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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 11/16/2021 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 161, 2021, AMENDING Agenda Item 18 Item # 18 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY November 16, 2021 City Council STAFF Clay Frickey, Redevelopment Program Manager John Duval, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 161, 2021, Amending Ordinance No. 097, 2021, Establishing the Fort Coll ins Tourism Improvement District. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to amend Ordinance No. 097, 2021, which Council adopted this past August to establish the Fort Collins Tourism Improvement District (District). Ordinance No. 097 set the ter m of the District to begin on September 1, 2021, and end on December 31, 2031. Ordinance No. 097 also authorizes the District to assess a lodging fee during this term. However, Section 11 of the Ordinance No. 097 erroneously set the term for this assessment to end on December 31, 2021, instead of December 31, 2031. The proposed Ordinance corrects this error. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION On August 4, 2021, Council adopted Ordinance No. 097 establishing the District. The District’s purpose is , “…to operate as a [tourism improvement district] charging fees to the lodging businesses included within the District to fund and provide specific tourism services and improvements for th e benefit of the feepayers’ lodging businesses. These services and improvements will be primarily used to increase room night sales for those lodging businesses.” Ordinance No. 097 also approved the District’s initial plan as part of establishing the Dis trict (Initial Plan). Section 14 of Ordinance No. 097 and Section VI. of the Initial Plan set the District’s initial term for 10 years and 4 months beginning on September 1, 2021, and ending December 31, 2031. Section XI. of the Initial Plan provides that District will assess a lodging fee on the lodging businesses within the District beginning September 1, 2021, and ending December 31, 2031. However, Section 1 1 of Ordinance No. 097 mistakenly indicated an end date of December 31, 2021, for the assessme nt of the lodging fee. This proposed Ordinance would amend Ordinance No. 097 to correct this error and establish December 31, 2031, as the end date for the District’s assessment of the lodging fee. -1- ORDINANCE NO. 161, 2021 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 097, 2021, ESTABLISHING THE FORT COLLINS TOURISM IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT WHEREAS, on August 4, 2021, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 097, 2021 (“Ordinance No. 097”) establishing the Fort Collins Tourism Improvement District (the “District”); and WHEREAS, Section 10 of Ordinance No. 097 also approved the District’s Initial Plan (the “Initial Plan”); and WHEREAS, Section 14 of Ordinance No. 097 and Section VI. of the Initial Plan set the initial term of the District to be 10 years and four months to begin on September 1, 2021, and end on December 31, 2031; and WHEREAS, Section 11 of Ordinance No. 097 and Section XI. of the Initial Plan authorize the District to assess a lodging fee on the lodging businesses within the District during the District’s initial term; and WHEREAS, while Section XI of the Initial Plan set the term for the lodging fee to begin on September 1, 2021, and end on December 31, 2031, Section 11 of Ordinance No. 097 incorrectly set the term for the lodging fee to end on December 31, 2021; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance amends Section 11 of Ordinance No. 097 to correct this error; and WHEREAS, adoption of this Ordinance is in the best interest of the City and necessary for the District’s effective operation in the future. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That Section 11 of the Ordinance No. 097 is hereby amended to read in full as follows: Section 11. Assessment and Collection of District Fee. Beginning September 1, 2021, and continuing through December 31, 20231, the District may assess and collect a fee from the Lodging Businesses within the District at the rate of three percent (3%) of a Lodging Business’s “lodging price” as this term is defined in Lodging Tax Ordinance (the “Fee”). However, the Fee shall not be assessed and collected on those transactions that are exempt from the City’s Lodging Tax as provided in Lodging Tax Ordinance. The revenue from the Fee shall only be used by the District to fund those Tourism Services -2- and Tourism Improvements authorized in the Initial Plan. The District may use its own legal authority to collect the Fee or it may enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the City under which the City would collect the Fee in a manner similar to how the City collects its Lodging Tax under the Lodging Tax Ordinance. Under such agreement, the City would be responsible for collecting the Fee (including any delinquencies, penalties and interest) from each assessed Lodging Business within the District and the City would remit such Fee revenues collected to the District no later than the end of the month following the month the Fee revenues were collected by the City. The other specific details of such collection, enforcement and disbursement process will be as outlined in the intergovernmental agreement between the City and the District. Section 3. That except as amended in Section 2 above, Ordinance No. 097 shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 16th day of November, A.D. 2021, and to be presented for final passage on the 7th day of December, A.D. 2021. ______________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ Interim City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on this 7th day of December, A.D. 2021. ______________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ Interim City Clerk