County hears plea for tourism funds

Thrive Allen County interim CEO Bill Maness appeared before Allen County commissioners Monday morning to ask once more for the $50,000 required for the creation of VISIT Allen, an initiative designed to increase tourism in the county. If the commission agrees to the funding, said Maness, Thrive will contribute an additional $25,000 of its own.

The commission was first introduced to the subject last summer. In September, the group — at the urging of former commissioner John Brocker — hosted a public forum to discuss the matter. But on Monday, the commission asked for another week to contemplate the merits of the program.

“[Allen County] has so far not been very successful at promoting itself,” said Maness. “Thrive, though, has an established outreach and an ability to market and produce materials that are of professional quality. So we’d like to prove ourselves with a one-year pilot program.”

In 2017, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded Allen County its Culture of Health Prize, and in doing so brought national attention to the county.

And we can turn that recognition to our favor, said Maness. “Give us a shot and see if we can take advantage of the current momentum, and see if we can’t get ourselves better established as a tourist location. And, again, as we draw people here, we’d like to also consider recruiting efforts by local firms to bring in new employees.”

Bruce Symes was sworn in as the newest Allen County commissioner on Monday. He attended September’s forum. “There were a lot of questions from the chamber and city officials about the intent [of VISIT Allen] and concern about duplicating [efforts already being pursued by these groups.] But then by the end of the meeting,” said Symes, “I had the feeling that these groups understood better that [the initiative] was just going to be filling needs…that weren’t already being served.”

“The intent of VISIT Allen would be to work with both the Humboldt and Iola chambers,” explained Maness. “We want to be able to enhance what they’re doing. … This would include all of Allen County, including eastern Allen County, where a lot of our communities aren’t large enough to have a chamber.”

Commission chair Jerry Daniels said he was amenable to the idea on a one-year basis, but said, too, that he appreciated the opinions of those constituents who have approached him with their misgivings. “I’ve had a lot of constituents complain about this,” said Daniels. “As in: ‘Are we just going to pay more money every year to Thrive?’ After a discussion with these constituents, though, I was able to tell them that the request was for an initial, first-year, trial; it would be, by my description, a PR blitz for Allen County. … But with the position that the county is in, a lot of people have also asked, ‘Who else is going to do it? Who else is in a position to do this for Allen County?’ And a lot of cities [in the county] are looking at us to give this PR blitz a try, and see how it goes the first year.”

The commission, should they agree to the funding, has requested that Thrive provide a thorough year-end evaluation of the program’s success. But county counselor Bob Johnson pursued that line further. “If the commission does approve [the $50,000],” said Johnson, “because they’re putting in the lion’s share of the money, will Thrive be submitting to the county commissioners the proposed budget and the monthly expenditure report so they know how much money is going to salaries versus advertising?”

Maness acceded to the request and promised to appear before the commission again next week with an outline of projected expenditures plus a summary of the metrics by which VISIT Allen’s success will be judged.

In September, it was reported that the program’s budget would include $38,222 for a full-time director, $11,000 for marketing materials and design, $3,200 for social media expenses, and $15,000 for advertisements, which would include placement in major publications distributed throughout the state and beyond.

VISIT Allen, if successful, would operate as a full-time tourism office and share the Kress Building with Thrive Allen County.

THRIVE BOARD member and area trails expert Randy Rasa asked the commission to endorse a burgeoning, multi-county project that would make it safer and more attractive for residents and visitors to traverse the region by bicycle.

In its initial framing, the ABC Active Transportation Plan — a collaboration between Allen, Bourbon and Crawford counties — seeks to “improve the bicycling and walking environment to improve access to opportunities for physical activity, enhance quality of life, and encourage economic growth.”