The Mat-Su Convention and Visitor Bureau is requesting a three percent increase in borough bed tax to pay for the planned Gateway Visitors Center off the Glenn Highway between Wasilla and Palmer.
On Monday, the MSCVB board voted 6-4 in favor of the request. Board President Cheryl Metiva says the board has been looking at various funding mechanisms to build the center since last August, and ultimately decided an increase to the bed tax was the best way to guarantee funding. She describes the discussion as “passionate,” and says the board did not take the decision lightly.
The motion to pursue the tax increase was made by the board’s Vice-President, Zack Steer. Last week, Steer sent an email to fellow board members outlining his reasons for supporting the bed tax increase. Steer says no other funding mechanism was as viable, and that there is substantial opportunity cost in waiting. In the same e-mail, which has been obtained by KTNA, he said the board should not allow itself to be “further hijacked by the Upper Susitna wastewater/sewer mafia,” or “bullied” by the cruise industry. In the past, some Talkeetna residents have requested that bed tax revenue, most of which is generated in the Upper Valley, go to funding infrastructure, specifically the sewer and water system. According to a report in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Steer apologized for the tone of the email at Monday’s meeting, which he attended by teleconference. Zack Steer did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
The proposal to increase the bed tax comes with a sunset clause. The increased bed tax would end after ten years or the completion of the visitor center, whichever comes first.
The next step for the bed tax increase proposal is the Mat-Su Borough Assembly. The Assembly will decide whether or not it will go on the ballot for the October 3rd borough election. If the assembly places the bed tax increase on the ballot, the final decision will be left to Mat-Su voters.
