Thank you. Grateful. Proud.

Those are just a few of the many words used by members of the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission, along with other city leaders, regarding last week’s vote to maintain the CAPC and the 3 percent tourism tax.

“I’m incredibly proud of our community for coming together to protect Eureka Springs and reject Local Issue #3,” David Avanzino, a CAPC commissioner and city council member, wrote in an email. “This vote shows that people from all walks of life — locals, business owners, and neighbors with different political perspectives — were able to unite around a shared goal: preserving the CAPC and the vital services it supports. When it comes to protecting the well-being of our town, it transcends political lines.”

Eureka Springs voters soundly rejected the proposed ordinance that would have abolished the CAPC and repealed the 3 percent tax on lodging and prepared food that supports it.

In unofficial results, 839 votes (71.2 percent) were cast against Local Issue 3, with 339 votes (28.8 percent) for the proposal.

The initiative was placed on the ballot after a petition was circulated by local resident Pat Matsukis obtained the 148 necessary signatures from local voters.The proposal drew widespread criticism from city officials and local business owners, who said its impact on tourism could be devastating for the local economy and could result in business closures, cuts to city services such as police, fire and transit and increased unemployment as the city’s tourism industry faltered.

Proponents of abolishing the tourism tax — which, by law, can only be used for specific purposes and cannot be used for the city’s infrastructure needs — could be replaced with another tax that could tackle issues such as sidewalks, sewer and water system needs, along with funding advertising and The Auditorium.

Matsukis did not respond to a request for a comment about the results of the election by early deadlines for this week’s Times-Echo. She was quoted during the time of the circulation of the petition as wanting to use the platform to “at least start the discussion” regarding replacing the tourism tax with one that was more flexible.

Eureka Springs Mayor Butch Berry reminded residents at a recent city council meeting that he tried to get a sales tax initiative passed in 2016 that would have helped infrastructure issues such as water and sewer, and it was defeated. He echoed those statements when asked to provide comment about the vote to maintain the tourism tax and CAPC.

“Thanks for giving me the opportunity to thank the citizens of Eureka Springs for understanding this confusing issue and voting against it and maintaining the CAPC and its tax,” Berry said. “I really appreciate the citizens in understanding that the CAPC tax on food and lodging is to be used to bring visitors to Eureka Springs, which in turn gives the city more sales tax money for the city to operate. Some citizens forgot that I tried in 2016 to pass a sales tax that would go to funding [The Auditorium] and water and sewer. It failed at the ballot box.

“I have always had a priority in addressing the infrastructure, the question is, how do you fund it? But that is a separate issue.”

Berry said the city saw during COVID-19 that tourism is “90 percent of our business revenue,” and he feels the Nov. 5 vote and the months of discussion surrounding the petition, and the proposed initiative, has brought people together.

“I do feel that this voter initiative has brought about a cohesiveness to our community and awareness of how the CAPC operates,” he said. “I am so thankful that the CAPC will remain and continue to promote our town and businesses, and I want to thank all the citizens who worked for and voted to keep the CAPC.”

Mike Maloney, the CAPC’s executive director, expressed his gratitude for the voters’ decision in an email message — with the subject line “SUCCESS!” — shortly after the results were announced Nov. 5. If the vote had succeeded, Maloney’s position, along with the jobs of marketing and communications manager Katelyn Jerrell, administrative manager Danyelle Harris, group sales manager Janalee Olhausen-Kaylor and finance director Ty Reed would have all likely been in jeopardy.

“There is no doubt that tonight made history,” Maloney said in the email to commissioners and staff members. “Each person either directly or indirectly contributed to tonight’s success. Our staff is the most outstanding in Eureka Springs. Your work and efforts as a Commission on the whole have made the efforts 110% worthwhile.

“It’s an awesome tribute to the entire organization.

“Most importantly It brought this business community to a new level of support.

“We have been blessed by the outcome. Now it is our responsibility to ensure the continued success.

“I am humbled and proud of the faith you have in the CAPC.”

COMMISSIONERS ON COMMON GROUND Of the seven CAPC commissioners contacted for comments regarding the election results, five responded by early deadlines for this week’s Times-Echo.

“I’m very glad that the majority of our residents voted to keep the Commission and I look forward to continuing our mission to improve tourism in Eureka Springs,” Steve Holifield, CAPC chair and a member of the city council, said via email.

Comments from other commissioners were similar: thanking voters, reminders that the current commission is composed of an entirely different group than controversial commissions of the past, and saying the future is bright with recent success presented by representatives of Madden Media, the CAPC’s marketing and advertising agency, along with in-house promotion efforts by CAPC staff.

“First and foremost, thank you to the Eureka Springs voters to keep this essential tax preserved and protected,” commissioner Robert Schmid said via email. “Over 71% of all voters understood the need of a tourism tax to finance and create workplaces in a small town of around 2,100 residents and keep it going as the great small tourist town it is.”

Schmid said he felt the mistakes of commissions in the past are what led to the issue even being in voters’ hands.

“This petition should have never been on the ballot in the first place,” Schmid wrote. “There were 148 frustrated voters willing to abolish and destroy our town over differences of how previous commissioners in the CAPC were handling the tourism tax. If someone doesn’t agree to whatever it is, you need to come to the meetings and make your voices heard. Members of the CAPC commission can be replaced as the June meeting showed, if you don’t like them, but that doesn’t qualify to abolish this lifeline for our town.

“I hope some of the 339 voters in favor of the petition will come to our meetings and help us, make the use of our hard earned tax money properly used. We are open to suggestion and we will keep our ears open to critics, but also to compliments. Our team around director Maloney does a great job each and every day and I hope people will recognize their good work. We have to work together and keep this beautiful town alive and well for both, tourism and citizens. Eureka Springs was founded as a tourist town and always will be a tourist town.”

Commissioner Bradley Tate-Greene said voters made a good decision and the future looks bright.

“I believe the best decision was made by the voters because our advertising agency, Madden Media, has connected with our city and learned so much that next year will be great evidence of the investment made,” Tate Greene said via email. “… There already is a huge return on what we have invested thus far. Paying $1 million to Madden for advertising, our city already has brought a $1.45 million return. This will continue to influence going into the slow season and start of 2025, thus producing a hopeful revenue [increasing] holiday season and a huge kickoff to the 2025 season continuing until the end of next year.

“With the Commission we currently have, many great things are being done with the tourist in mind and bringing them here. An expansion of what we have built so far has been in the works to build on the focus and goals. [Next year] is filled with many actions from community feedback. We are looking forward to serving and making 2025 the best year of tourism we have seen in a long time.”

Thanking the CAPC staff and encouraging more participation from members of the community was stressed in a response from commissioner Heather Wilson, who recently led a proposal and ensuing successful vote for one-time, endof- year bonuses for the paid employees.

“I want to sincerely thank the voters for supporting the CAPC,” Wilson said via email. “Also, I would like to acknowledge the individuals who worked diligently to raise awareness in the community regarding our mission and the significance of the CAPC to our town. I commend the CAPC staff for their unwavering professionalism and grace during a challenging time.

“We are better together, and I encourage everyone to show up to be part of the conversation as we move forward to build better.”

Avanzino was very passionate during recent CAPC and council meetings about his stance on the tourism tax and its importance to many aspects of the future of the city. He echoed those words when reacting to the election results.

“This was a grassroots effort in every sense,” Avanzino said by email. “A small group of dedicated individuals worked tirelessly to inform and engage the community, distributing flyers, creating signage, and holding conversations to ensure everyone understood the real impact of this issue. Many of us were motivated not just to defend the CAPC, but to prevent the severe consequences that would have come from defunding essential services like our police, fire, EMS, public works, and schools.

“To the 339 residents who voted for the dissolution, I look forward to the opportunity to show you what we can achieve together. This is not the CAPC of the past, and we’re committed to building a future that serves every resident and strengthens our town.

“The overwhelming vote against Issue #3 is a testament to the strength of our community and the power of collaboration. Moving forward, I hope we can focus on building solutions that support every corner of Eureka Springs. You have my commitment to work toward that goal as we address infrastructure needs and look to the future. Thank you to everyone who stood up for Eureka Springs.”