Steamboat Pilot & Today

The city will give the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association $2,000 to help sponsor the 2003 Economic Summit.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, the council agreed to help sponsor the summit, which is later this month. When the chamber had asked the city for $670,000 in the fall, sponsorship of the economic summit was not included. Noreen More, the business resource director for the chamber, came before the council Tuesday asking for the $2,000, which was approved 5 to 1.

The council made the decision, despite declining sales tax revenues.

The economic summit is focused on commercial growth, a topic City Councilman Bud Romberg has brought before the council in recent months.

More said the summit would include Donovan Rypkema, who will discuss place economics, planners from Aspen and Montrose and possibly retail planner Robert Gibbs.

The summit also will feature a discussion on the findings in the community-wide consumer preference survey. Council President Kathy Connell called it one of the most dynamic agendas the summit has ever had.

Councilman Loui Antonucci urged fellow members to find the money to support the summit. He said the summit could give the council more information on commercial growth, allowing it to make better decisions.

"I really believe in these economic times we need to be proactive," Antonucci said.

Councilwoman Nancy Kramer voted against the $2,000 saying the chamber should have budgeted for the $2,000 when the chamber came before the council last fall.

"Go back and find it in the budget," Kramer said. "I am really disappointed this is not being handled appropriately -- as much as I support the concept."

During the 2003 budget hearings, the council decided to increase the chamber's budget while holding the line on contributions to almost every other nonprofit coming before the city and asking for money.

The council increased the chamber's allocation by $50,000 to help support two new programs: special event programming and economic gardening.