A&P, Convention Center merger one step closer

Chalk up another step toward the effort to consolidate the Fort Smith Advertising and Promotion Commission and the Fort Smith Convention Center.

The Fort Smith Convention Center Commission on Wednesday (Nov. 18) unanimously approved a two-component plan that would result in consolidation.

A task force representing the convention center and the CVB was formed Aug. 4 to tackle the legally and financially complex merger of the two organizations who share a common goal: bring people and groups to Fort Smith.

According to a memo from the task force to the A&P Commission and the Convention Center advisory board, members of the task force advised that the “potential of consolidation will be based upon two significant circumstances:”
• Passage of a 1% tax on prepared foods, with 100% dedication of revenues toward the operation of the Convention Center by the A&P.
• Establishment of a completely independent management and operational structure for the convention center under exclusive control of the A&P Commission.

“There was a good, healthy discussion on the consolidation,” said Frankie Hamilton, director of the Fort Smith Convention Center. “We had a unanimous vote (by the Convention Center commission) and now it will go to the A&P (commission) for a vote.”

Hamilton and Claude Legris, executive director of the Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau, hope to gain approval of a “common resolution” from their respective boards by early December and forward that to the Fort Smith board of directors.

Hamilton’s only concern with the effort is obtaining a 1% prepared food tax to fund Convention Center operations and maintenance.

The city’s portion of the state’s tourism turnback funds are set to expire in 2010. The city received around $1.8 million annually from the turnback program.

The cities in Arkansas that have successfully merged tourism and convention center operations have done so with revenue from a prepared foods tax — aka, hamburger tax. Fort Smith has in place a 3% tax on hotels with which the A&P collected $803,591 in 2008. That amount is not near enough to cover A&P and convention center operations. A 1% tax on prepared foods in Fort Smith would generate between $1.5 million and $2 million annually. Fort Smith is the only large tourism city in Arkansas without a hospitality tax on restaurants and other prepared-food providers.

Hamilton, who supports consolidation, believes the Fort Smith board of directors should exercise its authority to approve a 1% prepared food tax. She has concerns about obtaining voter approval of a 1% prepared food tax.

“If it goes before a vote of the people, it might not pass, and so they (directors) will need a second plan in place,” Hamilton said.