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Lane County approves $470,488 in rural tourism marketing funds, seeks five‑year McKenzie River services agreement
Summary
The board approved $470,488 in 2025 rural tourism marketing (RTMP) allocations to 10 rural cities and authorized a five‑year request for proposals for McKenzie River area services to support recovery and long‑term planning.
Lane County commissioners voted Feb. 4 to allocate $470,488 in 2025 rural tourism marketing program funds to 10 rural cities and to authorize a five‑year request for proposals to administer McKenzie River area tourism programs.
Jason Harris, the county’s economic development manager, presented the program and said the RTMP is funded from the county’s 3% transient lodging tax (TLT). He said the program’s objective is to induce visitation, extend stays and support return visitors to rural communities. "We are here with an annual disbursement of tourist transient lodging tax revenues," Harris said, describing the RTMP’s purpose and the funding mechanism.
Staff noted a total RTMP pool of $521,649 for 2025; the board approved disbursing $470,488 to the cities of Coburg, Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dunes City, Florence, Junction City, Lowell, Oakridge, Veneta and Westfir (transcript uses varied local spellings). The program sets a 35% base allocation with the remaining 65% distributed by a five‑year average of local expenditure activity.
Because the McKenzie River area—unincorporated, not an incorporated city—has no single municipal applicant, staff normally runs an annual request-for-proposal to pick an administrator. Given post‑fire recovery needs, staff recommended moving to a five‑year services agreement for the McKenzie River area to provide continuity for recovery and multi‑year planning; the board authorized issuing that RFP. Harris introduced Samantha Roberts, a new hire in the county’s economic development policy team, who helped prepare the item.
Why it matters: The RTMP supports tourism-dependent rural economies, cultural events and festivals that generate business for small towns and lodging providers; a five‑year agreement for McKenzie River aims to support long‑term recovery planning after wildfire events.
Next steps: Staff will issue the five‑year RFP for the McKenzie River services agreement and return with recommended 2025 allocations for the McKenzie area after the procurement process. The board’s motion to approve 2025 allocations carried 5–0.
