Clarion County may be open but not ready to roll out the welcome mat yet.
County commissioners discussed at their work session Tuesday a request from the hotel tax committee for the first of two $5,000 grants for advertising and marketing with a focus on outdoor activities.
The hotel tax is assessed on each room rented in the county. That money is used to encourage tourists from outside the county to stay in the county.
The grant would be used for advertising the county instead of a specific event. Hotel tax committee member Kristy Amato said the advertising would be in several sections of Ohio and Pittsburgh.
“They want to be ready for the re-opening of Clarion County,” said Commissioner Wayne Brosius. “It will be spent on Facebook and online advertising. It will be like ‘Clarion County is open for business’ type ads.”
That raised a concern for commissioner Ted Tharan.
“I don’t think we want to go out and advertise we are open because we are in the yellow zone,” he said. “Just because we are in the yellow doesn’t mean we want everyone from the red zone coming into our county.”
Tharan said a person from a “red” county who wanted to schedule a meeting in Clarion County had contacted him.
“I believe the red counties are still under a stay at home order,” Tharan said. “They could potentially come into Clarion County and spread more of the virus here.
“I think we are jumping the gun on this especially if the hotel tax revenue is going to be down,” said Tharan.
“The first quarter usually isn’t big. The third and fourth quarter are always the biggest for us,” said county treasurer Tom McConnell. “A lot of hotels were not accepting any overnight stays during the shutdown.”
Tharan said the revenue was off by 85% for the first quarter, and McConnell said the revenue was at about $27,000. The first quarter of 2019 produced $58,000 in revenue.
Tharan said three hotels at the Clarion exit are currently closed.
“We were just trying to get something ready so that when we are open we can let people know what activities are available,” said Amato.
The commissioners will determine when the ads would be placed.
“I want to see what the numbers are going to be when this plays out,” said Tharan. “If you want to get the ads ready at no cost, go ahead.”
Brosius said the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau would prepare the ads.
“I am looking out for the health and welfare of the county residents,” said Tharan.
No official action may be taken at a work session.