7:30 p.m. update:
Hot Springs City Manager David Frasher has tendered his resignation to the Hot Springs Board of Directors, which was accepted by the board by a unanimous 7-0 vote.
The board of directors met Tuesday night in an executive session that lasted nearly three hours.
Original article:
The Hot Springs Board of Directors will hold an executive session today to review the performance of City Manager David Frasher after Lloyd Jackson, the deputy superintendent of the Hot Springs School District, complained that Frasher exhibited "insensitive and bigoted" behavior during an encounter in the Red Oak Ridge subdivision, where they both live, last week.
Jackson, in an email the newspaper obtained Monday through Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act, claims Frasher shouted "you don't live here" at his passing SUV as he and his wife were leaving the neighborhood pool area on June 7, with "aggression and anger." A full copy of Jackson's email to the board accompanies this article.
"I am not sure what the city manager used to determine that we were not residents," Jackson said in the email. "Was it that he had not ever seen me in the neighborhood before? I am sure there are many people that he has not had the pleasure of meeting that live here. What does a resident of Red Oak Ridge look like? These were all conversations my wife and I had as we pulled back up to our home. The only conclusion we could arrive at was it was because we are black."
Along with Jackson's email, the city released a statement from Frasher on Monday, which is also included with this article. In the statement, Frasher says he was walking into the pool driveway with his 4-year-old daughter and their puppy when a string of cars sped out of the entrance. "We had to dodge out of their path because there is no sidewalk and the cars were driving into the sun. I did not recognize any of the cars and as the last one passed, I said 'you don't live here.'"
Another document released Monday was a brief June 8 email from Frasher to Jackson. Frasher apologizes in the email, saying, "In the heat of the moment my emotions got the best of me. I can fully understand how you could interpret my comment as you did."
"My action was to hand it over to the city directors, which I did, and let them handle the situation from there," Jackson told a reporter for The Sentinel-Record on Monday. Jackson also said he had received responses from two members of the board.
Hot Springs Mayor Pat McCabe sent a memo on Monday to the board of directors saying that he had reached out to Jackson the morning of June 8 and met with him to discuss the events of the night before.
"We had a very professional meeting," McCabe said in the memo. McCabe noted that the board had a special called meeting today at 4 p.m., which will include an additional executive session to review the city manager's performance, "at which time I will share my discussion with Mr. Jackson with you as a Board."
The city of Hot Springs sent out an updated special called meeting notice Monday afternoon for a meeting that had been originally scheduled to follow today's regularly scheduled agenda meeting at 4 p.m. at City Hall. Item No. 3 is "Consider a Review of the City Manager."
Jackson's June 7 email to the board claimed that Frasher "did not apologize or anything of the like, he simply kept walking and did not acknowledge our desire to engage in a conversation about the matter at all." The Jacksons returned home but decided to return to the pool later to "host the conversation" with Frasher as to his remarks.
"What we received was a disingenuous apology followed with excuses of why he responded to us in such a way. He shared that his past experiences with individuals with tattoos on their arms who were white trespassing at the pool and leaving condoms and other items in the area caused him to react in such a way. I shared with him that just like past experiences caused him to respond in a particular way, our past experiences cause us to question his motive and reasoning for being ugly to us as neighbors. I shared my disappointment in him as a neighbor and certainly as a representative of our city. He was quick to share with me that he was off duty and not representing the city. My personal opinion is that our city manager represents our city at all times, especially when interacting with citizens of the community," Jackson's email states.
Frasher's statement said that several minutes after his initial remark, the couple in the last car returned and confronted him at the pool.
"They were angry about my comment. I immediately apologized. The couple turned out to be Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Jackson and they lived in the subdivision. I apologized again. My daughter was terrified by the confrontation so I quietly asked the Jacksons to please not do this in front of her," the statement said.
"Finally, I tried to explain that my comment was prompted only by the history of incidents we had experienced and because I did not recognize any of the cars exiting the pool. Mr. Jackson said he recognized me as the City Manager."
In his statement, Frasher said he has since apologized to the Jacksons again by email and by telephone, and his wife has invited them to dinner. "We have had no response other than Mr. Jackson writing to my employer. I feel terrible about the incident, especially after learning that another resident called to report possible trespassing right before my encounter with the Jackson(s). I hope that the Jacksons can forgive my mistake. We all could have handled things better."
The city also released an email, dated June 8, from Frasher to the board members about the encounter. Frasher reiterated the problems inside the gated community, adding that his puppy had to be taken to a vet after it ingested one of the condoms left in the pool parking area, and explaining that his comment had been prompted by the "many disturbances, trespassing and other issues," and "nothing more."
Frasher also stated that when the Jacksons returned to confront him, they were "clearly angry and I felt threatened but I did not react. I listened to their perspectives and said that I understood. I should not have said anything as the string of cars passed by and I'm sorry that I did. Mr. Jackson may want to make this something that it is not. We both could have handled it better."
Lloyd Jackson June 7 email to city board:
The following is the text of a letter from Lloyd Jackson, deputy superintendent of the Hot Springs School District, to the Hot Springs Board of Directors:
Dear Mayor and Board of Directors,
"You don't live here." Seems like a very simple and harmless phrase and it is, unless it is surrounded by circumstances which make it otherwise. "You don't live here," is the phrase I heard as my wife and I left the neighborhood pool in Red Oak Ridge. It is a phrase that left a mark with me because it was stated with aggression and anger. This aggression and anger was from an individual that we had never had the privilege of getting to know, that we had never seen in our community, and someone we could have easily have said the same thing to being that we have owned a home in this community since December of 2014 and have never seen him in our neighborhood. So we paused for a moment and put our 2016 GMC Yukon in reverse to address the comment. To my surprise and dismay, on the other side of such a misguided statement was our very own city manager. He didn't stop to introduce himself after making such a comment and we sharing that in fact we do live here. He did not apologize or anything of the like, he simply kept walking and did not acknowledge our desire to engage in a conversation about the matter at all.
I am not sure what the city manager used to determine that we were not residents. Was it that he had not ever seen me in the neighborhood before? I am sure there are many people that he has not had the pleasure of meeting that live here. What does a resident of Red Oak Ridge look like? These were all conversations my wife and I had as we pulled back up to our home. The only conclusion we could arrive at was it was because we are black. If being a resident requires us to drive a nice car, we do. (If) it requires us to have a six figure income, we do. If it requires that we are kind to those around us and considerate, we are. We could find no other reason why we would be subjected to the phrase "You don't live here." I wanted to host the conversation with my neighbor in order to get an understanding. So, we backed out of our garage and went back down to the pool to host the conversation.
What we received was a disingenuous apology followed with excuses of why he responded to us in such a way. He shared that his past experiences with individuals with tattoos on their arms who were white trespassing at the pool and leaving condoms and other items in the area caused him to react in such a way. I shared with him that just like past experiences caused him to respond in a particular way, our past experiences cause us to question his motive and reasoning for being ugly to us as neighbors. I shared my disappointment in him as a neighbor and certainly as a representative of our city. He was quick to share with me that he was off duty and not representing the city. My personal opinion is that our city manager represents our city at all times, especially when interacting with citizens of the community.
I may be only one voice, but I wanted to share my experiences and to share them in writing to document this behavior in case others may have experienced such insensitive and bigoted behavior.
Thanks for listening,
Proud Citizen of Hot Springs, disappointed neighbor of the city manager ...
The "Joy" of life is in each new day!
Lloyd D. Jackson
David Frasher statement:
Statement Re: Jackson matter
To whom it may concern:
Our house is next to a swimming pool that is supposed to be for the residents in our subdivision. After moving there we realized that it was a popular party spot for teens and nonresidents. There was little security and it was up to us to monitor our own neighborhood. Over the past year we've experienced vandalism, trespassing, loud parties late at night, trash dumping and gunfire. We walk the area daily and, due to our proximity to the pool, we experience things others may not.
Recently, I was walking into the pool driveway with my four year old daughter and my puppy when a string of cars sped out of the entrance. We had to dodge out of their path because there is no sidewalk and the cars were driving into the sun. I did not recognize any of the cars and as the last one passed, I said "you don't live here."
Several minutes later, the couple in the last car returned and confronted me at the pool. They were angry about my comment. I immediately apologized. The couple turned out to be Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Jackson and they lived in the subdivision. I apologized again. My daughter was terrified by the confrontation so I quietly asked the Jacksons to please not do this in front of her.
Finally, I tried to explain that my comment was prompted only by the history of incidents we had experienced and because I did not recognize any of the cars exiting the pool. Mr. Jackson said he recognized me as the City Manager.
Since this unfortunate incident, I've apologized to the Jacksons again by email and by telephone, and my wife has invited them to dinner. We have had no response other than Mr. Jackson writing to my employer. I feel terrible about the incident, especially after learning that another resident called to report possible trespassing right before my encounter with the Jackson(s). I hope that the Jacksons can forgive my mistake. We all could have handled things better.
Sincerely,
David W. Frasher
Local on 06/12/2018