Tourism Advisory Council Plans To Offer Input To Board Of Aldermen On Vacant Director’s Position

During a special work session on December 3, the city of Ste. Genevieve Tourism Advisory Council agreed to draft a resolution supporting tourism to present to the Board of Aldermen on December 12 during a work session or regular meeting.

The resolution points out the value of tourism to Ste. Genevieve, including creation of jobs, increasing property values, maintaining neighborhood character, preserving culture and attracting investments.

It encourages the board to continue funding tourism and to employ a tourism director who is “highly organized, an excellent communicator, an event coordinator,” has political skills, an understanding of historic properties, work experience in the field and the ability to “work independently and with diverse groups.”

It also urges the city to maintain the Welcome Center.

“We are appointed by the city to give advice, so I thought maybe it was a good idea that we did,” Tourism Advisory Council chair Sara Menard said at the start of the work session.

Menard said the situation does not appear to be as bleak as she initially thought.

“Early on, I was sort of in a panic,” she said. “I thought some of the city leadership was moving toward eliminating the department of tourism altogether, and that sort of scared me. I think that is no longer the case. I am pretty confident there will be a department of tourism. But that said, it is still within the rights of this organization to offer some advice.”

She then added that the Board of Aldermen has “no obligation to take our advice whatsoever.”

See complete story in the December 11 edition of the Herald.