Record lodging tax collected
Fremont County collected $235,905 in lodging tax in 2018, the largest amount in recorded history, which is up 2.8 percent over 2017.
Steve Kaverman, the chairman of the Fremont County Tourism Council, shared this information during an annual report to the Fremont County Board of Commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting.
Additionally, the FCTC received a matching grant last year in the amount of $25,000 from the Colorado Tourism Office and a $75,000 grant from the Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
Collections and income go toward marketing the Royal Gorge Region.
The $235,905 collected in local lodging tax equated to nearly $12 million in lodging sales, or lodging revenue, Kaverman said.
“Tourism doesn’t account for all of that, people come here and stay for other reasons, as well, but certainly a big percentage of that is due to tourism,” he said. “That is obviously a very substantial indicator of what kind of economic driver this is in the community.”
The economic impact of tourism in Fremont County is significant.
Travel spending in 2017 was $71 million, up more than $6 million from 2016; earnings in 2017 was $18.1 million, up $1.5 million from 2016; and there were 897 full-time equivalent tourism jobs in 2017, which was 72 more than the year prior.
Total local and state taxes were up in 2017, as well, by nearly half a million dollars.
“For every Coloradan last year, were it not for the money coming in from tourism, every man, woman and child would be responsible for another $228 in taxes — every one of Colorado’s 5.6 million residents,” Kaverman said. “If you think tourism is insignificant, or we shouldn’t bother promoting it in this county, you’re mistaken. It’s a great return on investment.”
Numbers for 2018 should be available later this summer.
The visitor’s guide and more information can be found online at https://royalgorgeregion.com/
The FCTC, which is run solely by volunteers, meets at 8 a.m. the first Tuesday of each month in Room 207 of the County Administration Building, located at 615 Macon Ave.
Local resident Bob Dewey commended the Fremont County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday for its recent action in declaring Fremont County a Second-Amendment sanctuary county and taking a stance against House Bill 19-1177, but he said he does have a couple of concerns.
The board was the first county to approved a resolution that excuses local sheriffs and law enforcement from carrying out the law. The board felt the proposed bill does away with due process and violates the Second Amendment.
Dewey said the bill, formally titled Extreme Risk Protection Orders, is terrible as it is presently written and takes away individual rights.
“The ‘Red Flag’ bill is very explicit about how the protection order will be issued, and once issued, the procedures that the sheriff’s department or the agency that will be handling the petition, and those directions will come directly from the state following the bill,” he said. “My concern is what if the petitioner is correct, and we do have a person that is mentally ill — what are we going to do about it?”
Board Chairman Dwayne McFall said there already are procedures in place to address individuals who have a mental illness and pose a danger.
“Those are already in place, and we utilize them today,” he said.
Dewey also asked what the procedure will be to not enforce the petition once it’s issued by the court.
“We will support the sheriff ‘s decision on how he is going to handle that,” McFall said.
Since the board took this action Feb. 26, other counties have followed suit.
On Tuesday, El Paso County voted to become a preservation county for the Second Amendment against the controversial bill.
The Prowers County Commissioners on Monday voted unanimously to become a Second Amendment sanctuary county, following Fremont, Custer and Weld counties, which passed similar resolutions that condemn the extreme risk protection order.
Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said he also does not support the bill as it currently is written.
The bill is still under consideration at the state level.
In other business, the board presented the 2018 Accountability Report which soon will be available on the county’s website, https://fremontco.com/.
A couple of highlights from the report include the Fremont County Airport supporting SEAT operations for 17 wildfires last year, and the county’s Building Department issuing 806 building permits, which was up 18 percent from 2017. Seventy-six of those were new single-family stick-framed dwellings.
The commissioners will present the report during Pueblo Community College’s Senior Mini College at 9 a.m. March 19 at the Fremont Campus.
The board also scheduled a public hearing for 10 a.m. April 9 regarding proposed revisions to the regulations for On-Site Wastewater Treatment System (Septic System) Regulations in all areas of Fremont County. The proposed revisions are to allow and regulate the use of composting and incinerating toilets.
Carie Canterbury: 719-276-7643, canterburyc@canoncitydailyrecord.com