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Real Briefings

Bellingham Tourism Commission

BEL-TOU-2024-09-24 September 24, 2024 City Council Regular Meeting City of Bellingham 41 min
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The Tourism Commission received its first look at the 2025 tourism budget, which projects essentially flat revenue while grappling with unprecedented demand for grants. The commission reviewed a draft $2.5 million budget that reflects tourism industry recovery challenges, with Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) revenue plateauing and lodging tax revenue remaining stable despite ongoing economic headwinds. The meeting highlighted both promising tourism recovery indicators and emerging pressures on the grant system. Mount Baker Theatre reported record-breaking season launch sales, with 106,000 people through their doors representing growth from pre-COVID levels. Similarly, the Whatcom Museum demonstrated strong visitor recovery, exceeding 2019 attendance levels by 36,000 visitors while achieving 21% out-of-area visitation. However, these success stories are overshadowed by a brewing funding crisis. Staff reported receiving over $1.1 million in grant requests for 2025, far exceeding available funds and representing requests higher than the signature event program levels. This surge follows Whatcom County's generous funding in 2024, which inadvertently encouraged Bellingham-focused events to seek county funds, only to be redirected back to city programs.

**Downtown Activation Projects RFP Round 2 Approved:** Commission approved proceeding with the second round of downtown activation grants with $250,000 available. The RFP will open in early October with a five-week application period. Nick Kelly tentatively agreed to serve on the review jury alongside Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism staff. **Strategic Planning Meeting Scheduled:** October 22 strategic planning session confirmed to address reserve fund usage and priority setting.…

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**Tourism Budget Structure:** The 2025 budget maintains current funding formulas while adjusting for inflation. Mount Baker Theatre and Whatcom Museum contracts include 3.8% increases tied to Consumer Price Index adjustments. The budget reflects decreased reliance on city lodging tax funds as TPA revenue has substantially increased organizational capacity. **Grant Program Oversubscription:** The dramatic increase in grant requests creates allocation challenges for the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC). Northwest Tune-Up's transition from signature event status back to standard grants, combined with county funding redirection, has contributed to the surge. Staff increased the recommended grant program budget from approximately $400,000 to $550,000, but this still falls significantly short of total requests. **North End Tourism Corridor Crisis:** Commission members raised concerns …
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**Mount Baker Theatre (John Purdie):** Reported strong recovery with 106,000 attendees, up from 94,000 pre-COVID. Emphasized their role as regional draw, with 15,000 visitors from over 50 miles away and 10,000 of those during October-March shoulder season. Highlighted successful Broadway programming return with six shows booked and record season launch sales reaching 56% of annual goal by July 31. **Whatcom Museum (Patricia Leach & Adrian):** Demonstrated visitor growth exceeding 2019 levels and achieving 21% out-of-area visitation against 20% target. Emphasized successful Free First Friday programming averaging over 1,000 attendees monthly, with 75% first-time visitors in January. Highlighted maj…
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**Tara Sundin, on grant demand surge:** "There's over 1.1 million dollars in requests to LTAC. We haven't seen anything like that before. I'm seeing asks higher than signature event asks." **Craig Jewell, on Northwest Tune-Up:** "The one thing that I've felt really good about, extremely good about with this commission, because it's just brought in so many tourists and it's been an amazing thing." **John Purdie, Mount Baker Theatre, on visitor patterns:** "I met a couple from Montana and they…
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**October 22, 2024:** Strategic Planning Session (full day) to address reserve fund deployment and priority setting for tourism investments. **Early October:** Downtown Activation Projects RFP Round 2 release with five-week application period. **October LTAC Meeting:** Vote on 2025 tourism budget and standard/startup grant applications. Review county funding decisions impact. **November/December:** City Council final budget approval f…

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**Grant Program Capacity Crisis:** The commission now faces the largest funding request volume in its history, requiring significant policy decisions about allocation priorities and potential expansion of available funds. **Tourism Recovery Confirmation:** Both major cultural institutions demonstrated visitor levels exceeding pre-pandemic baselines, indicating successful tourism sector recovery while highlighting infrastructure support needs. **Reserve Fund Strategic Deployment:** Commission moved from passive reserve accumulation to active consideration of capital project investments, particularly for north end tourism corridor impr…
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# Building Tourism, Art, and Community — Bellingham's Downtown Renaissance Plans The City of Bellingham Tourism Commission gathered in the Mayor's Boardroom on September 24, 2024, for their regular monthly meeting, joined virtually by commission members Craig Jewell and Stephanie Morrell. The meeting showcased the ongoing momentum in Bellingham's cultural and tourism sectors, with presentations highlighting record-breaking performance at local institutions and ambitious plans for downtown activation and the upcoming 2026 World Cup. Chair Peter Frazier led the meeting, which brought together commission members, city staff, and representatives from Mount Baker Theatre and the Whatcom Museum — two of Bellingham's flagship cultural institutions that receive significant tourism funding support. ## Downtown Activation Projects Enter Second Round The meeting opened with an update on the second round of downtown activation projects, a $750,000 initiative spread across three years to beautify and enliven the city center. Darby Galligan, Senior Planner with the Planning and Community Development Department, presented the draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for the second round of funding, which will make $250,000 available for new projects. The first round, launched in May 2024, has already begun bearing fruit. "The museum is completed," Galligan reported, referring to a mural project at the Old City Hall museum. "Lee Memorial Park stairs are going to be painted in October. I think they might even get started like as soon as the contract is ready. They're hoping to start like next week." Other first-round projects are progressing on schedule: alley activations are planned for mid-to-late fall, the Lakeway overpass project awaits Washington State Department of Transportation review and will likely move to summer 2025, and small sculpture installations called "billies" are in production for spring placement. Only the bike track project remains on hold due to weather dependency, with staff considering a May launch to coincide with bike-to-work events. The second-round RFP has been refined based on lessons learned from the first round. The application period will run for five weeks in October, with pre-submittal consultation sessions scheduled for October 22 and 25. Ni…
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### Meeting Overview The Bellingham Tourism Commission met on September 24, 2024, focusing primarily on the 2025 tourism budget, grant applications, and downtown activation projects. The meeting featured presentations from Mount Baker Theater and Whatcom Museum about their performance and funding requests. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Tourism Promotion Area (TPA):** A special assessment district that charges hotels $3 per night for rooms with 40+ units, generating about $1.4 million annually for tourism marketing. **Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC):** A subset of Tourism Commission members who review and vote on grant applications and budget recommendations. **Downtown Activation Grants:** A three-year, $750,000 program to fund projects that beautify and activate downtown Bellingham through art, programming, and public space improvements. **Signature Events:** Large tourism events that receive special three-year funding commitments, currently supporting Bellingham Exit festival. **Free First Friday:** Whatcom Museum's monthly free admission program with extended hours and special programming, funded by a three-year Art Bridges Foundation grant. **Northwest Tune-Up:** A formerly signature-funded music festival transitioning to standard grant funding after completing its three-year commitment. **World Cup 2026:** Upcoming international soccer tournament with games in Seattle and Vancouver, expected to drive significant tourism through Whatcom County. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Peter Frazier | Tourism Commission Chair | | Tara Sundin | City Tourism Staff | | John Purdie | Mount Baker Theater Executive Director | | Megan Hurley | Mount Baker Theater Marketing Director | | Patricia Leach | Whatcom Museum | | Adrian | Whatcom Mu…
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Economic Development Budget & Finance Parks & Recreation Government Operations Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism Daylight Properties Hotel Leo Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Mount Baker Theatre Tourism Commission Whatcom County Whatcom Museum Craig Jewell Dylan Deane Boyle John Purdie Josh Holland Nick Kelly Patricia Leach Sara Holliday Tara Sundin Taylor Webb Todd Elsworth Downtown Activation Grant Funding Homelessness Lodging Tax Mount Baker Theatre Northwest Tune Up Strategic Planning Tourism Budget Wayfinding Whatcom Museum World Cup