Tourism Secretary/Parks Director Summer Chambers shared the finalized lineup for the sesquicentennial event which will include concerts, a hamburger supper by Farmers Bank & Trust, family games, a fireworks show and much more, all free for the community to enjoy. Vendors will be downtown from 10am to 1pm, and then all other events will take place at City Hall from 3pm till the final activity that night. She said event t-shirts are selling well and still available at the Chamber of Commerce office, the park office, and Tailgaters. Citizens can visit hopearkansas.net for more info. 

In other business, representatives from Hope Downtown Network (HDN) addressed the commission and made a request for a donation to support the HDN and the community improvements and activities it facilitates. Beckie Moore, HDN Secretary, shared the purpose of the organization and its four-point approach of organization, promotion, design, and economic vitality, in addition to the projects that HDN has completed over the last few years. 

Then, John Hollis, HDN Board Member, made the request for financial support and explained what the money would fund. He said HDN wants to upgrade to the associate level of the Main Street Program which means hiring a part-time employee that would have a salary of $20,000 a year. He said HDN is asking for $10,000 from Tourism, half of the employee’s salary, and Hope City Board is paying the other $10,000. 

“Right now we are project-based, moving from project to project’” Hollis said. “We want to move to the next level … a vital downtown is an important component for any city.” 

Commissioner Trevor Coffee asked what benefits the city could see from this and Commissioner Charlton Luker asked if eventually this position would be sustained entirely from HDN. The Commission discussed the request further, with Mayor Don Still and Commission Chair Sharon Caldwell both commenting on the progress they’ve witnessed from HDN. The commission said they would look into their budget and give an answer soon. 

In other updates Chambers said that the repairs on the AmTrak platform couldn’t move forward until a lease agreement was reached with Union Pacific, a meeting about the Visitors Center will be soon, and the McMaster's tourney went well. She also relayed important upcoming dates and events. They are as follows:

April 17th - Easter Egg Hunt at Kelly Fields

April 26th - Youth Fishing Derby at Huckabee Lake

May 3rd - Hope Train Day

May 3rd - Jack Williams Memorial Softball Tournament 

July 5th - Sparks Fly in July