2021, 10-13 minutes MINUTES
LODGING TAX ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
October 13,2021 8:00 a.m.
Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers
10210 East Sprague Avenue
Attendance:
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Members: Staff-
Chair: Mayor Ben Wick Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director
Gregory Repetti, The HUB Erik Lamb,Deputy City Attorney
Wayne Brokaw, Spokane County Fair Board Sarah Farr, Financial Specialist
Grant Guinn, Tru by Hilton Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Amanda Alcamo, Oxford Suites
Chair Mayor Wick called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. and welcomed everyone,after which there were
self-introductions. Deputy City Attorney Lamb introduced himself, and explained that as appointed
officials,members of this committee are subject to laws such as those dealing with open government; and
he went through his Open Public Government, PowerPoint training for Committee members, explaining
the various portions of the Public Records Act, and the Open Public Meetings Act.
Finance Director Taylor explained that there are two different funds connected with lodging tax,one is the
2%typically granted,with the other fund to be used for capital projects; and said if there are no objections,
that will be a separate discussion afterwards. There were no objections. Finance Director Taylor then gave
an overview of the contents of the notebook, adding that the 13th application is one submitted by the City
of Spokane Valley,which seeks funds from the capital projects fund.
Presentations were made in the following order:
1.HUB Sports Center—Mr. Phil Champlin
The HUB seeks$55,000 for recruiting events to the facility.There was some discussion about how lodging
nights are calculated and that it is difficult to get the number of room nights from the hotels. [At 8:58 a.m.
Mr. Repetti excused himself from the room.]
2-6 JAKT—Mr. Tom Stebbins and Ms. Katie Lee
JAKT seeks(2) $15,000 for Brews,Beats& Eats; (3) $15,000 for the Craft Beer Festival; (4) $50,000 for
Crave!;(5)$25,000 for Farmers Market; and(6)$400,000 for Spokane Valley Events. After giving a brief
history of his company,Mr. Stebbins noted that the $400,000 for Spokane Valley Events would be a type
of shark tank for events as he'll work with event producers; said the idea is to have an event at CenterPlace
every weekend,which will give some continuity and keep people in Spokane Valley; said this would be a
type of giant fund for all events to work from. Regarding farmers market, they said the idea is to have a
Tuesday evening event in addition to the Friday event. Again the topic about the difficulty of how to
calculate room nights was broached.
7.Northwest Winterfest—Ms. Sam Song
The applicants seek $45,000 to assist with this event, to include operation and marketing. Mr. Song
explained that this year will be a full-scale event;said he is asking less than the previous year,with the goal
to eventually have this event self-sustainable; said parking is a challenge which is why they have changed
the location to the fairgrounds. [Mr. Repetti returned to the meeting at 9:40 a.m.]
8. Spokane County Fair and Expo Center—Ms.Erin Gurtel and Ms.Rachelle Buchanan
The applicants seek $75,000 to market and advertise the Fair and interim events to an audience in and
beyond the Spokane area. After showing their brief video, the applicants explained that the fair is an
LTAC Minutes October 13,2021 Page 1 of 4
important occasion and the goal is to come back full speed next year; said that many vendors come from
out of town so they stay at area properties. Mr. Guinn said that he will ask that the topic of how hoteliers
can accurately count room nights,be included as discussion on a future TPA meeting.
Mayor Wick called for a recess at 10:05 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 10:11 a.m.
9. Spokane Valley Heritage Museum—Ms.Jayne Singleton
The applicants seek$40,000 to assist in their tourism promotion and marketing efforts to include the 2020
rack card, and for the Smithsonian exhibit.
10. Spokane Valley Summer Theatre —Dr.Marnie Rorholm
The applicants are seeking $20,000 to increase television advertising to various regions. Dr. Rorholm said
this is not a community theatre, but a professional theater; said they normally have their performances in
Central Valley High School which is difficult now as school is back in session;said they have doubled their
budget in their six years of existence with 2019 as their most successful season; said their goal is to have
the Best of Broadway caliber but to do it here and keep the revenue here;that they hope to start television
marketing and might do billboards as well.
11.Valleyfest—Ms. Peggy Doering
Valleyfest seeks $30,000 to assist with marketing materials for the festival. Ms. Doering went over some
of the history of Valleyfest's 32 years; mentioned increases in costs to produce the event and that basic
wages will increase in 2022;she spoke of the impact on tourism as people who visit Valleyfest typically do
other local spending.In response to questions about room night numbers,Ms. Doering explained about the
2019 figures based on those from Gonzaga's School of Business.
12.Valleyfest— Cycle Celebration—Ms.Peggy Doering
Cycle Celebration seeks$5,000 to assist in the marketing of this event.Ms. Doering said that the event was
cancelled about two weeks prior to the 2020 event;that they were preparing for and excited about the 2021
event and had local bike shops help in advertising.
13. City of Spokane Valley— Capital Construction
For the City's project of a new Fairgrounds Expo Center,the City is requesting approximately $3 million
from Fund 104 reserves plus all future revenue collections in and allocations to that fund until the project
is completed; with an estimated total project budget of$10 million. Mr. Basinger noted the City's match
includes $1 million from City reserves, and $750,000 in state funding. Mr. Basinger went through his
PowerPoint explaining about the opportunity for future expansion of the Spokane County Expo Center;
mentioned the analysis of retail sales that was previously conducted;explained about other possible projects
and that City Council determined that the Expo Expansion project could move forward relatively quickly,
and would have a high return on investments since the County would not only provide the land,but would
maintain and operate the facility as well.He explained that the project would construct a 30,000 square foot
new structure which would be connected to the existing exposition building,at a cost of approximately$10
million.His slides showed an external and an internal site analysis;and among other amenities,a restaurant
space of about 4,000 square feet,which would be a stand-alone facility operating year round; he noted the
restaurant would provide a place for people to go before and/or after a baseball game as well as after other
Fairground events.
Mr. Basinger stated that there is approximately $3 million in that fund balance, and that the idea is to
earmark all future allocations in that fund until the facility is paid; he noted the City is also pursuing other
funding opportunities,but the intent is to quickly fund the facility;he said the City has set aside $1 million
in the 2022 budget to begin the design process and will move forward once necessary funds are secured.
LTAC Minutes October 13,2021 Page 2 of 4
Mr.Repetti stated his objection to depleting the fund;and mentioned the depreciating value of the building
over thirty years. Mr. Hohman said there are a variety of potential projects, and focusing on this project
doesn't mean there will never be a decision to work on anything else; he said this project rose to the top
and according to the economic studies,will actually make money.He noted other things are progressing at
different speeds and we are not walking away from other projects, but would like to tackle this first then
maybe look at some others.He also stated that staff is looking for any type of additional revenues and will
be having more discussions with Council depending on how grant opportunities work out;he also noted we
don't want to tie up these projects in bonds.Finance Director Taylor stated that staff put forward the request
in the application,but the Committee may make different allocation recommendations,or could even decide
on a flat amount without commitment of any future funds,or for a period years; she also noted that in order
to use capital funds,the facility must be owned by a municipality or a Public Facilities District.Mr.Repetti
asked if we would be competing with ourselves since we have CenterPlace as an event facility.Mr.Hohman
replied that there are many events conducted at the fairgrounds, and that he does not see it as competing
against ourselves. There was also discussion about the viability of a stand-alone restaurant in an area with
fast food. Mr. Basinger said again according to the studies,there is a strong demand for such a restaurant;
and having the co-location of a baseball field makes him confident the restaurant would be well used.Mr.
Hohman said studies show it will generate enough money to sustain itself; at least break even or better for
Spokane County; and Mr.Basinger reminded the committee that the County will handle the operation and
maintenance so for us, this is a great investment. When asked her opinion, Ms. Erin Gurtel of the
Fairgrounds said they haven't always been able to accommodate all existing events; said she has been with
the Fair&Expo Center for seventeen years,and there is definitely a need for this type of structure.
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee members develop funding recommendations
Director Taylor said she will give members a few minutes to complete their individual recommendations,
and once complete, to please hand them back to her. Mayor Wick called for a recess at 11:55 a.m., and
convened the meeting at 12:07 p.m.
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee member discussion and award recommendation
Members gave their recommendations to Ms. Taylor who entered them on the spreadsheet; she said the
final product will be a formal LTAC motion that states specifically how much money should be awarded
to each applicant.After entering all figures,Ms.Taylor also entered the average amount for each applicant.
It was moved by Mr. Repetti, seconded and unanimously agreed to accept the amounts on the spreadsheets.
The amounts are as follows:
1.HUB $55,000
2. JAKT Brews,Beats&Eats $6,500
3. JAKT—Craft Beer $6,000
4. JAKT Crave! $30,000
5. JAKT Farmer's Market $17,000
6. JAKT Spokane Valley Events 0
7.Northwest Winterfest $45,000
8. Spokane Co.Fair&Expo $64,000
9. SV Heritage Museum $27,000
10. SV Summer Theatre $20,000
11.Valleyfest $24,000
12.Valleyfest Cycle Celebrate $3.500
$298,000
Transfer to Fund#104(1.3%tax) $273,000
$571,000
Discussion moved to the capital projects fund. Finance Director Taylor said the projection for Fund 104 is
about$4.5 million depending on the economy. Mayor Wick commented that the City has put$1.7 million
toward the project, and that he too doesn't want to use bond revenues; said he is also not sure he wants to
LTAC Minutes October 13,2021 Page 3 of 4
obligate future dollars; that he was surprised that the State's contribution was only $750,000; and that
supporting the project with our funds could make for a stronger ARPA grant application; he also noted
Council wanted to focus on just this project before starting another project.Mayor Wick stated that several
businesses have indicated it would be nice to have a restaurant and/or a meeting place in that area; and it
was mentioned that the expansion of the North/South corridor will bring more traffic to that area.
Mr.Repetti said there will be a loss in the restaurant in the short time as the area struggles from transferring
from light industrial into something more than a ball park; and that he still has a problem in committing all
future funds; said further work needs to be done to figure out how to fund this; said he is disappointed in
Council and maybe this committee should send a message to put this back on the table; or perhaps figure
out how to do this project and to perhaps consider Plantes Ferry as well. Ms. Taylor said that when this
comes before Council, the minutes of this meeting will be included, but she can include any other
communication from this committee,not necessarily as a motion. Mayor Wick said that the application is
for the project to be fully funded.Deputy City Attorney Lamb stated that if the committee wants to consider
another project,the law provides that the LTAC must do so from applicants.
It was moved by Mr. Repetti and seconded to allocate$3.5 million to the Fair&Expo Building as presented
by staff, not to preclude this committee from re-addressing further needs at the October 2022 meeting. Vote
by acclamation: in favor: Mayor Wick, and Committee members Brokaw, Guinn, and Alcamo. Opposed:
Committee member Repetti. Motion passed.
It was moved by Mr.Repetti,seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 1:20
p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Christine Bainbridge, Spokane Valley City Clerk
LTAC Minutes October 13,2021 Page 4 of 4