Guthrie is already “The Queen Of The Prairie” but we feel that it is time to begin to start stimulating artistic, cultural, and economic growth through the support and promotion of the arts. Creating an Arts District, supported by a foundation which will distribute grants to deserving projects will bring a new dimension to Guthrie!
Chamber President Mary Coffin
It will show that we appreciate the fine things around us and will then draw the interest of others of like mind, thereby changing the demographic of our town and increasing our value – financially and culturally. As we begin to show that The City supports our Arts Culture, it will encourage other supporters of the arts to invest in Guthrie as well. Imagine Chesapeake or Devon or any number of other entities funneling grant money into an Arts Foundation to be dispersed in our town! We need to be visionaries and see that we have great potential here in Guthrie. The Paseo Arts District is a wonderful example, but we can easily overtake them if we determine to! We already have much more to offer as a destination, and strengthening our arts culture will give visitors even more impetus to choose Guthrie. This is the obvious “next step” in our development as a city.
This is not only about bringing outsiders into town, more importantly it’s about exposing our own children to creativity and communication in such a way that they will be able to carry it with them the rest of their lives. Love and appreciation for the arts, instilled in our children from their earliest years has shown to bring academic rewards as well as creative ones. For the adults; why should we have to drive to OKC and Edmond for cultural stimulation? We already possess in Guthrie everything needed, it’s just not being utilized to the greatest extent. An Arts Foundation would be a cohesive force bringing together all of the diverse artisans, musicians and craftsmen in town so that they will be able to express, share and teach our community.
We would like to set up a funding mechanism for this Arts Foundation so people will be able to utilize these funds. There are two ways to do this; one is with an added sales tax which would affect everyone, the other way is the Hotel/Motel tax which would affect our visitors. I know the hotels and B&B’s don’t care for this idea and would prefer another tax increase, but let me ask you a question, and give me an honest answer please. When you plan a trip and book a hotel do you ever ask them what the tax is, or do you ask them how much the room is? It is likely that you have never booked a room based on what the tax rate is. One of our most important goals here at the Convention & Visitors Bureau is to get heads in beds, and we do our best to help fill them up 24/7, we are not trying to do anything that would jeopardize that goal. In fact, it would serve to increase the occupancy of all of our lodging partners as more people come to find out what else Guthrie has to offer! State Senator AJ Griffin stated in a conversation the other day, “The Hotel/Motel Tax is other people’s money paying for the things that we want!”
In order to accomplish the many things that must be done to keep Guthrie vital and growing we can restructure the way that the Hotel/Motel tax is distributed We have looked to other cities to see what they have done so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel, and found a very successful model in Norman that we believe would work here. The current break down of the Hotel/Motel tax is: 66% to the CVB and 34% to Parks. By adding The Guthrie Arts Foundation, we would decrease the CVB to 50%, Parks to 25%, and add The Guthrie Art Foundation at 25%. The Hotel/Motel tax has not been increased in twenty-three years, but an increase now will serve to offset the loss to CVB and Parks when adding another recipient, and insure that the funds will be there to serve our community as we grow into the future. Lucy went to Quartz Mountain last month and paid 17% hotel/motel tax. Ponca City, Enid, Muskogee currently has 8% the rest of the State is between 4 and 8%.
This is an opportunity that we don’t want to pass up! The interest is here, the need is here, the talent is here, the circumstances are perfect and Guthrie is ready to move into her next phase
of growth! I would like to have some workshops to talk about this project. If you have any suggestions, please email me. We have so much here in Guthrie to offer, it’s up to us to lead the way and make things happen. This plan seems to be an ideal way to optimize our human resources in town in order to maximize the financial and cultural impact! It would be a win-win!
Have a great week!
I think that was originally another person’s idea. It will help the commerce and maybe get something into Guthrie that might stay for a while.
Yay! We really need something in this town (besides sports, not every kid is an athlete) for kids to do besides drugs and each other! Been seeing way to many pregnant young people! YAY FOR THE ARTS!
ART is so very important in our world, as is imagination and creativity. Squelch it, and our young people go elsewhere. I know that I did. Also, in my opinion, redistribution of tax dollars and an increase in hotel/motel tax is so much more appealing than a sales tax increase. Sounds like a good idea to me. Don’t raise it! Logan Co sales tax is high anyway at 8.5%, and lower income families definitely feel the pinch at the grocery store – many people already shop in OK Co to get more choices for their bucks. I believe your hit the nail on the head by asking if people are concerned about the tax rate when booking trips, hotel, etc. If you want it, you pay what is necessary to get it – tax doesn’t generally play into the plan.