tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post7507431149379929850..comments2023-04-02T02:44:52.447-05:00Comments on The Iconoclast: Arrogance and Plunder CommissionJonahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00913951891485572022noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-10325762598780866642010-03-17T09:10:56.203-05:002010-03-17T09:10:56.203-05:00Judge Mr. Freeman by his blog comments instead of ...Judge Mr. Freeman by his blog comments instead of his actions and he actually seems like a good Chairman.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-41884882539615629762010-03-12T14:36:24.052-06:002010-03-12T14:36:24.052-06:00As long as the commissioners and others profit fro...As long as the commissioners and others profit from their positions on the A&P, there will be no accounting.<br /><br />I pay my HMR taxes every month but never see any benefits. Neither do others. <br /><br />The A&P doesn't really care about tourism - only the money. It's always been about the money. Just ask Davis and Heifner.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-58124227016982894142010-03-12T11:27:05.879-06:002010-03-12T11:27:05.879-06:00Restaurateur (sic)--
love what you are dishing up!...Restaurateur (sic)--<br />love what you are dishing up!<br />The TC, sold to the public as a benefit to local non-profits, voted on in August! (if memory serves) to ensure low turnout...<br />some accounting is long overdue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-41596693266774348292010-03-11T17:03:55.508-06:002010-03-11T17:03:55.508-06:00Tim Freeman said: "Town Center operates in th...Tim Freeman said: "Town Center operates in the black every year and has for quite some time."<br /><br />Mr. Freeman: Is it your contention the TC takes in more revenue then the A&P spends on TC debt service (about $700K/year for interest and principle), staff, maintenance & insurance? <br /><br />I don't believe that's the case. Please prove me wrong by posting the A&P's most recent annual budget on the A&P's (or City of Fayetteville's) website.A Restaurateurnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-18811278126912897742010-03-11T07:54:34.775-06:002010-03-11T07:54:34.775-06:00It was until you showed up. :PIt was until you showed up. :Pmpettyhttp://matthewpetty.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-53138925586335672002010-03-10T20:13:42.050-06:002010-03-10T20:13:42.050-06:00Is this the real mpetty?Is this the real mpetty?mpettynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-36229977441260918092010-03-09T12:57:00.771-06:002010-03-09T12:57:00.771-06:00So glad to see you're taking the initiative to...So glad to see you're taking the initiative to publish agendas, Tim. Thank you.mpettynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-37976656292248179632010-03-09T12:16:55.816-06:002010-03-09T12:16:55.816-06:00My apologies, Mr. Franks.
You clearly identifie...My apologies, Mr. Franks. <br /><br />You clearly identified yourself, which I greatly appreciate! I had misread your post as also being from "anonymous", as was the one just preceeding it.<br /><br />TimTim Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13349272187403186832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-43210640025024459372010-03-09T12:14:45.176-06:002010-03-09T12:14:45.176-06:00Anonymous,
I mentioned earlier that it was going ...Anonymous,<br /><br />I mentioned earlier that it was going up Monday night....some cover up!<br /><br />Also, our agendas are available before the meetings. Ozarks Unbound is going to provide the full agenda package for you, as they mentioned above, three days before the meeting. This should have everything you would want to see. If you need anything else, simply do not hesitate to ask! We usually finalize it the Wednesday or Thursday before the meeting, after any last-minute additions by commission members.<br /><br />Thanks for your interest, and I look forward to you becoming one of our citizens, and hopefully unmasking yourself in the future.<br /><br />TimTim Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13349272187403186832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-15513492811654293282010-03-09T12:00:09.279-06:002010-03-09T12:00:09.279-06:00I'm not trying to lay anything at the feet of ...I'm not trying to lay anything at the feet of the Mayor.<br /><br />It's just a fact that he represents you on the Commission, he's your elected representative there, and complaining anonymously in a blog's comments are unlikely to communicate to him how important it is to you.<br /><br />If you want results, reach out personally. It's more effective.mpettynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-41832780219865885392010-03-09T11:54:20.978-06:002010-03-09T11:54:20.978-06:00Why, Mr. Freeman--
You live down to my expectatio...Why, Mr. Freeman--<br /><br />You live down to my expectations. First, you continue to dodge the central issue of this post as well as my question, and then you take it upon yourself to comment in an insulting manner. Do you represent your business the same way you represent Fayetteville? Has it occurred to you that I might be a frequent visitor to Fayetteville rather than a resident?<br /><br />My positive idea was in my comment of 1:24 AM. If you had been more focused on responding to this thread than on reacting to it, you might have noticed that.<br /><br />I'll ask again, and hope that my tone suits you: May we expect the A & P Commission to provide useful agendas online and elsewhere in advance of meetings? This will be more than an activist issue to me later this year, once I have moved to Fayetteville.David Frankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222279472555174813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-7080669668270397432010-03-09T11:53:48.643-06:002010-03-09T11:53:48.643-06:00Thanks for the link, Mr. Freeman. The Fayetteville...Thanks for the link, Mr. Freeman. The Fayetteville Flyer reports that this link just went up Monday night, so don't pretend that everyone should be aware of it this morning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-15663558566619415722010-03-09T11:36:52.081-06:002010-03-09T11:36:52.081-06:00Anonymous,
Without the millions we provide to the...Anonymous,<br /><br />Without the millions we provide to the Parks and Recreation, they would burn through that fund in a matter of several years. Then they would be operating in a deficit.<br /><br />Many people care about the Clinton museum and our rich history, just apparently not you.<br /><br />Town Center operates in the black every year and has for quite some time.<br /><br />We don't "bring" the bike festivals, the citizens do that. We just help new festivals with funding, and as I've said many, many, many, many times, we do not have a preference of bike festivals over any other festival whatsoever. Wish we had other festivals apply (see above reiteration of this above).<br /><br />And to the second masked "Anonymous" (you guys really should say who you are), what on EARTH makes you think we are the "geniuses" who bring in bike festivals? Where are you getting this idea from? Do you not understand anything about hot A&P works? We don't 'bring' festivals. Period. We just provide money to citizens who have ideas and want to put on festivals. We wish people brought more ideas.<br /><br />I think you need to understand more about the A&P Commission. Please check out this page on our website for more information. I want you to understand, but if you make to attempt to do so, it undermines your argument.<br /><br />http://experiencefayetteville.com/apCommission.php<br /><br />TimTim Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13349272187403186832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-26664632021927653982010-03-09T11:01:25.511-06:002010-03-09T11:01:25.511-06:00To finish on the idea of hiring a full time festiv...To finish on the idea of hiring a full time festival promoter via the Visitors Bureau...it will only be used to bring in more bike festivals.<br />Get it? Cuz this is all these geniuses can do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-45920078473084401732010-03-09T10:56:15.900-06:002010-03-09T10:56:15.900-06:00Tim Freeman said: "And that's not spinnin...Tim Freeman said: "And that's not spinning. We absolutely would not have the revenue for those things without the tax--Fayetteville Parks and Recreation (much of their funding, but not all), Clinton Museum, Town Center, the various arts programs we help to fund, etc. (everything listed above and much, much more). No spinning involoved."<br /><br />Parks&Rec has several million dollars stashed. They obviously don't *need* much more. And anyway, why can't the 'rec' part include arts recreation?<br /><br />Clinton Museum--who really cares?<br /><br />Town Center-I seem to recall that this was promised to be a revenue-generating project. Does it ever operate in the black?<br /><br />In reality about all the A&P is good at is bringing us ever more biker festivals, which certainly have nothing to do with altruism. On the contrary, several A&P members profit directly. And now bike festival promoters have deviously contrived to bring us a third annual bike fest in May, under the pretense that only the music venue part of it will be held at the NWAMall. Oh yeah--several thousand bikers are going to stay in dry Benton County and not congregate on Dickson St. <br /><br />Big Question is how much will this cost Fayetteville taxpayers to once again subsidize biker festival street closures, policing and clean-up so that a select group of businesses can profit--again several of them represented on the A&P Commission. All the while sneering at the rest of the community from the editorial page to get out of town if we don't like it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-88894073110020597652010-03-09T10:13:29.200-06:002010-03-09T10:13:29.200-06:00Mr. Freeman:
methinks you need to lighten up on Sp...Mr. Freeman:<br />methinks you need to lighten up on Springdale.<br />Check out www.Springdale.com/economic_development & you'll find that "World leaders in business call Springdale home."<br />No mention, no image is given about what seems obvious (I hadn't been downtown on Emma in a number of years). Yes, there are empty storefronts--across from the Chamber, eg.<br />But I also see a vibrant & colorful burgeoning of small restaurants and stores aimed at the Hispanic community.<br />What? Chopped liver for the Chamber? Road kill? Or just marginalized statistical blips on the global business radar?<br />Small business are responsible for MOST of the job creation in this country. <br />If someone was serious about making financing business for the little folks more available, all of us would be much better off.<br />Btw, the new Ayala Bakery going in: el edificio es muy guapo !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-47937077832417217522010-03-09T10:03:59.596-06:002010-03-09T10:03:59.596-06:00And Anonymous said:
"Why doesn't the Vis...And Anonymous said:<br /><br />"Why doesn't the Visitors Bureau do this?" (hire a full-time festival director)<br /><br />Well I think this is something we should look at doing. I have outlined some complications above, but I think it may be a direction we need to head toward in the future.<br /><br />TimTim Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13349272187403186832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-85268187911319352922010-03-09T09:42:28.321-06:002010-03-09T09:42:28.321-06:00David,
I take back my whining comment about Jonah...David,<br /><br />I take back my whining comment about Jonah. Most of the whining is clearly emanating from you. I guess I missed your email with positive ideas. I'll look for that.<br /><br />TimTim Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13349272187403186832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-28930280941163500222010-03-09T08:25:33.439-06:002010-03-09T08:25:33.439-06:005 states have no sales tax at all. There are way...5 states have no sales tax at all. There are ways to fund the arts and other public benefits without being tied to an unelected unrepresentative untransparent A&P commission. (In a pinch, there's always progressive income tax.) Most important, let our elected representatives, listening to public input, make decisions about the big public events that determine what direction the community's taking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-32805022360915928122010-03-09T02:34:28.975-06:002010-03-09T02:34:28.975-06:00Thank you. Not that you should have to do this for...Thank you. Not that you should have to do this for them.David Frankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222279472555174813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-82542799888539193892010-03-09T02:24:01.715-06:002010-03-09T02:24:01.715-06:00In the future, I'll try to make available the ...In the future, I'll try to make available the full agenda package online at Ozarks Unbound on the Friday before the Monday meeting.<br /><br />Hope that helps.<a href="http://www.ozarksunbound.com/hotel-motel-and-restaurant-hmr-tax-collection-in-fayetteville-plummets/9041" rel="nofollow"> You'll find the latest copy of the agenda at the end of this story.</a>Christopher Spencerhttp://ozarksunbound.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-81310814563054142482010-03-09T01:24:15.506-06:002010-03-09T01:24:15.506-06:00Oh, and Mr. Freeman--
Jonah described his post as...Oh, and Mr. Freeman--<br /><br />Jonah described his post as "whining" in a self-deprecating manner, probably to prevent you from responding and using the word first. But you failed to address the issue he raised: after doing everything he could have to get the information he wanted, the information was incomplete and inadequate. Would filing a FOIA request have resulted in his receiving a "special" agenda that would have told him what he needed to know?<br /><br />Per your request, here's my first idea: Respond to the issues raised in this blog post and the subsequent thread. All you've done so far is rather insultingly tell us what you can't do. What CAN you do?David Frankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222279472555174813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-60432110051428236912010-03-08T20:28:39.770-06:002010-03-08T20:28:39.770-06:00Why should the public have to make a FOIA request ...Why should the public have to make a FOIA request in order to get agendas in advance of A & P Commission meetings, or minutes after the meetings? There is no excuse for not putting that information In the documents section of accessfayetteville.org. Or is there an excuse?<br /><br />The suggestion that members of the public should make a FOIA request is particularly grating to those who are familiar with the stonewalling and punitive expenses accompanying many such requests.David Frankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222279472555174813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-50884983145642012192010-03-08T19:01:04.773-06:002010-03-08T19:01:04.773-06:00Tim Freeman said: "One idea might be to get a...Tim Freeman said: "One idea might be to get a festival manager like they have (had?) in Eureka Springs. But that would require a salary"<br /><br />Why doesn't the Visitors Bureau do this? They have full time staff people assigned to dealing with tour buses fer chrisakes, and that cannot be a fulltime job. How many tour buses have you seen in Fayetteville in the last year? How much revenue does a tour bus generate when it passes through town?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157940712861236775.post-25612952531265063082010-03-08T18:12:22.641-06:002010-03-08T18:12:22.641-06:00Well, you have to have a dedicated group of folks ...Well, you have to have a dedicated group of folks in the community who want to put on an arts festival. Putting on a festival is a lot of hard, time-consuming work, and to do it right you have to have a group to folks who want to dedicate about a year of their lives, blood, sweat, and tears to doing it. And then it's not cheap. Even is somebody wanted to do it, A&P can only provide a very small percentage of funding that would be necessary to put on a decent festival. They would have to gather corporate sponsors among other things. So there's not a whole lot of motivation there.<br /><br />One idea might be to get a festival manager like they have (had?) in Eureka Springs. But that would require a salary, and you'd still have to find additional funding and enlist more folks to help. Also, you would have to enlist the support of a majority of commissioners. Then there's the issue of funding in-house events as opposed to events that are brought from the community--which would create controversy I am sure. <br /><br />So you see the complications. We can ask people to put on an arts festival all day long, but it's asking a lot. It is much akin to starting their own business, along with all the risks (eg. we do not pay salaries or operational expenses for anybody--so what is their financial incentive? Unless it is completely altruistic on their part). Then they will get criticized by people like Matthew Petty and the masked "Jonah", who can't seem to find anything positive to say about anything the commission does. So the payoff is really quite small.<br /><br />Do you have any ideas?Tim Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13349272187403186832noreply@blogger.com