Kittanning Council officially opposes three percent county room tax

KITTANNING - Will a proposed three-percent room tax help or hurt tourism in Armstrong County• That was the question posed by John Gray, owner of the Rodeway Inn, and Cindie Rybicki, owner of the Inn on Vine.

Gray and Rybicki addressed borough council last night asking council to send a letter to Armstrong County Commissioners opposing the proposed tax.

Gray said there are 16 lodging businesses in Armstrong County, three of which are in Kittanning Borough. He explained that after the county would deduct an administrative fee, the remainder of the proposed room tax income would be allocated to the Armstrong County Tourist Bureau.

'Other counties have a room tax. We must also collect state sales tax of the rooms we rent. However,' said Gray, 'We view room tax as a targeted and discriminatory tax that will have an adverse effect on occupancy and room rates in the lodging industry in Armstrong County. The tax is unfair because it targets less than 15 percent of the county members of the Tourist Bureau and less than 10 percent of businesses that benefit from tourism in the county.'

Rybicki summed the matter up by asking if a room tax would put 'more heads on my beds...'

Council voted unanimously to send a letter of opposition to County Commissioners.

Jerry Shuster also asked council for a letter of support regarding increased hours of operation for locks 5 through 9 on the Allegheny River.

'On Mondays and Tuesdays the locks are open only to commercial boat traffic, Shuster said, 'and in the summer they close to pleasure boats at 8 p.m.'

Shuster represented a group of recreational boaters called the 'Pirates of the Allegheny.'

'We feel that if the Army Corps of Engineers would increase hours of operation of the locks this will promote commerce in the many towns that border the upper Allegheny River. Recreational traffic will be enabled to move up and down the river more freely and when they move, they spend money.'

Shuster added that pleasure boaters ply the Allegheny from south of Pittsburgh to East Brady. Council voted to send a letter of support to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking them to consider implementing increased lock operation hours.

In other matters, Council reminded Kittanning Borough residents that there will be no garbage collection the weekend of April 13 through 16.

Council approved a request from Kittanning Hose Co 1 to hold a street dance on May 25.

Also approved was a new union contract for borough workers for 2001, 2002 and 2003.