Chair Carol Wright opened the floor to public comments at the City Advertising and Promotion Commission (CAPC) meeting on Feb. 13 with Public Comments, and Damon Henke of Ozark Mountain Vacation Rentals took the floor on behalf of “fellow entrepreneurs who support the CAPC.” Henke described himself as a stakeholder in “our amazing tourist town” and presented a document signed by some local business owners, including but not limited to the Crescent Hotel, Basin Park Hotel, Quality Inn, Cottage Inn, AllSeasons Luxury Properties, Sparky’s Roadhouse Café, Ermilio’s, Wanderoo, Heartstone Inn, Tradewinds Lodging, and Rogue’s Manor.
Henke said he and these businesses are requesting a facilitated review of the tourism infrastructure, a review of the subsequent roles of any and all supporting organizations, and an overall analysis of tourism to Eureka Springs as a complete destination.
The CAPC collects three percent of all lodging and dining transactions in the city.
Henke’s document also requested that the CAPC employ an interim Executive Director to implement and execute the 2019 operations and media plan. It also suggested that the review should define the framework of tourism promotion and development, clarify the role of the CAPC and other supporting organizations, and set budget expectations by category.
Last item mentioned was that interviews of supporting organizations should include Transit, Parks, the Historic Museum, Chamber of Commerce, Auditorium, Main Street Eureka Springs, and a community public workshop to evaluate the community pulse and identify unexplored opportunities.
The second public comment came from Thomas Rask of Eurekasprings.com, who said he also signed the previously described document, and is interested in replacing retiring E.D. Mike Maloney. He said he is concerned for the direction of the CAPC.