Alderman David Mitchell told city council at its Monday meeting he had never had so much citizen input in two terms as alderman as lately, regarding the proposed one percent tax to fund repairing the city’s infrastructure and providing maintenance and operation of the Auditorium. Oversight of the Auditorium finances would be handed to a new Auditorium Commission.
Mitchell said he has been pleased to be part of a council that has “taken the bull by horns” to get the city’s finances on the path toward stability, and strongly advocated passage of the tax. However, he called the Auditorium “the 900-pound gorilla running around the city,” and voters are not sure what to do about it.
He said those who have spoken with him understand the need for a tax to repair and improve the city’s water and sewer systems. They also agree the Auditorium is important to the city and ought to be repaired and used for shows and events. They are ambivalent, however, about dedicating 25 percent of the proposed tax revenue toward maintenance and operation of the Auditorium because citizens who have been around awhile maintain that strategy has already been tried more than once, and they are not convinced it would work this time.
Many constituents Mitchell has heard from insist the City Advertising and Promotion Commission (CAPC) use more of its tourism tax to maintain the historic downtown facility. Mitchell read through highlights of the history of the Auditorium and how it has been supported, how the CAPC was created, and the convoluted intermingling of their histories. He pointed out there have been Auditorium Commissions in the past. If those did not succeed, what will make another one work any better?
He acknowledged the facility needs a steady revenue stream that the tax would provide, but insisted it should always have had one, and that would be through CAPC funds. His primary concern was that voter ambivalence toward using part of the tax revenue to fund the Auditorium would cause the one percent tax to fail.
He challenged CAPC commissioners to clarify at its next meeting their responsibility toward the Auditorium during the 10 years of the tax, put it in writing, and deliver it council by the Sept. 26 meeting.
Alderman James DeVito, who along with alderman Terry McClung is a council representative on the CAPC, said he had no problem with Mitchell’s suggestion of a 10-year plan. However, he also pointed out there have been two different CAPCs. He said prior to 2007, the CAPC had been handed different priorities by different mayors with varying agendas. He mentioned that city council has had a history checkered by a lack of continuity. He called it “the Eureka Springs zigzag… we go left, we go right, but we need to go forward.” And he claimed since 2007, direction for the CAPC has been more consistent.
Mitchell still insisted some voters haunted by history find reasons to look askance at another tax to support the Auditorium. He contended citizens want to feel confident the CAPC means business regarding making the Auditorium successful, and they want a guarantee City Hall will not waste tax money. In other words, the CAPC needs to be part of the marketing plan to sell the tax to the electorate.
McClung replied the CAPC will still be a part of the formula, but the Auditorium Commission will manage and maintain the building and figure out operations going forward. CAPC staff is busy marketing the city, and running the Auditorium requires not only a revenue stream, but someone watching after things, and that would be the new commission.
Mayor Butch Berry said he has wondered if he made a mistake including the Auditorium in the tax because he has also heard from citizens that the CAPC should have a bigger part in paying for maintenance of the facility. On the other hand, he claimed CAPC staff are doing a great job bringing people to town. He noted tax revenues are up and streets are abuzz with visitors. He would not want to take away from their successes by diverting advertising money and giving them more work to do.
“However, we have a large building over there, and it takes a lot of care,” Berry commented, saying studies continue to maintain a commission is the way to keep it going. He also challenged the CAPC to come up with a long-range plan for what it would do to keep the auditorium running and successful.
Berry contended volunteers cannot run the facility without a revenue stream, and whether including the Auditorium in the tax is good or not, the facility needs repairs and the city needs a way to pay for them. He encouraged CAPC commissioners to show the town how they will work with council to find the best solutions and make the Auditorium successful.
DeVito acknowledged comments from citizens that the Auditorium needs more shows and events, but warned promoting shows is a tricky business, and “the CAPC could lose a ton of money.” He contended to maintain the historic facility and bring in big shows takes a steady flow of money, “and the tax could turn things around.”