Transient Lodging Tax Committee Minutes
June 20, 2024
Baker County Commission Chambers
Tyler called the meeting to order at 9:00 am.
Members Present: Tyler Brown, Brian Vegter, Mandy Clark, Matthew Koppenhaver, Chelsea Blatchford, Alysia Bowers (via Zoom), and Randy Daughtery
Guests Present: Jessica Hobson, Bryan Tweit, Christopher Hobson, Janet Dodson, Dillon Smith, Linda Wise, Ariel Reker, and Shelly Christensen
Approve Agenda: Brian moved to approve the agenda. Matthew seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Approve Minutes: Meeting minutes from May 28th were reviewed. Randy moved to approve the minutes. Matthew seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Grant Requests
Baker County Fair & Rodeo – Becky Kaaen for Melody Huff
Baker County Fair & Rodeo (Halfway) is requesting $4,000 for their event, which will be held August 31st through September 2nd. Grant funding will be used for more out-of-state advertising, and to purchase stickers. Becky reported they are anticipating over $15,000 in ticket sales. This years’ fair will include a carnival at the cost of $25,000 which has been received through donations. The fair results in 250 stays at hotels, motels and vacation rentals in the Halfway area as well as Richland and Baker City. They will have a camping overflow area for a fee of $10 per day. The Committee tabled this request until their July meeting which will be after a work session addressing proposed changes to the Marketing Support Program and the approval of the Marketing budget.
Grant Presentations
Huntington Lions Catfish Derby – Mike Raney
Mike thanked the Committee for supporting the event and reported 182 registrations for this years’ event, which is up five from last year. The weather was not favorable. Attendees came from the Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Washington, California and Oregon). All lodging establishments in the area were full. The water was good but number of fish caught was down. They did have a 39-pound catfish which is the largest in 38 years. They exceeded their goal of raising $7,000 from the event with a total of $7,040 plus approximately $400 in t-shirt sales. The net profit of $7,500 will be donated to the Lions Club to use for community services programs. All in all, it was a pretty successful event, and they are planning another derby next year.
Tourism Marketing Update – Jessica Hobson
Jessica provided the Committee with her June report, which included advertisements, meetings & information, and social media & events. Travel Baker County has been invited to take part in a six-to-eight-page editorial feature in an upcoming issue of Business View Magazine. She is considering the “Silver” sponsorship package for $2,950. This magazine has 877,000 electronic subscribers. Alysia pointed out there is no travel or hospitality mention on their website. This magazine focuses on economy and industry. Jessica will look into this opportunity a little deeper. Jessica informed the Committee that the recreation map that she worked on with Travel Oregon, EOVA and the tri-counties is available at the Visitors Center. Jessica also provided the Committee with design and cost information on a kiosk to be placed on County property at the corner of East and Campbell Streets. She has gathered information from the Planning Department on size limitations and will need to get Board of Commissioners (BOC) approval once the design has been approved. There was discussion regarding improving existing signage, Jessica pointed out that her proposal addresses improvements to existing signage. Exit ramp improvements were also discussed. It was suggested this topic be addressed at a partner meeting in order to initiate a formal request to ODOT for improvements/clean up at Exit 304. Jessica suggested forming a wayfinding sub-committee. Jessica provided the Committee with information from the Ghost Town exhibit she is creating at the Visitors Center. Jessica asked the Committee for their approval to rent a billboard on I84 that will be available soon at a cost of $975 per month or $11,700 per year. The Committee gave her their approval. Because of the dollar amount of the rental, she will request BOC approval once the Marketing Budget has been approved.
Visitor Services Update – Christopher Hobson
Christopher presented the Visitors Center May report. He reported the new roof is under construction and on an increase in gift shop sales. Next month he will present a proposal in his monthly report to move the graphics from the kiosk to the corner of the property near the freeway exist. This will increase visitors to the Center and give them more opportunities to direct visitors downtown. There was some discussion around the ODOT property that borders the Chamber grounds and the need for cleanup. Because of unresponsiveness on the part of ODOT Christopher has taken it upon himself to take care of the problem. Randy indicated he received an email from a stranded traveler and asked Christopher to look into ways to help stranded motorist leave town.
Community Partners Update
Hells Canyon – Becky Kaaen
Becky provided the Committee with a copy of the Hells Canyon Journal and mini-posters for the Baker County Fair and Halfway upcoming events. Becky shared Halfway is trying to be designated as a Dark Sky community. Becky also pointed out that the Committee’s support of the hospitality room at the State Basketball Tournament keeps people coming to Baker City even though funds are not used for advertising. There was some discussion about the “Hole-in-the-Wall” signage. Christopher indicated he has a new sign to be placed there.
Baker City Downtown - Ariel Reker
Ariel reported tonight’s Wine Walk will benefit Ski for the Health of It. The Taste of Baker date is set for October 5th. She reported on website updates, by-laws, rebranding, and the Festival of Trees community grant program. Baker City Downtown will retain 5% of proceeds from future Festival of Trees events. Baker City’s 150th celebration will take place August 9th & 10th.
Baker County Economic Development Council – Bryan Tweit
Bryan suggested freeway signage indicating distance from freeway exit to downtown and signage at the Visitors Center that indicates distance to attractions. Bryan updated the Committee on what they are doing to support rural businesses in the County. He suggested Community Connections change their trolly route to include Love’s Travel Center. EDC is partnering with the Lions Club to obtain radio ads for Baker County businesses. EDC received 35 grant applications. Bryan indicated this will be an ongoing grant opportunity and late applicants will be moved to the next round of awards.
The Committee received a June report from Crossroads Towards Home.
Tourism Related Facility Project Grant Request Form – Matthew Koppenhaver
This topic will be addressed in a July work session.
Letter from Baker City regarding IGA – Tyler Brown
The Committee received a copy of a letter sent to the Baker County Commissioners from City Manager, Barry Murray regarding Baker City’s IGA with Baker County to collect lodging taxes. Tyler indicated he and Alysia will be attending a joint work session with the BOC, EDC, and the City of Baker City on Tuesday, June 25th at 8:15 am.
Work Session Follow-Up
Marketing Support Program
Tyler expressed his concern with a volunteer board distributing funds up to $5,000 with virtually no accountability. He would like to consult with Kim Moiser, County Counsel, regarding a reimbursement program. This topic will be addressed in a July work session.
Professional Services Agreement with Jessica Hobson status
Shelly drafted a PSA between Baker County and Jessica Hobson. County Counsel reviewed the draft and with recommended changes the PSA will be presented to the BOC for signature on June 26th.
Request for Proposal – Baker City Downtown Marketing & Visitor Services status
Tyler drafted the Project Overview/Purpose of the engagement, Evaluation and Scoring, and Engagement Details. Shelly emailed the draft to Brian for his review. This topic will be addressed in a July work session.
Financial Reports: Shelly Christensen
Shelly provided the Committee with financial reports for the current fiscal year to date. Letters have been sent to lodging establishments that have not submitted their first quarter lodging tax report. Second quarter reports are due July 15th.
Citizen Participation: Dillon Smith from the Trail Head reported they are having a good summer.
Staff Comments: None
Committee Comments:
Matthew reported numbers, indicating what impact the opening of Love’s has had on the Chevron station, are not compiled yet.
Mandy indicated they have had a lot of interest in agritourism activities.
Alysia reported she is busy, and business is going good.
Tyler shared the results of their 26th anniversary party. Even though he only marketed the event locally the party brought visitors from Portland.
Janet reported the Visitor Center is working on welcome packets for traveling groups that visit Baker City. Chistopher reported they have distributed lots of NHOTIC rack cards and that staff at NHOTIC are encouraging visitors to go back to Baker City.
Shelly will coordinate a work session in July, preferably on a Tuesday morning, before the next Committee meeting.
Next Meeting:
July 18, 2024 @ 9:00 am
Meeting adjourned at 10:15 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted: Shelly Christensen