Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lodging-tax panel recommends drawing down reserves for regional events and capital; committee backs Sea Discovery Center support
Summary
The lodging-tax advisory committee recommended using a portion of roughly $449,000 in reserves to fund grants and capital investments aimed at drawing regional events to Poulsbo, seed data collection pilots, and help the Sea Discovery Center stabilize operations and repair exhibit tanks with a matching commitment from Western Washington University.
The Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) presented its recommended awards and a strategic proposal to use a portion of the committee's $449,000 reserves to seed regional events, invest in tourism-supporting capital and invest in data tools for better measurement of visitor impact.
"We have 450,000 in reserves," the LTAC presenter said, and the committee proposed a plan to draw that down in a measured way to support capital projects (including waterfront park improvements) and marketing that can attract off-season events. The committee also recommended a phased cost-recovery plan for events, moving to full cost recovery within three years.
The committee recommended a range of grants: seed awards for smaller event pilots (for example, $1,000 to events that need data to show "heads and beds" impact), funding for Placer AI (a data tool) for municipal usage, and a larger operating recommendation for the Sea Discovery Center at Western Washington University to support repairs and expanded operating days. Council members sought written commitments from Western regarding the use and matching of funds to repair tank systems and asked staff to provide additional data on "heads and beds" impacts for larger recipients.
Council agreed to move the LTAC recommendations to the business agenda for fuller discussion next week to allow members time to review grant presentations and data collection options.
