Tax board receptive fireworks aid request

The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board seemed amenable to an aid request from the Logan-Ute Lake Chamber of Commerce for its Fourth of July fireworks show, scheduled for July 6.

Mayor Mike Cherry, the board’s liaison, said Logan will spend $20,000 on its fireworks display, hence the request. The pyrotechnics will be set off in sequence by professionals, he said.

However, Logan didn’t submit a specific amount of funding it wanted from the board.

Because of that, board Chairman Matt Bednorz suggested the request be ultimately decided by the Tucumcari City Commission. The request was on the agenda for the city commission meeting Tuesday. (The meeting was after the Quay County Sun’s deadline.)

Bednorz also suggested the city forge “a relationship” with Logan officials on possible future tourism initiatives.

City manager Paula Chacon noted Tucumcari’s motels attract a lot of business from Ute Lake users — especially during fishing tournaments – because of a lack of lodging establishments in Logan.

Board member Al Patel said he was interested in some sort of coalition between the towns on tourism efforts.

Board member Michael Carlson agreed: “It’s not a bad idea to join forces. They don’t have the motels that we do.”

Noting the lack of a specific funding request, Cherry suggested 10% of Logan’s fireworks budget, or $2,000.

The board approved recommending aid to the Logan event without a specific amount and creating a relationship between the municipalities.

Logan typically schedules its Fourth of July events so they don’t conflict with Tucumcari’s fireworks display on July 4.

In other business:

— The City of Tucumcari saw more than $91,000 in lodgers tax revenue in May, the second-highest monthly total during the decade.

The May reporting period covers overnight stays in the city’s motels and hotels during the month of April.

The four-year and eight-year average during that period is about $62,000. The record in the past decade was $93,000 collected in the August 2022 period.

April typically is the beginning of travel season, but officials reported other reasons for the surge in local lodging.

Carlson, who co-owns the Goodies Go Last bakery and coffee shop, said his sales almost doubled in April, attributing some of that to spring-breakers.

Patel, who owns the Desert Inn, said seasonal “snowbirds” were returning from the Southwest to the Midwest and Northeast earlier because of a mild winter.

Chacon also attributed the higher occupancy to Mesalands Community College’s recently started partnership with Impact Wind. The company is training wind technicians who stay in town for two to four weeks.

City finance director Hallie Ferguson said that also was when a movie was being shot in the Tucumcari area. She said the film crew used about 20 hotel rooms for about a month during production.

Patel suggested inviting Tucumcari film liaison Bobby Hockaday to a future lodgers tax board meeting to “ask to see what he wants in assistance.”

— Bednorz suggested a tax break to the city’s motels and hotels as “a thank-you” for their role in the local economy.

Noting lodging establishments pay a 5% occupancy tax, he suggested lowering it to 4%.

“It’s something to look at,” he said.

Patel took the idea a step further, suggesting one-fifth of that revenue be returned to a motel or hotel if they paid their monthly tax bill early and made an investment on “curb appeal” during that period. After the meeting, Patel said a similar arrangement is in place in Dalhart, Texas.

Mayor Mike Cherry cautioned that any sort of tax break would require a voter referendum. He suggested seeing what other municipalities do.

— The board recommended a request of $3,500 in lodgers tax funds for the Mesalands Foundation’s golf tournament at Tucumcari Municipal Golf Course on July 27-28.

The city commission can accept, amend or reject the board’s recommendation.

The foundation last year used $4,000 in lodgers tax funds for the tourney. The course’s manager, Charlie Maciel, said teams from Clovis, Santa Rosa, Amarillo and Lubbock participated in the event.

Proceeds from the tournament will be used for scholarships.

— Chacon gave a report on the Cinco de Mayo Celebration in May. She said the event, a partnership between Mesalands and the city, spent $8,950.40 in lodgers tax executive funds on security, music acts, bartenders and games, plus $4,365.94 in lodgers tax promotional funds on advertising.

Chacon said a Cinco de Mayo event is planned for 2025, and officials will start organizing it earlier.

“This is something we felt was a success, and we want to have it every year,” she said.

— The board reviewed and suggested minor changes to five designs from David Raybould of Sun Vista Outdoor Advertising on billboards leased by the city. The designs will be in place for the next three years.

The designs, primarily using Tucumcari’s official logo, include promotions for Route 66’s coming centennial, its neon signs, its four museums and its murals.

The billboards are along the Interstate 40 corridor west of Tucumcari.