With a focus on economic development from marketing, promotion, recreational activities, air service and administration, the Mammoth Town Council scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday night regarding funds for Mammoth Lakes Tourism.
MLT funds come from 2.5% of Transient Occupancy Tax and the entire amount of the Business License Tax, less around $215,000 per year for the Town’s financial restructuring plan. Wednesday night’s hearing falls under an Assembly Bill requirement in Government Code. MLT has a five-year contract with the Town through June of 2018. The budgeted amount for this fiscal year adds up to $2.265 million.
According to the Council’s agenda packet, funds to MLT will be used for “administration and operation of MLT, promotion, advertising, marketing, chamber of commerce support, events, air service and other efforts. The agenda goes on to say that MLT’s work program is focused in primarily on enhancing the brand and attractiveness of recreational and event offerings and experiences that will improve the economic base of the Town….” Town Manager Dan Holler recommends acceptance of information provided.
Manager Holler’s report also says that while the funds to MLT are not designed to create specific jobs, the investment does focus on visitation that supports local business. He writes that the hospitality and leisure sector accounts for 44.7% of the employment base for Mono County, which is tied to visitors. Most of the job base is located in Mammoth.
Following the public hearing, Tourism Director John Urdi, Executive Director of Mammoth Lakes Tourism, will give the Council a report on Transient Occupancy Tax ups and down in another drought year, spring and summer TOT and other marketing issues.
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I have been saying for years that Mammoth is the perfect location to support a year round ice rink and training facility. Hockey and figure skating are huge industries in Los Angeles where people train all year long. Indoor ice sports are not seasonal. The opportunities for hockey camps, figure skating camps, competitions, and public skating could be quite lucrative. Has this ever been considered?
People are not going to move to Mammoth to train to skate when they can train in LA and have a full life with all shopping, dining, diverse foods, entertainment and other activities you only find in a big city. Isolated small town with very limited shopping and even more limited highway access to other desirable places are for a very small number of people. Most people want to live in big cities with all the amenities. I like the isolation but I understand how adverse most are to living in places like this. i will probably have to move myself because my betrothed has decreed it. She is fed up with the relative isolation, lack of food choices, high prices and long drives to civilization. Expect most of those aspiring to sporting excellence have similar tastes. We like our isolation, but most do not. Don’t fool yourself it is otherwise.
Please. As if visitors will come to Mammoth to ice skate and swim. They can do that throughout So Cal. MLT stand for Mammoth Lakes TOURISM. Don’t get me wrong Ken, I’d love those amenities as well, but MLT’s job is to bring people here. Frankly, I don’t care WHAT MLT does with our money as long as they continue to attract visitors year round, especially in the summer months and shoulder seasons when we’re not dependent on snow. The end result is all I care about, and to me, MLT is doing a fantastic job. Mammoth used to be a ghost town in the summer, now we all complain about Von’s and no left turns on Main St. Fine by me!
PrayForSnow: “attract visitors year round, especially in the summer months”
People don’t come to Mammoth for just one thing. They come for all the things they can do. Hiking, biking, fishing, winter sports etc. And an attractive swimming facility in town and a year round indoor ice rink would be just more things that would attract tourists.
What does MLT promise? More drinking? Mammoth did not used to be a ghost town in the summer. It was a nice place to hike and bike and fish. Now it’s so crowded that doing those activities is mostly just aggravating.
More amenities is the commonly expressed goal of our local politicians — well, a nice swimming facility and year round ice rink would be more amenities.
But just keep giving Urdi a fat salary to spend money telling everybody how they can come to Mammoth Lakes and get drunk. Nobody knows that.
PrayForSnow: I forgot to add — there is nothing in Mammoth Lakes that people can’t do better and easier and cheaper in SoCal. So why do they come here?
Maybe they come here for the ambiance. But that only lasts so long when there are thousands of people all trying to get a piece of the pie. Some day the pie is going to run out.
Do you think that “being a tourist” is an activity here?
Yep your right Ken. A meeting with mammoths town manager regarding Measure R-U proved me right. Quote: The money wasn’t used for what it was agendized for. Never should of built a running track, never should of paid salaries, and all other recreational projects never got funded. This is another Lush fund for Urdi and his Crew to live A leisure life in Mammoth.
$2.265 million a year would pay for a beautiful swimming facility AND a year round ice rink. Are they doing a Cost/Benefit analysis or just lapping up the hype from a sauce?