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Board struggles with Tourism
funding, speaks with Kevin Knauer and Cindy Gleason about being
appointed to the board
[May 19, 2025]
On Thursday, May 15th, the
Logan County Board met for their monthly Workshop meeting. In
addition to several other topics, the board spent a good amount of
time discussing funding for the Logan County Tourism Bureau and
hearing from candidates to fill the seat vacated by Julie Bobell.
The first of these two items was giving $25,000 in funding to the
Tourism Bureau. As it was explained in the meeting, if the county
were to give this money, the city would match it, making the total
contribution to the Tourism Bureau $50,000.
Michael DeRoss was the first to speak on this item. DeRoss stated he
had pulled the tax records on how much money was given to the
Tourism Bureau last year. For anyone who is unaware, the Tourism
Bureau receives money from taxes collected by anyone staying in a
hotel or motel in Lincoln. This is often referred to as the
hotel/motel tax by the board. DeRoss found that the Tourism Bureau
received about $192,000 in tax revenue in 2024, in addition to
whatever money they received from grants.
DeRoss then continued, stating that, as far as he understands, if
the city of Lincoln were to pull the hotel/motel tax, the Tourism
Bureau would lose many of the state grants they also use for
funding. His perspective is that they should slow down on this issue
and seek to sign a memorandum of understanding with Lincoln that
they would not pull the hotel/motel tax.
Lance Conahan, who is also on the Tourism Board, spoke next. He
shared that the Lincoln City Council already voted to pull the
hotel/motel tax funding from the Tourism Bureau. Conahan further
elaborated, stating that $25,000 was a general number the city
council came up with, as that was the maximum they were willing to
contribute. Part of this limit was the fact that the council was
going to be assuming control of The Mill and all the cost of upkeep
for it. This would take those costs off the Tourism Bureau.
Conahan continued, stating that any requests for funding from the
board would then be directed to the Tourism Bureau. He also shared
that the board would get to determine exactly where the money they
were giving to the Tourism Bureau would go. According to Conahan,
the idea is to have this be the model of funding for a year to see
if the Tourism Bureau would be profitable this way.
Chairman JR Glenn shared that he is a bit skeptical of the Tourism
Bureau taking over funding events. According to Glenn, the board has
always been very open about funding different events from the
county’s Community Benefit Fund (CBF). Glenn’s fear is that, for one
reason or another, the Tourism Bureau may turn down requests for
funding that the county would have funded from the CBF.
Glenn stated that he would like to see a meeting between the city
council and the county board on this matter before they agreed to
any funding. This way, terms and an outline could be worked out, and
both bodies could ensure that they are on the same page regarding
this matter. Glenn also shared fear that, should the money they give
to the Tourism Bureau run out, people may look at the board and ask
that they give more from the CBF. Conahan stated that $25,000 is a
very low amount to give, but agreed with Glenn that he did not want
this to turn into something where the Tourism Bureau always came
back to the CBF for more funding.
Kathy Schmidt added that she believes the board needs to give more
than $25,000 to the Tourism Bureau. She stated that since they are
now going to be funding smaller requests for event funding
throughout the year, they are going to need more than $25,000.
DeRoss then spoke into the legal
nature of a tourism bureau. He stated that the point of a tourism
bureau is to “put heads in beds.” If people are coming to Lincoln
for events such as the Balloon Festival, but are not staying at a
hotel or motel, they are not considered a tourist. With this idea in
mind, someone from Mt. Pulaski coming to the balloon festival in
Lincoln would not be considered a tourist.
DeRoss then shared some major concerns that he has with this new
funding model. He shared that he does not see how it is going to
work. “I just don’t see how we’re taking something that spent well
over $200,000 and are going to whittle it down to $50,000.” DeRoss
continued stating that his fear is that the city may pull all of its
funding from the Tourism Bureau in a few years. DeRoss stated his
desire for assurances from the city that this is not going to
happen.
Jim Wessbecher then echoed DeRoss’s concerns about funding. He
stated that one of the stipulations for a tourism bureau is that it
must have a full time representative. He then stated that no one is
going to want to do that full time for only $25,000. “You have
insurance, you have upkeep, you have utilities. Who’s covering all
of that?” Conahan replied that the city of Lincoln would be covering
these costs. It was ultimately decided to table the issue until a
meeting with the city council could be set up.
Two candidates express interest is District 3 seat on the board
Later on in the meeting, two candidates were able to introduce
themselves to the board and all in attendance. These individuals
were candidates looking to fill the District 3 opening left by Julie
Bobell when she resigned from the board.
The first of these two to speak was Kevin Knauer. Knauer shared that
he lives in Mt. Pulaski with his wife. Knauer stated that he has
never been on an elected board, but that he is very heavily involved
in his community. Some of Knauer’s community involvement history
includes community pride for Mt. Pulaski, Looking for Lincoln,
tourism projects both for Mt. Pulaski and Logan County, and booster
clubs at Mt. Pulaski schools.
Knauer stated that his deep involvement in the community comes from
his family. His father was very involved in the community as well.
His uncle was also one of the founders of the National Railsplitting
Association.
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Knauer stated that his
interest in serving on the County Board is to serve the
residents of Logan County, specifically those that live within
District 3. He also stated that he knows most of the township
officials within the district he would be representing, sharing
that he believes that could be a major asset to the board.
The board then asked Knauer some questions, starting with
Conahan. Conahan’s question was what Knauer would like to see
come out of the county board during his time on it, were he to
be appointed. Knauer stated that he would like to see the county
promoted economically. He would like to see what could be done
to make the county desirable for businesses and industries. He
also stated that he has an interest in tourism.
Schmidt asked about if he has a full
time job, and Knauer stated that he had retired from State Farm.
Vice Chairman Dale Nelson then asked Knauer what he thinks is one
thing the county should improve on. Knauer repeated his previous
point about economic development, stating that he would love to see
the county try even more to attract more industry to the county.
Glenn then asked if Knauer was familiar with former Vice Chairman
Julie Bobell and if he had spoken to her about her time on the
board. Knauer stated that they lived in close proximity to one
another and that he does know her. He also stated that, while he has
talked to her about the board, it was not too much.
The last question for Knauer was asked by Conahan. He asked Knauer
what committees he thought he would be interested in. Knauer stated
that Transportation would be a current committee he might be
interested in serving on. He also stated that if an insurance
committee were to be set up, he would definitely be interested in
serving on that.
The second candidate to speak was Cindy Gleason. Gleason has been
around the board for about a month, coming to April’s Regular board
meeting. It was at this meeting that the board was going to vote to
appoint Gleason to the District 3 position. Since Chairman Glenn was
not present, however, they were unable to do so and had to wait
until May.
Gleason started by sharing that she has been coming to several of
the committee meetings and full board meetings to make sure this is
something that she is interested in doing. She stated that after a
month of observations, this is something that she is still very much
interested in.
Gleason spoke into the economic development and industry that was
mentioned by Knauer earlier, stating that she worked at EATON for 17
years. Her late husband worked at the prison. Her children, however,
have had to leave Logan County for work. She agreed that economic
development is something that is very important to her, and
something that the board may be able to do something about.
Gleason stated that she has also had experience with State Medicaid
and insurance. She believes her experience in this area gives her
some unique skills and experiences that she can bring to the board.
In addition to this, Gleason has been loosely associated with the
United Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI). She stated that she
would like to increase her involvement if she were appointed to the
Logan County Board.
Conahan then asked Gleason about what committees she would be
interested in. Like Knauer, Gleason stated that she would be
interested in insurance if a committee for that were to be
established. She stated that she does not have a particular
preference for the current committees, but she is willing to learn
and be a part of any committee.
Nelson then asked what Gleason would like to see the board focus on
or change. Gleason stated that she would like to see increased
communication from the board with the residents of the county. She
stated that, with the exception of Lincoln Daily News, you cannot
find out what happened at meetings until after the minutes have been
approved and posted a month later. Nelson stated that Kate Wright
has been working on helping the board with this, starting to put
updates and notifications on the county board’s website and has
gotten their Facebook page up again. Gleason was happy to hear this,
but also stated that there may be interest in having the board’s
meetings streamed online for people to join if they are not able to
be present in person.
The final question the board asked was to both candidates. Conahan
stated that being on the board is a large time commitment, asking
both Gleason and Knauer if they believe they are going to have
enough time for the commitment. Gleason spoke first, stating that
she is looking for a new hobby. She has been retired for several
years and really enjoys learning about what the board does, stating
she can “live, eat, and breathe” it. Knauer stated that he also has
the time. He states that he plans to meet with department heads,
stating that he knows several of them very well already.
The County Board is going to meet on Tuesday, May 20th in the first
floor courtroom of the Logan County Courthouse starting at 6:00 p.m.
At this regular meeting, among other things, the board plans to
appoint either Gleason or Knauer.
Matt Boutcher
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