HomeMy WebLinkAboutPFD Seed Funding 2025 JC Lodging Tax Application rcvd 100124 2025 Request for Proposal Packet
Lodging Tax/Tourism Promotion
2025 Proposal Guidelines: Tourism Promotion Activities
The Jefferson County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) is accepting proposals from
government agencies and non-profit organizations for tourism promotion to be provided during
calendar year 2025 and paid for from the County’s lodging tax fund. The Committee will make
recommendations to the Jefferson County Commissioners within one month following the proposal
deadline. All decisions for use of the lodging tax will be made by the Jefferson County
Commissioners.
■ Proposals from government agencies or non-profit organizations are to be for tourism
promotion during calendar year 2025. Please refer to Section 1 of this packet for
examples of eligible tourism promotion activities for this funding round.
■ At the time of implementation, tourism related activities within proposals must comply with
federal, state, and county laws and requirements, including county Public Health
direction. NOTE: Jefferson County may not use public funds in any way that can be construed
as a gift to an individual or organization.
■ Proposals must completely address the questions, and all requested supplemental information
must be provided. Incomplete proposals may not be considered by LTAC.
■ To be considered, a fully completed and signed digital application (digital signatures
acceptable) must be received at afmcknight@co.jefferson.wa.us by the deadline listed above.
■ The preferred format for a digital application is a single PDF file attached to an email. If
necessary, multiple files in either PDF or Microsoft Word may be attached to a single email as
a complete digital application.
■ All documents filed with the County are public records, potentially eligible for release.
This packet is for the 2025 TOURISM PROMOTION SERVICE PROPOSALS
to be funded by the Jefferson County Lodging Tax. Under Jefferson
County guidelines, you must be a NON-PROFIT or GOVERNMENTAL
AGENCY to be eligible to be funded by the Jefferson County Lodging Tax.
The Jefferson County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee may only consider
complete and signed proposals that include all of the requested
information and documents, and that are submitted by the deadline:
FRIDAY OCTOBER 4, 2024 by 4:30 pm
Digital Delivery only for Proposals to afmcknight@co.jefferson.wa.us
Jefferson County is committed to the non-discriminatory treatment of all
Persons in the employment and delivery of services and resources.
2025 Proposal Checklist for Tourism Promotion Activities
Organization Name Jefferson County
Event Name, if different
Seed Funding for Public Facilities District
Proposed Contract Amount:
$160,000
Proposals must completely address the questions, and all requested supplemental
information must be provided. Incomplete or late proposals may not be considered by the
Jefferson County LTAC.
To be eligible for consideration, your application must be signed, dated, and include the following
items in the listed order.
Check each item submitted:
____X___ Signed and Dated Proposal Summary Sheet
____X___ Section 1 - Itemized list of proposed services and estimated costs.
____X___ Section 2 - Proposal Questions.
____X___ Section 3 - Proposed 2025 promotion, facility, event or activity budget.
____N/A_ Section 3 – 2024 budget and year-to-date income and expense statement(s).
____N/A_ Section 3 - List of names and addresses of the organization’s current Board of Directors.
Name and contact information for event chairperson, if applicable. (included BoCC)
_______ Section 3 - Optional work samples such as season brochures, promotional materials,
reviews, news/magazine articles, etc. (maximum of 5 separate pieces)
To be considered, a fully completed and signed original application with supporting documents
must be electronically received and date stamped at the Jefferson County Administrator’s Office, to
Adiel McKnight @ afmcknight@co.jefferson.wa.us by FRIDAY OCTOBER 4, 2024.
Documents submitted to the County are public records, potentially eligible for release.
2025 Proposal Checklist for Tourism Promotion Activities
Proposal Deadline: FRIDAY OCTOBER 4, 2024 at 4:30 pm (received, not postmarked)
Electronically to Email Address: afmcknight@co.jefferson.wa.us
Organization Name Jefferson County
Organization Address PO Box 1220, Port Townsend, WA 98368
Contact Name Greg Brotherton
Contact Address 1820 Jefferson St, Port Townsend
Day Phone 360-385-9101 Evening or Cell Phone 360-541-2992
E-Mail Address gbrotherton@co.jefferson.wa.us
Facility/Event (if applicable) Initial funding for a new Public Facilities District
Total Lodging Tax Request: $: 160,000
Estimated 2025 org. operating
budget (Incl. Lodging Tax funds)
$: _160,000_________
If asking for funds for a specific
event, list other cash funding
sources and dollar amounts
budgeted for this project.
Note: This section is only due for
specific event and festival
funding requests.
Dollar Amount
$
$
$
$
$
$
Total Project Revenue Budget $
Did your organization receive Lodging Tax Funds from the County in 2024? _____yes __X___ no
I understand that if my organization’s proposal for tourism promotion activities is approved by the County that my
organization will enter into a contract with the County to provide the contracted services up to the maximum contract
amount. I understand that the proposal herein is a public record potentially eligible for public release.
Sign Name:
Date:
9/27/2024
Print Name and Title:
Greg Brotherton – County Commissioner
Please type (10 point or larger) or legibly print in ink. To be considered: all questions must be answered; all
requested documents provided; this form must be signed and dated.
1. Itemized List of Proposed Tourism Promotion Services
Organization (or Event) Name: _Seed Funding for Public Facilities District____________
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).
Pursuant to RCW 36.100.025, Jefferson County partnered with the city of Port Townsend to
commission an independent financial feasibility review of developing a Public Facilities District (PFD)
for the purpose of developing a new aquatic facility in Jefferson County. The independent review by
Susan Musselman as commissioned by the Washington Department of Commerce had several points
about funding that was needed prior to formation of a PFD. It is included with this application.
Due to a variety of reasons the initial plan this review covered has been adjusted from a countywide
PFD to build an aquatics facility in Port Townsend to the formation of a countywide PFD for
construction of an aquatic facility in mid-county near or in the Port Hadlock Phase 1 sewer area. The
review also reinforced that the PFD Board, after being appointed by the County Commissioners, would
be an independent municipal organization and could choose to pursue a different plan.
The County is fully supportive of this plan and intends to move forward with forming a countywide PFD
and seating a 5-7 member board. The County does not have revenue to provide the seed funding
indicated by Susan Musselman in the report: “All viable revenue sources for the PFD will require a vote
of the County electorate, which will require pre-election expenditures for communication
and payment of election costs.”
Another finding of the Healthier Together Task Force is that cost recovery is a challenge and that a
successful cost recovery model will program the pool to the maximum degree possible.
With this understanding, Jefferson County is proposing funding the startup costs for a PFD initiated in
2025. The budget looks like:
Formation Documents, market study, insurance, startup costs, travel and election costs for a potential
ballot measure: $110,000
Consultant or staffing to support PFD Board in the development of public outreach and development of
a design - $50,000
Total $160,000
Jefferson County will offer considerable in-kind support in developing and review of legal documents,
formation of the board and staffing the initial setup.
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 community of Jefferson County has been working to develop a new aquatic facility since at least
2014. The boiler and pump failure at the Mountainview Pool this summer is an example of how that
facility is near its end of life. In a two-year exploration of how to develop a new pool, a general location
and funding method has been identified, but the required independent analysis by the Department of
Commerce revealed the need for initial funding to build staff capacity, fund a market study, and develop
a proposal for an eventual ballot ask.
The development of a new aquatic facility might have begun as a community facing amenity, but as we
learn more about the operational challenges of a public aquatic facility, programming is revealed as a
critical element. Working with the tourism industry to develop an aquatic facility design that includes
tourist amenities increases the ability of an aquatic facility to mitigate the need for a subsidy.
The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) have committed to developing tourism infrastructure and
a potential year-round aquatic facility not only achieves that goal, but it also can be built as an amenity
that extends the shoulder seasons even into the winter months as a pool designed for year-round
tourists will add amenities that complement the natural, but seasonal, amenities that draw most visitors
currently.
Scientific analysis of tourism infrastructure and facilities also supports that developing tourism facilities
increases tourism. Mandic, et al, in the scientific paper from 2018, Tourism Infrastructure, Recreational
Facilities and Tourism Development concludes:
Empirical research results in Croatia have demonstrated a statistically significant
correlation between the stage of tourism development and a number of arrivals,
overnights and state of the infrastructure, tourism infrastructure and recreational
facilities. Moreover, positive coefficients suggest that growing demands and
Examples of how to list your proposed tourism promotion services or event (please be as specific AS
POSSIBLE about the services, quantities, the tourism market, distribution method, and cost):
10,000 promotional rack cards for I-5 corridor from Portland to Bellingham, April - June 2018…………$1,835
The rack cards will promote an event/hotel/restaurant promotional package.
Design and printing……………………………………………………………….…. $1,250
Distribution by XYZ Company……………………………………………………… $ 500
5 hours of staff time at $17.00 per hour to write copy, edit and proof the cards…...$ 85
1/3 page black and white event promotional advertisement in XYZ Magazine, July 2018 edition.……. $1,500
XYZ Magazine has 250,000 subscribers in western and northwest states. This 1/3-page ad
will be part of a full-page advertisement being coordinated by the VCB. XYZ Magazine will match
the value of the advertisement with a feature article on Jefferson County and the event in the same edition.
expectations regarding quality of all forms of infrastructure and facilities in examined
destinations can be related to destinations position in TALC (Tourism Development in
the Destination). Findings support conclusions made by Seetannah et al. (2011) proving
tourism to be sensitive to and influenced by infrastructural development.
2. If this is a continuing promotion, facility or event, how is it different than in the past?
N/A – This is a new project.
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:
N/A
b) The timeline for the tourism promotion activity you are proposing (e.g. May through July, 2025)
This is the only time that Jefferson County will apply for funding for a PFD. The PFD might apply in
subsequent years if it takes longer than one year to develop a plan for funding. If everything moves
along as expected, a funding ask will go on the November 2025 ballot.
c) Target Audience
One of the critical lessons we’ve learned in developing an aquatic facility is that programming
precedes design. By funding the founding of a PFD with Lodging Tax revenue, we are ensuring that
tourism professionals and stakeholders are engaged with the programming, design, and ultimately
marketing of an aquatic facility designed explicitly for extending the shoulder seasons in Jefferson
County. The goal of an aquatic facility as a tourism amenity is largely to add to tourism over the Fall,
Winter, and Spring seasons.
d) Promotion methods you intend to use to reach the target audience.
There are many partners in this endeavor including, but not limited to, the non-profit Jefferson
Aquatic Coalition (JAC) and the Tourism Coordinating Council (TCC).
JAC tables at Jefferson County Farmer’s markets and as well as talking with residents, has
significant engagement with tourists. JAC is developing a survey designed for both tourists and
residents that will develop the amenities and programming appropriate for the design of a new
aquatic facility that serves the community and visitors alike throughout the year. Using other tourism
stakeholders, such as the PFD, TCC, North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce (NHCCC), and
others, JAC will push the survey to as many visitors as possible.
e) Describe how you will promote overnight stays at Jefferson County lodging establishments.
By working to extend the shoulder season in accord with goals 2 and 3 of the Olympic Peninsula
Master Tourism Plan, we seek to develop amenities that lengthen stays and seasons in Jefferson
County, and add real value as an amenity to the residents and tourism workers of Jefferson County
as well as visitors:
2. Develop diversified year-round tourism product and visitor experiences to
engage a wider variety of consumer lifestyles.
3. Increase government, community and industry alignment around sustainable
tourism development.
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:
The BoCC will seat a new volunteer board for this new PFD that will work on the pool and potentially
other public facilities. They will be a new municipal organization that also contributes to the
conversation of tourist and resident public facilities. Jefferson County and PFD will partner with JAC
which will lead the surveying effort and continue to work toward a new aquatic facility. The city of Port
Townsend and Port Townsend School District are supporters of this plan as well. Jefferson County’s
newly reimagined TCC will bring tourism professionals and county departments to the table to assist in
planning and development.
4. How will you measure the effectiveness of your promotion, facility, event or activity?
The 2025 budget includes money for a market study that will go into exhaustive detail about the
economic impact to the local economy. 2025 will be a planning year for this nascent PFD, but
developing metrics for success will be a key component of that initial work.
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.)
Supporting a Public Facilities District is explicitly an allowed used of Lodging Tax funds under RCW
67.28.1816(1)(c) : Supporting the operations and capital expenditures of tourism-related facilities
owned or operated by a municipality or a public facilities district created under chapters 35.57 and
36.100 RCW;
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 (2024):
0
b.) Estimated number of tourists who will attend your event/facility this year (2025):
0
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).
The PFD should be able to document potential economic impact after a year of operations including a
market study, a local and visitor survey worked on with JAC, and looking to comparable projects in
neighboring locales. This is a longer-term investment and likely cannot track the direct impact in 2025,
but will have numbers about the potential impact of construction of an aquatic facility on tourism in
Jefferson County by the end of 2025. Also included is a scientific study that shows a positive correlation
between the development of tourism infrastructure and facilities and the number of overnight stays.
6. Describe your organization’s area of expertise. Do you provide a unique service?
This new organization that this funding will initiate is predicated on the seed funding that this revenue
will provide. The analyst’s report (included in this application) for the Department of Commerce was
very clear that initial funding was a key step in the successful creation of a Public Facilities District.
The new PFD will provide a new unique service with volunteer board members who will represent the
people of Jefferson County in this pursuit. Without it, our community will soon lose an important
amenity in our sole public aquatic facility at Mountain View. An aquatic facility designed and built to
serve visitors and residents can raise the social fabric of our community and add a needed four-season
amenity to Jefferson County’s tourism sector.
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 2025 promotion, facility, event or activity budget including income and expenses.
▬ 2024 Budget and Actual income and expense year to date statement(s). N/A – no 2024 budget
▬ List of names and addresses of the organization’s Board of Directors as of the date the proposal
is filed. Also, if the proposal is for the marketing of an event and there is a chairperson for the
event (either volunteer or paid), list that individual’s name, address and phone number. N/A –
this is a new organization
▬ If you desire, you may provide samples of promotion materials such as brochures or promotional
materials (maximum of five).
2025 Budget:
Formation Documents, market study, insurance, startup costs, travel and election costs for a potential
ballot measure: $110,000
Consultant or staffing to support PFD Board in the development of public outreach and development of
a design - $50,000
Total $160,000
Jefferson County Board of Commissioners
Kate Dean - Heidi Eisenhour - Greg Brotherton