Advertising commission discusses spending strategies

Discover Bella Vista, the city’s advertising and promotion commission, discussed spending strategies and agreed to provide some funding for an Independence Day concert alongside the city’s fireworks show during its meeting last Thursday, April 5.

After six months, the commission has a revised estimate for its annual income just over $159,000 based on the current income from September 2017 to February of this year, totaling $79,575. This estimate is lower than a previous estimate of roughly $187,000 based on September, October and November, which were relatively busy months.

Commission member and POA chief operating officer Tom Judson said he suspects this number is artificially low because the winter months have been particularly slow.

Travis Stephens, the city’s economic development manager, said that business on the whole has declined throughout the winter.

“Nobody wants to come to Bella Vista when it’s cold and rainy,” he said.

Currently, he said, the only uncollected revenue is that from The Main Bite, which is refusing to pay. The commission’s lawyer is working on that, he said, as well as Airbnb, which does not currently collect the advertising and promotion tax.

Jim Fram with Community Growth Strategies, LLC, a firm the commission has hired to help develop strategies, showed up to talk with the commission.

He’s currently developing a strategic plan for the commission, he explained, and that will include guidelines and criteria for issuing funds.

“We completed a fairly extensive information sheet on the community and it gives us something to work with,” he said.

From here, he said, he intends to start working with focus groups and conducting interviews to pick up additional data to work with. He expects to have something, he said, by the end of May.

During the meeting, he also pointed out that, when funding an event or project, the commission has the option to give as little or as much as it believes is appropriate, and also to direct how those funds are spent. The commission, he said, isn’t here to fund event expenses so much as it is there to fund the promotion of the event, though it can choose to spend money any way that might bring in tourism.

Moreover, he said, the commission may request a followup report after the event.

Stephens said the commission, which does not currently have a formal structure for reviewing requests, already has requests for funding, including a request from the fire department to fund the annual fireworks show, a request to help fund a bridge tournament and a request to help fund a concert at the fireworks show.

Judson said that he’d like to help fund things if possible, but the commission should be careful with its money. Commissioners should also recognize that some of the spending decisions may not turn out especially well, he said, because until a few years’ history is available the commission will be primarily operating on guesswork.

“I think we should, that’s why we’re collecting the money,” he said.

Commissioner and city council member Brian Bahr said it’s important to be sure that the spending will actually benefit the community and bring in business.

“The key is identifying the return on the investment,” he said.

Fireworks, Stephens said were already funded by the city and in the budget and discussion of that can wait until the budget cycle for next year.

The upcoming bridge tournament requested approximately $6,400 to cover an extra day, presentations, dinner at Lakepoint and other items. The commission voted unanimously — aside from Judson, who abstained because the event is on POA property — to front $1,430 to help with advertising.

The Bella Vista Arts Council requested $3,400 to cover the stage, sound and lighting equipment for a concert alongside this year’s fireworks show.

Arts council chairman David Barfield said that the music would start around 4:00 p.m. and fireworks will be set off around 9:00 to 9:30 p.m.

There will be room for four or five food trucks, he said, and the council will have volunteers out to collect canned foods. Last year, he said, the show drew an estimated 2,000 to 5,000 people.

The commission voted unanimously to fund this concert with the condition that the arts council comes to the commission meeting after the event to give a presentation on how it went and what vendors were present.