This was a difficult year for Cottonwood’s Old Town Association. As OTA President Marat Shkandin prepared to hand off leadership of the group to new president, Brenda Clouston of the Colt Grill, he discovered that the group’s treasurer, Traci Koelzer, appeared to not only have been embezzling from the OTA for years, but also seemed to have emptied out its bank accounts and skipped town.
The Cottonwood City Council held off on funding the OTA, which normally receives $10,000 annually from the town for marketing efforts, requiring first that the association show that it had fixed the problems from the previous year.
The OTA teamed up with the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce in order to change how they handle funds and work with supervision from an outside entity, as well as to team up on marketing projects.
At the Cottonwood City Council meeting on Dec. 18, Clouston, joined by Chamber of Commerce President Christian Oliva Del Rio and OTA Treasurer Jim Ariola, owner of the Old Town Red Rooster, made their case before the city government, claiming that they had fixed many of the OTA’s issues and have recommitted themselves to projects aimed at helping the town and Old Town businesses.
The Cottonwood City Council unanimously voted to give the OTA the $10,000 they asked for.
“I think it shows that the council is a very fair council,” Clouston said. “They saw all the safeguards we put into place in the report we submitted on how we’re different and how we’re moving forward. They read it and they understood it, and they believe that we mean what we say. So that tells me that they’re a wise city council.”
The OTA’s report cited changes that the OTA has made to its financial processes in order to make problems like what happened in the past impossible. The new OTA has hired the accounting firm Sterling Financial to file its tax returns and provide quarterly oversight. It has also sought liability insurance and is requiring financial reporting, conflict of interest and whistleblower training for officers.
Clouston also highlighted the change of eliminating credit and debit cards for the association, making it harder for an employee to misuse funds.
“They’ve come a really long way, and I’m quite proud of the progress that they’ve made in a very short amount of time,” Oliva Del Rio said at the city council meeting. “[They have been] able to pull off two very large events — we all took a lot of notes at the Chocolate Walk and VIP [Chocolate & Wine Event] and I think there’s a lot of ways for us to improve on that.”
“The chamber has always seen Old Town as a destination and a destination driver, so we will always continue to market it,” Oliva Del Rio said. “It’s great to have the support of the individuals and the markets in town. A lot of what we’ve done has been the focus of social media marketing as well as improvements of website. The hope is that with funding from the city they will be able to join Cottonwood marketing coalition. Things are moving forward in a very positive way. This group is planning for the future for when they are not going to be the board and there will be other members — how do we maintain this progress going forward.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Cottonwood City Council also discussed the possibility of channeling funds from Cottonwood’s bed tax, which currently pays for the Chamber of Commerce, to the Old Town Association in the future. That change would come in the coming year’s budget.
In addition to the Chocolate Walk and VIP event, the OTA also promoted SAFE Night in Old Town. These events, along with membership dues from Old Town businesses, have allowed the OTA to begin replenishing its reserves.
Clouston said she looks forward to the upcoming Sip and Stroll event planned for around Valentine’s Day, allowing ticket holders to walk up and down Old Town outside with drinks in their hands.
“Commitment, hard work ethic and a strong belief in hospitality — that is the biggest difference,”
Clouston said of her vision of the new OTA. “That’s how we are. I don’t really know what happened before, but this is the way we are and this is how we’re going to move forward. All of us are dedicated to creating an atmosphere in Old Town that is very hospitable and vibrant and fun.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
