Where Do You Stand?

Our mayor, city council and staff have been reviewing the existing programs for attracting tourist dollars to our fair city. The most recent development is the announcement that with the retirement of current Economic Development Specialist, Jane Bristol, that position will be dissolved and rolled over into funding for an on staff Tourism Specialist.

However you glean the information on which your opinions are based, this decision has many interesting ramifications and is being hashed out in public through much lively debate. You can go to city council meetings, watch them on TV, chew on it out over coffee at one of our numerous coffee houses or eateries, or you can research the issue online to see what various factions are saying.

Here’s Cindy Barks‘ piece from the April 17 Daily Courier, with numerous comments following.

Then, here’s the position of Prescott Chamber of Commerce CEO, Dave Maurer, as reported in the Prescott e-News. (Don’t forget to scroll down through the comments this article generated.)

Let’s hear what a few other groups think about the move to apparently focus all official economic development efforts on the tourism sector.

If you’re a Prescott blogger who writes about our community, what are your thoughts? If your readership is comprised of locals, are any of them business owners, or former business owners?

If  you own a business in Prescott, how do you feel about the city’s planned de-emphasis on the business community in general and the expanded focus on restaurants and hotels?

Any Prescott tourists out there reading this? I know I’ve heard from many of you over the years when you are planning visits to northern Arizona. What attracts YOU to Prescott and how do you decide where you’re spending your own dollars?