Astoria budget subcommittee recommends $568,253 in Promote Astoria grants, forwards plan to full budget committee

The Astoria Budget Committee on Monday recommended that the full budget committee consider allocating $568,253 from the city’s Promote Astoria transient‑lodging tax fund to five local tourism organizations.

Chair Andrew Davis read the committee’s recommendation and, after a second and no objections, the group approved the referral. The recommendation would send $120,000 to the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association (ADHDA); $69,600 to the Astoria Uptown Business Association; $183,653 to the Astoria‑Warrenton Chamber of Commerce; $30,000 to Cruise Hosts; and $175,000 to the Lower Columbia Tourism Committee (LCTC). The committee’s recommendation will be considered during full budget hearings April 22–25 and the city council’s formal budget adoption in June.

The meeting opened with a staff presentation from Director Norton outlining the Promote Astoria fund’s purpose and legal limits. “The goal of these funds is to bring people in from beyond that 50‑mile radius or in a situation in which they’ll have an overnight stay,” Director Norton said, summarizing the ORS definition and corresponding Astoria City code guidance staff used to evaluate applications. Norton told the committee the city estimates roughly $620,000 will be available to distribute this cycle, with the final award amounts subject to adoption of the proposed budget.

Committee members discussed each applicant’s scope and metrics. For ADHDA — which requested $120,000 after receiving $95,000 last cycle — members voiced support for a placeholder approach, with one member urging the committee to start the worksheet at last year’s award so the group could rebalance later. Regarding the Uptown Business Association, members noted the group is new and largely volunteer‑run and agreed the prior award level ($51,000) was an acceptable starting point, while one member said the group merits full funding to help it scale operations.

The Cruise Hosts application drew the most contention over measurable economic impact. “The cruise ship days were not lucrative because people eating/drinking so much on the boat are not spending a lot of money in town,” Councilor Denver Adams said, voicing skepticism about the long‑term local benefit of day‑visit cruise calls. Other members and business representatives countered that Cruise Hosts provide free, volunteer visitor services and that their work helps create positive visitor impressions that could lead to repeat stays.

The committee also debated whether agencies should request fixed dollar amounts or a percentage of Promote Astoria revenue. Some members favored maintaining flexibility with a fixed dollar allocation to preserve contingency funds in low‑revenue years; Director Norton cautioned that tying awards to a fixed percentage can reduce the committee’s ability to respond to one‑time opportunities or changing needs.

The motion approved by the subcommittee is advisory: staff will incorporate the committee’s recommendations into the city’s proposed budget, which will be revisited by the full budget committee and then by the city council during the formal adoption process. Director Norton noted that no award is final until the council adopts the budget and that agreements with awardees are executed after adoption.

What’s next: the budget committee will review the full proposed budget April 22–25; council adoption is scheduled for June. Organizations that receive recommendations may be asked for additional metrics or presentations during the full budget hearings.

(Reporting based solely on the March 10, 2025 transcript of the Astoria Budget Committee subcommittee meeting.)