By Betsy Finklea
The Dillon County Accommodation Tax Funds were discussed at a recent meeting.
According to a report from the committee, the 2014-2015 revenues totaled $100,530.55, an increase of $3,605.30 from the revenues received in 2013-2014.
The tax allocation was broken down as follows:
$25,000.00-Dillon County General Fund
$  3,776.52-Dillon County General Fund
$22,659.17-Tourism Advertising
$49,094.86-Tourism Related Expenses
$100,530.55-Total
The committee presented the following allocations:
PROJECTS FOR LATTA: Latta Springfest – $4,250 – Help with cost of event; Latta Revitalization Project –  $1,400 – Help with cost of historic walking tour signage program;  Latta Community Singers – $1,000 – Held with cost of event; Latta Revitalization – $500 – Harvest Day Celebration; Edward House Museum – $100 – Help with cost of advertising and promotion; Latta Christmas Tour of Homes – $1,000 – Help with cost of event.  Total for Latta Projects – $8,250
PROJECTS FOR LAKE VIEW:  Lake View Christmas on the Boulevard – $4,250 – Help with cost of event; Lake View Historic Signage Program – $1,000 – Help with cost of signage program; Farm to Table Celebration – $2,000 – Help with cost of event; Lake View Community Singers – $1,000 – Help with cost of event.  Total for Lake View Projects – $8,250
PROJECTS FOR DILLON COUNTY:  Dillon County Celebrates Main Street – $8,400 – Help with cost of event; Dillon County Theater – $5,000 – Help with cost of productions; Taste of Dillon County – $7,000 – Help with cost of event; Dillon County Museum – $3,000 – Help with cost of advertising and promotion; Dillon Historic School Foundation – $1,500 – Help with cost of historic marker; Tourism Advertising – $7,694.86 – Use for advertising and promoting tourism in Dillon County.  Total for Dillon County Projects – $32,594.86
TOTAL FOR ALL
PROJECTS:  $49,094.86
The Dillon Historic School Foundation (DHSF) came to ask for $20,000.  An itemized handout was given to council showing an estimated $62,760 in work that they needed including initial expenses in the amount of $5,510 for annual expenditures of postage, post office box rental, printing, entrance fees for local exhibits and registration fees for conferences/workshops; to reimburse DHSF purchase price of marker National Register of Historic Places; and to reimburse DHSF for costs incurred for applying for and receiving 501(c)3 status from IRS.
This also includes initial security for the grounds and all buildings of the J.V. Martin campus in the amount of $6,250 for keys/cylinders, padlocks/chains, No Trespassing/Private property signs, and repair broken windows/doors, and initial security/weatherproofing for the auditorium in the amount of $26,000 for steel stage doors (both sides), repair windows/cover w/Plexi-Glass, repair leaking roof/lobby, and initial liability insurance coverage.  It also includes $25,000 to fund an architect’s preliminary feasibility study.
They also presented the accommodations tax funds request form from when they made their request.
Here is some (not all) of the text from the request form that discusses how the project will attract and promote tourism:
“The renovation of the Dillon Graded School Historic Site will become a magnet for those tourists especially interested in learning about turn-of-the-twentieth-century schools, about educational opportunities that served a rural and small-town community in northeastern South Carolina and will subsequently provide (1) a unique venue for showcasing local events, touring exhibits, and professionally staged productions and (2) a spacious, completely functional, and multi-faceted facility for educational programs, conventions, workshops, and extension classes offered through regional colleges and universities”…
“By securing Accommodations Tax Funding, Dillon Historic School Foundation will be better positioned to initiate site development and the complete restoration of the former high school auditorium for use as a cultural arts center with well-planned, yearly schedules that will consistently attract visitors from throughout the region, the state, and the nation.  An important project planned by DHSF will be creating a council of representatives from all four Dillon County performance/assembly venues with the major, if not sole, purpose of scheduling various, non-conflicting events throughout the year – reinvigorating our community, attracting visitors to Dillon County, and encouraging all to return and enjoy something different and unexpected.”
The total anticipated attendance to proposed events is 100 to 1,000 depending on the “specific event planned for a specific facility.”  The percentage of tourists expected to attend events is 20–50 percent.
The DHSF mission statement is:
“The mission of the Dillon Historic School Foundation is to create interest in and advocate for preservation of Dillon school buildings of historical significance.To provide leadership, influence and service by protecting historic school buildings and developing strategies for preservation. To cooperate with officials to develop plans detailing how best these buildings can be functional and have historic value preserved for future generations.”
The officers of the DHSF include Gerald Berry, chairman; Terry Morris, vice-chairman;  Mary Miller, secretary; and John H. Wilson, treasurer.
At the meeting, Berry shared information with the council about the DHSF and the council members had an opportunity to ask questions.
Councilman Archie Scott inquired about the Criterion Club receiving funds.
Bob Newton, chairman of the accommodations tax committee, said while they had contributed to the club in the past, the laws have changed and a State Oversight Committee was formed.  The Oversight Committee decided that the Criterion Club did not qualify because it was a local club.  Scott said he felt if the DHSF qualified for funds that the Criterion Club should qualify because the Criterion Club did the same things that Berry said the DHSF did.
Newton said he was not sure if the DHSF qualified.  They approved the money for the historical marker to be recommended to council.  Newton said the Oversight Committee was to soon meet, and he would let council know what they said.
The council delayed action on the funds.  Chairman T. F. “Buzzy” Finklea, Jr., said that council would get someone from Columbia to come in and talk with council, the DHSF, and other parties interested in the accommodations tax funds.  This is expected to happen in the next few weeks.