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Travel Board outlines visitor/resident surveys and begins 2026 budget planning
Summary
Board directed staff to develop short visitor and resident surveys (QR-code distribution, targeted boosted posts, local business prize packages) and discussed the 2026 budget timeline, including reduced cooperative grant funding and several ongoing line items.
Board members advised staff to develop two short surveys—one targeting visitors and one for residents—to gather data on how visitors arrive, lodging type, spending patterns, motivations and what would make them stay an extra day. Suggestions included QR codes in visitor facilities and restroom kiosks, boosted social posts targeted to nearby metropolitan areas, short question sets (four core questions plus one open-ended item) and local-business vacation-package incentives to raise response rates.
Staff also reviewed the 2026 budget timeline and key line items: salaries and benefits, event-coordinator contract, trails match, museum and visitor-center allocations, golf-course and road-department items, sheriff and EMS funding. The board discussed the co-op marketing grant cut (award $46,616) and the possible need to rebalance event and advertising budgets. Members recommended clearer reporting requirements for county departments that receive TRT funds and proposed a special budget meeting to review worksheets before submission to the clerk.
Next steps: staff to draft survey instruments and distribution plan, circulate sample budget worksheets and proposed changes, and schedule a special budget meeting if board members request additional discussion.
