Agenda - Council - 11/26/2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Shauffacher clarified that this would have no impact on the taxpayers in the City. He noted that the percentage that they would be charging people staying at the hotel would be a very small amount. Councilmember Musgrove shared that when she is booking a hotel, all of these smaller taxes and fees add up and she would be looking for a hotel that did not have these kinds of extra charges. She noted that this would make more sense if there were multiple hotels in the City; however,with only one currently operating hotel, she does not support this. Councilmember Howell explained that if surrounding cities have lodging taxes and Ramsey does not,this may be an incentive for people to stay in Ramsey to pay a little less. She said she does not like the amount of revenue the City is limited to keeping. She stated there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the Finance Department and this would be adding more to this department. She added that she will also not be supporting this. Councilmember Riley stated the two hotels in the City are asking for this so they are already concerned whether or not they see value in this. He noted that the hotel owners are the experts in this area. He added that the EDA looked at this back in 2010 and they found that it was not right for that time, and it was also not being asked for by the hotels. He said he is in support of this as a service to the hotels and local businesses. Councilmember Specht shared that his concern is with the Staff time and work involved in this. He asked if this would require a new employee in the Finance Department to manage this. Finance Director Lund explained that they would need to set up a fund then from there it would just be submitting the receipts and processing a check for the Twin Cities Gateway Visitors Bureau. Economic Development Manager Sullivan shared that this is not being driven by Staff and the hotels are pushing this. Mr. Shauffacher added that the owner of the new Home2 Suites approached the Twin Cities Gateway Visitors Bureau. Councilmember Woestehoff asked if having something like this would be a tool to bring in other organizations that are more destination-driven. Economic Development Manager Sullivan explained that having a tourism bureau is not necessarily going to bring in these types of users; however,these users are likely going to be more successful having this additional marketing. Councilmember Musgrove reiterated that she believes this is putting the cart before the horse as one of the two hotels in the City is not even open yet. She stated she does not feel that this benefits Ramsey as much as it does the hotel. She said she could consider this down the road. City Council Work Session / October 22, 2024 Page 3 of 15