In close 4-3 vote, Spokane Valley City Council funds Northwest Winterfest festival, other tourism events
On a 4-3 vote, the Spokane Valley City Council funded Northwest Winterfest, a Christmas light and cultural festival planned for next year and nine other community and tourism events.
The City Council had a list of 10 funding recommendations from a committee chaired by council member Sam Wood. The rest of the committee consists of two representatives from businesses who collect the tax and two who are involved in activities the taxes support. The funding comes from a 2% tax on hotel and motel stays, which has been in place since 2003.
The City Council has a limited ability to change the committee’s recommendation under state law. It can only approve it, send it back or veto an organization’s funding. While most of the recommendations were approved without controversy, several council members were concerned that Northwest Winterfest would not deliver the event they were promised and would need more money than what was originally pitched to the council.
The committee recommended that Northwest Winterfest receive $48,000 of the $50,000 it requested in lodging tax.
Spokane Valley Mayor Rod Higgins said Northwest Winterfest seemed “too good to be true.” He said another event undertaken by Northwest Winterfest did not live up to what had been presented to the council.
Councilwoman Pam Haley said Spokane Valley has already agreed to let Northwest Winterfest use its park and CenterPlace Regional Event Center. She, too, was concerned that the event planned for next year would not live up to what was presented to city council.
“I’m not saying that they don’t have the best intention of having that particular thing, but we know they have promised it in the past and not delivered,” Haley said. “That’s my concern. If we give them $48,000 and they can’t do it … I’m concerned that this is not a good use of our money.”
The Northwest Winterfest light show is a cultural and Christmas celebration that was previously canceled because of the cost increases caused by the United States’ trade war with China. In a September interview, organizer Sam Song said he estimated the tariffs would add $50,000 to $70,000 to the cost of the festival.
Councilman Ben Wick said he attended the event’s kickoff. He said organizers appeared to have found business sponsors to cover some of the costs so the event would not be completely dependent on city funding.
Wood said he voted for the committee’s recommendations while he was chair, and would not vote differently now.
“I supported it then and I can’t change my mind now,” he said.
Wood, Wick and councilwomen Brandi Peetz and Linda Thompson voted to fund Northwest Winterfest. Haley, Higgins and Councilman Arne Woodard voted against.
The Spokane Valley City Council had $319,000 to award to local organizations that bring tourism and economic growth to the city. Nine others received funding.
The top three recipients were the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, which received $66,000; the HUB Sports Center, which received $55,020; and Visit Spokane, which received $50,000. Those three also received the biggest awards last year.
Last year, the City Council voted not to fund the Spokane Sports Commission despite the committee’s recommendation that they receive more than $100,000. This year, the commission applied for $50,000 and the committee recommended it receive $45,000, which the City Council approved.
The organization that had the biggest disparity between what it applied for and what it received was Valleyfest. Valleyfest applied for $150,000 and received $18,600. Valleyfest director Peggy Doering said the organization received close to what it usually receives.