There weren't enough chairs for everyone in the Crookston City Hall council chambers for Tuesday evening's city Ways & Means Committee meeting, there was applause after comments both for and against the hiring of a Recreation and Sports Tourism Coordinator for the community, and, yes, things did get a bit heated at the beginning.
But after almost 90 minutes of debate over City Administrator Aaron Parrish's proposal to use lodging tax revenue to pay for the new position and, in the process, dramatically change the focus and mission of the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, everyone agreed they need more time to digest the pros and cons before making a decision. And, whether or not a Recreation and Sports Tourism Coordinator is ever hired, most of the stakeholders who spoke at the meeting agreed that they need to do a better job of working as a team, collaborating and taking advantage of partnerships in order to bring more visitors to Crookston and, when possible, getting them to spend a night or two.
"Some of us maybe were a little asleep at the wheel; I was, and that's not easy to admit," said Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Lori Wagner. "Let's get together and get this ball rolling. It's clear that we can all do better."
The CVB's marketing and tourism coordinator, Sandy Kegler, who works three days a week, would lose her job if the proposal becomes reality. To start Tuesday's meeting, she and Wagner spent a half-hour or so detailing everything that the CVB does with the funding it gets. The in-person presentation came on the heels of a local media and advertising blitz undertaken by the CVB over the past several days, since the proposal became public.
Council member Keith Mykleseth, who's served on both the Chamber and CVB boards of directors in the past, took issue with "deceiving" CVB advertising in the Times and Valley Shopper, and attempts by Wagner and Kegler that, he said, made it seem as though several initiatives and events would go away if the proposal was enacted. He also contended that many of the things that Wagner and Kegler said that the CVB was doing are actually collaborations that often include the City of Crookston and the Chamber.
"Don't bring up what the Chamber is doing if it's not part of the CVB," he said. "I'm very disappointed with the CVB Public Relations Committee's portrayal of the city."
Since strategic planning in 2007, enhancing sports and recreation tourism has been identified as a top priority, Mykleseth said, adding that Parrish came up with the proposal after being directed by the council to look into the possibilities. The proposal isn't a referendum on the job Kegler or Wagner is doing, he added, but about getting the most bang for the buck.
"Everyone knows that the budget can't sustain the things you're adding, and you had plenty of warnings," Mykleseth said. "I consider you all friends, but Aaron is one of the best administrators I've ever had the pleasure to work with. He is directed by us. I may not be winning any brownie points, but that's what I feel."
Wagner agreed that Parrish has taken the community "down many great roads." But focusing so much on recreation and sports tourism is "too narrow of a road," she said.
Parrish acknowledged it's a tough issue, but that it's not an "us versus them" issue or, more specifically, a "Lori versus Aaron" issue. "It's about a community conversation, and what's the best mechanism to get tourists into our community," he said. "We clearly have different ideas on that, and that's OK."
Most people who spoke at the podium echoed similar statements, that people who currently work with the city, Chamber, Park Board, Parks and Recreation and individual sports associations could work better together to boost sports and recreation tourism in the community by recruiting, booking and coordinating tournaments. A big part of that would be utilizing the new Crookston Sports Center as much as possible. Several business people, such as Bob Johnson from Bridge Street Candle Company and Jenn Steinbrink from The Krazy Kiln, also sang the praises of the CVB's assistance, and questioned how many additional customers they'd get through their doors if, for example, a hockey tournament was in town. There was also praise from people from the Crookston Farmers' Market and Ice Buster Daze, who said their initiatives wouldn't exist or wouldn't be as good without the CVB's help.
"You make it sound like we're just sports, but we're more than just sports," Steinbrink said.
Parrish said Parks and Recreation currently has two "cores." One of them is the director, who handles local youth programming. The assistant director manages facilities and the parks. "We're proposing a third core, recreation and sports tourism," he said.
Bhupen Ray, who owns the Northland Inn with his wife, Amy, said he's in favor of the position if it increases hotel stays in town. That would boost lodging tax revenue, he said, meaning that more initiatives could be undertaken with the additional revenue. Ray's comments were met with applause from the overflow crowd, but it didn't seem as enthusiastic as those who applauded after comments calling for more teamwork and collaboration among those already on the payroll.
In response to Ray, Gary Wagner said Crookston, with 139 hotel rooms, doesn't have enough rooms for a bunch of additional visitors to spend the night here. "If we do all of these wonderful things and don't have the hotel rooms and people stay in Grand Forks, how does that benefit Crookston?" he said.
One of the events mentioned as being in jeopardy if the city ends its CVB contract with the Chamber is Ox Cart Days. Event Coordinator Juanita Lopez said she's put several things on hold for the 2010 festival because she doesn't want to confirm contracts with various vendors or performers and then not have the money to pay them.
Mayor Dave Genereux told her to proceed. "The city will absolutely honor the contracts, so you don't have to wait on them," he told Lopez.
He then adjourned the meeting, saying the issue will be discussed again soon.
