CITY OF BULL SHOALS NEWS & UPDATES

GOLF CART REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:51:49 GMT

Golf Cart Registration Now Open

The City of Bull Shoals is pleased to announce that we are now accepting registrations for golf cart operation within city limits.

To obtain a registration decal, residents must first contact Bull Shoals City Hall at 870-445-4775 to schedule an inspection appointment.

A police officer will conduct the required inspection at the owner’s residence. At the time of inspection, applicants must provide proof of insurance.

The $12.00 registration fee must be paid at Bull Shoals City Hall. Upon successful completion of the inspection and payment of all required fees, a registration decal will be issued and must be displayed on the golf cart.

As we implement this new program, we appreciate your patience and cooperation.

For questions or to schedule an inspection, please call 870-445-4775 .

Thank you and please operate safely

Job Openings

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 22:59:42 GMT

Job Openings for Maintenance Technician and Street Department

Bull Shoals City Maintenance Technician Job Opening - Details

Bull Shoals Street Department Job Opening - Details

Spring Cleanup May 5, 2026

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 22:25:41 GMT

We will be having our heavy Spring Clean Up May 5, 2026. Please have all your allowed items on the curb by 6 a.m.

Red Cross Blood Drive

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 19:53:52 GMT

The American Red Cross Blood Drive is scheduled for May 20, 2026 from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

Please help those in need and Give the Gift of Life from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM at Bull Shoals City Hall, 706 CS Woods Blvd.

If you don't have the American Red Cross Blood Donor App., please download, it makes giving blood that much easier. You can also call City Hall at 870-445-4775 ext. 4 and Susan will help you schedule a time. The Red Cross also takes walk-in's, help us make a difference and help save a life ��.

Schedule a Blood, Platelet or Plasma Donation - American Red Cross

February '26 - From the Mayor's Desk

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 18:30:51 GMT

I would like to update you all on a few things happening in town.

Casey's Gas Station

The Casey’s gas station is still in the works. It goes out for bids to contractors and work is to start in the spring.

Dead Trees

I have received permits from the Corp of Engineers for over 30 trees that were dead between Danuser Park and Dam Site Park. I had our Water Dept. and Street Dept., also myself, cutting and chippings the trees. We have three (3) large trees yet to remove between Danuser and Dam Site Parks that have to be taken down along with a large tree on the Northwest corner of Martha and Browns Beach Road that have power lines close by and it will have to be done by tree service professionals who have a valid business license and valid insurance, so the city is requesting bids to be submitted on these four (4) trees.

Snow Removal

During the last snowstorm, mother nature did us no favors by giving us 1 inch of snow on Saturday, then sleet and freezing rain late Saturday, then dumped 6 to 8 inches of snow on top of that, and it did not stop until 1O am on Sunday. The city has only 3 plows and 3 plow operators, counting myself as the mayor. I did have an additional new employee come out to be trained on snow removal when we started at 6:30 am on Sunday. The street supervisor and I worked plowing streets until 5 pm on Sunday. We did not get to every street in town on Sunday or again on Monday due to the steepness of the street. I did contact most of those I could who lived on those streets and advised them if they needed anything I would have the Fire or Police Dept. deliver it to them. I personally was not happy with the overall plowing of the streets, and we have discussed how we can improve. We ordered chains for the snowplow vehicles, for during the Sunday plow, we all got stuck or slid off into the ditch several times each, having to spend time pulling each other out.

Wood Pile Clean-up

The Fire Chief did give me the OK to burn the wood pile on the ALS donated property while there was a fresh snow fall on the ground. According to our Ordinance, it had to be under 24-7 watch while still burning. I spent the night from 4 pm to the next morning pushing the wood pile together with the backhoe until relieved by a city worker at 8 am. It was later extinguished by the fire dept. at 3:30 pm.

ALS Building

We also cleaned up around the ALS main building and scraped out the metals on 2-13-2026, that money was turned over to the City treasurer at 10 am, we received $257.85 for the steel and tin brought to Scrap Daddy's on Hwy 5 in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Once we get items inside the ALS main building inventoried, the City will have a sale on all items. The sale date will be determined and put on the website and City Facebook.

The Bull Shoals Bugle Corrections

I did notice that "The Bull Shoals Bugle" newsletter put out and edited by Gary Heimbach had numerous mistakes printed in it.

Under City News:

1. The owner of the Village Mart did not file another lawsuit he just had some additions to the old suit.

2. Marion County Quorum Court is not proposing a 1.25 % tax increase, but they are bringing to the ballot on March 3rd, 2026, to continue a .5 % sales tax to build a County Community Center to be located on the south side of Yellville by Hwy 14 and 235. They also have on the ballot a .25% sales tax increase that will help pay for the operating cost for this Center. This .25% ballot was written in such a way that the County can use this .25% sales tax not only for the operation of the center but can be used anywhere in the County Government if the building of the Center does not pass.

In the EDITORIAL:

1. In Resolution 2025-R-27 was the final budget for upcoming year 2026, which was passed by City Council in December 2025. Why was there no mention of that under interim Mayor Duss. She was to present a working 2025 budget to the City Council by December 1st, 2024, per Arkansas State Statute. Interim Mayor Duss never submitted a 2025 budget, "This is a fact". I took office on December 9th, 2024 and continually requested information on department submitted budgets so I could give the City Council a budget for 2025. The one City employee that could give me this information refused to do so, that being Tina Bailey who had held the Recorders job, the Treasurers job, and the City Clerks job, (but a city of the second class which the City of Bull Shoals is, can NOT have a City Clerk). I, as mayor, did my best to get a 2025 budget to the City Council so they could vote on it by state statute before February 1st ,2025. Of course, there would be mistakes and that is why I made a budget committee to come up with a more precise line-item budget. In that 2025 budget, there was a revenue of $21,000 for the Police Dept., which was a grant that was received in 2023, and should not have been on the 2025 budget. The committee was able to correct that, and that is why it just disappeared.

2. When Ms. Snow wanted to know why there was no date written in on resolution 2025-R-27, which was the passing of the 2026 budget. The answer is easy. A Resolution does not have to be posted in the required five locations in the city, BUT we did post it on the City website (cityofbullshoals.gov) in December 2025. If you haven't noticed that this administration has been putting a lot of information on the City website which has NOT been done in the past.

3. The mayor has the right to make up committees that will help aid the City and provide more eyes on the prize, which will result in far more transparency. I placed individuals on my City Budget Committee, which consisted of 6 Alderpersons, Mayor, Interim Treasurer, and 3 City of Bull Shoals Citizens back on January 2, 2025. That committee was moving slower than I expected. So, I restructured that committee on 9-3-2025 placing 4 Alderpersons, Mayor, City Treasurer, and 3 City of Bull Shoals Citizens on that committee, and they were able to come up with a reasonable budget on actual numbers received on past years (revenue and expenditures). Remember, a budget is not exact science. Life has unexpected costs that hit even a city.

4. When Leslie Snow says that there are Ghost accounts or $0.01 placeholders, my answer to that is the new software CSA will not let you have a line item of $0.00. To keep that line item, it must show 1 cent in it temporarily.

5. In summary, if "The Bull Shoals Bugle" wants to continue to print untruths in its newsletter, the citizens of Bull Shoals deserve better and should expect and demand nothing less than the highest standard of journalism and get the facts correct.

Since I have been your Mayor, I have received several complaints from our citizens on many subjects. Depending on what the complaint, is I will direct those complaints to the appropriate department to be corrected. This can be anywhere from barbed wire fence being used next to resident property to other Planning and Zoning violations to street repairs or culverts plugged.

In July of 2025 , I received 2 citizen complaints on a fence in Woodstone Subdivision stating that it was in violation of the City Ordinance. Like any other complaint, I checked it out and I took 4 photos while on the neighbor's property this fence butted up to. I took measurements of the height of the fence from the ground. I did find that it was in violation of 3 sections of the city building code, and that the building permit that was filed with the city in 2018 was never inspected or signed off by a building official. I sent a letter to the owners of said property and a copy of this letter to the Building Inspector and to the Planning and Zoning Commission stating the violations and that this fence needed to comply with our codes.

In October 2025 , the owner of the above violation filed a complaint on the fence I had in the middle of my yard and a display wall I had next to the road. The complainant stated that the structure or ugly side was facing out towards the public. Once I was notified by the building inspector that my fence was in violation, I fixed both fences covering the structure with additional 6-foot cedar planks. I covered the structure with a black tarp on the display wall located at the road but apparently that was not good enough for the complainant even though the inspector and P & Z said it was. I have corrected that fence by placing 6-foot cedar planks on the roadside of this wall covering the structure up making my fence now in compliance of the city fence ordinance.

This original complainant, according to public records (Steve Duss), lives a½ mile from my house and he has filed other complaints in the City on other properties; those complaints were filed during this administration expecting us to get them corrected, which we did, yet these complaints he filed were also in violation when his wife was the interim mayor for Bull Shoals.

I fixed my fence, and since his wife was a former Planning and Zoning member and an Interim Mayor for the City of Bull Shoals, the Ordinance they are violating do not apply to them, for they had their lawyer send a letter to cease and desist from any further action to be taken by the City. This is a clear and obvious retaliation and the highest form of hypocrisy.

So, I must ask, should there be consequences when someone violates our City Ordinances?

Or, do we, as a City, just let everyone do whatever they want to do? My firm belief is that we follow our ordinances, and everyone is treated the same way. If majority of people do not like the ordinance, then we change the ordinance. Otherwise we do our job and enforce the ordinance violators.

My fence was put up back in 2006 when I got my permit and was inspected by the inspector at the time (who has since passed away). I, nor the City, never had a complaint filed on my fence until Steve Duss filed one on my fence in October 2025, 19 years later. Steve Duss's fence that was given a permit and built in 2018, was never inspected nor signed off by the City Building Inspector, which the permit that was filed at the Marion County Court House proves. For your information, two (2) complaints were filed on Steve Duss's fence 3 months before he filed a complaint on my fence. In my opinion, that's being retaliatory.

In the October 2022 City Council meeting minutes, Steve Duss wanted to know during citizens' comments from Tina Bailey on how much time was spent answering FOIA requests, and Ms. Bailey stated that it has averaged about 10 hours per week with about 200 requests made (costing approximately $14- $17 per hour). I find this ironic and disturbing at the same time. For the Duss and Pucci, Bull Shoals Citizens, while having every right to submit FOIA's, have been submitting constant FOIA's. Some ask for the same information repeatedly and this is taking time away from the City's regular office duties, which is costing taxpayers dollars to be spent elsewhere. This administration has an open-door policy, and we are not trying to hide anything we are doing here. We are trying to fix the previous administration's lack of oversight and accountability.

I recently had my grant committee meet with Tina Cole from the Northwest Arkansas Economical Development District out of Harrison. I asked Ms. Cole to meet with us so we can work together on possible future grants we can apply for, and how to do so. With all the Federal cutbacks and state issues out there, money has gotten a lot tighter. We compete against 50 other States. Arkansas has 72 counties, and over 400 cities who are also applying for grant money.

This has been a lengthy informative letter "From The Mayors Desk" and I'm sure I have more to cover. The City Water, Sewer, Trash Bill has increased on last month's bill due to where the City buys its water from went up $.50 cents per 1,000 gallons we buy. Every year the bill is increased by City Ordinance to go up at least 2% or whatever the CPI is (whichever is greater) and the CPI was 2.8%. The City Council just passed an Ordinance last month to add $2.00 to the $5.00 water maintenance fee and a $3.00 maintenance fee for the sewer. This money will be placed into a depreciation account for both departments to help with repair cost to our systems that are over 50 years old. With that said, the minimum water, sewer, and trash bill will now be $79.89 for residential service. Remember this bill is for Three (3) services which breaks it down to approximately $27.00 per service which includes tax.

All the above information is public record at City Hall.

We want this City to prosper.

Until next time. Have a Blessed Day,

Mayor Bill Stahlman

Help at Dam Site Before April 15 Opening

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 18:20:09 GMT

Volunteers needed March 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM and March 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM to help clean up Dam Site Park for the April 15, 2026 opening.

Dam Closure Updates

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 18:17:29 GMT

For information and updates of Dam Closure go to the Army Corp of Engineers site:

Little Rock District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - News Releases

Arkansas Law Regarding City & Chamber

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 18:06:41 GMT

Arkansas Law:

Yes, an Arkansas City of the second class can legally link to the area Chamber of Commerce. This is permissible under the Arkansas Constitution and statutes, which allow cities to exercise certain powers and functions, including forming partnerships with other local entities like Chambers of Commerce. The specific legal framework governing this relationship is outlined in the Arkansas Code, which grants cities the authority to engage in such collaborations.

January '26 - From the Mayor's Desk

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 14:56:37 GMT

Arkansas Law

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 18:29:58 GMT

There have been questions and concerns about the city webpage linking to the Bull Shoals Lake White River Chamber of Commerce.
Per Arkansas Law:

Yes, a city of the second class in Arkansas can legally link its chamber of commerce on the city's official website. This is permissible as cities of the second class have the authority to form their own government and manage their own affairs, including establishing links with private organizations like the chamber of commerce.

Arkansas Law

December '25 - From the Mayor's Desk

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 19:35:42 GMT

Grant Writing Committee

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 18:22:16 GMT

Say hello to our new Grant Writing Committee!

October '25 - From the Mayor's Desk

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 17:57:58 GMT

Greetings Citizens of Bull Shoals,

It has been a while since my last letter to you all. I apologize for that fact, but I have truly been busy working on issues that have not been addressed for several years, and we have been correcting those issues during the past 1O months. The state of the city has improved over the past 1 O months, for example since January 1 st, 2025, the city had in all accounts$ 3,313,817.69 and on September 30th, 2025, the city has$ 3,584,711.41 that is an increase of $270,893.72.

The hardest issue I have faced is finding employees that have a good work ethic, honesty, integrity, and a willingness to go over and above, volunteering some of their own time to help this city move forward. It has taken a few months to find some of these qualities, but we have made great progress fulfilling the city's needs. We have a community-oriented Police Chief Johnathan Babb, A new and upcoming Police Officer Dominick Castagna, Officer Joesph Beasley, and Officer Michael Patterson working our streets and answering calls. We welcome back to city hall the previous District Court Clerk, Jessica Wilkinson. We have a new Water Clerk, Erica Harper, and a new Office Manager/Human Resource, Susan Walling and the Cities Recorder/Treasurer, Paula Reynolds. Paula has been able to pick up the new CSA accounting software quickly, making it easier for the city to make a proper budget (which hasn't been the case in past years), making it more transparent and understandable to the taxpayers. The city has had 9 months of figures so far and those figures have been posted after approval from the city council on the city website. We are presently working on the water and sewer budget this week and should have an amended 2025 budget ready to at next council meeting on the 30th of October.

I have made several committees and appointed several commissioners since I took office. I feel this is your town and we need your help, so I have asked for volunteers to help the city move forward in a positive way. I have a Parks and Recreation Committee, Law Enforcement Committee, Budget Committee, Water/ Sewer Committee, and have appointed with council approval 5 new Planning and Zoning Commissioners. Most of these individuals are our residents and are willing to help make this city a better place to live and visit. We can always make room for more individuals who want to volunteer and help prosper in our community. I still would like to develop a Helping Hands Committee which their mission would be to help other citizens in our community that truly need it, such as maintaining their house, property, picking up groceries, medications from our pharmacy, etc.

I personally do not go on Facebook, but I have heard from concerned citizens that there are individuals who want to discredit our community, stay anonymous, and post false information on what is happening in the city. This can only tell you the character of the individual while posting as anonymous or under a false made-up name. These same individuals do not care about this town, because if they did, they would be volunteering with the city on improving this town and promoting it for what it truly is "Gods Little Paradise".

I have been working with EPA through a grant program on the sewer infrastructure since the first part of April 2025. The city and this group are collecting data on all our sewer lines within our system trying to pinpoint where we are getting rainwater infiltration from during heavy rain events which in the past has caused the final sewer lift station that feeds the sewer plant to go into a survival mode, per say, and by engineering design does have an overflow outlet on Rivercliff Road. My main concern has always been, even back in 2011, when I first learned of this overflow problem was to get started on a new sewer plant. The one we had was supposed to have lasted 30 years and at that time it was 32 years old. As Public Works Director from 201 0 to January 2015, I conducted smoke testing on the sewer lines sending non-toxic smoke down the manholes and we found over 250 infiltration points from ground or rainwater entering our sewer lines ranging from manhole covers leaking to broken cleanouts on residential property, and all got repaired. Now that I am your mayor, my top priority is to find out why and where all this sewer and excess rainwater comes from during heavy rain events. For someone to say or come up with mimes stating I don't care are outrageous lies. We have done smoke testing on our sewer lines throughout the town this year and have found numerous broken cleanouts on residential properties, and other locations that we have and are still getting fixed.

In 2014 my next step was to rebuild the access easement roads where the sewer transmission lines run from the higher elevations to the lower elevation to the last lift station #16 that pumps the sewage to the sewer plant. This needs to be done so we can get equipment down to them to make repairs if needed, but the new Mayor that took office in 2015 decided to fire me, for I did not fit into his agenda. That mayor resigned after 2 years, and the council appointed a new mayor to take his place. Mayor Powell and I started working on getting a new sewer plant back in 201 0 which continued with some changes. The city has a new sewer plant now that can handle 4 times the volume of sewage, but the rain events have increased and no one as far as city officials before me have tried to find out where this excess rainwater is coming from, until I took office on December 9th, 2024. I assure you, my employees and this new administration, which includes the city council, want to fix this ASAP (as soon as possible). This will take time and unfortunately money to fix this problem and as I told the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), who can fine this city for up to $10,000.00 a day for every day, we are in violation, we will need that money to fix our system. By me talking with ADEQ they saw that since I took over as mayor, we have been working with agencies to help locate our problem areas and that is why they reduced the fine from $10,000.00 to $2,000.00 and I told them I really could use that $2,000.00 for any repairs we may find in the future and they stated but this was going on since 2019 and they felt they had attach a fine to get the city's attention. You as a citizen of Bull Shoals should be asking why previous administration did not address this issue back in 2019.

I do have to state that when we find these trouble areas they will be fixed and will cost money lots of money if we are unable to get grant money it will be up to us the residents and business owners to step up and pay the bill this is a fact, but as long as I am here I will do whatever I can to ease this burden on this community. My plea to you all in this community, if you have experience of writing grants come help us research and apply for these grants that may be out there so that the full economic burden doesn't just fall on us, the citizens of Bull Shoals.
There have been statements about this administration wanting to destroy what resorts we do have in town. Again, STOP THE LIES. The Planning and Zoning Ordinance states that resorts cannot have long term rentals they are for transient people and that is a person traveling through the area stopping here for a day or 30 days according to webster and the State of Arkansas definition. Like most things in our lives, time brings change like it or not. I would like to see this administration, which includes the council, to work with our resort owners that do have a hard time making it through the slow times during the year to get a conditional use permit with the city that would allow them to have the opportunity to book transients to stay consecutive months at a time like someone who is building a house in the area, or contractor crew needing a place to stay while they have a local contract to fulfill, or snow birds want to get away from real cold weather. There can be many reasons. The resort owners will make more money from daily rentals over a month rent this is a fact. Until the city can increase the volume of visitors or transients to this town, we need to help these resort owners to survive. This administration is trying to do just that. This did not happen overnight, and it will take time to bring people back to this area. As a result of tourists or vacationers returning, they will need a place to stay the night as tourism expands, and people want to book at our resorts. The resorts will be available to rent out a room. Resorts not having a long-term contract with anyone would make this easier for them to accommodate transients. The resort owners would get a conditional use permit that would state how many units they are requesting to have during slow months. By doing this monthly, if the resort owner has a problem with a transient, they will have the ability to remove them at the end of the month or sooner. This would be a win-win for both the city and resorts. The city needs to offer people a reason to visit and stay here first and this will take time, but we are working on it. When that occurs, these transients will need to stay at a place that is clean, comfortable, and affordable, which will then be up to the resort owners to accommodate them.

This administration has found numerous problems with previous employees and officials and investigations have been started, this also will take time to complete on the criminal side and civil side of the law. We have many irons in the fire and good things will come to our great city. If you have questions on what is happening in our city and can't find the answer on our website or on the official City Face book page come on to city hall and meet with me my door is always open. Don't believe what you may read on other Face book pages those folks are just trying to stir the pot, making this town look bad and guess what they are bringing your property value down with all the negative posting and m e mes.

I also want our citizens to know we are working with our banks to find out when the cities depreciation fund accounts were closed. We have discovered that under Mayor Hotchkiss had his final budget presented by Mr. David Nixon and the council passed the following recommendations offered by Mr. Nixon, $5,000 was taken out of the Police and Fire Depreciation fund, $46,142 was taken from the Meeting Place Depreciation Fund, $50,000 was taken from the Parks Depreciation Fund, $17,295 was taken from the General Depreciation Fund, and $48,664 was taken out of the street dept and put into the General Fund. This all occurred at the City Council Special Meeting on May 30th, 2017, you can find these minutes on the city website. You must ask the question why this administration at the time had to use a lot of the depreciation funds to cover the overspending in 2017, and now those funds no longer have money in them.

Until the next "From the Mayor's Desk" have a blessed and Happy Day.
Sincerely,

April '25 - From the Mayor's Desk

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 17:56:50 GMT

To the citizens of Bull Shoals as Mayor I would like to keep you informed as much as possible about what is happening with our city.

The Bath house at Dam Site Park that was damaged by the tornado has been repaired and painted A big thank you to all the volunteers that helped prep and paint the outside and inside of, this building. Those that volunteered their time to paint was, Lynn and Marty Nickles, Alderman Russ Meinking, Jim Kuchenbecker, Ken Nevius, Scott Gallia rt, Jimmy Nolan, Tony Reynolds, Patty Kaster, and supervised by Keith Hilburn, Mayor Stahlman. did power wash the outside of building and sidewalk prior to painting. Lynn and Marty Nickels have also been repainting the inside of the bathhouse for the past week. If anyone can volunteer their time, Lynn and Marty could use more help to complete it, if you can help, contact Lynn and Marty Nickels through City Hall, call 870-445-4775.
The generator at lift station #16 has been installed inside the building. We are awaiting the connection of the propane line and the air intake opening to be installed on the wall. This should be online sometime this month.
A reminder to all that would like to participate in donating blood to the Red Cross, this event will be held on May 21st, 2025, 9 am to 2 pm Hosted by the City of Bull Shoals in the City Council Chambers. We still need volunteers to help with making donors comfortable on that day. If you cannot give blood, and you want to help your community, please contact City Clerk Susan Walling, 870-445-4775, to let her know how you would like to help.
Reminder on the Fund raiser for the Chamber of Commerce the speakeasy dinner and dance called Bootleggers Hideaway at the VFW on April 12th, 2025 starts at 5 pm. You can dress up in the 20's or come as you are. There is a cost, check out the chamber website.
First Security Bank is hosting a Rabies Clinic on Saturday the 26th of April at 2.30 pm , you can get your pet vaccinated at a reduced cost. If you are a Bull Shoals resident, make sure you stop by City Hall the following Monday to register your pet/pets with their updated shot records and then get-your Bull Shoals Lifetime Tag for your pet/pets.
The City of Bull Shoals is looking for volunteers that have gardening skills to help with planting flowers around the building of City Hall, contact Susan Walling at City Hall 870-445-4775.
T he city will also be getting the swimming area at Browns Beach installed this month, waiting for material to be delivered for this project.

February '25 - From the Mayor's Desk

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 17:48:54 GMT

To the citizens of Bull Shoals as Mayor I would like to keep you informed as much as possible about what is happening with our city.

Our water tower project is moving forward. Julian Brown will be here at the Council workshop on March 18th, 2025, at 6;30 pm.
The Police Chief and I went to Oklahoma City to check out several bucket trucks and we decided that the 2005 Ford F550 Diesel truck was the best one for the price of $12,250. With some discussion I was able to get this truck for $11,000 and having them place 2 new batteries in the engine compartment. The street department was able to get all the Christmas lights down and the American flags up within 4 hours using this truck. To be honest, when they got the truck back to the garage it was found that the water pump had sprung a leak and that has since been repaired which cost $492.75 labor and $237.62 for parts. I had just driven this truck back from Oklahoma City over 400 miles not a bit of mechanical trouble all the way just goes to show you that Murphys law is alive and well.
On 2-25-25 the generator for City Hall was delivered now I must get the electricity hooked up and a propane tank which must be ten feet away from a building and heat pump. This will be an ongoing project, but I hope to have it ready and running before spring storms.
On 2-25-25 the contractor hired to fix the damage to Dam site Park Bathhouse has set up scaffolding and has ordered the shingles for the roof and should have this project done in March. We, the city, would like to get volunteers to help paint this bathhouse once it is completed so, please, if you can help with the painting process let us know at city hall so we can set a date for this to happen.
Also, on 2-25-25 Jack Tyler was in town to install the pumps at lift station #6 and the sewer department advised me that the pumps are online, but they will be watching them closely making sure they will operate properly.
The generator for Lift Station #16 has been built and is awaiting shipment to Crawford electric in Mountain Home and when it arrives Crawford will schedule it to be installed. I will keep you all informed as I get updates.
For those citizens that have been wondering why the police vehicles are always running I will give you the reasons for I have had the same questions. All the electronics run off the car battery, Dash cam, Laptop or Tablet, Cad system this system monitors every movement the police vehicle makes and is time stamp thru the Marion County Sheriffs Dept. when the officer starts his or her shift it takes anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to get the system up and running, it also uses up a lot of car battery power for it is powered by an inverter which will drain the vehicle battery in a short period of time. This system is very, very important to our officers for when they are responding to a call they are informed on many aspects to that call, if the call is a rescue with previous times to that location and victims history if it is heart attack, falling, seizure if it's a domestic they can get previous info on prior calls to that location if guns are present, if one partner is violent, etc. So, with that said if the Officer gets an emergency call, he or she needs to get as much info as possible, as quickly as possible and respond without delay to help ensure their safety and our citizens' safety. So, if they have to wait 10 to 15 minutes for the police vehicle to reboot not only have we jeopardized a citizen having a heart attack or other issue but also may have jeopardized our Officer Safety responding to a possible known violent offender by waiting for this system to come online. As a former law enforcement police officer and field tram mg officer and the Mayor of Bull Shoals my number one concern is the safety of every citizen in this community so, the consumption of fuel used by these vehicles while on duty is justified and will remain in use.
A reminder for all that may want to give blood to the Red Cross the City of Bull Shoals will be Hosting the Red Cross at city hall in the council chambers on May 21st, 2025, 9 am to 2 pm If you cannot give blood, we do need to have volunteers to help, make donors comfortable on that day, and if you can volunteer, please contact Bull Shoals City Hall, and ask for City Clerk Susan Walling who has organized this proJect.
The Budget Committee I set up has met two time so far, and I have added another citizen to It being Marty Nickels who was a former City Alderman and sat on the Marion County Quorum Court as Justice of the Peace and was on the Marion County budget committee Check the city website for future budget committee meetings coming up and citizens are welcome to attend This administration wants to be as transparent as legally possible even with the continual FOIA request from former administration.

Sincerely,

January '25 - From the Mayor's Desk; A Path Forward for Bull Shoals

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 21:02:16 GMT

Our city is at a turning point. To keep the way of life that we all strive for we need to take an honest look at where we are and plot a path forward to reach our common goals. To do this, we need to look at where we are, what we have to offer and how we would like our city to grow

Where we are as a city:

Currently Bull Shoals is experiencing some problems that have made moving forward much harder than it needs to be With city finances in disarray, it is hard to know where we stand. We have critical infrastructure issues that need to be addressed, city staffing issues and a less than favorable business climate. These issues can and will be solved, over time, as the new city administration settles into place and begins to work on the first, most important of these issues: getting the city's financial house in order Without an accurate overview of our financial condition nothing can be done. To that end we need to have an outside audit of the city's books as well as forming a budget committee to ensure that all the city's basic and infrastructure needs are being met and that safeguards are put into place to prevent further issues I have asked Nancy Jo Pucci to head the budget committee.

Another issue the city needs to address is the "tribal" nature of the citizens There exists a very pronounced "us against them" mentality while both sides claim they, and they alone, have the best interests of Bull Shoals at heart Put simply, this atmosphere needs to change, and we all need to start pulling on the same end of the rope. How we get there is the problem. It will take challenging work from both factions to build trust and move forward. As always, it is much easier to lead from the front and I think the new City Council can play a significant role here. If we, as a city government, can conduct the people's business with professionalism and respect it will go a long way to build trust in this community. Other organizations in the city can do the same The Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, VFW and local churches should all be encouraged to join in community building efforts. We can move forward as a community, but we must do it together.

What we have to offer:

First and foremost, what we have to offer is the natural beauty and small town feel of Bull Shoals. That has always been our strongest point and remains that way today. With our prime location in between the lake and White River fishing and recreational boating opportunities abound. In the past fishing tournaments brought hundreds of anglers to both the lake and river Unfortunately, those tournaments have relocated due to our lack of basic amenities such as hotel rooms, a gas station and laundromat. Another problem we have is appropriate parking. By developing a parking area at Point Return with ample truck and trailer parking along with a low water boat ramp we can make this area usable again. To regain more valuable
tourist/vacation dollars, we need to actively recruit businesses to return to Bull Shoals. Another part of this puzzle is to actively promote Bull Shoals using social media. I would propose forming an economic development committee to study the current conditions and formulate a plan to address recruiting new businesses and social media opportunities Council Member Howell has already done substantial research in this area and is the obvious choice to head this committee.

An added benefit to new, tourist/vacation friendly business would be our ability to develop new attractions. Mountain biking is exploding as a competitive and recreational sport, and we have acres and acres of land that can easily be developed into mountain bike trails. Many local communities have benefited from hosting mountain bike competitions and the dollars they bring. Other non-fishing related opportunities that we should look at are things like disc golf, archery, pickle ball and hiking. Again, due to our location and access to undeveloped land these activities can be developed at a low cost Having a solid and realistic economic development plan is the key to this part of a rejuvenation plan.

How we would like our city to grow:

As the recent Bel Arco hearing has shown, the community has definite ideas about how they want to grow. There seems to be this idea that we are either a retirement community or a tourist destination and that both cannot exist simultaneously. That idea is ridiculous. Bull Shoals has always been both and if we genuinely want our community to begin growing again, we need to have citizen input all along the way to make sure both groups are represented At every step of this revitalization the public needs to be kept informed. This can easily be done by using the city's web site, committee reports at both workshops and council meetings and when needed, special public meetings. If we can show the citizens what we are doing and how it will benefit everyone in the community, they will get behind our plans. An idea that may help this effort to inform citizens might be borrowing from the police department and starting a "coffee with the council" event every month where one of the council members could pick a local restaurant and invite the public to stop by and ask question and voice their opinions. Another useful thing would be to have a single council member post an open letter each month on the city web site highlighting a specific issue they are working on. As Mayor I will also post monthly updates on the city web site with an overview of the "state of the city.' These could be very informal things, but I feel that it would go a long way to keeping our constituents informed and building trust in the City Council.

To circle back a bit, retaining and recruiting new businesses is vital to any plan we have moving forward. One thing that will help in those efforts is forming a closer working relationship with the chamber of commerce Their mission is to support local businesses and the community at large, we, as a city government, should be supporting their efforts. To that end, I have been attending the monthly chamber meetings along with 4 of our six council members and hope to find new ways to support their efforts.

Now, a much trickier issue that will need to be addressed as Bull Shoals begins to grow again is housing. We need to find a logical and sustainable way to develop affordable housing 300 square foot apartments paid for by HUD are not the answer! The community has made that clear but there are other options and those that need to be explored. As I said, this is a tricky issue, so any proposed projects need to be fully explained, with specific guidelines and goals, with the public so that they can give their input. I know there is a workable solution out there We, as a community, need to find it.

Another area we need to improve on is the city's general look, and that will come down to code enforcement and community help. Codes need to be enforced, and properties need to be cleaned up. It is hard to instill pride m your city when your neighbor has three abandoned cars, a washer, and an
"outdoor" couch in their yard. These are obviously problems that need to be addressed. In recent months, groups of private citizens have volunteered to help those in need of help to bring their properties into compliance. I would like to see a citizens committee formed to work with code enforcement to identify areas that need and find ways to get these properties cleaned up.

So, as you can see, we have a lot of work that needs to be done and the faster we get down to business the better. There are and always will be detractors that would like to derail any efforts to change Bull Shoals but frankly, unless we begin to change things, Bull Shoals are in real danger and may not survive. The time to move forward, together, is here and it is our responsibility to plot that course and get Bull Shoals back on the right path.

CITY OF BULL SHOALS NEWS & UPDATES

GOLF CART REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Job Openings

Job Openings for Maintenance Technician and Street Department

Spring Cleanup May 5, 2026

We will be having our heavy Spring Clean Up May 5, 2026. Please have all your allowed items on the curb by 6 a.m.

Red Cross Blood Drive

The American Red Cross Blood Drive is scheduled for May 20, 2026 from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

February '26 - From the Mayor's Desk

I would like to update you all on a few things happening in town.

Help at Dam Site Before April 15 Opening

Volunteers needed March 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM and March 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM to help clean up Dam Site Park for the April 15, 2026 opening. ﻿

Dam Closure Updates

For information and updates of Dam Closure go to the Army Corp of Engineers site:

Arkansas Law Regarding City & Chamber

Arkansas Law:

January '26 - From the Mayor's Desk

Arkansas Law

There have been questions and concerns about the city webpage linking to the Bull Shoals Lake White River Chamber of Commerce. Per Arkansas Law:

December '25 - From the Mayor's Desk

Grant Writing Committee

Say hello to our new Grant Writing Committee!

October '25 - From the Mayor's Desk

April '25 - From the Mayor's Desk

February '25 - From the Mayor's Desk

January '25 - From the Mayor's Desk; A Path Forward for Bull Shoals

Volunteers needed March 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM and March 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM to help clean up Dam Site Park for the April 15, 2026 opening.

There have been questions and concerns about the city webpage linking to the Bull Shoals Lake White River Chamber of Commerce.
Per Arkansas Law: