08/11/2025
URGENT!!!!!
Fairfield Bay Campground update
The following statement is my personal opinion as well as factual information concerning the past, present, and future of the Fairfield Bay Campground. This post is lengthy, but it's well worth reading if you're concerned about the campground and the public's access to this recreational location in the state of Arkansas.
The Past (This is a summary; for more details on the past, I have reactivated my 'I Believe in the Bay' and 'The Fairfield Bay Campground' pages.) I have turned off comments on these pages, as they are intended for informational purposes only. I am not willing to debate or argue over the past. What is done is done. These pages give an accurate accounting of the past, and for those that care to investigate and not just take this post at face value, then please do your research.)
During my first month as Mayor, I was contacted by the US Army Corps of Engineers and asked if, as the new Mayor, I wanted to retain the campground lease. After some discussion, I learned that former Mayor Duncan had asked to be released from any obligations concerning the campground and suggested that the club secure a lease. I had no idea that the city held the lease for the campground; I thought the club did. After a private meeting with the Corps, I not only wanted to keep the campground, but I also discovered that former Mayor Wellenberger had issued a sublease with the club that the Corps had not approved. The Corps provided me with instructions on what I needed to do to secure another lease for the campground.
Subsequently, I went right to work to try to figure this out.
Timeline:
The Corps inspects the campground, and we discover that we are out of compliance. We receive a 13-page report listing things that must come into compliance before a lease is reissued.
This list is given to the club, and they are given 60 days to get the campground into compliance.
Sixty days come and go, and the work is not done. The club requests an additional 30 days.
Thirty days have passed, and we are still not in compliance. I plan to organize volunteers to help with the work, and we start raising funds to complete the project, as the city council is adamant that no city funds will be used to renovate the campground. We Love VBC, a nonprofit organization, takes on the challenge of raising $10,000.00 to complete the work and come into compliance.
In August, I have another private meeting with the Corps and will inform them that the club has failed to complete the work. They agree to assist me with any resources they have available, as they don’t want to have to close the campground. Meanwhile, the city council imposes demands on me and the team I have assembled to do this work, and keeps throwing up obstacles to prevent us from securing a lease. The club is furious that they have lost control of the campground and throws a fit when the Corps asks for the financial records of the last year. It is also worth noting that the Corps was required to inspect the campground every year. As a lessee, the city is required to submit a plan of action for operating and maintaining the campground, along with its financial details, to the Corps for approval. In the 25 years that the city has had a lease for the campground, I have only found two reports and plans submitted by Wellenberger. Records for the campground before that were not found in the city offices. However, the Corps did acknowledge that they, too, could not supply yearly inspections. No fault was made, but in my eyes, whether the other party does their part or not, an obligation is an obligation, and I assured the Corps that I would not let that happen again. They also brought up things that had occurred at the campground without prior approval. They could not have that happen again, and I completely agreed to ask permission before doing anything on Corps property. This would not be a problem, and I believe a very good working relationship has been established. The Corps wanted to issue a three-year lease to the city, but without a sublease.
When the Corps requested the finances for the prior year, I had to request this information from the club. It took a lot of arguing to obtain this simple report, and when we did, it was in the form of a spreadsheet created in Excel, rather than by a CPA as requested. After much deliberation, the Corps decided not to pursue this issue of lack of transparency by the club because the lease was in the city's name. This would require them to take action against the city, and then the city would have to pursue the club legally to obtain what was needed. The report we received indicated a significant loss at the campground, and in fact, records show that the campground never generated a profit in its 25-year history. The city council did not want to assume this financial obligation and informed me that unless I secured all the necessary funds to operate the campground for the first year, they would not permit me to sign a lease. They would not approve anything more than a year, and they demanded that I ask the Corps to reconsider a sublease to the club, even though the club had demonstrated for five years that it couldn’t make a profit and did not properly maintain the campground. The Club President recently stated that he is aware they overlooked the campground for years.
In September, the Corps agrees to a private meeting with representatives from the club and the city. During this meeting, many things were discussed, but it was made very clear that at this time, the Corps WILL NOT approve a sublease with ANYONE. The three-year lease is to be with the city and the city only. Well, all hell then breaks loose, and it is my opinion that there is more to this story as to why the club wants to continue to control the campground when they don’t maintain it, overlook things, and don’t promote it as one of their entities. Why fight so hard for something that loses money unless, of course, you are using it for other purposes? Think about that. I firmly believe that this was the straw that broke the camel's back, and also had my city council coming after me with vengeance. Just watch the city council meetings from this time. Things heated up after this meeting. To such an extent that a public hearing was held with the Corps the following month. At this meeting, they once again and finally explained that they will not change their minds about subleasing to the club. Done, period, no is no.
From the time I received the 3-year lease, the city council fought me tooth and nail over every little thing. They said I didn’t keep them informed, but the numerous “special meetings,” regular meeting agendas, and work sessions prove this isn’t true. Did I share all the behind-the-scenes things with them? No, I did not. I was too busy doing my job and jumping through their hoops to tell them every little thing I was thinking. I had work to do, money to raise, and a battle of a lifetime to survive, all for the sake of providing a valuable asset to the community. Closing the campground was not an option for me, nor for a very dedicated group of people who worked tirelessly alongside me to make this happen. City council members even went so far as not to attend meetings I called to resolve this issue and sign the lease before the December 31st, 2023, deadline. The last meeting of the year, after the recording stopped, councilwoman Krotz said, “Come on, do you really think we were going to let you sign that lease?” This only prompted me to put all I could into raising the money. At the time, we had only raised a little over 10,000.00, and we needed 38,000.00. The club threatened to sue the city on more than one occasion, and we either had to raise an entire year's worth of money to run the campground, or they would vote to have it closed.
During this time, Wellenberger and Mr. Gunter presented a plan, not approved by the Corps, to relocate the boat ramp from the swimming area and convert a large part of the campground into a parking lot. After much discussion with the public, we could all agree that moving the boat ramp is a good idea, but not at the cost of losing campsites. There had to be a better way. Consequently, during this time, Congressman French Hill came for a visit, and during this visit, he asked me about the project for the boat ramp and parking lot. He says that he can help with that, but he’s not sure he can help with the deck at the conference center. During this conversation, he goes on to describe how difficult it is to work with the Corps and has little respect for the office, to the point where he suggests that I hire the club as subcontractors for the campground without informing the Corps. When I asked him if that meant they would run it like they did before, collecting the funds, etc., he said yes. I told him I wasn’t going to do that, that I felt I had a good working relationship with the Corps, and I wouldn’t do that. He quickly cut our meeting short and left. A few days later, he calls and says that he has secured half a million dollars for the boat ramp and parking lot project, and that his office will be contacting me. All I have to do is sign the papers. Sure enough, two days later, his office calls and says that they have the contracts for me to sign. Do I want to come to the office and collect them? When I asked a few questions, it was determined that the funds would be available if I agreed to have the club be the subcontractor for the project. I informed his office that, as a city, any project like this would have to go out to bid and not just be awarded to the club. I was told that that is not how this would work. I then informed them that the Corps had not yet approved the project and that I would like to discuss it with them first. She agreed, and after speaking with the Corps, we determined that we did not want the parking lot and that there was no good location to move the boat launch right now. We developed an alternative plan that would add parking to the swim area, provide a distinct division for boat launches at the existing launch site, and preserve all the camping spots. The Corps asked me if I was in the parking lot business or if I was in the campground business. Why was I so concerned about parking for the marina? I was told to let the marina worry about their parking, and even after suggesting an alternative site for additional parking, the Corps asked me why, after all the trouble the club had given me over taking over the campground, I would want to build them a parking lot. We decided to take care of the launching, swimming, and swim parking for the campground instead and look to add additional parking for the marina at a later date. The Corps was not adverse to the area or the idea I had about the parking option, but felt that I should focus on the campground and signing a new three-year lease, or consider a five-year lease instead. When I called back French Hills office, the secretary couldn’t believe that I was turning down their offer. I explained that I wasn’t turning down the offer, but rather changing the plan, a plan that the Corps would approve. They withdrew their offer to help.
Meanwhile, donation efforts, clean up, and finally, the club finishes most of the repairs so that a final inspection can be conducted, and the Corps is now expecting me to sign the three-year lease. Meanwhile the city council is still causing issues, not showing up for meetings and now will only agree to a one-year lease after a meeting in January where by the grace of God and a very generous donor I was able to present to the city council a check in the amount of 28,000.00 bringing the total raised to 38,000.00 to run the campground for the first year. Thank goodness all this hard work was recognized by the Corps. Not only did they grant us a holdover status until the January city council meeting and all resolutions, ordinances, and other matters could be approved and voted on, but they also celebrated with us when the funds were raised. The final hoop that the council insisted we jump through before signing stated that I could not sign the lease unless the nonprofit agreed to transfer all the funds to the city, where they would deposit it in a designated account that could only be used for the campground. Begrudgingly, we had to agree, and it was stipulated in the MOU that all expenses incurred from these funds would require preapproval by the non-profit before being spent. This wouldn’t have been an issue in the first year because, as the Mayor, all I had to do was discuss with my husband what we needed, and he could provide the approval. He was also a valued volunteer, seeing firsthand our needs and doing a significant amount of the work himself, along with a small army of others.
During our first year, numerous improvements were made, various events held, systems implemented, and obstacles overcome. There are too many to list, so check the page for most of them. We fought vandals, whom we called angry boat people, who were told things that were not true. These angry people took it out on the volunteers at the welcome hut. We were threatened with lawsuits from Mr. Mac Bailey and the Club on more than one occasion, had heated arguments about parking safety during significant events, and the use of the illegal road that the club installed without Corps approval. A gate was installed at this exit thanks to Donnie Hovick and friends when the Corps wanted to put a large boulder on the road because they were so angry about it being put in in the first place. They agreed to let us use it for emergencies and during heavy traffic times. We achieved many successes in our first year and even generated enough revenue to sustain the campground for another year and a half if we continued the same approach as we did in that first year. The Corps was very pleased, and in July of 2024, they issued a three-year lease for me to sign.
The city council had other ideas and worked so hard to have me removed from office along with David Byard, Wellenberger, and the club that they succeeded. Even though they knew I was gone once the vote was certified they still would not allow me to present my plan of action for the campground and sign the new three-year lease. They even requested that I have the Corps change the lease to state that we only had to give a month's notice, and we could return the campground, allowing the Corps to close it if things didn’t work out. Ruth Krotz said she didn’t think our volunteers would continue to support the campground, and that we had just gotten lucky our first year, and that it would never be sustainable.
PRESENT DAY
This brings me to the present, and that's why I’m revisiting this topic. The city revised its plans for operating the campground. It wasn’t enough that boat slip renters didn’t have to pay to park at the marina or that if you were visiting the marina only, you didn’t have to pay to park in the marina parking lot. Still, now they don’t want the city to charge anyone to park, launch a boat at either launch area, or to go swimming. The only thing they wanted the city to charge for was camping. When the city was asked how they think that can make things sustainable, they wouldn’t answer. During that first year, if we had charged everyone except the boat slip renters, there would have been enough money at the end of the year to run the campground for another year solely on those fees. The QR codes that some people had a fit over gave us vital information on just how much money is possible to make at that campground. For example, in June, 5277 scans were done for people who stated they were only going to the marina. At 5.00, a car that would be over 26,000.00. I had suggested that for 2025, to keep everyone happy, everyone except boat slip renters would pay to get into the campground and marina area. The revenue generated for parking/day use and the swim area would be divided in half between the club and the city. The city would only charge for launching and camp fees, but share the parking fees. This way, you could park wherever you would like. What happened to the funds from years before? How could they not make a profit? Where did all the money they made go? They did things like letting someone rent three sites for the year, but only pay for the weekends, while leaving their rigs there from Memorial Day to Labor Day. They were allowing people to have access to the bathrooms year-round to take showers. They allowed people to dump their trash there, even if they weren’t camping, and so on. I have boxes of documents and evidence of the misdeeds committed over the years, and we had such a great and successful first year that I can’t understand how the city could revert to doing things as they always have. Now, they have gone over budget on some things at the campground, and as of the end of July, they only have $ 5,000.00 to run the campground for the rest of the year.
The numbers aren’t adding up on their expense sheet and the invoices I received through a FOIA request. Documents, Mou’s, ordinances, and resolutions have not been done that we were told HAD to be done before.
Documents that were done in the first year include:
• Ordinance imposing limitations on spending city funds for a campground without city council approval.
• Ordinance imposing prohibition on no entry fees at campground for customers of marina including boat slip oweners at the marina. (Ordinance 2024-06 states 2. Prohibition does not extend to launch fees. This prohibition does not extend to entry fees for persons not claiming to be customers of the Fairfield Bay Marina. Oops, you are supposed to charge for launch fees. 3. These prohibitions on raising revenue are effective on and after December 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm, and extend to, and including, December 31, 2025, unless revised by the City Council by Ordinance. These prohibitions extend to any “new “ lease of the campground at any time after 11:59 on December 31, 2023.
• Resolution referring to the planning commission the question of whether the annexation of lands encompassing the marina should be annexed into the -city of FFB. (We later found out that this was done years ago.)
• Ordinance approving agreement with We Love VBC for donations to fund operation of the campground to be leased from USACOE. (Special note, the Moonshine Festival was not a 501 (c) (3) when they started a special fund for money for this event. They did not become a nonprofit until the following year, and the Municipal League auditors advised the city not to do this again. That they had to treat nonprofits like the Animal Protection League, where this nonprofit has no legal documents required, but only a promise to raise funds for the city's animal shelter, they raise and keep their funds. When the city needs something, it asks, and they provide. When We Love VBC wanted to do that, they said no. They wouldn’t allow me to sign the one-year lease unless they were given the money to manage it, and with the nonprofit's agreement. The moonshine festival MOU even stated that Mr. Corley had to approve all expenses before they were paid. Leftover funds at the end of the first year had to have his approval even though the city attorney said that legally any merchandise that was left over from that first year belongs to the city and when Mr. Corley gave that merchandise away without city approval that while it was wrong and possibly illegal he had the city council approve a new mou where he was allowed to give away over 10,000.00 worth of city merchandise without approval. The city would still ask his permission to spend any leftover funds. The reason I bring this up is because not only did I disagree with how this all went down but when We Love VBC asked for the same courtesies and even hired an attorney to draw up a new MOU for the remaining 20,000.00 that was left over after our first year the city council didn’t even acknowledge that they received the new MOU to sign or respond to any emails sent concerning this. When this issue was brought up regarding the merchandise and funds from the moonshine festival, Roger Hooper is on record as saying, “Well, it might not be legal, but it’s the right thing to do after everything this man has done for our community.” Really? Well, what about the nonprofit organization, We Love VBC? They are a legitimate 501(c)(3) organization and have been around for a lot longer than the Moonshine Festival, having accomplished a great deal more than they have. Yet Mr. Hooper was one of the representatives who did not respond to requests from We Love VBC. This infuriates me when I see favoritism like this happening within your city government. If you don’t believe me, ask me or the city for proof. It’s all documented, and Mr. Corley was saying he was so angry because he thought the city was trying to steal his money and filed a lawsuit against the city that surprisingly went away when I was recalled. Now the city (in my opinion) has stolen funds raised by We Love VBC and used up all the leftover funds WITHOUT notifying the chairman, my husband, about any of the expenses. He has never been asked for permission to spend those funds, and it was only through FOIA requests that I made that we even knew what was happening with that money—Ordinance 2024-07 d. The city agrees that it will use a new account for the campground as the source of payment of all campground expenses; and further that the city will provide a copy of paid invoices concerning the campground to We Love VBC or other satisfactory documentation (such as proof of contractual payment for services) in 2024, until the amount “paid out” of the city’s campground account meets or exceeds the total donations received from We Love VBC. At the end of 2024, there was $ 108,100.00 left to carry over into 2025. Of that money, it was determined that $25,000.00 was the amount remaining from the funds raised by We Love VBC. These funds were intended for improvements, as the council had repeatedly stated that the campground had to stand on its own, or it would vote to close it down. The campground exceeded its annual needs, and the leftover funds from the original donation were to be used for improvements, with the approval of We Love VBC. This never happened, and all those funds have been spent. We Love VBC offered to continue supporting the campground as long as the original or the new MOU was honored. Isn’t that the right thing to do, Roger? Yet not one city council member ever responded! In the new MOU, we added that if the campground closes, any remaining funds should be returned to We Love VBC so that they can be used at another campground. Funds raised for the campground must be spent on the campground, so that’s what they did. They spent all the money and didn’t even give this organization the courtesy of keeping them informed—such a shame. )
• Ordinance approving the opening of a new city of FFB account with Campspot.
• Ordinance approving the opening of a new account at Eagle Bank to accept donations and other receipts for and to pay costs and expenses of lease of the campground, continuing prohibition on spending at the campground.
• Ordinance approving the opening of a new bank account to accept donations and other receipts for and to pay costs and expenses of lease of campground.
• Ordinance approving agreement with contractors to attend to and facilitate the operation of the campground.
• Ordinance amending the 2024 budget to approve spending on campground in 2024, appropriating funds, authorizing expenses to operate campground starting on Nov. 10, 2023.
My most recent FOIA request asked a few questions, and here are the responses.
Rose,
Please explain how the campground overspent its budget by $22,800.00. What are the plans to keep the campground open when you have used all your funds for the year? Where are the funds coming from currently to pay expenses at the campground? Please explain the 545.04 refund. How does the city plan on bringing in day-use and parking fees that you have budgeted, when you aren't charging these fees, but your budget lists it as a $10,000.00 income? What is other income? Thank you.
The reason the campground would be over budget is because of the Audit for the Corp and the fact that we had to pay insurance. (The audit should have come out of the carryover funds from 2024, and they knew they had to pay insurance; it’s in their budget, they just underestimated the cost.)
The funds for expenses are coming out of the campground account. (Will 5,000.00 be enough for the rest of the year, or is there a plan to shut the campground down and let Wellenberger and Gunter come back in and build a parking lot?)
The 545.04 is refund of campers who requested a refund.
Other income is post cards and donations.
Day use will be discussed for next year, at that time we will decide if we need to charge day use. (Yet they sold some season passes, and did they reimburse those people when the club told them not to charge anyone for anything? Why did they not adjust the budget at that time? In our first year, all expenses had to be approved by the city council. Why was this not done this year, and who authorized all the spending?)
Thank you
Rose Owen
City of Fairfield Bay, AR
Rose,
Your numbers don't add up to the income and expense statement. Invoices are not complete. What is Eagle Business Credit? Why is mine and Sean's name still on the Fiserv statement? And did the city advertise for the position that you are paying Peggy Youngers for? What does she do to cover her contract labor expenses? Please provide proof that this position was advertised correctly and documentation approving the hiring of the contract labor for the campground. Also, what was the 10.00 charge and credit voucher for the FFB pharmacy?
Additionally, you purchased a bathroom lock for $639.06, and subsequently, a receipt was issued for the return of the bathroom lock for $38.80. Did you receive a credit back on the lock that was returned? Please provide proof that this happened. What is the 149.60 fee that was charged from the community club, with a notation of $99.00 for the city and $50.60 for trails?
Please respond digitally and to ALL questions. Thank you.
I don’t know what you mean the numbers don’t add up, please explain.
Eagle Business should have been Eagle Bank
In order to remove your names from the Fiserv I will have to have your permission or close the account and set up a new one, which I will not do until the season is over.
Do you give your permission?
Peggy Younger cleans the restroom on the weekends. She is a camphost (Yet there is no MOU, resolution, or even anyone that will admit to being the person who hired the camp hosts, and this was supposed to be part of their job description, with no compensation. They get a free site, water, sewer, wifi, and trash service. There is no record of this being approved by anyone, and a FOIA request regarding their qualifications and who hired the camphosts was left with no responsive documents. How does this happen when the first year we had this all in writing, through resolutions, MOU, and ordinances?)
I have looked and can not find a transaction for the FFB Pharmacy (There are two 10.00 transactions for the FFB pharmacy that were paid out of the campground account from a city employee's credit card statement.)
Still waiting for the refund of the lock.it will appear on next months statement.
The 99 for the club was for signs, as you will notice I only paid $99 just for the campground signs not for the trails.
Thank you
Rose owen
Questions:
Bella, have you installed the cameras you wanted in the Welcome hut? If not, why?
Ruth, how are your volunteers working for you, and why haven’t you moved the Welcome hut?
Seth, as the mayor, why didn’t you hire the camp hosts, and who did you authorize to do so? Did you allow payments to one of the camp hosts for cleaning bathrooms that our other “volunteer camp hosts” and other volunteers also did? Did you get this approved by the city council?
Roger, do you feel good about discriminating against a nonprofit that has done so much for all of Van Buren County, or are you doing what you have been told to do?
City council, I’m sure you were told not to respond to anything from the nonprofit organization that worked so hard to save the campground, but do you feel good about agreeing to this? Not even a thank you. Do you think that other people will support or make donations to the city after the way you all have behaved towards an organization that not only raised 38.000.00 for the campground but worked endless hours running the place and putting it back on the map?
To the community and to the many donors and volunteers who supported me during my administration and the campground project. Thank you!!!! Thank you to the Corps of Engineers for your unwavering support in our first year. I am grateful for the experience I had, despite the many trials and tribulations, because in the end, we did something good. We were honest, transparent, and worked diligently, and we succeeded where others failed every year for 25 years. The current administration has gone back to the way they have always done things, and as for me, I’ve learned a very valuable lesson about our representatives. I hope that Fairfield Bay Campground will still be around in the future—one where everyone is treated fairly. Where safety and providing a pleasant experience are the top priorities, I look forward to the day when we vote in an administration that I can trust and be proud of. As for the nonprofit, We Love VBC will continue to support projects in all parts of the county where there is a need. Their mission has always been to identify a need, fulfill it, and then move on to the next project. Stay tuned to find out where they are going next. I have decided to stay there as a spokesperson for the time being, and I hope everyone who has stuck with this very long post and read to the end goes to our page, We Love VBC, like and follow the page so that you will know where we are going next.
