Title
Oregon City Tourism Plan
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Staff recommends approval of the Oregon City Tourism Plan and addition of one full time employee to implement the tourism plan
BACKGROUND:
Goal 1 of the Oregon City City Commission is to Cultivate an Environment for Successful Economic Development and a tourism plan that builds on the concept that was approved by the City Commission in 2016 is identified as one of the objectives to accomplish that Goal. Oregon City has long realized its potential for tourism due to its rich heritage, recreational amenities and plethora of unique characteristics. To some degree of success, several efforts over the years have been made to capitalize on this potential with the objective of attracting more visitors and to share what the community has to offer. These efforts have been ongoing and as they continue, there has been a growing desire throughout the community to instill more of a focus on tourism in a way that could provide a truly impactful Oregon City visitor experience.
The Downtown Oregon City Association (DOCA) was knowledgeable of the community's desire for an increased focus on tourism. The organization considered itself to be well positioned to lead such an initiative. DOCA proceeded with creating a tourism plan for Oregon City. Although recognizing that City-wide tourism is a priority for the community and very important to the City, the City Commission had not yet sanctioned such an initiative. The result of DOCA's effort is now referred to as the Point B Plan and was approved by the Commission in concept on March 12, 2016 as the City Commission believed there were other elements of the Point B Plan that should be vetted more thoroughly. On August 3, 2016, the City Commission subsequently identified tourism as a priority and important economic development tool by passing Resolution 16-21 and staff was directed to formalize a City-wide tourism plan using the approved concept of the Point B Plan as a framework.
On June 21, 2017, the City Commission authorized the City Manager to execute the Personal Services Agreement (PSA) with Coraggio Group to provide consulting services for the Oregon City Tourism Plan as per Resolution 16-21. The purpose of the project is to create a concerted effort toward tourism by furthering the development and refining the concept of the Point B Plan put forth by DOCA. The Plan is intended to provide guidance for directing future efforts and funding aimed at increasing tourism activity within the City. This project will bring the City closer to meeting the overall tourism objectives of increasing awareness of Oregon City as a tourism destination and increasing tourism-related revenues and employment opportunities. The goals of the project have been met with the proposed plan and are as follows:
- Update the DOCA Point B Plan to meet Oregon City's tourism objectives
- Produce a community driven tourism vision and mission for Oregon City tourism
- Identify Oregon City's competitive edge
- Create a strategy that addresses all tourism opportunities in Oregon City
- Provide clear actions to implement the tourism plan
- Provide direction on leadership structure for Oregon City tourism
- Create an achievable financial plan for tourism
- Create an operations structure for tourism
The proposed tourism plan is a culmination of extensive public participation and community input. The draft was last reviewed at a City Commission Work Session on August 15, 2018 at which time the above goals were discussed along with the plan process, strategic imperatives, various case studies from other tourism jurisdictions and Oregon City plan management recommendations. Staff recommends that the City Commission adopt the proposed Oregon City Tourism Plan. Staff has provided two options for staffing levels to implement the Plan. The first option, recommended by staff, is the addition of 1.0 FTE to be funded by the Transient Lodging Tax to implement the Plan. The second option would be to reallocate existing staffing resources to implement the Plan. Staff is available to answer any questions that the Commission might have.