Tourism Commission

Tourism Commission Minutes City of Bellingham, Washington Tuesday 3:30 PM October 28, 2025 Mayor’s Boardroom https://meetings.cob.org Call to Order The Tourism Commission meeting (no video) was called to order by the Vice Chair, Marc Blake. Members: Council Representative: ☐ Peter Frazier (Tourism Commission Chair) ☒ Hollie Huthman, LTAC Chair ☒ Christine Jenkins, LTAC ☒ Craig Jewell Ex-Officio: ☒ Kevin Coleman, LTAC ☒ Dylan Deane-Boyle, BWCT ☒ Marc Blake, LTAC ☒ Maria Coltharp, Whatcom Museum ☒ Matt Lesinski ☒ Nick Kelly, LTAC ☒ Sara Holliday, LTAC Staff/ Other Panelists: ☒ Stephanie Morrell, LTAC Tara Sundin, PCDD ☒ Todd Elsworth Taylor Littrell, PCDD Lindsey Gerhard, BWCT Approve Meeting Minutes Motion to approve the meeting minutes from the June meeting by Kevin Coleman, seconded by Stephanie Morrell. All in favor, motion passes. Minutes approved - Agenda Items . 2026 Budget Overview p. 6 Tara Sundin shared an overview of the draft budget for 2026. The draft budget was also shared at the previous meeting in June. Commissioners asked a few questions about specific budget line items as well as the assumption of decreased lodging tax revenue in the coming years. . BWCT Presentation p. 8 Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism receives lodging tax funds annually as our region’s destination marketing organization. Dylan Deaen-Boyle, President & CEO, and Lindsey Gerhard, Community Outreach & Destination Development Manager, shared an overview of the economic impacts of the tourism industry in 2025, advertising highlights, and priorities for 2026. Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Hollie Huthman, LTAC Chair, opened the LTAC meeting . 2026 Budget Recommendation p. 41 Staff presented three funding scenarios as a starting point for discussions regarding start up and standard grant allocations for 2026. LTAC openly deliberated about which applicants should be  funded and at what amounts. Ultimately, they settled on selecting a regressive funding model which awarded the top applicants at 100%, the second tier at 75%, and a final tier at 70%. A final list of recommended applicants and a full budget will be presented to City Council for approval in November. At the start of the discussion, staff asked all members to state any abstentions they took in the ranking and/or if they had any affiliations with any of the applicants. Members were asked to abstain from ranking any application in which they could benefit from financial gain. Affiliations with applicants is not necessarily indicative of potential financial gain. Noted abstentions/ affiliations: • Hollie Huthman will abstain from any vote related to the signature event, Artist Home, since they are proposing to use her business as a music venue. • Marc Blake abstained from ranking the Pacific Multisports application since that is his own application. • Stephanie Morrell abstained from ranking the Bellingham Bells application since that is her own application. • Kevin Coleman abstained from ranking the Bellingham SeaFeast application since that is his own application. • Craig Jewell did not submit rankings of the applications but noted that he did apply for Wild Buffalo, Artist Home is proposing to use his business as a music venue, has affiliations with the Inclusion Fest applicant, and he sits on the board of both Downtown Bellingham Partnership and the Upfront Theatre. LTAC members noted that for 2027, staff should consider a requirement for applicants to submit one application for all events they are proposing rather than individual applications. They also discussed topics of setting a funding cap, establishing a fund for tourism-adjacent projects outside of this application process, and establishing multi-year contracts for top applicants. These topics may be discussed at a later date. MOTION: Sara Holliday/Nick Kelly moved to approve an allocation of $707,010 for the 2026 standard and start up grants, noting the specific abstentions above. VOTE: All in favor, motion passes. MOTION: Nick Kelly/Stephanie Morrell moved to approve Artist Home as part of the 2026 Budget. VOTE: Motion Passes 6-0-1 (Huthman abstained). MOTION: Marc Blake/Nick Kelly moved to approve the remainder of the budget. VOTE: Motion Passes 6-1 (Holliday opposed). Hollie Huthman, LTAC Chair, closed the LTAC meeting. Tourism Commission meeting is resumed. Other Business . Bellingham Fan Zone Update p. 42 Due to lack of time, there was little discussion about the staff memo on the world cup. There will be additional opportunity to discuss at the November meeting.  . Public Comment Period Karen Burke of Bellingham Bay Swim Team and volunteer for Bellingham Bay Marathon spoke about the public comment letter she submitted to the commission. The letter is a request for funding for the 2025 marathon which was originally part of the 2025 Pacific Multisports scope of work at time of funding approval. At time of contract execution, the marathon was removed from the Pacific Multisports scope of work and budget – they are subsequently asking for that funding to be reallocated to them. . For the Good of the Order, Legislative Issues, and Announcements Meeting Adjourned at 6:35pm Minutes prepared by: ____________________________________________ Taylor Littrell, Development Specialist II Minutes edited by both staff and Tourism Commission members.