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Lodging Tax Grant Program for Tourism -Related, Large- ital Projects Background Kittitas County imposes a lodging tax assessed on the sale or charge made for furnishings of lodging according to RCW 67.28.180 and RCW 67.28.181. In accordance with the tax and Washington State law, a Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) has also been established. The committees' purpose is to advise and recommend to the Board of County Commissioners how excise taxes on lodging should be allocated to support tourism which in turn generates revenue. Uses According to Law: RCW 67.28.1816 states the following: Lodging tax revenues under this chapter may be used, directly by any municipality or indirectly through a convention and visitor bureau or destination marketing organization for: ...(c) Supporting the operations and capital expenditures of tourism -related facilities owned or operated by a municipality... Definitions included in state law which should be considered in any application requesting funding include: 1. Tourism means economic activity resulting from tourists, which may include sales of overnight lodging, meals, tours, gifts, or souvenirs. 2. Tourism promotion means activities, operations, and expenditures designed to increase tourism, including but not limited to advertising, publicizing, or otherwise distributing information for the purpose of attracting and welcoming tourists; developing strategies to expand tourism; operating tourism promotion agencies; and funding marketing or the operation of special events and festivals designated to attract tourists. 3. Tourism -related facility means real or tangible personal property with a usable life of three or more years, or constructed with volunteer labor that is: (a) (i) owned by a public entity; ...and (b) used to support tourism, performing arts, or to accommodate tourist activities. Grant Program Description This grant program is one component of an overall strategy to enhance the economic value of tourism in Kittitas County. The intent of the program is to develop and implement a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for developing tourism -related, large-scale municipality -owned projects throughout the County which contribute to that strategy. Kittitas County Tourism Infrastructure Plan: As the basis for developing this grant program and the CIP, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) adopted the Kittitas County Tourism Infrastructure Plan. The plan includes, among other things, an inventory of tourism -related facilities across the County, an evaluation of potential tourism opportunities, goals for guiding tourism development, and a list of prioritized