Tourism Commission

Tourism Commission Minutes City of Bellingham, Washington Tuesday 3:30 PM City Council Boardroom, City Hall 210 Lottie St March 25, 2025 Bellingham, WA 98225 Audio Recorded https://meetings.cob.org Call to Order The Tourism Commission meeting (+additional video) was called to order by the Chair, Peter Fraizer, at 3:31 PM. Members: Council Representative: ☒ Peter Frazier (Tourism Commission Chair) ☒ Hollie Huthman, LTAC Chair ☐ Christine Jenkins, LTAC ☐ Craig Jewell Ex-Officio: ☐ Kevin Coleman ☒ Dylan Deane-Boyle, BWCT ☒ Marc Blake, LTAC ☒ Patricia Leach, Whatcom Museum ☐ Matt Lesinski, LTAC ☒ John Purdie, Mt Baker Theater ☒ Nick Kelly, LTAC ☒ Sara Holliday, LTAC Staff/ Other Panelists: ☒ Stephanie Morrell, LTAC ☒ Tara Sundin, PCDD ☒ Todd Elsworth ☒ Taylor Webb, PCDD ☒ Darby Galligan, PCDD ☒ Sydney Prusak, PCDD Approve Meeting Minutes Motion to approve the meeting minutes from the February meeting by Hollie Huthman, seconded by Marc Blake. All in favor, motion passes. Minutes approved. Agenda Items Tourism Commission 1. The Bellingham Plan Sydney Prusak, a Long Range Planner in the Planning & Community Development Department, gave a presentation on the current status of The Bellingham Plan. She gave an overview of the actions taken to date as well as next steps in the approval process. She also discussed draft policies in the Plan related to Economic Development and Tourism and asked for thoughts and feedback. Commissioners asked a few questions about how the community viewed tourism as part of our local economy. Sydney expressed that direct questions about tourism weren’t survey, but that in general the community did not have strong feelings for or against tourism. She reminded the commission that the focus of The Bellingham Plan is to guide future growth strategies and increase the overall well-being of our community members; therefore, the document does not have a focus on visitors and the tourism industry. LTAC Hollie Huthman, LTAC Chair, opened the LTAC meeting at 4:01pm. 2. Downtown Activation & Beautification: Nocturnal Lanterns Staff brought forward a proposal for an art installation on the alley side of the Lightcatcher Museum which was submitted during the second round of the downtown activation & beautification RFP process. The jury ranked it in the Top 8 but determined additional information about feasibility was needed. Feasibility has been vetted, and the proposal was returned to LTAC for review and funding request. The applicant, Heather Dawn Sparks of Sparks Design, shared a short presentation of the proposed installation which included a demonstration of the proposed lantern designs. She discussed the fabrication process and reviewed with the commissioners the cost of both the full art installation (spanning 40 feet) and the smaller version (25 feet) which were budgeted $41,500 and $54,000, respectively. $15,000 in funding remained unspent from the second round RFP process which could be used to partially fund this project. The remaining funds to cover the cost of the installation are proposed to come out of the third round of the downtown activation & beautification grant in which another $250,000 was budgeted. A motion was made by Marc Blake to fund the art installation at the full amount (spanning 40 feet, $54,000), seconded by Stephanie Morrell. The motion was passed with 4 LTAC member voting in favor, and 1 against. Hollie Huthman, LTAC Chair, closed the LTAC meeting at 4:29pm. Tourism Commission resumes. Tourism Commission 3. World Cup 2026 Brainstorming As discussed in previous meetings, Bellingham has been selected as a designated FIFA Fan Zone, and the City is preparing for an increase in visitors in our area during the games. Staff lead a quick brainstorming session with the Tourism Commission prompting the following questions: • What would make Bellingham’s Fan Zone feel unique to our community & memorable for attendees? • What are the biggest opportunities for us to showcase Bellingham to the World Cup audience? • It would be awesome if we _____________________. Commissioners brainstormed great ideas including having ample opportunities to engage visitors with activities, highlighting multicultural assets and offerings, celebrating the uniqueness of our area, and finding creative transportation opportunities. Staff will keep the commission updated as more conversations about the World Cup planning progress. Other Business Public Comment No public comment was given. For the Good of the Order, Legislative Issues, and Announcements  • Staff gave a brief overview about the state bill related to extended funding for the Public Facilities District. The bill is likely to pass and if it does it could generate up to $80M over the next forty years. The funding is generated through a sales tax rebate and was previously used to support Bellingham’s art & culture district including the development of the Lightcatcher Museum. • Dylan gave an update related to the statewide budget for tourism in which a draft version showed a decrease from $9M to $3M for tourism-related uses. Another bill which would establish the convening of a board to self- assess other tourism funding mechanism is likely to move forward. • Peter encouraged commissioners to attend the Wood Brothers show at the Mt Baker Theater this weekend. Upcoming Meetings • March meeting 4/22 Meeting adjourned at 4:53pm. Minutes prepared by: Taylor Webb, Development Specialist II Minutes edited by both staff and Tourism Commission members.