ONLINE ONLY: Council disbands hotel/motel tax task force, discusses formation of new committee
MOLLY SKYLES - Assistant Editor
RED OAK — After a heated hotel/motel tax meeting last week, the Red Oak City Council cooly disbanded the committee at last night's regular meeting while discussing forming a new one.
Red Oak Mayor Bill Billings said because the work of the task force — their attempt to alter the ballot language to include a guiding committee and that 100 percent of funds go toward tourism — was not accepted by the Council, their duties were complete. However, a new committee is needed to oversee the future of the hotel/ motel tax if it passes at the Nov. 6 election.
Through a motion by Councilperson Tom Pratt and a second by Fred Pilecki, the committee was dissolved and discussion began on the formation of the new Red Oak Tourism and Recreation Committee.
Billings created a draft of committee guidelines, which was adjusted at the meeting to be more precise.
It listed there will be five Council-appointed members who will serve staggered two-year terms. One member will be from the City Council and one from the Park and Tree Board; the rest will be at-large. Their purpose is to gather ideas through an application process and make recommendations to the Council following the guidelines that 50 percent of the funds go toward city recreation and tourism programs and projects and 50 percent go toward promotion to enhance community events. They also will be responsible for helping promote the passage of the tax, although their official duties will not begin until Jan. 1.
“[We need] new ideas, reinvention of the ideas and the events we’ve had … to promote, to build, to fill our restaurants and bring more business to town,” Billings said. “That makes these dollars an investment, and there’s a return on that investment that I don’t understand how anyone can be against. I don’t think we’re going to find a lot of opposition and I charge each and every one of us to be talking about this when we’re out in public.”
Billings added the applications received by the new committee should be reviewed and recommended to the Council based on priority and ability to bring more tourists and promote the city effectively. Examples such reinventing or enhancing events like Junction Days or the 4th of July were suggested.
“We’re not going to be able to do everything we’re asked,” Billings said. “It would be absurd if we took this money and cut it up into 1,600 pieces of pie, then it does nothing. So, every quarter when this money comes in, the committee is going to have to make a decision for one or two or three events that fall into the time frame that the money will be able to effectively do anything.”
Pratt recommended media be a part of the committee because advertising experience could be beneficial in helping ensure the money is being spent in the best way to advertise and promote the city.
While Billings did not disagree, he explained there are already four people who agreed to be on the board — Councilperson Jeanice Lester, Deb Crouse from the Park and Tree Board and Mark Benda, all of whom served on the previous task force, and one other female who Billings contacted about the position but whose name was not released — and another male is needed to ensure a gender balance.
The Council will vote on the members of the committee at a future meeting. In the meantime, they are searching for a male interested in the position.