After a lengthy discussion and debate, the El Dorado City Council approved two funding requests this week, the largest of which was $2.5 million from the Murphy Arts District, and declined a third.
On Dec. 10, the El Dorado Works Board presented three recommendations for three funding requests totaling $2.57 million — $2.5 million from MAD; $50,000 for the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce; and $20,000 from the Union County Animal Protection Society.
The EWB had approved all three requests and for funding to come from the one-cent El Dorado Works tax, which is earmarked for economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.
The requests were then forwarded to the El Dorado City Council for consideration.
Council members voted 7 - 1 in favor of a three-pronged request from MAD for:
• The remaining balance of the 12% allotment from the El Dorado Works tax to sell Oil Derrick Park to the city for $890,000. Oil Derrick Park sits on the grounds of The Griffin Restaurant and First Financial Music Hall and features a large oil derrick.
The El Dorado Works tax and complementary plan were approved by voters in 2015 and 12% of revenue generated by the tax was dedicated to Festival City/MAD development.
The temporary tax is expected to generate at least $50 million by the time it sunsets in 2025.
Greg Downum, chairman of the EWB, said the tax could take in between $57 and $59 million, per revenue trends.
• A contract for services with the city to manage, operate and maintain the MAD Playscape. MAD was seeking a three-year contract for $1.2 million, or $400,000 per year.
• Reimbursement for monopoly infrastructure expenses of $422,341 that went toward upgrading city-owned infrastructure in and around MAD.
The MAD finding request was initially presented to the EWB in late October.
Board members discussed the matter extensively; requested additional information, including an updated appraisal of Oil Derrick Park; and asked about annual revenue and expenditures regarding the operation of the playscape and a breakdown of the scope of work and costs for the infrastructure upgrades.
On Nov. 5, the EWB approved the MAD package with a stipulation that the $1.2 million contract for services for the O&M of the playscape be spread over three years with payments made in quarterly installments and in arrears to account for the actual hours that the playscape is in operation.
Included in the package is a commitment from Murphy USA to match funds that are awarded by the city.
Greg Downum, chairman of the EWB, presented the board’s recommendation to the city council on Dec. 10.
The city council agreed to the contract for the playscape but opted to fund it on an annual basis, rather than a three-year contract, at $400,000 per year in arrears.
Council Member Billy Blann voted no on the matter, saying that he had received “a lot of push-back” on the proposal from local residents.
With the city’s contributions toward the development of MAD approaching $20 million, including the $2.5 million request, Blann said, “That’s as far as I’m willing to go on this project.”
“The Murphy family is the most benevolent family I have ever known. The citizens voted in favor of the tax and the tax plan and now we’re asking the council to spend another $2.5 million that the citizens have not voted on,” Blann said.
For the past eight years, the city council has contributed money from the El Dorado Works and the former El Dorado Forward taxes, both of which fund toward economic development projects, toward the development of MAD.
In 2013, the city committed $9.02 million from the El Dorado Forward tax, which expired in 2015, after eight years, to help purchase and improve properties — Oil Heritage Park and the MAD amphitheater and playscape — which were deeded back to the city and are being leased to MAD for a nominal fee.
Other properties, including the Rialto Theater and the McWilliams building at South Washington and Locust, are set to be renovated in Phase 2 of the MAD development plan.
An additional $3.2 million was approved from the El Dorado Works tax in 2016 and $2.2 million was approved in 2019 to cover a cost overrun for construction of the MAD playscape and amphitheater.
The city has also spent thousands of dollars in infrastructure improvements, including streets, sidewalks and water and wastewater, to help make way for MAD.
Council Member Mike Rice said city officials “are taking a lot of heat for the amount” of money the city has contributed toward the multi-million-dollar MAD project.
“I’ve had a lot of phone calls about it and only was in favor it. We’re not against it. We need to have the public’s opinion on it,” Rice said.
Council Member Willie McGhee agreed and said it is the council’s responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
“We are married to this project. We are hooked at the hips to the project. We have to explain this and justify this to people,” McGhee said.
“There have been incidents in the past where we trusted people and the ball got dropped. We’ve invested in this playscape twice and I think we’ve invested too much in it,” McGhee said.
He said MAD’s previous management team “was not transparent,” referring to a statement that was made earlier by Pam Griffith, president and chief executive officer of MAD.
Griffith told council members that MAD is open to however they wanted to structure the contract for services to operate and maintain the playscape and whatever level of reporting they deem acceptable about the O&M of MAD.
R. Madison Murphy, president of the Murphy Foundation and chairman of the Murphy USA board of directors, reminded the council that MAD is eating $2.7 million in costs for “non-monopoly” infrastructure improvements.
“The quid pro quo is $1.2 million,” he told city council members.
Murphy also assured the council that El Dorado Festival and Events, Inc., the private nonprofit that operates MAD, is committed to making the arts entertainment complex a viable asset for the city, noting “We didn’t anticipate (the coronavirus) pandemic, either.”
McGhee and Council Member Andre Rucks reaffirmed their support of the project and reiterated concerns about operations.
For instance, Rucks called for more diversity in hiring for executive positions and input for booking and hosting shows.
Griffith said MAD reaches out to independent promoters in town and often turns to social media for polls.
Additionally, she said MAD is reviewing costs to rent its entertainment venues, acknowledging that MAD’s rental rates cost more than other venues, including the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium.
“We support it. We just want to make good business decisions,” McGhee said.
Chamber and UCAPS
The council sided with an EWB recommendation to fund a contract for services with the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce for $50,000 in 2021.
On Dec. 8, chamber president and CEO Bill Luther requested an increase in the chamber’s annual contract to provide economic development services for the city.
For the past three years, the city has approved a $45,000 annual contract.
With the coronavirus pandemic having slowed activity for much of the year, including fundraising efforts, Bill Luther, president and chief executive officer of the chamber, said the chamber has fallen short of its revenue projections.
Luther also said staff members have dedicated more time to serving the city’s economic development interests this year and will do the same in 2021.
Pointing out highlights from 2020, Luther said the chamber assisted in several projects, including plans by Resolute Forest Products to open in the old Georgia-Pacific/Conifex sawmill on U.S. 167 and bring 118 jobs to the city; the opening of Harbor Freight Tools in the former Fred’s Discount building on Hillsboro and Bradley; and the opening of a new Taco Bell location on West Hillsboro.
The Chamber requested $55,000 and the EWB settled on an additional $5,000 for the first six months of the year and asked the chamber to return in July to assess the situation and consider the remaining $5,000.
Council members opted not to fund a request for the Union County Animal Protection Society’s Trap Neuter and Release (TNR) program in city limits.
Council members and the EWB approved $10,000 from the El Dorado Works tax to fund the program this year and UCAPS asked for consideration to continue the program in 2021.
The TNR program is aimed at reducing stray and feral cat populations in Union County with El Dorado Works funding spent on stray and feral cats within city limits.
UCAPS initially proposed a three-year TNR plan, starting with $20,000 to target 150 cats in the first year; $18,000 for 130 cats in the second year; and $15,000 for 110 cats in the third year.
After a lengthy discussion in December of 2019, the EWB followed a recommendation by former treasurer Alison Abson to allocate $10,000 and assess the situation for 2021.
The Council did just that Nov. 5.
Angelica Wurth, a UCAPS volunteer and board member, reported then that with the help of the city, UCAPS was able to TNR 250 cats within the past year.
Wurth explained that the $10,000 would have covered TNR services for approximately 75 cats but with the city’s support and heightened awareness about the issue, UCAPS was able to raise additional funding for the program — resulting in enough money to TNR 250 cats for a total of $27,000.
Several council members spoke in favor of the program at the time.
On Dec. 10, Council Member Judy Ward said she thought UCAPS’ request from 2019 was a one-time ask.
Wurth reiterated the initial proposal to support a three-year plan.
Council members voted 6 - 2 against the request.
“Now, year one will be a loss. Now, when we get calls from someone needing help with cats, now, they’ll be calling you,” Wurth said.
McGhee and Rucks, both of whom voted in favor of the request, asked the council to consider extending a contract for services to UCAPS to handle the city’s animal control service as a whole.