Representatives of two organizations whose activities are funded, in part, by the city’s hotel/motel or sales tax collections talked to council members last Monday about how those revenues have been used over the last year.

As community development director, Shane Spencer oversees the expenditure of allocations from the city’s 1/2-cent sales tax for economic development, half of which is dedicated to developing and diversifying the local economy, and the other half to reducing local property taxes.

In his director’s report, he offered an update on the PTCI infrastructure project involving the installation of fiber-optic cable to homes and businesses in the Canadian area. That project, which is in the first a four-phase rollout, will improve internet speeds and reliability to the community. Connections are already being completed to government offices, the business and service sector, and some residences (see related story).

Spencer called the PTCI project “one of the greatest additions to the city’s infrastructure,” and said it was an example of what public entities can accomplish when they team up and follow through with a common goal. At a recent economic development conference he attended in Dallas, Spencer said, high speed networks were touted as the secret to rural economic development.

Spencer said the EDC has also been working on acquiring some highway frontage to remedy eyesores and improve the appearance of that main thoroughfare, in keeping with the city’s comprehensive plan, and this summer approved a $26,500 marketing and promotion package—with an additional $12,500 to come from the Hemphill County Industrial Fundto win the bid as host city for the Frank Phillips College  Intercollegiate Rodeo, which will be held here in October.

The rodeo will host over 600 contestants from several states, and will attract friends and family to the community. “This is a large and, hopefully, long-term event for Canadian,” Spencer said, “that we hope to foster for many years to come.”

In addition, Spencer said, he has been in discussions with the Panhandle Regional Planning Corporation to develop a proposed hiking/bicycling trail to Lake Marvin, and has contracted with Leading EDG to provide business consulting services to local entrepreneurs and existing businesses.

Spencer also reported on the expenditure of the portion of local hotel/motel tax (HOT) collections received by the Chamber of Commerce to fund event- and tourism-related activities.

The Chamber has directly received $53,763 in HOT funds out of $70,000 budgeted for the 2018-19 fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.

Allocations include $21,500 in marketing grants to the Beef Cattle Conference, The Citadelle, the Canadian Rodeo Association, and for golf tournaments. An additional $20,440 was spent to promote the Fall Foliage Festival, Fourth of July, and Small Business Saturday; and another $10,000 was allocated for the inaugural Wild & Free on 83 event, which will span Aug. 1-4 and encompass the communities of Canadian, Wheeler, Shamrock, Wellington, and Childress. In addition, the Chamber budgeted $15,000 to reimburse operating costs to the EDC out of those funds.

The city of Canadian retains a portion of HOT funds, which can be used—like the EDC’s—to encourage tourism, or put “heads in beds.” Another $35,000, allocated by the city, contributed to marketing grants for the Canadian River Music Festival, Canadian Rodeo Association, and the Canadian River Beach Club Calf Fry Cook-Off.

The River Valley Pioneer Museum also receives a share of local hotel/motel tax receipts. “History is a passion of mine,” said Director Wendie Wright, who offered council members an accounting for the expenditure of funds the museum receives.

Wright reported that $48,765 in HOT-related expenses had been spent year-to-date, with an additional $7,390 expected. Among those expenses were repairs to the roof to protect artifact storage; remodeling and maintenance in the kitchen and meeting room; and purchase of new panels for the museum’s permanent exhibits. The bulk of funding went toward permanent-exhibit redesign ($19,527), and for artists’ receptions and exhibits, ranging from the Smithsonian Hometown Teams exhibit to the Working Texas Rural Women exhibit now on display ($6,949). Advertising and marketing expenses for those events and exhibits total $6,302 and website expenses of $1,919.

Wright noted the success of the museum events this year, citing the Canadian River Art Academy show as a crowd-pleaser and the Christmas ornament decorating as a popular seasonal project for families. She supplemented the Working Texas Rural Women exhibit with additional information abut working women in Hemphill County, saying she had received many compliments for that show. During the Fourth of July, the number of visitors was higher than previous years, Wright said, and the museum is planning a Scavenger Hunt for next week’s Wild & Free on 83 event.

“We’re spending a lot of money,” she said, “but we’re doing a lot more than we have in the past couple of years.”

In other business:

•The council approved a specific-use permit request by Rob Talley, who hopes to convert a residence located at 1321 Main to commercial use as a bed and breakfast. The advantages, Talley said, would be that improvements would be made to the property, and it will be subject to hotel/motel taxes once completed. “It’s just been sitting there for probably 15 years,” Talley said. “We have gutted it and raised the ceilings. It’s still a long way off, but will be much nicer and back on the tax rolls.”

•The appointment of Remelle Farrar to serve on the Canadian/Hemphill County Economic Development Council board of directors—filling a vacancy left by Landon Landry—was approved by the council, as well. Farrar headed the Chamber and EDC for several years, and brings both knowledge and experience to the new role. “I’ll vouch for her,” said councilman and EDC director Ben Needham. “She has a passion for Canadian, for its history, and has deep roots here. She is excited to get involved, and has already helped bring the Frank Phillips College rodeo and other events to our board. We know she will have plenty of other ideas.”

•Council members also looked at a proposed 2019-20 budget, and will begin the budget-planning and tax-rate adoption process in earnest in a series of meetings beginning Aug. 5, with receipt of the effective tax-rate calculation. On Aug. 19, the council will propose a tax rate, followed by adoption of the tax rate and approval of a budget on Sept. 16.

•Meanwhile, the council continued its work on a water-and-sewer rate study in a called meeting on July 1, during which Matthew Garrett, project manager with NewGen Strategies and Solutions, presented a debt model, rate comparisons, revenue and expense projection based on four rate options. Two of the rate models include minimum fees of $10 each. Garrett recommended against charging customers beyond the city limits more than those with property inside the city proper, warning that any rate hike could still easily be challenged. Those discussions are intended to result in raising additional revenue for much-needed improvements to the city’s aging water-and-sewer infrastructure. Council members also briefly discussed raising sanitation rates, as well, and asked that it be included in their next meeting agenda.