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Opinion: Bassmaster provides economic needed boost to local businesses, Lisbon resident says

Posted 5/7/19

There has been misinformation and speculation surrounding the Bassmaster Elite Series hosted in the Village of Waddington since 2013. I hope to shed some light on the issue. This event was never put …

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Opinion: Bassmaster provides economic needed boost to local businesses, Lisbon resident says

Posted

There has been misinformation and speculation surrounding the Bassmaster Elite Series hosted in the Village of Waddington since 2013. I hope to shed some light on the issue.

This event was never put on by a municipality using taxpayer dollars. The Bassmaster event/festival has always been accomplished through fundraising, donations, and state grants for tourism. Yes, the Village of Waddington wrote checks and paid the bills needed for the event during the planning and implementation process. However, the village was always reimbursed through the grants and revenue produced from the event. It has been reported that the events have routinely brought in $43-135k in sales tax revenue for St. Lawrence County (this number is low, the actual revenue is much more). These events have not “finished in the red,” and have never cost taxpayers. In fact, this year’s event started with approximately $30k. However, these events cost $170-230k to host, while remaining free to the families that attend.

This year the group was asked to “join forces” with the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce to provide a “better infrastructure and accounting of the event. The legislators said they could then justify paying all host fees associated with the events proposed in 2019- 2022. The contract was signed with BASS based on this proposal and North Country Events LLC. was formed and joined forces with the SLCCC. As was reported previously, the St. Lawrence County Legislators approved $30k for the event...the host fees for this event are $60k.

That’s a $30k deficit, meaning last year’s $30k surplus must be used for the host fee. The volunteers will now start with $0 to actually pull off the event. They will pull it off, just as they have since 2013. Why do our legislators feel that this event is not a good investment? SLCCC provided a very conservative comprehensive scenario, but for simplicity let’s break it down. 30,000 people attend and each only spend $20 (most spend more) that equals $600,000 into our county’s economy.

Yes, $30k is a lot of money, but it shouldn’t be celebrated as a victory when in the grand scheme of things it’s just a drop in the bucket for this event. These events provide a huge economic boost to the area, and put the St. Lawrence River on the big stage. These events help every single small business in this area. Every morning it seems another small business is closing, it’s disheartening to think that our legislators don’t support the backbone of our communities.

Sales tax generated by this event is divided up among our villages and towns. This small group of volunteers are actually fighting for all of us. They stand up and fight for all of St. Lawrence County as they’re constantly questioned and berated. This group goes into battle every year because they see the bigger picture, they want us to prosper.

Our legislator’s jobs are to be fiscally responsible, but also to support a boost to our economy. This event is the single largest event in St. Lawrence County. The revenue is there. Where are the legislators sending it?

Kevin Liddell

Lisbon