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Committee to consider Visit Topeka contract extension; staff to prepare draft for November
Summary
Committee discussed the Visit Topeka contract and instructed staff to prepare a near-term, three-year extension draft for the next meeting; Visit Topeka’s president requested continuity of the existing agreement.
TOPEKA, Kan. — The Transient Guest Tax Committee on Aug. 27 discussed whether to renew the contract that allocates most transient guest tax funds to Visit Topeka and asked city staff to prepare a three-year extension draft for consideration in November.
Visit Topeka President Sean Dixon told the committee the organization has been marketing Topeka and pursuing large-group business under the current agreement and urged continuation of the existing arrangement. “We are proud to be doing the work we re doing, and we would like to continue that work with you under the current agreement we have got with you,” Dixon said during his remarks.
Why it matters: Under the current contractual arrangement described by staff, 79% of the remaining 5% portion of the TGT is allocated to Visit Topeka through the end of the year, 11% is allocated to the city’s bidding fund (sometimes referenced as the BID/contribution fund that funds attraction of large events), and smaller shares go to the general fund. The contract with Visit Topeka was last extended in November 2022 for three years covering 2023–2025.
Committee discussion and next steps: Staff advised the committee that contracts can be executed by the city manager but that the allocation and contract terms are policy matters for the committee and the governing body. Committee members said they had not yet decided whether to change allocation percentages and that any change would need to preserve carve-outs staff identified for the Hotel Topeka repayment approach under option 2. The committee asked staff to prepare a near-final three-year extension of the agreement — keeping material terms the same except for contractual language updates and the carve-out to protect Hotel Topeka repayment revenues — for the committee to review at its November meeting.
A staff member said legal and standard contract language updates will be incorporated. The committee did not take a formal vote on the Visit Topeka contract; instead, it deferred final action to the November meeting after staff prepares the draft extension for committee review.
Source excerpts include Sean Dixon s remarks for Visit Topeka and staff s description of the contract timeline and allocations.
