Thursday, May 2, 2024
The retirement of Cheri Shepherd, director of Gatesville's Convention and Visitors Bureau, has created a void in management of the Gatesville Civic Center which Interim City Manager Bill Parry is attempting to resolve.
"Cheri Shepherd retired at the end of February but agreed to stay on to manage the civic center until a new city manager takes office," Parry told the Gatesville City Council on April 25. However, the time-consuming nature of that role resulted in Shepherd needing to step down from that responsibility effective May 3, he added.
Before June 2015, the city secretary was assigned to market and manage the civic center, which the city had spent more than $450,000 to renovate, according to a Council memorandum.
The Gatesville Convention & Visitors Bureau was created in August 2016, and managing the civic center was "an essential function" of that city department, the memorandum stated.
The civic center, as of late April, had events booked every weekend in May and June and already two weekends in July. Also, the 440th and 52nd State District Courts have booked eight weeks at the facility to accommodate jury selection.
Parry said the city has not recruited a new convention and visitor's bureau director at this time, deferring that decision to new City Manager Scott Albert, who is scheduled to take office on May 10. Parry added that the city has not been able to successfully recruit part-time employees to assist with management of the facility.
"We looked at four different options," Parry said. "One was to cancel all events currently booked in the civic center and not to take any additional reservations; a second was to assign responsibility for managing the civic center to the parks and recreation department; a third was to contract with the Gatesville Chamber of Commerce to manage the civic center as a city-owned facility for a reasonable fee; and fourth was to negotiate a temporary management contract with a non-city party to manage the civic center."
Parry recommended the fourth option, and said he is working to "find someone to agree to a temporary contract to manage the civic center. I am leaning to something less than six months."
He said he will update the Council on the results of his efforts.
