After a public hearing at the Moore County Board of Commissioners March 18 meeting, the board approved a 3% additional hotel occupancy tax, requested by the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), increasing it to 6% with the memorandum that it does not support the airport.
County Commissioner Jim Von Canon asked if there was a way to carve out funeral and hospital travelers from the increased tax.
CVB President and CEO Phil Werz said he had never been asked that and would discuss it with the board at the next meeting.
Werz said the CVB makes grants to schools, and they needed to make a project request.
Visitors pay the hotel occupancy tax rate, which includes the growing short-term rental industry.
Moore County is 10th in the state for rural destinations in tourism for the state.
The CVB marketing director said there are several benefits of tourism in the county, including over 6,000 jobs, $26.1 million generated in local taxes, and a tax savings of $532.10 per resident.
The General Assembly House Bill 504 mandates hotel tourism and dictates how they use funds, including marketing. CVB spent less than 60% on marketing, 35% on leisure activities, and 7.4% on core activities.
Core activities include:
U.S. Kids Golf World Championships/$15.1M economic impact
Pinehurst BBQ Festival/$3.2M economic impact
Sandhills Motoring Expo/$2.1M economic impact
Festival D’ Avion/$1.2M economic impact
Celebration of Seagrove Potters
Weymouth Center
Agritourism Farm-to-Table Dinner
Visit NC Farms
Sandhills Bogeys
NASCAR
Starworks with Pinecone Pathways
The CVB one-time grant project plan in 2024 gave $821,000 in awards and will be able to support more projects with the tax increase.
Cameron $54,000
Weymouth Center $57,000
Sandhills Community College $75,000
Whitehall Tract Renovation $175,000
Skatepark $200,000
Aberdeen- Ransdell Sportsplex $250,000
The increased hotel occupancy tax public hearing hosted seven speakers.
Speaker Ryan Olufs, owner of Misty Morning Ranch, said the CVB helped them become the fourth-largest ostrich farm in the United States.
Speaker Chris Dun, director of the Moore County Arts Council, said everyone benefits from the arts and wanted a portion to support the arts. He said the arts generate over $6.5 million annually with over 210 full-time jobs.
Speaker Krystal King, a Seagrove potter with the Seagrove Potters Association, said the industry relied on tourism.
Speaker Jason Daly with Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway said CVB provided advertising for them.
Speaker Nate Web represented the Brad Halling American Whiskey Ko. and said the 3% tax increase would help advertise their new business.
Speaker, Ret. U.S. Marine David Hensley, a Moore County Board of Education member, requested the school system have first refusal for the proceeds of the 3% tax increase over the regular 3% revenue. The school would work with the CVB to design plans for the best use of the funds for arts and sports facilities for tourism-related events to host events and competitions here. The school system has pending construction, and a major expense is sports facilities so that the resident taxpayers would save money.
Speaker Katie Wyatt with the Weymouth Center said last year’s CVB grant helped save the historic Boyd House.
The hotel occupancy tax rate for Moore County will increase to 6% next year.
During the meeting, the commissioners honored Vernon Wilson for a museum project in High Falls, a painting titled “Saving Our Memories.” Wilson is an architect who lived in High Falls. He wanted to provide a lasting history of the place he loved, with the falls, churches, schools, and a wooden covered bridge destroyed in a 1940 flood.
The board also announced a proclamation honoring Levi Ratkowski, 18, of the Seven Lakes community, for sports participation since he was two years old. Ratkowski suffered a severe concussion while playing high school football with devastating effects and, at age 15, discovered a love of arm wrestling. He won the U.S. National Championship and earned third place in world championships in Greece.
To learn about other topics discussed at the meeting, please click here.
Feature photo: Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst. Photo by Sandhills Sentinel photographer Melissa Schaub.
~Written by Sandhills Sentinel journalist Stephanie M. Sellers. Stephanie is also an English instructor at Central Carolina Community College. She is the author of young adult fiction, including When the Yellow Slugs Sing and Sky’s River Stone, and a suspense, GUTTERSNIPE: Shakespearean English Stage Play with Translation, and a new upcoming release published by Golden Storyline Books, a science fiction, Amagi.
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