One of the main focuses this past year for Holiday Island, which was designated as a city in March 2021, was creating an Advertising and Promotion commission and bringing in short-term rental businesses. The A&P was also fixated on tracking those businesses to be sure taxes were paid.
Vern Anderson of Holiday Island Promoting Residential Ownership (HIPRO) the advertising side of the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District stressed the need to attract people to live in the area long term, one of the main purposes of his organization.
A worry that HISID member Ken Brown expressed early in the year was that establishing an A&P meant taxes on the citizens, who had been promised during the campaign to get Holiday Island designated as a city that there would be no new taxes. Although some members stressed that the taxes would be primarily paid by tourists, council member Linda Graves responded that people should know that as a city grows, taxes will come up, and that breaking promises is “just politics.”
Mayor Dan Kees and city council found that electric bills for the city building were out of control and vowed to work on energy expenditures and make the city building more efficient.
Rusty Rusterholz was made code enforcement officer, and the city purchased a truck for him to perform his work. The city also was working to get Internet infrastructure improved through President Biden’s Rural Internet Plan, a study done on Arkansas estimated it would cost $18.6 million to create reliable Internet for people living in the state.
The city passed an Animal Control Ordinance with provisions to have animals sent to Good Shepherd Shelter and had a maximum fine of $5000 for any animal attacks. They additionally discussed the closing of Peachtree Assisted Living Facility, which led to some ideas about creating a tiny home community.
The citizens of Holiday Island voted to establish an Advertising and Promotion Commission in November and an A&P tax. Current chair is Bryce Holland, vice chair is Sharon Lawlor, secretary and treasurer is Peggy Lodewyks. Other commissioners are Pat Elwood, Ken Brown, and Michael Plumley, with one vacant seat to be filled.
The group is primarily working on collecting taxes and opening bank accounts. There were given advice on how to start and design a website, as well as how to draw people to the area, presented by Vern Anderson and Donna Putnam of HIPRO. The HICAPC held several meetings to educate the public about the tax and the purpose of having advertising and promotion for the city. Although they discussed a few ways to advertise, their only current plans for doing so are mainly buying a billboard and crafting an ad for it.
The fire department is having new radio equipment installed and updated, with old equipment being repurposed for other functions. The fire department had a busy year with cleaning up and responding to emergencies after the Memorial Day storm.
The city and the HICAPC are working on a policy for record retention and also what ways it is appropriate for members to use social media.
Council member Ken Mills discussed the city buying an area of green space for $125,000 and possibly turning it into a park.
The city, in the latter half of the year, was struggling to get people to apply for short-term rental permits. The owners appear to be buying and turning properties into short term rentals that they run through sites such as Airbnb and VRBO, without informing or paying taxes to the city. Alderman Lynn Dumas hoped making the forms more accessible and easier to access on the website might fix the problem.
Holiday Island also faced several legal issues, one of the biggest being a lawsuit by nine Holiday Island residents alleging discrepancies in the assessment and imposition of an annual levy by HISID. Plaintiffs were hoping for “an injunction against future levies until lawful reassessment is conducted.”