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Decatur County tourism official seeks $7,000 stipend to boost Friday-night hotel bookings tied to tournaments
Summary
A tourism representative proposed a $7,000 stipend to incent the parks and recreation sports coordinator to increase Friday-night hotel bookings for ball-diamond tournaments, citing an estimated $400,000 in hospitality revenue from tournament activity and proposing measurable goals (20–25% increase).
A presenter identified in the transcript as “Bridal” proposed using $7,000 from the tourism budget as a stipend to incentivize the parks and recreation sports coordinator (identified as Rob Deehoff) to increase Friday-night hotel bookings tied to local ball-diamond tournaments.
“$7,000 stipend…we have a $12,000 grant that we give to Parks and Recreation. We’ve been doing $5,000, so we accounted for an extra $7,000 thinking it could go towards this project specifically,” the presenter said, adding that current estimates show about $400,000 in hotel revenue generated from tournament-related stays and that the stipend would be paid in installments tied to measurable results.
She proposed specific metrics — aiming for a 20–25% increase in Friday-night bookings — and agreed the tourism board would likely administer the stipend while coordinating closely with parks staff. Council members asked for a written measure and requested the presenter return in January with metrics and a plan for accountability.
Council discussed whether the funding decision would be the tourism board’s responsibility or require further council oversight; the presenter said the tourism board is the governing board for the tourism grant but that she works closely with county staff and would keep the council updated.
Council asked staff to return with the proposed metrics in January and said they would monitor the effort and supporting data before making a longer-term decision.
