Council approves tourism grants and a 2026 Visit New Richmond contract, seeks stronger event financial reporting

The council approved tourism committee recommendations that include a conditional disbursement of $36,256.74 to the New Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce for Fun Fest, subject to completion of the application with missing revenue information. Staff reported $53,004.66 in room tax collections through the third quarter and noted $91,592 available including carry-forward funds; the tourism committee recommended awarding 70% of room tax revenue for grants per policy.

City staff and council members debated whether organizations applying for large disbursements should be required to provide event-level profit-and-loss and revenue data. Several council members asked the tourism committee to return with a recommendation on financial-disclosure thresholds for larger awards; staff said event-level financial statements are required by current policy, but revenue details were missing from the Fun Fest submission and must be provided before final payment.

Council also approved a 2026 contract with River Travel Media for $26,010 for the annual Visit New Richmond program with an additional $8,558 for third-party advertising to be paid separately and quarterly. Staff proposed and council approved a 'Best of New Richmond' marketing campaign to build on website traffic and social engagement; council discussed methods to measure impacts (web analytics, cell-phone/footfall data and potential software) and asked for ongoing data collection to demonstrate value.

Next steps: the tourism committee will review its policy and consider thresholds for additional disclosure for large awards; the River Travel Media contract and Best of New Richmond campaign will proceed under the approved budgets.