After months of back and forth the city has decided to halt negotiations designating Bisbee Forward as the designated marketing organization (DMO) for Bisbee’s tourism marketing.

City Manager Stephen Pauken and Mayor Ken Budge jointly sent a letter to Bisbee Forward last week outlining the reasons it was decided to halt negotiations until after the new year after holding an executive session last week to discuss matters concerning the visitor center.

Mayor Budge said he could not disclose anything discussed in the executive session but did say, “the council has directed staff to put a hold on negotiations with Bisbee Forward while the city addresses the following matters; the city will continue to maintain a physical visitor’s center and is currently evaluating an offer to acquire the Fair Building for use as the visitor center and other potential municipal purposes, and the city is thoroughly assessing the financial implications of operating the visitor center – whether at the current site, the Fair Building, or under any of the various operational models.”