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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022 PLVC-Trails RFP 1 2022 Lodging Tax Grant Packet for PLVC-Trails Improvement The Trails Committee falls under the purview of the Port Ludlow Village Council for the purposes of 501c3 IRS status. We do, however have our own budget and committee organization to address the requirements of the over 24 miles of trails in the Port Ludlow area. However, when checking for 501c3 status please search under Port Ludlow Village Council. Included in this application are the following: Signed and dated Proposal Summary Sheet Section 1: Itemized list of proposed services and estimated costs Section 2: Proposal Questions Section 3: Proposed 2022 promotion, facility, event or activity budget (note we have included the Trails budget as well as the PLVC financial documents) event or activity budget. Section 3 – 2021 budget and year-to-date income and expense statement(s). Section 3 - List of names and addresses of the organization’s current Board of Directors. Information for both PLVC and the Trails Committee are included (email addresses) Section 3 - Optional work samples such as season brochures, promotional materials, reviews, news/magazine articles, etc. Port Ludlow Hiking Map Article from the August Port Ludlow Voice on the VolksWalk Event Olympic Peninsula Waterfall Trails Brochure Port Ludlow Associates Advertising Brochure 2 3 1. Itemized List of Proposed Tourism Promotion Services Organization (or Event) Name: _Port Ludlow Village Council – Trails Committee PLVC-Trails Improvement In the following space or on a separate sheet of paper, please specify each proposed tourism promotion, facility, event or activity, including quantities and costs (see examples at bottom of page). This grant request is made by the Trails Committee, committee under the Port Ludlow Village Council (holder of the 501c3 IRS umbrella status). Our mission in Trails is to maintain over 24 miles of trails in the Master Planned Resort community of Port Ludlow. As such, we are a tourist site because of the availability of single family housing and condominiums. Port Ludlow Associates (PLA) operates a lodging facility (Residence Inn), an RV Park, a Golf Course, and Marina. At the marina water craft are available for rent. To provide an additional outdoors experience for tourists, we have managed trails that access not only the beautiful Port Ludlow Bay, but also tremendous scenes of the Olympics. In some cases, you can be on a trail without any sounds of the city except the wind. Our trails use not only PLA lands but also those of the Department of Natural Resources and Rayonier Corp. Recently (August 28, 2021) our trails were used by the American VolksWalk Association for a five and ten kilometer hike. We have also been visited by the Sierra Club, and are awaiting decisions for the placement of the National Rails to Trails route on this side of Hood Canal, possibly coming by this area and bringing in more tourists. This is all happening because of the condition of our trails. However, we are finding that to meet the increasing demand we need to remove mudded areas and replace many of the old cedar log benches. All the work is done by volunteers, but the materials are an added cost, unplanned for. Our objective is to repair the trails and replace the benches by the next VolksWalk in August 2022. Our estimated costs for these two projects are: Remove mud coating on trails (approximately 1000 feet) and spread ¾ inch stone: $1090.00 Replace ten cedar benches with composite constructed benches: $914.64 Total amount of grant request: 2004.64 4 2. Proposal Questions Please confine your answers to no more than one page for each question. 1. Tell us about your promotion, facility, event or activity and why you think it will increase tourists traveling to and staying in Jefferson County. Include a general description of the promotion, facility, event or activity including its purpose, history, etc.), and describe your organization’s track record. The Port Ludlow Trails committee is a subcommittee under the Port Ludlow Village Council (PLVC). We construct and maintain over 24 miles of trails in the Port Ludlow community that are open to the public. Visitors to our trails also are drawn to lodging facilities such as the Residence Inn and RV Park. Our trails are heavily used, especially during this time of Covid 19. As such it keeps our dedicated volunteers very busy maintaining and upgrading the trails. This is an on-going “event” where we have “fun days” to repair and maintain trails, on average twice a month, for three hours each time. We have found that conversion from putting down wood chips to replacing it with ¾ inch gravel is a better surface for our trails. We are in the process of transitioning to this surface cover in the especially muddy areas of our trails. We are also experiencing deterioration of our cedar wooden benches on various trails and wish to convert many of these to a more durable construction material requiring less maintenance. These two maintenance projects require funds outside our normal operating expenses. Our track record has been very good. Our trails have brought in visitors from the Sierra Club, the Hiking Club, and we recently sponsored the VolksWalk of Washington. Our trails and listed Ludlow Waterfall Trail are continual draws for both Washington and national visitors throughout the year. We have enhanced our trails with interpretive signs that were funded in 2019 by an LTAC grant. These signs have seen heavy visitor use throughout the past years. 2. If this is a continuing promotion, facility or event, how is it different than in the past? While we wish to stabilize our trails with stone and enhance our rest stops with new benches, this is a continuing operation but with the intent of preparing for an even larger visit next year by the Washington VolksWalk organization, as well as possible expansion into other areas, such as increased mountain bike use in some areas. We just started sponsoring the VolksWalk organization but envision this sort of participation to increase on our trails over the future as good walking trails that provide a great scenic view, not only of the mountains but the Puget Sound area are difficult to find, especially located to lodging and dining facilities. Ours provide both the natural experience as well as close by facilities that appeal to tourism. Our trails also support biking which will augment the Discovery Trail and the Rails to Trails program in the future. 3. Describe how you intend to market/promote your promotion, facility, event or activity to potential tourists who reside outside Jefferson County. a) If an event, the date of the event: August 2022. Our trails are already marketed extensively by the Port Ludlow Associates (PLA) in their brochures for the Residence Inn and other facilities. 5 We are also mentioned in the Waterfalls of the Olympic Penninsula as one of the key falls to visit. We already provide a great walking and biking map that is used at Gateway Visitors Center as well as in all of PLA’s facilities. Finally, we publish an article monthly in the Port Ludlow Voice alerting folks of activities regarding the Port Ludlow trails. We will be partnering with the Washington VolksWalk organization next year on the upcoming event in August 2022 to support that event even more than we did this year. So through both word of mouth, brochures provided in the various tourist centers, and through the experiences of both individual tourists and groups, we expect the word to get out about the outdoor experience we can provide through our trails. b) The timeline for the tourism promotion activity you are proposing (e.g. May through July, 2022) : May through August 2022. Our timeline is as follows: purchase materials for the benches in March of 2022 and begin in- house construction. We have volunteers who are especially talented in building benches (they volunteer with the Boing Bluebills). April/May of 2022 place the new benches (10 of them) on the trails, removing the deteriorating cedar ones. In June, we will begin scraping off the mud from the trails down to hardpan to prepare for the gravel application. As the trails are cleared, we will apply the gravel. We have found this process works tremendous on our trails. In July 2022 the work should be complete in time for the August planned VolksWalk. c) Target Audience: Our audience is anyone who walks, hikes, runs or bikes our trails. No motorized vehicles or horses are allowed on our trails. We have had visitors from not only Washington State, but all other states as well as international visitors. Gateway Visitors Center has been tremendous in directing folks interested in a quick hike to our trails because we are so close yet provide an excellent capability and enjoyable trails. So our audience is anyone who is interested in getting a tremendous outdoors experience, with vistas of both our Olympic Mountains as well as Puget Sound. d) Promotion methods you intend to use to reach the target audience: As already mentioned we use the Port Ludlow Voice every month to inform the local community of our trail projects. We have provided maps of our trails to the various Information Centers in Jefferson County (such as Gateway). We will continue to use these methods for advertising as well as work with organizations such as the Hiking Club, Sierra Club, and VolksWalk to publicize our trails and what we can offer, as far as nature enjoyable experiences. Please see the attachments for the brochures that we use to publicize our trails. e) Describe how you will promote overnight stays at Jefferson County lodging establishments: 6 The more events we have with groups like VolksWalk and the Sierra Club, the more people become aware of our potential. Our trails go by both the Residence Inn as well as the RV Park, and connect to the Swansonville area. Promotion of our hiking and biking capabilities as well as our relationship with Port Ludlow Associates and PLVC, as well as other local organizations, expands our affected audience, and therefore includes us in the “tourist” attractions of this part of Jefferson County. Events and the resource will promote overnight stays not only in Port Ludlow but throughout eastern Jefferson County. Advertising at Gateway and other centers around the area will also help to promote lodging use. f) If you intend to collaborate with another agency or non-profit to provide these services, please state the name of the organization and describe the nature of the collaboration: At the present time we don’t plan to collaborate with another non-profit. However, with the Rails to Trails program approaching from Kitsap County with the ultimate objective to connect to the Discovery Trail, we will be an essential partner to this initiative, especially if the trail comes north through Port Ludlow. 4. How will you measure the effectiveness of your promotion, facility, event or activity? Also, describe how you will document and report to the County the economic impact from your event/facility. (State law requires the County to report annually to the State Department of Community Development and Economic Trade about the number of lodging stays and economic benefit from tourists generated by use of Lodging Tax proceeds for tourism promotion.) We will be completing this work in the summer of 2022, prior to August (when the VolksWalk occurs). In April 2022 we will conduct use surveys of our trails (at least one per trail) and then conduct use surveys after we complete the work (in September 2022) to determine whatever increase we may have of the trails. We shall also survey the participants of the VolksWalk to determine if (a) they stayed overnight locally and (b) if they ate at any local restaurants. This will provide us with the value of preparing for this type of concentrated use of our trails. 5. What economic impact can we expect in Jefferson County from your proposed promotion, facility, event or activity? a.) Actual or estimated number of tourists at your event/facility last year (2021): According to the report in the Port Ludlow Voice September 2021 edition, over 160 marchers from the VolksWalk group hiked our trails for this event. From April through September, the use of the Port Ludlow Trails system is extensive, with approximately 100 hikers and walkers per day using the trails. A great portion of these users are regular resident walkers, but based on 5% of the cars being from out of state in our parking lots, we could have up to 5 “tourists” per day. Winter months, we get much less use of the trails to at most five tourists per week. This would bring our total “tourist” use of the trails to 1040 visitors per year. Overall, through Covid, our use of the trails has increased substantially. b.) Estimated number of tourists who will attend your event/facility this year (2022): 7 We expect, if Covid impacts are reduced, that the VolksWalk participation will be in excess of 200 participants. We probably will not see an increase in the use of the trails by “tourists” until other events/facilities draw them to our community. c.) Projected economic impact in Jefferson County from your event/facility (e.g. number of tourists who will stay overnight in Jefferson County-based lodging establishments; economic impact for Jefferson County restaurants, community facilities, amenities, events, and businesses). Unfortunately no metrics were taken from the VolksWalk visitors in August to determine how many were either eating in our restaurants or staying in lodging. The event occurred during the morning so many could have stayed the prior night in lodging accommodations around the area. It is expected that most (90%) of the visitors stayed in the area for the lunch meal. This would translate to 130 people eating a $15 lunch, or $1950. If 20% of the out of state hikers eat in the area this would be $3120. These are conservative figures, but without surveys of individuals, it is difficult to get an accurate impact on the local community. 6. Describe your organization’s area of expertise. Do you provide a unique service? Trails are extremely important to the Port Ludlow and surrounding communities. In 1997, Gilmore Research Group conducted a survey of resident and non-residents which stated that 84% of the respondents found hiking trails to be somewhat to very important for the community development. Trails are specifically mentioned in the PLA website as one of the key activities of Port Ludlow. With the value of Ecotourism to today’s traveling public, the diversity of our trails, the natural and cultural resources they connect, and the various species of wildlife prevalent in our area, from marine environments to forested areas, Port Ludlow provides a unique and enjoyable experience to both our residents and our visitors. PLVC-Trails is uniquely qualified for maintaining old trails and creating new ones. Our committee was established in the late 1990s and has continuously maintained trails since that time. Our volunteers have undergone certified chain saw training, as well as extensive on the job training by an experienced landscaper. We pass the experience down to new members, and expand the capability to construct trails across Jefferson County. Our trails have been reviewed by both the Sierra Club and other organizations for the quality and visual experience they provide the user. Port Ludlow has one of the few noted Waterfall Trails on the Olympic Peninsula with Ludlow Falls. So with the intensive training, as well as a well-organized volunteer force, we are uniquely qualified to meet the requirements of providing a valuable and scenic experience both on a one event situation like VolksWalk and a continual use of our 24 miles of trails. 8 3. Background Information about Your Organization Attach the following items to your proposal in the order listed: (Note: To be considered by the Committee, all of the listed information must be included with your proposal.) Attachments: ▬ Proposed 2022 promotion, facility, event or activity budget including income and expenses. Cost Estimate for PLVC-Trails Benches Item Dimension Cost Number Total # Total Cost Vendor Armor guard Composite Decking 12ft x5.3inx1in 26.67 6 160.02 HD Hemlock or DF PT 2x6x12 12ft x 6 x 2 19.38 1 10 193.8 lowes Hemlock or DF PT 4x4x18 4x4x8 11.23 2 4 44.92 lowes Peak Prod. Grand spike 24 in 4inx4inx24in 15.77 2 20 315.4 hd Galv carriage bolts 3/8" x 7 1.57 20 31.4 lowes Galv carriage bolts 3/8"x10 1.91 20 38.2 lowes Galv flat washers 3/8" 0.16 40 6.4 lowes Galv lock washers 3/8" 0.22 40 8.8 lowes Galv nut 3/8" 0.13 40 5.2 lowes Deck Screws 8 x " 28 280 34.98 lowes Total 839.12 Taxes 9% 75.5208 Total 914.6408 Estimate for Gravel Gravel from Shine Pit 3/4 inch (-) 5cy 150 1 5 750 Shine Gravel Truck Haul 1 truck load 50 1 5 250 Roethle Trkin Subtotal 1000 Taxes 9% 90 Total Cost 1090 Total Cost of Project 2004.641 9 PLVC Trails Grant Request: 2021 Budget and Actual income and expense year to date statement(s) for PLVC-Trails: . 2022 Proposed Budget Responsible Committee Officer 2021 Approved Budget 2021 Financials to Date 2022 Proposed Budget Income Trail Maintenance Agreement Contributions (LMC, PLA, SBCA) $3,000.00 $3,000.00 $3,000.00 PLVC Donation $1,000.00 $1,000.00 $1,000.00 Interest Income $0.00 $5.02 $0.00 Other Income $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 TOTAL Income $4,000.00 $4,005.02 $4,000.00 Expenses Niblicks Loop Bridge Maintenance $300.00 $0.00 n/a Sign replacement/maintenance Maintenance $600.00 $0.00 $600.00 Mowing requirements Maintenance $500.00 $296.97 $500.00 Trail Maintenance Supplies Maintenance $500.00 $903.66 $800.00 Equipment Maintenance $300.00 $226.31 $300.00 Training Maintenance $500.00 $0.00 $500.00 Garden upgrade Maintenance $200.00 $0.00 $200.00 Natural Resource Interpretive Signs Natural Resources $500.00 $0.00 $500.00 Food/Refreshments Chair $200.00 $109.62 $200.00 Miscellaneous Chair $400.00 $139.07 $400.00 Total Expenses $4,000.00 $1,675.63 $4,000.00 NOTES 1. Data date for 2021 financials is 9/30/21. 10 PLVC Trails Grant Request: PLVC Budget and Actual Income: 11 12 13 PLVC-Trails Grant Request: List of names and addresses of the organization’s Board of Directors as of the date the proposal is filed. PLVC- Trails Committee 14 Committee Officers / Voting Members Name Email Chairperson Larry Scott mclgscott@cablespeed.com Natural Resources Mark Makarowski m2rowski@gmail.com Secretary Erin Anderson erinanderson@outlook.com Treasurer Gary Hicks glhicks01@gmail.com Stewardship Jane Navone jenpl@olypen.com Maintenance Open Position N/A PLVC Liaison Paul Hinton paulsailon@aol.com Member at Large Soozie Darrow desdarrow@olypen.com Member at Large, Grants Coordinator Tim Rensema trrens1974@gmail.com 2021-2022 PLVC OFFICERS & DIRECTORS For PLVC Internal Use Only OFFICERS PHONE EMAIL President Jim Moffitt Vice President Tam McDearmid Treasurer Paul Hinton 817 291 5669 paulsailon@aol.com treasurerplvc@gmail.com Secretary Tam McDearmid DIRECTORS PHONE EMAIL 15 Director Mike Towner Director Carol Riley Director Jane Holmes Director Ken Sondergard North Bay—LMC Allan Kiesler South Bay—SBCA Gil Skinner Revised 2021-10-20 16 3. PLVC-Trails Public Media Information Hiking Map of Port Ludlow Port Ludlow Voice Article on VolksWalk Olympic Peninsula Waterfall Trails PLA Port Ludlow Brochure 17 18 19 20