FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — City of Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan has called a special meeting of the City Council to take place at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The meeting will be virtual with some attendees present in City Council Chambers at City Hall.
The meeting has been called to discuss a proposed resolution to reconstitute a Fayetteville Board of Health and to create a City Health Officer position.
The proposal also includes a budget adjustment of $50,000 in emergency funding to support the Board of Health and City Health Officer in the execution of their duties.
Councilmember Matthew Petty who is a lead in this initiative said they want to bring the board of health back to better deal with this pandemic.
Petty says the former board of health for the city of Fayetteville was dissolved less than two years ago because there wasn’t much on its agenda.
He said that with the crisis at hand, it is necessary to have people in place to assist and advise city leaders on how to most effectively stop the spread of the virus.
The board would include medical directors, administrators from local institutions like Washington Regional, Community Clinic and the Pat Walker Health Center.
Councilmember Sonia Gutierrez said this is in the best interest of the residents. “I’m really happy to have somebody take that lead and keep us in the know and make sure that the city is doing everything that we can do to protect the health and safety of the community.”
Last week, the city launched a $100,000 dollar public health campaign and passed an ordinance requiring people to wear masks in public.
The board would also help city leaders make strategic decisions on how to best use the funds for that campaign.
