I have watched with great interest the Feb. 6 workshop in which the chamber ordinance was discussed.
Let me get straight to the point -
Hey council, why are we residents who use City Park charged a restoration fee for the pool, sports, facility rentals, golf, etc. so we can help "restore" the effect of wear and tear in the parks and other city facilities, but it sounds like you want to let the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce use City Park for FREE, if this ordinance gets changed?
The sudden realization gave me so much heartburn that I had to pause the video after Mr. Payne brought up about the golf course and where those restoration fees went.
He first asked Mr. Haverlah about where the money paid by the chamber to the city went? By "the money" I mean the "as much as 25% of profits". Does it go to the general fund, or what? Mr. Haverlah said the funds went to the general fund, but were dedicated to park improvements.
So, dear council, why will you propose a group get special treatment, but those of us who use park programs get charged a fee to help "restore" the parks?
Who pays to restore City Park?
Why shouldn't the chamber, or any other group, pay for the wear and tear its events, especially LARGE ones, have on the park?
If someone rents the Civic Center, they have to pay a "restoration" fee.
So why should the chamber get special treatment?
This discussion starts around the 1:08:00 minute part of the workshop (1 hour, 8 minute point).
Listen hard, y'all!
Evidently the council is leaning toward the chamber receiving a free ride, except for direct expenses which the chamber already said it had no issue with paying.
Let's just allow them to set up in City Park, let 30,000 people and thousands of vehicles tear the place up, without paying the city a dime, because we "all" benefit from it.
Kumbaya, y'all.
Let's set up a rabbit statue and kneel before it, for all the things this festival has done for this city!
Sorry, I said I can't help the snark sometimes.....
Anyhoo - Mr. Manning said the council could esteem that the cost of wear and tear is equal to the benefit that Rabbit Fest brings the citizens of Copperas Cove and he asked the attorney if it was that simple. Pretty much, the attorney said.
Mr. Yancey chimed in and said the wear and tear on the park is "subjective" and that the "benefit" to the city is somewhat "quantifiable" with heads in beds, although that was "somewhat subjective too". He said both those things cancel each other out. Um, really?
My interpretation of his remarks: the festival benefits the city so much, it's okay if the park gets torn up!!
We have long heard the song of "the motels are full" and that people shop and eat in Copperas Cove during Rabbit Fest. Just gobs of money pouring in, y'all!
I find that EXTREMELY hard to believe, council.
Three reasons why:
First, look at the sales tax revenue reports for the month of July over the course of several years.
When sales tax gets collected in the month of May, the city doesn't get paid for that until July.
It would then follow that every July we should see a spike in sales tax revenue compared to the month of June, if all these TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE shop and eat in Copperas Cove.
Then, in August, the sales tax report amount should be lower due to the drop-off of that FOUR DAYS OF ECONOMIC BOOM! from the fest.
IF over time, the city sees a sales tax benefit from Rabbit Fest, then it should see a spike in GENERAL over a pattern of years, yet accounting for dips for other reasons.
Here we go. Cove's sales tax report $$$ from the state comptroller, for June-August for 2015-2017.
June - June 2015 $326,247.97; June 2016 $323,357.47; June 2017 $345,956.19
July - July 2015, $322,553.48; July 2016 $321,153.96; July 2017; $367,891.02. (THIS IS SALES TAX COLLECTED IN MONTH OF MAY IN COPPERAS COVE - WHERE'S RABBIT FEST BENEFIT?)
August - August 2015 $412,813.80; August 2016 $410,841.36; August 2017 $428,696.51
I don't see a Rabbit Fest sales tax benefit because it's not there. Numbers don't lie. People aren't shopping and dining IN Copperas Cove more than usual during Rabbit Fest. There may be a little uptick somewhere that I can't see, but the amount of tax doesn't justify tearing up the park. I don't see a public benefit.
Two, the chiming in with the "heads in beds" mantra.
Take a step back and give the fest a good, hard look. I don't believe anyone within a 3-hour radius of Copperas Cove would come to our increasingly lackluster festival and pay for a hotel overnight because they just can't get enough of it. "But the carnival!!" - Nah, if I were to drive three hours and stay overnight for a carnival, I'd go to Six Flags or Fiesta Texas. If you're going to travel an hour away, or 30 minutes, you'd go straight home. Why stay in a hotel? Carnival people stay in trailers, maybe a handful of vendors, food or craft, stay in a hotel.
Third, Mr. Manning said the city gets a share of the sales tax that vendors collect at the festival. Not entirely true. Those individual vendors file their sales tax reports with the state of Texas and must collect the full amount of what they sell, but their reporting is not city by city. The state knows how much is collected, but not city by city for each independent vendor. Also, see my first point above.
Sadly, if Rabbit Fest went away, it would not economically impact our city that much. There would be a time of mourning due to its sentimental value and then EVERYONE would blame the city of course, "because the city manager sucks, y'all, and there is nothing for anyone to do in Copperas Cove" (Oh, wait, she's going, going, and will be gone. Sorry, more snark leaking out here)
I will watch with interest what ideas the attorney comes up with and reports back to the council on Feb. 20th. But again, the poor, poor chamber wants something for nothing because, they're, well, the chamber, y'all, and we worship the bunny.
Two more things:
Disclaimer: The Curmudgeon doesn't hate Rabbit Fest. It's been a family tradition for years. Rained on, hailed on, baked, fried, mud, etc. My own critique is that the festival has lost a bit of its luster. It has plenty of "thing-y" vendors you can find almost anywhere. Not to put down the direct sales vendors and those who sell "sniff-y, makeup-y, clothes-y, t-shirty, air cleaner-thingy, donate to our cause groups" and the sellers of whistles, fidget spinners, other fads, light-up swords, blah, blah, blah. They all have their place.
But it's less and less appealing to PAY $5 to enter a festival ($1 if you walk) that offers far less than it used to. I think the vendors have to pay too much, discouraging other up 'n comers.
Rabbit Fest needs a serious re-do and re-focus. While we enjoy seeing our local kids perform, we see them at EVERY festival. Why not spend the money to get someone to come to Copperas Cove that people would drive to Copperas Cove to watch perform, and then stay overnight on a Saturday and truly PACK all the hotels?
Two:
I figured I should offer some "evidence" of the $3000 benches and trashcans on Ave. D I mentioned in my last post. Here it is, below. This is 1 page of one of the phases but you can see the amounts. There are 8 trashcans and 8 benches proposed with the winning bid, totaling about $48000. That's enough for a good park restroom re-do, council. THIS YEAR. Why do we need to have porta-potties for events at the park when we have restrooms? Oh, yup. Scary bathrooms from a bad SyFy apocalypse movie. Use your voice, council.
One more thing. Where'd I get the above document? Right on the city website. Not hard at all if you know where to look No "cover-up". No inside info.
Big thanks for reading all this to the end. Share with a friend and subscribe, whether it interests or irritates you! It's all good, either way.
No comments:
Post a Comment