City council interviews candidates for vacancy

The Bella Vista City Council interviewed seven candidates to potentially fill a vacant seat for the remainder of this year during its Monday, July 16, work session.

The council will make a decision on which applicant to accept during the Monday, July 23, regular meeting.

The council is required by law to fill the vacancy in Ward 3, Position 2, which was created when former council member Brian Bahr resigned in June. The seat is up for election this year, meaning the person who is selected for the seat will occupy it until Dec. 31, 2018.

Council member John Flynn said he was impressed with the candidates' resumes.

"We were fortunate to have seven qualified applicants," he said.

The interviewed candidates include Steven Bourke, James R. "Jim" Hall, John A.M. (Jack) Kelly, Stan Moore, J.B. Portillo, Dick Schrad and Richard L. Taylor. All of these candidates said that they would run for re-election if appointed to this seat.

The candidates were interviewed in alphabetical order, starting with Bourke.

Bourke said he's lived in Bella Vista a little over a year, and in that time he's served on the planning commission and worked with several volunteer groups in the city. He brings experience from the private sector, he said, and has spent time talking with department heads and city council members in preparation for potentially accepting the council seat.

"I look for ways to serve. I'm not a politician. I look at this just as an extension of serving my community," he said.

Hall currently serves as the executive director of community and government relations with NorthWest Arkansas Community College and he was a founding board member. He's lived in Bella Vista multiple times he said, initially in the 1990s.

Hall said he believes he's qualified and brings strong experience. He hasn't been especially active in Bella Vista, he said, because most of his work has been at the regional level.

"In looking at your master plan ... there's a lot of areas there that I feel like I could help with," he said.

Kelly said he's lived in Bella Vista for five years and he believes the currently-vacant seat is a good place to put his experience in both the public and private sectors to use.

He's worked for the city of Tulsa, he said, and has more than 18 years' experience handling budgets.

Kelly said he was primarily motivated by his love of the town.

"A sincere desire to help Bella Vista grow and prosper," he said.

Moore said he's lived in Bella Vista for 12 years and, in that time, he's attended several POA meetings and participated in the first Citizens Police Academy. He's pursuing the seat because he cares about the city, he said.

He previously worked with Tyson Foods as an information technology, or IT, security director and retired in 2015, he said. He currently serves on the board of construction appeals.

"I'm familiar with being the policy guy or the rules guy," Moore said. "I don't really let my emotions cloud my reason."

Portillo said she's been a resident since 2008 and wants to make a difference. She worked in the corporate world previously, she said, and didn't do much but work.

She operates a camera for Bella Vista Community Television, she said, and she's also a master naturalist and a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club. Her work with the television station, she said, has given her a good chance to observe how the city council operates.

"I am all about research," Portillo said. "I'm a facts based person and I don't make decisions based on emotions."

Schrad said he's lived in town since 2016 and his wife convinced him to apply for this seat. He's worked in city government and been involved with chambers of commerce and fundraising efforts in the past, he said.

He's studied notes from council meetings, he said, and he doesn't have any radical changes in mind. Schrad said he's interested in helping the city continue to improve.

"My involvement in other communities has been extensive," Schrad said. "My lack of involvement with any of you is because I haven't had any issues with the city of Bella Vista."

Taylor said he's been visiting Bella Vista since some family members retired in 1978, and he retired and moved here in 2015.

He's worked with groups that tackled a wide array of issues, he said, and wants to get more involved with the city. He's previously worked with the POA, he said, and established good relationships with people in the association. Taylor said he'd like to see Bella Vista continue to prosper.

"Bella Vista's kind of home to me, though I've traveled a lot," he said.

Council member Flynn said he appreciated everyone coming for the interview process.

"I'm personally amazed at the number and talent of the people that applied, so we're very blessed," he said.

The council also discussed the bidding process for an east side sand and salt storage structure, purchasing a new dump truck for the street department for $126,404.93, purchasing non-budgeted police department equipment at $47,124.20 and entering a licensing agreement with the POA for trails in the central portion of the city.

General News on 07/18/2018