Fayetteville tourism commission sets budget, considers options for historic house

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Advertising and Promotion Commission will have a $4.2 million budget to work with as it decides what to do with the historic Walker-Stone House, undergoes a rebranding and makes improvements to the Town Center.

Commissioners on Monday approved the budget composed for the first time by Executive Director Molly Rawn, who was hired in July. Rawn and her team at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, now known as Experience Fayetteville as part of a rebranding effort, restructured the budget's line items to more clearly indicate spending and revenue sources.

Rawn said she took a conservative approach to this year's budget, underestimating revenue and overestimating expenditures. The $4.2 million budget is down from 2016's budget of $5.3 million largely because the commission bought the Walker-Stone House for $750,000 last year, among other factors.

Most of the commission's revenue, $3.4 million this year, comes from the city's hotel, motel and restaurant tax. The 2 percent tax is divided evenly between the commission and the Parks and Recreation Department.

The Town Center is expected to bring in $598,500 in rental income as the next largest chunk in revenue. The budget lists $53,000 in expected revenue from the Clinton House Museum, which includes $30,000 in contributions new Clinton House director Angie Albright has secured.

The fate of the 170-year-old Walker-Stone House remains to be seen. The commission originally planned to possibly move the Convention and Visitors Bureau offices to the historic two-story brick house at 207 W. Center St. Rawn on Monday got the commission's blessing to explore other options.

"I don't feel like it is a value-add to our organization at all, and I don't think it helps us move in the direction we want to go," Rawn said. "I would strongly encourage us to think creatively about other things we could do that respect the integrity of the house."

Chairman Matthew Petty, who also serves as an alderman for Ward 2, suggested Rawn come back in three months after researching possible uses for the house. She agreed.

The budget calls for $225,000 in improvements at the house. The architect on the project based the figure on what it would take to convert the building into office spaces and could change, Rawn said.

"That's an unknown that we want to watch really, really carefully," she said.

Rawn and Accounting Manager Sally Fisher told the commission to expect at least one revision to the budget during the year.

The budget also calls for $30,000 toward redesigning the Experience Fayetteville website. Rawn described the effort as a massive overhaul and not an annual expense.

The commission also has discussed in previous meetings replacing the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system at the Town Center. This year's budget allots $60,000 toward future capital improvement to that end, along with other repairs and needs.

The money for the Town Center improvements comes from the Experience Fayetteville account. Rawn explained the bureau's account had a surplus where other areas did not and could cover more than $417,000 in overlap.

The commission likely will end up with a surplus at the end of the year, Rawn said. Traditionally, such money has gone toward the commission's grant program that funds local events and projects in the spring and fall.

This year's budget specifically calls for $110,000 toward the upcoming spring grant program. Commissioner Matt Behrend commended Rawn and her team on setting an amount beforehand so the commission knows how much it will be able to give.

The commission used $104,934 for its fall grant program.

Tim Freeman resigned from the commission last week after serving for several years. In a letter to commissioners, Freeman said he felt it was time for someone else to take the position and bring new ideas and a fresh perspective.

NW News on 01/24/2017