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Alleghany County tourism authority asks county to share cost of wayfinding signage; quarterly revenue steady
Summary
The county's Tourism Development Authority reported steady occupancy-tax revenues for the third quarter, outlined grants and marketing investments and requested county participation in a wayfinding signage project expected to cost about $140,000–$150,000 for the first phase.
Steve Mason, the tourism development representative to the Alleghany County Board of Commissioners, told commissioners at their meeting that the Tourism Development Authority(TDA) remains financially steady and is asking the county to contribute toward a multi-phase wayfinding signage project.
Mason said the TDA has invested about $75,000 in the signage program so far for design and development and that the first wave of signs is now ready for production. He said the TDA estimates the first phase will cost approximately $140,000 to $150,000 and that the town has been asked to contribute about $50,000; the TDA is encouraging the county to make a similar investment to complete a first wave this year. "Currently, the the TDA has about $75,000 invested in that program so far in relationship to design and development, and it's ready for actually, production," Mason said. "We're looking projections of about a hundred and 40 to a hundred and $50,000 for that first wave of signage."
The TDA reported that third-quarter collections were "relatively consistent" with the prior year, with the third-quarter comparison showing roughly a $6,000 increase over the prior year's quarter. For the first three quarters of the fiscal year Mason said revenue totaled about $181,663 compared with about $159,225 last year, an increase of roughly $22,438. He said outstanding grant commitments and invoices total about $24,000.
Mason attributed some visitor-flow impacts to the Blue Ridge Parkway closure but said occupancy-tax revenue and grant investments have held steady. He described other recent TDA investments and grant awards, including:
- $10,000 to Allegheny News for printed marketing brochures; - $2,500 to a motorcycle sports tour association for an event expected in May; - $1,680 to Solid Rock Food Closet for spring trash pickup in support of a nonprofit; - a marketing-tool subscription (referred to as "Placer IA") to provide geo-fencing and event evaluation data for future grants and promotion.
Mason said the TDA is pursuing partnerships to support hiking and biking investments at Sam Brown and that a second wave of signage would likely be considered next year if the first phase is completed this fall.
No formal board vote occurred on the signage request during the meeting. Later in the meeting the county manager's proposed budget included a separate line item of $40,000 set aside for wayfinding coordination with the TDA; that spending allocation was part of a broader proposed budget discussed later in the meeting (see related county budget article).
Ending
Mason asked commissioners whether they had questions; none were raised. He repeated that the signage project is ready to move into production if the board and town partner on the expected local match.
