By Rick Harvey
RHarvey@CarrollCoNews.com
Eureka Springs residents and stakeholders will have an opportunity to voice their opinion regarding the time that City Advertising and Promotion Commission regular meetings and workshops are held, and whether those meetings are live-streamed or just recorded either by video or audio only.
At a CAPC workshop held Wednesday, March 8, at The Auditorium, commissioners David Avanzino and Steve Holifield — who are also city council members — said they were contacted by numerous citizens voicing their thoughts on a recent decision to move all meeting times to 3 p.m.
“I do think we owe it to our residents to have video and audio,” Avanzino told commissioners. “That’s going to create a big problem if we don’t. And we also … [need] to revisit the time because I’ve gotten a lot of emails and phone calls regarding the time ….”
Holifield agreed.
“Like David said, I got several responses from people saying, ‘oh, I don’t like the idea of you not recording the meetings, videotaping them …,” Holifield said. “And I was surprised people had such a concern about the time of the meeting. So …. it needs to be on the agenda for the next meeting.”
Later, Holifield said he think it’s important for people to be able to watch the meetings from their home.
“…I do care that they’re video recorded,” he said. “People watch at home.”
The next regular CAPC meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 22.
The March 8 workshop was not live-streamed on the city’s YouTube page as has been the case for many years. The video from the meeting was uploaded to the site late in the day on Thursday, March 9.
During that workshop there also was discussion about moving all CAPC meetings to the recently renovated basement at The Aud.
At its Feb. 27 meeting, the Eureka Springs City Council approved moving all city commission meetings to the basement beginning April 1. The council approved the decision after learning that the basement would be ready and equipped with devices to be able to livestream and record all meetings.
CAPC chair Chris Clifton and former chair Jeff Carter said at the March 9 workshop that whether CAPC moves meetings or not is up to the commission — not the city council.
“That would be our own decision,” Carter said. “All city council would make would be the city council’s decision, but we would make a decision on where we meet.”
Clifton added: “I have a lot of respect for my city council brothers, but they don’t set the rules for the CAPC.”
On the topic of the times of the meetings, Avanzino reminded commissioners that “regular CAPC meetings are more attended than council meetings at times.”
Avanzino said starting meetings too early might prevent those residents or stakeholders from being able to attend. He suggested moving to a 4:30 p.m. start time for all meetings and workshops.
“I’m willing to negotiate,” Avanzino said. “6 p.m. is kind of late — we all have families — but I do think 3 p.m. is too early.
“I was thinking meet in the middle, like 4:30.”
Carter said he thinks meeting earlier would also be a benefit for CAPC staff.
“They are working set hours,” he said. “And if we’re asking them to stay until 7 p.m. at night, that has been an issue in the past for some of the staff, especially the staff that had to drive an hour to get home.”
Holifield again stressed the importance of getting public feedback on the topic.
“I personally don’t care …,” Holifield said. “But I’d like to listen here. The public has a good, valid reason why we should have a meeting at a certain time or another. We should hear it out loud.”

PARADISE UPDATE

Commissioners also got a 2022 recap from Paradise Advertising, which had representatives give a presentation via video.
“So, when you look at marketing goals, we kind of like to look at two ways,” Paradise’s Michael Kosowicz told commissioners. “One is awareness, right? What is the marketing that’s going to just raise awareness of Eureka Springs as a vibrant travel destination, right? Raise awareness for lodging options, activities, restaurants, attractions. And the more that you guys have going on that we can learn about, the more content we have for paid media, for social media, for the website to get it out there.
“Talking about Eureka Springs as really being a hub to so many things around the area. And it’s got a value component too, because you’re not as expensive as some of your neighbors. And if you’re wanting to have a whole experience, why not think of Eureka Springs as a place to … explore for a longer period of time. It’s cheaper and you have more opportunities to do that.”
Kosowicz said one focus his agency relies on is getting repeat visitors to the area.
“It’s really about identifying the target markets and the audiences,” he said. “Try to find people that have a strong history of previous visitation. Your best consumer is one you’ve already sold before. We can do that by following them from the destination.”
The new EurekaSprings.org website was scheduled to go live this week, Paradise reported.

SPECIAL MEETING
The CAPC called a special meeting Monday, March 13. The lone agenda item was listed as “staffing.” The meeting was not live-streamed on the city’s YouTube page but a video was later uploaded.
“We are here today to discuss staffing issues,” chair Chris Clifton said at the meeting’s onset. “I think it would be appropriate to go into executive session.”
Commissioner Jeff Carter then made a motion to go into executive session for “staffing,” which was seconded by commissioner Steve Holifield and approved 4-0.
The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act outlines specific guidelines for public bodies meeting in executive session.
“(E)xecutive sessions will be permitted only for the purpose of considering employment, appointment, promotion, demotion, disciplining, or resignation of any public officer or employee,” the act says, with the only exception being for matters related to the security of a public water system or utility system. “The specific purpose of the executive session shall be announced in public before going into executive session.”
A little more than 50 minutes later, commissioners returned and properly voted to exit executive session.
There was no mention of what “staffing” issue was discussed in executive session.

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

Scott Loftis, editor and publisher of the Lovely County Citizen, said Thursday that he intends to file a criminal complaint with the Carroll County prosecuting attorney regarding the executive session at the March 13 meeting as well as the commission’s vote on Feb. 8 to hire finance director Scott Bardin as the commission’s interim director.
That vote came after the commission went into executive session, then returned to the table. Carter, who was then the commission’s chair, said “we’re still in our executive session.”
A motion, second and vote was made to made to hire Bardin as interim director. After the vote, Carter asked for a motion to end the executive session and return to an open public meeting.

“No resolution, ordinance, rule, contract, regulation, or motion considered or arrived at in executive session will be legal unless, following the executive session, the public body reconvenes in public session and presents and votes on the resolution, ordinance, rule, contract, regulation, or motion,” the FOIA says.

Loftis said the CAPC committed a “serious violation” of the FOIA at the March 13 meeting.

“They cannot just say they are going into executive session to discuss ‘staffing,’ ” Loftis said. “They can say they are going into executive session to discuss disciplining an employee, or firing an employee, but just to say ‘staffing’ is a violation of the law. And given this commission’s history and the fact that we’ve raised this issue multiple times, it’s a serious violation. The CAPC should follow the law. Instead, they choose to ignore it. Over and over and over.”

Loftis said that if Bardin’s hiring were challenged by a taxpayer, a court would likely rule the hiring void.

“It was a procedural error, but again it’s the kind of error that we’ve pointed out repeatedly,” Loftis said. “At this point, it’s not simply ignorance to the law. It’s apathy. They apparently just don’t care.”