Lake Wylie has to be part of bringing visitors to York County. Experts explain why.

It’s a question that almost doesn’t sound like one. But how York County answers it could determine decades of funding for tourism projects.

“Are you looking to promote tourism in the county?” former county hospitality tax committee chairman Watts Huckabee recently asked York County Council, “or are you looking to promote tourism that helps generate new H-tax dollars?”

The county hospitality tax is a 2 percent charge on prepared food and drink in unincorporated areas, such as Lake Wylie. The money has to be spent on tourism-related projects. The tax generates about $2.4 million annually, growing about $200,000 each of the past couple years.

Huckabee, who until July led the committee making recommendations to Council on how to spend it, offered his take on where dollars should be directed. His group started meeting with stakeholders in 2014, arriving at three main areas ripe for investment. Agritourism, the Catawba River corridor and Lake Wylie are — in no particular order, he said — the “three greatest assets” the county can use.

“It’s not a matter of picking one project,” he said. “It will probably be a matter of picking what project is going to be first.”

In 2015, the county approved money for several large projects, leaving the hospitality tax committee asking Council to hold off on any more decisions until the revenue fund could grow. To date, the county funded the outdoor water park at the Clover School District Community YMCA and part of the planned sports park in Lake Wylie, and new fields at Comporium Athletic Park in Fort Mill. Annually, the county set aside smaller but significant amounts of marketing money for festivals, events and groups promoting tourism.

The struggle the committee has in recommending projects is not all parts of the county are the same. Large events such as Christmasville and Come See Me in Rock Hill, South Carolina Strawberry Festival in Fort Mill and Summerfest in York draw large crowds. Yet because they are held in municipalities, the unincorporated areas don’t see the restaurant traffic that generates the county hospitality tax dollars.

Municipalities have their own hospitality taxes.

“Do you want this money to be invested to promote tourism in York County, which is pretty broad, or do you want to promote tourism with the defined intent to generate H-tax dollars to the restaurants in the unincorporated areas of the county?” Huckabee asked, saying “there is a difference.”

‘Territorial stuff’

About 70 percent of the tax revenue comes from two county council districts — District 1 covering Fort Mill, Tega Cay and unincorporated restaurant hotbeds at Carowinds Boulevard and Baxter, and District 2 , which includes restaurants in Lake Wylie, and Clover. Both touch the lake or river.

Councilman Michael Johnson, who represents District 1, says spending should reflect where the money comes from and should promote tourism there.

“H-tax dollars should generate H-tax funding in unincorporated areas,” Johnson said.

Councilman Robert Winkler said unincorporated areas are underwriting events in incorporated areas. He voted to deny marketing money for large festivals, even having served as past chairman of Summerfest, because of the minimal impact they have on restaurants outside city limits. For instance, the BMX World Championships this summer was a banner event for host Rock Hill, but not for unincorporated areas of the county.

“BMX was a tremendous event,” Winkler said. “Brought in millions of dollars and tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people. And the city of Rock Hill had a huge increase in their accommodations tax and their H-tax. We lost money.”

Councilman William “Bump” Roddey said a “sizeable portion” of restaurant sales come from all York County diners rather than special events. A point he used to suggest a small amount of funding should continue to go to established events even if they’re in cities and towns.

“Our locals are hitting these restaurants up, and it’s not all just generated from outsiders coming, putting this money into the coffers,” Roddey said.

Others, particularly in Lake Wylie, have used the point a different way. Until the two large Lake Wylie projects received funding two years ago, many there argued they are the ones paying the hospitality tax at their own restaurants since the county was doing little to draw tourism there.

Huckabee said there are people from multiple areas who see the tax funding supporting events such as the BMX championships that draw people to municipalities, and wonder why.

“There are plenty of people on the H-tax commission, there are plenty of people here in the county, that say why do you keep giving money to Rock Hill?” Huckabee said.

Chairman Britt Blackwell, who represents Rock Hill, doesn’t make the distinction in where people are eating. He looks at whether capital projects or events are drawing people to and promoting the county.

“We’ve got to quit this territorial stuff,” Blackwell said. “We’ve got to stop that. We’ve got to start looking out for the county as a whole.”

What could happen?

The three main areas identified for investment don’t have specific plans in place yet. But all, Huckabee said, have options. Lake Wylie has existing sites that could benefit from new money.

“The county has some interest in what could be done further at Ebenezer Park, Allison Creek, Buster Boyd Bridge, restaurants, maybe dock rentals, tours, who knows?” Huckabee said. “There’s a lot that could be done.”

On the river, anything from partnering with the Catawba Indian Nation to promoting history, rafting, canoeing or whitewater opportunities could bring visitors.

“There’s a lot that could be done on the Catawba River,” Huckabee said.

The county is a little further along on agritourism, with multiple studies done since 2009. Huckabee and state Rep. Tommy Pope recently began co-chairing a new study group looking at agritourism opportunities for equestrians, an ATV park, hiking, mountain biking or an ampitheather.

“This could be some kind of mixed-use facility that has an agritourism component to it,” Huckabee said.

Johnson likes the three priorities, but is concerned only one has a study group.

“There is no committee set up to study possibilities to do things on the Catawba River corridor,” he said. “There’s no committee set up to study anything to happen in Lake Wylie. All there is, is a committee set up to study agritourism.”

Johnson would like to see three plans presented at once, where council could choose.

“They’re going to come up with a great plan that’s going to be the only plan we have,” he said of the agritourism group. “It is going to be the only game in town, so it’s got to get the money. I’m concerned by that.”

Blackwell said the county is looking at Ebenezer Park improvements, Duke Energy at the Allison Creek Access Area and county museum leaders at the Catawba. Just because Lake Wylie and the Catawba don’t have their own group, he said, doesn’t mean they’ll be left behind.

“They’re actively being pursued every day,” Blackwell said.

Huckabee said “there’s no discussion on location now” for an agritourism site. His group first is looking at the need for one. He expects the three larger projects he recommended to be investments not just in the next year or two, but for 15 or 25 years.

Left out

For one group promoting Lake Wylie, making the list of investment priorities isn’t much consolation. The Lake Wylie Visitor Center, located in the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce, asked for money after receiving $50,000 last year. Council denied the request in August, with members saying they don’t fund other chambers of commerce. Councilwoman Allison Love said several times she expects blow back from the decision but supports using the money on other projects.

Susan Bromfield, president of the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce, said the visitor center isn’t taking anything away from the county but was set up a decade ago to be funded through H-tax money.

“The situation is that the county and (visitor center) has had a partnership that has worked to grow the H-tax for the county,” she said, “and have worked to increase it by 100 percent thus generating more than $2 million to date.”

Bromfield said she wrote letters and made presentations to past councils. She went to meetings. She isn’t sure why the funding has been cut off now. Her board has reached out to Love and others asking for reconsideration, but haven’t heard anything yet.

“After the unexpected denial of H-tax funding for the only organization actually in and promoting dining and the H-tax, and the comments made by individual council people, the board and I felt we needed to respond and show the facts on record and ask the council to reconsider,” Bromfield said.

This story was originally published September 28, 2017 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Lake Wylie has to be part of bringing visitors to York County. Experts explain why.."