Town council looks over tourism reports

Tuesday evening at the Thermopolis Town Council meeting, Travel and Tourism Director Amanda Moeller presented a report on how Hot Springs County did in 2017. The county saw 88,000 overnight visitors, which was a bit down from the 97,000 the previous year, Moeller said, a surprise considering the eclipse. Moeller said the same company does the report every year, and the method is the same.

The county did bring in $24.7 million through direct Travel and Tourism expenditures from travel last year. That supports 280 jobs and contributed about a half million dollars in sales tax collections. If there were no travel and tourism in Hot Springs County, Moeller explained, it would cost every household an added $658 in property taxes to make up for what tourists bring in. Unemployment, she said, would be at 15 percent rather than five.

Moeller further noted the commissioned lodging study, which shows hotel occupancy has been on a steady decline over the past several years. Travel and Tourism, Moeller said, has set a goal as to how tourism can be improved and has a continuing PR campaign to encourage people to take pride in their community. The goal is to find a way to fix our occupancy rate and become a major tourist destination. Currently Hot Springs County is ranked 20th among the 23 counties by overnight visitors, total expenditures and tax revenue.

Travel and Tourism’s budget took a 25 percent hit this coming fiscal year, and as a result funding for special events is being phased out over the next three years. The board, Moeller said, is working to maximize the efficiency of the advertising money. One of the things she hears quite a bit is that Thermopolis has so much to offer, but at the same time there’s the question of why we don’t have more people here.

Moeller also noted in a recent community leaders survey there were several comments made about local government, and she encouraged council to read through them.

Mayor Mike Mortimore noted in his previous time as mayor there was a focus on summer tourism. “We didn’t concentrate on the winter; we knew our money was made in the summer.” Since coming back, he said, there’s been a lot of criticism about what the town doesn’t do. “All I’ve heard, since I’ve been back is ‘we suck here, we suck here, we suck here.’ I’m sorry, I’m just going to put it blatantly.” Where there were previously several parades in the summer, he noted, there is now one parade with one float.

As to the study, Mortimore said such things are a dime a dozen and he doesn’t understand what the change has been other than the attitude of the people who are trying to get things going in town. He further added the town council is supportive of efforts to get activities here, but that the town budget has its own shortfalls and is not able to provide the financial support it once could.

Moeller said she was not asking council for money, as the lodging tax is collected from motels, RV parks and vacation rentals. The Lodging Tax Board, she added, cannot take donations or host events, though it can help sponsor events. What she presented is just a report of the lodging study findings.

As to what’s changed since Mortimore was last mayor, Moeller said the issue may be that nothing has changed. People come to an event one time and that’s it, and one thing she gathered at a recent meeting with event coordinators is that the events have become stagnant. At that meeting, there was discussion about what can be changed up to have more successful events and bring more people.

Mortimore said a way to keep people here longer would be for businesses to keep their doors open longer. Moeller suggested having incentives for stores to extend their hours. Thermopolis, she said, is not geared for a tourism community, though we have all the aspects to be a good year-round destination.

Forrest Coleman-Weisz asked if there was any further insight as to why occupancy sometimes goes down during planned event weekends. Moeller said a lot of it has to do with occupancy already being high in the summer so when there are events it’s difficult for people to get the rooms they want.

Howie Samelson provided an update with regard to Thermopolis Main Street. Samelson recently attended a Main Street conference in Kansas City and though he’s still digesting the abundance of information he received he said the most beneficial thing for him was a tour of four communities to see what their Main Street programs are doing.

Samleson also spoke of Main Street’s recent Adopt a Block program, noting that there are currently 15 blocks adopted by 12 people. Three blocks are in the Main Street area, adopted by three people; eight are in the general downtown area by five people; and four beyond the downtown area by four people. The hope is people will see what’s being done to keep those blocks maintained, and such efforts will spread to other areas.

Main Street has also received letters of support for two technical assistance grants. One is for signs to be posted around the Main Street area, and the other is for landscaping on the two plots near the flagpole. The organization will find out in July if they’ve received those grants.

Jason Ciz reported on a current situation regarding leaks in the pipe running from the river pump toward the golf course. The pipe was installed in 1962, and there have been leaks above and below the highway, so the potential is that it’s leaking under the highway. The initial thought is to use the current seven-inch casing as a sleeve and pull some 5.5-inch through it.

Ciz said the leak is not catastrophic and they are still able to pump water to the golf course. The major concern is a possible leak under the highway, which would cause the road north to Worland to deteriorate.

In board action, a catering permit was approved for Cowboy State Brewing for the Gottsche summer kickoff on May 19. Shorty’s is also approved for the event, and Mortimore said Gottsche has checked with local sources, but did not find one that could provide that same as Cowboy State.

The board approved the first pay estimate for the treated water project. Council also approved a shutdown order regarding work on the Sixth Street line from the bridge to Pizza Hut. Town Engineer Anthony Barnett said some better pipe than what was anticipated was found, and more investigation needs to be done. The line will be replaced eventually, though the shutdown order will keep the contractor from working on the area until late September or early October.

Barnett also provided an update on the recent break at Canyon Hills Road, on one of the major trunk lines that feeds the town. The line is currently shut down, though tying into the Sixth Street and Eighth Street lines has allowed for continued water service. Barnett said the break would qualify for programs to provide money toward line replacement. Council further approved declaring the break an emergency situation.