Coody says $2,500, Jordan says $32,500, City Council compromises at $12,500 for art festival

The Morning News

Local News for Northwest Arkansas


Fayetteville Arts Festival Gets $12,500 From City

By Skip Descant
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE - The Fayetteville Arts Festival got more than it bargained for Tuesday night when the Fayetteville City Council unanimously agreed to fund it $12,500.

The original proposal before the council was $2,500, which most members appeared to see as too low.

In July, the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission voted to give the festival $2,500 if the city coughed-up another $2,500. With the city council increasing the amount, the festival will get a total of $15,000 from the two public bodies.

The money will come from the city's economic development fund, which now has about $1.2 million set aside as a reserve in the general fund, said Paul Becker, Fayetteville's finance director.

Because the City Council legally can't give money to an event like the arts festival, Fayetteville will enter into contract with Fayetteville Downtown Partners - the organizing body behind the festival - which will use the money to "promote, produce and manage" the festival.

"This will really help us with the marketing and advertising," said Sarah Lewis, a member of the festival's board of directors who spoke after the council vote.

The arts festival's ideal budget is $54,000, said Daniel Keeley, the director of Fayetteville Downtown Partners.

So far, the group has attracted about $14,000 in in-kind donations and another $10,000 in private contributions. Another $15,000 puts the festival at $39,000.

"We're only going to spend what we get," said Keeley, who hinted that advertising and printing budgets likely would need to be scaled back.

However, if a previous proposal by council member Lioneld Jordan would have passed, the mood around the festival board would have been downright festive Tuesday night.

Jordan's proposal was to give the festival $32,500. That proposal failed in a 3-5 vote, with only Jordan and council members Nancy Allen and Kyle Cook supporting.

"I support the arts, but I'm sorry, I can't support this," said Alderman Bobby Ferrell.

"I thought $2,500 was too low," remarked council member Robert Rhoads, "but I think $32,500 is too high."

Even Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody, a self-described art collector, did not support the proposal.

"How can we tell our employees, 'We'll give $32,500 to someone that didn't ever ask for it, but we're unwilling to give you a raise,'" said Coody.

"But we did spend $75,000 to bring in a consultant to 'talk' about economic development," Jordan remarked.

Both Jordan and Coody will face each other in the upcoming mayor's race.

GO & DO

Fayetteville Arts Festival

When: Aug. 29-31, Sept. 5-7

Where: Fayetteville Town Center