A resolution approving the tourism and economic development program objectives for fiscal year 2022 was discussed at the Tuesday night Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting.
KPB Title 19 requires that the assembly annually approve program objectives promoting tourism and economic development prior to entering into grant or contractual agreements. Assemblyman Jesse Bjorkman, “These objectives are required to be approved before the budget process so that folks can be aware of what the objectives are and respond to requests for proposal after the line item in the budget is approved.”
Assemblyman Bill Elam met with borough staff to develop the proposed program objectives. The group referenced the nonprofits Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council and the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District and their current promoting and tracking activities of the borough in a non-areawide basis.
The program objectives for the promotion of tourism and marketing for fiscal year 2022 include promoting the unique travel destinations to each of the 30 unincorporated communities, promoting significant increases in tourism during the shoulder seasons and tracking online impressions and conversions of impressions to sales in the tourism markets.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce shed insight onto the proposed objectives, “The assembly actually sets the objectives. They go on in and identify the time period in which the advertisement will take place and the information that will be disseminated to the community. Our focus will be in state again due to the events that we’re experiencing, here. The one you’re referring to is doing the shoulder season and doing some advertising. We’ll be putting out an RFP for that advertisement in the near future.”
Grants to the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District and to the Small Business Development Center are authorized through state statute regarding second class borough powers that allows providing for economic development on a nonareawide basis. The resolution became effective upon its adoption.
