Cedar Rapids plans to award $4 million to entertainment organizations and city owned hotel complex – The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and…

Aug 7, 2017 at 6:12 pm | Print View

CEDAR RAPIDS Tourism, entertainment, culture, economic development, and subsidizing city owned facilities, including debt at the DoubleTree Hotel, are top priorities in plans to award nearly $4 million to private organizations and city run enterprises.

The plans are up for approval by the Cedar Rapids City Council, which meets at noon Tuesday at City Hall, 101 First St. SE.

The City Council is being asked to approve distribution of $3.7 million generated through hotel motel tax collections to more than two dozen organizations. Also, in separate decisions, the city would renew four commitments worth $260,000 to economic development and business-minded organizations.

The city levies a 7 percent tax on consumer lodging at hotels and motels, which is the maximum allowed under state law. This is on top of the 5 percent state excise tax on room rentals.

Cedar Rapids has seen its hotel motel tax budget increase 34 percent since fiscal 2012, when the budget was $2.76 million, to $3.7 million this fiscal year.

Cedar Rapids divides the hotel motel tax allocation with about 55 percent or $2 million to primary city needs and the remainder $1.7 million to private applicants on a three-year cycle.

Primary allocations include debt payments at the Museum of Art ($35,700), Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ($294,720), city convention center ($250,000), a stair enclosure project at The Roosevelt ($94,490), the DoubleTree Hotel ($450,000), and the convention center parking ramp ($110,355).

Other primary allocations would include the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance getting $120,000, $391,978 to subsidize operating deficits at the U.S. Cellular Center and convention center, $100,000 for Ice Arena equipment, $123,659 to subsidize Ice Arena operations and $25,000 to subsidize Ushers Ferry Historic Village operations.

Application-based awards, which are reviewed every three years, are recommended for a mix of 24 civic organizations covering interests such as the outdoors, theater, history and entertainment. The top recipient would be $1 million for the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, or GO Cedar Rapids.

Others include $106,632 to the All Iowa Agricultural Association, or Hawkeye Downs, $80,000 to the Freedom Festival, $50,000 to Brucemore Inc., $25,000 the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance Foundation, $39,000 to the African-American Historical Museum, $40,500 to Theatre Cedar Rapids, $39,500 to the Indian Creek Nature Center and $45,000 to the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library.

The current three-year cycle is coming to an end this year meaning these allocations will be reviewed next year.

In separate votes, city staff is recommending memorandums of understanding and funding worth $100,000 each for the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and Entrepreneurial Development Center. Memorandums and funding worth $50,000 for the New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative for the Iowa Start Up Accelerator and $10,000 for the Kirkwood Small Business Development Center also are up for separate votes.

The memorandums and funding cover fiscal 2018, or July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

l Comments: (319) 339-3177; brian.morelli@thegazette.com

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Cedar Rapids plans to award $4 million to entertainment organizations and city owned hotel complex - The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and...