City to start Tourism Commission to handle funding

Feb. 03--St. Joseph will be starting a City Tourism Commission after it was discovered that a state statute prevents the City Council from distributing funds from the hotel/motel tax revenue.

City staff was alerted to section 67.1364 of the Missouri Revised Statutes while planning a way to use hotel/motel tax revenue to supply a loan to the St. Joseph Convention & Visitors Bureau to be used for construction costs on their new building Downtown.

Two groups have been vying for an allocation of those funds since November. The CVB requested $300,000 for building costs and the Downtown Improvement Project Group requested a loan in the amount of $200,000 for the first phase of a project to remodel Felix Street Square.

The council had been debating about which project, if either, the funds should go toward, but will now have to surrender that decision to the commission once it is created.

Mayor Bill Falkner was not pleased about the fact that city staff just discovered this statute.

"I was kind of disappointed that we didn't know about it," Falkner said.

The statute requires a five-member commission be created to handle the funds of the 2011 hotel/motel tax.

The commission will be made up of two members who are active in the tourism industry, and three who are of local general business interest.

The members must have all of their city taxes paid and must live in St. Joseph.

Falkner tasked the council members with nominating members for the commission by the end of next week. He also suggested that one of the tourism industry members be a member of the Hotel Lodging Association, who are in favor of giving funds to the CVB.

Falkner will choose which nominees will be chosen to the board, but the council will vote on his selections as a whole.

Falkner believes the funds should be used strictly for riverfront development, but is willing to leave it up to the commission.

"We campaigned for riverfront development, but that's something (the CVB) can pitch to the committee," Falkner said.

President of the CVB Board Bob Slater was disappointed in the loss of time, but thinks this may help the CVB get the funds.

"It's unfortunate that the city staff, the city manager (didn't catch this), we've been kicking this around for four months and we just found out about the need for the commission," Slater said. "We're still hopeful for an investment."

Slater said the CVB has the funds to build their building and has taken out a $500,000 loan for construction. If they receive the tax revenue funds, they may look into paving their parking lot in concrete instead of asphalt.

General Manager of Fairfield Inn and Suites Travis Perkins, who is also a member of the Hotel Lodging Association, thinks the Commission is a fair way to allocate funds from the tax.

"I think it's a good idea because it puts the voice back to the people," Perkins said.

He said the Hotel Lodging Association has a meeting next week and will choose a nomination for the commission then.

Two council meetings will be needed to pass an ordinance to create a tourism commission, but nominations can be voted in one, making it possible that the Commission will be completed in about four weeks.

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