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Montezuma County advisory panel recommends roughly $55,000 in lodgers-tax grants; final decision deferred
Summary
A tourism advisory group reviewed grant requests from festivals, museums and chambers and recommended allocations totaling about $55,000; commissioners did not vote and will decide at a later meeting.
A county tourism advisory group recommended allocating roughly $55,000 in lodgers-tax revenue to local events and organizations and sent the recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners for final approval.
The recommendations, presented at a June workshop, prioritized a mix of small-event support and program funding for partners that the panel said bring overnight visitors to Montezuma County. The panel singled out Finish Line Racers for a $3,000 recommendation, the Montezuma Heritage Museum for $10,000, and proposed $16,000 for the Mancos Creative District’s programs while not recommending funding for its proposed real-estate acquisition. Panel members said they recommended roughly half of the request for the Galloping Goose event and recommended nearly the full requests for the Mancos and Dolores chambers.
Panel members described regional drive markets — particularly Phoenix and Denver — as principal sources of visitors. “Phoenix is durable for us about 10 months out of the year,” the presenter said, explaining investment in travel shows and one-on-one promotion at visitor shows.
The presenter said local lodging providers have reported strong May occupancy and revenue increases compared with prior years and estimated the advisory panel’s work left about $271 in carryover funds. He added that Mesa Verde Country’s promotional efforts — including administering Montezuma County’s Colorado Welcome Center — contributed to an outlook of a “very durable year for lodging.”
Commissioners asked about growth of short-term rentals such as VRBO and Airbnb and whether the county receives tax revenue from those operators; staff said reporting and compliance is a multiyear effort and that payment from those properties is increasing as owners register. The workshop also included a discussion of statewide legislation that could raise the lodging-tax cap to 6 percent if approved by voters; panel members said they would support placing a rate increase on the ballot but no formal action was taken.
No formal vote was recorded at the workshop. Commissioners and staff said they would take the advisory panel’s funding recommendations to the regular meeting the next day for a formal decision.
The advisory panel presentation included a breakdown of recommended amounts by applicant but did not show the full requested amounts for every applicant. The panel chair asked commissioners to consider the recommendations at the next meeting.
