HomeMy WebLinkAbout112625 email Request to add this message to public record correspondence relating to today's 11_26 LTAC meeting___ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Please add this correspondence to the public records as it relates to today's 11/26 LTAC meeting in response to public comments and submitted correspondence regarding the North Hood
Canal Chamber of Commerce's LTAC application:
To: LTAC Chair Heather Dudley-Nollette and the LTAC Committee
Re: Addressing Public Comments on Operational Funding and Governance
Date: November 26, 2025
Chair Dudley-Nollette and Committee Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to recent public commentary regarding the NHCCC application. Instead of addressing every question directly, I want to speak to the governance
challenges facing small organizations and this very board, and to provide our board’s point of view alongside some constructive suggestions on how to proceed.
I'll address three topics: valid uses of operational funding, the role of data in decision-making, and the importance of supporting organizations at different points in their lifecycle.
1. Valid Uses of Operational Funding
The critique questions whether staff time on tasks like grant writing or facility RFPs should be funded. Planning for the future is valid, provided the bulk delivers tourism impact.
This includes grant writing (to secure ongoing operations), managing facility RFPs (to maintain visitor spaces), or attending meetings like these.
We also caution against counting hours or timecards as it is costly for small organizations that lack this infrastructure and creates an undue and expensive reporting burden for this
very board. Instead, focus on whether the funding supports the stated mission, and acknowledge that in smaller organizations, there are often a variety of tasks a given individual performs.
For example, the NHCCC has historically supportedcovered Visitor Information Center costs from our general funds and will continue to do so. LTAC support helps sustain this without cutting
other services.
2. Better Data, Applied Fairly
Questions on overnight stays, visitor origins, and economic impact are valid, but few organizations have tools to report accurately. Self-reported data is unreliable. The few who have
access to reliable data are lodging providers, and while a core part of the mission, they alone are not the prime drivers of our tourism economy. This board should be mindful to bias
funding away from events like parades, shows, or visitor centers that draw people who may camp or day-trip.
This is one reason our chamber has requested funding for Placer.ai, which provides geolocation-based data on foot traffic, dwell times, and visitor sources. It replaces guesses with
facts and can be applied countywide and across time to compare all grantees fairly.
But that tool is not available today. The needs are. We urge the committee to adopt tools like Placer.ai <http://placer.ai> as well as provide other data-driven ways to measure impact
that are accessible to all applicants, and to use these data to help in your deliberations.
3. Supporting Missions at Different Lifecycle Stages
We also wish to address questions around the size or scale of individual requests. Privately and in our own board meetings, we have entertained questions and statements implying that
larger or smaller asks relative to historical needs signal their own virtues. We disagree, and argue that sentiment misrepresents how funding cycles and demands work. An organization
may need larger investment while building new capabilities (like relocating a visitor center or launching new tools), then become leaner. This is normal, not suspicious.
We believe that it is important for LTAC to support a variety of causes and organizations, legacy and emerging needs, to ensure a robust economy into the future.
Conclusion
The challenges raised in public comment reflect a real gap in this process. We caution you against further deferral or cancellation of this decision as we enter the end of the year given
the gap in funding it will create for many of the requests.
Instead, act based on the principles you have already established and use the feedback to improve the system going forward. Approve funding this cycle under the criteria you have, then
commit to clearer standards for the next funding cycle. NHCCC would welcome the opportunity to provide input and participate in that process.
We are ready to meet those standards. We ask only that you establish them clearly and apply them fairly to all.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment. We look forward to your final decisions.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Schwartz
Executive Director
North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce
===
Andrew Schwartz
Ex. Director
North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce
"Emerald Towns of the Hood Canal"
P.O. Box 774
Quilcene, WA 98376
admin@nhccc.com
(360) 726-3023
<https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/a6ac1e38897f43a8a5e5889dae5ba0a0@nhccc.com?anonymous&ep=bwmEmailSignature>
Book time to meet with me <https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/a6ac1e38897f43a8a5e5889dae5ba0a0@nhccc.com?anonymous&ep=bwmEmailSignature>
🛜 https://emeraldtowns.com/
📆 Post your event on the Chamber Website <https://emeraldtowns.com/submit-events/>
oundTask\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"OsfInstallerStartCom\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"OsfInstallerStartNotCOM\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"CInstallerMainShellInit\" : { \"EventFlag\"
: 2 }, \"OsfInstallerStartMain\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"CInstallerMainShellScheduleTask\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"CInstallerMainShellShutdown\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"GetNetworkCostTimeou
t\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"GetNetworkCostServiceUnavailable\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 } } } }, \"Events\" : { \"PackageAppxExtractorTaskPackageInformation\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }
} }, \"OsfAction\" : { \"Events\" : { \"ActionExecution\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 } } }, \"PackageCache\" : { \"Events\" : { \"ServiceDeliveryFSCache\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 512 }, \"SetupDeliveryFSCach
e\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 512 }, \"GetCachedResource\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 512 }, \"FSCacheInvalid\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 512 } } }, \"Sandbox\" : { \"Events\" : { \"PostOsfControlMessage\"
: { \"EventFlag\" : 512 }, \"ODPActivationHanging\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 512 }, \"SandboxCreation\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 512 }, \"DeleteOsfControl\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 512 }, \"SetOMTokenOnTridentHos
t\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"SetTridentHost\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 512 }, \"CreateOsfControlV2\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"ODPShowTaskpaneControl\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"CreateRemoter\"
: { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"DownloadManifest\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"ReloadAllOsfControls\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"RestartRemoter\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"RestartSandboxes\"
: { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"StartOsfControl\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 } } }, \"UX\" : { \"Events\" : { \"LaunchOmexSSOConsentDialog\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 2 }, \"AgaveUxMinorBlocked\"
: { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"AppDeletedFromDocument\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"DialogClosed\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"DialogOpen\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"ShowInfobarConsentView\"
: { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"ShowLoadingState\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"ShowReactView\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 } } }, \"AppCommands\" : { \"Events\" : { \"AppCmdProjectionStatus\"
: { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"CacheDeserializeFromStream\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"CacheSerializeToStream\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"CacheSolution\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256
}, \"EwsRefresh\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"ExecuteAction\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"FallbackToFirstLiveIdInOEM\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"FallbackToFirstLiveIdInRibbon\"
: { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"FetchCacheSolution\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"InstallManifestReady\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"LoadMinCache\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"MisMatchingRibbonIdenti
tyInfo\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"PrepareShowTaskpaneV2\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"RemoveFromRibbon\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"ShowTeachingCallout\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256
}, \"TaskpaneAppCmdInstallation\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 } } }, \"AddinPrefetch\" : { \"Events\" : { \"PrefetchIcons\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"PrefetchUrl\" : { \"EventFlag\"
: 256 }, \"PreloadManifest\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"SandboxPrefetchUrl\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 } } }, \"Activation\" : { \"Events\" : { \"CRemoterProxy\" : { \"EventFlag\" :
256 } } }, \"SingleSignOn\" : { \"Events\" : { \"DisplaySSOConsentPageForApiCall\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"ExecuteGetSSOTokenInternal\" : { \"EventFlag\" : 256 }, \"GetAuthToken\"
: { \"EventFlag\" : 256 } } } } }