A&P Commission approves $181,000 for Big Dam Water Park events, $45,000 for Clint Black concert; reallocates $750,000
$750,000 reallocated from paused bond project
Finance staff asked the commission to move $750,000 that had been budgeted in 2026 for a bond project the city has put on hold. The funds will return to the commission’s fund balance ahead of the 2027 budget cycle.
A&P staff told commissioners that the commission aims to maintain at least $150,000 in fund balance year over year. With the reallocation, the commission is expected to have roughly $800,000 available for funding decisions heading into next year, depending on revenue earned through the remainder of 2026.
The commission approved the reallocation unanimously.
Big Dam Water Park: five events, revenue-share back to commission
Big Dam Water Park operator George Blevins returned to the commission with a scaled-down request, asking for $181,000 across five events for the 2026 season:
Memorial Day weekend – $39,500 for a concert and fireworks
Juneteenth community celebration – contingent on coordination with downtown organizers
Drone night – timed so it does not conflict with the June 27 air show
Movie nights at the wave – LED screen rentals throughout the summer
Labor Day “stay and play” – billed as an end-of-summer send-off
The most novel element of the arrangement is a revenue-sharing provision Blevins built into the proposal. Under the agreement, Big Dam Water Park will return to the commission all gross revenue exceeding $20,000 generated on each event day, excluding season pass sales.
“If you guys are investing $175,000 in the park and I wind up giving you back $60,000, we’re all winning, because we’re having events that are going to bring more people into town,” Blevins told commissioners. “I couldn’t have these events on the park budget. There’s just no way to do that.”
Reporting will be done within three days of each event using point-of-sale system data, which Blevins noted cannot be manipulated because it is tied to tax reporting.
Commissioners initially flagged concerns about two events. The Labor Day “stay and play” raised questions about whether residents would already be at the lake that weekend, and the Juneteenth celebration drew concern about potentially conflicting with the long-running downtown Juneteenth event organized by Tameka Williamson, which has grown significantly in recent years.
“After Tameka took over all of that stuff downtown, she’s done a great job promoting it, and it’s grown,” one commissioner said. “I would hate for something like this to hurt her efforts and split the audience.”
Blevins agreed to meet with the downtown organizer to coordinate rather than compete, and commissioners ultimately approved all five events. Because funding is reimbursement-based, no money is paid out unless the event happens and qualifying expenses are submitted.
The motion passed unanimously.
Clint Black concert funded despite booking question
The commission approved $45,000 for KM Sports Entertainment to bring country artist Clint Black to Festival Plaza on September 12, though not without some pointed back-and-forth over whether Black is actually booked for the date.
KM Sports’ Goldsmith told commissioners his agreement with Black’s agent is in place and that contracts will be signed once funding is secured.
Commissioner Dodson said he had conducted his own due diligence ahead of the meeting and called United Talent Agency in Nashville, where a representative told him Black was booked elsewhere on September 12.
Goldsmith pushed back, saying he would clarify with Black’s agent, Brian Hill, immediately after the meeting. “I’ll be glad to find out as soon as I walk out of this meeting,” Goldsmith said. He committed to forwarding the signed contract to commission staff once finalized.
Commissioners also discussed the format of future Festival Plaza concerts. Goldsmith floated the idea of booking back-to-back shows in different genres, such as country one night and an 80s tribute act the next, as a way to spread fixed staging and equipment costs across two events without splitting the audience.
Discussion also touched on local food truck involvement. Commissioners said they wanted to ensure local vendors had a chance to participate rather than having food limited to school booster groups. The recent Taco Festival, which featured around 30 food trucks with lines all day, was cited as an example of what works.
Funding will be reimbursed against documented marketing, advertising, talent acquisition and promotional expenses. The motion passed unanimously.
New commission applicant introduced
Rachel Scott was introduced to commissioners as an applicant for an open seat. A lifelong Texarkana resident with the maiden name Rachel Graham, Scott serves as Chief Financial Officer for DPN Collection, the management company that operates the Holiday Inn Convention Center and Holiday Inn Express on the Arkansas side, along with several other hotel properties.
Scott told commissioners she was interested in serving because DPN-owned properties pay the A&P tax. “I’d like to be a little bit involved in how that money is allocated and what good we can do for our city to grow and bring more tourism to the area,” she said.
The commission’s role is to make a referral to the city board, which has final say on appointments.
Public criticism: “Nothing more than a bailout”
The commission’s decision to fund Big Dam Water Park drew immediate backlash from residents and previous A&P applicants who said they had been told earlier in the year that no funds were available for 2026.
One commenter pointed to the $750,000 reallocation and questioned why previous applicants who had been turned away were not given the chance to reapply.
“Since you reallocated funds and granted Big Dam Water Park $181,000 for 5 events, did you allow previous applicants the same opportunity to reapply since you told them that no funds were available for 2026?” the commenter wrote. “We already have a big Juneteenth Celebration (that you did NOT approve any funds for) in Texarkana! I’m disappointed that this board did not see through this ruse. This was nothing more than a bailout for the water park.”
A separate criticism came from a member of the City Beautiful committee, a volunteer group that handles plantings and cleanup at multiple parks and downtown locations on the Arkansas side. The commenter said the committee, which has operated since at least 2002, was also told no A&P funds would be available this year.
“They told City Beautiful that we would not be receiving any funds for this year. Why does the water park get any? We do a lot for the city, all volunteers. We do all the parks and all the planting downtown and all the clean-ups,” the commenter wrote, listing Bobby Ferguson Park, Burger King Island, Jefferson Island and the downtown planters among the areas the group maintains.
“This committee will have zero funds for 2026. Is the A&P going to pick and choose? Without funding there will be no planting in the future. We were under the impression that no one was getting money this year.”
At the meeting, commissioners and staff addressed the question of fairness directly when discussing the Big Dam Water Park request. Staff said no money had been available earlier in the year because of existing allocations, and commissioners said the water park funding was tied to keeping momentum behind a multi-year investment the commission had previously made in the park’s reopening.
“I would like to know our public to know we are operating in a fair manner,” one commissioner said during the meeting. “We have funds that we didn’t fund a project, so we’re reallocating this fund. We’re not picking and choosing what we’re going to fund.”
Downtown cleanup, future format changes
Commission attorney Potter reported he is working with the district court to set up a probation-based cleanup program for the downtown entertainment district and other city event areas, including the area around Big Dam Water Park. The arrangement would not require A&P funding.
Commissioners cited downtown conditions following the recent Taco Festival as evidence of the need. Potter said he expects to have more details soon.
The commission also agreed to restructure its annual funding process for the 2027 cycle. Rather than holding a single marathon workshop where applicants present and questions are asked, the commission will split presentations across two workshop dates, followed by a separate funding decision meeting. Workshops have typically run four hours or longer.
“It is grueling,” one commissioner said of the current format.
Applications for 2027 A&P funding are due by the end of August.