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Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Special Meeting Minutes
January 22, 2016
Jefferson County Commissioners Chambers - 3:00 p.m.
Attendees: Debbie Wardrop, Bill Tennent, and Kathleen Kler
(Kyle Forgey and Larry McKeehan were absent)
Staff: Executive Assistant Leslie Locke
Chair Kler called the meeting to order at 3:04 p.m.
MINUTES:
Member Wardrop moved to approve the Special Meeting minutes of November 20
and 23, 2015 as presented. Member Tennent seconded the motion. The motion carried.
Chair Kler informed the Committee members that the 2016 Lodging Tax agreements are being
processed for approval. She also stated that lodging tax funds can be used for County
administrative costs.
DISCUSSION re: Future Roles of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) in
Tourism Promotion and Initial Strategic Planning:
The Committee discussed the following suggestions to streamline the process of awarding
lodging tax funds:
Start the Request for Proposal (RFP) process earlier (deadline October 1)
Include applicable RCWs in the RFP
Provide LTAC members a copy of the RFP when made available to the public
Draft agreements prior to approval of the County Budget
Chair/Staff review proposals for completeness prior to LTAC meeting/presentations
Member Wardrop stated that the initial strategic planning discussion should be rescheduled for a
time when the entire Committee can participate.
DISCUSSION re: 2016 Additional Lodging Tax Funding:
Chair Kler informed the
Committee that there is a total of $80,000 in additional lodging tax funding available. Discussion
ensued as to whether the Request for Proposals (RFP) will be open for all applicants or current
2016 recipients only. The Committee concurred to open the RFP to all interested applicants. The
Committee reviewed a draft RFP for supplemental funding and the following suggestions were
made:
Schedule a 30 minute discussion to allow the Committee to review RFPs prior to
presentations
All lodging tax recipients receive payments on the same schedule (i.e. quarterly, semi-
annual, annual)
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Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Minutes: January 22, 2016
Based on the poor performance of Kiosks, remove language from the RFP to fund Kiosks
Schedule 5 minutes between each presentation to allow the applicant to set up
Appoint a time keeper to monitor the 15 minute time limit for each presentation
Member Wardrop reiterated that she would like all lodging tax recipients to provide a quarterly
report regardless of their payment schedule (i.e. quarterly, annual or semi-annual). She would
like to see language requiring quarterly reports included in each agreement and in the cover letter
accompanying the agreement.
In order for lodging tax recipients to be held accountable, Chair Kler suggested that if quarterly
reports are not provided to the LTAC it could affect future lodging tax funding allocations.
The Committee concurred that the deadline for receiving proposals will be 4:30 p.m., Monday,
March 7, 2016. The next LTAC meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday, March 18, 2016 at
9:00 a.m.
ADJOURN:
The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Leslie Locke, Executive Assistant
Jefferson County Commissioners’ Office
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