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 $18,000 annually from billboard commissions in the 2024-25 budget, a figure that dropped to about $5,500 after the third board was removed.

The commission discussed maintenance problems and fractured communications among the city, the Chamber and Lamar, a national outdoor-advertising company that handled sales, skins and repairs. Becky Fawcett, chief executive officer of the Kingman Chamber of Commerce, told the panel that getting outages and lighting fixed had been slow and difficult. "We finally got them to replace the lights and that was about a $1,500 expense," Fawcett said, adding the replacement took what she estimated as "about 18 months" of back-and-forth among parties.

City staff said one billboard was removed for a state highway interchange project and that the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) had offered a potential reimbursement. Staff also said the land where the removed billboard sat is zoned recreation/open space and likely would not meet commercial zoning requirements for a replacement without broader zoning changes, and that the traffic patterns after the new interchange will reduce exposure on some approaches.

Josh told the commission the Chamberlease arrangements for two of the boards end in October (two boards) and that the East-side site's sublease with Lamar runs through April 2028. He said the Chamber had provided Lamar the required nonrenewal notice in August for the contracts that expire next month.

Commissioners asked whether the city would manage sales and maintenance directly or issue a request for proposals. Josh said the city could either contract with a third-party vendor through procurement (including Lamar) or consider internal management through public works and city marketing, and that either path would be presented to City Council. Staff noted procurement-code requirements and raised an Arizona anti-gift clause as a legal consideration for any ongoing arrangement.

The commission also discussed options to preserve Chamber revenue streams if the city takes back billboard control. Becky Fawcett said the advertising income had been a significant non-dues revenue source for the nonprofit Chamber: "$18,000 our entire budget is around $400,000. So it's a significant amount for us to lose," she said. The Chamber and city staff said they would explore alternative membership levels, partnerships or other advertising opportunities to make up the shortfall.

After discussion, Commissioner Tasha (recorded in the meeting as writing during the vote) moved a recommendation that the commission request the city cancel the Chamber's contract and seek new ways to help the Chamber replace lost revenue; the motion was seconded and adopted by unanimous voice vote. The commission chair instructed staff to prepare a recommendation to present to City Council at the October 7 council meeting.

The commission's discussion also covered the possibility of new or relocated billboards, zoning constraints, ADOT reimbursement for removed signage and whether to seek vendors to build/lease new boards. Staff said any new construction, digital signage decisions or long-term third-party agreements would require compliance with procurement rules and Council approval. The commission concluded its single-agenda special meeting by forwarding the recommendation to cancel the Chamber arrangement and to investigate replacement revenue options for the Chamber.