved 6-0.
  • Police and Fire Committee (Items 12A–C):
    • 12A: Resolution to reclassify firefighter positions (captain and driver) to staff Fire Station 10. Approved 6-0.
    • 12B: Resolution reclassifying one captain to battalion chief and two battalion chiefs to division chief, with budget amendments. Approved 6-0.
    • 12C: Resolution to waive bidding and purchase vehicles for the Fire Department at a locally found lower price than state contract. Approved 6-0.

Key Outcomes

  • All votes were unanimous (6-0).
  • All four planning items (three rezonings and one waiver) passed with emergency clauses where applicable.
  • The council authorized the submission of a $2 million state health grant application for city employees.
  • The council approved $70,000 in street improvements, $1.25 million for bridge work, $1.51 million for street work, and $7,238 for emergency access.
  • The Fire Department received authorization to reclassify positions and purchase vehicles.
  • No other comments from council or staff; the meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

The meeting before I call the meeting to order, I'll invite you to stand and join me in the pledge. And then uh let's see, who's doing the uh Mark Foodrews? Bring the invocation. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this uh time of year when we are able to just be blessed by you, blessing our city, blessing our families. And Lord, we just pray that you be with us tonight and just help us to make good decisions to be what's best for the city and not for ourselves. And Lord, just uh watch over our country and all of our leaders and all the times that we're going through right now, and for all these things we pray in your name. Amen. All right. I'd like to welcome everyone again to this regular meeting of the Springdale City Council. This is Tuesday, May 26th, 2026. And to start things off, I will uh ask our city clerk Saber Jeffers to call the roll. Mayor Sprouse, Brian Powell, Emilia Taldell, Jeff Watson, Mike Overton. Here, Mike Lawson. Here. Aaron Huntley. Here. Randall Herman. Here. Mark Foodruse. Here. Garrett Harlan. Here. All right. Thank you. And uh we're at item four. We'll move right into that. This is the portion of each council meeting that the council sets aside for citizen comments. If there if we have any residents that would like to address the council concerning an item that is not on tonight's agenda, you're welcome to come to the podium. Please state your name and address and uh keep your comments to no more than three minutes. And understand the council won't take action tonight on whatever you have to comment about to bring forward. So uh is there anyone that would like to address the counsel concerning an item that is not on tonight's agenda? All right, thank you. We'll seeing none, we'll move on to the approval of minutes. Item five. Uh council, you've had an opportunity to look those over if there are no changes or additions, I'd entertain a motion to approve them as presented. So moved. We have a motion and a second to approve the minutes. Uh all those in favor, please say aye. No. Any opposed, same sign. Okay, thank you. That takes us to procedural motions. Item six. What's your pleasure, Council? I'll move for both A and B. Second. Okay, we have a motion of second for both A and B. And I'll call for the vote. Passes 6-0.

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