The Batesville City Council hosted the first meeting of the new year virtually Tuesday evening due to a new mandate requiring Arkansas Department of Health approval of local government meetings with 10 or more attendees.
The new mandate went into effect before the Ccouncil had time to submit a plan for approval, but a plan will be submitted for future meetings.
Tuesday evening the Council adopted two ordinances for establishing the details of meetings for the year 2021. The Batesville City Council will convene the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m.
The second ordinance waived competitive bidding on certain items for the year 2021.
Crystal Johnson of the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce shared in the A&P report the impact of the Ferris wheel at White River Wonderland and other related stats.
The Ferris wheel was only available for one week and nearly 5,000 patrons enjoyed the attraction.
White River Wonderland is attributed for also bringing in approximately 30 overnight stays to the Batesville area during its duration.
A full report about White River Wonderland is expected for February’s meeting.
In other business, Mayor Rick Elumbaugh shared two proclamations, one proclaiming the year 2021 at the city’s bicentennial year, and the second proclaiming Jan. 19, 2021, as the National Day of Racial Healing.
The next regular business meeting of the Batesville City Council is slated for Feb. 9, 2021, at 5:30 p.m.
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