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Kingman cancels current tourism grant solicitation, narrows award to projects under $50,000
Summary
Staff recommended cancelling the city's first tourism initiative grant solicitation after procurement conflicts; council voted to cancel the solicitation and approve revisions that cap total project cost at $50,000 and award grants up to $25,000 with reimbursement rules.
The Kingman City Council voted Oct. 7 to cancel the current Kingman Tourism Initiative grant solicitation and approved staff revisions that reduce the program award and clarify procurement and reimbursement rules.
Staff told council that two applications were received in the initial round and that a 1:1 matching structure—$30,000 city match and $30,000 applicant match—risked triggering the city's procurement threshold because total project cost could exceed $50,000. Tim (city staff) said, “the biggest issue that we saw was...the total project cost is over that $50,000, even though the city is only contributing $30,000, it still goes over that threshold.” To address that, staff recommended limiting total project cost to $50,000 and changing the city grant to $25,000 (with a matching contribution from applicants), and making awards reimbursable after projects are open to the public.
Council voted to cancel the current solicitation, reissue the grant with the staff-recommended changes and a new application window beginning Nov. 3 and closing Nov. 28, with awards anticipated Jan. 2026. The council also discussed outreach: Vice Mayor Samuley urged expanded advertising beyond press releases and social media to attract more applicants. City staff reported press, radio and social media were used in the first round and noted several pre-submittal meetings had occurred.
Why it matters: The tourism grant program is intended to support building repairs and upgrades that attract visitors and economic activity; the revisions reduce the city’s per-project exposure while keeping the program for small-to-mid-size projects.
Clarifying details: Staff said the prior design offered up to $30,000 per project as a 1:1 match (total project cost $60,000) which would trigger a formal procurement process for projects over $50,000. The revised proposal sets the maximum total project cost at $50,000, with a city grant up to $25,000, and requires projects to be open to the public within one year of award as a condition of reimbursement.
Next steps: If the council’s direction stands, the city will cancel the current solicitation, re-open applications on Nov. 3, and aim to award grants in January 2026.
