(FARGO) – The President of the Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau (FMCVB) said there is an advantage in separating the FARGODOME issue from the convention center issue on the ballot.
When the FARGODOME and convention center issues were combined on the ballot, Johnson said the measure needed 60 percent approval. It received just over 50 percent approval.
“The lodging tax itself actually only needs 50 percent approval,” he said. “So there’s a technical advantage, from the lodging tax side, to going that way.”
In December, voters in the city went to the polls to vote on a joint FARGODOME and convention center project. Charley Johnson, President of the FMCVB, said that he spoke to business leaders in the community. He said he got a feel for the change – as business owners said they felt the FARGODOME was not the only site that should be considered for the convention center space.
“One of the things we’ve changed in this process, by separating it out, is this vote won’t be for a specific project,” Johnson said. “But rather to set up the lodging tax to pay for construction of a conference center somewhere in Fargo as part of a public-private partnership.”
