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Council hears two tourism grant requests; approves $5,000 for promotional merchandise
Summary
Travel & Tourism board recommended funding The Wall that Heals ($12,000) and a Friends of the Bridger-Teton National Forest ambassador program ($12,597); council approved a $5,000 promotional hat giveaway from lodging-tax reserves and noted lodging-tax totals may not sustain both grants without reserve use.
Travel and Tourism Board Chair Frank Bell presented two grant applications for council consideration: $12,000 to host The Wall that Heals from July 9–12, and $12,597 for a Friends of the Bridger-Teton National Forest (FBTNF) ambassador program focused on Ranch trails. Bell said the Wall event is a single high-attendance event that other nearby towns are funding at full request levels; the FBTN F proposal is focused on Ranch trails this year and is more expensive than last year.
Bell acknowledged county tourism staff concerns (including a $10,000 county grant cap and questions about program staffing and scope) and said Travel & Tourism recommended both applications while warning the two grants would consume most of the town’s approximately $25,000 annual lodging-tax revenue. The board urged clearer grant rules going forward to avoid depleting reserves.
Separately, Travel & Tourism board member Barb Watkins proposed a conservative promotional merchandise program using lodging-tax reserves: 168 hats at about $20 each for an initial $5,000 investment to distribute to volunteers and public-facing residents. Councilman Taylor Ellis moved to allocate $5,000 from the lodging-tax promotional reserves for the merchandise; Councilman Wade Bitter seconded and the motion passed with all ayes.
