At the Jan. 20 Town Council meeting, Jim VanHoozier revisited a couple of items sitting on a back burner. One was relative to the town retaining about $20,000 from lodging taxes previously dedicated to a regional tourism initiative. These funds were, by motion and vote, to be used specifically for tourism development within the town.
At the Nov. 3 meeting, it was reported there was no town tourism plan detailing how these funds would be used to leverage tourism growth in Christiansburg. Got the money, now what? The Mayor indicated a "list of what had been done in the past" could be provided, yet nothing had appeared between these two meetings so VanHoozier brought the topic up again because he wanted to know how council would like to spend it before entering the new budget planning process.
As the seven minute discussion went to how the town departments already or will (in the case of the aquatic center) produce a brochure to the 2010 Dixie World Series at Harkrader Sports Complex, it appeared the plan was to subsidize existing departmental budgets. (See meeting video clip at the 35-42 minute marks.)
When a suggestion was made to pull all the stakeholders together and brainstorm, the Mayor announced he would not appoint a committee to do this stating it was council's job because no town staff was designated for this task. Note that a recently appointed Aquatic Center Advisory Board hasn't been authorized to meet yet, anyway.
Last summer, a citizen/business group planned and executed several new downtown events. There were also some meetings with the local chamber of commerce, which guides the regional tourism initiative. While Ernie Wade and then council member Steve Huppert were principals in this process, they were there as citizens -- not as the Central Business District committee members. That committee hasn't met formally for nearly a decade. These activities sparked another new event, and so the downtown hosted its first tailgate party just before the annual Wilderness Trail Festival.
After the last street festival wrapped up, organizers got together to debrief and talk about "go forward" plans, and established an Events Coalition. Since then, the chamber sought a new sponsor for the Wilderness Festival and is in the process of handing this over to the Christiansburg Kiwanis which is reportedly seeking tax exempt status. Since many key players in the Events Coalition are also Kiwanians, this may become a stand alone group or a sub-committee within that established civic organization.
There's a little kitty which will be available soon to develop tourism in Christiansburg, and a plan is indeed needed. Between town departments with their budgets, numerous civic organizations, the museum, a coalition, P&R Commission, Aquatic Advisory Board, Town Council ideas and pet projects, multiple non-profits, the tourism council, county chamber, business owners and residents -- how will anyone coordinate leveraging the $20,000 in a way that actually pulls in additional lodging and meals taxes, and increases sales taxes? You know, tourism development.
Tourism development is more than event planning. It's broader and more complex than random advertising that doesn't help develop an identity or Christiansburg as a destination. It's more than promoting town activities or being a source of revenue for charitable purposes. It's more than a calendar. Is the $20,000 meant to offset in-kind costs of the town during events and subsidize department budgets, or will it ultimately contribute to economic and community development?
There must be a coordinated and comprehensive plan that can grow and evolve, and is fluid and inclusive. It will be a big job, sometimes needing one guiding hand and at other times needing many.
A starting point may be for members of these groups to get together, even without the Mayor's blessing. We hear council members will be present, and they've shown a willingness to be the messenger. Maybe they were actually tasked to come up with The Plan, yet it will have to cover more than the Central Business District, town facilities or the agenda of one civic organization.
Being a maverick without a roadmap won't work in what has been one of the largest industries in the state with niche markets hotly contested in our region, as detailed in a visit to the Virginia Tourism Council website. Another resource stakeholders may want to consider is the tourism report already provided to the town by the chamber. After all, Christiansburg helped pay for that study.