Guymon tourism board names chair and vice chair, tables holiday grant and event calendar; discusses $2M fund and activity center plans

The Guymon Convention and Tourism Board voted to install Shelby (board member) as chair and Ronnie (board member) as vice chair for 2025, approved the Dec. 19, 2024 minutes and tabled final action on the Home for the Holidays final report and a proposal for an automated events calendar while members discussed spending priorities for the board’s hotel-motel tax balance.

The actions came at a regularly scheduled meeting called to order at 11:59 a.m. Jan. 16 at Guymon City Hall. Ursula (staff member) reviewed process changes for the year and read a new public comment policy, telling members, "it's just gonna run right along how council does," and saying attendees must complete a comment form before addressing the board.

Nut graf: The board moved quickly through procedural items, but discussion focused on how to deploy a roughly $2 million hotel-motel tax balance and whether part of that funding should be used to reabsorb and upgrade the Texas County Activity Center. The board tabled two funding items to allow follow-up and potential special meeting scheduling.

The board recorded three formal approvals by voice vote: Shelby as chair, Ronnie as vice chair and the Dec. 19 minutes. Carrasco (board member) made the motion to approve the minutes with Gutierrez (board member) seconding; the board approved them by voice vote.

Otis, identified as chair of the Home for the Holidays committee, presented the packet for that event and asked the board for support, saying, "we should have some money this year. Yes. We did." Board members questioned payment of past-due bills in the packet and several members noted conflicts of interest that required abstentions. Ursula and staff recommended tabling the item until outstanding invoices are cleared and one or more absent staff presenters can attend; the board voted to table the Home for the Holidays final report.

A separate funding request — a proposal to contract with ITI for a digital automated events calendar with a stated financial impact of $7,000 annually plus a $4,000 one-time setup fee — was requested to be tabled by staff because the presenting members were unavailable and the board wanted to consider other vendors. The board voted to table that item.

Ginger (board member) summarized the board’s financial position and urged the board to develop a spending plan. "The fund balance as of December 31, 2024, we ended with $2,057,648.22 in our account," she said. Members discussed a previously proposed 2¢ hotel-motel tax increase as one possible revenue source to support capital work, including the possibility of using tax revenue to hire staff to operate local facilities and to renovate the Texas County Activity Center, whose buildings are owned by the county while the land is city-owned.

Discussion of the activity center was exploratory: members noted booking and maintenance difficulties and suggested the board consider earmarking new or existing hotel-motel revenue if the council approves a rate change. Members offered examples of other jurisdictions and potential private or tribal partnerships but made no commitment; board discussion was framed as "big picture" planning rather than a decision to allocate funds.

Staff and board housekeeping items included stricter attendance enforcement for 2025, distribution of a conflict-of-interest form (members who have a conflict must abstain from commenting on that item), and publication of 2025 funding request and final report instructions on the city website. Ursula reminded members that the board will begin meetings on time and that members may not miss more than 25% of meetings.

Procedural note: the board discussed the practical difficulty of convening special meetings and said approval would rest with Mike Shannon (city staff), who was not present. Members agreed to attempt to coordinate a special meeting if needed to resolve the Home for the Holidays invoices.

The board noted two new members, Anna E and Ronnie, and set its next regular meeting for Feb. 20. The board adjourned at 12:20 p.m.

Votes at a glance - Chair for 2025: Shelby — motion moved and seconded; approved by voice vote (tally not specified in the record). - Vice chair for 2025: Ronnie — motion moved and seconded; approved by voice vote (tally not specified in the record). - Approval of minutes, Dec. 19, 2024 — motion by Carrasco, second by Gutierrez; approved by voice vote. - Home for the Holidays final report (amount in packet described in the record as "20 $1,000" but not specified clearly in the transcript) — motion to table; tabled pending resolution of past-due invoices and staff follow-up. - ITI digital automated events calendar (financial impact in packet: $7,000 annually plus $4,000 one-time setup) — motion to table at request of presenters; tabled.

Ending: The board tasked staff and the chair to coordinate follow-up with city staff, including Mike Shannon, to determine whether a special meeting is warranted to finalize the holiday funding and to return with clarified invoices and presenters.