Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com September 16, 2015 A7 STORE: More business opportunities with new law Continued from Page A1 “There’s a 20 percent tax on the sales, and the state gets 17 percent, which leaves only 3 percent for the municipali- ty. We feel that’s problematic, and if we could change that to where the local commu- nity gets more than the state, we could get behind it. Let us keep our own money so we can be self-supporting,” Kramer said. The couple has received very little negative feedback from the community. One person actually complained because the couple doesn’t let anyone under 21 in the store, even though the law bans only those younger than 18. “We choose to serve only those over 21, because we don’t want someone 18 coming in here to buy accessories for their 15-year-old friends. We don’t want high school parents get- ting angry with us, so we elim- inated that option,” Flanagan said. The store mainly sells smoking accessories imported from other areas but the couple hopes products from local ar- tisans will eventually make up a good portion of their wares. One local artist has already sold several pieces through the store. The couple is also work- ing to establish a website to make their goods available for purchase in a broader market. The store is very clean and well-lighted. The accessories, which include dozens of pipes and even a hookah, are artfully arranged in an appealing va- riety of colors in their display cases. Art from New Orleans, Flanagan’s native town, deco- rates the walls, giving the shop a down-home appeal. The couple intends to eventually offer bulk boutique tobacco for discriminating smokers, as to expand current offerings. Kramer and Flana- gan are currently gearing up for the Christmas season with or- ders for holiday-themed smok- ing accessories. During the tourist season the store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week with the possibility of reducing the hours during the off season. “We’ve always looked around for something we can do to better ourselves and our families. With this, we can say ‘Hey, we did this, and it’s ours,’” Flanagan said. Gratitude was very much on Kramer’s mind as she described the couple’s Joseph experience. “We’re grateful to the city for allowing us here and grateful to our customers who support us being here and we’re grate- ful for the moral support that we’ve gotten from the com- munity. It’s been amazing,” she said. MERGER: Combined COUNTY: Commission looks at opting out chambers contemplated Continued from Page A1 six county licensing categories and a those with prescriptions may and the 10 percent (of 10 per- may choose to keep a KDYHWRWUDYHODVLJQL¿FDQWGLV- cent) it will give the county for Continued from Page A1 “People search for Joseph, not Wallowa County,” Rush- ton said. “They often hav- en’t even heard of Wallowa Lake and are surprised when we ask, ‘Have you been to the lake?’ You’d be amazed how many people drive in on Highway 39 and only know of Joseph, have never even heard about the rest of the county.” Mike Lockhart, president of the Wallowa Lake Tourism Committee, agreed that most tourists do not understand the many attractions of the coun- ty. “We started re-branding as The Village at Wallowa Lake three years ago because peo- ple didn’t understand what was there,” he said. “A lot of people would never get past Joseph if not for the (visitors information) booth. The booth is not just representing Joseph, but the county as a whole.” “We do trip planning and route people through Imnaha and everywhere,” said booth employee Michael Maslach. In addition to keeping the booth open for most weekends and holidays when tourists are most often in town, the Joseph Chamber manages a Facebook page and a website. %RWK VLWHV DUH GHSHQGHQW RQ WKH :& &KDPEHU WR ¿OO WKH needs of the potential tourist for hard-copy brochures and magazines and for detailed in- formation needed to plan their trip. “We’re a team player,” said Rushton. “We can’t afford the staff answering the phone so we redirect folks to WC Chamber.” Maslach, who has worked the Joseph booth for three years, seconds the notion that it’s a team effort. “WC Chamber makes our copies for us, they put maga- zines and brochures on the bus for us if we call, they have the storage space for all that pa- per. I just love working with them. Without them it would be impossible to operate.” %XW GHVSLWH WKH VHQVH RI team playing with regard to serving the visitors, there was a decided lack of team playing with regard to funding, Rush- ton said. Currently Joseph Chamber of Commerce is paying for op- eration of a tourism booth that serves an estimated 10,000 tourists per season, and costs approximately $13,000 per year to manage. That $13,000 comes partly from WC Cham- EHULQPRWHO hotel tax money (which they didn’t get this year); and mem- bership fees ($50 per year per business). Joseph Chamber had ap- SOLHG IRU D JUDQW IRU operating expenses from the hotel/motel tax fund in Febru- ary and hadn’t received a reply from the county. WC Chamber, by contrast, has a budget of $120,000 per year to promote the entire county. Although the commission- ers assured Rushton the lack of funding was an oversight and immediately remedied that by pledging $5,000 from the video poker fund now and again in January 2016, Rush- ton felt the time had come to address the problem of consis- tent funding. If the WC Chamber were located in Joseph, Rushton ar- gued, the tourism booth could be absorbed into WC Cham- ber responsibilities and dupli- cation of fees, such as work- man’s comp payments, could be eliminated. Nor would there be a need to limit the amount of business representation — provided the WC Chamber HLWKHU ¿QDQFLDOO\ VXSSRUW WKH booth or remain open during peak tourism hours. Right now, the WC Cham- ber is not open on weekends or holidays. Nor is the Forest Service, DQG WKH -RVHSK ERRWK ¿HOGV D lot of questions about trails. ,I WKH RI¿FH ZDV UHORFDW- ed, Rushton proposes that the two full-time employees of WC Chamber expand duties to man the booth on weekends and holidays, or that the WC Chamber pay for the addition- al employee to man the booth. Rushton pointed out that unless tourists were served on weekends and holidays, they were not getting the service their hotel/motel tax dollars were meant to support. “The tourists are paying for a ser- vice and this is what they’re getting — closed on week- ends, closed on federal holi- days,” she said. After providing the $5,000 support, the commissioners advised that the issue was best discussed by the two boards of the chambers. After July 2017, half of the 10 percent will be distributed as above, but the other half will be distributed based on each city’s portion of licenses issued — more dispensaries means more money. $OVRLQWKHEHQH¿WVFROXPQ would be the 3 percent tax that cities and counties could im- pose. This is a change from the original language of Measure PRGL¿HGLQ+% The reason cities and coun- ties are both mentioned is that even if the county opts out, an individual city may opt in — or vice versa. In any case, this 3 percent FDQ EH D VLJQL¿FDQW WD[ ERRQ when added to the city/coun- ty’s share of state tax, or it may only be “six dollars,” commis- sioner Hayward quipped. 7KHEHQH¿WRIRSWLQJRXWLV that a city or county no longer has to deal with the issue. County commissioners have until Dec. 27, 2015 to decide. A county may choose to negotiate the issue; there are few and opt out of the rest. Even if a county chooses to opt out, the decision is not nec- essarily permanent. Judging E\WKHZRUGLQJRI+%D local government or munici- pality may be able to opt back in at a future date. The precise process for the “opt-back-in” KDV QRW EHHQ VSHFL¿HG EXW +% KLQWV WKDW LW ZRXOG most likely involve repealing the ordinance against pot and notifying OLCC of that action. Opting out does not change the law with regard to person- al growing and use. As of July 1, 2015 adults may grow up to four plants and eight ounces per residence. Use of medical marijuana is also allowed in a city or coun- ty that has opted out, though tance for their medication. The Wallowa County Com- missioners have other input to consider beyond the raw voter opinion. If they opt out they ORVHWZRSRWHQWLDOO\VLJQL¿FDQW sources of income for local law enforcement — the 10 percent (of 10 percent) that the state will give for local police forces, county law enforcement. ³%RWKWKH:DOORZD&RXQW\ Sheriff Department and Wal- lowa County District Attorney want input on this,” said Com- missioner Hayward. 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