Lenise Peterman, Chair of the Carbon County Tourism Tax Advisory Board, visited the commissioners during their Wednesday evening meeting to discuss recent board recommendations.
One such recommendation was the purchase of smaller visitor digital kiosks in the amount of up to $5,000. Peterman explained that the board has been working closely with Carbon County IT department on the creation of the digital kiosks and they finally have a completed product. One is currently installed at the Prehistoric Museum and they have identified four other locations.
The kiosks would have tracking points through them and it was believed to be best to pilot them through four different locations. If the kiosks have good traction and feedback, the program could then be expanded. The board has the budget to accomplish this and is comfortable with the spend.
The kiosks can be maintained easily and the dollars funding them come from Transient Room Taxes. Commissioner Casey Hopes stated that the kiosks are very interactive and useful. They can pull up QR codes for maps and tours, have links to city pages, and more.
They are interactive through the entire community and Commissioner Hopes believes that they are a great addition. “We’re excited to see them implemented,” Peterman said.
Next, the recommendation from the board to sponsor the PRCA Pro Rodeo in the amount of $2,000 was raised. However, Peterman stated that just before the meeting began, she was informed that there may be some changes with the rodeo. Commissioner Hopes explained that the rodeo would be in conjunction with the county fair that is returning.
It was first believed that the rodeo was going to be a great addition in the fair’s return, though when conversation was entered into the rodeo circuit, the opinion on that changed. There are six other larger rodeos that are happening at the same time.
Those rodeos will feature prizes and incentives that the county will not be able to compete with and they began to feel that it could not attract enough participants. With this in mind, the idea to consider other options was presented. Commissioner Hopes made the suggestion to wait and determine other possibilities.