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Board reallocates $70,000 in tourism marketing funds after public appeals to save visitor center
Summary
After hours of public comment and debate, Trinity County supervisors reallocated $70,000 in marketing/transient-occupancy-tax funds among local groups, set aside $30,000 for a tourism-investment-district planning effort, and approved $6,000 for the Weaverville/Trinity County Visitor Center. The vote was unanimous.
Trinity County supervisors voted Dec. 3 to reallocate $70,000 budgeted for tourism and marketing to local organizations and a tourism-investment-district (TBID) planning effort after an extended public-comment period that focused on the future of the county visitor center and the potential for cannabis-related tourism.
After a review process that used out-of-county panelists to score proposals, multiple rounds of board discussion and several amendments, the board's final allocation placed $30,000 toward TBID planning and distributed the remaining $40,000 among local organizations as follows: Weaverville Chamber of Commerce $7,000; Lewiston Community Association $4,000; Trinity County Arts Council $3,500; Hayfork Chamber of Commerce $5,500; Weaverville/Trinity County Visitor Center $6,000; HTR $2,000; and Trinity County Chamber of Commerce $12,000. The board's vote to approve the allocations was unanimous.
Public commenters and some supervisors urged stronger direct support for the Weaverville visitor center, which volunteers have operated for years and which supporters said functions as a de-facto county welcome and information hub. The visitor center expressed that $30,000 to $55,900 would be sufficient to cover annual operating needs and a rent increase; the board approved $6,000 and asked staff to work with the center and to consider further requests in the first quarter of 2025.
Supervisor Heidi Cox, who chaired the ad hoc committee that solicited proposals, told the board the review panel advised prioritizing digital marketing and measurable outreach over brick-and-mortar spending given the limited pot of funds. Several board members and public speakers pushed back, saying the physical visitor center provides essential on-the-ground services to visitors and residents who lack reliable internet access.
The board also directed staff to convene a county-led advisory group if the county pursues the TBID path, and to provide more detailed plans and community engagement work for any future larger investments. The board asked staff to post additional outreach notices at river accesses and public locations as part of other briefings on the agenda.
Motion: Approve allocation of the $70,000 tourism marketing pool as follows: TBID planning $30,000; Weaverville Chamber $7,000; Lewiston $4,000; Arts Council $3,500; Hayfork $5,500; Visitor Center $6,000; HTR $2,000; Trinity County Chamber $12,000. Vote: 5-0 (Carpenter-Harris, Cox, Frazier, Gogan, Littweiler — aye).
