Here’s why the Welcome Center is vital to Gilroy

The May 15, 2015, issue of the Gilroy Dispatch article on the Gilroy Welcome Center has prompted this letter.  My hope is that the community will reach out to elected officials and that the City Administrator will take an active role in explaining the positive, financial benefit this public-private organization brings to the City of Gilroy.
I have a few observations based on having served 20 years on the Gilroy Welcome Center (Gilroy Visitors Bureau) Board as a voting member:

• Public-private organizations are a direct benefit to tax payers. Because they are under the umbrella of ‘private’ employer, savings on benefits such as retirement, automobiles and health insurance tied to public contracts is possible. In the case of the Gilroy Welcome Center, payroll and benefits is 40 percent of the budget while in the City of Gilroy it exceeds 60 percent.

• Public-private organizations are ideal for managing city projects, such as the City Way Finding Sign program. Time and expertise in the management of this program by the Gilroy Welcome Center board resulted in a high-quality Way Finding program that would have been outside the city’s budget range.

• The Welcome Center is the marketing arm for tourism promotion. Dollars are leveraged through partnerships with attractions and organizations when advertisements are placed to promote Gilroy as a destination. It is estimated Gilroy generates $97 million in total spending by visitors supporting Gilroy businesses. Taxable retail sales in Gilroy exceed $1 billion, providing a strong economic edge over other cities. Consumers have many choices where they spend their money; the Welcome Center creates strategies to entice them to our community.

• The City of Gilroy lacks the staffing to serve the 4,000-plus visitors each month greeted by the Welcome Center. We are enjoying a rebounding economy in Gilroy, which was predicted five years ago at the Welcome Center’s strategy sessions.

• The city receives monthly, detailed reports from the Welcome Center on every aspect of revenue and expenditures and the resultant Return on Investment (ROI) for the city.

• The Welcome Center board created the GTBID (Gilroy Tourism Business Improvement District), another public/private partnership.  As the City of Gilroy is aware, the GTBID has stringent requirements that prevent funds from being used outside of the agreement between the hotel property owners, the city and the Welcome Center.
  • The city benefits directly from a Center that is open seven days a week. Since opening in October 2011, 135,000-plus visitors have walked into the Welcome Center, in addition to 65 tour groups and more than 5,700 tour bus visitors. A glaring omission in the Gilroy Welcome Center budget is the value of that prime space and the impact to the Center’s budget if the space was not available. 

Having served as the administrative arm of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce for 20-plus years, I understand the role of volunteer leadership and the value they bring to setting policy and moving an organization forward. 
Serving on the City Council takes a great deal of time and energy.  Tough decisions need to be made, and the citizens of Gilroy have high expectations that those decisions are not made in a vacuum.   In the case of funding for a strong partner of the City of Gilroy, it is well worth the time and effort to request the City Administrator to be at the forefront of this discussion.
Susan Valenta is the past President and CEO of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce. She submitted this piece to The Dispatch.