“I’ve greatly enjoyed and appreciated the opportunities I’ve had to build and grow the Middletown Visitors Bureau,” she wrote in her resignation letter. “We have built an amazing organization, brand, and omni-channel presence for the Middletown tourism economy, and it will be wonderful to see it prosper and thrive in the future.”
Huttlinger told the Journal-News that “it’s time for other opportunities.” She didn’t want to elaborate, she said, because she hadn’t signed any employment papers.
Glaser Jones said Huttlinger did an “amazing job” drawing tourists to the city and she will be “solely missed.”
In February, after a lengthy discussion and a last-minute revision, City Council unanimously approved an American Rescue Plan Act grant to the visitors bureau.
The grant was scheduled to be for $224,000 over two years, but council member Zack Ferrell, concerned the MVB may need more money in two years, suggested spreading the grant over three years. Council voted to appropriate 40% of the $224,000 the first two years and 20% the third year.
The MVB will receive $89,600 this year and in 2023 and $44,800 in 2024.
The grant was needed because the MVB’s budget has been slashed by nearly 50% due to lower bed tax caused by fewer travelers sleeping in Middletown hotels, Huttlinger has said. The MVB splits the bed tax with the city’s economic development department.
Council members asked Huttlinger to revise her allocations for the ARPA grant at its Feb. 1 meeting. They were concerned that the money was earmarked to promote only three community events: Portopia, a mixed-media, interactive art exhibit that attracted 4,700 patrons in its first year at Torchlight Pass; GeoCache and the Mural Walk.
Mayor Nicole Condrey was concerned that $85,000, or 75%, of the budget, was earmarked for Portopia, an event created by the MVB.
Huttlinger said the changes to her budget and the lengthy debate with council weren’t reasons to resign. She called the questions from council “healthy and expected” and members were doing their due diligence.
Under Huttlinger’s leadership, the visitors bureau had many “wins,” she said. The organization was recognized for its branding, web site and social media, she said.
She also brought “influencers” to the city and that raised awareness to the events in the city and generated foot traffic, she said.
Middletown’s geocaching event was the “feather in the cap,” she said. Huttlinger said 30-50 people visited the city every weeks for geocaching and it was the best return on investment in the city’s history. Just two weeks ago, she said, a mother and her two daughters spent the weekend in Middletown due to geocaching.
It’s unclear when Huttlinger will leave her position and how the board will fill the vacancy. Huttlinger wrote that she would do “everything possible to wrap up my duties and allow for adequate succession training.”
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