City Advertising and Promotion Commission Financial Director Ty Reed gave an update during their regular meeting Jan. 29, saying that the balance sheet as of December 2024 showed $1,974,513 in the checking accounts, with assets at $2,024,318.56. Total income for December was $168,000 and for the year was $2,043,000.
Expenses paid in December were $219,000, and for the year $2,141,000. There was also added grant money from the state for $18,000. Net loss for December was $33,000 and the net loss for the year was an $880,000.
When compared with the same numbers for 2023, Reed said they were close, and that money is still coming in for 2024 so numbers will change. Reed also included a list of businesses and individuals who were past due for the month, as well as a separate list of businesses and people who haven’t paid for multiple months.
He said he has been contacting those he can and listed those he has been unable to reach. Reed said he had created a report regarding funding requests of the past to show what was pledged versus what was used by each event. Money not used for events’ advertising is returned to the pool and set aside for other funding requests. He also showed that $31,607 has been committed to several future events, and the total amount paid out for funding requests in 2024 was $100,388. In 2025 he hopes to improve the funding request tracking to show funding compared to what was budgeted.
Commissioner Kolin Paulk, who serves as advertising liaison, said Madden Media is working on a “complete rebuild” of the website and adding groups so they can access information easier. There will also be a blog posts page. The video shot for advertisements has new voiceovers new Valentine’s Day billboards have been put up on the I-49 corridor.
Tourism Director Mike Maloney reported that Edward Robison’s video of the Bash with a Splash was well received by Madden.
Madden’s tracking placed the total number of people attending at almost 60,000. The New Year’s Eve event was a big success for Eureka Springs with people mainly coming from other parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.
Maloney added proudly that Eureka Springs has been nominated for the “distinguished” Henry Award for Tourism Organization of the Year which will be awarded at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Bentonville on Feb. 23-25.
Maloney said that the visiteurekasprings.com website saw a 38 percent increase in visitors.
The final point Maloney made in his report was about the Auditorium, Marty Stewart and Ricky Skaggs are two of the acts booked for the first part of 2025. The Aud will also be the site of the first Eureka Springs Music Awards on April 13. The Aud also passed all safety inspections and there is continuing work being done on the Unit 2 HVAC system.
Reed said that the budget had not been changed since the budget workshop. The CAPC will be pulling $293,955 from reserves to cover budgetary needs for the year.
Chair Steve Holifield asked if commissioners were comfortable with this, and whether they needed to think up plans to protect reserves to use on a big project. Commissioner Bradley Tate-Greene said he hoped that by increasing the money to Madden it would pay off with more visitors in 2025.
All commissioners said it was a risk but were hopeful it would lead to a better year for the city. Hearing the support from other commissioners alleviated Holifield’s concern, and the commission voted to approve the 2025 budget.
Commissioner Heather Wilson addressed two key issues with funding requests, pointing out that several funding requests were contrary to Section Eight of funding guidelines, like photography and videography. Wilson said she wanted to ensure that people read funding guidelines before making requests. She spent several minutes making a plea to shelve the vote for funding advertising for the Jesus Parade as it was being held by a religious entity and the Arkansas Constitution outlines that tax money should not be used to fund religious events. Holifield and Maloney said they would consult with legal counsel and that voted was tabled.
Funding requests
- The Ozark Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit promoting outdoor recreation is currently planning the Enduro Series mountain bike race and is hoping to bring back the Phat Tire Festival. Wilson and commissioner Robert Schmid pointed out that part of what they were asking for was excluded by Section Eight of funding guidelines. Brandon Pack, Ozark Foundation representative, said he would modify the request so that money would be applied to acceptable advertising, and he would make sure the CAPC logo was used in the promotional material. Commissioners approved the full $5000. • Charles Mowery of Escape Room 13 requested $1500 for advertising the Black Light Ball to be held during Mardi Gras. That request was granted.
- Good Shepherd Humane Society was scheduled to make a request for their dinner theater play to raise money for the shelter, however that representative wasn’t present and there were commissioner questions on whether the event would bring in tourists. The request was tabled until the next meeting.
- Nick Castro who runs Gravity Feed shuttle asked for funds for a race to raise funds for shuttle maintenance for Parks, however, part of his request involved a videographer, which is against Section Eight. He said he would modify the request and present it at the next meeting.
- Out in Eureka asked for funds to advertise the Spring and Fall Diversity Weekends, and approval was given for the $5000 requested.
Commissioners briefly talked about a proposed Planning Commission Liaison, a new position for one of the commissioners, Schmid and commissioner David Avanzino had volunteered for the role, but Avanzino said he hadn’t had an opportunity to discuss it with the Planning Commission, so they decided to table it until the next meeting.
Holifield brought up the 2025 election of CAPC officers for the positions of Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary. He said that he wanted to have a two-year term limits and asked if anyone wanted to volunteer for any positions.
Wilson said she thought that after the hectic year that the CAPC had had, they were starting to work cohesively, and everyone should stay in their positions. Tate-Greene said he didn’t want to be secretary anymore, so Wilson volunteered to take over that position. Holifield was voted to stay as chair and commissioner Shira Foust was voted to retain the vice chair position.