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Council narrows Visit Fergus Falls contract to one year, calls for marketing plan and subcommittee
Summary
After heated debate about control of lodging-tax dollars and the absence of the Visit Fergus Falls executive director, the Fergus Falls Committee of the Whole voted to amend a proposed multi-year agreement to run through Dec. 31, 2026, and charged a council subcommittee with evaluating longer-term marketing options and an RFP process.
Fergus Falls City Council members voted in Committee of the Whole on April 1 to amend a proposed professional services agreement with Visit Fergus Falls so the contract would run through Dec. 31, 2026, while the council forms a subcommittee to evaluate longer-term marketing options.
The motion followed a lengthy public and council debate over who should control lodging-tax funds and how the city should market the Big Wood Event Center during a major interstate closure this summer. Andrew Bremseth, the city staff member who led negotiations, said the agreement increases the lodging-tax administrative fee retained by the city from 3% to 5% and explicitly charges Visit Fergus Falls with marketing the Big Wood Event Center and developing a new convention-center website. Bremseth said the term proposed by staff would begin May 1 and continue through Dec. 31, 2027, unless amended.
Council members pressed for clearer performance benchmarks and for an explicit marketing plan for 2026 before committing to a longer-term deal. “I want to make sure I'm hearing it right that our local PD will be the ones enforcing all the state laws,” said Clara Beck, a city staff presenter, during the meeting’s discussion of related operational issues. Several members, including Council Member Mortenson, asked whether the council could instead hire an in-house consultant paid from lodging-tax receipts. “We could take the entirety of the lodging tax and hire a consultant,” Mortenson said, noting statutory limits on how the funds may be used.
Residents and business representatives also spoke. Thomas Bales, vice president of the Visit Fergus Falls board and owner of Swan Lake Resort and Campground, described Rolando, the Visit Fergus Falls director, as an experienced marketing specialist and said the board had agreed to provide a marketing plan and annual budget. Lisa Workman, president of the Fergus Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, urged the council to remember that lodging taxes are paid by visitors and said Visit Fergus Falls has historically provided a city liaison.
A motion to table the contract for more information failed. The council then voted to amend the contract to end Dec. 31, 2026, and to create a subcommittee to pursue either an RFP or other options for marketing and convention-center support for 2027; the council agreed Visit Fergus Falls will be among the options the subcommittee considers. The amended motion was approved in the Committee of the Whole and staff said the revised agreement will return to the full council for final action at the April 6 regular meeting.
City staff said Visit Fergus Falls has indicated it will produce a 2026 marketing plan and budget; board members in the meeting said a draft exists and can be refined and shared. Council members seeking immediate steps noted signage for the interstate closure and the need for a website for the Big Wood Event Center to begin booking events for 2027.
The committee’s action does not yet authorize multi-year spending beyond the amended term; council members said the subcommittee will present recommendations and possible RFP language for the full council to consider.
