Jan Ridenour
06-13-2002, 05:07 PM
The following is a copy of the letter that was given to the CAPC Commissioners yesterday by email and regular mail.
Since this has been a contract paid for by tax dollars, we are sending it to the businesses of Eureka Springs so that
you may know our exact words.
The attachments that are mentioned are copies of the cease and desist order mentioned and a copy of the extension that was given to the CAPC on April 17,2002
These items are in our office if you should care to review them.
Jan & Kim
---------------------------------------------
All of the commissioners received the following by US Mail on Thursday, June 13, 2002. This is simply an email copy for you.
The attachments mentioned were sent by US Mail.
June 12, 2002
Dear CAPC Commissioners,
In late March, Kim and I were asked to attend three CAPC committee meetings,two for finance and one for advertising. This request came from three Commissioners after it was brought to light that, beginning in
November, 2001, CAPC employees and Commissioners Loudermilk and Satori had
ordered a new web site to be built, without the knowledge of the full Commission.
During those meetings, the committee members discussed how the CAPC wanted to proceed with their Internet presence. In the context of these meetings, Positive Idea made three offers to the Commission:
1). Since a great deal of money had already been spent on new site development, we offered to allow the CAPC to buy us out of our existing contract in early April so that internet advertising would not be disrupted
in the midst of the upcoming season.
2). We made an offer to simply run to the end of our existing contract, which terminates July 11, 2002.
3). We offered to extend our existing contract until February, 2003 in order
to give the Commission time to think about the direction they wanted to take with internet marketing.
On April 11, 2002 at a regular CAPC meeting, after much discussion and many accusatory remarks directed towards our company by Mayor Satori, CAPC Marketing Director Lynn (Carrington) Berry, and Chamber of Commerce
representatives, the Commission voted to extend the existing contract between Positive Idea and the CAPC until February 1, 2003.
Since the Eureka Springs City Attorney had resigned her position before this meeting, we offered to have our attorney write a very simple extension of the contact date, (copy attached). Positive Idea incurred the cost of this work. The extension document was given to Jon Loudermilk on April 17, 2002.
We were told the extension was being reviewed by Kim Dickens and forwarded
to an attorney in Springdale.
On May 6, we received an email from Jon stating he wanted to include a proration clause in the extension. Our reply was that we could either prorate the February payment or extend the contract to February 11 instead
of February 1. Either solution was acceptable to us. Jon also stated that the Springdale attorney wanted to change the "transition" portion of our contract, i.e. the end of contract provisions for transferring site contents that were originally agreed upon by the City Attorney and our own attorney.
On May 17, 2002, Jon sent another email stating that the Springdale attorney
wanted to discuss "transition" with our attorney and re-write the relevant contract provisions.
As Jon has been advised, we forwarded all materials to our attorney, including proposals from other companies and individuals whom Lynn Berry hired to assess and critique our work. Two of these companies showed no contact information on their assessments" and neither presented any online credentials. No one, including CAPC Commissioners who pursued the matter,
were able to find valid business addresses, phone numbers, or professional references of any kind on the companies who critiqued our performance.
The third company presented by Ms. Berry to critique our work is a business who has partners and business relationships against which just, prior to the meeting date of April, 11 we had to file cease and desist orders regarding copyright violations. (see attached) The representative of this company who publicly criticzed us at the April 11 CAPC meeting was in our office two days before this meeting to deliver a surrender of domain name to us under "cyber-squatting" laws. Cyber-squatting laws are regulations that protect internet businesses against impersonation by companies who hope to gain by pretending to be the owner of a developed and valuable trademark.
We also discussed another disturbing fact with our attorney. Since the April 11 meeting, numerous local business owners have reported to us that CAPC employees are openly discussing an attempted "hack" on our server. According to these reported conversations, the hack was allegedly ordered by Lynn Berry. A "hack" is an unauthorized attempt to enter a server; in this case,described by CAPC employees as an attempt to get existing CAPC site contents
without our knowledge. Hacking is considered to be an attack on a network, and all such attempts are recorded as potentially threatening breaches of network security. We were able to confirm that this attempted hack occurred, as reported, by viewing our server logs and noting the admitted date and
geographic source of the hacking attempt. This attempt originated from a geographical location that Ms. Berry has discussed in numerous meetings as a possible location for the future hosting of the eurekasprings.org site. Hacking is also a federal crime, which is prosecuted by the FBI.
As we have told two CAPC commissioners privately, we have no desire to press
charges or encourage further investigation of this matter. To do so may compromise Commissioners who have worked very hard to protect the interests of Eureka Springs,
since employees are generally considered to work at the direction of their employers. However, hacking attempts involve entire networks with multiple business users, and we do not have control over any other business that does not share our patriotism for Eureka Springs. We suspect that there will be no consequences for the city, though we do find the situation ridiculous,unprofessional, dishonest, and counterproductive in the extreme.
We sincerely appreciate commissioners Simon, Zumwalt, Van Caulil and Sumpter who have taken the time to gain a better understanding of our contract and
its fulfillment. We would also like to note that none of these Commissioners
exhibited any particular preference towards Positive Idea as a web site provider or any firm notion about the validity of "in-house" versus contract professional work. These Commissioners merely wanted to make the best
decision with full knowledge, and it was their desire to act responsibly for the economic well-being of our city that motivated us to offer an extension
in the first place.
As of this date, neither Jon Loudermilk, Mayor Satori, nor any staff member
of the CAPC involved in Internet decisions have ever been to our office, nor have they attempted to make any informed evaluation of our work during the entire length of our present contract.
No contract extension has been signed.
Our attorney's actual remarks about this situation were quite colorful, but since they involve language that is not considered suitable for business
correspondence, suffice it to say that our attorney agrees with the assessment of the two CAPC commissioners who have told us, "There seems to be a concerted effort to discredit you and your company." Our attorney
further notes that there does not appear to be a productive and professional way to conduct business with the CAPC. We certainly have better things to do than continue to fight this battle, and we assume that those who have dedicated their time to discrediting us can find a more useful occupation in our absence.
Hence, upon the advice of our attorney, Positive Idea will allow its contract with the CAPC to expire by its own terms at 12:01 AM on July 12, 2002. According to the transition provisions that have always been in place, signed by Jon Loudermilk in July 2000, we will provide the web site contents
on CD in exchange for full and final contract payment. As of this date, the
amount remaining due and owing on the contract is $10,800.
We assume that the very recent concern about "transition provisions" stems
from the fact that our contract required the CAPC to provide materials and direction to us for web site production. As all commissioners know, no materials or direction have ever been provided, and Positive Idea has met both the CAPC side of the contract and our own for three years.
Contractually speaking, we could have collected payment without doing any
work, since the CAPC has never met the provisions of its own agreement.
However, the fact that eurekasprings.org exists at all should be sufficient
testimony to our professional ethics.
We have no desire to seek vengeance on the CAPC. We would simply like to end this relationship quietly, professionally, finally, and without any further
accusations or argument. We do not anticipate any problems for the Commission since, at the April 11 meeting, the Chamber "expert" stated that there would be no problem in getting the web site up and running within twenty-four hours.
The end of this contract has absolutely no bearing on our Eureka Springs Tourist Center site at www.eurekasprings.com. (http://www.eurekasprings.com.) As always, we will put guest service first, and we will continue to support the businesses of Eureka
Springs who depend heavily on tourism. Without the constraints imposed by our involvement with the CAPC, we feel that both of these goals can be better achieved.
We wish the commission the best in their endeavors.
Sincerely,
Jan Ridenour, President
Positive Idea Marketing
Eureka Springs Tourist Center
888-Eureka 0 www.eurekasprings.com (http://www.eurekasprings.com)
Since this has been a contract paid for by tax dollars, we are sending it to the businesses of Eureka Springs so that
you may know our exact words.
The attachments that are mentioned are copies of the cease and desist order mentioned and a copy of the extension that was given to the CAPC on April 17,2002
These items are in our office if you should care to review them.
Jan & Kim
---------------------------------------------
All of the commissioners received the following by US Mail on Thursday, June 13, 2002. This is simply an email copy for you.
The attachments mentioned were sent by US Mail.
June 12, 2002
Dear CAPC Commissioners,
In late March, Kim and I were asked to attend three CAPC committee meetings,two for finance and one for advertising. This request came from three Commissioners after it was brought to light that, beginning in
November, 2001, CAPC employees and Commissioners Loudermilk and Satori had
ordered a new web site to be built, without the knowledge of the full Commission.
During those meetings, the committee members discussed how the CAPC wanted to proceed with their Internet presence. In the context of these meetings, Positive Idea made three offers to the Commission:
1). Since a great deal of money had already been spent on new site development, we offered to allow the CAPC to buy us out of our existing contract in early April so that internet advertising would not be disrupted
in the midst of the upcoming season.
2). We made an offer to simply run to the end of our existing contract, which terminates July 11, 2002.
3). We offered to extend our existing contract until February, 2003 in order
to give the Commission time to think about the direction they wanted to take with internet marketing.
On April 11, 2002 at a regular CAPC meeting, after much discussion and many accusatory remarks directed towards our company by Mayor Satori, CAPC Marketing Director Lynn (Carrington) Berry, and Chamber of Commerce
representatives, the Commission voted to extend the existing contract between Positive Idea and the CAPC until February 1, 2003.
Since the Eureka Springs City Attorney had resigned her position before this meeting, we offered to have our attorney write a very simple extension of the contact date, (copy attached). Positive Idea incurred the cost of this work. The extension document was given to Jon Loudermilk on April 17, 2002.
We were told the extension was being reviewed by Kim Dickens and forwarded
to an attorney in Springdale.
On May 6, we received an email from Jon stating he wanted to include a proration clause in the extension. Our reply was that we could either prorate the February payment or extend the contract to February 11 instead
of February 1. Either solution was acceptable to us. Jon also stated that the Springdale attorney wanted to change the "transition" portion of our contract, i.e. the end of contract provisions for transferring site contents that were originally agreed upon by the City Attorney and our own attorney.
On May 17, 2002, Jon sent another email stating that the Springdale attorney
wanted to discuss "transition" with our attorney and re-write the relevant contract provisions.
As Jon has been advised, we forwarded all materials to our attorney, including proposals from other companies and individuals whom Lynn Berry hired to assess and critique our work. Two of these companies showed no contact information on their assessments" and neither presented any online credentials. No one, including CAPC Commissioners who pursued the matter,
were able to find valid business addresses, phone numbers, or professional references of any kind on the companies who critiqued our performance.
The third company presented by Ms. Berry to critique our work is a business who has partners and business relationships against which just, prior to the meeting date of April, 11 we had to file cease and desist orders regarding copyright violations. (see attached) The representative of this company who publicly criticzed us at the April 11 CAPC meeting was in our office two days before this meeting to deliver a surrender of domain name to us under "cyber-squatting" laws. Cyber-squatting laws are regulations that protect internet businesses against impersonation by companies who hope to gain by pretending to be the owner of a developed and valuable trademark.
We also discussed another disturbing fact with our attorney. Since the April 11 meeting, numerous local business owners have reported to us that CAPC employees are openly discussing an attempted "hack" on our server. According to these reported conversations, the hack was allegedly ordered by Lynn Berry. A "hack" is an unauthorized attempt to enter a server; in this case,described by CAPC employees as an attempt to get existing CAPC site contents
without our knowledge. Hacking is considered to be an attack on a network, and all such attempts are recorded as potentially threatening breaches of network security. We were able to confirm that this attempted hack occurred, as reported, by viewing our server logs and noting the admitted date and
geographic source of the hacking attempt. This attempt originated from a geographical location that Ms. Berry has discussed in numerous meetings as a possible location for the future hosting of the eurekasprings.org site. Hacking is also a federal crime, which is prosecuted by the FBI.
As we have told two CAPC commissioners privately, we have no desire to press
charges or encourage further investigation of this matter. To do so may compromise Commissioners who have worked very hard to protect the interests of Eureka Springs,
since employees are generally considered to work at the direction of their employers. However, hacking attempts involve entire networks with multiple business users, and we do not have control over any other business that does not share our patriotism for Eureka Springs. We suspect that there will be no consequences for the city, though we do find the situation ridiculous,unprofessional, dishonest, and counterproductive in the extreme.
We sincerely appreciate commissioners Simon, Zumwalt, Van Caulil and Sumpter who have taken the time to gain a better understanding of our contract and
its fulfillment. We would also like to note that none of these Commissioners
exhibited any particular preference towards Positive Idea as a web site provider or any firm notion about the validity of "in-house" versus contract professional work. These Commissioners merely wanted to make the best
decision with full knowledge, and it was their desire to act responsibly for the economic well-being of our city that motivated us to offer an extension
in the first place.
As of this date, neither Jon Loudermilk, Mayor Satori, nor any staff member
of the CAPC involved in Internet decisions have ever been to our office, nor have they attempted to make any informed evaluation of our work during the entire length of our present contract.
No contract extension has been signed.
Our attorney's actual remarks about this situation were quite colorful, but since they involve language that is not considered suitable for business
correspondence, suffice it to say that our attorney agrees with the assessment of the two CAPC commissioners who have told us, "There seems to be a concerted effort to discredit you and your company." Our attorney
further notes that there does not appear to be a productive and professional way to conduct business with the CAPC. We certainly have better things to do than continue to fight this battle, and we assume that those who have dedicated their time to discrediting us can find a more useful occupation in our absence.
Hence, upon the advice of our attorney, Positive Idea will allow its contract with the CAPC to expire by its own terms at 12:01 AM on July 12, 2002. According to the transition provisions that have always been in place, signed by Jon Loudermilk in July 2000, we will provide the web site contents
on CD in exchange for full and final contract payment. As of this date, the
amount remaining due and owing on the contract is $10,800.
We assume that the very recent concern about "transition provisions" stems
from the fact that our contract required the CAPC to provide materials and direction to us for web site production. As all commissioners know, no materials or direction have ever been provided, and Positive Idea has met both the CAPC side of the contract and our own for three years.
Contractually speaking, we could have collected payment without doing any
work, since the CAPC has never met the provisions of its own agreement.
However, the fact that eurekasprings.org exists at all should be sufficient
testimony to our professional ethics.
We have no desire to seek vengeance on the CAPC. We would simply like to end this relationship quietly, professionally, finally, and without any further
accusations or argument. We do not anticipate any problems for the Commission since, at the April 11 meeting, the Chamber "expert" stated that there would be no problem in getting the web site up and running within twenty-four hours.
The end of this contract has absolutely no bearing on our Eureka Springs Tourist Center site at www.eurekasprings.com. (http://www.eurekasprings.com.) As always, we will put guest service first, and we will continue to support the businesses of Eureka
Springs who depend heavily on tourism. Without the constraints imposed by our involvement with the CAPC, we feel that both of these goals can be better achieved.
We wish the commission the best in their endeavors.
Sincerely,
Jan Ridenour, President
Positive Idea Marketing
Eureka Springs Tourist Center
888-Eureka 0 www.eurekasprings.com (http://www.eurekasprings.com)