Did the City Council know when they voted to give the Fayetteville Downtown Partners a donation for the Arts Festival that it was so poorly managed? Would Lioneld Jordan be in such a rush to suggest giving them $32,500 if he had any idea that the leadership of the FDP was so inept? In the few years the Arts Festival has been in existence it has seen dropping attendance and dropping sales. When the City Council gives a non-profit group a donation I expect to see good management of the money and the group to show success. If it fails, then I don't want to see any more money wasted on it. I would rather it be used for a more worthwhile organization such as the Fayetteville City Library. It's been showing tremendous success and the Library has shown that it makes the most of the money it receives. The Iconoclast notes that the Arts Festival was saved due to the efforts of Sarah Lewis and Dede Peters. If there is to be future Arts Festivals, more people like Sarah and Dede need to step up and not rely on the City of Fayetteville to pull their chestnuts from the fire. The Iconoclast also calls for President Daniel Keeley to step down. I would also note that if he doesn't the FDP Board of Directors needs to remove him. Next year, if the leadership isn't in place that would apply for funding from the Advertising and Promotion Commission and get more people to donate to the Festival then the City Council should reject any requests for donations. Sarah Lewis is running for the Ward 4 Alderman position. I hope she understands the need to be careful of the taxpayer's money, particularly when the City's budget is tight and the Fayetteville citizen's is even tighter.Chart from Northwest Arkansas Times.
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