Valley City Council OKs funds for tourism

Facing a surplus in bed tax funds, the Spokane Valley City Council approved an additional $157,500 for groups to use for marketing events and facilities that bring tourists to the city.

“This is the second round of applications for 2007 because we had a significant surplus left over,” said Steve Taylor, a city councilman and Lodging Tax Advisory Committee member.

The city funded $382,500 in requests for the funds in December, but solicited another round of applications because there was still about $413,000 left in the account.

The Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce will receive and additional $50,000 and the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitor’s Bureau will get an extra $78,000.

Valleyfest will receive an additional $5,000 for advertising, but was denied money it had requested to build a float for the Spokane Valley parade.

The Spokane Winery Association was allocated the full $7,500 it requested, and the Spokane Junior Soccer Association received $17,000 of its $30,300 request.

Applications by Burke Marketing and the Inland Dance Association were not funded.

The tax committee’s recommendations were adopted unanimously by the council at its meeting Tuesday night.

Two members of the public commented on the proposal, including Dick Behm, who said that taking a Spokane Valley float to parades around the Inland Northwest would bring floats and people from other cities here.

Later in the year, the city will initiate another round of requests for the money.

“We still have a huge chunk,” of the tax revenue left, Taylor said, adding that there will still be about $250,000 in the account after the latest round of allocations.

The money comes from a 2 percent tax on hotel bills in Washington, and local communities distribute the money to organizations involved in promoting tourism.