With the advertising and promotion tax passing, the Holiday Island Advertising and Promotion Commission discussed plans for how to fulfill their purpose. Currently, the HIAPC has $8291.45 and has received $23.95 in interest. Their only expense thus far is paying a third of the cost on Ozark Mountains Fun Guide advertising with HISID paying the rest.
Commissioner Tyler Scoggins has left a seat open, but the commission has been having a hard time finding someone to fill it. Commissioners appealed to citizens who are restaurant, short term rental owners, or tourist focused business owners willing to volunteer.
Commissioners also briefly went over the BBQ rib contest and car show, where they approved $250 for advertising. There were 15 participants and around 350 people in attendance, and HIAPC intends to sponsor the event next year on a Saturday.
A citizen suggested there could have better signs for directing people to the area it will take place. Secretary/Treasurer Peggy Lodewyks mentioned that people had not used the printed programs, and the commenter suggested using QR codes at the next event. HIAPC paid $500 for participant prizes and rented out the entire event space.
Chair Bryce Holland told commissioners he has not finished preparing the budget for next year. Mayor Dan Kees said that they had to get it to the city council for approval by Feb. 1. Holland told the commission that he was going to be meeting with other A&P groups to get ideas and information on running an A&P commission.
Holland also said the website for the commission isn’t completed, he had done about 60 percent of the work, but he had so much to do he recommended taking bids to have someone complete the site. This was voted on and passed.
The focus turned to the tax form commissioner Michael Plumley created. He pointed out changes he had made to the template, although he admitted it would need to be amended and edited for typos. This caused several members to bring up issues with Booking.com that has taken a contract with AirBnB and VRBO and is “cross leaking” listings, causing people to have trouble getting tax collections from property owners. They then turned back to their own tax form and agreed to look it over and talked about making it available to fill out online.
Lodewyks brought up renting a billboard from the American Legion to advertise Holiday Island’s short-term rentals, she said it would cost $536 to rent for a year, and then the cost for the advertisement. Kees was asked if the budget could be adjusted to give HIAPC an additional $1500 to accomplish this rental, but the mayor pointed out that the budget is very tight right now and it might serve the commission better to hold off until after they collect taxes before they start advertising on a billboard.
Several commissioners argued that they wanted to show citizens that they were doing the work they had been created for, but the mayor insisted their first priority was to bring in revenue and be circumspect with their budget.
Holland wondered if a deal could be struck with the American Legion or if they would be willing to hold the sign until March or April.
Commissioner Ken Brown said he knew someone from the American Legion, and they were in need of the revenue generated by the sign, and most likely would not be able to wait. Commissioner Pat Elwood suggested that they pay half the cost to hold the billboard but not pay to get the art for the advertisement until after they’d brought in tax revenue.
A motion was made to authorize Lodewyks to negotiate with the American Legion. Commissioners also talked about an old wooden billboard in poor condition, and approaching the owner to tear it down and perhaps later the commission could fund building a new one in its place.
Commissioners mulled over the idea of bringing in paid assistance. Brown mentioned a need for administrative help and Holland talked about needing someone for the CPA part of the tax collection. He asked Kees if the person the city uses would be willing to help the HIAPC.
Kees said he couldn’t speak for him, but that if he could it would be better than bringing in outside help which could cost the HIAPC money could put towards advertising. Commissioners wrapped up the meeting by scheduling a special meeting for Nov. 18 and asked again for volunteers to work with the HIAPC.