Res 1761 - Rural Invest. Fund
COUNCIL BILL NO. 2518
RESOLUTION NO. 1761
A Resolution Supporting the Application of the Regional Tourism Promotion
Committee for a Mid-Willamette Valley Rural Investment Fund Grant
WHEREAS, Marion and Polk Counties are located in the Willamette Valley
in the heart of Oregon where the number of visitors to the area are increasing
each year; and
WHEREAS, Marion and Polk Counties and various of their constituent cities
have agreed that tourism is an important growth industry that will continue to
strengthen and diversify our economy; and
WHEREAS, the hospitality industry has developed quality hotels, motels,
campgrounds and RV parks available for overnight stays within Woodburn and
the Marion/Polk region; and
WHEREAS, Marion and Polk Counties have a rich array of attractions for
visitors including cultural facilities, festivals. family entertainment, museums and
historic attractions. gaming. gardens, wineries. state parks, shopping, and dining;
and
WHEREAS, Marion and Polk Counties enjoy a wide variety of seasonal
events, activities and attractions, that have proven to be strong tourism draws;
and
WHEREAS, a stronger effort for regional promotion will result in increased
visitors to Woodburn and to the Marion and Polk County area, creating
expenditures that produce enhanced economic benefits; and
WHEREAS, the Regional Tourism Promotion Committee is comprised of
representative of regional attractions, the hospitality industry. area chambers of
commerce and business associations and local governments and has joined
together to promote tourism in Marion and Polk counties in order to strengthen
and diversify the regional economy; and
WHEREAS, the Regional Tourism Promotion Committee will seek to obtain
Rural Investment Fund monies to promote tourism in Marion and Polk counties;
NOW, THEREFORE,
Page 1 - COUNCIL BILL NO. 2518
RESOLUTION NO. 1761
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THE CITY OF WOODBURN RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Woodburn City Council supports the application of the
Regional Tourism Promotion Committee for a Mid-Willamette Valley Rural
Investment Fund grant, to strengthen the promotion of tourism in Marion and
Polk Counties.
Approved as to form: ~ ,jVQ- ~
City Attorney
APPROV
~/~ ZOD Jf
. Date
Passed by the Council
Submitted to the Mayor
Approved by the Mayor
Filed in the Office of the Recorder
Julv 12. 2004
July 14, 2004
July 14. 2004
,JlJly 14, ?OO4
ATTEST: ~
Mary TenMnt City Recorder
City of Woodburn, Oregon
Page 2 - COUNCIL BILL NO. 2518
RESOLUTION NO. 1761
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MID-WILLAMETTE VALLEY
RURAL INVESTMENT FUND
Application
DEADLINE:
Please Submit This Application By
AUGUST 2, 2004 (5:00 PM)
Please submit three (3) copies of application. Do not enclose within binders or plastic
covenngs.
Send Application materials to:
Mid- Willamette Valley Rural Investment Fund
c/o Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Govemments
105 High Street SE
Salem, OR 97301-3667
For application questions, contact Ray Teasley or Frieda Ryan Anzur at
(503) 588-6177 (E-mail: rteasley@mail.open.org or fryan@mail.open.org.)
2004 RIF Application
Date Received:
SUMMARY INFORMATION
Applicant:
Organization Name: Mid-Willamette vallev COG (on behalf of Marion-Polk Regional Tourism
Promotion Task Force)
Contact Person
Ray Teasley
Address 105 High Street SE
City, State and ZIP
Salem. OR 97301
Phone 503-588-6177
FAX
503-588-6094
E-mail
Project Location Rural portions of Marion and Polk Counties
Project Title Regional Tourism Promotion Strategy Development
Amount requested from Rural Investment Fund $ 25.000
Project Description:
(describe how funds will be used - purpose, goals, what organizations are participating, and
who is responsible for carrying out the project - attach extra pages if necessary)
The Marion and Polk County region includes a number of Oregon's most successful tourist
attractions including: the Sprit Mountain Casino (#1 in the state), Silver Falls State Park,
Woodburn Company Sores (#1 retail attraction), the Oregon Garden, Detroit Lake, the Oregon
State Fair, and many others. Despite the existence of these significant regional attractions, there is
very little coordinated tourist promotion effort in the region outside those limited activities of the
Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCV A). Because room tax revenues collected by the
City of Salem provide almost all of the financial support for the SCV A, the scope of the
organization's regional promotion efforts is very limited.
Salem Mayor Janet Taylor and County Commissioners from Marion and Polk Counties organized
a regional Tourism Promotion Task Force in late 2003 to explore ideas for expanding the level of
effort put into regional tourism promotion. The Task Force included representatives from the
lodging industry, area chambers of commerce, attractions such as the Oregon Garden, and
2004 RIF Application
leadership from the SCV A. After a number of meetings, the Task Force held a Regional Tourism
Promotion Summit on June 23, 2004 to expand their inquiry to include a larger number of people
and interests. At the Summit, they found that there is broad support for taking further steps to
identify and examine options for greater regional tourism promotion effort.
RIF funds are needed to help pay for the two next steps toward creating a sound and sustainable
regional tourism promotion strategy. Those steps are 1) acquiring the specialized services of a
tourism industry consultant to identify specific actions needed to attract more visitors and to
analyze financial options for supporting those actions; and 2) conducting a follow-up regional
tourism promotion "Summit" to build regional consensus around a specific course of actions.
(Additional details are provided in the proposed project scope of work found later in this
application.) The project goal is to double the investment in regional tourism promotion from
$600,000 to $1,200,000.
The Mid-Willamette Valley COG will manage financial and administrative aspects of the project.
The Salem Convention and Visitors Association will provide additional organizational support.
The Marion-Polk Regional Tourism Task Force will make the major project decisions such as the
selection of a consultant.
General Information:
1. Problem Statement.
a) Is your community faced with specific economic problems (i.e. a recent plant closure, a
moratorium on new development due to infrastructure limitations, inadequate industrial
land, etc.)? If yes, please briefly explain.
The Salem MSA (Marion and Polk Counties) suffers from a number of chronic economic
problems including: a lower-than-average per capita income, high seasonality of many jobs in the
agriculture and food processing industries, and a decade long employment decline in the
historically high wage forest products industry. These economic problems are often more serious
in rural communities that lack the diversity of the Salem urban center.
Tourism is not a fully developed economic opportunity in the region, particularly in a number of
the smaller rural communities that have suffered the most from the decline in forest products
employment.
One measure of this region's lack of development in the visitor industry is in how it compares with
other Oregon regions in tourism promotion expenditures. Lane County spends approximately
$1,200,000 per year on tourist promotion activities and Clackamas County invests $1,800,000
annually. Marion and Polk Counties combined spend approximately $600,000 for this purpose.
Both Lane and Clackamas Counties have lodging room taxes in place in unincorporated areas.
Neither Marion nor Polk County has adopted a transient room tax in unincorporated areas. There
is also a great deal of variation in the room tax rates charged by cities within Marion and Polk
Counties and variation among those cities in how much of their tax revenue is used for tourism
promotion.
2004 RIF Application
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There appears to be both a lack of investment and a lack of clear regional strategy in place for
tourism promotion.
b) What economic problem or opportunity is this project intended to address?
This project will directly address regional economic problems by providing the critical support
needed for the development of a comprehensive regional tourism promotion strategy. Once a
clear strategy is in place, those efforts now being made will be more effectively coordinated and it
will be much easier for local leaders to get behind efforts to increase investment in tourism
promotion.
2. Job Creation Potential.
Projects assisted with RIF must demonstrate a potential for the creation or retention of at
least one job for each $5,000 in program funds expended within the next five years.
a) How will your project lead to the creation or retention of jobs?
b) How many jobs do you estimate will be created or saved? How did you develop your
estimate?
3. New Investment Potential
Projects assisted with RIF must demonstrate a potential to leverage at least $10 of non-State
funds for each $1 in program funds expended within the next five years.
How much additional investment from all other sources (private and public) will this project
attract over the next five years?
$600,000 in additional tourism promotion investment will be leveraged by this
project.
How did you develop your estimate? Used comparable Oregon regions.
2004 RIF Application
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4. Project Budget Summary.
Requested Other Funds Other Funds
Activity Description Rural SCV A In COG In Total
Investment Kind Kind
Funds
Consulting services $22,000 $22,000
Meeting facilitation/ Task Force $3,000 (outside $2,000 $1,000 $6,000
Support facilitator)
Regional Summit Support $2,500 $1,000 $3,500
Project Administration $2,000 $2,000
TOTAL $25,000 4,500 $4,000 $33,500
5. Commitment of other funds.
Is the funding requested to fill a financial gap needed to complete a project? Please identify
and provide status of other project funds. Other funds are in-kind staff contributions.
Has this project been turned down by other funding sources? Please identify them below.
N/A
6. Are Rural Investment Funds to be used to help obtain larger grant or loan amounts from
other sources? (for example: costs for an engineering study needed to prepare an application
for a federal loan or grant; application preparation costs; a capital improvements plan that
will be used to guide community planning for a bond issue election, etc.) Is the other
funding source and estimated amount known? Please explain.
The RIF grant will be used for the key organizational activities needed to gamer support for greater
investment in regional tourism promotion. Substantially more resources will be generated as a
result ofthis RIF-funded activity. The goal of the project is for a doubling ofthe annual amount
invested in regional tourism promotion in Marlon and Polk Counties from $600,000 currently to
$1,200,000, the amount currently spent to promote tourism in Lane County.
2004 RIF Application
7. Does the project implement or build on a local or organizational plan or strategy?
(examples: a city capital improvements plan, a local comprehensive plan, a regional natural
resources study, a community visioning project, a downtown development plan, an industrial
park development plan, a regional OEDP, etc.) Please explain.
The project will build on the tourism promotion strategy of the SCV A to make it a regional
strategy.
8. Is the project a part of a broader effort or partnership with other communities or
organizations? If so, please explain. Yes. This project is a collaboration oflocal governments,
the lodging industry, visitor attractions, and many others. Resolutions of support are included.
2004 RIF Application
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1
are already complete.
Work Plan.
WORK PROGRAM/SCHEDULE
(please break your project down into activities and products - include activities that
Please identify unit costs for activities)
9. Project
Estimated Cost
Completion
Date
Start Date
Product/Result
T ask/ Activity
September
2004
1. 2004
1
RFP published
Finalize consultant scope of work and advertise
$22,000
October 1
2004
Sept.
October 15
-Nov. 15,
2004.
Tourism industrY consultant selected
December 1
- Dee. 15,
2004
with Task Force
Consultant meets with expanded Task Force to share
preliminary findings and receive feedback.
Consultant meets
January 31
2005
$3,000
Feb, 15-
March 1
completes SIDdy and recommendations
Consultant
I
,
I
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l
1
March 1 -
15, 2005
Regional Tourism Promotion Summit II held
Findings and recommendations presented at Summit
and consensus for a strategy.
2004 RIF Application
.
PROJECT WORK PROGRAM DETAILS:
Using staff support from the COG and the SCV A, the Regional Tourism Promotion Task Force will publish a Request for Proposals
(or Request for Qualifications) for a tourism industry consultant to undertake the following activities:
1
INFORMATIONAL ELEMENTS
Inventory and analyze all transient occupancy taxes now levied in Marion and Polk Counties including such information as
rates, annual collections, means of collection, the manner in which allocation decisions are made, amounts set aside for tourism
promotion, and other relevant details. Identify any potential for additional visitor taxes or areas in which taxes are not currently
assessed or assessed at lower than average rates.
1)
Identify other major sources of funding for tourist promotion such as the promotional efforts of the large attractions such as the
Oregon State Fair, the Oregon Garden and the Spirit Mountain Casino.
2)
the Pacific Northwest and with
and tourism promotion expenditures of the region with other regions in
Compare the tax rates
national averages.
3)
the region.
Determine whether this region is competitive in its tourism promotion efforts. Recommend an optimal level of investment in
tourism promotion that the region should establish as a goal. Identify the specific kinds of tourism promotion investments that
would yield the most cost effective results in this area
Identify and analyze major opportunities for cross promotion by major attractions in
4)
5)
the effectiveness of tourism
leaders can employ to determine
Propose and describe appropriate performance measures that local
promotion investments.
6)
I
in ways that
STRATEGIC ELEMENTS
Propose a sustainable funding strategy to provide for the recommended level of investment.
Examine the issue of tax equity and suggest methods for generating additional tourism promotion
achieve greater equity.
Identify any potential actions that do not require additional taxes that could be taken in the region to enhance tourism
promotion.
Propose a series of specific strategic steps for the region in order to enhance tourism promotion.
2004 RlF Application
resources
1)
2)
3)
4)
.
PROCESS ELEMENTS
The Tourism Promotion Task Force will refine the scope of work and select the consultant. As the consultant nears completion
of the information-gathering portion of their work, the Task Force will be expanded to include a greater cross section of
interests and the consultant will discuss preliminary findings and receive additional ideas and feedback before completing the
study and recommendations.
.
Upon the completion of the consultant's report and recommendations, a second regional Tourism Promotion Summit will be
held to receive final comments and to build consensus for a plan of action.
2004 RlF Application
10. Collaboration and Participation.
Are other organizations participating in or collaborating on this proposal? The following
spaces should be signed only by representatives of organizations that are contributing
money or other resources to project. You may attach letters of project support to the back
of the application.
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE OF
PARTICIPANT REPRESENTATIVE
NAME OF PARTICIPATING
ORGANIZATION
TITLE OF PARTICIPANT
REPRESENTATIVE
NATURE AND AMOUNT OF
CONTRIBUTION
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE OF
PARTICIPANT REPRESENTATIVE
NAME OF PARTICIPATING
ORGANIZATION
TITLE OF PARTICIPANT
REPRESENTATIVE
NATURE AND AMOUNT OF
CONTRIBUTION
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE OF
PARTICIPANT REPRESENTATIVE
NAME OF PARTICIPATING
ORGANIZATION
TITLE OF PARTICIPANT
REPRESENTATIVE
NATURE AND AMOUNT OF
CONTRIBUTION
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE OF
PARTICIPANT REPRESENTATIVE
NAME OF PARTICIPATING
ORGANIZATION
TITLE OF PARTICIPANT
REPRESENTATIVE
NATURE AND AMOUNT OF
CONTRIBUTION
2004 RlF Application
11. Grant Administration. How will the grant be administered?
a) Identify organization responsible for receiving and disbursing grant funds:
Mid-Willamette Valley COG
b) How many paid staff members does this organization have? 27
c) Check the line which best describes the organization:
Public Agency X--
Private Non Profit
Private For Profit
(At a later date, you may be asked to document financial history of the administrating
organization.)
12. Certification.
I certify that, to the best of my knowledge all information contained in this application is
valid and accurate.
SIGNATURE OF APPLICANT REPRESENTATIVE
DATE OF SIGNATURE
TITLE OR POSITION OF REPRESENTATIVE
APPLICATION DEADLINE: MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2004; 5:00 PM
NOTE: Additional financial, organizational or administrative information about an
applicant may be requested later. Additional project budget details may also be requested at
a later date.
The Mid-Willamette Valley Community Development Partnership Board may offer
an award for less than the amount requested in your application.
2004 RlF Application
11. Grant Administration. How will the grant be administered?
a) Identify organization responsible for receiving and disbursing grant funds:
Mid-Willamette Valley COG
b) How many paid staff members does this organization have? 27
c) Check the line which best describes the organization:
Public Agency X--
Private Non Profit
Private For Profit
(At a later date, you may be asked to document financial history of the administrating
organization.)
12. Certification.
I certify that, to the best of my knowledge all information contained in this application is
valid and accurate.
SIGNATURE OF APPLICANT REPRESENTATIVE
DATE OF SIGNATURE
TITLE OR POSITION OF REPRESENTATIVE
APPLICATION DEADLINE: MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2004; 5:00 PM
NOTE: Additional financial, organizational or administrative information about an
applicant may be requested later. Additional project budget details may also be requested at
a later date.
The Mid-Willamette Valley Community Development Partnership Board may offer
an award for less than the amount requested in your application.
2004 RlF Application