Kittitas County, WA – 08/10/2017 – The process for applying for lodging tax grants for tourism-related special projects and festivals is changing significantly for 2018. The new process, which will be released at the end of August, is all digital for the first time and paper copies will no longer be accepted. To help applicants prepare for the changes, training sessions are being offered in Ellensburg and Cle Elum. While training is not required, it is highly recommended for everyone.

At the end of last year’s grant process, representatives of the lodging tax committees from Ellensburg, Roslyn, Cle Elum and Kittitas County decided to develop the new online application program.  Each of the cities and the county have a voice in reviewing and funding the applications and the decision to move to an all-digital application was made in an effort to make the overall process more efficient and to improve it for the applicants.  “This grant program is very complex because it has several reviewers and several stages in order to facilitate agreement on the final recommendations.  Applicants will have a familiar experience throughout the process if they’ve been through it before.  It will just look a little different and the application itself will be all online,” stated Kittitas County Commissioner Paul Jewell.  “Our hope is also that it will be easier for applicants to submit a proposal with this new system.  They can do it nearly anywhere and we’ve included several tools within the application to assist them through the process.”  Jewell is the Chairman of the county’s lodging tax advisory committee and oversees the program’s development.  “Because this process is complex and takes several months to complete, it also requires a lot of staff time.  By digitizing it, we’ve cut a lot of that out too,” added Jewell.

Trainings are scheduled to be held on the following dates and times, and at the following locations:

  • Tuesday, August 15th, Upper Kittitas County Courthouse, Cle Elum, 4PM to 6PM;
  • Thursday, August 17th, Ellensburg City Hall, Ellensburg, 4PM to 6PM;
  • Tuesday, August 22nd, Upper Kittitas County Courthouse, Cle Elum, 4PM to 6PM;
  • Thursday, August 24th, Ellensburg City Hall, Ellensburg, 4PM to 6PM.

The trainings are hosted by the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce.  The digital application will be presented with instructions and applicants will have the opportunity to review it and ask questions.  General questions about the grant funding process will also be addressed.  The lodging tax grants for tourism-related special projects and festivals provided funding to over 26 projects in 2017 for a total amount of $216,990.00.

Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at https://www.co.kittitas.wa.us