EL DORADO -- Members of the Main Street El Dorado executive committee have responded to a decision by the city to reduce the city's annual financial contribution to the nonprofit program.
Bruce Butterfield, outgoing Main Street El Dorado board president, and Paul Choate, 2017 president-elect, also cleared up details about how they learned about the $13,500 budget cut.
They expressed disappointment in the cancellation of a meeting that had been planned between Main Street and city officials, saying they were looking forward to demonstrating the impact, economic and otherwise, that Main Street has had in El Dorado for nearly 30 years.
With Main Street in the midst of a transition -- the group is redefining its goals, preparing to start a search for a new executive director, and navigating a cash-flow crunch -- Mayor Frank Hash had requested a meeting to review the city's agreement to pay a portion of the Main Street El Dorado executive director's salary.
The meeting had been scheduled for Dec. 21.
During an El Dorado City Council Finance Committee meeting two days earlier, Alderman Dianne Hammond, committee chairman, informed the group that the meeting had been canceled.
The city had been paying $33,500 of the $53,316 salary.
As part of the agreement -- which automatically renews each year barring any requests for changes by either party -- the Main Street El Dorado executive director is designated as a city employee in order to qualify for benefits that Main Street El Dorado cannot fund out of its budget.
Hammond told Finance Committee members that she had met with Main Street representatives, and the group had agreed to cut the city's contribution toward the executive director's pay to $20,000.
The city has made cutbacks in all city departments and some of its service contracts to address a projected $1 million shortfall in the 2017 city budget.
Hash said the $20,000 is negotiable, and the city will revisit the agreement when Main Street returns later with a proposal that outlines its new direction.
On Thursday, Choate shared details about the events surrounding the meeting with Hammond, saying that it was an unexpected encounter that took place on Dec. 16 in Hash's office.
Choate said that he had run into Hash while eating breakfast in a local restaurant on the morning of Dec. 16.
"He asked me if I had time to come by and visit. I thought we were going to discuss the budget, [former Main Street El Dorado executive director] Mark Givens going, and the future of Main Street and El Dorado in preparation for the meeting [on Dec. 21]," Choate said.
Choate said that when he arrived in Hash's office at the appointed time, Hammond was there.
"We exchanged pleasantries, and the discussion started with her asking questions about why there are two organizations in El Dorado doing the same thing," he said.
He said he soon learned that Hammond was referring to Main Street and the Downtown Business Association.
Choate, who has chaired both the Main Street El Dorado board and the Downtown Business Association, said he spent several minutes explaining the difference between the two organizations, which Hammond discussed during the Finance Committee meeting.
He said the Downtown Business Association is comprised of a group of merchants who joined forces to pay for collective advertising in the retail sector.
Main Street El Dorado is part of a state and national program that is dedicated to downtown revitalization and improving the quality of life for citizens in local communities, Choate said.
He said that the Downtown Business Association previously made an agreement with Main Street to handle its books.
"We paid them a small fee to handle our books at the Main Street level," he said.
Choate said he was not prepared for the meeting in Hash's office or the announcement about the cut in funding.
"I didn't know Dianne Hammond was going to be there. There was no negotiation. The decision to reduce the funding to Main Street was, from where I sit, unilateral," Choate said.
Added Butterfield, "We were not part of the decision. ... We were informed of the decision."
The pair shared information they had planned to present on Dec. 21, outlining Main Street El Dorado's investment, business development, job growth and volunteer participation from 1988 to 2015.
Choate said the facts were compiled by Main Street Arkansas.
They include 144 facade renovations, building rehabilitations and new-construction projects, with a total investment of nearly $7.8 million; a net gain of 96 businesses and 80 business expansions and relocations to downtown; a net gain of 617 jobs; 31,653 volunteer hours; and $291,148 in minigrants that were distributed to downtown businesses for improvements, such as new awnings.
Butterfield said that through 2016, the monetary total of mini-grants is "well over $300,000."
For the past several years, Main Street El Dorado has received the highest annual grant awards in the state from Main Street Arkansas, Butterfield said.
He and Choate said grant money and other Main Street income has been poured into Downtown El Dorado with the purchase of banners [which the city has also purchased], lights that adorn retail shops year-round, awnings, trash cans, smokers' outposts, and public art displays.
"We coordinate all of that. That's one of those things that people may not realize because all they see are our events," Butterfield said.
Now, Main Street El Dorado is turning those events over to El Dorado Festivals and Events Inc., which is developing an $80-plus million arts and entertainment district in the south end of downtown El Dorado.
As El Dorado Festivals and Events' new vice president of Talent Relations and Entertainment, Givens is preparing for the fall 2017 opening of the district.
Butterfield has said that Main Street El Dorado will support El Dorado Festivals and Events efforts and partner to produce events, such as MusicFest, Main Street's flagship fundraiser.
In the meantime, Main Street El Dorado will forge ahead by concentrating its efforts toward downtown merchants and helping them to better utilize resources that are offered by Main Street Arkansas.
"In the past, our mission has been to bring people to town. Now another organization is better positioned to do that, and Main Street needs to figure out how to bring people from those facilities up the hill to the businesses," Butterfield said.
Now that there is a clearer picture of the funding that will be available for the Main Street El Dorado executive director's salary, Choate said the group will look into other funding sources to be able to attract the best candidates for the job.
Board member and former Main Street El Dorado administrative assistant Holly McDonald is serving as interim executive director.
State Desk on 12/30/2016