After announcing that there was only $31,000 available to go towards the more than $260,000 in April 2010 funding requests, Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission Director Marilyn Heifner told the commission they’d need to either find some money or do some cutting.
It looks like the former was the case as the commission gave away about $150,000 this afternoon.
We were late arriving to the funding discussion, but we did manage to show up in time to hear how the money was divvied up. As for where exactly it came from (Ozarks Unbound writes that “unallocated budget money swelled the purse”) and how some of the decisions were made, we’ll have more information as soon as we can get it (or link to it).
UPDATE: Skip Descant has Heifner quoted as saying the money was located from “income above budgeted funds from last year.” (subscription may be required to read)
Until then, here are the approved funding amounts for this round.
Fayetteville A & P Commission Funding Requests – April 2010
| Date | Event | Amount Requested | Amount Received |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 9-10 | Fayetteville Half-Marathon | $20,000 | $18,000 |
| Mid Sept. | Puppets in the Park | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Sept. 25 | Ozark Harvest Food Festival | $4,700 | $4,000 |
| Oct. 28-29 | Lewis & Clark Adventure Races | $5,000 | $1,300 |
| Nov. 7 | Cyclocross | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Nov. 4-7 | 540 Film Festival | $62,000 | $5,000 |
| Nov. 21-Dec. 31 | Lights of the Ozarks | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| June | All OUT June | $10,000 | $4,000 |
| Oct. 7-10 | OffShoot Film Festival | $20,000 | $5,000 |
| May-Oct. | Fayetteville Underground | $29,057 | $10,000 |
| July 27-Aug. 8 | Beauty and the Beast (WAC) | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| Sept. / Dec. | TheatreSquared | $15,000 | $6,000 |
| Year Round | Washington County Fair | $36,612 | $25,992 |
| Sept. 2 | Hooten’s Kickoff Classic | $23,000 | $10,000 |
| June – Dec. | Shop Fayetteville | $1,000 | $1,500 |
| Totals | $284,869 | $149,292 |
LET THE FLAME WAR BEGIN!!!
Except for the blatant WAC arse-kissing, I’m pretty pleased at the effort here. Color me surprised. But still thinking about applying for that open board seat…
The board seat is only open to a hotel owner/manager…
I am pleasantly surprised at the funding, too. I am a little disappointed that the Lights of the Ozarks got full funding, but only because every other request was partially funded. I think the Commission could have been a little more equitable, but overall did a good job this funding round.
I thought they did a very good job, with one exception that I just don’t have enough information to evaluate. Can someone explain how the Washington County Fair will use the $25,992 to promote Fayetteville and attract more visitors to our city? What was the total sales tax revenue to the city from the fair last year? Do the vendors pay sales and HMR taxes on cotton candy? Does the Fair Board pay sales taxes on rental of space to vendors? Do they pay taxes on the same of animals just like Petco? I hope this isn’t just a gift for operations with no return above past practices.
I also am curious about the justification for funding the county fair. I’d also like to know why Shop Fayetteville got half again as much as they asked for. Surely they asked for what they needed.
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My best guess for the fair would be that it brings people from surrounding Counties, Cities, and the general rural areas of Northwest Arkansas specifically to Fayetteville. I’m pretty sure no one from Gravette and Prairie Grove drive all the way to Fayetteville for Cyclocross, TheaterSquared or Puppets in the Park. Those events are centered mainly on bringing Fayetteville residents out of their house. The Fair actually brings people to Fayetteville.
Don’t get me wrong, all of these events have their merit…but I’d stick up for the fair because it is the one event that really lives up to the A&P goal, and that’s bringing people IN TO the area via tourism.
actually, Gleep Glop, Theatre Squared specifically reported that over 40% of their attendees come from outside of Washington County. They have a box office and can track their attendees very easily. It is a draw to Fayetteville. I think that this is the type of information that would help Fayetteville residents understand and appreciate how our A&P funds are being spent. The organizations have to fill out proposals for funding. I think that we should call upon the commission to make these proposals public. Isn’t that what transparency is all about? Give us the information that we need to have to form well-educated opinions, and not just make assumptions.
The county fair brings people to the county fair, and most of them are from Fayetteville and Washington County– in other words, local. Going to the fair is a full day or evening, and an expensive one, at that. If two dollars for parking would keep people from going to Dickson Street, how is anybody going to afford a nightcap after paying for admission, rides, games and food at the fair?
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Holy crud. The Fayetteville employees get cut over this stuff? What happened to corporate sponsors? Tax dollars should be used better. I can afford putting the kids on rides if you weren’t giving my money to everybody elses games.
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