Fort Bragg City Council candidates discuss tourism’s importance to the economy

This five-part series of Q&As with Fort Bragg City Council candidates runs each weekday with a wrap-up on Saturday. Each installment presents a key question alongside responses from the seven candidates who responded to the Mendocino Voice. Today’s question:

How do you see tourism in terms of its economic importance to Fort Bragg and its impact on infrastructure such as workforce housing?

Jason Godeke Our town has transitioned from an economy based on logging and fishing to one based on services, many of which are visitor -focused. It’s a great success story of a community’s adaptiveness and resilience. 

 Tourism supports local infrastructure here more than in many other cities. The City’s General Fund is built on revenues from Transient Occupancy Tax and Sales Tax, more than Property Tax. The City of Fort Bragg depends on tourist dollars more than, say, Ukiah, in part because of the County’s property tax-sharing structure. 

 But the tourist economy has definitely had some negative impacts on the cost and availability of workforce housing. 

 While the City of Fort Bragg does constrain Vacation Rentals within City limits (there are 10 permits, only allowed in the Central Business District, and only about half of those have been used), vacation rentals have proliferated outside the City limits. Aside from that, we see visitors buying houses in Fort Bragg for their eventual retirement plan. Many of those homes remain largely vacant for years. 

Tess Albin-Smith Tourism is great for keeping the city doors open. Bed tax and Sales tax go to the city. It keeps the hotels open and some stores. But most tourism jobs are low-paying, no-benefit jobs that do not cover a family’s rent, groceries, and water and sewer bills.

People who work in these jobs often have two or more tourism jobs and partners who also work two to three jobs just to make ends meet. They do not have extra income to support local shops, time to volunteer at the schools, or time to recreate with the family. This is unhealthy for families and terrible for the city economy.

I think the subject of workforce housing is not so much related to tourism as it is to the middle-income jobs that support the city. These are the teachers, law enforcement, medical professionals, city employees, and even some small business owners. Affordable workforce housing is an essential element in maintaining a stable city infrastructure, otherwise people move away or commute long distances to afford housing. This also is unhealthy for families or the city.

We need to find ways to diversify the economy!

Mary Ann Schmidt I think tourism is a great asset for jobs and money, and it also undermines community as the town focuses outward to attract people with money to come here and spend it instead of mobilizing the citizens in the town to create what the town needs for everyone’s well-being. The upcoming Whale House LaBONEatory is a great example of community mobilization to create a different kind of tourism. The volunteers who recovered a 73-foot whale in 2009 shaped the creation of the Noyo Center which created jobs and research related to revitalizing our ocean. 

We can create a parallel center for the land. Georgia Pacific left behind a toxic super fund site. We can create a mycology research center and reach out to scientists like Paul Stamets to use mushrooms to remediate the mill site. Mycological diversity is already a tourist attraction. A food forest can be created to honor and regenerate the native landscapes as well as provide local food. Eco-tourism can attract visitors that spend money and contribute to the well-being of Fort Bragg.

Marcia Rafanan Tourism is our biggest source of income since the mill closed decades ago and the fishing and logging industries have declined. We need tourists to continue to visit our town and spend their money in our hotels, restaurants, and shops, which keeps our economy moving and provides the greatest source of tax revenue to fund our City programs and build and maintain our infrastructure. In fact, the bed tax at motels and inns is now our biggest source of tax revenue, surpassing sales and property taxes. Tourism also drives a lot of our sales tax revenue. Some of these tourists will also become our future residents and they will need workforce housing alongside our current residents.

Of course, tourism doesn’t just fund our infrastructure, it uses it, increasing wear and tear on our roads and uses our local services like, police, fire, and medical care. In that way, it makes sense that we charge the bed tax so tourists help pay their fair share of these expenses. I supported adding our successful tax measure increasing the bed tax from 12 to 14%, which has made a big difference in funding our efforts in those areas.

For workforce housing specifically, tourism both generates the need for more workforce housing for all of the people who work in our motels, restaurants, shops, and other tourism-related jobs, and it can reduce the housing stock as more and more long-term residential units are converted to AirBnBs. That happens primarily in the areas of the County outside City limits, but our local housing stock doesn’t start and end at the City limits so it impacts all of us, which has driven up rents in addition to taking units off the long-term rental market. It has also driven up housing prices for those of us fortunate enough to be able to afford to buy rather than rent.

Mary Rose Kaczorowski Tourism is important, but no community can thrive on tourism alone. Fort Bragg needs more year-round, living-wage jobs for local workers with a diverse economy that includes locally owned small and mid-size businesses, tourism, healthcare and essential services, skilled trades, professional and remote work, arts and culture, creative businesses, and local food producers. If teachers, caregivers, skilled tradespeople, healthcare, and service workers cannot afford to live here, businesses and essential services cannot recruit and retain the workers they need. Workers who live elsewhere also spend less of their income in our local economy.

The City cannot create every job or solve the housing shortage alone, but it can identify barriers and explore acquiring and retaining a portfolio of City-owned land that can be ground-leased for housing and economic development, keeping the land in public ownership while creating opportunities for investment.

We should encourage infill development. Smaller-scale housing, including ADUs, duplexes, triplexes, and appropriately designed multifamily housing, can provide more housing while making better use of existing infrastructure.

Economic development should create opportunities without defaulting to large corporate chains or box stores. We should support businesses and industries that fit Fort Bragg, create jobs, and strengthen the local economy.

Richard Ulveling Tourism is extremely important to Fort Bragg’s economy. Visitors support our restaurants, hotels, shops, recreational businesses, and many local jobs. But we also have to recognize the infrastructure and housing challenges that come with tourism.

The people who work in our hotels, restaurants, and other tourism-related businesses need affordable places to live. We need to plan for workforce housing while also maintaining the roads, sidewalks, transportation systems, and other infrastructure that residents and visitors depend on.

I also believe we should be looking seriously at the future of the Skunk Train and the rail corridor. What are we going to do with the tunnel? If we can eventually repair and reopen the tunnel safely, I believe restoring rail service could give residents and visitors another way to travel between the coast and inland communities rather than relying so heavily on Highway 20.

That could be a long-term investment in transportation, tourism, and economic development. I believe we should start having those conversations now and explore what it would take to make that possibility a reality.

Scott Mayberry Tourism is essential to Fort Bragg’s economy. It supports local businesses, provides jobs, generates tax revenue, and brings customers to our restaurants, lodging establishments, shops, and recreational businesses. We should continue promoting Fort Bragg as a destination while protecting the character and natural beauty that make people want to visit.

However, tourism also places demands on streets, public safety, sanitation, emergency services, and other city infrastructure. Some tourism jobs are seasonal or do not pay enough for workers to afford local housing. Vacation rentals and other visitor accommodations can also affect the availability of long-term housing, although they are only one part of a much larger housing problem.

The city should use tourism-related revenue responsibly to maintain the infrastructure and public spaces on which both visitors and residents depend. It should also encourage appropriately located workforce housing, reduce unnecessary delays in approving suitable projects, and work with employers, property owners, and regional partners to expand long-term housing opportunities.

Tourism should remain a strong part of Fort Bragg’s economy, but our goal must be a balanced community where the people who serve visitors, operate businesses, raise families, and keep the city functioning can also afford to live here.

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Levi Cooke did not respond to requests to participate.