Chamber board rescinds lodging tax pledge for sports complex
Published 5:23 pm Wednesday, June 19, 2019
- Cullman County Schools Superintendent Shane Barnette speaks at the press conference to unveil the plans for a sports/arts complex in March.
Lodging tax revenue pledged to a now-shelved sports complex has been rescinded by the executive committee of the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber Chair T.J. Franey released a statement about the committee’s vote Wednesday afternoon that reads:
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“The Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors at its monthly meeting Tuesday, June 18, 2019, passed a motion to rescind the Chamber’s action of March 19, 2019, concerning the lodgings tax. Further, any and all prior commitments associated with the lodgings tax, if any, are null and void, and the board is under no obligation to any projects beyond its current commitment to the 222 Exchange (Exit 305 at Interstate 65).
“Dr. Shane Barnette (Cullman County Schools superintendent) had previously submitted a letter informing the Chamber board that Cullman County Schools was turning down the percentage of the lodgings tax previously pledged by the Chamber.
“The Chamber board is in the process of establishing new procedures to determine future allocations of the lodgings tax.”
Barnette unveiled plans for a $30 million sports complex, including features for the arts, at a press conference in March. Former Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Leah Bolin also said at the press conference that the organization would dedicate money from the lodging tax to the project.
Around the same time, the Cullman County Commission voted to increase the sales tax by a half-cent for education. Barnette intended for a small portion of the tax to used for the sports complex.
The project was pitched as a money-making idea for county school system because of regional and national tournaments that could be booked into the facility. The idea was opposed by some mayors and councils and eventually by some members of the school board. Barnette by April announced that the project would not go forward and the county commission rescinded the half-cent sales tax.
