Commissioners of the Hope Tourism Commission converged in City Hall on Tuesday, June 9th, at 5:00pm. Mayor Don Still filled in for Sharon Caldwell who was ill, calling the meeting to order. Beginning the meeting, the board looked at and approved the minutes from the previous meeting.
Reporting on the revenue and expenses was Parks Director Summer Chambers. According to her report, the total tourism tax revenue from May was $65,921, while the expenditures from May tallied to $62,547. Chambers also reported $210 from coliseum rental, and $2,112 from RV rentals.
Next up was Executive Director of Hope Downtown Network Beckie Moore, who first showed a video presentation to highlight improvements made in the downtown area. Along with this, she also came to inquire for a renewed partnership with Hope Tourism for one more year of the program. The ultimate goal of the Hope Downtown Network is to achieve associate level with the Arkansas Main Street Program. Her second-year renewal for $10,000 was unanimously approved.
Summer Chambers gave a report on the Visitor Center/ Train Station. She reported that recently, rocks were thrown through three windows on the west end of the depot. Estimates show $1,500 in damages. Chambers also reported that one of the two Visitor Center employees had resigned. In response, the Tourism Commission decided to offer full-time status to Sonia Salomon at a yearly salary of $28,760 to keep the Visitor Center open six days a week. Finishing up the discussions on the depot, Chambers brought up the idea of offering Hope souvenirs for sale in the Visitor Center. She will bring a report on this idea to the next meeting.
Moving on, Chambers gave the commissioners an update on the upcoming Watermelon Festival. She said that plans for the festival are going well. For example, she reported that they already have 83 teams signed up for the softball tournament. In addition, she reported that the Tourism Commission had recently paid for a large interstate billboard near Arkadelphia advertising the festival and the concert starring country singer Gretchen Wilson.
Changing subjects, Chambers was asked to give an update on the proposed Veterans Memorial adjacent to the Clinton Birthplace Home. The Veterans Memorial will feature an eternal flame, along with flags of each of the branches of the military. At a previous meeting, the Tourism Commision committed $60,000 for this project. However, estimates have come in as double or even triple of this sum. As a result, sponsorships were suggested to help aid the project. June 16th will be the Veterans Committee’s next meeting. Gaining further insight, Chambers had this to say about the project, “This is a project that is very special to me. My brother served two tours in Afghanistan, so I really want to make this as nice as possible”.
Asking her about the new splash pad, she reported that attendance is very high for the new addition at Roscoe Smith Park. She noted that the new restroom facility is well under way and that the idea of a nice fence for the park is being discussed.
To end the meeting, Mayor Still announced to the commissioners that the tourism cost for the upcoming July 4th fireworks show has risen from $13,000 to $15,000.