Travel & Tourism board meets

At the May 17 Hot Springs County Travel & Tourism board meeting held at Audra’s Copper Coo, treasurer Audra Dominguez gave the financial report and said their most recent deposit of lodging tax revenue was for $14,395.05 which was down 9% or $1,461.06 compared to the previous year at that time. For the fiscal year 2022/23, so far, their accumulated lodging tax revenue is $191,475.75. The board voted and passed the approval to accept the financial report. 

Jackie Dorothy gave the director’s report and said, “Traffic numbers have increased in the past few weeks. The traffic reports from WYDOT show that from January to March, we saw a slight decrease in our average daily traffic, which was to be expected with all the road closures and storms.”

Also in the report, Dorothy said, “The Hot Spot Car Rally pedal car has been purchased and will soon be displayed in local businesses with our logo. They chose a fire truck and raffle tickets will be available for purchase.”

The board voted and passed the approval to accept the Director’s report.

In old business, Dorothy gave an update on the digital welcome sign and said they may have found a location on Hospital Hill, which is north of town toward Worland. They are currently investigating who owns the land and whether it is leased by the state park, the fairgrounds, or the recreation center. The digital sign will be double-sided LEDs and requires electricity. Dorothy said they are also looking into providing the sign power. 

Chairman Carl Leyba discussed their Thermopolis cap campaign where they ordered 500 caps from Owl Creek Graphics for about $7,125. The board wants to show a more unified presence of businesses and visibility of tourism in Hot Springs County. They invite businesses to participate by having their employees wear the caps on a certain day each week. Dorothy added that this campaign works with the board’s strategic plan.

In new business, the board voted and passed the approval to submit their budget to the state and Hot Springs County. Also, the board discussed design options for their billboards and decided to table the matter and address it during a work session.

The board also heard a proposal by Jurri Schenck for a short film production to potentially be shot in Hot Springs State Park to promote the park by using a story and local actors and crew. There was a discussion on ways to find funding. The board recommended Schenck to investigate different grants and the proposal was tabled.