San Juan County LTAC approves master plan and narrows application rules; sets June workshop and Sept. 11 deadline

Chair Carrie opened the San Juan County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee meeting on April 7 and led members through a line-by-line review of the LTAC master plan and application materials, culminating in a vote to approve the master plan and a set of edits to the application.

The committee voted to adopt the LTAC master plan after a brief discussion of strategic goals and wording changes proposed by Amy. Anna Maria moved to approve the plan and Libby seconded; the motion carried on a voice vote. The committee agreed the finalized document and the recommended edits will go to the County Council in May for its consideration.

Why it matters: the master plan and application language determine how San Juan County distributes lodging-tax dollars to tourism facilities, events and operations. Changes to eligibility language and reporting requirements affect which nonprofits, events and facilities can receive lodging-tax grants and what documentation they'll need to provide.

Key changes and decisions

- Bylaws and voting: Chair Carrie said she confirmed with the PA’s office that San Juan County Code 2.116 covers committee rules but recommended the LTAC keep its own bylaws for clarity. Carrie said the committee’s bylaws will specify that council members serving on LTAC will vote only to break ties, not cast multiple counted votes, stating, “we should only vote if there's a tie, and we break a tie.”

- Master plan approval: Committee members accepted edits to the strategic goals (the group agreed to change language from “support” to “bolster” in places) and approved the master plan by voice vote. The plan will be forwarded to County Council for adoption and scheduling.

- Application guidance and eligibility language: Members removed a prescriptive list of allowed/disallowed uses to preserve committee discretion year-to-year. That decision followed Becky’s reminder that chambers and visitor centers use lodging-tax funds for rent, utilities and staffing; the committee agreed removing a blacklist reduces confusion about flexibility.

- Capital funds and core entities: The committee clarified that capital-fund eligibility remains constrained by ownership rules (capital expenditures typically must involve county ownership or county interest), but agreed to restore the three categories used in prior applications: (1) tourism-related facilities capital expenditures (county-owned/in-part), (2) tourism-related facility operations (municipalities or 501(c)(3) nonprofits), and (3) tourism-related events/festivals. The group deferred a broader redefinition of “core entities” to a future cycle, keeping the current core-entity list in place for this round.

- Sustainable transportation and infrastructure examples: Members reinstated examples in the master plan to reflect priorities such as expanded seasonal shuttle pilots and EV/ebike charging infrastructure, but asked staff to reword the language so it is feasible (for example: specifying installations on county property or pilot projects rather than implying broad capital funding commitments).

- Reporting and auditor direction: Staff said the Auditor’s Office has requested changes to reporting. Committee members noted San Juan County code requires a project summary to the County Council by the first week of November and directed staff to align application and reporting language with the auditor’s guidance to ensure compliance.

- Application calendar and workshop: The committee set the 2026 timeline: application released June 1; application due Sept. 11; a voluntary pre-application workshop for prospective applicants on June 16 (new applicants encouraged to attend); review and presentation dates Sept. 28–29 and Oct. 7–9 (with one earlier September date to be added as needed). LTAC recommendations are expected to go to County Council at its second October meeting; award notifications will follow the council decision.

- Accountability and attachments: Members agreed applicants who previously received lodging-tax awards should attach that prior year’s end-of-year visitor report (attendance and amounts received) to support accountability. The committee discussed using the LTAC coordinator to produce short public-facing summaries to reduce reviewer burden.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve minutes of March 4, 2026 and Dec. 3, 2025: Mover Libby; second Anna Maria; voice vote — approved.

- Motion to approve the San Juan County LTAC master plan: Mover Anna Maria; second Libby; voice vote — approved and to be forwarded to County Council.

What’s next

The committee scheduled a short final-review meeting on May 6, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. to confirm all edits before release. Members were asked to complete a brief Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) training and confirm completion with staff via the LTAC email address before the next meeting.

Attribution: Quotes and specific proposals in this article are attributed to the committee members as recorded in the April 7 meeting transcript. Unattributed descriptions reflect committee discussion and staff reports recorded in the transcript.