By Scott Rochat
rochat@emporiagazette.com
City commissioners raised the “bed tax” to 6 percent and approved a $328,000 budget for the Emporia Convention and Visitors Bureau on Wednesday.
Increasing the tax, formally known as the transient guest tax, is projected to raise about $63,000. The funds are used by the visitors bureau to promote tourism.
The tax increase passed unanimously, but the CVB’s budget did not. The commission voted 4-1 to increase the budget from this year’s $320,000 with Commissioner Julie Johnson voting no.
Johnson said she wanted to keep the bureau’s budget at its current ceiling.
“I don’t want the CVB to build its budget based on what rate the new transient guest tax is,” she said. “I want it based on what they anticipate spending for the year.”
Any money brought in above that $328,000 can be kept by the city to help pay for attractions.
Commissioner Ray Toso voted for the higher budget, but made it clear he wasn’t comfortable with it. If the tax brings in less than projected, he said, the city still has to give the CVB its $328,000, leaving less for other activities.
Liz Martell, the tourism bureau’s director, said she didn’t expect a downturn.
“The trend for tourism is up,” she said. “2007 should be better than 2006.”
Menu exemption
Commissioners gave Menu Foods a five-year property tax break on equipment related to the company’s 2004-2005 expansion.
The exemption covers nearly $10.5 million in equipment and is the last wave of exemptions for the expansion. About $3 million in tax breaks were approved in 2004.
The expansion saw Menu move into an additional building and start a new production line for its pouched pet food.
Working on the railroad
The commission agreed to pay $4,684 of additional expenses on work at the intersection of 12th Avenue and Hatcher Street.
Of that cost, $3,332 came when the city’s contractor had to remove the railroad tracks in the area to keep the project moving. BNSF Railway was supposed to remove the tracks, but according to City Engineer Keith Beatty, the company had schedule conflicts.
“I asked if I could bill them for it,” Beatty said. “They said no.”
The railroad will clean up the removed rails, which are still on the property.
“Can we charge them $3,500 in rent?” Commissioner Bobbie Agler said, smiling.
In other action:
F One position is open on the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and three seats are open on the Building Trades Board. The seats on the trades board must be filled by a Class A building contractor, an architect and a mechanical appliance contractor. Anyone interested should contact the city manager’s office, 343-4251.
F The city approved an agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation for the rebuilding of the 18th Avenue bridge over the Kansas Turnpike. The project is set for 2008. Based on current estimates, KDOT would pay $2,680,000 while the city would pay $1,105,000. If the project were canceled, the city’s only expense would be $315,000 it had already approved for a design contract.
F Commissioners approved an agreement with the engineering firm HNTB to develop plans for work at the airport. One of the runways needs joint repairs, a 20-year-old segmented circle needs to be updated and new wind cones need to be installed. All together, the design and construction would come to $141,115, most of it federally-funded. The city’s out-of-pocket costs come to $406.
F Commissioners approved the final plat of the Schellhamer at Cedar Bend Second Addition in northwest Emporia. The area contains 16 lots for homes, most between 9,300 and 15,000 square feet.
F The commission approved a petition for street improvements in the Sunflower Meadows subdivision, to be paid by special assessment. Of the 15 lots now in the subdivision, six are available for sale. Joel Phipps of Re/Max Select Realtors said more lots would be added this spring.
F Fund transfers in the city budget must now have the commission’s approval, under a new measure adopted by the commissioners.
F The commission gave Sacred Heart Church permission to place Christmas lights near its parking area on Exchange Street.
F The commission reappointed several incumbent city board members. The re-appointees are: Trevor Lewis and Russ Schoenberger on the Board of Zoning Appeals, Larie Schoap on the planning commission, Susan Moran on the Community Corrections Board, Sheila Steinkuhler and Dustin Wright on the Convention and Visitors Advisory Board, Lynda O’Mara on the Golf Advisory Board, Marilyn Kreuger on the Natural Resources Advisory Board and Dale Bell on the board of Emporia Enterprises.