Discover Coronado is looking into creating a community information hub – like an office space for residents and tourists – in response to City Hall concerns about the organization’s community support efforts.
At a Coronado Tourism Improvement District (CTID) meeting on May 18, City Council members said that the Discover Coronado board was not contributing enough to community projects, according to documenters’ notes from iNewsource.
Todd Little, the executive director of Discover Coronado, responded by pointing to community sponsorships the organization is a part of, such as the Orange Avenue banner program and wrapping of the city’s free summer shuttles.
They wanted to see more community involvement, and luckily our board stepped up just fine.
Discover Coronado Executive Director Todd Little
“They wanted to see more community involvement, and luckily our board stepped up just fine,” Little told The Coronado News.
Since the CTID meeting, $300,000 was allocated from the tourism district’s reserves and, as of the June 2 City Council meeting, an additional $215,000 was committed for the community hub bringing the total to $515,000 for city projects.
Little explained that the $300,000 can be used for a single community-focused project, or broken up into several smaller projects.
Mass transit solutions, downtown beautification projects and coastal projects were among the investment ideas discussed by the board.
The community hub would be an office room where people can find information about community services and events, Little said. There are no plans as to where this building would be.
It could be landmarks, restaurant tips, where to learn a hobby, where to find a dog. It’s much more than a visitor center … a digital kiosk, and far more than just a brochure stand.
Discover Coronado Executive Director Todd Little
“It could be landmarks, restaurant tips, where to learn a hobby, where to find a dog,” Little explained. “It’s much more than a visitor center … a digital kiosk, and far more than just a brochure stand.”
Currently, Discover Coronado has about $1.2 million in reserves, which is roughly 50% of projected income from room taxes on island hotels in fiscal year 2027.
The organization’s budget after planned expenses, including the $515,000 allotted for community projects, now includes a reserve of 16%.
Little compared this to only having about 1-2 months saved up in a checking account for rent. He would ideally like to have at least 50% in reserve to deal with a recession, pandemic or other event stifling tourism.
All council members seemed to support the proposed information hub. Little said Discover Coronado plans to figure out the details next year.
If the community hub doesn’t work out, Little added, the allotted money will still go into other community projects.
