by Logan Andrew | FreeWire Magazine — Your News, Your Voice
In a town the size of Bucyrus, every tax dollar is usually earmarked for survival—fixing a pothole, patching a pipe, or keeping an ambulance on the road. Yet, as the recent committee sessions at City Hall proved, a significant portion of the city’s resources is being diverted into a different kind of drain: political litigation and procedural theater.
What began as a deep dive into the Bucyrus Area Tourism and Visitors Bureau (BTAVB) led by Allison LeClair and Jim Mee has revealed a study in the high cost of political “fishing”. The loud headline remains the confirmation of an ongoing state audit of the Tourism Bureau. Detractors Greg White and Kurt Fankhauser have long pushed for this level of scrutiny, but the timeline tells the real story: the audit strictly covers the period from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2025. While some appeared intent on uncovering historical ghosts to haunt past leadership, the audit is legally locked into the present day.
This audit does not exist in a vacuum; it is part of a broader pattern where White and Fankhauser have levied multiple lawsuits and a relentless barrage of records requests against the city. These actions are costing the city tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and untold staff hours. For context, Fankhauser’s history with the Bureau involves documented high-pressure tactics. Law Director Brandon Gobrecht confirmed that Fankhauser has “straight up” threatened him in attempts to influence legal actions. Last year, Fankhauser famously told the Law Director, “You can either be on the side of the ‘righteous’ or the side of the ‘cover up'” in an effort to force a lawsuit against the organization.
The confrontational energy at City Hall centered on a contract with Community Heart Consulting, an LLC owned by Elaine Naples. While detractors raised accusations that Naples sat on the Tourism Advisory Council (TAC) while performing the work—a claim suggesting a conflict of interest—the facts tell a different story. Naples was never a member of the Chamber board that awarded the contract, nor was she a member of the TAC in 2024. While she attended TAC meetings in her capacity as a consultant, she did not join the advisory group—which has no voting power—until after her contract ended in November 2024.
Much of the debate was fueled by a claim that Naples had “donated” her salary back to the Norton Bicentennial Park. However, Randy Fischer, President of the Park Board, provided a clear correction to that narrative. “The $46,000 number referenced in Thursday’s committee meetings is derived from public filings. It has nothing to do with Elaine Naples,” Fischer clarified. “More importantly, she did not donate a dime to the park project while she was a consultant. She did not donate her salary as a tourism consultant to the park”.
Public filings for Norton Bicentennial Incorporated show the organization reported total revenue of $46,307 for the 2024 fiscal year—a figure derived almost entirely from contributions and grants. It takes very little imagination to see how the current political firestorm was ignited: when detractors realized the state audit would not allow them to dig for “dirt” on past administrations, they pivoted to the present. By taking the $46,307 revenue figure from the park’s public filings and holding it up next to Naples’ $43,771 tourism contract, a narrative of “funneled money” was easily manufactured and released into the community ether. In reality, the $46,000 figure represents the park board’s total annual funding from various donors, rather than a specific donation, while tax records explicitly list Naples as receiving $0 in compensation for her volunteer role with the nonprofit.
To address specific inquiries, FreeWire met with Naples, who provided a transparent disclosure of her private records. These confirm the contract was for $43,771. Chamber Chair Matt Horn argued that $43,771 is a highly competitive rate for a complete reboot of tourism, which included a digital footprint in addition to traditional marketing materials, stakeholder engagement, representation at tourism events, and most importantly, strategic planning going forward. He noted this stands in stark contrast to the “functional failure” of past efforts that relied on unpaid, over-extended volunteers.
The funding for this overhaul also warrants clarification, a point City Auditor Kali Lewis laid out in detail for FreeWire. Under Ohio Revised Code 5739.08, the city levies a 3% “Bed Tax” paid solely by lodgers at local hotels. 50% of this goes to the Tourism Bureau, while the other 50% is deposited into the General Fund to pay for essential services like Police and Fire.
Despite these successes, the constant tactical maneuvering has a human cost. Becky Lutz noted that at a recent regional conference, she was approached by other executives who knew her only because of the “shenanigans” occurring at Bucyrus City Council. The “witch hunt” isn’t just costing money—it is actively damaging the city’s reputation across the state.
In the interest of a full and fair report, FreeWire reached out to all primary parties involved. We spoke with Elaine Naples, who provided clarifying details on her contract scope, and Becky Lutz, who is awaiting consultation with her board. Finally, FreeWire reached out to both Greg White and Kurt Fankhauser for comment regarding their specific allegations; as of press time, neither has responded.
Editor’s Note: For the level of professionalism inherent in these deliverables, the city of Bucyrus received a significant bargain. There are perhaps only a handful of individuals in all of Crawford County capable of executing a project of this scale and complexity. The fact that this entire digital infrastructure was built using funds in bed tax—money that residents are not paying out of their own pockets—is an exceptional deal by any business metric. Readers can view the results of this work at visitbucyrus.org/apples.
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