Lodgers board rejects $20,000 request for cannabis event

The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board rejected a $20,000 funding request from a cannabis-themed Smoke Currency Tour scheduled to make a stop in the city next month.

After hearing a presentation Wednesday by La Casa Verde co-owner Steve Farmer, board Chairman Matt Bednorz three times asked for a motion from fellow board members on the request.

None was made, and the proposal died from the lack of action.

Board members voiced reservations about the size of the funding request and questioned how effective an advertising or social media campaign would be when the Dec. 10-11 event was just over a month away.

Farmer described the bus tour stop as part of a “cannabis education event” where consumers and cannabis dispensaries would gather at the Tucumcari Convention Center on Dec. 11.

He said the Smoke Currency Tour includes stops in Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Texas and New Mexico. Farmer said he anticipated 500 people would attend the Tucumcari event, with 100 night-stays at local motels. Cannabis advocate and author Thunder Walker is the chief principal of the tour.

Farmer said the $20,000 would be used to pay for speakers that include cannabis advocate Dr. Bridget Cole Williams, the cost of bringing the bus to Tucumcari, booking the convention center, labor costs and marketing costs.

Farmer said the Tucumcari event will bring many visitors from Texas, where recreational cannabis remains illegal.

Tucumcari has seen over a dozen dispensaries open since New Mexico legalized recreational marijuana in April 2022. Farmer claimed legal pot led to the county seeing a 34% increase in gross receipts tax revenue.

Board member Michael Carlson asked whether sponsorships could cover costs for the Smoke Currency Tour’s stop in Tucumcari. Farmer said the tour would try to land local sponsors, but “we can’t do it on sponsorships alone. We need help here.”

Bednorz voiced skepticism on the request, saying: “The $20,000 is kind of outrageous.”

Bednorz expressed willingness to give less lodgers tax funds, such as $1,000. But he said other events in the city, such as Fired Up and Rattler Reunion, ask for far less than $10,000 and draw good crowds.

He also noted the city commission could ignore the board’s recommendation and give more.

Board member Al Patel said whether the board would get its money back on the event via overnight lodging stays was “questionable,” though he said “it could be an opportunity.”

City manager Paula Chacon said the city receives an estimated $200,000 a year in tax revenue from cannabis sales.

Chacon said because the city’s fiscal year only recently started, she wanted to be conservative in its spending. She said the city faces insurance-deductible costs from the May hailstorm, including its convention center.

Carlson said, “I don’t think it’s wise at the beginning of the (fiscal) year to spend that much money.”

Bednorz repeatedly asked for a motion on Farmer’s request. None was made.

In other business:

— The board recommended approval of a $5,844.50 reimbursement request from Tucumcari MainStreet for expenses for its Fired Up festival in September.

Tucumcari MainStreet director Connie Loveland presented a report on the event. She said attendance was about 3,000 until an early evening storm forced suspension of the event for about an hour and prompted many vendors to leave. She said about 1,000 to 1,500 people returned for the night events.

About $6,900 was budgeted, but an Amarillo publication’s schedule was too close to the event to warrant advertising in it, Loveland said.

Also, Facebook for the second straight year blocked the festival’s ad for allegedly violating community standards. Loveland surmised Facebook’s robots incorrectly flagged “fired” in the festival’s name.

Patel said he appreciated that Fired Up and the Rattler Reunion — which he described as “big, big events” — each used less than $10,000 in lodgers tax funds.

— Chacon reported $837,433 in lodgers tax revenue in the recently completed fiscal year — the second-best year on record.

She said the best year was the 2022 fiscal year: $869,000 when the nation was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic due to vaccinations.

Chacon said the eight-year average is $676,103.

She and two board members who manage motels attributed the strong year to inflation and higher occupancy. Patel said revenue dropped a little in the past year because of higher gas prices at the time.

— Chacon said she approved using $1,085.60 in executive lodgers tax funds to reimburse Tucumcari Rotary Club after it replaced solar-powered lights on the “T” on the north face of Tucumcari Mountain. Board members thanked her for doing so.

— The board elected Bednorz as chairman, Lila Doughty as vice chairman and Patel as secretary at the start of the meeting. All were reappointed by the city commission several weeks ago after nobody applied for openings when their terms expired. One vacancy still exists on the board.

— Chacon said 64 lights on Interstate 40 in Tucumcari are due to be repaired by the state Department of Transportation in coming weeks.

Regarding the lack of mowing of medians by NMDOT, Chacon said she would have city workers perform the task, then send a bill to the state agency.

— Patel requested the board’s next meeting at 9 a.m. instead of the usual 10 a.m. during the first Wednesday of the month. Board members expressed no objection to the change. The next meeting will be Dec. 6 at City Hall.

— Doughty requested that applications for funds and other agenda items follow a 72-hour notice before meetings.