The Hotel/Motel Excise Tax Ordinance Amendment was read for the second time and adopted, along with the Special Event Ordinance and Street Performance Ordinance, during the City of Blue Ridge’s Tuesday, September 8, council meeting.
The Hotel/Motel Excise Tax Ordinance Amendment involves raising the tax from 5% to 8%.
This tax is used for improvements around the city that promote tourism as well as tourism marketing.
A portion of this tax is administered by the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce.
The agreement between the chamber and city, for the tax, was also approved.
The council also recently alloted 1% of the tax for the city’s Downtown Development Authority.
The Special Event Ordinance outlines the procedure in which events are permitted and handled. This ordinance includes parades, protests, marches and processions.
A special event includes any activity that will affect the “ordinary” use of any city properties and/or increase more than 100% of the “average daily trips on any public street within the city” and any event that attracts or intends to attract 25 or more people.
A parade, march, protest and procession constitutes a group or combination of five or more vehicles or ten or more people or a combination of three or more vehicles or five or more people “proceeding or moving in a body or in concert along the streets or sidewalks of the city.”
A permit is not required for funeral processions, lawful picketing, any governmental agency sponsored activity, or any bona fide athletic event or contest “sponsored by a bona fide elementary, secondary or high school situated within the city.”
Changes were made to the ordinance, which include that a permit application be filed no more than 365 days in advance, changed the minimum filing period from seven days to 14, and changed the special events committee to Planning, Zoning and Project Manager Jeff Stewart.
The topic couldn’t pass by without arguments, however.
When it came to determining who would be in charge of handling the events, Councilwoman Rhonda Haight suggested Stewart be in charge because “who has time for anymore committees?”
The ordinance had designated a special events committee be responsible for the details of events.
Mayor Donna Whitener came back saying, “It’s what you signed up for.”
“Oh, trust me, I’m on plenty, and I was doing your job this week by talking to the police department (regarding the vehicles that have been driving around the county displaying various flags),” Haight said.
The Street Performance Ordinance provides a designated performance area as a means to regulate what is going on downtown, and it passed unanimously without much discussion.
The Occupational Tax Certificate Ordinance Amendment was read for the first time.
At the last meeting, Downtown Business Association President Cesar Martinez spoke for businesses concern for the proposed increase in permitting.
Keeping those concerns in mind, as well as keeping the procedure in which the permits are issued practical, Councilman Mike Panter proposed changing the fees to a $250 flat rate for businesses with one to 50 employees and $500 for businesses with 51 or more employees.
All council members were in agreement with the rates, but Haight said she would be okay with gradually increasing the rate over time.
The matter did not require a vote.