Black Bass Dam: A Sore Spot

When Carroll County Judge Richard Williams weighed in on Black Bass Dam to see what might be done about serious safety issues after the flooding, Eureka Springs Mayor Dani Joy was not pleased.

Williams had brought together a high-powered group of state experts, representatives from Sen Blanche Lincoln’s and Rep. John Boozeman’s offices, and Eureka Springs Public Works Director Dwayne Allen, who oversees the dam. The City’s Fire Chief had also been invited but did not attend.

In response to Williams’ action, Joy said:

To clear this up. The County has no jurisdiction over that dam. It is City property. Period. The County should not have called that meeting.

In response, Williams said that County residents are affected by the dam. Black Bass Dam Committee Chair Rae Hahn said that the road to the lake and dam are maintained by the County.

Flood insurance is also an issue, Williams further explained, noting that the Quorum Court had previously rejected it but would be reconsidering at its next meeting.

We would also point out that the Mayor herself had been the one to receive notice of the meeting, suggesting there had been no attempt to shut the City out.

Joy and Williams Had Tangled Before

The Mayor and the Judge, who is the chief administrative officer of the County, had previously tangled over the City/County building, which the County owns. The Mayor had said she had documents in her possession to show that office space in the building was to be rent-free in exchange for the land the City had donated for the building.

The Judge disagreed. Upon the advice of the Eureka Springs City Attorney, who said the City had little chance of prevailing in a lawsuit, the Mayor acquiesced to paying rent.

Black Bass Dam Committee not Informed of the Meeting

A second sore spot in addressing the issues was that the Council’s Black Bass Dam Committee had not been notified of the meeting, leading Committee Chair Hahn to say it was “a travesty that we were not informed.”

Joy, who had received the information “a day and a half” in advance, she said, was not in her office so couldn’t have forwarded the information in time. Joy maintained that she was out feeding dinner to firefighters, which is why she had not informed Hahn’s committee of the meeting Williams had called.

However, Joy had the opportunity and time to inform Fire Chief Eddie Davis, Davis said, as well as Public Works Director Dwayne Allen, of the meeting.

BBD Committee Keeps Plugging Along

Hahn set a later meeting for the Black Bass Dam Committee, which was attended by committee member Lany Ballance, along with Fire Chief Eddie Davis, Public Works Director Dwayne Allen, and Parks Director Bruce Levine.

The committee was introduced to a plan for reducing the pressure on the dam. If the dam were restored to its original 12-foot height, water could flow over as it did originally in the 1800’s, as shown here:

Levine Becomes Focus of the BBD Committee

Parks Director Levine is developing trails around the lake as part of a Parks initiative. Hahn and Ballance asked Levine to hold off on a parking lot bordering the spillway, which is currently being undermined on one side. Levine refused.

Levin’s attempt to set up a committee chair other than Hahn was not successful.

The Council’s committee is currently waiting for a report from the state personnel who Williams first brought together to look at the dam.