During the Carbon County Commission meeting that was hosted on Wednesday evening, many items pertaining to the Carbon County Tourism Tax Advisory Board were presented to the commissioners.
The first item was the possible appointment of the board’s chair and vice chair. Carbon County Tourism Specialist Tina Henrie previously distributed a survey to all of the current board members to nominate and then vote for both positions.
Helper City Mayor Lenise Peterman, who is a board member, was nominated and voted in as chair, while vice chair went to Sherry Nehl, owner of Juniper Pizza Cafe on Price City’s Main Street. Carbon County Economic Development Director Rita Vigor stated that they were coming to the commission to request approval for the nomination and designation for the year.
Commissioner Casey Hopes said that he believes it is a great opportunity and Mayor Peterman has been chairing unofficially since the start of the year and has been doing a great job. With that, he motioned to approve the positions.
Following this, Helper City Mayor and Tourism Tax Advisory Board Chair Peterman said she wished to inform the commissioners that the board had a tough job this past March. The board had to consider a large number of event applications with not as much funding as there has been historically.
She stated that the board did a great job of absolving it and ensuring that all parties were pleased and believes that they should be commended for that.
The total number of applicants presented was five and the original funding request totaled out to $24,200, which was greater than the event budget remaining for the year. During the course of active discussions with all of the participants and applicants, Castle Country Cycling withdrew its application as the organization was able to make the event happen without the funding.
Peterman recommended Finish Line Promotions Grand Prix Motocross be granted $500 along with $1,000 to Central Athletics Fast Pitch Softball. Continuing, she recommended $3,000 to the Pacific Southwest Regional Baseball Tournament and $2,500 to the Desert Thunder Foundation.
The commissioners remarked that they appreciate the board and all of the applicants that turned down some of the money so that other events could happen. These recommendations were then approved.
Finally, an amendment to the Carbon County Tourism Tax Advisory Board bylaws was presented. Peterman stated that one of the first actions she undertook was reviewing the current bylaws, which have not been updated since 2009.
She said that this was a group effort with the board working together collaboratively. While the board voted to approve this, they came to seek the commissioner’s approval to enact the updated bylaws.
Carbon County Attorney Christian Bryner gave suggestions for the language that went into the bylaws and it was stated that there were changes that should be made before the bylaws were formally approved. This was tabled for the next commission meeting for approval.