CVB and Lincoln Parish Police Jury Enter Into New CEA

Written by: Amanda Quimby Carrier, TMP

The agreement was voted into place at Tuesday night’s Police Jury Meeting.

The CVB’s original agreement with Police Jury allocated one percent of the four percent hotel/motel tax funding the CVB to Lincoln Parish Park. The agreement was set to expire this summer. The CVB opted to continue funding the park at this rate for the remainder of 2020. Following December 2020, the CVB chose to reinvest in the park, community interest, and visitor experiences by continuing to fund the park at $50,000 per year until 2027 or until the park reaches a threshold that is deemed self-sufficient.

To increase revenue, Lincoln Parish Park will update the land use fee and campground fee as well as introduce a rental program for bikes, canoes, and kayaks. The CVB agreed to invest the first $7,500 into the rental program and presented James Ramsaur, Lincoln Parish Park Director, with a check this morning.

“I want to thank the CVB for their decades-long financial commitment to the park,” says Ramsaur. “Without those funds we would not have been able to do the many improvements to the park over the last 30 years. This agreement going forward continues to offer financial stability for the future and offer new amenities to park guests.”

CVB President/CEO Travis Napper and Ramsaur worked on the current agreement together for months prior to Tuesday night’s meeting and presented to each individual police juror.

“The Police Jury and CVB reached a very amicable agreement that will allow the Lincoln Parish Park to be self-sustaining within the next 7 years max,” says Glenn Scriber, Police Jury Chairperson for the Park, Recreation, and Tourism Committee. “With this, there will be a slight increase in fees from $2 to $3 for land use and $25 to $35 for upgraded camp sites that will go into effect immediately. We are also looking at other endeavors at the park to generate more revenue. The park is very well ran and will continue to be a huge asset for Lincoln Parish.”

Napper states “I’m so pleased to get this agreement done and continue our partnership with Lincoln Parish Park and the Police Jury. Unlike past arrangements, this new agreement doesn’t put off confronting a difficult situation or leave it for someone else to resolve. Instead, it puts the park on a path toward financial stability and adds new amenities while allowing the CVB to improve our ability to market, not only the park, but all the many other assets across Lincoln Parish. I want to thank each Juror for seeing this process through, and especially James, for his commitment to work together to create a brighter future for the park.”

The CVB will use the funds that are added back into their budget starting 2021 to continue to serve the area and build upon the CVB’s mission to grow Lincoln Parish through advertising, promotion, grants, and community connection.