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Gallup Council doles out $33K in lodger’s tax funding

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Gallup Film Festival receives bulk of funds

Throughout the fiscal year, the city’s Lodger’s Tax Committee recommends funding for the promotion and marketing of various events that bring tourism to Gallup. The Gallup City Council allocated $33,400 at the July 26 regular meeting to five different groups, upping the ante for the annual Gallup Film Festival and taking off $2,000 from the Second Street Arts Festival.

“I would like the council to consider raising the proposal to $16,000,” City Councilor Allan Landavazo told the panel when it came time to talk about the film festival. “I think the festival can become something bigger than what it was last year.”

GFF organizer Knifewing Segura, who is the founder and CEO of the Downtown Conference Center on Coal Avenue, said the film festival, which takes place at the El Morro Theatre, has grown since its inception four years ago.

Segura named actors Wes Studi, Roger Willie, and Gary Farmer, and he didn’t rule out bigger names either attending or starring in one of the films to be shown during the three-day festival this September.

“How much will it bring back to the city?” City Councilor Yogash Kumar asked Segura. “This is something that must be considered. If we’re going to spend that kind of money, we have to make sure it gets to the right places.”

Mayor Jackie McKinney asked Segura if the GFF shared similarities with the annual Native Film Series put on by Lisa Rodriguez. The NFS received $15,000 earlier this year in lodger’s tax funds. Rodriguez is the city film liaison for the state of New Mexico.

“[There] is nothing else in Gallup like the [Film Series],” Segura said, explaining that GFF and NFS are not the same.

Segura noted that downtown Gallup fills up during the time of the festival, explaining the spin-off effect from the event. He said most people come from the greater McKinley County area, but folks also travel from as far away as Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and parts of Colorado. While Gallup’s festival isn’t in the same class as the Utah-based Sundance Film Festival, it is talked about a lot.

“This [has] gotten to the point where it’s getting bigger and bigger each year,” Segura told council members. “It’s popular.”

Catherine Sebold, city tourism and marketing manager, introduced a list that contained a little more than $69,000 in allocations. She and Kumar said every group or organization that made a request for the funds was approved.

“This year, we have allocated about $324,000,” Sebold said. “This was just the latest batch of allocations.”

The Gallup Council authorized:

• $3,000 for the Gloria Saucedo Women’s Softball Tournament

• $5,000 Gallup Old Timers Classic Softball League Tournament

• $1,400 for an Evergreen brochure via gallupArts

• $5,000 for the Second Street Arts Festival

• $3,000 for the Softball Warriors Adult Slow Pitch Tournament

The Second Street Arts Festival recommended $7,000, but received the decreased amount of $5,000. That was the sole decrease in allocation amounts.

Sebold noted that each entity to receive the lodger’s tax must sign paperwork denoting the allocation. Lodger’s taxes must be used for events that promote or market municipalities, according to state law.

The Lodger’s Tax Committee consists of Kumar, Cindy Tanner, Ron Samardzia, Steve Harper, and Jeremy Boucher. Members of the committee serve unlimited terms. Tanner is its president.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent

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