Lodging-tax advisory committee recommends funding for festivals, facilities and unique projects; county to adopt allocations next week

The county's lodging-tax advisory committee presented recommendations for second-call 2025 allocations and commissioners reviewed a slate of awards that were substantially smaller than the total requests.

Randy Johnson summarized the committee's recommendations and highlighted a range of applicants: Clallam County Public Works (a request for an ebike to access trails and transport materials), Fungi Fest (a multi-day event that draws out-of-area visitors), Clarifying center projects such as Burrell Marine Life Center, and the Dungeness Crab/Craft Festival (a major fall event that the committee discussed in light of uncertain Canadian visitation). Committee members noted that some applicants are public entities and therefore eligible for capital requests, while some nonprofits seeking capital funding did not meet eligibility.

Commissioners asked whether the Public Works ebike purchase had been vetted by legal; staff said the prosecuting attorney's office reviewed applications and vetted whether requested expenditures complied with lodging-tax rules. Commissioner Ozias asked whether some applicants received less than requested; staff confirmed several awards were partial due to available dollars.

Regarding the Dungeness Crab/Craft Festival, staff said the committee recommended a marketing allocation to offset potentially reduced Canadian visitation; commissioners discussed the event's regional draw and cross-jurisdictional funding expectations (city and county). The county will move the resolution adopting these allocations to the regular meeting for formal adoption; individual contracts and scopes of work will follow and include performance metrics that will inform future funding decisions.