OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Lodgers' Tax Advisory Board Meeting - July 21, 2026

County Council & Boards — Tuesday, July 21, 2026
BodyLos Alamos County, New Mexico
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateTuesday, July 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:15:27

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right.

0:01

Welcome to what month is it?

0:03

July's Laundri's Tax Advisory Board meeting, everyone.

0:08

We'll go ahead and call to order.

0:09

It's 1201.

0:11

My name's Connor Tharp.

0:12

I work at the Broadbury Science Museum, but on this board I represent the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, which encompasses Espanola, Rio Riva, Taos, and Santa Fe counties.

0:22

So I'm vice chair, but Jen is not here today.

0:25

So I'm covering for her.

0:30

Good morning or afternoon.

0:32

I'm Dana Evan.

0:34

I am just a person on the board, and I manage the Holiday and Express here in Los Alamos.

0:47

Sonia, are you online?

0:50

Yes, I am.

0:50

Hi, everybody.

0:52

My name is Sonia, and I manage the Wing Gate by Wyndham, the hotel.

1:02

And then we have a couple of new people if we want to introduce our new legal.

1:13

Good afternoon.

1:14

My name is Christella Valdez, and I'm an assistant county attorney with Los Alamos County.

1:21

Max.

1:22

Sure.

1:23

Good morning, everybody.

1:24

My name is Max Gurdjakov.

1:26

I'm the new uh economic development uh administrator.

1:29

So I'm excited to be working with you all.

1:32

Thanks for being here.

1:34

Welcome.

1:35

Anyone?

1:38

Um Ellen, would you like to introduce yourself?

1:41

Uh Ellen Felton.

1:42

Uh I work with Los Alamos County, and I'm the liaison to the board.

1:49

Yay.

1:53

All right, let's go ahead and approve today's agenda.

1:57

If everyone's reviewed it, can I get a motion to approve or not?

2:04

I motion to approve the agenda.

2:11

Second.

2:12

I second.

2:13

Thanks, Sonia.

2:15

Um all in favor of approving today's agenda, say aye.

2:19

Aye.

2:19

Aye.

2:21

Sonia.

2:23

Aye.

2:23

Thank you.

2:26

Uh review and approval of meeting minutes.

2:30

Can I get a motion to approve?

2:33

I motion to approve the May 19th minutes.

2:38

I second.

2:41

All right.

2:42

Have a first and a second.

2:43

Um all in favor.

2:45

Aye.

2:45

Aye.

2:47

Aye.

2:48

Thank you.

2:51

Okay.

2:52

Um, Ellen has graciously reminded me that we have public comment.

2:59

Is there anyone who has uh public comment for things not on the agenda?

3:05

Items not on the agenda.

3:14

Seeing none, we'll move on to our presentation from Manhattan National Historical Park.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tourism Management█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Historic Preservation████████████18%
Procedural██████9%
Public Engagement█2%
Parks and Recreation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Lodgers' Tax Advisory Board Meeting - July 21, 2026

The Lodgers' Tax Advisory Board (LTAB) held a regular meeting on July 21, 2026, at 12:00 PM in Council Chambers. Vice Chair Conner Tharp presided in the absence of Chair Jennifer Olsen. The board reviewed tourism performance, marketing reports, park updates, and visitor data, with a focus on leveraging promotional programs and addressing visitation trends.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the agenda and the May 19, 2026 meeting minutes unanimously (5-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made for items not on the agenda.

Discussion Items

  • Manhattan Project National Historical Park Update: Site Manager Nick Murray and LANL Program Manager Jonathan Greel presented an update. The park is co-managed with DOE, focusing on preservation and public access. In 2024, the park saw 25,538 visitors with an estimated $1.8M economic impact; 2025 saw 20,228 visitors due to a government shutdown in October/November; 2026 has had over 12,000 visitors to-date. "Behind the Fence" tours occur twice a year (May and October) via a lottery system, with 180 slots per round (30 per tour, 3 days, 2 tours/day). Recent lottery for October drew nearly 3,000 applicants. About 66% of tour participants were from out-of-state. The park relies on about a dozen active volunteers. A peace event is planned for August 6 at Ashley Pond.

  • DestinationiQ Report: Marketing Director Lauren presented June 2026 website and ad performance. Website traffic increased 15.09% year-over-year (28,736 vs 24,968), with paid search up 197% (5,542 vs 1,866). Google Ads hit record highs in impressions (+21.2% to 34,370), clicks (+51.2% to 4,611), and interaction rate (13.42%). The summer concert series anchored strong performance, with keywords like "los alamos concerts" achieving 49–57% CTR. Meta Ads spent $987.22 to generate 5,635 landing page views at $0.18 cost per view, with a 6.18% overall CTR. The ABQ/SF market received 46.6% of budget, DFW 18%, Colorado 25.7%, and a new 50-mile event set at 9.9%. The team will begin promoting ScienceFest per the marketing plan. No board questions were raised.

  • NMTrue CoOp Program Update: Ellyn Felton reviewed the FY26 program (ended) and previewed FY27. FY26 had a $54,500 investment yielding $163,500 in media value, including video production, micro-influencer campaigns, search, display, and print ads. Most efficient keyword group was "Museums" with an 86% conversion rate. FY27 budget is $50,050 for $150,150 media value, with new components like Connected TV and Oklahoma City programmatic digital out-of-home. Target geographics expanded to West Texas, Denver, OKC, and Southern NM. Board member Dana Even asked about the new OKC focus; Kirsten explained it was a state-led experiment to tap a drive market, and the cost was low. Even expressed support for trying new markets. Lauren noted video assets are available on the Los Alamos County Economic Development YouTube page for local businesses to embed.

  • Discover Los Alamos Report: Director Melanie Peña presented monthly visitation reports for January through May 2026. Overall visitation lagged previous years, with White Rock Visitor Center down 73% since Bandelier shuttles ended. Valles Caldera was the only attraction with a 3% increase year-over-year. May 2026 saw 1,587 Los Alamos Visitor Center visitors (same as April) and 696 at White Rock. Bandelier had 29,843 visitors in May. Survey data from 53 kiosk responses showed 23 selected Manhattan Project NHP as a visit reason, 19 Los Alamos History Museum, 17 Bandelier, etc. Top out-of-state origin states were Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Colorado, California. International visitors included Australia, Iceland, Japan, UK. A 2025 Tourism Data Report summary showed 2024 direct visitor spending of $41.5M (+2% from 2023), with lodging $15.2M, food & beverage $9.4M, retail $8.8M, transportation $4.2M, recreation $3.9M. The report recommended growth areas such as boosting winter visitation via new snowmaking at Pajarito Mountain, enhancing local dining/shopping promotion, and reconnecting Bandelier shuttles.

  • Lodger's Tax Revenue Report: The June 2026 revenue report was included for reference. Fiscal year-to-date lodger's tax revenues totaled $442,713.54 against a budget of $500,000. Year-to-date expenditures were $455,549.34, leaving an unencumbered balance of $14,009.73.

  • Councilor Report: Councilor Herman provided updates from the July 14 County Council work session, including presentations on the Historic Preservation Advisory Board (needs members), Public Utilities Board (rate hearings), community dashboard performance metrics, and the Comprehensive Plan update (survey available).

  • Other Announcements: Upcoming events include ScienceFest (Sept 18-26), the NM Single Track bike race through Trans Rocky series (Sept 19), Uler Fest at the ski hill (Sept 19), and the County Fair & Rodeo (early August) with a new nighttime rodeo. New Adventure Guides are available in print and online.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the May 19, 2026 meeting minutes.
  • The next LTAB meeting is scheduled for September 15, 2026, at 12:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Welcome to what month is it? July's Laundri's Tax Advisory Board meeting, everyone. We'll go ahead and call to order. It's 1201. My name's Connor Tharp. I work at the Broadbury Science Museum, but on this board I represent the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, which encompasses Espanola, Rio Riva, Taos, and Santa Fe counties. So I'm vice chair, but Jen is not here today. So I'm covering for her. Good morning or afternoon. I'm Dana Evan. I am just a person on the board, and I manage the Holiday and Express here in Los Alamos. Sonia, are you online? Yes, I am. Hi, everybody. My name is Sonia, and I manage the Wing Gate by Wyndham, the hotel. And then we have a couple of new people if we want to introduce our new legal. Good afternoon. My name is Christella Valdez, and I'm an assistant county attorney with Los Alamos County. Max. Sure. Good morning, everybody. My name is Max Gurdjakov. I'm the new uh economic development uh administrator. So I'm excited to be working with you all. Thanks for being here. Welcome. Anyone? Um Ellen, would you like to introduce yourself? Uh Ellen Felton. Uh I work with Los Alamos County, and I'm the liaison to the board. Yay. All right, let's go ahead and approve today's agenda. If everyone's reviewed it, can I get a motion to approve or not? I motion to approve the agenda. Second. I second. Thanks, Sonia. Um all in favor of approving today's agenda, say aye. Aye. Aye. Sonia. Aye. Thank you. Uh review and approval of meeting minutes. Can I get a motion to approve? I motion to approve the May 19th minutes. I second. All right. Have a first and a second.

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