At the July 12 workshop, City Advertising and Promotion commissioners discussed several topics that will be up for vote at the next meeting, including accepting Requests For Proposals (RFP) from marketing firms.
Tourism Director Scott Bardin said he looked over several other cities’ A&P bid documents, including Bentonville, Hot Springs, and Branson, to help him create one useable for Eureka Springs. He said the CAPC’s attorney is reviewing the bid request.
Commissioners questioned the process the CAPC needed to review and accept bids. The process includes posting of the RFPs on the CAPC website, as well as in newspapers of general circulation in the area. Bardin said he intended to publish the request locally and in larger publications that distribute across the state.
While the bid process only requires 30 days before closure, Bardin said he expected it would take 60 days before they would close the bid application timeline. Staff will gather a list of all bids and contact agencies if addendums are made, “though I don’t expect there to be any,” Bardin said. At the end of the process commissioners will review his suggestions and choose the agency to award the bid.
Commissioners asked what the requirements of the agencies would be, such as tasks they will be expected to perform. Bardin didn’t give specifics but said that the current $1.1 million the CAPC spends with Paradise Marketing could be cut down with the skillset of staff he has.
Chair Chris Clifton went back and forth on how much the CAPC could slash from the current spend with a marketing firm. Bardin clarified that with his staff he could place media buys without the premium of another agency doing so, leaving the marketing budget the same. He told commissioners the RFP will be available for them to view and pass at the next meeting.
Talking audits
With the 2021 Legislative Audit reviewed at city council, Bardin said he had spoken with the audit team in early May but could not discuss the findings until after they were published.
One of the findings included that the commission did not put purchase of the wheelchair elevator out for bid, although its cost exceeded the limit required by law. Bardin said that the issue was inherited from the previous Tourism Director, and explained that the only reason the cost of the elevator had exceeded that amount was due to increased shipping costs due to the pandemic, and a required inspection by the state upon delivery. Bardin also explained that during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the elevator was purchased, there were no other companies willing to sell the elevator even after previous commissioners sought them out.
Secondly, Legislative Audit requested another item that should have been put up to bid was professional services performed by Paradise Marketing in 2021. Bardin said that this was the first time Legislative Audit had required that supplemental professional services from the CAPC’s “advertising firm of record” be bid out. Since supplemental professional services are part of the CAPC’s contract with Paradise, Bardin said that the CAPC should be allowed to perform contracted actions without being dinged by the audit team.
He said he responded to the Legislative Audit and that commissioners would vote on approving the response at the next meeting.
Other Items
- Commissioners discussed the possibility of moving to a single meeting and workshop each month. Commissioner Steve Holifield said he felt the difficulty of filling vacant commission seats was due to the time commitment of two meetings per month. He pointed out he was retired but other commissioners held businesses that needed attention. He also voiced hope the saving of workshops for more important business would draw more people to come and give input.