 The Logan County Board established the tourism bureau more than 25
years ago and oversaw funding.
The city will soon take over the major funding source,
hotel-motel tax from Lincoln businesses, come Dec 1.
The tourism perspective
On Tuesday, the 90-minute-long tourism bureau meeting was plagued
with problems, indecision and frustration as board members struggled
with the uncertainty of knowing what will happen to tourism funding
come Dec. 1.
Adding to the frustration, as expressed by one bureau board
member, was that for the second month in a row, no city
representative was present for the meeting.
Ron Keller voiced his frustration in the situation, saying: "I
find this extremely disconcerting and frustrating that the city has
failed two months to have anyone present at our board meeting, when
it was told to us that one of the problems that the tourism bureau
was having is a lack of communication. Where is the lack of
communication now? It certainly isn't coming from us."
The city perspective
After the tourism meeting, the Lincoln City Council met in City
Hall for its committee of the whole. Alderman Tom O'Donohue asked
before the council meeting for an opportunity immediately following
the meeting to speak to local media about the situation.
O'Donohue wanted to clarify what was going on with his absence as
the city liaison to the tourism meetings. He told media members that
the reason he was not attending tourism board meetings is that the
tourism board president and vice president, Charlie Ott and Gail
Sasse, had delivered a message to Mayor Keith Snyder that the city
representative was no longer welcome at the meetings.
O'Donohue said that in spite of this situation, he is still
trying to interact with the board from a distance. Knowing there was
a meeting on Tuesday, he had contacted a board member and asked for
an account of the meeting, and that is when he learned that there
had been several frustrating moments for the tourism board.
On Wednesday, the mayor also commented on this. Snyder wrote: "We
gave the Tourism Board the space they said they wanted to run their
operations. Now we're being chastised for non-involvement. There are
67 days before the city assumes the hotel/motel tax. We're ready, if
the Tourism Board is, to fill the appropriate role they want for us
in these next 67 days. But it's patently unfair for them to tell us
to back off one month, and then to rip us for not being involved the
next."
The tourism perspective
One of the first issues for the tourism board on Tuesday evening
was whether or not they should vote to give funding to some local
projects.
Phyllis Beccue was at the meeting, representing Christmas on
Vinegar Hill and the Mount Pulaski Courthouse Foundation. She was
asking for $600 to help pay for advertising for the Vinegar Hill
event in early December. In addition, she was asking for whatever
amount the bureau felt was appropriate for a "Christmas at the
Courthouse" fundraiser that will also be in December.
Ron Leesman was there to speak on behalf of LinPro Square Dance
Club. The club will be hosting a square dance convention in 2015 at
the Lincoln Park District. Asked about the date, Leesman confirmed
that the convention would be in 2015, but the club has to meet
certain criteria now so as to hold the convention, and securing the
funding they need from the tourism bureau is a part of that.
Ott told Beccue and Leesman that because the city is taking over
the hotel-motel tax from the county Dec. 1, the bureau could not
obligate funding for any of the requests at this time.
Later in the evening, it was David Doolin who commented that he
was of the understanding that the city was going to fully fund the
bureau for the first year.
But others on the board weren't so sure it would go that way.
The city perspective
O'Donohue spoke about this also after the council meeting, saying
that indeed, the city had said they would let the bureau manage
their funds and run their organization in the way they saw fit for
the first year. He said the council had voted that it would be 2014
before they decided to take action if needed to redistribute the
funds.
However, he added to that, saying that because the bureau is not
trying to work with the city in any fashion, he is having doubts
about that decision. He told the media that he personally believes
there is a need for a tourism bureau; he doesn't want to see it go
away. But he said he has an obligation to report to the council and
make a recommendation to them that is in the best interest of the
people of Lincoln.
He commented on the one-year time frame, saying: "As far as I
know, that hasn't changed, but their unwillingness to have us
participate in the process at this point is a concern. And, it is
not my decision; the full council will make the decision on that.
"The fact of the matter," O'Donohue said, "is the city is taking
over the hotel-motel tax Dec. 1. Tourism has never been a city
issue, but now it is, and it should have been years ago."
He also noted: "If I'm going to charge the citizens of Lincoln a
utility tax, I'm going to say, 'Hey, what other sources of income
can I come up with?' and tourism is a major source of income that is
not being exploited to the extent that it could be."
The tourism perspective
Another issue that came up at the tourism bureau meeting was the
installation of board members. At the August meeting the bureau had
approved adding David Doolin and Smitesh Patel to the tourism board.
Doolin has been active with the bureau for quite some time,
working with them on website designs as well as promotion of tourism
in Logan County.
Patel is the owner of Super 8 motel in Lincoln. He has an
interest in serving on the tourism board and meets the city
criteria, which says the bureau should have representatives from the
hotel-motel industry on their board.
In the past, the bureau has made their selections, then presented
those candidates to the Logan County Board for approval. Once
approved, the candidates were then added to the roll as voting
members of the tourism board.
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However, Tuesday night it was reported that the city had told the
county they didn't want them to approve any new members between now
and December. When the city takes over in December, the city council
will then approve board members.
The city perspective
O'Donohue said the city had asked the county not to make any new
appointments, but he put emphasis on the word "asked," saying it had
not been a demand to the county, only a request.
The tourism perspective
Another frustration expressed by the bureau was the inaction on
the part of the city in resuming the search for a new executive
director for tourism.
Currently, Leslie Hoefle is acting as the interim director, but
she had obligated herself to that position only until Nov. 1.
Tuesday night, it was mentioned by Hoefle that she had specified
she would stay until November and had expected that by now she would
be working with a new director, helping that person transition into
the position.
At the August meeting of the bureau, it had been stated that
there was to be a meeting with representatives from the city
regarding how to proceed with a phase two search. But on Tuesday
night, the tourism liaison from the Logan County Board, Andy
Anderson, said there had not been a meeting. So, he had nothing to
report to the board regarding a new search.
During this part of the conversation, Ott expressed that he
believed the reason a new search has not been started is that the
city already knows who they are going to hire for the position and
they are just waiting for the takeover.
The city perspective
In a correspondence with Snyder on Wednesday, he also addressed
this matter: "Any suggestion that the City is sitting back doing
nothing because we already know who we want in the position is flat
out false. We have no candidate waiting in the wings. Absolutely
none. If we did, and if we would have been manipulating the search
process as the Tourism Board seems to suggest we did, why wouldn't
that person already have the job?"
The tourism perspective
Another point that came out was that the bureau was not pleased
with how the interviews had been conducted in the first round of the
search.
The bureau had done a search and interviewed several candidates
earlier this summer. In the end, they came up with no one they felt
was well-equipped to fill the position.
Anderson, who served on the search and interview committees,
reported in July that three interviews had been conducted. Each
candidate was required to meet with three separate panels of
interviewers. Each panel represented a different sector of the
community and included representatives from the city, the tourism
bureau, the Lincoln/Logan Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln & Logan
County Development Partnership, Main Street Lincoln and business
representatives from around the community.
Tuesday night, Hoefle said she was not pleased with the way the
interviews were conducted, and Ott agreed.
Hoefle said she objected to the candidates having to meet with
different people at different times. Her reason was how candidate
answers to various questions had been interpreted by the individual
panels. She told the board she believed that two people could hear
the same comment at the same time and interpret it differently, but
because the group was separated during the interviews, only a few
heard the objectionable comments, so those comments were
objectionable only in the opinion of a few and not the whole.
Ott also expressed frustration that in the process of candidates
going from panel to panel, he and Snyder were the last ones to speak
with the candidates instead of the first.
The city perspective
On Wednesday, Snyder offered the city side of the coin on this
issue: "If the Tourism Board members were upset with the search
process, it's not clear to me why they didn't suggest changes in the
midst of the process or offer an entirely different process for us
to follow. Neither Alderman O'Donohue nor I were chairmen of the
Search Committee; we were merely members. We would have participated
in any process that was suggested as long as it resulted in what the
City, and I, hope the Tourism Board, wants: getting the best person
in place to lead tourism efforts for Lincoln and Logan County. We
suggested the process that was used, no one objected, and that was
the process that was followed. We were as disappointed as anyone
that the process didn't result in the hiring of that best person. To
me, the process works if you find the right person, but it also
works if it keeps you from hiring the wrong person for the
organization."
Finally both sides agree on one thing
In the end, there was one point made by each side that was based
on common ground. Both Keller and O'Donohue realize there is a
strong lack of communication between the city and the bureau.
Because the two sides are not talking to each other, they are
hoping for a "go-between" in the news media.
Keller commented during the evening: "We need answers, and again
we have not been instructed. The city of Lincoln has expectations
(of tourism). What about our expectations (of the city)? It isn't
fair." He later added, "If we can't find the answers to the
questions, then I invite the press to begin asking the questions
that we can't seem to get the answers (to) from the city."
And three hours later O'Donohue made a comparable statement,
saying: "They may have animosity toward us, but we do not have any
animosity toward them. I'd like to give them the year, but if they
don't want us at the meetings, what is my recommendation going to be
come Dec. 1? Maybe you guys (the media) can act as kind of a bridge
between the two organizations."
[By NILA SMITH]
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