Town of Friday Harbor
PO Box 219 / Friday Harbor / WA / 98250
(360) 378-2810 / fax (360) 378-5339 / www.fridayharbor.org

To:
From:
Date:
RE:

Town Council and Mayor
Julie Greene
October 2, 2018
2019 HOTEL MOTEL TAX GRANT
LODGING TAX ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

The Council is asked to consider the recommendations of the Town’s Lodging Tax
Advisory Committee (LTAC) regarding use of funds from the second 2% Hotel Motel
Excise Tax for the 2019 Lodging Tax Grant Program.
BACKGROUND:
On April 19, 2018, the Council gave preliminary approval to allocate up to $230,000 for
tourism promotion in 2019. This is an increase of $5,000 over the previous year’s
allocation. In June, July, and August, the Town advertised the availability of grant funds.
Nine grant requests were submitted totaling $306,534. [The previous year the Council
allocated $225,000 for 2018 tourism promotion; thirteen grant requests were submitted
totaling $298,265.]
APPLICANTS:
On September 19, 2018, the LTAC heard presentations and evaluated the following nine
applications:
San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau: $195,500 was requested to continue the bureau’s
work as the Town’s designated marketing organization (DMO) with grant funds to be
used to finance five seasonal advertising campaigns (Winter Romance, spring, summer,
fall/Savor the San Juans, and holidays), attendance at three or four media marketplaces
and sales trips, shoulder season marketing targeted to small meetings and retreats, and
a website upgrade.
San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce: $3,600 was requested to continue off-island
promotion of “Something for Everyone” weekend events which include the Island
Artists’ Studio Tour, Fourth of July, Lavender Festival, County Fair, Friday Harbor Film
Festival, Savor the San Juans, and Friday Harbor Winter Festival. Their usual $3000
request was increased to allow for radio advertising of the Winter Festival which
includes Island Lights, Community Theatre Holiday Festival, Ag Guild Old-Fashioned
Christmas Market, and Friday Harbor Nutcracker.
The Whale Museum: $27,298 was requested for off-season, off-island promotions
including print, web, and radio advertisements.
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 Town of Friday Harbor
PO Box 219 / Friday Harbor / WA / 98250
(360) 378-2810 / fax (360) 378-5339 / www.fridayharbor.org

Pacific Islands Research Institute/Friday Harbor Film Festival: $17,900 was requested
for marketing and promotion of the seventh annual film festival to be held October 2527, 2019, and the Best of the Fest screenings at the Friday Harbor Grange January-May.
San Juan Islands Museum of Art: $13,000 was requested for marketing 2019 exhibits
which are scheduled to include a new photography exhibit by Vietnam veterans that has
only shown at its original site in Wisconsin.
TEDx San Juan Island: $11,000 was requested for marketing and consultation
(videographer) expenses associated with the fifth annual TEDx event to be held in
March 2019. Funds would cover professional videos of the talks for the web that would
include promotional Friday Harbor footage at the beginning and end.
San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild: $8,280 was requested for Brickworks marketing and
infrastructure to include rack cards, online promotions, an upgraded on-line calendar,
and one-time funding of two event tents to expand marketable event space.
San Juan Community Theatre: $15,000 was requested for the creation, administration,
and off-island distribution of a semi-annual arts calendar for all art events on San Juan
Island. The calendar would be included within the Theatre’s semi-annual Arts Notes
magazine.
Friends of Lime Kiln Society: $14,956 was requested for targeted off-island promotion
of the Lime Kiln Lighthouse 2019 centennial celebration and for the purchase and
promotion of an educational, interactive, multi-media virtual reality experience.
PROCESS:
The LTAC followed the recommendation process used for previous cycles:
1. Members determined that all applicants met basic eligibility requirements and
should be considered for funding.
2. Members heard applicant presentations and evaluated each proposal using the
following criteria:
• Will this proposal attract off-island visitors to Friday Harbor?
• Will this proposal specifically and predominantly promote Friday Harbor?
• Could this proposal result in longer lodging stays and/or return visits?
• Will this proposal positively impact shoulder and off-season visitation?
• Is this proposal well-structured with measurable and attainable goals?

t:\townclerk\committee\ltac\council memo-fall recommendations\ltac recommendations 2019\ltac 2019
recommendation memo to council.doc

 Town of Friday Harbor
PO Box 219 / Friday Harbor / WA / 98250
(360) 378-2810 / fax (360) 378-5339 / www.fridayharbor.org

•
•
•

Will they specifically coordinate with other organizations’ events and/or
marketing?
Is this a new, unusual, innovative, and/or proven approach to tourism?
Is this proposal an efficient, economical use of LTAC funds?

3. Members provided their individual preferences for distribution of $230,000 in
Lodging Tax funds among the nine applicants. The results of this distribution are
provided in the chart below.
The chart reflects the amount requested by each grant applicant, the individual LTAC
members’ recommended distributions, and an average of these distributions. The
chart also lists an average known as the “trimmed mean method” which excludes
the highest and lowest LTAC member distributions.
The trimmed mean method resulted in an under-allocation of $58 that the LTAC
recommends be distributed to the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce, as
indicated in the “Final” column below.
INDIVIDUAL MEMBER ALLOCATIONS AND FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

VIZ B
CMBR-WK
WHALE
FILM
IMA
TEDx
AG GUILD
SJCT
LIME

Mark M.
$ 170,000
$ 3,000
$ 20,000
$ 10,000
$ 10,000
$ 5,000
$ 2,000
$ 5,000
$ 5,000
$ 230,000

Brian C.
$ 156,836
$ 3,600
$ 24,568
$ 10,900
$ 9,490
$ 4,800
$ 1,350
$ 6,000
$ 12,456
$ 230,000

Dav id P.
$ 195,500
$ 3,500
$ 10,000
$ 5,000
$ 5,000
$ 2,000
$ 2,000
$ 5,000
$ 2,000
$ 230,000

Stev e H.
$ 183,600
$ 3,000
$ 15,000
$ 7,750
$ 5,200
$ 3,000
$ 2,250
$ 8,000
$ 2,200
$ 230,000

Highest and
lowest amounts
were removed.

Victoria C.
$ 174,090
$ 3,600
$ 15,715
$ 9,000
$ 6,200
$ 7,300
$ 5,280
$ 5,215
$ 3,600
$ 230,000

$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$

Tim D.
180,000
3,000
15,000
7,500
6,500
4,000
4,000
10,000
230,000

Greg Z.
$ 195,000
$ 3,000
$ 9,500
$ 8,500
$ 2,000
$ 1,000
$ 2,000
$ 2,000
$ 7,000
$ 230,000

$58 surplus added
to Chamber
of Commerce.

AVERAGE
$ 179,289.43
$ 3,242.86
$ 15,683.29
$ 8,378.57
$ 6,341.43
$ 3,871.43
$ 2,697.14
$ 5,887.86
$ 4,608.00

W/O HI/LOW
$ 180,538.00
$
3,220.00
$ 15,143.00
$
8,550.00
$
6,478.00
$
3,760.00
$
2,450.00
$
5,843.00
$
3,960.00

$ 230,000.00 $ 229,942.00
$ (230,000.00)
$
(58.00)

%
78.49%
1.40%
6.58%
3.72%
2.82%
1.63%
1.07%
2.54%
1.72%

$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$

FINAL
180,538.00
3,278.00
15,143.00
8,550.00
6,478.00
3,760.00
2,450.00
5,843.00
3,960.00

Requested
$ 195,500
$
3,600
$ 27,298
$ 17,900
$ 13,000
$ 11,000
$
8,280
$ 15,000
$ 14,956

99.97% $

230,000.00

$ 306,534

Town staff recommends that the Council make a motion accepting the trimmed mean
method of averaging and allocating the resulting excess funds to the Chamber.
The Council is asked to direct staff regarding any contract caveats and direct the Finance
Director to include the LTAC grant funding recommendations in the 2019 budget.
###

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