With thoughts that the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo may have received an unfair advantage when it comes to the recommended allocation of transient lodging tax funds, the Philomath City Council opted Monday night to table a vote on how to distribute $17,700 in available funding.
The transient lodging tax grants, commonly known as TLT grants, are targeted to organizations that fund projects that contribute to the development and improvement of Philomath’s economy by means of the enhancement, expansion and promotion of the tourism industry.
The city received $35,400 in transient lodging tax funds to spend this fiscal year, which are collected through a citywide TLT established in 2021 and an annual allocation of tourism-related dollars from Benton County and other state or federal funding partners. The money is split with half retained for city tourism activities and the other half distributed through the grant program.
The Finance and Administration Committee reviewed the three requests and financial information and last month adopted the recommendations that were forwarded to the City Council.
In its request for $15,000, Philomath Frolic and Rodeo said the funds would go toward the organization’s Skirvin Park improvements, which include new grandstands and restrooms. The Frolic and Rodeo is hoping to begin the construction of new grandstands on the west side of the arena next spring with the new configuration adding 1,200 seats — an example of tourism impacts. In the application submitted by Ellen Hinchberger, the organization stated that the project is not yet fully funded.
The Benton County Historical Society requested $1,500 for maintenance and operational purposes of Philomath Museum, which is housed in the 157-year-old Philomath College building. The Philomath Area Chamber of Commerce requested $1,200 to assist in the development of a city map with business locations and possibly establish a chamber information location at the library.
The Finance and Administration Committee recommended that the full amounts requested be awarded.
Councilor Matt Lehman made a motion early on in the discussion to instead allocate $8,333.33 to the Frolic and Rodeo, $4,833.33 to the historical society and $4,533.33 to the chamber.
“I don’t like the way this smells — I’m just going to say it flat out,” Lehman said before making the motion, which was seconded by Councilor Christopher McMorran. Lehman followed with an explanation of how he arrived at those figures.
Later on in the meeting, Lehman explained his motion further by suggesting the possibility that the Frolic and Rodeo knew exactly how much TLT funding was available while the others submitting their specific requests did not.
City Manager Chris Workman serves on the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo’s board of directors and chairs its events and publicity committees.
Workman said he took some issue with the councilor’s comments and explained how the historical society and chamber had specific projects or uses in mind and the money requested covered those needs. He also talked about the negative impacts that could result from awarding much more money than requested to those organizations. For example, they are required to report back to the city how the funds were spent and if they don’t have specific uses, that could put them in a difficult situation.
As for the question Lehman raised about whether the organizations knew about the level of funding available, Workman said the Frolic and Rodeo asked and he provided the information. The BCHS and chamber had not asked him that specific question, he added, although it’s possible that the question was asked of others on the staff.
Immediately after Lehman’s motion, Andrade followed with a proposed amendment to remove the Frolic and Rodeo from the list of agencies to receive any funding — at least for now and revisit the request at a later time.
“I really do not feel comfortable giving the Frolic nearly as much money,” Andrade said. “They’re a great community event and they bring a lot of tourism and all of this other great stuff and also, I really did not feel comfortable with their press release in response to comments that had been made in public city meetings because they essentially stated that they prioritize the First Amendment right over the … safety and well-being of people from certain demographics to be able to support the idea that a Nazi flag can be waived even though it doesn’t align with their values and they essentially equate it to something that’s positive and family friendly.”
The Frolic and Rodeo sent out the press release referenced in Andrade’s comments last week to clarify a situation involving a “thin blue line” flag that appeared in the rodeo arena and parade this past summer and as an organization to support Workman’s statements on freedom of expression. A mention of the Nazi flag came up during the Finance and Administration Committee’s meeting last month as an example of a controversial image.
“I would really like to have a conversation with them to let them understand the harm that has come from this and I don’t think we should be rewarding them with more money until this has been figured out,” Andrade said.
City Councilor Ruth Causey opposed Andrade’s proposed amendment to the motion and suggested that the Finance and Administration Committee in the future establish rules for allocating the funds.
Andrade’s motion died with no second.
City Councilors Diane Crocker and Teresa Nielson, as well as Causey, shared comments that showed support for the Frolic and Rodeo’s request. McMorran favored Lehman’s suggestion on how to distribute the funds and explained that even though the city supports the rebuilding of the grandstands, the city should not be “a huge donor” to the effort with a lot of other local projects that don’t have the type of funding sources as the Frolic and Rodeo.
“I totally agree that they have a huge capital expense but I think the city has done a lot of work to help with that capital expense — going to Salem, applying for state parks grants, applying for loans — and I don’t think it’s that the city hasn’t supported them but I just want to keep my word as far as what I’ve been telling residents that the city isn’t directly paying for it (out of the city budget),” McMorran said.
Outside of the dollars received from Benton County, the TLT funds locally are raised through what is charged to visitors when they stay in short-term lodging, such as the motel or an Airbnb rental.
“The Frolic and Rodeo clearly has a significant role in our tourism and clearly has the need for the funds that were requested,” Causey said.
Nielson said the committee did take into consideration the impact of the Frolic and Rodeo on the city in its discussions on the funding allocations.
“I think taking all things into account — our community members, the need for the public use of that facility in other times other than just Frolic events — I think there’s a lot to be gained by supporting this as it is listed here,” Nielson said. “I think there’s valid reasons why as a committee we put forth this proposal so I’m going to stand with it. Although I do respect Councilor Lehman’s recommendation, I think there are times when we make decisions based on the information we know and the character and the reputation and the public good that will result from those funds.”
With differing viewpoints on the allocations, Workman suggested a solution.
“If the council is interested, we could table this, we could reach out to these three organizations again, disclose what the full funding amount available is, talk to them again and see if they want to resubmit a different request,” Workman said.
The resubmitted applications could then be revisited at a future meeting for a final decision.
“That way, it takes away any consideration or accusation that the Frolic and Rodeo had some inside knowledge that the organizations didn’t have available to them,” Workman said. “I think that would be a good way to be a little more fair and make sure that these other organizations aren’t feeling like they were left in the dark.”
Mayor Chas Jones said he favored the idea and McMorran followed by making a motion to table the discussion until updated funding requests are received. Lehman seconded. With Workman’s positions with the city and the Frolic, the task of reaching out to the BCHS and chamber of commerce will instead fall to Jones.
The motion passed 6-1, Crocker preferring to vote with the recommendations as they had been presented.
Other grants
The City Council approved other grants during the meeting — $41,476 in funding to eight social service organizations and $10,575 to utility assistance agencies. The Finance and Administration Committee recommended the allocations that were approved.
The social service grants, which are funded through state shared revenues, were awarded to Philomath Community Services ($7,494), Benton Habitat for Humanity ($6,494), Philomath Youth Activities Club ($6,494), Strengthening Rural Families ($6,494), ABC House ($5,000), Maxtivity ($5,000), Bountiful Backyard ($3,000) and Meals on Wheels ($1,500).
The grants were approved 5-1 with Lehman abstaining and Andrade voting nay. Lehman recused himself from the conversation because his wife works for one of the agencies receiving funding. Andrade said she was opposed to awarding more money to Philomath Community Services than the organization had requested and would rather see any surplus funds go to PYAC and Strengthening Rural Families — both receiving less than requested.
Vina Moses Center and We Care Benton County each received $5,287.50 in utility assistance grants, which come from dollars appropriated out of water and sewer funds. The vote to approve was unanimous.
