[OMS_MANAGERS] TLT Project Allowances

[Ariel M. Reker]

BCD secured a Professional Services contract with our county TLTC in
November 2024. Attached is the RFP, our proposal, and the final contract
for some guidance.

A note, Baker County is taking a very conservative approach to the use of
these funds, which may differ from Coburg as Megan shared. What BCD secured
is a one-year contract modeled off the existing contracts with our local
county marketing director and the county Chamber of Commerce who owns and
operates the Visitor Center in town. There are a lot of internal politics
involved, but this should give a starting point for anyone looking to make
the same arrangement. The big thing to remember is that ORLA watches what
the funds are used on incredibly closely. We can use the funds for event
promotion, marketing and advertising of downtown as a tourism destination,
and operating support to produce the aforementioned activities and
products. However, the funds cannot be used for public infrastructure
(benches, planters, sidewalks, etc.), beautification (flower baskets,
banners, etc.), or for things that will have less than a 10-year usable
life (interpretive signage, etc.).

So far, BCD has used the funds for the purchase of an information kiosk
(comes with a 10-year warranty and provides space for outdoor public event
promotion, wayfinding information, etc.), videos to market our events, and
general event marketing both locally and over 50 miles away.

If you have questions, feel free to email directly or give me a call too.

Ariel M. Reker
Executive Director,
Baker City Downtown

541.283.6963
Room 203, 1655 1st St,
Baker City, OR  97814



On Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 10:48 AM City Club Forest Grove <
cityclubofforestgrove at gmail.com> wrote:

> I too am interested in knowing the answer to this question. We are
> struggling to get support from our council at all.
>
> *Thank you,*
> *Donna Gustafson, President*
> *The City Club of Forest Grove*
> *Check out our new Community Calendar <https://www.cityclubfg.com/events>*
> *Become a MEMBER <https://www.cityclubfg.com/services-7> to support
> downtown improvements, events, enhancements, preservation and take
> advantage of membership perks. Let's Grow Together. *
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 10:38 AM Executive Director, NDC <
> exec at newbergdowntown.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi OMS partners,
>>
>> The Newberg Downtown Coalition has struggled with consistent
>> financing since the COVID-19 pandemic. We've been exploring unique ways to
>> source consistent funding, and the idea of Transient Lodging Tax (TLT)
>> dollars came up. It seems like we have a majority of city councilors who
>> would be in favor of us securing some of those dollars, given we can make a
>> case for those dollars promoting tourism in our town. The opposition is
>> saying that tourism dollars need to be spent getting people to come visit
>> externally (they're mostly spending on external advertising), but we're
>> arguing that we need to spend a small portion in town to help improve our
>> district and make it a more desirable place to visit.
>>
>> I wanted to see if anyone out there is receiving TLT dollars and, if so,
>> how they're spending it or reporting the expenses that align with the
>> purpose of the fund.
>>
>> Any help, advice, or insight is appreciated!
>>
>> *Branden Andersen*
>> *Executive Director, Newberg Downtown Coalition*
>> newbergdowntown.org
>>
>
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