Kingman advisory commission recommends canceling Chamber billboard contract, asks city to seek alternatives to replace Chamber revenue

The Economic Development Advisory Commission on Thursday recommended the City of Kingman cancel its long-standing billboard management arrangement with the Kingman Chamber of Commerce and asked city staff to identify alternative ways to help the Chamber replace lost revenue. The action was carried by unanimous voice vote.

Commissioners said the recommendation would be forwarded to the City Council for final direction. The motion directs staff to pursue termination of the existing arrangement and to seek options for supporting Chamber operations if the Chamber loses billboard income.

The commission centering the discussion on two remaining city-owned billboards followed a presentation by city staffer Josh, who traced the assets to installations in 1982 funded with bed-tax (tourism) dollars and managed historically by the Chamber. Josh said the city still owns the structures and the land under them, and that the Chamber had subleased advertising sales to Lamar beginning around 2005. He told commissioners three billboards were originally erected, one has since been removed and two remain; the Chamberreceived roughly…