Blair County public hearing on decertifying Explore Altoona draws strong objections from tourism and business leaders

Blair County held a public hearing April 24, 2025, on a proposed resolution to decertify the county’s current tourism and promotion agency, Explore Altoona. County solicitor Chris Furman opened the hearing, entered legal notices and municipal resolutions into the record, and repeatedly said the commissioners would not vote at this session; the hearing only recorded public comments for consideration at a future public meeting.

The hearing drew multiple objections from tourism officials, hoteliers and local cultural groups who said Explore Altoona has successfully marketed Blair County and that decertification would disrupt summer marketing efforts. Mark Ickes, executive director of Explore Altoona, described himself as “an objector to this decertification” and told the commission his agency’s work has contributed to what he said is $371,000,000 in annual visitor spending for Blair County. “Explore Altoona has transformed itself into an effective and functional destination marketing organization,” Ickes said. He and other speakers criticized the process as lacking transparency and said they had not been given details about any proposed replacement or redirection of promotional funds.

Why this matters: hotel-tax-funded tourism promotion typically focuses on “putting heads in beds,” speakers said, while some county officials are considering using hotel-tax dollars or other county funds to support trails and a new authorities structure. Several speakers argued those goals are not mutually exclusive but that any redirection requires a clear, public plan and adequate lead time before the peak summer travel season.

Tourism and business leaders pressed two main points. First, speakers said Explore Altoona has delivered measurable tourism marketing results and has been transparent with audits and marketing ledgers. Ickes said the agency provided annual audits and, this past year, shared its “marketing ledger” with commissioners. Second, speakers asked what the county’s concrete plan is for a successor or a different structure. Jody Cessna, president of Explore Altoona’s board of directors, asked bluntly: “What is the plan moving forward?” and urged that any new certified tourism promotion agency (TPA) would need to “get to work immediately.”

Other commenters echoed those concerns. Danielle Fitch of Holidaysburg said she “does not see Explore Altoona and the creation of trails as mutually exclusive” and asked why a successful organization would be decertified rather than tasked with supporting new priorities. Dustin Smith, executive director of the Baker Mansion History Museum and the Blair County Historical Society, said Explore Altoona had promoted his institution and that tourism partners felt left out of earlier discussions. Jeffrey Cipriani, who identified his hotel as the largest in the market, said Explore Altoona had been “the most transparent organization” he had worked with in the industry and warned that abrupt change “is going to be bad” for Altoona’s hotels.

Speakers supporting trails acknowledged the value of outdoor recreation but questioned whether the proposed trail authority’s membership included experienced destination marketers. Donna Himes, marketing director for Blue Noble Seasons Resort, asked of the proposed authority members, “Are they marketers too?” and said she was concerned whether a trails-focused authority would perform the deep, local marketing Explore Altoona conducts for small municipalities’ events and venues.

Process and legal context: the solicitor clarified during the hearing that the trail-authority matter and the decertification matter were governed under different laws and were separate proceedings even though they were scheduled on the same day. The trail-authority hearing was held under the Municipality Authorities Act; the decertification hearing was conducted under the separate statute that governs TPA certification and the use of hotel tax revenues. Several municipal resolutions related to the decertification were entered into the record as exhibits; the solicitor listed resolutions adopted by multiple boroughs and townships across Blair County and said Duncanville had approved a unanimous resolution whose text would be provided to the county.

Record and next steps: the solicitor and commissioners received written exhibits and public comments and entered exhibits 1 through 6 into the official record. No commissioners’ vote on decertification occurred at the April 24 hearing; the solicitor repeatedly reminded attendees that the purpose of the session was to gather public comment for the commissioners’ later deliberation in a public meeting. The record was closed at the end of the hearing, and the hearing was adjourned.

Votes and formal actions taken at the hearing were procedural: the commissioners (voice vote) admitted exhibits and closed the record and adjourned the hearing. The county has not scheduled a final vote on decertification during this hearing; commissioners will deliberate and vote at a future public meeting, according to the solicitor.

Speakers and source material from today’s hearing are part of the official transcript and exhibits entered into the county record for later consideration.