Transient Lodging Tax Committee Minutes
June 17, 2021
Baker City Hall – Council Chambers
Tyler called the meeting to order at 9:00.
Members Present: Tyler Brown, Shane Alderson, Kathy Reedy, Toni Thompson and Buell Gonzales
Guests Present: Brenda Shively, Jared Rivera, Becky Kaaen, David & Lynda Bird, Mike Raney, Jerry Shaw, Shelly Cutler, Alana Carolla, Timothy Bishop, Shelly Cutler, Bryan Tweit, Bill Harvey and Shelly Christensen
Approve Minutes:
Meeting minutes from May 20, 2021 were reviewed. Buell moved that the minutes be approved. Kathy seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Approve Agenda:
Buell moved to approve the agenda with the addition of a grant presentation by Jared Rivera for the Brownlee Crappie Shoot Out and placement of EDC Update by Bryan Tweit and EOVA Presentation by Alana, Shane seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Grant Requests
Hells Canyon Chamber of Commerce – Becky Kaaen
The Committee asked Becky if she would return to provide information on placement of signs and suggested she speak to the Chamber Board members about sponsorship of the signs and the possibility of TLT grant funds as matching funds. Becky shared a picture of the banner that will be hung in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Baker County Fair and Panhandle Rodeo. She indicated they have placement locations for two billboards in Richland, four or five in Halfway and one pending in Oxbow. All of the billboards will have placards with a long narrative of history about the billboard. During shoulder season, the billboards will be moved as part of a geocaching/volkswalking activity for tourists. The Chamber is looking at making a type of passport for attractions in the Hells Canyon area. She also shared that a youth group has volunteered to plant over $400 in daffodils bulbs in the Halfway area. Buell moved to approve the $5,000 grant request. Shane seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Friends of the Pine Valley Fair – David & Lynda Bird
Pine Valley Fair Association is requesting $10,000 to help with refurbishing/rebuilding the existing racehorse barn at the Pine Valley Fairgrounds. When complete the horse barn will have 8-10 stalls for horses with RV parking available. The covered structure will also be available for other activities. Total cost estimate from the contractor is $70,000. The Friends of the Fair has raised approximately $50,000 from grants, donations and other fundraisers. Buell moved to approve the $10,000 grant request. Shane seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Miners Jubilee – Baker County Chamber of Commerce
Baker County Chamber of Commerce is requesting $5,000 to be used for social media and radio marketing as well as additional sanitation precautions and increased insurance costs. Shelly anticipates the Jubilee to be the largest event of the year. The Visitors Center receives many calls every day for information on the Jubilee and Broncs & Bulls. Budget expenses reflect donations to Search & Rescue for security in the park and Baker Mat Club for registration assistance and garbage pickup. Covid restrictions were discussed. Some additional activities are being planned; a downtown sidewalk sale, parade, Lions breakfast and street dance. Tyler asked if the $5,000 grant would help the Jubilee to be a self-sustaining event in the future. Shelly responded that she believes the Jubilee will be self-sustaining and often asks individuals what events they would like to see continue. Shane moved to approve the $5,000 grant request. Buell seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Grant Presentations
Huntington Lions Club Catfish Derby – Mike Raney
Mike reported a great turnout at this event with 230 entries. The event raised $11,000 and had $5,000 in expenditures, which resulted in a net donation to the Lions Club of $6,000. He also stated that merchandise sales were great and they sold out of everything. Mike expressed his gratitude to the Committee for their support and hopes to do it again next year.
Brownlee Crappie Shootout – Jared Rivera
Jared reported the event had 55 participants resulting in 141 overnight stays. Of the 55 participants, 30 were returning anglers and 25 were first time event anglers. According to his report listing where visitors came from there were more from the Seattle area. He anticipates an increase in next years’ event participation to 70. The event raised $1,600 to be donated to CASA. Shane suggesting having Visitors Guides at registration tables during events.
Visitor Services Update - Shelly Cutler
Shelly shared the Center saw 146 travelers passing through during the month of May. Of those travelers, 51 were seeking lodging, 111 requested information on Baker County and 86 requested information on Baker City. The Center also mailed 31 visitors packets. The Center staff feels safe with current Covid sanitation procedures and have been vaccinated. One misconception that she hears often is that many visitors believe the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway is gravel rather than pavement. The Interpretive Center provided outdoor maps to distribute as the inside exhibits are still closed. Shelly shared copies of other County Visitor Guides and said she would like to have a discussion with Timothy and the Baker City Herald about the Visitors Guides and suggested some type of collaboration with the Visitors Center to improve content/quality. Timothy has talked with the Herald about improvements but had challenges with a new printing company.
EDC Update: Bryan
Bryan liked the idea shared by Becky Kaaen relating to geocaching and encouraged collaborating with Sumpter highlighting the horse barn in Halfway. He suggested encompassing all areas of the County with the passport theme. The State’s need to conduct a needs assessment on workforce housing was discussed. The September kicker extension on unemployment benefits has businesses closing during the week because they are short staffed. Bryan shared the events that he attended over the weekend from the Union Stock Show to the Huckleberry Mountain Dog Trials.
Marketing Update – Timothy Bishop
Alana Carolla from EOVA gave the Committee an update. EOVA services eleven counties and two tribal governments east of the Cascades and is recognized as the Eastern Oregon Regional Destination Management Organization (RDMO). Oregon is divided into seven tourism regions. Alana wanted to focus her presentation on the Regional Cooperative Tourism Program (RCTP), which is how EOVA spends monies received from Travel Oregon. Plans are submitted each biennium and have four focus areas; destination development, global sales, global marketing and global strategic partnerships. EOVA works collaboratively with partners such as Travel Baker County. EOVA has a partnership with University of Oregon and has received a RARE participant who works full time at a half time price. The participant has been working since September and is focusing on outdoor recreation development. Alana indicated there is a new focus on the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway, how it connects three counties and how they can leverage marketing and promotions. She directed the Committee to the website to view the RCTP at industry.traveloregon.com. EOVA’s new consumer website was launched last month. Current lodging trends are higher this year to date than in 2019. Timothy congratulated Alana for receiving Travel Oregon’s Rising Star award for the Eastern Region. The regional grants program has been paused this year.
Timothy is seeing very successful events; the Sumpter Valley Railroad had the busiest weekend ever the weekend after Memorial Weekend, Little League Wooden Bat Tournament and Baker City Cycling Classic saw more participants than pre-COVID. The Canadian border is scheduled to reopen in August, which will make shoulder season marketing very competitive as Canadians head south for the winter. Information from the Governor’s Conference indicates the 5 year strategic plan will have an outdoor recreations focus along with a “leave no trace” slogan. Timothy talked about the sessions he attended and asked the Committee attendees if they had any feedback. Shane Alderson attended virtually but said in person would be better.
Financial Reports: Shelly Christensen
No changes to prior month numbers as second quarter reports are not due until July.
Citizen’s Participation:
Becky Kaaen asked about the possibility of attractions within the County to appear on the Baker County website. Committee members explained that the Baker County website is for County departments, which include Baker County Fairgrounds, and Hewitt/Holcomb Parks because they are County owned.
Strategic Planning Update:
Timothy suggested that once COVID restrictions are lifted the existing plan could be used as framework but the existing plan is now outdated and the Committee may need to have another plan written.
By-Laws Update: Tyler: No update.
Staff Comments:
There was discussion relating to collection of lodging taxes at the Pine Valley Fairgrounds once the new horse barn is complete and registering the Baker County Fairgrounds as a lodging partner as they currently rent RV spaces. Shelly will send the Fair Board a lodging tax packet.
Committee Comments: None
Next Meeting:
July 29, 2021 @ 9:00 am
Meeting adjourned at 10:30
Respectfully Submitted:
Shelly Christensen