The relationship between Clarion County and its tourist promotion agency will come to an end at the end of July.
The county received a letter from the law firm of Shumaker, Williams P.C., which represents the Northwest Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau (PAGO), stating the relationship between PAGO and Clarion County would end at midnight July 31.
The letter said “there appears to be no trust between the parties at this time, and there is significant information of other activities with respect to our client, so we advise (that the relationship will terminate).”
Clarion commissioner Ted Tharan said Jefferson County also received a similar letter terminating its agreement with PAGO. Jefferson County had voted to decertify PAGO as that county’s tourist promotion agency.
The process requires municipalities representing 65 percent of the county’s population to approve the decertification.
“They are quitting us, we did not quit them,” said Clarion commissioner Ed Heasley.
The county had been requesting complete financial data from PAGO for several months.
The county charges a three percent tax on every room rented in Clarion County. The majority of that money is remitted to PAGO with the balance retained for Clarion County.
PAGO is also the tourist promotion agency for Forest, Elk and Cameron counties. Through PAGO, the counties are advertised regionally, through TV ads, a magazine and rack cards distributed along Interstate 80.
“We wanted that money to benefit Clarion County,” said Tharan. “We can do a lot with $500,000.”
Clarion County remitted $368,000 to PAGO, and as of June there was $286,209 remaining. Tharan said by the end of July there should still be about $250,000.
“We don’t know what the status of that money is,” he said.
Tharan said the county will seek advice from its solicitor, Christopher Gabriel of Pittsburgh.
He added the county will seek another tourist promotion agency and would base future tourist promotions on a report compiled by the Clarion County Economic Development Corp. in May.