The Jasper City Council will deliberate on the future of the Jasper Advertising and Promotion Commission (JAPC) and may come to a decision at its regular meeting in June.
When the JAPC was authorized by the city council in 2020, it came with a stipulation - that after five years the council would examine and evaluate the commission's work and weigh the program's benefits to the city's economy.
Last month at the council's regular meeting, Mayor Michael Thomas said it is time to see if the JAPC is self-sustaining and if the commission is reaching the goals that were set out for itself. When the JAPC was initiated it was done without the support of a local sales tax levied on the sale of prepared food and lodging to fund tourism and local development. Referred to as a "hamburger tax," this tax is in addition to regular state and local sales taxes.
The JAPC would raise advertising and promotion dollars by holding public events and attracting donations through the non-profit Jasper Arkansas Foundation that was formed in 2023. No other city revenues can be contributed to the JAPC.
The JAPC, comprised by a majority of individuals representing the city's business community along with some representation from the city council, met in April and accepted the resignation of its paid director Lisa Duet. Duet was the third JAPC director in five years. Thomas said with the position currently vacant, now would be an ideal time for the council to conduct its mandated review of the JAPC.
In order to do so, he called for a temporary suspension of the JAPC halting further activities at this time. The council members would be allowed to take their time to conduct interviews, review JAPC records and finances and make a recommendation to either dissolve the commission, allow it to proceed as it has been doing, or to go forward with some changes being implemented. Thomas said he would ask the sitting commission members to continue to serve as committee members during the review process.
The Little Buffalo River Visitors and Convention Center would not be affected by JAPC's suspension, Thomas said. Meanwhile, the JAPC would continue to pay its bills and plan for a previously announced Independence Day event.
At the May 22 meeting, the council agreed to convene in special session on Tuesday, June 3, to deliberate on its findings concerning the JAPC. It is possible the council will be able to come to a decision and take appropriate action at its next regular meeting, set for 5 p.m., Monday June 16. The time of the meeting was moved up due to council members attending the Arkansas Municipal League summer conference and training sessions being held during the council's regular meeting time.
At the April meeting, Newton County Chamber of Commerce Director Toinette Madison was in attendance and made a short presentation to the council offering its tourism and marketing services to the city for the year at just over $10,000. Madison returned to the council Thursday night continuing to extend the proposal. Commission Chair Walter "Bubba" Lloyd, Jr., was also present, but he said he had nothing to add to the discussion.
The city council also approved the JAPC to contribute $5,000 to this year's summer camp for area youth that is put on annually by the Newton County Resource Council. The resource council was looking for assistance to fund this year's camp as its primary resource of funds is near exhaustion.
