The Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission survived a vote seeking to abolish it and a series of tumultuous events that saw two commissioners resign amid public outcry in 2024.
The events surrounding the CAPC have been chosen as the No. 1 local news story of 2024 by the Times-Echo staff.
“I’ve been on the board for just about a year and it’s been like a roller coaster,” commissioner Kolin Paulk said at the CAPC’s final meeting of the year on Dec. 19. “Luckily, we’re in one of the highs. Things did get a little crazy this year. I’m glad we all pulled through that. Most of us, some of us, are no longer here, and that’s for the best.”
Eureka Springs voters made their intentions clear in the Nov. 5 general election, soundly rejecting a proposed ordinance that would have abolished the CAPC and repealed the 3 percent tax on lodging and prepared food that supports it.
There were 839 votes (71.2 percent) cast against Local Issue 3, with 339 votes (28.8 percent) for the proposal.
The initiative was placed on the ballot after a petition circulated 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.
Mike Maloney, the CAPC’s executive director, expressed his gratitude for the voters’ decision in an email message shortly after the results were announced.
“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.”
REVAMPED COMMISSION
The vote came after a shakeup in the commission a little more than four months earlier where two commissioners and a staff member resigned after a whirlwind of drama- filled meetings.
During a special meeting held Friday, June 28, the commission reinstated Maloney, who had been suspended with pay on June 14 pending an “investigation.”
“While there are some challenges we have discovered, our staff is again fully engaged to do our jobs for Eureka Springs,” Maloney said in an email to the Times-Echo on Tuesday, July 2. “The support has been amazing and the assistance the City is providing is fantastic.
“I am very pleased to be back at the helm.”
The vote to reinstate Maloney came after an executive session and the same day that Scott Bardin, the CAPC’s finance director and former director, resigned via text message, according to Kim Stryker, assistant to Mayor Butch Berry.
“I can confirm that Scott Bardin resigned his position on CAPC staff by text message at 10:20 a.m. Friday June 28, 2024,” Stryker wrote in an email to the Times-Echo.
Bardin’s resignation came a day after then-CAPC chair Chris Clifton, who was asked repeatedly during public comments in a June 26 meeting to step down because of his stance on a “Free to Be” marketing campaign, resigned from the commission.
At the June 26 meeting, a vote of confidence in Clifton failed 4-1. The only commissioner to vote yes on that motion, Chris Jones, also resigned the next day.
The June 26 meeting was attended by an overflow, standing- room only crowd at The Auditorium, with 26 people speaking during public comments.
Commissioner Bradley Tate-Greene called for the vote of confidence 3 hours, 20 minutes into the meeting.
“I make a motion for a vote of confidence for chairman Christopher Clifton,” Tate-Greene said, later adding “it’s yes if you are confident or no if you’re not confident.”
Tate-Greene and commissioners David Avanzino, Steve Holifield and Kolin Paulk voted no.
The 4-1 decision against a vote of confidence at the June 26 meeting led to a roar of applause from those in attendance, with some giving a standing ovation and others whistling.
The ovation was one of many during the meeting, which also included a vote to continue with the slogan “Free to Be” in future city marketing and the reinstatement of an original version of a promotional video — the post-premiere editing of which had been another point of contention with the public and commissioners.
The confidence vote wrapped up a tense meeting that included public comments from more than two dozen speakers, many of whom urged Clifton to resign from the CAPC. Among those voicing their opinions were city council member Autumn Slane, parks and recreation commission members Ruth Hager and Rodd Gray, cemetery commission member David Danvers, former city council member Bill Ott and former mayor and city council member Beau Satori.
“It’s pretty unanimous back here that everybody’s coming up and asking for your resignation,” Gray said. “I think that you know what the right thing to do is tonight. I think you should volunteer to resign because everybody back here is watching you. We will continue to watch you. So, it’s not over.”
The comments came after a letter was sent days earlier to a group of stakeholders that indicated it was from the CAPC chair. That letter concerned the “Free to Be” advertising campaign for the city by Madden Media and the author accusing it to align with “current and past political and public policy activism messaging.”
Person after person expressed displeasure over the letter at the June 28 meeting and many said they felt it was aimed against the diversity of Eureka Springs. Speakers also referred to a recent promotional video film that was edited after its premiere, with many saying a short scene featuring a drag queen was removed.
Commissioners later voted unanimously to reinstate the video in its original entirety, drawing a raucous ovation from those in attendance.
“I feel it was very unfortunate that the CAPC was forced to go through the (controversy) due to the action of the Chairman,” Berry told the Times-Echo following Clifton’s resignation. “This could have easily been avoided.
“I was glad to see that ultimately the Chair resigned for the best of the community and the CAPC as a result of the public comments.”
Days before Maloney’s reinstatement and Clifton’s resignation, attendees at a pair of special meetings described a “tense” atmosphere inside the Auditorium, with Clifton and then-suspended Maloney arguing over Maloney’s right to attend and Clifton reportedly asking a police officer to remove Maloney from the building.
Shira Fouste, Heather Wilson and Robert Schmid were all added to the commission throughout the year with Wilson and Schmid taking over the seats previously held by Clifton and Jones.
‘THE RIGHT THING’
“The past several months, this commission has run the cleanest I’ve ever seen this commission run,” commissioner David Avanzino said Dec. 19. “It’s been a pleasure. It’s been fun. We’re not worried about somebody stabbing us in the back. So thanks to all the commissioners for your time and the staff for doing a phenomenal job. And like I said, it’s been the best that I’ve seen it since I’ve lived here. So thank you.”
Tate-Greene agreed, saying he felt “the right thing” won out.
“I’ve been on this commission for over a year and I concur with David that things have been very pleasant for the last few months, and we have worked very well together,” Tate-Greene said. “I believe the city is represented very well by the current commission. I do want to extend my appreciation to Steve and Kolin and David for fighting with me through this summer. And we made it. And we, the four of us, I know, made that pact that we were going to fight for what was right and we were going to do the right thing. And I truly believe we’ve done that.
“So, 2024 has been a good year for us overall I feel like because I believe at the end of the day, we stood tall and we had great integrity, character and continue to do that and represent this commission very well. … I look forward to bringing in the new year with the fellow commissioners with hopes that David and Steve return and help us continue what we’ve started.”
