The Hope Advertising and Tourism Board met Tuesday, November 30, to discuss an update on permits and payments, Hope Outdoor's advertisement on Third Street, and the lights at the ball fields.
After the review and acceptance of the September and October minutes from those two previous meetings, the board heard a revenue report and an update on permits and payments from local businesses. The Brickhouse Cafe was shown to be two months behind on their business permits, while Honeysuckles and Tamales Rosy were both shown to be three or more months behind on their payments. Angelo's Italian restaurant has closed permanently.
Afterward, the board discussed a quote from Eric Smith with Seiz Company in Hot Springs about replacing the advertisement sign on Third Street. The advertisement is on the side of Hope Outdoor. Smith's estimate for a 12' by24' Hope sign with an image of a watermelon came to $767, with an additional $175 for removal of the old sign, and an additional $1,050 for installation and travel of the new sign, putting the proposed subtotal for the project at $1,992 + tax. Seiz is the same company who designed and installed the previous sign.
After discussion the board decided to accept the estimate.
Finally, the board heard estimates to replace the lights at the ball fields. The proposal to replace the metal halide lights on wooden poles with LED lights on metal poles at the ball field came with the following estimates:
K-Park Complex (Lady Cat Field, Millennium and Hawthorne) - $202,500
Kelly Complex (3 adult softball fields) - $357,400
Legion Baseball Field - $152,900
Kiwanis Complex (3 youth baseball fields) - $131,000
Soccer Complex - $254,100
All total, a sum of $1,097,900,
The infields on 9 fields at $20,000 per field comes to another $180,000.
Summer Powell and City Manager Catherine Cook discussed options of payment, sharing their findings with the board. The board ultimately decided to look into an outdoor recreation grant, as well as to pursue some additional avenues to fund the project.
The meeting then adjourned.