City Briefs

Shelton moves on tourism grants

The Shelton City Council on Tuesday evening gave preliminary approval to awarding $97,000 in tourism grant requests to local organizations for 2025.

The grant awards can be finalized with a vote at the council's meeting at 6 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Shelton Civic Center. The money comes from taxes collected from motels in the city. The city's Local Lodging Tax Advisory Committee met Sept. 18 to review the tourism grant applications, with local groups requesting $164,426.

The committee recommends Kristmas Town Kiwanis receive $9,000 for the annual Bluegrass from the Forest festival, the Mason County Forest Festival Association $12,000, and Northwest Event Organizers $12,000 for Christmas Town Marketing & Events, $2,000 for the Overlook Park mural installation and $6,500 for the event power box in the Cota Street parking lot. The Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce would receive $18,000, the Mason County Historical Society $20,000 for the museum, the City of Shelton $10,500 for the Creative District branding and wayfinding, Shelton Downtown Merchants $5,000 for the Shelton Art Walk and $1,000 for the Cookie Stroll, and the Skookum Rotary Club $2,000 for OysterFest. The group MWSO Miracle Inc. requested $10,000 for the Miss Christmastown USA Scholarship Competition, but it was declined "due to lacking of driving tourism."

If those funding requests are granted, the committee will have a reserve of $14,589.

New policy for remote public comments

Following a "zoom bombing" of a recent Shelton City Council study session, the City of Shelton has adopted a new registration policy for making remote public comments during meetings.

Registration is now required for anyone who wants to make a remote public comment during public meetings. There are no changes to in-person or written comments.

The new deadline to sign up for public comment is 4 p.m. the day of the meeting. The city clerk's office will confirm your registration and provide directions for participating remotely by 5 p.m. the evening of the meeting you've signed up to speak at. More information and the remote comment registration form are available at http://www.sheltonwa.gov/RemotePublicComment. All City of Shelton public meetings are livestreamed on the city's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/CityofShelton.