Lakewood LTAC: About $2.3M available; application window opens July 27

Dean Burke, a member of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee and CEO of VISIT Tacoma Pierce County, told the council that roughly $2.3 million in lodging-tax funds will be available for Lakewood this year, with a minor adjustment expected after a recent debt payoff. "Looks like there's gonna be about 2,300,000 roughly in funds, coming up this year," Burke said during the joint LTAC presentation.

Burke said Lakewood's application season opens July 27, with applications collected in late August and presentations in the latter half of September. Council members asked whether recipients submit post-award reports documenting attendance and room-night pickup; LTAC members said applicants commonly present attendance figures during award presentations, but the advisory committee does not receive a consolidated, official post-award report for every grantee. "Basically, we're just presented every year with a request for funding... but, we don't get an official report, as a committee," one LTAC member said.

Council members and LTAC discussed allowable uses: LTAC funds may be used for projects that demonstrably generate heads-and-beds, including tourism-facing capital projects. The committee and council cautioned that multi-year or capital uses typically require reserve or partner funding, and that one-year LTAC receipts alone are rarely sufficient to finance large capital projects.

Next steps: Lakewood staff will run the application timeline beginning July 27 and return with presentations from applicants in September, after which LTAC will recommend awards to council. Officials encouraged applicants to show how proposed projects will increase lodging nights and visitor spending.