Tourism Bureau discusses state budget concerns, Tropic Sign restoration, Hidden Lincolns, and event funding guidelines
 

[September 25, 2015]  LINCOLN - The Logan County Tourism Bureau held its September meeting on Monday the 21st. This month the Bureau welcomed a new member, Steve Parrott. Parrott, who is a Ward 1 alderman in Lincoln, will serve as a voting member of the bureau representing the city. With the addition of Parrott the bureau now consists of seven directors - Chairman Jean Bruner-Jachino of the Hampton and Holiday Inns, Ron Keller of Lincoln College, Renee Martin of the Mount Pulaski Courthouse Foundation, Paresh Patel of the Lincoln Best Western, Parrott, Kristi Powell of Heartland College and Shawn Taylor of Logan Lanes.

Tourism feels impact of State budget impasse

Tourism Director Maggie McMurtrey Monday explained what is happening with the state grant awarded annually to the local Bureau to promote tourism in Logan County. Because of the state’s inability to pass a budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the dollars awarded are not being distributed.

McMurtrey explained that the grant had been applied for and awarded to the Bureau, but now there is even a possibility that the grant could be rescinded. She explained that state officials are looking at doing away with grants to local bureaus on the whole. The dollars awarded to those local bureaus would then be diverted to a state wide tourism initiative.

In talking to two different sources on the state level regarding this, McMurtrey said there is a difference of opinion as to whether or not the grant awards will be honored. She said one source had told her to start looking for alternate funding, while another had said to stay hopeful that it would all work out.
 

McMurtrey said her recommendation to the council would be to start planning for the worst case scenario and hope for the best. She said she would be looking at the Bureau’s budget for the remainder of this year and the beginning of next, and would bring recommendations back to the bureau on how to cut the budget. She said the Bureau would also be looking for new funding sources to help fill the gaps. The state grant amounts to roughly $32,000 per year and is used to award sub-grants to local organizations for advertising and otherwise promoting their events as tourist activities.

Tropic Sign Committee holds first meeting

McMurtrey informed the council that a committee has been formed for the restoration of the Tropics sign, and has already held its first meeting. Members of that committee include Bill Thomas of the Logan County Economic Development Partnership and also member of the National Route 66 Steering Committee, family members of the former Tropics Restaurant owners Bob and Tami Goodrich and Kim Johnson, Bob Wilmert representing the Mill on Route 66 and the local Route 66 Heritage Foundation, Connor Browne representing the Logan County Alliance and Tourism Bureau, and Lincoln Ward 2 Alderwoman Michelle Bauer representing the city.

The Tropics sign subcommittee prioritized an order in which to do things establishing a time line for the completion of the various steps.

The subcommittee decided to seek new bids for the restoration project. They have selected three to four restoration businesses and will be issuing invitations to bid. Bids will be needed so that a budget can be prepared and a goal can be set for fundraising efforts.

McMurtrey said that the contract between the family, the city, and the Tourism Bureau has a shelf life of three years. At the end of the three years the parties who signed off on the memorandum of understanding regarding the sign will evaluate whether or not the restoration project is an attainable goal.

The committee decided to set a goal for fund raising at the half-way point in the three-year window. Therefore, they determined that they should by January of 2017 have raised one-half of the money needed for the restoration.

They also discussed means of raising the funds including online fundraisers.

McMurtrey said the committee has committed to meeting twice a month to start. The frequency of the meetings may change in the future.

Bruner-Jachino asked McMurtrey to keep the Tourism directors informed by delivering updates at each of its monthly meetings.

Council takes a pass on Hidden Lincolns

A few months ago, Clay Johnson of the city of Lincoln came to the Tourism Council with a request that the council take over ownership of the Hidden Lincolns in the downtown area.

The Hidden Lincoln project was started by Kathy Vinyard of the city, Roy Logan, then with the Lincoln Park District, and Chris Tice, who was an art instructor at Lincoln College. The group identified historic locations in the downtown area, and painted a total of 27 Lincoln busts on various buildings. Near the bust was a QR (Quick Reference) code that could be scanned with a cellphone or other smart device. The scan would then take the viewer to a website that discussed the significance of the location in history of the city as well as Abraham Lincoln.

The website for the QR code has expired and needs to be renewed at a cost of $10 per year. In addition, the bureau would be responsible for keeping the website up to date, replacing the QR clings as needed, and re-painting the busts as needed. It would also be their responsibility to promote the Hidden Lincolns as a walking tour of Lincoln and a tourist attraction.

This month during the discussion of the topic, Parrott said he felt like this would not be money well spent by the Tourism Bureau. He said he didn’t see this as something that would promote tourism in Logan County. Keller agreed saying there was no “cultural purpose” attached to the project and he would give it a “pass.” Taylor also commented saying that he felt that the project was great for a walk around town for local school kids, but he too didn’t see anyone coming to town just to find the Hidden Lincolns. Martin said her first instinct was to also say “no.” However, she wondered if this was a project that could be spread county wide, if so then perhaps it would help to promote tourism.

At the close of the discussion, Keller made a motion to pass on the Hidden Lincolns. The council voted unanimously that they would not take over this particular project.

Sub-grants for Lincoln Junior High Basketball Tournament and Oktoberfest

The council reviewed two applications for funding this month. An application seeking money to promote the annual Lincoln Junior High Trojan Basketball Tournament was passed with very little discussion. Taylor did comment that the event was great for local businesses and that during that weekend everyone in Lincoln benefits.

A request for $1,736 for the Oasis Oktoberfest was modified, and the award amount was set at $500.

During the discussion, McMurtrey pointed out that the application stated there was an expectation of overnight stays on Saturday night because there will be events such as music and a beer tent running until 11 p.m.

The committee however, felt that the dollar figure requested was a bit much for the promotion of a one-day event. At the meeting, there was no one present to answer questions about the application and the committee also felt that someone should have been on hand to explain the event and how it would serve tourism in Logan County.

Keller talked about the lack of a preliminary or estimated budget for the event, and said he felt the Bureau should look at requiring such an estimate from all its applicants.

The question that came up if the bureau does not grant the request, will the Oasis be unable to advertise? Again, it was stated that this is a requirement that should be added to the application, and that the Oasis was not being singled out. The council agreed that when they are talking about budget constraints and the loss of a state grant, knowing whether or not an organization would be able to fund its advertising from another source could be very helpful in the Bureau’s decision making process.

In the end, the directors decided that they did want to show support for the Oasis Oktoberfest, but under the circumstances, they didn’t feel they should award the full amount. A motion was made to grant $500, and carried unanimously.

Change of meeting date

The Tourism Council typically meets the third Monday of each month. McMurtrey said that it had been discussed to change the meeting date to the last Monday of the month. She asked if everyone would be okay with meeting on October 26 at 4:45 p.m. at the Best Western. All agreed that they could attend on that Monday.

[Nila Smith]