Tax board's renewal recommendation reluctant

The Tucumcari City Commission approved a one-year contract extension with an Albuquerque marketing firm Thursday after members of the Tucumcari Lodgers' Tax Board on Wednesday reluctantly but unanimously voted to recommend the renewal despite some dissatisfaction with the company.

All four of the lodgers' tax board members — Chairman Larry Smith, Matt Bednorz, Brenda Lopez and Al Patel — indicated early in the meeting they would have voted against the contract extension for the Sunny505 firm. But city manager Britt Lusk's pleas to reconsider, the prospects of losing a just-awarded $35,000 grant and the city's communication problems with the firm persuaded the board after an hour of discussion to recommend an extension, with conditions. The board recommended that Sunny505 make quarterly visits to Tucumcari and have more coordination with city officials.

The city commission approved the contract after Smith relayed the lodgers' tax board's concerns. Commissioners agreed the contract should be renewed due to the grant and Smith's concern that changing agencies while tourist season is underway would not be a good idea.

Before Thursday's vote, the commission had twice had tabled action on Sunny505's $50,000, one-year contract extension and wanted input from the Lodgers' Tax Board.

Patel and Smith said most of the designs Sunny505 created for billboards on Interstate 40 were too difficult to read or comprehend.

“A print ad doesn't necessarily make a good billboard,” Smith said.

Smith also said the Visit Tucumcari page on Facebook had not been updated in months until recently.

Smith said he felt Sunny505 used “a template to fit us into and was not customized for the uniqueness of Tucumcari. ... I don't believe they truly understand our town.”

Lusk disagreed with the board's early sentiment to reject the contract extension.

“I think this is a good contract, and it needs to be renewed,” he said. “We need to take what we're doing and make it better. … I think they deserve one more year.”

He said Tucumcari not only needs to retain its Route 66 tourism but campaign to draw new visitors to its museums, lakes, disc-golf course and other recreation.

“In my age group, Route 66 won't pull people off the highway,” Lusk said.

That comment received pushback from Smith, who owns Motel Safari on Route 66. Smith said he's received overnight guests in Lusk's age group, and “they're finding us.”

Lusk also credited a $30,000 increase in lodgers' tax funds in the past year to Sunny505's efforts.

Patel, who owns the Desert Inn motel, disputed that. He attributed the rise to the opening of a Marriott-property hotel last year and other motels annually raising room rates to cover expenses.

Bednorz noted the city advertised a $100,000-a-year contract for tourism marketing, then awarded a $50,000 one. In hindsight, it shouldn't be surprising if Sunny505 might give a lesser effort, he said.

“If we were to do it, we should do the full $100,000,” he said. “We shouldn't half-ass it.”

Lusk and Smith acknowledged Sunny505 may have been “pulled in different directions” because of a lack of clear direction from the city. Lusk noted the city saw a change in city managers and the death of a city commissioner since the marketing proposal first was advertised.

City Clerk Angelica Gray pointed out the contract proposal required a connection with New Mexico True, and Sunny505 was the only firm with that connection.

Carmen Runyan, director of the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce, said the board may be frustrated by Sunny505's “cookie-cutter” approach, but the company owns setups and resources that “are going to work.”

She also acknowledged the importance of Route 66 tourism, but “we need to be advertising Tucumcari and all the aspects we have.”

Lusk said the city ought to hire a local marketing person who maintains regular contact with Sunny505 about social-media campaigns and websites.

Smith later acknowledged he “wanted to kill this” but expressed his willingness to extend the contract if it passed along to Sunny505 it has “room for improvement.”

“It has to be better,” he said. “I felt like we've thrown money away this past year.”

Earlier in the meeting, Dezaree Vega-Garcia of Sunny505 said in a teleconference the company recently landed a $35,848 grant from New Mexico True that contains a total value of $76,869 because of advertising credits and matches. The grant, one of the largest in New Mexico, will pay for ads in New Mexico Magazine, New Mexico True Adventure Guide, Pandora, Viant digital programs, email packages and Facebook.

When asked later in the meeting whether rejecting the Sunny505 contact extension would endanger the grant, Lusk said it would because it was contractually tied to the firm.

In other business, the board:

– Approved a $23,500 reimbursement of expenses to Brian Whitcomb, chief organizer for the upcoming Rockin' Route 66 Festival.

Bednorz said he was “on the fence” about approving the disbursement without an itemized list of expenses from the organizer. Smith said providing the money before the festival and submitting a list of expenditures afterward was part of a prearranged condition, and Whitcomb had hit “a lot of bumps” in the weeks leading up to the festival. Smith said “we're going to lose this festival” if the board rejects the reimbursement.

“Even people who are skeptical are going to like (the festival),” Smith said. “It's a way to raise our profile.”

Lusk also cautioned against rejecting the reimbursement. “This event needs to happen, but it's not our fault he has hit some rough spots.”

Bednorz said Whitcomb had dealt with some “misunderstandings” with the city regarding the festival. Lusk pointed out the initial arrangement had occurred with a previous city manager and a key city commissioner who later died.

Smith acknowledged after the first Rockin' Route 66 finishes, “there needs to be a reboot” to improve future editions.

Smith said after the meeting the “bumps” Whitcomb experienced were last-minute hurdles typical for a first-year festival, and he didn't expect them to be serious.

• Patel presented a draft plan to revitalize the big “T” on the north side of Tucumcari Mountain. The Tucumcari High School senior class for decades had repainted the big “T,” but a new owner of that side of the mesa has restricted access.

He said he envisioned improving the big “T” using neon rope lighting or marble chips that would be more maintenance-free. If enough money is raised, he envisioned a more elaborate setup, much like the “Hollywood” sign near Los Angeles.

Patel said he had received permission for the project from one landowner of Tucumcari Mountain — the one who owns the access trail — and was awaiting word from the second owner.

Patel said he'd received $2,750 in donations or pledges for the project and was hoping for more from local businesses and service organizations. He asked whether the board would provide matching funds for the project. Other board members voiced their support for the project, and Lusk said he would investigate the legality of such a matching-grant arrangement.

• Approved a reimbursement of $450 for advertising expenses for the recently completed Tucumcari Rawhide Days.

• Discussed advertising to fill a board member vacancy. Previous board member Gar Engman stepped down from the board earlier this year.

• Heard a report on Runyan's chamber of commerce activities, including an estimated $32,000 in spending for various ads, reprinting of visitor guides and other expenses. She said the chamber would have more online content coming on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and American Road magazine.