Lee County on board for tourism grant to offset loss of funding

DIXON – Lee County is hoping to receive a state tourism grant to help offset city funding it will lose at the end of the year.

Dixon and Lee County have a longstanding agreement to split the city’s hotel/motel tax revenue, with half going toward Lee County Tourism’s marketing of Dixon and city events.

The city gave notice to the county that it will be ending the agreement on Nov. 30, 2023. It sparked a debate on whether the county should invest $40,000 into a grant where the Dixon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street would market and rebrand the county.

Chamber Main Street previously approached the Dixon City Council about a proposal to pursue a state tourism grant that matches community marketing dollars, and the council agreed to budget $40,000 for the grant.

[ Dixon Chamber Main Street seeks city and state funds for marketing campaign ]

Jeremy Englund, executive director of Chamber Main Street, also approached the county about committing $40,000. If successful with the grant, it would mean an $80,000 marketing campaign for the county separate from the city marketing campaign.

Englund said they want to boost tourism and marketing to bring outside commerce to the area through brand development to rebrand Lee County, content creation such as bloggers as well as photos and video, developing the website, and advertising spent outside the area such as TV commercials and social media.

“I think we could do some great things,” he said.

Englund said Chamber Main Street had success marketing Dixon and purchased a data analytics program that tracks cellphone and GPS data to give it a better idea of visitors and what audience to market to.

John Nicholson, former longterm County Board member and president of the Lee County Tourism Council, spoke to the county finance committee earlier this month, saying the city pulling its funding will cut the tourism budget in half, taking away around $45,000.

Nicholson said Lee County Tourism is already doing the marketing efforts Englund described in the marketing plan, and they’ve done it without having to ask the county for additional funds in the last 20 years.

Efforts include redeveloping the tourism website leecountyfun.com and putting out the annual Lee County Fun Guide, which gives an overview of the tourism attractions in the area and other resources, Nicholson said.

The concern is that the city is taking away funding it has historically relied on, Chamber Main Street is asking for $40,000 for its own marketing plan for the county, and Lee County Tourism will be left in the lurch.

Englund said he wasn’t aware of the city terminating its agreement with the county, and he’s not here to take anything away from the county or to take over their tourism operations.

Board member Tom Kitson said they formed a small group to talk about the future of Lee County Tourism following the city’s decision.

“I have nothing against this plan, but I think we need to look at the options out there,” Kitson said.

County Administrator Wendy Ryerson said they previously gave Englund a verbal go-ahead for applying for the grant without knowing about losing the city funding.

“This is an awkward place we find ourselves when we’ve made a verbal commitment without a formal vote,” she said.

Englund had already applied for the grant, and the county needs to honor that, Board Chairman Bob Olson said. Chamber Main Street and Lee County Tourism should work together, and it would be a win-win for the county, he said, adding that tourism was hit hard during the pandemic.

“Now with our funding drying up, I think we need this now more than ever,” Olson said.

Last week, the Lee County Board approved dedicating $40,000 to the grant out of capital funds without discussion.

City Manager Danny Langloss said the funding agreement has been up for discussion for some time, and as the city is expecting to bring in two more hotels, it wants to focus the money “to further enhance tourism and marketing” through Chamber Main Street.

“We have to be able to capture monies that belong to the city,” Langloss said.

It’s not a judgement against Lee County Tourism’s work, but Chamber Main Street has outperformed its marketing duties for the city, he said.

Langloss said the agreement will end Nov. 30, 2023, and the city gave the county a year’s written notice of the change.