LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Assembly OKs More Funds for ‘Visit Sitka’
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly agreed Tuesday night to award additional funding to Visit Sitka for the rest of fiscal year 2019, but held off on a funding amount for FY2020 until more information is provided.
The decision came at a special meeting after the Assembly heard a presentation by Rachel Roy, who is the director of Visit Sitka as well as the Sitka Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re trying to maintain the same level of service as last year,” Roy said today. “If we hadn’t received the special allocation for the fiscal year ’19 we would’ve seen a 30 percent decrease in funding.”
Visit Sitka is a department within the Chamber, which has a three-year contract to provide visitor and convention marketing and services for the community. Visit Sitka is funded by a portion of the city bed tax in the Visitor Enhancement Fund, as well as memberships and advertising sales.
The Assembly narrowly approved the $83,072 requested to round out the current year’s budget, which brings Visit Sitka’s total funding for the year from the city to $466,144. The contract with the city provides $300,000 in baseline funding for Visit Sitka, with a provision for the city to grant additional funding after hearing how the those funds will be spent.
The vote was 4-1 to direct the city administrator to increase the funding to the Chamber by $83,072, with Kevin Mosher, Kevin Knox, Richard Wein and Deputy Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz voting in favor. Valorie Nelson voted against.
In a separate decision, the Assembly voted 5-0 to postpone a decision on Roy’s request for $200,000 in additional funding for Visit Sitka in the FY 2020 budget until the April 23 Assembly meeting.
The Assembly last year approved spending about $480,000 from the Visitor Enhancement Fund for visitor services and marketing.
The Visitor Enhancement Fund is available not only for that contract but for other visitor-related services, such as security cameras and staff at the information desk at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
Roy’s Power Point presentation to the Assembly Tuesday night highlighted the current services provided by Visit Sitka, and described some of the plans for expanding and changing marketing activities. Those strategies include an increasing effort to host travel writers to publicize Sitka, increasing Instagram followers under #visitsitka, and publishing a new 64-page full-color magazine that is also interactive online. Digital marketing is another major focus for the agency, Roy said.
Eisenbeisz stated his desire to see specific projects and the associated costs, with dates and a timeline, before approving additional funding beyond the baseline $300,000.
“I was looking for more solid projects,” he told Roy. “It makes it harder for me to follow along and understand what we’re buying ... That’s where I had trouble.”
But Mosher said he believed that Roy had provided the information he needed to approve the funding, and noted that the Chamber has spent a number of hours just working on getting a contract approved by Assembly members. He said the Assembly should be providing the funds needed to promote Sitka widely.
“I don’t want to sit through another meeting like this,” Mosher said. “I would like to see this passed. ... We need to approve this today, tonight.”
He said there may be room for improvement, but the Assembly should consider that some of the marketing efforts have just started, and are evolving.
Nelson said she would like more information about how the funds will be spent before she is comfortable approving additional funding for either this year or 2020.
“I’m sure you’re well aware of the budget crisis,” she said.
Assembly members said they wanted to make sure that the entire community is somehow represented in Visit Sitka’s marketing strategy, since it is funded with city bed taxes. They brought up the directory of businesses in the marketing materials, and noted that not every business is represented.
“Everybody needs to be represented here,” Wein said. “Your objective is to support the community. ... Everybody needs to be in the directory.”
Roy said the Chamber invited businesses to be included, but didn’t get a lot of interest, beyond businesses Visit Sitka already has partnerships with. She added today that some of Sitka’s several hundred businesses don’t want to be listed in the directory.
“If someone is not reaching out we can’t know the latest information and how they want to be contacted,” she said.
Roy highlighted the Chamber’s marketing strategies for those considering Sitka as a destination for a cruise ship visitors, independent travelers and conventions. Those strategies include trade shows, online advertising, Instragram and other social media, the Visit Sitka website, and building partnerships with the media. She cited one “influencer” with 150,000 Instagram followers who was hosted by Visit Sitka, and wrote extensively about her adventures here. Visit Sitka buys limited advertising in print in such publications as the Alaska State Vacation Planner and Sunset Magazine.
Roy also talked about the new printed Vacation Planner that will be used to highlight adventures, shopping, food and accommodations available. The companion online edition will be interactive. The Chamber also has plans for a meeting and convention guide for those organizing conventions.
Roy talked about other visitor services provided by Visit Sitka, including visitor services training. She added that the Chamber hopes to be getting a Sitka Fellow to work with the tourism community and coordinate workforce development activities.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.