Officials consider options for GO Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - City officials held a key meeting with the interim director of GO Cedar Rapids about the future of the financially strapped tourism bureau this week.

Neither city nor GO Cedar Rapids officials would discuss specifics of the meeting, but Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz issued a statement describing the meeting in general terms Thursday.

'On September 19, city officials met with Jim Haddad, interim CEO of GO Cedar Rapids, who provided an update to the city and discussed possible options for the organization moving forward,” Pomeranz said. 'Haddad continues to work with others in the community to develop plans for the organization.

'Once a plan is presented to the city, we will access all of our options before presenting a recommendation to City Council.”

Haddad declined to comment.

At the meeting were Haddad, on behalf of the GO Cedar Rapids, Pomeranz, Mayor Brad Hart, City Council members Tyler Olson and Scott Overland, who is also on the GO Cedar Rapids board, Casey Drew, the city's finance director, and Angie Charipar, assistant to the city manager and city liaison on the GO Cedar Rapids board and an executive committee member.

The city has been the main financial backer of the organization for years, providing $1 million annually through hotel-motel tax revenues. GO Cedar Rapids' annual budget increased recently from $1.6 million to $2 million.

City Council members have said previously they are leery of providing the organization additional money. The nonprofit is at least $1.8 million in debt to the bank and vendors after losing $2.3 million on a first-time festival called 'newbo evolve” on Aug. 3-5.

The GO Cedar Rapids president and community events director were both fired in the days after the festival.

The nonprofit has vowed to conduct an independent audit of the event and make the findings public, after suggesting board members were misled about spending, ticket sales and sponsorships.

Council members want hotel-motel tax revenue to go toward the mission of attracting people to Cedar Rapids, not repaying the organization's debt, several council members have said.

The organization is expected to seek money, or at least flexibility in repaying a $500,000 hotel-motel tax advance the city made last year. The advance was for a zip line that never panned out and to book acts for newbo evolve.

The city plans to withhold $500,000 - or the first two quarters of the allocation of hotel-motel tax to repay itself this year - and had intentionally not committed the remaining $500,000.

The decision of what to do with that money, which is earmarked for GO Cedar Rapids but could be used elsewhere, is expected to come some time later this fiscal year, which runs until June 30. l Comments: (319) 398-8310; brian.morelli@thegazette.com