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Hotel tax boost would aid Medford parks Increase of 2 percentage points would mean $275,000 a year for master plan By Jessica Smith When voters decide next month whether to charge tourists more to stay a night in Medford, they�ll also decide the pace of park development in town. A measure on the Nov. 7 ballot that seeks to boost visitor lodging taxes by half is key to a funding strategy that would pay for a proposed 124-acre sports mecca and other park improvements, supporters say. Proposed lodging tax increase Measure 15-19 would increase the city hotel-motel tax to finance parks and other tourist marketing. It would: Amend the Medford charter by authorizing the city to increase the 6 percent lodging tax to as high as 9 percent on gross room receipts. City has pledged to hold the tax at 8 percent for at least five years. Apply only to visitors staying less than 27 days at hotels, motels and inns. Generate about $275,000 a year to help fund a master plan for expanding the Medford park system. Provides another $110,000 a year to the Medford Visitors and Convention Bureau for marketing efforts. Be the highest lodging tax in the county. Current taxes range from 5 percent in Talent to 7 percent in Ashland. "People in Medford have told us they�re interested in community parks," said Dana Didericksen, a parks commissioner who is campaigning for Measure 15-19 as a member of the Citizens for Medford Parks group. People want more parks and more open spaces, and they want them within walking distance of their homes, Didericksen added. "So in order to tie up land now, we need some funds to do it," she said. About three years ago, the city developed a park master plan that included purchasing land for new parks and renovating several parks and trails. In 1998, however, voters rejected a $17.5 million bond that would have paid for expanding the park system. "We have seen ideal land come available that we could buy and get parks in areas that are under-served," said Tom Hilton, parks recreation superintendent. "But we�ve not had that luxury because we�ve not had any money." When plans emerged this year for a 124-acre sports park along Bear Creek, between the freeway and Highway 99, officials developed a three-part financing package that would allow the city to buy the land and expand the rest of the park system for about $9 million. Two of the three funding mechanisms already are in place. The city earlier this year adopted higher business license rates and raised the parks-development fee charged to new homes. Combined, the higher fees will generate about $337,000 a year for park development. Voters will decide on the third funding scheme, increasing the lodging tax on room receipts, in the Nov. 7 mail election. Every year, the city raises about $1.1 million from the existing 6 percent lodging tax to support the general fund and the Medford Visitor and Conventions Bureau. The VCB, an arm of the chamber of commerce, receives about 25 percent of the so-called hotel-motel tax for marketing efforts. Under Measure 15-19, according to city numbers, the city would collect an extra $385,000 a year from visitors. About $275,000 would be marked for parks improvement, the remaining $110,000 would be the VCB�s share. Passage of the measure would authorize the city to raise the lodging tax on room receipts to as high as 9 percent, but city leaders who wanted support from hoteliers agreed to phase in the increases. The city will impose an 8 percent bed tax for at least five years, then review whether to levy the full 9 percent tax. The beauty of the tax, supporters say, is that Medford residents won�t be asked to pay it. It applies only to visitors staying less than 27 days at local hotels, motels and inns. The increase, however, could hurt some of the city�s smaller 32 hotels and motels. According to Harry Papel, owner of the Economy Inn of Medford and two smaller motels, the tax increase would cut into his bottom line. "It is going to affect my business," he said. "People already complain because they say Oregon doesn�t have a sales tax." The lodging tax is not a sales tax, but Papel said some guests are upset when asked to pay an additional 6 percent on their room bill. Papel said he may have to lower his rates to offset the higher tax. The tax increase, however, is expected to have little effect on lodging costs overall, said Julie Petretto, VCB executive director. For example, visitors staying in a $100-a-night room already pay an additional $6 under the existing lodging tax rate. With the proposed increase, visitors would pay an $8 tax instead. Petretto said most local hoteliers see the benefit of the tax increase and have thrown their support behind the measure. With the money raised, the city plans to build the biggest and nicest all-purpose sports park in Southern Oregon. The promise of a sports complex and the crowds it could draw make the bed tax increase easier for the lodging industry to swallow, Petretto said. The Rogue Valley Cup, which draws thousands of out-of-town participants a year, is one of the largest soccer tournaments in the region. With additional fields, the city could better market itself as a tournament location, sports park proponents say. Tentative plans for the sports park � which would be built behind the defunct Starlite Drive-in movie theater on Highway 99 � include a six-diamond adult softball complex and various baseball fields built to the right dimensions for Little League and Babe Ruth. The sports park also would boast seven soccer fields and several covered basketball courts, not to mention a bike-racing velodrome. The sports park is the largest of six parks the city would like to create in the next six years with money from the bed tax and fee increases. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.