Service by service: what it takes to run Holiday Island
Four services sit at the heart of this transition. Here's the honest state of each today, and where each one sits in the September 2026 Long Range Plan. Service statistics on this page come from the earlier May and July 2026 feasibility presentations unless noted.
Roads
Laid end to end, Holiday Island's roughly 70 miles of roads would reach Springfield, Missouri heading north, or the Oklahoma border at Siloam Springs heading west. Almost all of it has roadside ditches that need regular maintenance, and that same mileage drives up costs for everything from grading to snow removal. The city has received one $300,000 paving grant and been awarded a second, $400,000 grant, which the Long Range Plan budgets in 2027 for repaving Woodsdale Drive and part of Stateline Drive — though, as the plan notes, grant money is not available every year.
In the Long Range Plan: Phase 1, 2027
Roads are the first phase. In the Long Range Plan's words, "The City will assume 100% of road maintenance responsibility starting in 2027." HISID has already dedicated 14 miles of road to the City and plans to dedicate the remaining 55 or so by the end of 2026, along with the road department's assets. Through 2026 the City will have covered about $1.28 million in resurfacing and maintenance1, including roughly 12 miles resurfaced. The work is funded through the City's street fund: state turnback, grants, and a transfer from property tax revenue. HISID's assessment is expected to decrease because the road expense moves to the City, with the amount set in its budgeting process.
Source: Long Range Plan, September 22, 2026, pages 4–5. The earlier feasibility study counted 71 miles; this page uses the plan's 69.
Water & Sewer
Just like the roads, Holiday Island has more than 71 miles of water and sewer lines to maintain2. HISID issued a $5.6 million bond in 2008 to upgrade the treatment plant. It is scheduled to be retired in October 2031, but the Long Range Plan says the reserve fund could potentially be sufficient to retire it as early as 2027 or 20281.
A new state requirement changes the math
New Arkansas legislation now requires municipal water and sewer systems to build and maintain a capital replacement reserve — funding for the inevitable cost of replacing lines, pumps, tanks, and treatment plants. Current rates don't generate enough revenue to meet that requirement, meaning a rate adjustment is coming either way, HISID or city2. Under a transition, that increase would be partly offset once the sewer bond payment itself drops off the bill.
In the Long Range Plan: Phase 2, 2027/28
Once the bond is retired, the complete water and sewer works would transfer to the City. At that point the HISID assessment would be reduced by $54.251, the sewer loan amount shown on the annual assessment bill, and the Sewer Debt charge on water bills would be eliminated. The plan describes the utility as revenue neutral for HISID and for the City. It gives two reasons for the transfer: a city can put fees such as sanitation on the water bill, so all improved property owners share those costs; and it secures the utility's long-term future as HISID phases out. Planning for this phase begins only if the November 3 sales tax passes.
Source: Long Range Plan, September 22, 2026, pages 6–7.
Fire & Emergency Medical Response
Yes, Holiday Island's fire budget runs well above the typical small-city benchmark — and the study treats that as largely justified, not wasteful: our spread-out geography, an older population needing more medical response, and real difficulty recruiting volunteers (most residents are retired) all drive real costs. The bigger concern flagged by the study isn't the operating budget — it's that the current capital reserve to replace fire trucks and maintain all four fire stations is inadequate.
In the Long Range Plan: Phase 3, 2028
The plan would move the fire department into a Department of Public Safety Urban Service District in 2028, alongside policing, and says "there are no plans to change how the fire department operates." The district is formed only if enough registered voters petition for it; if the petition fails, the fire department remains with HISID. See the Public Safety page for how sheriff or police coverage and fire would be funded together.
Source: Long Range Plan, September 22, 2026, page 7.
Parks & Recreation
Today's recreational amenities — two golf courses, a marina, pools, trails, campgrounds, and a community center — require roughly $500,000 a year in subsidy2 from HISID assessment revenue. The City cannot rely on general property-tax revenue to subsidize recreation, so the feasibility study looked to a dedicated Parks & Recreation Urban Service District, amenity revenue, and user fees to support recreation at anything like its current level.
In the Long Range Plan: Phase 4, 2029
The plan would move the golf courses, sports complex, marina, clubhouse grill, hiking trails and campgrounds to a Parks and Recreation Urban Service District reporting to the mayor. Costs would be covered by the revenue the amenities generate plus an Urban Service District fee. The fee is not yet established: the plan says it will be determined in 2029 and will depend on amenity revenue at the time and any operational changes. The HISID assessment would be reduced again after the transition.
Source: Long Range Plan, September 22, 2026, page 7.
Ideas from the earlier feasibility study
The May 2026 study sketched how the amenities might operate under a district. The Long Range Plan does not restate these, so treat them as earlier proposals:
- The pool would become a public pool with lifeguards — free for paying Urban Service District members, pay-to-use for the general public.
- The Clubhouse would become a community center — free for USD members' community functions.
- Golf would keep its greens fees for all players, USD member or not.
For context: the national average for parks & recreation spending in a city of 2,500 is about $81.19 per resident, or roughly $203,000 a year2 — for the kind of parks and rec you'd find in a typical small town. Holiday Island's amenity level is intentionally well above that, because recreation and lifestyle are core to why people choose to live here — and to why they'll choose to move here in the future. In this site's view that makes recreation a community asset and part of any economic-development strategy, not simply an expense. See how that draw factors into the Growth Plan.
Sources cited on this page
- City of Holiday Island & Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District, Long Range Plan, September 22, 2026 (Resolution 2026-015). Link
- Mayor Dan Kees, "Can the City Do It All?" — A Feasibility Study, presented May 2, 2026 (updated May 6, 2026). Earlier feasibility estimate, not an adopted figure. Posted on the City website under About/Contact → Services. Link