Title
Tourism Grant Process Proposal Update
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
It is recommended that the City Commission allocate five thousand dollars ($5,000) in transient room tax revenue for the purpose of awarding grants for the 2016 grant cycle and reserve the remaining funds to allocate toward future implementation of the Oregon City Tourism Action Plan (OCTAP) once it has gone through a thorough public process and has been approved.
BACKGROUND:
At a regularly scheduled City Commission meeting on December 8, 2015, staff presented several options for awarding tourism grants during the 2016 grant cycle in light of the pending Oregon City Tourism Action Plan (OCTAP) that was presented in draft form in October, 2015. The options presented were as follows:
1. Award grants as usual in 2016 and implement any one of the staff-suggested changes in the tourism grant review process for the 2017 grant cycle.
2. Implement one of the staff-suggested changes in the tourism grant review process for the 2016 grant cycle.
3. Suspend the awarding of tourism grants for the 2016 grant cycle but refine, adopt and implement OCTAP for 2017.
4. Grant a percentage of transient room tax funds to tourism projects in 2016 and reserve the remaining portion for allocation toward future implementation of OCTAP
The consensus of the City Commission at the December 8th meeting was to direct staff to contact past applicants of City tourism grants in order to assess the funding need for 2016 and determine a funding amount for tourism grant allocation. The remaining funds from the 2016 tourism grant allocation would then be reserved for future implementation of OCTAP. Staff has completed this assessment and recommends that a total of $5,000 be allocated toward the 2016 tourism grant cycle.
BUDGET IMPACT:
Amount: $5,000
FY(s): 2015/17
Funding Source: General Fund - Transient Room Tax Revenue