No contest: Chamber exec needs to justify lodging fee hike

Some folks in the local lodging business are hot under the collar about the Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce urging the Eufaula City Council to approve a 50 percent hike in the local “heads on beds” fee.

Hotel operators including Mark Patel of the new Quality Inn and Suites on the bluff, Betty Sutton of Jameson Inn out on U.S. Hwy. 431 and Mary Royal of Lakepoint Resort State Park say they were never contacted about the plan to hike the chamber’s nightly room fee from $2 to $3.

Royal urged city leaders to reject the proposal in a strong letter to the editor published in last weekend’s edition of the Tribune.

Chamber Executive Director Jim Bradley then called the Tribune to rail against the opinion that Royal expressed in her letter to the editor and to question why the Tribune did not advise him in advance that Royal’s letter of dissent was being printed. Bradley was hot too and spoke frankly, “I’m not getting in a pi**ing contest with Lake Point in the newspaper,” he said not once but twice in a conversation with Tribune Managing Editor Patrick Johnston.

We’re not interested in that competition either Mr. Bradley. But we’re not about to let you screen letters to the editor before we print them. That is not negotiable. Like newspapers everywhere, we welcome input from the community on public issues including chamber of commerce plans and recommendations. We believe it’s OK to question public policy. We salute Royal for speaking her mind and empathize with others who share her concerns.

Like the employees at Lakepoint, Jameson Inn and many others, we are simple working folks and also dues-paying members of the organization you represent. You could have used your good offices and community influence to inform the lodging industry and the public at large.

We receive a monthly bulletin from the chamber of commerce, but don’t recall this subject being mentioned. It’s not on the chamber Web site either. In fact, had this newspaper not contacted your office for comment on the “heads on beds” ordinance amendment and then printed a 24-inch story in our June 10 issue detailing your support for the tax hike, the city council might not even be aware of opposition to your plan.

The hardest part to believe is the lack of a published plan for the extra $70,000 or so this fee hike would generate each and every year. Serious questions remain unanswered:

Specifically we wonder how much each of these motel businesses pays into this important public/private partnership with the city? Precisely how is the $120,0000-$150,000 spent? How will the additional $70,000 be budgeted?

From what little Bradley has revealed so far, it doesn’t sound like there is a solid plan to spend nearly a quarter million per year on events and advertising. It sounds like he wants to balance the chamber budget on the backs of a dozen or so motels. Last week Mr. Bradley said:

“We think it’s a legitimate expense for the money to go to support the welcome center. When people come into town wanting to know where to stay, we provide them with a list of hotels here in Eufaula.”

That’s lame. Most of our 60,000-plus overnight visitors, simply pulled up at the front door of a motel they hoped they could afford, inquired about room availability, the pool and the nightly rate and then either checked in or moved on to search for something that fits their budget.

Bradley also noted that the chamber building is expensive to maintain; costs $40,000-$50,000 per year for upkeep, utilities, insurance, and maintenance repair and debt service. No surprise there, many business owners and lots of Eufaula citizen are challenged to make ends meet.

Bradley also revealed that he favors spending as much as $70,000 for a demographic and psychographic profile on Eufaula.

WHAT?

We need attractions like a water park, miniature golf and a movie theater and events like concerts, stage productions, expos, rodeos, ball tournaments, cooking shows and fairs. We need some things to do to draw people to our community. That will get people circulating around our fair city and they’ll go home and tell others to check us out.

We also need reasonable lodging rates so folks can afford to stay here overnight. When they do, they also buy gas and eat at our restaurants and shop at our stores. That’s good old-fashioned tried-and- true commerce; no list of motels, psychographic profile or “heads on beds” tax increase required.

Bradley may succeed in having this measure passed by the city council after two readings, little discussion and no public relations effort. But thanks to Mrs. Royal, the city council may give this proposal not just a second reading but some serious second thought.