PORT ANGELES — The City Council funded a familiar array of events — and some new ones — for 2015 last week when it parceled out $70,000 in lodging tax proceeds to boost tourism.
Council members also Tuesday pledged that when they consider funding requests for 2016, they will focus on more new events.
They especially are interested in events that would bring more visitors to Port Angeles in the off-season from October through May rather than June through September.
Mayor Dan Di Guilio noted that the Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival, which is among the most successful of 16 events that will receive funding this year, is again getting the largest share of lodging tax revenues.
“I want to get a feel for how long that’s going to continue,” Di Guilio said.
Nathan West, community and economic development director, said lodging tax proceeds should be used for more than ongoing annual events.
Incentive
“We really need to be more of an incentive to create new events rather than a subsidy,” West said.
“I like that idea a lot,” Di Guilio responded.
Lodging tax committee member and event promoter Scott Nagel, executive director of the Crab Fest, did not participate in the committee vote because he was a lodging tax applicant.
“We basically break even in a good year like last year,” he said, adding that the event is free — although the food booths are not.
“I don’t have a problem if we got somewhat less money and spread it around,” Nagel added.
The city emphasizes giving lodging tax funds to events that produce the most room nights in city lodging establishments, “which we already do,” Nagel said.
Criteria
Criteria for lodging tax funding, set by state law, includes overall attendance, number of attendees traveling more than 50 miles to the event, the time of year of the event and the number of people who stay overnight to attend it.
Councilwoman Cherie Kidd, a former mayor, chairs the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, which unanimously recommended the allocations.
She noted that the committee did approve funding for a beer, wine and music festival and a culinary loop event, both new allocations.
“We are getting some new ones in, and we are really trying to encourage that,” Kidd said.
Here are events that council members approved for 2015, along with their funding requests and how much they received:
■ $15,000 (requested $15,000): 14th Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival, Oct. 9-11.
■ $14,000 (requested $17,000): 22nd annual Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts, May 22-25.
■ $13,000 (requested $15,000): North Olympic Discovery Marathon, June 6-7.
■ $7,000 (requested $10,000): Extreme Sports Park Run Amuck, July 11; American Sprint Boat Pro Racing Series, July 25 and Aug. 22.
■ $3,000 (requested $5,000): Bloktoberfest Beer, Wine and Music Festival, a new event sponsored by the Port Angeles Downtown Association, Sept. 25-27.
■ $3,000 (requested $4,000): Port Angeles Kayak & Film Festival, April 18-19.
■ $3,000 (requested $3,100): The Big Hurt multi-sports race, last held in 2004, held this year sometime in late September.
■ $2,500 (requested $2,500): Ride the Hurricane recreational bike ride on Hurricane Ridge Road, Aug. 2.
■ $2,000 (requested $2,000): “William in Webster’s Woods,” a performance of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center’s Webster’s Woods meadow, Aug. 21-23 and Aug. 28-30.
■ $1,500 (requested $1,500): 21st annual Forest Storytelling Festival, mid-October.
■ $1,500 (requested $2,000): Run for Joe Marathon, sponsored by the Captain Joseph House Foundation, June 20.
■ $1,000 (requested $2,000): Port Angeles Garden Club, to host the 82nd State Federation of Garden Clubs’ annual convention, June 2-5.
■ $1,000 (requested $1,260): NW Cup downhill mountain bike racing series, with two of the seven races held in Port Angeles, April 24-26 and May 17-19.
■ $1,000 (requested $5,000): Olympic Culinary Loop, Oct. 9-11 or Nov. 7-8.
■ $1,000 (requested $2,400): Summer Solstice Art Fest 2015, June 20.
■ $500 (requested $3,000): Oldtimers N.W. Rod Run car exhibition, July 10-12.
The lodging taxes spent on marketing the event must be spent outside the city limits.
Lodging taxes can be spent only on event-related expenses.
Lodging tax proceeds are generated by the 4 percent lodging tax on establishments that offer overnight accommodations.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
