The Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission held a workshop Jan. 8 in which they addressed four items of business, including commissioner Heather Wilson, suggesting a rubric, or guidelines for those applying for advertising funding from the CAPC. Wilson said it would be an efficient way for commissioners to screen funding requests.
Tourism Director Mike Maloney said that he already had a rubric. He said that if the CAPC wanted a new form or wanted to add to the old one to bear in mind that sometimes, although an event may seem small, you weigh the need for tourists’ dollars with what will build good feelings in the community.
Commissioner David Avanzino asked if they could add something about not funding groups that already have corporate funding or putting a limit on what they could ask for. Maloney said not many people who come to the CAPC have such funding.
Wilson said having a metric was a good idea. She wanted to add questions to learn from the event planner how loud an event would be and if the planner had informed the city, the police, fire department, and more. She wanted there to be a section to indicate impacts to the city.
Commissioner Robert Schmid said the applications couldn’t be too complex or people would struggle to apply. He said he wanted to make sure that they kept events diverse and focused on trying to fill the calendar for the year so there would always be something happening. Commissioner Kolin Paulk said he wanted a question asking the event how many times they had been funded by the CAPC and maybe to put a cap on the times an event could receive money.
The second item concerned reviewing the contract with Eureka Sound. Maloney said he had Paulk and Avanzino review the contract and they were planning to budget $60,000. Paulk asked if they needed to buy any equipment and install it in the Auditorium that would save Eureka Sound money. Ron Sumner, representing Eureka Sound, said he was developing a video system with the CAPC for showing movies. He also recommended installing an updated lighting system.
Sumner added that he thought sound systems can vary depending on the acts using the Aud and could cost up to $200,000 to create and maintain one in the Aud. Sumner said that right now he has his own sound equipment, but it might be good for the CAPC to make plans for the future.
Chair Steve Holifield asked Sumner to write up a “wish list” that commissioners could go over and see what was feasible with the budget. Maloney said some things had already been done to invest in and upgrade audio, video, and lighting equipment. Avanzino asked whether they could rent or lease equipment since it was expensive and is often changed or updated. Sumner said leasing or renting wasn’t a bad idea but reaffirmed that he thought updating the lighting would be a good investment. Commissioners decided to make modifications to the contract and vote on it at the next meeting.
Finance Director Ty Reed said that the 2025 budget foresees a three percent increase in collections. But looking closely at both revenue and expenses, the budget currently has a negative value of $295,000. He said that they had been through the budget multiple times and had reduced cost on line items as much as possible. even cutting $127,000 from the money promised Madden Media. That would require Maloney to have Madden rewrite the contract.
Reed asked if they wanted to go line-by-line through the budget and see if there were further cuts, but he also said that the CAPC could decide to draw from the reserves, cover the $295,000, and keep the budget in its present form.
Schmid pointed out that they had intended to use their reserves for the needs of the community, and that he still would like to revisit the idea of having an Events Coordinator. He said that this would only use into 20 percent of the reserves and commissioners agreed they would work to replace the money spent and build the reserve back up.
Paulk asked about the Visitor’s Guide put out by the Chamber, he said they get a sizeable amount from the CAPC, but they also charge businesses a great deal to be featured in the magazine. Schmid agreed and said he had brought this up a year before, he thinks they should take control of creating the Visitor’s Guide and then they could get it done on time and make sure it better reflects the town. Most commissioners seemed to be open to using the reserves and they decided to vote on it at the next meeting.
Maloney showed a new filmed commercial, and some commissioners liked the images but had reservations about the narration. Maloney said it was difficult to hear properly in the Aud meeting area.