The Hot Springs Board of Directors voted to renew its contract with the Hot Springs Metro Partnership and approved multiple amendments after lengthy public comment focused on the future of the former Majestic Hotel site and on transparency in the marketing process.

Public speakers pressed the board to tighten oversight of how the partnership markets the Majestic property and to allow additional vetting routes for developers. Tyler Draper, a District 5 resident, urged "a little bit more transparency," saying the city purchased the site with public money and residents deserve greater access to information. Other residents criticized the partnership’s exclusive role and questioned whether the organization had produced viable proposals in past years.

Metro Partnership leaders defended their work and presented performance data at the meeting. Carl McCaskill, vice president of economic development for the Metro Partnership, provided a summary of 2025 project activity, saying the group worked four manufacturing projects that together could yield about 165 new direct jobs, roughly $25.3 million in new payroll and more than $80 million in planned capital investments. Gary Troutman, the partnership’s CEO, said the group expects to reach “98% broadband coverage in the next two years” and described efforts to recruit industry and promote city assets.

In response to public concerns and director questions, the board adopted three substantive amendments to the 2026 Metro Partnership agreement before voting to approve the contract extension. The approved changes include:

- A requirement that Metro Partnership staff host at least three site consultants in Hot Springs annually to increase in-person exposure to local property opportunities;
- A revised timeline for the Majestic vetting process that retains Dec. 31, 2025 as the deadline for proposals but requires Metro Partnership to complete ranking and vetting of submissions by March 31, 2026 and forward ranked recommendations back to the board for final action; and
- Removal of a single sentence in Section 5.l of the contract that referenced a $12,500 line item, after board discussion about the clarity of that line’s intended use.

Board members stressed the change to the vetting timeline is not an endorsement but a scheduling decision: the Metro Partnership’s Majestic Site Committee will gather and rate proposals, then return formal rated-and-ranked recommendations to the board by March 31 so the elected body can decide whether to proceed. Metro Partnership representatives told the board they still expect two formal proposals by Dec. 31 and said they would follow the amended timeline.

Several directors asked for clearer, more frequent financial reporting from Metro Partnership (monthly P&L or a clearer chart-of-accounts view of how funds are spent) and for improved, up-to-date web listings for city properties. Director Dudley Webb emphasized he wants the public to have a clear, accessible route to ask questions about Majestic-site activity and that the board’s amendments create “two doors” for vetting—Metro Partnership and a city-led option—if needed after March 31.

The resolution adopting the amended Metro Partnership contract passed by roll call vote; the record shows the board approved the measure as amended. The board directed staff to work with Metro Partnership on documentation and website updates and asked Metro Partnership for more granular financial details in future packets to help the board and the public track marketing expenditures.

What happens next: Metro Partnership will complete its ranking and vetting process for proposals received by Dec. 31, 2025, and return rated-and-ranked recommendations by March 31, 2026. The board may then decide whether to accept a recommendation, pursue municipal financing or ballot action, or change the vetting arrangement going forward.