Rodents, leaks plague Governor's Mansion

Governor’s spokesman J.R. Davis shows visitors Rain of Faith. Records show the stainless-steel sculpture was one source of conflict between mansion commissioners and first lady Susan Hutchinson.
Governor’s spokesman J.R. Davis shows visitors Rain of Faith. Records show the stainless-steel sculpture was one source of conflict between mansion commissioners and first lady Susan Hutchinson.

A rat infestation, structural problems and deferred maintenance at the Governor's Mansion warranted a change in the structure's supervising commission, a spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday.

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Don Bingham (left), mansion administrator, and J.R. Davis, spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson, show loose wiring from a former security system in the closet of the Governor’s Mansion guesthouse while giving a tour of some of the problems affecting the mansion and other buildings on the grounds.

Though the rats are now dead, the faint smell of their urine could be detected in the governor's private office at the mansion by a reporter on a tour Thursday afternoon. To complete the job of cleaning up the mess left by the pests, the walls have to be torn out, and insulation and beams replaced.

Other problems -- mostly unseen -- linger, according to documents obtained this week.

J.R. Davis, Hutchinson's spokesman, agreed to a request from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for a reporter and photographer to see some of the problems affecting the mansion and nearby buildings.

"You should have been here back in the summer," Davis said of the rat infestation in the office, which is in a building next to the two-story mansion. "The governor couldn't even come out here. It was just so bad."

The problems -- documented in minutes of the Governor's Mansion Commission meeting and in an application for a grant to help fix some problems -- are why a law taking effect July 1 will allow the governor to replace commissioners, Davis said.

Some problems are:

• On the mansion's second floor -- where the Hutchinsons live and sleep -- water has entered during rainstorms.

• The first family has no washer and dryer of its own; the family uses the same washer and dryer that the staff uses during the day to wash tablecloths after events.

• There are plumbing, electrical and drainage problems throughout the property.

• Two-by-fours have been nailed up to help support a storage garage's failing roof -- originally built using prison labor.

• The guesthouse's ceiling is bowed, and old security wiring spills out of a closet.

Dealing with these problems and others is why first lady Susan Hutchinson pushed for a proposed $1.49 million grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, Davis said. The council granted $1.1 million of the request for fiscal 2017, which starts July 1.

The grant was awarded weeks before Gov. Hutchinson signed a 105-page so-called efficiency bill during the recently ended special session. The legislation deleted some state panels and agencies, and altered others, including the Governor's Mansion Commission.

When asked about the legislation, the governor told reporters that he didn't know why the law was being changed. The changes were "legislatively driven," he has said.

In addition to having commissioners serve at the will of the governor, the commission also will no longer make rules concerning improvements and repairs to the mansion, according to the legislation.

Tensions build

When the Hutchinsons moved to their taxpayer-owned home in January 2015, they wanted to know the rules. What was acceptable to change and what needed to stay the same? The eight-member Governor's Mansion Commission did not have those rules in place, Davis said.

"There is a lot of history in the Governor's Mansion, and so for a commission that's sole purpose is to take care of the mansion and make sure it's done right and upkeep is taken care of and it's here for another years -- for them not to have rules?" Davis said.

At that point, the commission had also not conducted routine inspections of the mansion or its grounds, which is required under state statute 22-3-805, he said.

The commission meets every other month and keeps minutes, contrary to what Davis said earlier this week. The minutes show that the first lady attended the meetings and made requests.

Susan Hutchinson first asked for changes during the March 2015 meeting, according to the minutes. She told the commission that the family's private kitchen was out of date, the Sheetrock in the private dining room was coming apart and the guesthouse needed attention. (Davis denied several requests for a reporter to interview Susan Hutchinson.)

Then, according to the May 2015 meeting minutes, Susan Hutchinson wanted security wiring removed from the guesthouse -- previously used to house the mansion security team -- and a replacement for a $3,500 broken shower temperature regulator in the private quarters.

According to the minutes, other changes had already taken place, such as repainting, new light fixtures and new hardware. Commission chairman Michael Mayton suggested that once the changes were finished, the commission should adopt a strict policy "to protect the decor against future changes."

Larger problems were brewing, including "unwanted pests" found during an inspection, according to the minutes.

Sculpture and rules

According to the September minutes, Susan Hutchinson grew more frustrated. She told the commission that many changes had been occurring, but not "as fast as she had hoped." It was at that meeting that the Rain of Faith sculpture came up for the first time.

The stainless-steel sculpture by Arkansas artist Ryan Schmidt was donated to the mansion during the administration of Gov. Mike Beebe. Heat emanating from the shiny sculpture sometimes caused nearby vegetation to ignite. The first lady proposed changing the display so that the sculpture would hang over a reflecting pool.

Commissioner Kaki Hockersmith expressed concern about spending a large amount of money on a permanent piece that will have a "huge impact on the gardens," according to the minutes. "There were several minutes of exchange between Mrs. Hockersmith and First Lady," the minutes read.

Hockersmith -- an interior designer in Little Rock who helped redecorate Bill and Hillary Clinton's White House -- did not return multiple requests for comment.

The minutes then show that Andrew Ritchie, the governor's deputy counsel, introduced Nga Mahfouz, of the attorney general's office, to the commission.

According to the minutes, Ritchie said that a review of all boards and commissions instigated by the governor showed that the Mansion Commission had no rules or regulations filed with the secretary of state's office.

At a special Sept. 25 meeting called to deal with legal confusion, the commission's sculpture policy was an issue.

"The First Lady went on to share that the sculpture policy and art policy were developed in part by people who were not on the Commission," the minutes state. "Mr. Mayton interjected that the committee did adopt those policies."

Susan Hutchinson said the policy and committee were set up before any rules or regulations on how to start a committee were written.

"I don't know if it was just a party-line fight or what," said Commissioner Joe Dan Yee in a telephone interview Thursday. "I heard some pros and cons about it, and I couldn't understand why it became such a big issue if the first lady wanted it."

Davis said the disagreement was centered on the rules.

"The entire world was not turned upside down because of a statue. I think the first lady had the desire to move a statue," he said. "From what I understand, Kaki had the desire not to and tried to point to rules that didn't exist. What came first, the chicken or the egg? The rules are what came up, and that's what was taken care of."

A grant obtained

After September, there's little mention of the sculpture in the commission's minutes, but there is mention of an Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council grant application.

A copy of that application, obtained under the state Freedom of Information Act, outlines big problems and some requested upgrades at the mansion.

The grant application proposed spending $128,133 to hang the Rain of Faith sculpture. Davis said Susan Hutchinson had told the Natural and Cultural Resources Council that she was fine forgoing the $128,000 stand and $25,000 reflecting pool to display it.

"The intention and design of the artist is for the sculpture to be suspended by creating a large arc to gracefully hold the sculpture, allowing the wind to spin it around which will optimize its reflective attributes and engage the garden spectators," according to the application.

The grant also asks for $2,000 for a 72-inch flat-screen television and $3,500 for a commercial washer and dryer.

But much of the grant money would be used to address gutters; electrical problems; floor refinishing; and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning issues.

The single biggest item is the $297,355 "conservatory package," which includes adding glass enclosures to the southeast and southwest balconies of the grand hall attached to the mansion.

The Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council has been used to fund mansion fixes in the past.

During Gov. Mike Huckabee's tenure, he and first lady Janet Huckabee moved into a triple-wide mobile home parked behind the mansion while $1.4 million worth of renovation work was underway. Then, like now, the council footed the bill.

Janet Huckabee took the move in stride, declaring herself "queen of the triple-wide."

"Living in the Governor's Mansion is difficult in a way because of lack of privacy [with] people coming and going all the time," she told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2002. "By living in the manufactured home, we eliminated a lot of that. We had private washers and dryers and a kitchen. You just really lack privacy sharing with the state."

Freedom of information

Davis said Monday that he did not believe that the 2015 minutes existed. It turned out that the first lady's staff -- and not the commission -- had kept those minutes, resulting in the confusion, he said.

He also said the governor has been aware that the Governor's Mansion Commission was not in compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act and needed to be reined in.

Rules and regulations are not filed with the secretary of state, according to a Freedom of Information request. However, the minutes indicate that Mayton, the commission chairman, had sent draft rules for commissioners to review earlier this month.

The minutes indicate that at least one violation of the open-meetings law did occur. According to the minutes, the commission took a vote via email, in one instance.

At the Sept. 25 meeting, Mahfouz told commissioners that they could not vote or otherwise "do official business" via email and that the media needed to be notified of meetings.

"Ms. Mahfouz had suggested that the Commission begin with 'baby steps' toward writing the rules and regulations," according to the minutes.

Yee took issue with the assertion that the commission had no rules.

"We take minutes, and we set policies," he said. "And we had called for people to inspect the property."

As to his role under the new law, he says he's not sure.

"What is the purpose of the board? I don't know what we'll be there for," he said. "I don't know the role of the commission."

Regardless, the mansion won't improve if there are two sides "at each other's throats," Yee said.

Information for this article was contributed by Michael R. Wickline of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

A Section on 05/27/2016

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