The City Advertising Tourist Promotion Commission (CATPC) met on Thursday, July 24, to hear updates on several projects for the community.
Many commissioners could not attend the June meeting, so it was postponed. The May and June minutes were approved.
The board approved the appointment of Raj Patel for Commissioner Raven Patel’s position, who has moved.
Executive Director Matt Bell told the Board that Raj Patel and his family have recently remodeled the Super 8 Motel, and it would be great to have a local motel owner on our board.
The board approved a grant proposal of $2,500 for the Rock-N-The-River three-day Christian music event. Tony Marks has held this event for several years at the Minnie Harris Park. But he has outgrown that space, and Bell offered to partner with him at the Creekside Amp.
The event will feature 18 Christian bands from eight states, bounce houses, and food trucks. The dates are Friday night, Oct. 10, all day Saturday, and concluding with a worship service on Sunday, Oct. 12. Two stages will be set up, so the bands can follow immediately after the other one.
Parks Executive Director, Chuck Eddington reported on the success Parks has had this summer.
The next big tournament will be Aug. 8-9, when 50-60 teams will arrive to play basketball. Arvest is sponsoring a swim party for the teams while they are here.
Eddington said that the concession stand grossed $44,000 in sales during the two national tournaments.
A regional youth archery tournament is in the planning stages for January for a two-date event and outdoor expo. “We are expecting 1,000 shooters.”
The Creekside team is also working on scheduling a wrestling tournament in November with 400 participants.
“The national tournaments we partnered with Branson were a huge success. The USSSA has requested we turf more fields. They have grown from 130 teams to 168 this year and had to turn teams away,” Eddington said.
Bell shared with the Commissioners that a developer is interested in remodeling the top floor of the building that houses Explore Harrison and the CATPC.
“I just want your blessing before I present this possibility to the Council in August. If other developers are interested, we will open it for bids. But now, I only have one interest,” he said.
President/CEO of the Harrison Regional Chamber of Commerce, Jeff Nielsen, reported to the commissioners and mentioned a company that hopes to move to Harrison and move in on the first of September.
Bell told the group he had some delinquencies and was ready to turn them over to the city attorney for action. They are: Big Daddy’s, Central Shipley’s, Harrison Nutrition, Jameson’s Pizza, New Tokyo, and the Oasis.
Hotels were down for May, but restaurants were at an all-time high. A soccer tournament was unable to come this spring, which hurt hotel numbers. However, Eddington said they hoped to have them return next year.
Bell said the Days Inn had closed and was being remodeled for efficiency apartments.
The Balloon Festival is Explore Harrison's next big project. Coordinator Renee Swanson said she already has 30 balloon pilots committed to coming, and there is a waiting list.
“We’ve learned a lot from past events. Scheduling tethered balloon rides will be better this year,” she said. The Arkansas Hot Air Balloon State Championship is scheduled for Sept. 12-13.