Council approves tourism-board recommendations amid public plea to fund St. Bridget volunteers

The council reviewed tourism-board recommendations and approved several appropriation requests from the tourism fund.

Meeting minutes read by a tourism-board representative said Jeff Matthews recommended replacing two computers (the presenter estimated costs in the record as about '$1,500 $72 each'), the parks board recommended up to $40,000 to develop a new park entrance (lowest bid named), and UCDC requested $8,000 to install HVAC at the welcome center. The tourism board recommended $600 for billboard promotions for the Friends of St. Bridget; the board reported total recommended appropriations of $50,600.

Before those votes, a resident in public comment urged the council to consider the Friends of St. Bridget as a charitable local group despite their church affiliation, saying the volunteers 'do such nice things' and that the group often pays bills anonymously. Council members said more information and documentation help the county decide on grants when groups have also appeared before the tourism board.