Spokane Valley Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Special Meeting - November 20, 2025
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Spokane Valley Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Special Meeting - November 20, 2025
The Spokane Valley Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) held a special meeting on November 20, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. in City Hall Council Chambers to review and make funding recommendations on two applications related to a proposed ice sports facility on the city's Sullivan Property. The committee heard presentations from City Manager John Holman and Shelley O'Quinn of the Innovia Foundation, discussed the proposals, and unanimously approved two motions: one providing up to $600,000 annually for operations (with conditions) and another allocating $2 million for capital infrastructure.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public provided comments, either online or in person.
Discussion Items
- Overview: John Holman explained the city's economic development history, noting that a 2023 study identified a need for tourism venues like an ice rink. A benefactor through Innovia Foundation is self-funding the ice rink construction, but the city cannot sustain operations. The proposal includes commercial pads to generate revenue for ongoing operations.
- Operational Application (Innovia Foundation): Shelley O'Quinn presented the operational budget, which differs from an earlier proforma by reducing fees for classes to ensure low/no-cost youth access and adding a line item for capital replacement (target of $500,000 fund). The budget anticipates breaking even in about five years, with reliance on development of adjacent parcels for long-term sustainability.
- Capital Application (City of Spokane Valley): The city requested $2 million from Fund 104 (the 1.3% lodging tax capital fund) for design and construction of infrastructure at the Sullivan property. City Council has already authorized matching funds.
- Questions and Concerns:
- Committee member Rustin Hall (hotel owner) expressed concern about a potential hotel on the adjacent commercial pads, noting that hotels fund the lodging tax and should not fund a competitor. Holman and O'Quinn responded that complementary uses (e.g., restaurants, skate shop) are alternatives and that a hotel is not immediate if operational support is provided.
- Hall and Amanda Hoffert noted hotel community excitement for the ice facility but reiterated concern about a competing hotel. O'Quinn confirmed that if LTAC provides operational support, development of commercial pads can be delayed and partnerships explored.
- Committee asked about long-term ownership: O'Quinn explained that a single-purpose nonprofit under Innovia would own and operate the facility, with a first-right-of-purchase option for the city to ensure public access and prevent acquisition by private hockey academies.
- Holman emphasized that public ownership would secure the mission of affordable access forever.
Key Outcomes
- Motion 1 (Operational Support): Moved by committee member (likely Gibbs or Gwynn, but not specified in transcript) and seconded, the LTAC recommended funding Innovia Foundation's operational request from Fund 105 as follows:
- Up to $600,000 annually in 2027 and 2028.
- Up to $550,000 annually in 2029, 2030, and 2031.
- Conditioned on Innovia's agreement that no lodging facility be developed on the 11-acre site through the term of its ground lease with the city as long as lodging tax funds are provided.
- Conditioned on Innovia providing a review in 2031 to LTAC of operational support needs and tourism generation.
- Vote: Unanimous (all ayes).
- Motion 2 (Capital Infrastructure): Moved and seconded, the LTAC recommended funding the city's capital request from Fund 104 for $2 million for design and construction of infrastructure at the Sullivan property.
- Conditioned on the city executing a ground lease with Innovia for an ice sports facility substantially as identified in the application.
- Also conditioned on meeting the conditions of the operational support motion.
- Vote: Unanimous (all ayes).
- No further business; meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Chair Higgins, it's eight o'clock when you'd like to begin. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Welcome everyone. This Spokane Valley Lodging Tax Advisory Committee special meeting will come to order. It's November 20 at 8 a.m. the acknowledged time. And Madam Clerk, would you call the roll, please? Certainly. Chair Higgins. Here. Committee member Gibbs. Here. Committee member Gwynn. Here. Committee member Rustin Hall. Here. And committee member Amanda Hoffert. Here. Thank you. This is a special meeting as already said. It will be rather short, as you can see from the agenda. And here to explain the ground rules and what we're going to be doing is Ms. Sarah Farr. Thank you, Councilmember Higgins. I just wanted to give a brief overview of today's meeting. I won't go through the usual rules of lodging tax because we just had that on October 29th. If anyone wants to review that for members of the public, they can go back and review that recording. Today's meeting is a special meeting to review the applications for the ICE facility as requested by the LTAC. And we have two applications coming forward, so I just wanted to go over today's meeting briefly for those members of the committee because this process is a little different than what we would usually do and how it was handled back on October 29th. We don't have a ranking spreadsheet because there's only one application in each category. A presentation for that capital side of the funding. Keep in mind that we'll hear both of those presentations. You're welcome to ask questions about the presentations, and then the committee can uh deliberate, discuss, and then create recommendations if you so choose and make motions regarding those recommendations. Do you have any questions regarding that process and not having the ranking and all of that? Okay. I will be available. Chelsea's here, we have a lot of staff here regarding any process or funding, things like that. So feel free to ask those questions during your discussion at the end if you want. And with that, we'll go into our presentations. Thank you. Um before the presentations, we have a public comment section. According to my agenda. Okay. Please keep comments to matters within the jurisdiction of the city government. This is not an opportunity for questions and discussion. Divorce diverse points of view are welcome, but please keep remarks civil. Remarks will be limited to three minutes per person. And remember that if they're about the motions or about anything that's going to be an action item, defer until the action items are taken up. Madam Clerk, do we have anybody online? Uh Chair Higgins, I do not have anybody that has is online, nor have I do I have anybody that has signed up.
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