Wallowa County hotel owner filed a petition in circuit court to review the title of a ballot measure proposed by the county commission that asks voters to raise the transient room tax by 3 percent in unincorporated areas of the county.

David Hurley, owner and operator of Eagle’s View Inn and Suites in Enterprise and Eagle Cap Chalets in an unincorporated area of Wallowa Lake, has retained legal counsel to file a petition to challenge the transient tax ballot title. The plan is for the proceeds of the tax to go toward two areas: 70 percent to the county fairgrounds and 30 percent to the county sheriff’s department.

Hurley thinks 70 percent going toward the fairgrounds might be illegal and has retained legal counsel to challenge it. The petition, filed within seven days after the title was filed with the county clerk, claims the title filed with the Wallowa County Clerk, “Increase Transient Lodging Tax by three percent” is “Insufficient, not concise or unfair.” He believes it needs to mention 70 percent of the tax must go to supporting tourism.

Hurley believes the fairgrounds does not constitute a place that “has a substantial purpose of supporting tourism or accommodating tourist activities” as Oregon State Law 320.300 requires for any location that would receive 70 percent of the proposed transient tax increase.

While some tourists attend events at the Wallowa County Fairgrounds, Hurley doesn’t believe this constitutes a “substantial purpose.” His petition to change the ballot title would force the Wallowa County Commissioners to prove the fairgrounds has a substantial support of tourism.

He doesn’t believe they can.

According to Hurley’s petition, the ballot describing the measure “obfuscate(s) and confuse(s) the subject, chief purpose, summary, and major effect of the proposed tax increase” and argues the measure’s “chief purpose is to the fund the operations of the Wallowa County Fairgrounds, but that purpose is not in the title. Hurley’s petition said the court should modify the ballot title that includes a caption that identifies the actual subject of the measure and that increased taxes may only be used for enumerated purposes that do not include funding the Wallowa County Fairgrounds.

Velda Bales, secretary of the Wallowa County Fair Board, said the tax increase will help maintain the fairgrounds’ facilities.

Besides the annual fair, Bales said, the fairgrounds hosts a number of other events like the Juniper Jam music festival, Hells Canyon Mule Days and FFA competitions.

She said she has spoken with a number of tourists at the fair before, including people from as far away as New York.

Hurley isn’t the only one concerned about the measure. Other business owners in Wallowa County have mixed feelings about the potential increase.

Wendy Reininger has been renting out cabins outside of Enterprise since 2007 as Arrowhead Ranch Cabins, and she got set up on Airbnb in 2017. Per its website, Airbnb, Inc. is a company based in San Francisco that operates an online marketplace and hospitality service for people to lease or rent short-term lodging.” She believes the tax increase will hurt her business.

“Most of our guests come from quite a ways away. They come from Portland, they come from Seattle, a few from the Boise area, occasionally one from beyond. It’s already a long drive and a big investment for them to come all the way out (here). My concern is, with rising gas prices, rising prices in general — they’ll decide to go somewhere else,” Reininger said.

See more in Wednesday’s edition of The Observer.