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Residents urge continued support for Bath Christmas project; tourism director shares economic data
Summary
Public commenters asked the council to continue supporting the Bath Christmas Project and WinterFest; the new executive director of Travel Berkeley Springs reported an 11.2% increase in hotel occupancy tax receipts and cited $60 million in visitor direct spend for 2023 in county-level data.
John Mason, speaking for the Bath Christmas Project, thanked the council for past support and asked for continued help organizing holiday lights and the WinterFest parade. "My name is John Mason, and I'm here representing the Bath Christmas project," he said, asking the council to continue support for next season.
The council praised the effort and noted the town depends on volunteers for ongoing seasonal work. The newly arrived Executive Director of Travel Berkeley Springs (speaker 6) introduced himself and provided tourism metrics to the council, reporting an "11.2% increase" in the hotel occupancy tax for the relevant slice and describing a county-level 2023 direct visitor spend of "$60,000,000." He offered to share the tourism-economics one-pager with council members.
Residents also raised event-safety concerns about the Apple Butter Festival (vehicles driving through temporary barriers). Council and public-works staff discussed physical barrier options, volunteer staffing, and police presence to mitigate the risk. The discussion included low-cost options (water-filled drums) to make closures less movable.
