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

Home

Councilmember Olson aye Councilmember Specht aye Councilmember Woestehoff nay Mayor Kuzma nay Motion carried. 8.03: Adopt Ordinance #24-17 Implementing Lodging Tax Community Development Manager Sullivan reviewed the Staff report in regard to the implementation of a lodging tax. Councilmember Musgrove asked about section 27.14 which states that 95% of the proceeds will go to the Twin Cities Gateway and 5% goes to the City. She asked if the 95% goes exclusively towards Ramsey or if it is a relative number that is mixed with other funds. Economic Development Manager Sullivan shared that the 95% is not strictly allocated to Ramsey and that it will go to the Twin Cities Gateway for the funds to be used in accordance with the market spend. Councilmember Musgrove stated she was glad to see that there will be annual reporting for this. She noted that when she read this, 95% said it will be used to promote the City, and the City is defined as just the City of Ramsey. Economic Development Manager Sullivan shared that the Twin Cities Gateway represents 13 different cities and there are many events in other cities that the Twin Cities Gateway will help market and cities nearby have rooms available for these events. He added that they also do marketing for any other City events, such as Happy Days, GameFair, or other events that will help dollars be spent in the City. He noted that in the annual report, they will get to see how 95% of the funds were actually spent. City Attorney Knaak noted that the definition does appear to be somewhat ambiguous in the way it is defining the City as Ramsey. He noted the agreement does not say that 95% of the funds will be used exclusively for the City; however, the City will benefit from spending the 95%. He shared that it is his understanding based on how this was presented to the Council that the City will receive whatever proportion of the 95% that Twin Cities Gateway chooses to use. Economic Development Manager Sullivan shared that the Twin Cities Gateway marketing for the USA CUP in Blaine will make the event more successful and the City will benefit from this by having rooms booked at its hotels. Councilmember Specht stated he is not in favor of raising taxes; however, this will help bring people to the area and promote the hotels. He added that the hotel owners are the ones who requested this and they want to support them. Councilmember Riley reiterated that the hotel owners in the City are the ones who asked for this. City Council / November 26, 2024 Page 10 of 12