A&P Commission Recap: March 2011

Staff photo
Food vendors, such as Tennessee-based Big Boned BBQ, may soon be required to collect HMR taxes for food sales at local festivals.

The Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission held its third meeting of 2011 at 2 p.m. Monday inside the Town Center on the downtown square.

Below is a roundup of highlights from the group’s monthly meeting for March 2011.

Roll Call

Present: Neal Crawford, Bob Davis, Marilyn Heifner, Lioneld Jordan, Brandon Karn, Justin Tennant
Absent: Bill Lyle, Maudie Schmitt

Monthly HMR collections up

HMR tax collections were up $14,097 (9.8%) from the same month last year. Total collections reported in February 2011 were $158,037.

Overall 2011 collections are now $337,582, an 8.7% increase on the year.

New commissioner appointed

The commission voted to appoint Hannah L. Mills to replace outgoing, long-time commissioner Neal Crawford.

Mills, a 26-year resident of Fayetteville and current assistant manager at Dickson Street Inn, was the only applicant for the position.

“It’s been great to be on this commission,” said Crawford in his final meeting. “The eight years have been really flew by.”

Overdue HMR tax collections

According to City Attorney Kit Williams, there were 22 active HMR prosecution cases in February 2011, six of which were fully paid, dismissed, or otherwise closed.

The City Prosecutor’s Office collected $4,050.20 in overdue HMR taxes, bringing the year-to-date total to $8,891.86.

Visitors Center sales continue to grow

Despite the winter weather, February sales in the Visitors Center saw a massive increase over the same month last year.

Total sales for the month were $1,262.24, a 256.3% increase over February 2010.

Opening at the Visitors Center

Commission Director Marilyn Heifner said that Visitors Center manager Brian Bailey will be leaving on April 1 to start his own local business.

Commission to recommend changes to HMR tax law

The commission voted to recommend a change in the city’s HMR tax law as it pertains to local festivals.

As it stands, the law does not require out-of-town food vendors to collect HMR taxes.

“We think it’s kind of unfair to the local businesses,” said Heifner.

“They pay the tax, but somebody that comes from out of town or out of the city doesn’t have to pay that tax.”

The commissioners agreed and voted unanimously to send a formal proposal to the City Council.

Town Center facelift bids lower than expected

During the February commission meeting, Marilyn Heifner estimated that bids for new carpet and paint in the Town Center come in at about $100,000. However, the low bid totals came in at $89,449.

Paint bids:
Stucki Paint & Wallcoverings, Inc. – $21,455
Burnett Painting Contractor’ s Inc. – $32,920
Geels Paint & Wallcovering, Inc. – $38,959

Carpet bids:
Miller Commercial Flooring Inc. – $67,994
OzarkFloor Co., Inc. – $91,224
Carpet One – $104,000

Full agenda packet


About the A&P Commission

The Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission determines the use of the city’s advertising and promotion funds. The funds come from the 2% tax on purchases made at Fayetteville’s hotels, motels and restaurants (HMR).

State law requires the A&P Commission to be made up of four hotel, motel or restaurant owners/managers, two City Council members, and one member from the public at-large.

» Learn more at experiencefayetteville.com