By HOLLY GASKILL
Nearing a year since innkeepers tax was established, Audry Dudley said the commission formed to determine the use of those funds has made significant progress in strategic planning.
Dudley provided a quarterly update regarding the Wells County Convention and Visitors Commission to the County Council on Tuesday evening. The 5 percent tax on short-term lodging in the county is intended to support half of Dudley’s salary and tourism efforts throughout the county. A large portion of this thus far, Dudley said, has been through marketing grants.
These grants are given to businesses and organizations wishing to market their events to out-of-county residents. The second round of applications — targeted at events in January-June 2024 — closed on Dec. 1, 2023.
Dudley stated three organizations had received grants thus far. More information about the grant cycle and requirements is available at visitwellscounty.com/contact.
Looking forward, Dudley is focused on creating county maps, wayfinding signs and further marketing event attractions.
Council member Steve Huggins asked how Dudley can track the benefit of these efforts. At its simplest, Dudley explained, they should be able to see a relationship between innkeepers tax collection and marketed attractions. Additionally, those who receive grants are asked to track their attendance.
However, more concrete numbers — including economic impact — are much more difficult to track. Dudley said the county may be able to opt-in to some analytics services in the future.
Also upcoming, Dudley said the commission will work with Economic Development and a third-party marketing firm to further market the county.
Later during the meeting, the County Council deferred action on board appointments for 2024 due to a lack of applicants. The council had received at least one application for every open seat, multiple members expressed a desire to see more participation from the public.
“For the community’s sake, these are important boards that we really would like to have people applying for,” council member Seth Whicker said. “It’s easy just to reappoint somebody, but it’s also nice to see if there are alternatives out there.”
Board vacancies include the Local Alcoholic Beverage Board, Area Plan Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, Cemetery Board, Community Corrections Advisory Board, Community and Family Services, Health Department Board, Property Tax Board of Appeals, Rockcreek Conservancy and Wabash River Heritage Corridor Commission. Applications can be downloaded on the council’s website, wellscounty.org/county-council.
The council will meet at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 21 for end-of-year business and to make these appointments.
holly@news-banner.com
