Lighthouse Group Denied Grant
By Sue Clark on Jan 15, 2009 in Opinion 
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The Friends of Yaquina Lighthouses have been refused a $1,000 grant which they’d requested for help with printing and mailing expenses by the city of Newport, Oregon. At a recent council meeting, the money was denied to the group by a 7-0 vote against the application for the special event grant. The special event is the Yaquina Nights, Jazz in January Celebration, which is a fundraising event that will be held this weekend, January 17, and features The Legendary Mel Brown Quartet.
So why was the group refused? Because they have too much money, according to the council, who apparently don’t think they deserve any help to replace the “shutters and gutters,” as is said in the story at the Newport News-Times.
The Warped Reasoning Behind the Council’s Decision
The President of the group, Doug Wills, was questioned about the number of outsiders (read tourists) that would be in attendance at the Jazz Festival. With only twenty-five percent out of towners expected to attend, here is where things appeared to start to go wrong. So even though there are, according to Wills, more than 350,000 people who visit the lights every year, this money, accoring to council, wouldn’t be used to fill up the city’s hotels and restaurants.
Quoting from the story:
“Here’s where I’m having a problem with your request,” said Councilor Richard Kilbride. “I looked at your financial statements. I’m looking at $93,000 in cash equivalents. Explain to me why you need that $1,000?”
Wills replied, “This is a fundraiser. I don’t have the financial report in front of me, but our budget is going to be a lot different in 2009, just like everyone else’s. A lot of that income goes into salaries, upkeep, other things. The $1,000 is to help us raise the money we need for the shutters and gutters.”
Kilbride responded, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but the intent of this money is to bring people into Newport, to support the hotels and restaurants. Its intent isn’t for shutters and gutters. I’m concerned that the request doesn’t meet the intent of the fund. And I’m having a hard time with giving you the $1,000 when it doesn’t appear as though you need it. I don’t see how we can support that.”
No Support At All For Lighthouses
Besides being totally clueless that having money in the bank doesn’t mean you don’t need a grant, the council needs to realize that lighthouses are like a magnet to tourists. And the money in the bank is probably already spent on other things. And as if that isn’t enough, by not supporting the group, they are also not supporting their own constituents. By Wills’ own admission, a full three quarters of those that come to what sounds like a great celebration is the hometown crowd.
“This one particular instance is to raise the money to improve the lighthouses,” Wills said. “Will we be bringing tourists in for this event? No. Will we be bringing them in the rest of the year? Yes. If we don’t maintain the lighthouses, then it makes our job a lot harder. We’re the second largest tourist draw in the City of Newport. I find it strange that I never see any of the member of city government, other than Richard, at any of our events.”
Council, it’s too late for this year, but start looking beyond the end of your noses for next year. You’ll do your town’s businesses and citizens a big favor if you start supporting your historical treasures.
Photo Credit: Yaquina Bay Lighthouse by zug55. Some rights reserved.
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