By Jack Mayne

The SeaTac City Council oversees the budget for the Tourism Promotion Area, which was formed by the cities of SeaTac, Des Moines, and Tukwila.

The purpose for creating the Tourism Promotion Area was to allow hotels with 90 or more rooms located within the area to impose a special self-assessment of $2 per occupied room night, which would be used to expand tourism promotion services previously provided by Seattle Southside Visitor Services.

No impact of SeaTac
This budget approval does not have any financial impact on SeaTac’s overall budget or balance sheet. SeaTac Council is the legislative authority for the Visitor Services.

The Seattle Southside Visitor Service Charter provides that new appointments and re-appointments to the board are to be made by the existing board, subject to confirmation by the SeaTac City Council. The board is comprised primarily of ratepayer representatives of the lodging industry covering a variety of geographic locations, property sizes, and price points of lodging businesses within the defined tourism promotion area.

Visitor Service nominations approved

    • Reappoint Ken Stockdale to Position No. 2 to three-year term ending December 31, 2024
    • Reappoint Tiffany Hart to Position No. 5 to three-year term ending December 31, 2024
    • Appoint Angela Mose to Position No. 1 to three year term ending December 31, 2024
    • Appoint Andrea Reay to Position No. 4 to three year term ending December 31, 2024

Position No 8 is currently vacant and is reserved for a Westfield SouthCenter executive for a three-year term ending December 31, 2024. Once the Westfield representative is identified, the nomination will be taken up by the authority’s board and brought to the SeaTac City Council for confirmation. Westfield has a representative on the board because of the company’s importance to the center.

SeaTac appointments, new employee
The Council confirmed Mayor Erin Sitterley’s re-appointment of Rita Palomino Marlow and appointment of Ayo Alaka to the Arts, Culture and Library Advisory Committee; appointment of Jennifer Corona and Jennifer Johnson to the Community Services Advisory Committee; appointment of Bandhanjit (Brandon) Singh to the Planning Commission; and re-appointment of Judy Beste to the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee.

The Council was also introduced to new city employee, Permit Coordinator John Fields.