Visitors bureau reports bed tax, activity increases

Destination Seneca County representatives reported higher bed taxes being collected and increasing interest in tourism to the county during the Seneca County Commissioners meeting Thursday. Executive Director Bryce Riggs said bed tax revenues increased 23% in the first quarter of 2002 compared to 2021 and 12.5% in the second quarter. He said bed tax receipts in the second quarter of 2022 were the highest ever recorded and that three of the last four quarters have shown quarterly records. Stakeholder Relations and Marketing Manager Marisa Stephens reviewed marketing strategies underway to draw people to the county focusing on marketing, relationships, leisure travel and group travel. She said the word is getting out based on more than 1.3 million views of DSC's Facebook page in the first six months of the year, a 13% increase from the same period in 2021. The website has been seen 59,000 times in six months, an increase of 38% from 2021. And the 91 blog posts created since January is a 117% increase from 2021. "That's one of the things we really focused on last year," Stephens said. "We wanted to make it look like a destination website." In addition, the community calendar has been enlarged and combines to create one calendar for all of Seneca County. Riggs said the office has been promoting partnerships in Tiffin, Fostoria and throughout the county, and he and Stephens have been attending tourism shows to call Seneca County to the attention of the tourism industry. During his report, Commissioner Mike Kerschner said the next Seneca County EMS stakeholder meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 1 at the North Central Ohio Educational Service Center. However, the meeting is hosted by the Seneca County Joint Ambulance District and will not be an official meeting of the county commissioners. SCJAD is working on promoting a 2.5-mill levy that is expected to be on the ballot in November for people who live in the townships and villages that joined the countywide ambulance district. The commissioners approved: * A $110,000 supplemental appropriation to the Public Assistance Fund for supplies and public assistance. * A $2,000 supplemental appropriation to the Mental Expense Rotary Fund for contract services. * A $967,893.48 supplemental appropriation to the county engineer's Maintenance and Repair Fund for contracts/projects related to the CR 24 project. * A $3,500 supplemental appropriation to the FFY22 STEP Fund for salaries. * Supplemental appropriations of $50,000, $1,000 and $2,500 for contract projects, contract services and equipment respectively. * A $15,000 supplemental appropriation to the Victims of Crime Act Grant Fund. * A $1,332 supplemental appropriation to the General Special Projects Fund. * A $64.83 supplemental appropriation to the Unclaimed Money Trust Fund. * A $134,909 supplemental appropriation to the General Fund for various lines. * A $3,450 supplemental appropriation to the Special Projects Fund for equipment. * A $22,868.89 supplemental appropriation to the Enterprise Zone Fund for contracts. * A $2,213.10 supplemental appropriation to the Concealed Handgun Licenses Fund for various uses. * A $15,000 fund transfer to the Victims of Crime Act Grant Fund. * Fund advances from the General Fund to the Fiscal Year 2022 Selective Traffic Enforcement Program Fund and Impaired Driving Enforcement Program Fund. * A letter of intent to purchase land on behalf of the Seneca County Board of Developmental Disabilities. * Two satisfaction of mortgage documents for the satisfaction of loans through the Community Housing Improvement Program from fiscal year 1996.