HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-20-2001 Meeting
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MUSEUM & ATTRACTIONS
FUNDINGSUBCONlliilTTEE
COM1v1ITTEE ROOM - March 20,2001
12:30 p.m.
PRESENT: M. Williams, Chairman, B. Kuhlke, member, V. Flournoy, Staff Attorney.
ABSENT: U. Bridges, R. Colclough members.
ALSO PRESENT: P. Siegler, B. White, A. Serotta, R. Meehan, AMCVB; S. Loehr,
Augusta Museum of History; C. Kobasiao, T. Stout, E. Presnell, Greater Augusta Sports
Council; T. Beck, Recreation Dept; B. Brown, Clerk of Commission office.
The Committee met and because there was not a quorum no decisions could be made.
Mr. Williams: I wanted to call this meeting today to try and get a recommendation
on what we had. My fIrst point is to fInd out about some monies that we thought we had
that we were paying to the Coliseum Authority. I talked with Donna Williams in Finance
and the response was that they thought we were but that money is not there. We thought
we had $200,000 in excess funds that was going to the Coliseum Authority but that's not
the case. I would like to recommend that we place a 5-year cap on funding to see how
those entities are doing. To see what kind of grants and what kind of monies are coming "
in. What are they doing to pick themselves up. I think there should be a limit on how
long and what the process is, and how can we help them to become self-sufficient.
Mr. Kuhlke: I also talked to Donna Williams in Accounting and she said that the
contract with the Coliseum Authority is in compliance now and they get no extra monies.
I talked to Keven Mack to see if there was a way to get some additional CDBG monies
that could go the Lucy Laney Museum because the Augusta Museum can't get it. The
fax that I got back from him says that there is no way they can get any funds according to
HUD, but they were going to pursue and see if they could fInd anything. If Barry White
of the CVB could do "this for us, we have a 5% hotel/motel, beer and wine tax and then an
additional one-percent sales tax. The funding that's been going to the museum for the last
couple of years has come out of pass through CVB?
Mr. White: No, not actually. Tax on the hotels is 6% plus the 7% sales tax. The
6% lodging tax was increased from 5% to 6% about three years ago. When that was done
a subcommittee asked the CVB to determine a good criteria for distributing those funds at
the same time the museum was to receive $300,000 out of that money initially and then it
would be fazed out over a couple of years, reduced by $100,000 a year. The extra
percent when it was raised from 5% to 6%, which is equal to about $450,000 was granted
out through the CVB through a tourism grant which is overseen by a separate committee.
After further discussion,
The Committee received as information that there are no additional funds
available from the Coliseum Authority. The CVB was asked to provide the museum with
additional funding through May 2001. Ms. Flournoy, Staff Attorney is to come back to
the Committee with figures on any additional funding that may be available. The
Committee is to discuss with the Commission the possibility of amending the
Hotel/Motel Tax Ordinance from 5% to 6%."
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ADJOURNMENT'::-i06With no further business to discuss the meeting was
adjourned.
Lena J. Bonner
Clerk of Commission
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