Supervisors make "bed tax" awards

4/19/2011

Schoharie County supervisors Friday named the first 13 grant winners of “bed tax” money.
The 13 organizations will be splitting up $23,000 in funding for 2011. The county collected $126,000 in occupancy tax revenue last year and agreed to set aside $23,000 this year to fund projects that would bring in tourists into the county.
Middleburgh Supervisor Dennis Richards said the occupancy tax board met for four hours sorting through $76,000 in funding requests.
There was a long list of criteria to determine which projects would be funded but the two most important were which would put “heads in beds” and which would make tourists “linger longer,” Mr. Richards said.
The selection process will be critiqued and improved upon for next year, he said.
The groups that were awarded funding will have to report back to the occupancy tax board, he said.
“This will promote Schoharie County,” he said. “It’s going to have value.”
The winning applications were:
• Girl Scout Troop #2345, $1,000.
• Friends of Sharon Springs, $3,000.
• Heart of Schoharie Valley, $2,500.
• Schoharie Valley Association, $2,500.
_ Schoharie County Maple Festival, $3,000.
• Rich Benninger and the Olde Tater Barn, $4,500.
• Iroquois Indian Museum, $1,500.
• Schoharie Valley Association, $2,000. They submitted two different projects.
• Schoharie Promotional Association, $1,000.
• Sharon Historical Society, $500.
• Jefferson Historical Society, $500 each for an event and advertising.
• Richmondville Historical Society, $500.
Mr. Richards said the event at the Olde Tater Barn is to invite travel writers to the county for an overnight stay and show them attractions in the county.