Among agenda items up for consideration during the Chehalis City Council meeting Monday were the city’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) funding recommendations for 2024.
Following nearly half an hour of back-and-forth discussion between councilors, city staff and several LTAC members, a motion was made to pass an amended version of the recommendations. The motion failed to pass after a 3-3 vote, and ultimately, the motion to pass the recommendations as originally presented failed in another split vote.
The amendment in question would have granted the Lewis County Historical Museum its full request of $45,000 in LTAC funding for events next year, while the committee had opted to grant the museum $20,000 instead.
Councilors Kate McDougall, Isaac Pope and Daryl Lund voted for the amendment while councilors Jerry Lord, Bob Spahr and Kevin Carns opposed it.
As for the motion to pass the recommendations as presented, McDougall, Pope and Lund voted against approval while Lord, Spahr and Carns voted in favor. Mayor Tony Ketchum abstained from voting on both motions.
“(Ketchum) recused himself in an overabundance of caution because he is the treasurer of the board for the Lewis County Historical Museum,” Chehalis City Manager Jill Anderson told The Chronicle in an email.
The split vote means the recommendations will be sent back to LTAC and can be resubmitted to the council for approval after at least 45 days to allow for further consideration and comment by the committee.
As for the LTAC funding, an estimated $386,797 in revenue is available for 2024. Per a recently passed ordinance, 25% of that available revenue is to be awarded to the city to continue maintenance and improvements to the Shaw Aquatics Center and the sports complex.
In 2024, that 25% equals $96,700, according to the city council’s agenda report.
The other requests for LTAC funding came from the following organizations:
• The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce, which requested $45,050
• The Washington Association of Culture and Arts, which requested $75,000
• The Economic Alliance of Lewis County, which requested $20,000
• The Chehalis-Centralia Railroad and Museum, which requested $50,000
• The Lewis County Historical Museum, which requested $45,000
• The Veterans Memorial Museum, which requested $45,000
• Experience Chehalis, which requested $55,700
Combined with the 25% allotted to the city, a grand total of $432,450 was requested. The committee had the following funding recommendations:
• The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce, $15,000
• The Washington Association of Culture and Arts, $0
• The Lewis County Economic Alliance, $20,000
• The Chehalis-Centralia Railroad and Museum, $50,000
• The Lewis County Historical Museum, $20,000
• The Veterans Memorial Museum, $45,000
• Experience Chehalis, $55,700
If these recommendations had been approved, they would have totaled $302,400 and left the city with a surplus of LTAC funds totalling $84,397 to be added to the $50,000 LTAC reserve.
McDougall led the opposition to the recommendations as she also currently serves on the Lewis County Historical Museum board.
“We gave them $35,000, their full ask, last year,” McDougall said during Monday’s meeting.
Over the past year, the Lewis County Historical Museum participated in ChehalisFest with a blueberry pancake breakfast and hosted the Author’s Afternoon, the Chehalis Flying Saucer Party and the Bigfoot: Real or Hoax events.
Lord, who currently chairs the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, told McDougall the museum’s proposal didn’t fully justify them receiving the full $45,000 in the committee’s eyes.
According to the city council’s agenda report, the LTAC was concerned about “the lack of innovation and marketing that has been done during the year by the Lewis County Historical Museum.”
Lord added the LTAC is scheduled to reconvene in January, when the museum can make another request.
He also said the committee’s main goal is to promote marketing that boosts tourism in the area. Of the museum’s original $45,000 request, only $6,000 was allotted to marketing in the original proposal.
“The museum can come back in January when we have another (LTAC) meeting and ask for additional funds,” Lord said. “We’re not cutting them off, we’re just saying come with a better proposal.”
As for the Washington Association of Culture and Arts, its proposal didn’t fully satisfy all LTAC requirements, Lord said. The organization has been informed and was encouraged to resubmit its proposal.
“The chamber of commerce, they asked for 45, we gave them 15, that’s mostly based on we’re the only ones giving money to that, and most of the items they were asking for weren’t for marketing,” said Lord.
A total of $10,000 of the chamber’s original $45,050 request was allocated to marketing in its original proposal.
For more information about the LTAC, visit https://www.ci.chehalis.wa.us/bc/lodging-tax-advisory-committee.
