Palmer Visitor Center will open -- sans gift shop

PALMER -- The Palmer Chamber of Commerce will once again operate the Palmer Visitor Center this year, but those who stop by the center will likely see a few changes when the building opens in April.

The Palmer City Council, Tuesday, agreed to offer the chamber the contract to operate the log visitors center, located on Colony Way. The council's unanimous decision came after considerable discussion over what a visitor center should be, and how much, if any, money the city should contribute to promoting a single industry.

City Manager Tom Healy told the council the city had received two responses to the request for proposals that was advertised in February. The Palmer Chamber submitted one response, which included provisions to staff the building nine hours a day during the busy tourist season, as well as provide a way for people to have their questions answered during the off-season. The chamber's proposal did include a request for partial funding to help offset the cost of operations at a total of $53,000. That cost includes operation and maintenance funding already provided by the city to the visitor center and the adjoining garden. About $12,000 of that would go directly to help pay the salaries of center employees.

VIP International, who also submitted a proposal to the city, had different plans for the property. They proposed staffing the visitor center, but also proposed building a museum and a domed theater. They proposed a $485,000 annual budget, and proposed to generate the $1.5 million needed for the construction projects through grant applications.

"It's not clear how realistic this plan is," Healy told the council. "It's not clear whether VIPI would require financial support from the city. The bottom line on this one is, there is kind of a lack of certainty, of clarity. The chamber of commerce proposal was more clear, I guess, and more responsive to the request … "

Several downtown business owners attended the meeting to voice their concerns about how the center had previously been operated, and what they hoped to see in the future.

"The chamber of commerce's duty is to enhance and promote businesses, not to compete with businesses by running a gift shop," said Verda's Cakes & Things owner Verda Lewis. "I do believe the chamber of commerce has operated in conflict with the businesses of Palmer."

Stu Graham, the immediate past president of the chamber board, told the council Lewis' concerns are addressed under the new contract.

The chamber had operated the center for several years, but its 10-year lease with the city expired in September and the chamber board decided it was time to reconsider some aspects of the plan. The gift shop the chamber had operated at the visitor center was one of the primary aspects the chamber board reconsidered. In January, Graham told the council the chamber had decided to forego operation of the gift shop because it was a financial drain on the group -- and because the board didn't feel the gift shop fit in with the chamber's mission.

"It was essentially, what's the mission of the chamber, to sell things or to provide information and promote local businesses?" Graham said in an interview Wednesday. He said the chamber plans to focus more on the basics of the visitor center -- disseminating information about local businesses and providing a place for visitor to ask questions about the area. With all the newfound space, Graham said, some of the historical items from the basement museum will be brought upstairs and placed on display.

But council member Tony Pippel suggested maybe the city should look at additional ways to generate money from visitors using the center and other city amenities.

"We're putting $50,000 a year into this facility and providing the facility free of charge to the operator -- I'm guessing at an estimated $25,000 a year, and we're going to put another $30,000 into it, all to promote tourism," Pippel said, "and that's all fine and dandy but it begins to make me a little uncomfortable when the city is spending general fund dollars to promote and support … this. If this is the best we can do and it's going to cost us a bunch of money, we owe it to the residents to come up with a way to pay to help offset some of the costs."

Council member Katherine Vanover pointed out that the chamber brings assets to the table as well -- including tens of thousands of dollars in computers, office equipment, display cases and other things. She added that the difference in cost between the chamber's proposal and past proposals was $24,000 and $30,000, including the $12,000 request for assistance for operational funds -- money that previously, at least in theory, was expected to come from the sales of items in the gift shop.

Council member John Combs suggested the chamber find other ways to help offset the costs of operating the facility, such as allowing businesses to sponsor the center for a day or week or month for an allotted fee. In return, their business and products could be featured at the center. Graham, Wednesday, said he would discuss this idea and others presented at the council meeting with the chamber board.

Palmer Mayor Jim Cooper said now that the gift-store component has been removed from the lease, it's possible the city may qualify for a portion of the money generated through the Mat-Su Borough's bed tax receipts. If so, he said, that money could be used to offset the added operational dollars in the new lease agreement. Whether or not the city gets money to offset the added costs, Cooper said, he believes the contract is money well spent.

"I don't think an additional $50,000 is a waste of money," Cooper said. "I think it's probably well-spent, and we probably should spend a helluva lot more to get people into this community. We need to spend money to keep this going."

Contact Rindi White at rindi.white@frontiersman.com.