April 11--City leaders say there is now sufficient support for a $1 tax on occupied hotel rooms to help fund a second indoor ice sheet and kick-start the creation of a local sports authority.

According to a petition presented Tuesday night to the Mitchell City Council, 13 of the city's 17 hotel and motel owners support a $1 tax on occupied rooms in the city through the creation of a business improvement district (BID).

A BID is a self-taxation arrangement in which businesses agree to pay a fee, with the money going toward a specific project.

The council reviewed the petition Tuesday night and directed City Attorney Carl Koch to begin taking steps to officially create the BID, according to City Finance Officer Marylin Wilson.

"The clock has started," said Council President Jeff Smith. "We are moving forward with the hotel BID."

According to Koch, to officially create the BID, the city will have to first establish its boundaries around all the hotels and motels in the city. Mayor Ken Tracy will then have to appoint a five-member board to hear recommendations about the BID, define how the BID will be enforced and determine how the fees will be collected.

The city council will then have to adopt a resolution of intent and send it to all affected property owners, and then set a hearing to listen to any objections from those property owners.

"Because we have petitions, that becomes somewhat moot," Koch said.

The council will then have to adopt the BID as an ordinance and establish a start date, Koch said.

"My expectation is we're talking likely 90 days to get all this done," he said.

A $2 nightly fee on the city's hotel and motel rooms had been proposed, but a $1 fee was more popular among the city's hotel and motel owners, Smith said.

According to Smith, half the revenue generated by the proposed BID, or 50 cents of every $1 imposed by the BID, will be used to help fund construction of a second ice rink at the Mitchell Activities Center until $400,000 is raised.

According to Smith, the BID is expected to raise about $170,000 per year, which means the MAC project will receive about $85,000 per year from the BID. At that rate, it will take slightly less than five years to raise the $400,000 the city is seeking for the project.

Once the BID collects $400,000, that will be added to $2 million that the City Council raised through bond sales and pledged for the MAC project, and another $500,000 that the Mitchell Skating and Hockey Association has promised to raise and donate.

The other half of the revenue from the BID will be used to create and pay for a sports authority with one employee in Mitchell, Smith said.

The BID support for the sports authority is set to end after three years, at which point the city will have to decide whether to continue with it or find other funding sources, Smith said.

"That person's sole responsibility will be to bring overnight events to town," Smith said.

The council also plans to create an events committee, Smith said, likely made up of three of the city's hotel and motel owners, as well as the mayor, council president and parks, recreation and forestry director, and representatives from Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell Christian and the Mitchell School District.

"We want to encourage new events and also enhance the existing events we currently have in place," Smith said.

Once the BID is approved, Smith said the events committee will write a job description for the sports authority -- expected to be one full-time position -- then develop the position's budget, which is estimated to be between $80,000 and $100,000.

The budget will need to include a salary, plus expenses for an office and marketing, Smith said. It's undecided whether the employee will work for the city or the Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce.

The entire process will likely take several months, Smith said.

The owner of the Siesta Motel was the only owner to vote against the BID. Owners of AmericInn Lodge, Budget Inn and Holiday Inn Express chose to remain silent and not vote.

Smith, who is also a member of the Mitchell Skating and Hockey Association's committee for the expansion, said more than $400,000 of the $500,000 the association needs to raise for the MAC project has already been pledged.

"It was really encouraging that the businesses and individuals of Mitchell have backed this project," he said. "So we're very pleased."

Smith said he expects the association will reach its $500,000 fundraising goal sometime this summer.

The City Council meets next at 7:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall.

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