By DONNA LeSCHANDER and NATALIE KENNEDY

Potter Leader-Enterprise

Tioga County commissioners are moving to eliminate Visit Potter-Tioga as the official tourist promotion agency for the two counties.

Commissioners Shane Nickerson, Marc Rice and Sam VanLoon want to decertify Visit Potter-Tioga and have Tioga County administer funds collected through taxes on hotel rooms.

Act 18 of 2016 in Pennsylvania allows counties to impose a hotel room rental tax, which also covers bed and breakfasts, guest houses and cabins in campgrounds. The tax can be up to 5% and must be used to fund tourism promotion and development to bring in visitors. There is an ongoing debate between Visit Potter-Tioga’s board of directors and the Tioga County commissioners regarding the legality of the county obtaining these funds and the proper process for decertification.

“They have no right to this money or to oversight of it,” said a spokesperson for Visit Potter-Tioga. “It’s up to the state; the money comes from the hotels, to the county treasurer and then to (Visit Potter-Tioga).”

At issue for Potter County is the decrease in tourism promotion support that Potter would receive from Visit Potter-Tioga if Tioga succeeds in decertifying the agency. The Tioga County commissioners and the agency have been at odds since September 2024, when Tioga said it wanted to retain 40% of that county’s collected hotel taxes — about $350,000 a year — to benefit Tioga businesses or it would decertify the agency.

The two counties take in approximately $875,000 in room rental taxes annually, with most of that collected in Tioga County, which features Pine Creek Gorge — the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.

Visit Potter-Tioga has served as the tourism agency of record for the two counties since 2017.

Rice said that the Tioga County commissioners plan to attend as many township meetings as possible in an effort to gain support for decertification. He indicated that initial shows of support would be unofficial and that “there would be a public hearing in the future” after all townships are visited.

“Our solicitor says there doesn’t need to be a public meeting right now,” Nickerson said.

If Tioga County eventually decertifies Visit Potter-Tioga in an official 65% majority vote by township boards, it would severely limit funds for everything tourism-related in Potter County, Potter commissioner Robert Rossman said.

“We have never been for decertification. Visit Potter-Tioga does a fabulous job and we see a financial benefit from people spending money in our county,” Rossman said.

Two examples of robust tourism in Potter County are Denton Hill State Park hosting 19,722 visitors in 2024, up from 12,985 in 2023. Cherry Springs State Park is holding steady with approximately 237,000 visitors in both 2023 and 2024.

“I do respect Tioga County’s right to take actions that they believe to be in their county’s best interests,” Potter County commissioner Paul Heimel said. “It’s just frustrating because since this region was created, Lyman Run got a new dam, bathrooms … ATV areas and expanded camping.

“The (Pennsylvania) Lumber Museum got an incredible makeover,” Heimel continued. “Cherry Springs is being vastly improved. Denton Hill State Park is going to be an awesome attraction, and from 2019 to today the numbers of tourists is exploding.”

Rossman contacted the Tioga County commissioners April 2 in an effort to seek clarity and information after learning of a Richmond Township meeting in Tioga County the night before. That board of supervisors unanimously approved of decertification in a non-binding resolution.

There had been no notification to the Potter County commissioners.

“That was the most unpleasant meeting; unproductive and full of strong language from Rice and VanLoon,” Rossman said. “My takeaway is that regardless of how Potter County feels, they will move forward with this.”

The board of directors of the tourism agency was also surprised to learn of Tioga County’s move.

“I am as shocked as you are,” Ken VanSant, chair of the Visit Potter-Tioga board, said. “It baffles me because our last communication was honest and upfront — ‘we will sit down and meet with you any time you want.’” VanSant said Visit Potter-Tioga has made numerous attempts to communicate with the Tioga County commissioners, but once the elected officials involved legal counsel, each side has been communicating through lawyers.

He believes the issue is “hurt feelings and bruised egos,” caused when Visit Potter-Tioga board members excluded county commissioners from discussions about spending and marketing strategies.

VanSant said Visit Potter-Tioga has been successful in bringing people to the bi-county area, with visitors spending about $280 million a year. He noted the agency has won numerous tourism marketing awards.