County Lodging Panel Funds Two Events

Two funding requests were approved during the May meeting of the Prowers County Lodging Tax Panel this past Tuesday, May 15th. Holly Gateway Classics/Concert was approved for $3,500 and the 2018 Downtown Custom & Classic Expo received $3,150.

This will be the second year the Holly Gateway event will be held in late September. A host of classic cars and vehicles will be on display in downtown Holly, as well as vendors booths and musical entertainment.

The 2018 Downtown Custom & Classic Expo will be in its first presentation for two days in August, the 17th and 18th and will feature classic cars and vehicles as well as vendor booths and musical entertainment. Both events had been tabled from earlier requests pending the Lodging Panel receiving additional funding from the state.

Carla Scranton, Panel office manager, said they had received a payment of $20,372 from the state, funds generated from the number of motel rooms that are taxed 2% of their daily cost in Prowers County. On average, four such payments are made by the state each year to the Panel.  The Panel noted that it received a returned check of $1,000 from Pat Palmer for the horse pullers exhibition for this year’s Lamar Days as they will not be on display on May 19th at Willow Creek Park.  A pledge of $15,000 to the Colorado Junior Rodeo Association for their event in Lamar in July is still pending payment.

Panel President, Jane Felter, noted that those groups who are requesting event funding for marketing, advertising and contract fees must provide documentation on how the funds were spent and the number of overnight stays at local motels the event generated. Each group has 45 days in which to respond.  The lack of a response will be taken into consideration at any future request.  The next Lodging Panel meeting will be at 4pm on Tuesday, June 19th at the LCC administrative offices.

By Russ Baldwin