Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tourism board seeks staff and equipment additions; proposes EV charger at visitor center
Summary
Winchester's tourism budget request would add staff, a vehicle and install a level-2 EV charger at the visitor center; the board says Shenandoah University offered to pay the electricity for the charger.
Justin, a staff member of the joint tourism board, told the committee the FY2026 tourism budget is not requesting an increase in the city’s general-fund contribution and that the board expects higher revenues to cover additional investments.
Justin said the tourism board would like to add one full-time staff position by reallocating existing contracted marketing dollars. He described marketing as the largest flexible line item in the tourism budget (more than $300,000) and said the board plans to reduce some contracted marketing to fund a staff hire to pursue initiatives including a sports-tourism program.
The tourism board proposed two capital items: a replacement vehicle (estimated in the presentation at roughly $25,000–$30,000 for a vehicle and $9,000 for a Level 2 EV charger). Justin said the board received a quote showing the charger itself would cost about $9,000 and that Shenandoah University has offered to pay the electricity used by that charger; the tourism board said it would cover installation out of reserves. Justin said the full vehicle-plus-charger package was shown in materials at about $40,000, with most coming from tourism board reserves.
Why it matters: staff framed the position and EV charger as investments in visitor services and marketing reach. Justin said a Level 2 charger would place the visitor center on EV-mapping apps and make the center a longer-stay stop for visitors. Committee members asked whether the charger and vehicle were mandatory; Justin said both would be funded from non-general-fund sources (marketing reallocations and board reserves) and that the county provides a majority of the tourism board’s funding.
Committee members also asked about overlap with Old Town/Main Street activities; the tourism board said it treats Old Town as a primary asset but focuses on marketing beyond a 50-mile radius, while Old Town/Main Street focuses local programming under 50 miles. The tourism board asserted minimal duplication because of different geographic marketing scopes.
