Grand County directs 1A lodging-tax funds to Grand Foundation field-of-interest fund

The Grand County Board of County Commissioners voted Jan. 21 to direct 1A lodging-tax community priorities funds to a Grand Foundation field-of-interest fund, with a hybrid committee model that includes county representation and a recommendation step back to the commissioners.

The board made the decision after a presentation from Megan Ladin, executive director of the Grand Foundation, who described how a foundation-administered fund could operate and how a hybrid committee of foundation staff, foundation board members and county representatives could review proposals and present recommendations to the board. "I think the way the most success for these type of funds ... is to always have a committee that can represent the stakeholders with how the money goes out," Ladin said.

The decision follows the board's 2025 budget decision to create a community priorities fund and to allocate 50% of the increased lodging-tax revenue to community priorities and 50% to the Grand County Tourism Board for marketing. County staff told commissioners that quarterly collections mean the new community fund will build over the spring; staff recommended running a single funding cycle in 2025 and expanding cycles in later years as receipts stabilize.

Supporters and staff told the board the foundation model would bring administrative efficiency, existing grant-management systems and local knowledge of housing, childcare and mental-health funding needs. Ladin said Grand Foundation charges an administrative fee (noted in staff materials as roughly 3 percent) and can combine foundation resources with county funding to leverage awards in priority areas. "We could leverage those dollars along with the community priorities fund and get additional monies into it to make it even go farther," Ladin said.

Commissioners asked about transparency, timing and whether a county-appointed committee would be required for approvals. County Manager Mike Moyer and Ladin said the preferred hybrid approach would have a stakeholder committee review applications and make recommendations; the board would review and authorize awards. Ladin said the foundation would report publicly on awards and could bring final distributions to the county and to the foundation's board for auditing and recordkeeping.

Commissioners discussed pros and cons of two options presented in staff materials: (1) use the Grand Foundation field-of-interest fund with a stakeholder committee and hybrid recommendation/approval flow, or (2) create a new county advisory committee similar to the Open Lands, Rivers & Trails committee. Commissioners said they preferred option 1 because it reduced start-up staff workload and leveraged existing grant administration capacity; several commissioners said the 3 percent administrative fee was reasonable for the services provided.

By motion the board approved option 1 and directed staff to work with the Grand Foundation to establish the committee, develop application guidelines and return with an implementation plan. Commissioners and foundation staff said they will prepare application guidelines, a schedule for 2025 grant cycles and reporting processes for future budget decisions.

The board's motion made the county manager and Grand Foundation responsible for finalizing terms, with the understanding the foundation board may need to ratify any formal agreement for fund administration. Staff said award timing for 2025 will depend on quarterly collections and recommended a single funding round late in the third quarter to let the fund build.