A couple of Fremont projects were given an added boost.
At the regular meeting of the Fremont and Dodge County Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board early Wednesday afternoon, board members partially approved a pair of grant requests for projects designed to boost two facilities.
Advisory board members approved half of a $32,000 grant request for a new locker room at Sidner Ice Arena.
Presenting the grant applications for the board’s marketing and grant review committee, Melissa Powell said the grant application indicated that the project would cost $32,000.
“I don’t think they’ll have trouble getting the rest of the funding,” said advisory board member Bruce Eveland. “There’s a lot of people around here who support that ice arena.”
Powell said management at the ice arena have been increasing activities there, like hockey tournaments that can bring dozens of people to town for a weekend.
Advisory board members opted to fund less of a request from the Chamber of Commerce Foundation of the Fremont Area, which owns the Historic Visitors Center, which houses offices for the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce, Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity, Fremont Area Community Foundation, MainStreet of Fremont and the CVB.
Powell said the marketing and grant review committee recommended funding half of a $30,000 request to renovate a room on the building’s second floor to house the Fremont Area Business Hall of Fame.
The business hall of fame is part of an overall $350,000 renovation to the second floor of the Historic Visitors Center, which has been mostly unused recently.
The business hall of fame was introduced in January at the Chamber’s annual banquet, where its first three members were inducted.
But two members of the advisory board had an issue with this grant application.
Eveland had a simple question.
“How many tourists is this going to bring in?”
He said funding for this grant is designed to aid projects that will boost tourism in Dodge County.
Powers had the same issues.
“I don’t see how this is going to bring in tourists,” Powers said. “I don’t see how this applies at all.”
Advisory board chairman Phil Carter had an answer.
“The value I see in it is that we’re going to be housing there,” Carter said. “I see value in it. Maybe we only fund one-third of the project, $10,000.”
Powers suggested funding $5,000.
“Let’s split it down the middle,” suggested Eveland. “$7,500. There’s a certain amount of diplomacy in this.”
Advisory board members approved funding $7,500 of the project.
Carter expressed satisfaction in funding these grant requests.
“We’re doing the work we’re supposed to be doing,” Carter said.
The CVB is funded by a pair of 2 percent lodging taxes: One funds the day-to-day operations of the CVB, including advertising and promoting the area. The other funds grants for capital improvement projects for local agencies that bring tourists into Fremont and Dodge County.
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