The Snoqualmie Economic Development Commission on Tuesday heard a presentation from the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce and Civitas about forming a destination management and marketing organization (DMO) funded by a business-improvement assessment. Commissioners did not vote on the proposal and deferred any decision to the next meeting after members and local business owners raised questions about cost, governance and who would be assessed.

The chamber’s representative, Wade Sugiyama, told commissioners the plan would help the region “fund all the amazing ideas” developed through a yearlong regional tourism steering committee. Maya Kidd, a Civitas legal analyst and account manager, described how a business improvement area (BIA) or similar assessment could be structured and collected by the state’s Department of Revenue or a third-party collector, and said the law typically requires a 67% petition threshold of affected businesses to form a district.

Why it matters: Snoqualmie and neighboring North Bend face reduced visitor spending since the pre-COVID period, according to materials cited at the meeting, and local leaders say they lack a steady, sustainable funding stream to market the valley and manage visitor impacts. The proposal would create a dedicated fund to pay for marketing, visitor management and related services and, if implemented, would shift at least some of the cost of destination promotion to visitors and visitor-facing businesses rather than general city revenues.

Most important facts

- What was proposed: The Snoqualmie Valley Chamber and Civitas outlined forming a DMO governed by a board nominated by participating cities and composed primarily of businesses paying into the assessment. Civitas advised that a district can be tailored by business type, geography or tiered rates so long as assessed parties clearly receive benefit. Sugiyama said the DMO would be separate from the chamber but initially run “through the chamber to keep costs low” while it begins operations.

- Up-front and target budgets: Civitas said the one-time engagement fee to design the district and conduct outreach would be about $65,000–$85,000, to be fronted and later reimbursed from assessment collections. The Chamber cited a target operating budget of about $350,000 per year as a baseline to run the DMO and implement priority projects.

- How assessments work: Kidd said assessments are typically billed and collected in the same channels as sales or lodging tax when feasible; lodging-based mechanisms are common (often called Tourism Improvement Districts), but Snoqualmie’s limited hotel inventory means a broader assessment—potentially including short-term rentals, restaurants or retail—may be needed. She said Washington’s BIA law requires demonstration of benefit back to those paying the assessment and typically uses a petition threshold (described in the presentation as 67%) among affected businesses to form a district.

- Evidence Civitas presented: A Civitas/Tourism Economics analysis cited at the meeting found districts with assessments produced an average 2.1% lift in business demand and a 4.5% average increase in product revenue for destinations that adopted them. Civitas staff also described litigation in one San Diego district that interrupted collections in 2013, then showed recovery after the dispute resolved.

Discussion and concerns

Local business owners and commissioners pressed for details on who would be assessed, how much businesses would pay, and what guarantees exist if the district does not form. Wendy Thomas, owner of Carmichael’s Hardware, told commissioners she had been through a similar regional effort that “didn’t go well,” warned the local revenue base and visitor profile differ from large cities, and asked what percentage of assessed revenue would be required to reach the Chamber’s $350,000 target.

Sugiyama and Kidd said the outreach phase would define who is included and how much they would pay; that initial consulting costs would be reimbursed once collections begin; and that assessment structures range from nominal flat fees to percentage charges on transactions depending on destination and sectors included. Civitas emphasized flexibility: “You can categorize them based on geography, revenue, other data, any kind of, reasonable way that ties back to benefit,” Kidd said.

Other public commenters and commissioners raised related points: several nonprofit stakeholders warned local trail, ambassador and conservation programs are losing grant support and urged a reliable local funding source; others urged caution and broad business outreach before asking for support. Renee Price, a Snoqualmie school board member who participated in the region’s tourism steering committee, encouraged commissioners to ensure a fair, transparent structure for distributing funds and to require evidence of impact from whoever manages the money.

Commission action and next steps

The EDC did not approve funding at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to circulate the Civitas presentation and requested additional time to review materials and consult stakeholders. The commission agreed to take a formal vote on whether to support reimbursable city funding to engage Civitas at the next EDC meeting. North Bend has already committed to the joint project, presenters said, and the petition and multi-jurisdiction governance steps would be administered by a lead jurisdiction if the districts move forward.

Votes at a glance (procedural)

- Agenda approved (procedural motion; voice vote recorded as “aye”).
- Minutes of July 16 and Sept. 17, 2025 approved (moved by Commissioner Paula Shively; seconded by Joelle Gibson; voice vote recorded as “aye”).

What happens next

Commissioners asked staff to share the full Civitas slide deck with the commission and to add the Civitas funding request to the next meeting agenda for a formal vote. Presenters and city staff said the outreach and petition phase would follow if the EDC and both cities agree to engage Civitas and move forward.

Ending

No formal funding decision was made at Tuesday’s meeting. Commissioners and several business owners signaled they want more data—on likely assessment targets, estimated per-business costs to reach the $350,000 budget, and governance safeguards—before authorizing city money to hire Civitas to design a district.