Short-handed A&P Commission reopens 2026 grant funding, tables two requests after fairness complaints

TEXARKANA, Ark. – With only three of its five seated members present, the Texarkana, Arkansas Advertising and Promotion Commission declined Tuesday to award any new event money and instead voted to reopen 2026 grant funding to the entire community, setting a June 9 deadline for applications.

The decision came during a special called meeting that the commission’s two newest members had expected to be a workshop, and it unfolded against weeks of public criticism over how the panel has handed out tourism dollars this year.

The two groups whose funding requests were on Tuesday’s agenda, The Scholars and the downtown promotions group WC4, both agreed to set their requests aside until a later meeting when more commissioners can be present. The commission tabled each request on a 3-0 vote.

“I really thought this was a workshop”

Much of the meeting was consumed by confusion over what it even was. Commissioners Danny Jewell and George Dodson said they came in believing the gathering was a workshop to discuss how 2026 grant money should be distributed, not a meeting where they would vote on actual applications.

“I really thought this was a workshop myself,” Dodson said. He noted he received the agenda Friday at 3:07 p.m. heading into a long holiday weekend and was being asked to vote on funding by 10 a.m. Tuesday with two members absent. “It doesn’t sit right with me. It just doesn’t.”

Jewell said he was glad applicants showed up and wanted to hear from them, but was not prepared to act on their requests the same day. He pushed to hold the workshop discussion first.

The commission’s attorney told the panel it had a legal quorum and could conduct business. The Arkansas-side commission has seven seats but currently has five members because of two vacancies, so three present members make a quorum, and any action requires three yes votes. He said he advised holding a special called meeting rather than an informal workshop so that any decision would comply with open-meetings notice requirements, but stressed the commission was not obligated to take any action.

Both Jewell and Dodson said it would be unfair to vote on funding when two members were absent and when the broader public had not been told money was available. Dr. Holmes is out of town and is not expected back until June 11.

Background: a funding process under fire

The meeting follows a turbulent stretch for the commission. At its May 12 meeting, the panel approved more than $226,000 in event funding, including $181,000 across five events for Big Dam Water Park, and moved $750,000 from a paused bond project back into its fund balance. It also approved $45,000 for a planned Clint Black concert at Festival Plaza in September despite questions about the performer’s booking status. The water park deal, brought by operator George Blevins, included a revenue-sharing arrangement returning event profits above a set threshold to the commission.

Those decisions drew sharp criticism. At Monday night’s Texarkana, Arkansas Board of Directors meeting, Assistant Mayor Ulysses Brewer opened with a prepared statement acknowledging the funding process is broken and called for bylaw changes, and multiple citizens said they had been shut out of A&P funding earlier this year after being told no money was available for 2026.

Brewer, who chairs the commission, repeatedly pointed to the May funding as a precedent. He argued the panel should hear Tuesday’s two applicants the same way it heard groups it has already funded, then open a new window so anyone else in the community could apply.

Public presses on fairness and transparency

Several residents used the public comment period to question why the water park received money this spring while other groups were told there was nothing available for 2026 and no public notice of funding ever went out.

City Manager Tyler Richards walked through the timeline. He said the water park never filed a formal commission application but repeatedly submitted proposals, that the commission denied the first versions, and that the panel only funded a revised proposal at the May 12 meeting. No notice of available funding was ever sent to the water park or anyone else, he said, because the commission never publicly opened applications.

Diane Patterson, sales manager at the Hampton Inn on the Texas side, told commissioners the tourism tax system needs to be fairer and urged them to dig into lodging data showing which events actually fill hotel rooms. She said she could document room nights and offered to back up other applicants’ claims, adding that her ownership wanted to know where the tax money goes. Brewer thanked her for the information and encouraged her to apply for the commission’s open seat.

City Beautiful, Clint Black date in question

Volunteers with the City Beautiful Commission pleaded for help funding plants for downtown, warning that the summer planting window is closing. Finance staff clarified that City Beautiful had already received about $10,000 in January, reallocated from 2025 money the group did not spend, and that those funds are available for use this year.

The commission also discussed funding tied to the Clint Black concert handled by KM Sports. Brewer said the September 12 date pitched earlier may not be locked in, with possible dates in early or late October also raised. Josh Potter, the commission’s attorney, said that as long as the event takes place in 2026, the promoter would not need to reapply, but commissioners agreed the promoter should return to address the uncertainty in person. No formal vote was taken on that item.

A resident, Sandy Burton, asked the commission to take up concerns about data centers proposed for the Arkansas side. The attorney and city manager said the topic falls outside the A&P Commission’s authority and directed her to bring it to the city board.

What happens next

The commission agreed to accept 2026 grant applications from any interested group through 5 p.m. June 9. Staff said notice will be posted in the newspaper, on the city website and the commission’s website, and sent directly to prior applicants. A follow-up meeting to consider the applications is expected the week after the deadline, once Dr. Holmes returns and a new member is seated. The commission expects to add a sixth member on June 1, leaving one seat still open.

Officials reminded prospective applicants to submit complete packets, since incomplete applications have to be returned for additional information. The commission’s regular October funding cycle for 2027 remains unchanged.

In closing, Dodson urged residents to keep coming to meetings and asked for patience. “We’re trying to do the best we can. We’re volunteers,” he said, adding that 10 a.m. Tuesday meetings make it hard for working residents to attend and be heard. He said he hoped the commission could find ways to steer more visitors toward Arkansas-side hotels and restaurants.

The commission has one open seat, which must be filled by an Arkansas-side resident who owns or manages a hotel, motel or restaurant that pays the city’s lodging and prepared-food tax.