Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism And Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Carthage committee backs Boots Court visitor-center pay, tourism board and Route 66 market planning
Summary
Budget committee reported approval of a visitor-center agreement with Boots Court Foundation and recommended formation of a tourism advisory board; Boots would be paid $3,000 per month starting July 1, 2025, under the proposed agency agreement.
The Budget, Ways and Means Committee reported Feb. 11 that it unanimously approved an agreement with the Boots Court Foundation to designate the Boots Court visitor center as the city’s official visitor center on weekends and to serve Route 66 visitors. Committee members said the agreement anticipates that Boots will be paid $3,000 per month beginning July 1, 2025, for visitor-center services tied to an expected increase in visitation around an upcoming Route 66 celebration.
City Administrator Tracy Cox and Councilmember Jim Schramm were credited by committee speakers for leading work on the tourism advisory board to coordinate participating organizations and avoid duplication of services. The committee described the Boots Court Foundation as the only tourism center open on weekends and said the advisory board will ensure participating organizations have defined roles. Committee members said the Boots agreement was approved at the committee level and will be forwarded as an agency agreement to be considered with other agency contracts later in the fiscal year.
Why it matters: The move formalizes visitor services and directs a recurring payment to a local nonprofit for tourism operations, and it sets an organizational structure to manage coordination ahead of a Route 66 market expected to increase visitor traffic.
The committee also confirmed that the city’s tourism director, Melissa Little, has started forming the tourism advisory board and will coordinate with Parks Director Abby Allmendinger and others to launch the season’s Food Truck Friday events. The Boots agreement and the advisory-board work are positioned as near-term priorities for the tourism office and will appear on the council’s agenda as part of the city’s regular agency-agreement review.
Next steps: The Boots Court Foundation agreement will be scheduled on the council agenda with other agency agreements near the end of the fiscal year; the tourism advisory board will convene to define roles, avoid duplication, and prepare for the Route 66 celebration.
