Tourism advisory board pauses Civitas engagement as lodging owners weigh petition support

Trinity County — Supervisor Lohler updated the board on June 17 that the Tourism Development Advisory Board has paused parts of its engagement with Civitas, the county’s consultant, while lodging business owners weigh a weighted petition to form a tourism investment district (TID).

Lohler said Civitas delivered draft materials — bylaws, a sample petition and outreach templates — and that the county had been paying roughly $56,000 per month for Civitas services. She said she put a temporary hold on further paid work to avoid additional expense while the advisory board tries to secure support from the top lodging business owners whose weighted votes are necessary for the petition to succeed.

Why it matters: If formed, a tourism investment district financed by a lodging owner assessment could generate funds dedicated to tourism promotion. Supervisor Lohler said the plan would lock funding to tourism activities under TID law and that the advisory board’s work is intended to provide lodging owners the documentation they need to make an informed decision.

Details reported to the board

- Status: Civitas paused on further billed work; final deliverables have been provided for advisory-board review and outreach. - Financials: The consultant engagement cost cited in the meeting was about $56,000 a month; the county has spent roughly $30,000 to date (staff provided materials and invoices in backup). - Political process: The petition is “weighted” (larger lodging providers have greater voting weight); the project’s viability depends on support from top lodging owners. Supervisor Lohler said some of those top owners were currently opposed or undecided. - Alternatives: If the petition cannot secure the required weighted support, Lohler said she would support pursuing a countywide transient occupancy tax (TOT) increase to raise revenue for county needs; staff noted an increase of 3 percentage points would raise the county TOT from 5% to 8% (figures cited in the meeting). Lohler said the advisory board will continue unpaid outreach before deciding whether to proceed.

Ending: Lohler said the advisory board will reconvene outreach efforts and return with a determination about proceeding with the petition or shifting to alternative revenue proposals.