San Juan County LTAC approves application packet, sets workshop and forwards master plan to council

The San Juan County Local Tourism Advisory Committee on April 7 approved its general information and application packet, scheduled an applicant workshop for June 16 and set fall review dates, and confirmed the county master plan will go to County Council for consideration.

Committee Chair opened the meeting by moving routine business and calling for votes. After discussing wording in the draft letter to prospective applicants and a certification item that staff said had been placed on the wrong packet, the committee agreed to approve the materials as written with the caveat that any changes required by the auditor's office or the County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office would be applied without requiring another formal vote.

Why it matters: The application packet and letter set the eligibility and submission rules for the forthcoming LTAC funding cycle; scheduling the workshop and presentation dates establishes the timeline for applicants and staff review ahead of Council consideration of the master plan.

Angela Bodrick, who the committee said will present the master plan to Council, told members the master plan had been sent to the County Prosecuting Attorney for review and that the attorney would return comments by May 14. The Chair said the plan is scheduled for the County Council agenda on May 26.

The committee set an applicant workshop for June 16 and discussed timing to maximize attendance; members favored a noon session to allow applicants to attend during a lunch break, and staff said they would support and run the workshop. The committee also discussed initial scoring logistics: members may enter scores into the committee’s system in advance of a public scoring meeting, with an in-person session on Sept. 15 proposed and a Zoom option retained to accommodate off‑island participants and ferry schedules. Fall presentation dates were tentatively set for Sept. 28–29 and Oct. 7 (Oct. 9 may be dropped).

Staff also told the committee a press release is drafted to announce the application cycle, the master plan passage and the public workshop; that release will be issued after the County Council acts on the master plan (committee noted the Council date of Nov. 10 in the transcript).

On compliance and operations, staff reminded members to complete the OPMA (Open Public Meetings Act) review for the calendar year and to send email confirmations that they had read and acknowledged the material. The committee also discussed recurring SharePoint access issues for external email domains; Kelsey Venegas said she would send a follow-up IT email and assist members with password resets and access problems.

Votes at a glance: - Approve meeting minutes: approved by voice vote. - Approve meeting agenda: approved by voice vote. - Approve general information packet and application (subject to auditor/PA-required changes): motion moved and seconded; approved by voice vote. - Set future LTAC meeting dates (times to be determined by ferry schedule): motion moved and seconded; approved by voice vote.

What’s next: Staff will collect any formal comments from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office by May 14, finalize workshop materials for the June 16 workshop, issue the press release after Council action on the master plan, and circulate follow-up IT instructions to resolve SharePoint access issues.

Quotes (from transcript): - Chair, praising staff work: "She took this work on, and I have to tell you, I am so impressed and so grateful for her attention to details and her thoroughness and her follow through." - Kelsey Venegas (staff): "I will reach all out to everyone with a follow-up IT email."