Convention Center: No policy offered in booking dispute | News, Sports, Jobs

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A committee appointed two months ago to consider a policy on the Blair County Convention Center’s booking of local events presented no recommendation Wednesday.

But convention center Executive Director Tom Schilling and Doug Simon, owner of The Casino at Lakemont Park, have agreed to meet and review what Schilling defined Wednesday as a limited amount of local bookings at the convention center.

Simon, on behalf of himself and other area businesses capable of hosting events and providing meals, has been challenging the convention center’s booking of local events as unfair competition.

Unlike local business owners, the convention center — built with significant support from state and federal grants — pays no real estate taxes and receives about $250,000 annually in county bed tax revenue.

While the center was built to bring business and people into the county, it has hosted local events that Simon says could have been booked at private venues.

Convention center authority member Ron Beatty — named in July to chair a committee to consider a policy for addressing local business requests — told the authority Wednesday that he agreed a committee meeting with fellow authority members Donna Gority, Jamie Van Buren and Matt Stuckey, who offered no support.

“But Ron, at that meeting, you didn’t propose any such policy,” Gority told Beatty on Wednesday. “The only thing you suggested was to put an administrative add-on (fee) to the charges.”

Beatty said he proposed “a local use fee” be added to the charges for local bookings at the convention center. He suggested that fee as a way to offset the convention center’s advantage over private businesses that pay local real estate taxes and have no bed tax revenue.

“So that’s the policy you think should be in place?” Gority asked.

“That should be the start of it,” Beatty replied.

After the meeting, Beatty said the committee members offered no counter proposals.

Gority recalled during the meeting that Beatty asked the committee members for their thoughts.

“My thoughts were that we have a policy that we definitely market outside the area and periphery,” Gority said.

While local organizations, residents and businesses do book events at the convention center, Schilling has long maintained that it’s not because it’s pursued.

“We don’t go after anybody (locally)” Schilling said at Wednesday’s meeting. “They knock on the door.”

Van Buren said Wednesday that the convention center has a history of setting prices that cover event expenses and generate money for building repairs, equipment purchases and other needs.

“I think we already have a facilities charge built into every single bid,” Van Buren said.

Simon told the authority that he goes through the same effort in preparing bids for events interested in The Casino at Lakemont Park. But unlike the convention center, Simon said he also has to account for real estate taxes.

In his presentation on Wednesday, Simon stressed that he isn’t objecting to the convention center receiving bed tax dollars.

“This facility was designed to bring in people to our community … to experience all that is great about Blair County, to stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and tour the unique attractions of the areas. Heads in beds is its mission and that is what earns this facility bed tax dollars,” he said.

In closing remarks to the authority, he suggested a competition policy based on one simple criteria — that if an event does not put heads in beds, then it shouldn’t be booked at the convention center.

Also during the authority meeting, Schilling offered to meet with Simon and further review information about convention center’s local bookings that may or may not have been available to other venues for various reasons.

“I know we just sent two weddings your way, including one that was a relative of mine,” Schilling said.

Simon told Schilling he would both meet with him, prompting men to agree that they would like to see the matter resolved so they can devote their time to operating their respective facilities.

Beatty complimented Schilling and told him that he’s doing a great job and the job that he was hired to do.

“I feel it’s the board’s responsibility to give you guidance on what is local business,” Beatty said. “I think the board should have a clearly defined policy for you to use to make decisions … to (pursue) the type of business you need to keep the place open, but then also to not step on the toes of local businesses that pay property taxes and don’t get a share of the local bed tax.”

Gority, who was chairing the meeting in the absence of Dan Taddei, later responded: “Then come back with a suggested policy.”