Alva Review-Courier -

The Alva Tourism and Convention Development Committee met Wednesday to consider two requests for funding from tourism tax. Chairman Melinda Barton opened the meeting with members Scott Kline, Angelica Brady and Sadie Bier present. Terri Parsons was absent.

Cars, Concerts and BBQ

Patrick Hawley appeared on behalf of the Alva Police Department for the third annual Cars, Concerts and BBQ Contests. The two-day event is scheduled for May 3-4. Hawley said they had 15 BBQ competitors last year, but they need 20 this year to be sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

The Friday night band concert blocked off much of the square last year. Hawley said with more competitors, they would have to block off the entire square downtown to have enough room. Therefore, they’ve decided to move the event to the Woods County Fairgrounds on the south edge of Alva.

After checking the event budget, Kline had a question. Under revenue, the event listed $18,950. Under expenses, they showed $27,750. The difference between these was a negative $8,800. But the event organizers were asking for $23,750 from tourism tax. This meant they would have $14,950 left after paying all the expenses. He asked what they planned to do with that extra $14,950.

Hawley didn’t have any answers since he didn’t prepare the budget. Last year, the event received $16,304.45 from tourism tax.

Due to questions about the event budget, Kline made a motion to table the agenda item, seconded by Bier. The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Nescatunga Golf Tournament

J.J. Lane spoke to the committee on behalf of the Alva Golf and Country Club for the 62nd annual Nescatunga Golf Tournament. He said roughly 40 teams are expected from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Nebraska. The Friday to Sunday event means lots of hotel stays, and many contestants bring their families who enjoy shopping downtown. The tournament is set for July 12-14.

The committee members are familiar with the event, and approved the $6,000 request, the same as last year.

Financials, Meeting Changes

Committee members approved the February financial report and minutes from the Feb. 21 meeting.

City Business Manager Stephen Ford spoke about the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. He said he intends to look at funding for events this year compared to last year to determine the size of their budget. He said they also need to move the fund balance at the end of the year into the next year’s budget.

There was discussion about moving the regular meeting date of April 17 to April 24 due to a conflict with the Lt. Governor’s Turkey Hunt. Committee members were concerned that might be too late to make a decision on the police department’s May event. They voted to set a special meeting for March 27 so they can consider that tabled request. The April 17 meeting will be canceled, and a special meeting will be scheduled for April 24.

A video of the meeting may be viewed at http://www.AlvaReviewCourier.com by clicking on the Videos tab.