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Budget committee fully funds Columbia Gorge Discovery Center tourism grant after public comment
Summary
After public testimony from museum staff, the budget committee voted to fully fund the Columbia Gorge Discovery Centers tourism grant request for a digital photo-archive project.
The budget committee directed staff to increase the Columbia Gorge Discovery Centers recommended tourism-grant award to the full amount requested after the centers registrar made a public appeal during the committees public-comment opportunity.
Susan Buse, the museum registrar, described a request for $10,933 to relaunch and host the museums digital photo archives (29,400 photos) and an Oregon Trail inscriptions collection (more than 5,100 images). Staff had recommended $6,000; after Buse described expected community and tourism benefits — including use by travel writers, hotel developers and researchers — committee members agreed to make up the roughly $4,933 difference from the tourism-promotion budget.
Committee members discussed the broader grant program design and asked staff to return next year with clearer guidance for applicants and a rubric for awards; several members said they wanted to avoid making ad-hoc decisions at the budget hearing in future cycles. Staff said they will notify applicants about award decisions and will consider process improvements for the next budget cycle.
The committee also heard additional public support from Discovery Center board members and affirmed the award during final budget approval.
