Holiday Island is Arkansas' newest city, said Mayor Daniel Kees.
On Tuesday, voters approved the incorporation of Holiday Island.
The unofficial results were:
For 789
Against 708
Holiday Island, on Table Rock Lake about 8 miles north of Eureka Springs, was formed in 1970 by McCulloch Recreational Properties as a "suburban-improvement district" under Arkansas law.
Also on Tuesday, Kees was elected to be the first mayor of Holiday Island. He defeated Russell "Rusty" Baxter by a vote of 849 to 491.
[RELATED: Full coverage of elections in Arkansas » arkansasonline.com/elections/]
"The voter turnout was a lot more than what I expected," said Kees. "It's almost 1,500 votes, which has to be like 99% of the eligible voters in Holiday Island."
Kees said he was exaggerating -- a little. He estimates there are 1,700 eligible voters in Holiday Island.
Kees said Holiday Island will incorporate as a town even though it has the population to be a city of the second class. He said the town council will establish wards, which are necessary for designation as a city.
Incorporation would allow Holiday Island to enforce its own codes and receive state "turn-back" money from gasoline taxes and other taxes to maintain streets and roads, said Kees, who before becoming mayor was the spokesman for Holiday Island Citizens for Incorporation.
"As a city, Holiday Island will qualify to receive those funds and establish zoning and building ordinances," said Kees, who was also a Holiday Island commissioner.
Kees said that a petition drive to get the incorporation on the 2020 general election ballot netted 557 signatures from voters. Only 498 signatures were needed.
Kees said the mayor and town council are unpaid positions, as was being a commissioner for Holiday Island before it became a town.
"We have a lot of work to do starting a city from scratch but we're ready to get going," he said.