City Advertising and Promotion Commission’s Wednesday, Oct. 28 meeting was dominated by reports with little in the way of new business to cover.
Tourism Director Mike Maloney took time during his report to go over the New Year’s Eve Bash with a Splash activities. He told commissioners the state had allocated $19,000 to the CAPC to help promote the event. Those funds will be used for marketing as well as for a live feed of the event.
Commissioner David Avanzino, who sits as one of city council’s representatives on the commission, then questioned whether the extended Entertainment District (ED) would be a strain on Emergency Medical Services.
The ED, which still requires approval by city council, would stretch past the intersection of Spring and Main Sts. to the bottom of Benton St. Maloney explained that he and Police Chief Billy Floyd had met and were scheduled to meet again.
Maloney said there was not as much concern about EMS or security, but more on communicating clearly to attendees where the ED starts and stops. He said Public Works has large signs that will be used to show the ED’s boundaries. He also said that after last year’s NYE event there was not a major abuse of trash being thrown away improperly and that the CAPC is advertising the event as family-friendly rather than an event to get drunk and party.
He also said there would not be food trucks along the ED, explaining that getting proper Department of Health licensure, among other things, would be an obstacle.
Maloney also said that the state legislature may consolidate the tourism regions of Arkansas. Currently Eureka Springs is part of the Northwest Arkansas Tourism Association which includes Benton, Carroll, Madison, and Washington Counties. Consolidation of other regions would make the tourism region larger. Tourism regions are allocated funding from the state and Maloney said the consolidation of regions might mean more money for the area, although he said that whether consolidation would happen was not clear yet.
Finance Director Ty Reed covered the financial report with September income at $195,000 with a budget of $192,000. Total collections year-to-date are at $1,309,329 compared to 2024’s collections of the same period at $1,327,189, and 2023’s collections of $1,272,219.
Other Items
- Reed also covered date from AirDNA which collates data on AirBNB and VRBO bookings in Eureka Springs and other destinations.
- Commissioners were given information on the agreement for the CAPC to handle the upkeep and operation of the Auditorium that was amended in 2021.
- Administrative Manager Danyelle Harris told commissioners that the CAPC along with Chamber of Commerce were looking to meet with teens at the public school to drum up interest in volunteering and learning about the hospitality industry. Part of student graduation in Eureka Springs requires community service hours.
Commissioners discussed how event organizers and the CAPC may better communicate with one another about event dates. It was brought up that in 2026, several events may need to move traditional dates due to the scheduling conflicts with other events and as the CAPC approves funding for various events, the CAPC may end up advertising against itself for tourism dollars if events overlap too