FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Travel Oregon awards $16,715 Destination Ready grant to the City of Garibaldi
GARIBALDI, OR - March 15, 2021
Travel Oregon has awarded $913,000 dollars to 34 projects across the state for “the development, enhancement, and stewardship of key visitor experiences that are COVID-19 appropriate, will aid in economic recovery, enhance local livability and provide access to a diversity of explorers through the Destination Ready program”. The City of Garibaldi will receive $16,715 to build up their waste management infrastructure by providing additional trash receptacles and COVID-19 appropriate visitor seating for the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad.
The Destination Ready grant opportunity had a very short timeline. The applications opened January 14th and were due by February 3rd. On February 17th, the City of Garibaldi was informed their application submitted by the City’s Tourism and Events Specialist, Laura Schmidt, for a proposed project called 'A Little Less Trash, and a Lot More Seating,' had been selected, out of 135 applications, as one of the recipients for Travel Oregon's Destination Ready Program for 2021. Originally announced as a $250,000 opportunity, Travel Oregon received more than $4 million in requests through those 135 applications. On February 23rd, during the Oregon Tourism Commission Meeting, it was announced that 23 destination awards had been granted for a total amount of $600,000. Due to the high demand, the agency reviewed internal program dollars and reallocated resources to increase the award amount to $913,000, which allowed funding for an additional 11 projects, bringing the total to 34 projects across the state.
An initial project meeting with Travel Oregon’s Director of Community-Based Services, Alexa Carey, was had on March 9th to discuss the project in greater detail, refine the scope, and finalize next steps for project implementation. Projects are required to be shovel-ready and completed within six months of the execution of a financial agreement, which should happen by the end of the month. The City’s goal is to have the project completed by early summer to be available for use during the peak visitor season.
The City of Garibaldi’s Public Works Director / City Planner Pro Tem / City Engineer / Project Manager, Blake Lettenmaier, worked hand in hand during the entire application process and will be overseeing the project until completion alongside Ms. Schmidt. Also, Garibaldi Planning Commissioner, Nathan Findling, provided a last-minute set of fresh eyes and online collaborative review and edit of the final draft version that was submitted.
The City of Garibaldi will work closely with the Port of Garibaldi and the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad on this mutually beneficial project, as well as engage additional local partners in the future to ensure we continue to enhance our visitor’s experience and mitigate the impacts of tourism.
Watch for updates and progress during this project on the City’s website and Facebook pages.
For more information on Travel Oregon's Destination Ready Program, please click the link below to their website.
https://industry.traveloregon.com/opportunities/programs-initiatives/destination-ready-program/
Contact:
Laura Schmidt, Tourism and Events Specialist
Laura@ci.garibaldi.or.us
(503) 974-8581
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