Lodging-tax advisory committee approves $7,500 for Des Moines Waterland Festival and Parade

The Lodging Tax Advisory Committee on Monday approved a recommendation to provide $7,500 in lodging-tax funds to support the Des Moines Waterland Festival and Parade, the committee heard. The vote was 2–0 with one member recusing.

Kristen, the event organizer, told the committee she filed an LLC solely to keep the parade and festival running and has added a block party to expand the event. “The only purpose of this LLC is the parade and festival,” she said, and described a $20,000 budget for this year’s activities.

Kristen said her organizing team raised $8,500 from corporate sponsors and $7,500 in contributions from local residents; she said the lodging-tax application requests $7,500. “In the end, we’ve received $8,500 from our sponsors. We’ve also received that 7,500 from our residents,” she said. She added that last year’s event drew more than 2,000 people and that organizers plan to work with police and use drone photos to better estimate attendance this year.

Committee members asked about marketing outside King County and outreach to neighboring cities; Kristen said organizers have worked with the Waterland blog, the South Sound Chamber and local elected officials, and have invited Federal Way, Burien and Normandy Park to participate. Members also asked whether promotional materials could note city support; staff and the applicant said they would work on application language and include the city logo or a tagline where appropriate.

Doug said he is a donor to the event and indicated he would recuse from the vote; two members identified in the record as Yoshiko and McKenzie voted to approve the application. A committee member seconded the motion and the chair announced the application approved. The committee noted that approval is a recommendation that will be placed on the City Council consent agenda on July 9 and could be pulled by council members at that meeting.

Members urged stronger volunteer recruitment and intergroup collaboration—naming the chamber, Rotary and Legacy as potential partners—to avoid the volunteer shortages that hampered recent efforts. Staff agreed to provide the committee an updated lodging-tax balance before considering future requests and to work with applicants on clearer attendance-tracking guidance.

The committee also heard a brief personnel update: a hospitality-industry nominee for an advisory board seat has accepted a nomination and will be referred to council for final approval.

The advisory committee’s recommendation on the lodging-tax award will be forwarded to the Des Moines City Council for placement on the July 9 consent agenda.