Is a tourism committee in the cards for St. Helens?

Budget and planning committees are common in cities, but what about a tourism committee?

The St. Helens City Council is considering forming a tourism committee, especially after bringing on its new events coordinator , Treadway Events & Entertainment. At a city council work session, held Wednesday, June 19, the council considered the next steps in forming a tourism committee.

According to city records, a tourism committee last met in St. Helens from October 2001 to December 2014.

“I think the idea is good,” Mayor Rick Scholl said.

Scholl stressed the importance of having the city work with Treadway in the initial months.

“I feel that we need to make sure we work with the contractor, as far as the first six months or so … I think it’s our duty to do that,” he said.

Councilor Jessica Chilton offered her thoughts, suggesting a tourism committee would take some of the pressure off City Manager John Walsh.

“I don’t want it to be too much on John’s plate,” Chilton said. “John can only handle so much. He may have a billion arms and a billion brains, but he does need assistance.”

Councilor Brandon Sundeen wondered what the role of a newly formed tourism committee would be.

“My questions are what would the commission’s role be, how would they work with the contractor, what’s that relationship like?” Sundeen said.

Fellow council member Russell Hubbard said Treadway will need help from a tourism committee to get to know the community.

“When you work with them (Treadway), they’ll do a great job,” Hubbard said. “But they do need direction of what the city wants. They don’t know anything about the city. It’s going to be input from the council, if that’s the way you’re going to start it … They’ll carry out the mission. No problem.”

Chilton expects to hear a lot from citizens in St. Helens as the city mulls over its choices.

“We’re going to hear a lot of those concerns, and I think that will help us form an idea of what is needed on this committee to carry tourism onward,” Chilton said. “I do think we should probably handle it for a while as a council.”

At the conclusion of the June 19 meeting, Scholl spoke of the city's outgoing event coordinator, Tina Curry.

Curry will be wrapping up a somewhat embattled term as the city’s events coordinator, with some in the community highly critical of her management of events and others very supportive, especially of her efforts at turning Halloweentown into an event that has received worldwide attention. Curry’s contract runs through June 30.

“I just want to thank Tina for all her hard work and efforts for the last 10 years,” Scholl said. “There’s no doubt she is one of the hardest workers I have ever witnessed around this town.”

The city council did not make a decision on the formation of a tourism committee at the June 19 work session, and it’s not known if the matter will be discussed further at upcoming council meetings.