The newest member of the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission has questioned whether monthly meetings and workshops need to be recorded in any way.
Commissioner Chris Clifton raised the topic during the CAPC’s Nov. 9 workshop at The Auditorium.
“I know when I was in Bentonville and Rogers, we didn’t record theA&P meetings,” Clifton asked during the workshop, which also included CAPC chair Jeff Carter, commissioner Mark Hicks and tourism director Madison Dawson. “… Is that a legal requirement?
“We did minutes … and then we invited the press.”
Clifton later said: “I’m just curious if that can be something we can discuss … whether we want to do or not.”
According to the state open meetings law, which was updated in 2019, the CAPC doesn’t have a choice.
According to Arkansas Code 26-19106(d), “All officially scheduled, special, and called open public meetings shall be recorded in a manner that allows for the capture of sound, including without limitation:
• A sound-only recording; a video recording with sound and picture; or a digital or analog broadcast capable of being recorded.
“A recording of an open public meeting shall be maintained by a public entity for a minimum of one (1) year from the date of the open public meeting.
“The recording shall be maintained in a format that may be reproduced upon a request under this chapter.”
According to the law, the only exceptions are for executive sessions and meetings of volunteer fire departments.
Meetings that are held on the stage at the The Aud are typically streamed live on the city’s YouTube page where recordings are maintained by the city. Some commission meetings, workshops or special meetings, such as meetings of the cemetery commission and some hospital commission workshops, are audio-recorded only.
“Few people have the time or energy to attend a city council or quorum court meeting, let alone a state agency meeting,” website ConduitForAction.org wrote in 2019 about the Arkansas law requiring meetings to be recorded. “This new law will allow you to hear and perhaps see what happened when an important issue was discussed.
“Recording will also help set the record straight when there is a controversy and rumors fly with the story getting bigger and wilder with each retelling.”
CAPC commissioners asked Dawson at the Nov. 9 workshop to check on what was required, and said the topic might be discussed at an upcoming workshop.
Other items discussed at the workshop included possibly changing the process for organizations and groups to request marketing support for their events in the city.
Currently, groups have requested the support each month, but there was talk about the efficiency of possibly having those requests discussed less frequently.
“So, I will tell you, logistically, it is hard on the office the way we did it this year just because it’s a constant … like constantly people will be requesting or again dragging their feet, getting it to us,” Dawson said to commissioners. “And then I have to, what I do is I set up a meeting with them to go over the guidelines before it even comes to you guys.
“Inevitably, they have changes they have to make on their request due to our guidelines. Then they come back. You know, it’s kind of a process and then we meet once a month. So, at the next available meeting we put it on the agenda. But all of those things have to happen before it gets put on the agenda. And then also we require them … it has to be approved by the commission three months before their event dates for proper advertising at least.”
Commissioners asked Dawson to get feedback from other cities on their process.
Another item brought up by Dawson that could be voted on in upcoming regular meetings is possibly teaming up with The Computer Hut for computer IT support. The Computer Hut handles city IT needs, Dawson said.
Commissioners also discussed the possibility of adding security cameras inside and outside The Aud.
“I will tell you, I was just talking to our ABC agent the other day and his recommendation was if we could put [cameras] inside and outside, it’s a really good idea, just for the alcohol,” Dawson said. “Because if something happens…” Carter agreed. “The truth is the truth,” Carter said. “You get the truth [with a recording].”
Commissioners also discussed advertising the CAPC office coordinator position, which will soon be vacant. The full-time position will pay $16 to $18 an hour, Dawson said.
