craigdailypress.com

It seems many agree that a proposed 6.9-percent lodging tax is a worthy question and one best left to voters to decide on in November.

A committee and chairman have been established, a levied percentage has been targeted, and talks have begun about how to educate and campaign the question to the public.

However, one glaring hole in the proposal so far is this: What exactly will the money be used for?

Figures indicate the city lodging tax could raise somewhere in the neighborhood of $550,000 per year, and that’s serious enough money to warrant serious projects.

Uses have been mentioned — funding tourism and community events, for instance — but none have been cemented.

The Editorial Board endorses an idea members think is worth consideration and study.

A convention/civic center in Craig, and one preferably located at or near Colorado Northwestern Community College’s development in west Craig.

The idea behind the lodging tax was to generate more local revenue without an additional burden on residents and then to funnel that money back into the community.

A convention/civic center — be careful to note, that it’s far removed from a recreation center, which in this economy, is a train-wreck of an idea — would give the community a facility that could house an assortment of large gatherings, be it for businesses, families or otherwise.

It also helps prevent Craig and Moffat County from leaking that business to Steamboat Springs and goes a step further in developing our community as a destination.

Our community, it should be noted, does not have such a facility now. Our community has facilities that, in a pinch, can be used for such gatherings, but nothing that is specifically tailored for them.

And, the CNCC Craig campus location is a perfect fit.

CNCC has done an enviable job planning its campus for the present and future, and if builders and planners are smart, they’ll recognize that area as a potential new hub of the city.

The Editorial Board stands by its earlier opinion that the lodging tax was a good idea — and one councilor Terry Carwile should be commended for — but it has a public perception problem to overcome.

The word, tax, is going to give voters reason for pause, and that can be attributed to our traditionally fiscally conservative community and an unstable economy.

Those pushing the lodging tax proposal might have difficulty selling the idea to voters without a firm and worthwhile plan for using the money. So far, there has been speculation, but nothing concrete.

Although November is months away, voters are already forming opinions and the sooner some final uses for the money are decided, the better chance the question has of succeeding.

The Editorial Board believes a convention/civic center has enough merit to perhaps sway voters to the pro-lodging tax category. It’s an idea that makes a splash, invests in the community and can perhaps be a catalyst for economic growth.

If nothing else, it’s an idea that at least has to be in the conversation.