Hotel room tax income seeks new uses

  • 2023-01-28
Officials in St. Charles are considering whether to use the income from the hotel room tax to fund a youth sports facility.

The facility will be constructed on a parking lot at the Family Arena. The proposal includes putting up a parking garage to make up for the parking spaces that would be lost. County Executive Steve Ehlmann’s office submitted the proposal to the St. Charles County Convention and Sports Facilities Authority.

It is one of 14 proposals from private and government organizations that are under consideration. The hotel room tax stands at 5% and it is expected to bring in about $4m every year. The decision on which proposal to pick will be made by the Convention and Sports Facilities Authority’s members.

One of the other proposals from a private organization is building an amusement park and children’s museum that will be accessible to people with disabilities. Another proposal that has been put forward is the addition of a conference center at the Daniel Boone Home complex, which is owned by the county. Graphic design could be used to present proposals for upcoming developments.

Over the past twenty years, the city has used the money from the hotel tax to pay for expenses related to the St. Charles Convention Center. The debt repayments on the Convention Center were fully paid off in 2021.