An updated agreement was reached in 2021 between city officials and the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission outlining financial responsibilities for The Auditorium.

The problem, however, is that the agreement was verbal and nothing was ever put into writing.

That’s what CAPC chair Steve Holifield told commissioners during their monthly meeting held Thursday, Nov. 20, after a meeting he had with CAPC director Mike Maloney, Mayor Butch Berry and city finance director Michael Akins.

“Mike and I met with the mayor and the financial director, Michael Akins, on Tuesday and we discussed the current agreement and the past agreement,” Holifield said. “I have verbally confirmed from former CAPC commissioners that there was a verbal agreement agreed upon by them and the city back in January 2021. It was meant to be put in writing, but never was. But, these former commissioners say: ‘Yes, we did have an agreement that did include the director and the financial director.’ So, where do we go from here?”

Researching background on the latest agreement came about after it was discovered that the only written and signed agreement is from 2019 and states that the city would be responsible for the utilities and maintenance of The Aud.

In recent years, however, the CAPC has been paying all utilities and most of the maintenance costs, leading commissioners to ask frequently why the city isn’t paying more for a facility it owns.

Commissioners were told that a new agreement was put in place when CAPC offices moved to The Aud in late 2021, but the only agreement the city had on file was the one that went into effect in 2019.

Maloney said he and CAPC finance director Ty Reed will meet with city officials to develop a new agreement.

“We looked at the breakdown of the costs,” Maloney said. “Ty did a nice breakdown of what we spend on The Auditorium.

I think we really need to look at it from more of a lessor and a lessee because there’s a lot of stuff on that [2019 agreement that] is stuff that somebody who’s renting — like if you were renting a house — there’s things that you would pay for as a renter. So, there’s things on there that doesn’t really match what we think about as what a landlord should be paying for.”

Maloney said he hopes to have a new agreement to present to the commission in December.

“I would want to just say that my issue was not with the CAPC sharing expenses,” commissioner Heather Wilson said. “My issue was with the fact that nobody knew there was a magic agreement. Nobody actually knew it, knew where it was, and it turned out it was verbal and not in writing, and we were operating on something that didn’t exist. That’s the issue that I have with taxpayer money.

“I think it’s great that we work out an agreement and I would like to just point out one thing: When there are multiple renters, multiple people share the cost. There are multiple people who use this building. And if we are the ones, if they’re saying, ‘OK, we’re handing over the reins and you’re managing this building,’ then we need to know what parameters we have to say, ‘OK, this is what we do, this is what we don’t.’ ” Holifield said he wasn’t making excuses for past commissioners, “but part of this [verbal agreement] was done during COVID when all the COVID stuff was going on and wrapping up.

“But if anybody finds anything else or any other questions, concerns, please send them to Mike and myself and we’ll start this process,” Holifield said. “I’d like to get this done by our next meeting so we can present it to you because Dave [Avanzino] and I probably will not be on the commission after December for the new year. So, it goes back to city council to vote on … I’d like to get it finished before we go because it’s a new year and it is up to the city council to appoint two city council members.”

Commissioner Robert Schmid responded: “Yeah, we definitely need something in writing with a signature on it.”

“And the city wants that, too,” Holifield said.

CRACKING DOWN ON NON-PAYERS

The process of placing county liens on businesses that continue not to submit the monthly tourism tax they collect from visitors is now underway, Maloney told commissioners.

“We’ve done face to face and … based upon not receiving any more money this month, we’re going to go ahead and turn it in for collections basically through the county clerk,” he said.

Some commissioners feel liens should have already been placed on some businesses that have been on the delinquent list for some time, with Wilson saying these businesses are committing “tax fraud” by keeping the taxpayer money.

“We can take these to the county clerk and go ahead and file liens on those properties, indeed,” Maloney said, adding that some businesses have received visits from staff and have received certified notices from the CAPC’s attorney — all which have been ignored.

“…We hear 157 different reasons why they’re not remitting their tax, but at this point we’ve made the decision that we’re not gonna go any further with it,” Maloney said. “We’re gonna go ahead and file with the county, and go ahead and do the liens on their properties. That’s the only thing we can do at this point.”

In addition to filing the issue with the county clerk, the CAPC could take another step forward to “force the closure of the business,” Maloney said.

“That’s the step that can be taken, and you really just have to go ahead and have a judge order that,” Maloney said.

“We have a legal obligation to collect the money,” Schmid said.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Maloney, in the absence of Reed, who was ill, reported that the CAPC currently has $1,616,275.56 in the bank.

While the CAPC is still counting October collections, as of the meeting, $215,189 had been remitted compared to a budget of $212,000.

“So, we’re actually $3,189 in the good, which is a really good thing right now,” Maloney said.

October overall was a good month, the director said.

“The indications are quite strong that November is a particularly good month for a lot of people that we’ve heard,” he said. “We’re optimistic that perhaps we’ll get closer to closing in on the deficit that we had going into 2025.”

TOURISM REPORT

Maloney reported that the most recent public relations report from Madden Media came back impressive.

Eureka Springs was mentioned in the New York Times, AAA Magazine, Newsday, The Observer, Wedding Chicks, Mashed, World Atlas and Family Destination Guide A tourism influencer, who freelances for Southern Living, HGTV, All-Recipes and Better Homes and Gardens recently visited Eureka Springs, Maloney said, and plans stories and photos on her experience.

“She said: ‘My trip was absolutely amazing. I’ve always heard great things about Eureka and I wanted to visit, but the destination really exceeded my expectations. The people are so kind. I got to meet a lot of owners and chat with some of the residents who have lived there for years and chose to retire there. I’m excited to share my fantastic experience,’ ” Maloney said. “So her work not only online, but also coming out in some of these particular magazines that she freelances for.”

Maloney said The Aud will be hosting “The Wizards of Winter” on Friday, Nov. 28, a Christmas show featuring former members of Def Leppard, Mannheim Steamroller and Blue Oyster Cult.

“This is a power Christmas show,” Maloney said. “They’ve got 18 people in the cast, lots of lasers, lots of fog, lots of Christmas music. It’s a great family show.”

All of the winter decorations are in place around downtown, Maloney said, thanking the city public works department, parks department and CAPC staff.

Akins had to purchase some new Christmas lights and decorations at the last minute because of “vermin” getting inside of a storage facility and chewing and eating items used last year, Maloney said.

FUNDING REQUESTS

The CAPC approved a pair of funding requests.

Purple Flower was awarded $2,437 for a dinner and musical event to be held at the Grotto in February, while the chamber of commerce was OK’d to receive $5,000 for its annual chocolate festival.