The City Advertising and Promotion Commission voted at its August 9 meeting to deny funding requests from Main Street Eureka Springs (MSES) for the 21 and Fun entertainment sheet and the Chamber of Commerce for the Jackrabbit reservation booking system. Halloween City was approved for $4000
Executive Mike Maloney stated Main Street was requesting $8900 annually to pay someone to gather current information about entertainment at local venues, print copies of the 21 and Fun, and distribute them to those venues and elsewhere.
Commissioner David Mitchell observed he saw 21 and Fun as a business that collects information as a service, but the venues that make money from the disseminated information don’t support it. He said it looked to him like a business that is going under. His concern was venues that profit are not participating, yet Main Street is asking the CAPC for money for a failing business.
MSES Director Jacqueline Wolven said their mission as hospitality professionals was getting information to customers, and that while she didn’t care what the particular vessel of information was, she saw it as the role of the CAPC to provide it. She pointed out all those venues pay the CAPC tax, and if they do well, the CAPC does well. “It’s a win-win-win,” she said.
Chair Susan Harman summarized their options as funding the request for $8900 annually, making sure Chip Ford could strategize a scheme for getting the entertainment information on his app, or the CAPC could take responsibility for gathering the information and passing it along to Ford.
She then said it comes down to the amount of money and what made the most sense. Some businesses inevitably sometimes die, she pointed out, so the point at hand was getting the entertainment information to visitors in a reasonable way. Maloney had already said the information was in the paper, but Wolven had commented visitors want a piece of paper in their hands. Harman’s question was whether commissioners wanted to spend money this way for those pieces of paper.
Commissioner Bobbie Foster agreed a business could get just one copy and make its own. Wolven returned that some businesses do not have copy machines, but Foster insisted a business would find a way to make copies if it wanted them.
“This is a bigger conversation,” Wolven acknowledged. “I respect it’s complicated,” but she reminded commissioners 21 and Fun started because the CAPC does not allow venues to put entertainment information on its calendar.
Commissioner Terry McClung commented he was not comfortable taking on the burden for the businesses. He was not opposed to some kind of help, but did not want to carry the load. He said the way this request is presented, the CAPC is doing all their advertising.
Wolven called it “visitor services.” McClung answered, “Call it what you want, it’s still the same thing – getting people inside the room.”
Mitchell moved they deny the request. After a brief hesitation for some commissioners, the vote was 4-1 to deny the request, commissioner Carol Wright voting No.