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Market group hopes budget will get state boost

By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, April 13, 2003

High Point — The International Home Furnishings Market Authority has approved a draft budget of $1.52 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1, but board members hope the final figure will be significantly higher with state funding.

Board members and Market Authority President Judy Mendenhall are lobbying hard for North Carolina legislation that would give the group $2 million to improve its transportation terminal in downtown High Point and another $1 million to help pay for the market's shuttle system over the next two years.

If state money becomes available, it would allow the Market Authority to spend more money promoting the market, which board members said is badly needed.

"There's not nearly enough money in here to promote the market," IHFMA Treasurer Bruce Miller said of the $158,000 designated for market promotion and visitor assistance in the draft budget. "We have to very dramatically increase the promotion part of this budget."

Miller, also chief executive officer of the International Home Furnishings Center, and Mendenhall said they were optimistic the state would provide additional funding.

As it stands now, some $970,700, or 64% of the Market Authority budget for the fiscal year, would be spent on parking and transportation.

"I believe we will get something from the state. It's just hard to say how much," Mendenhall said. "We've got a lot of support in the legislature. I think they recognize the urgency of getting the money in here and keeping this event in North Carolina."

Several High Point-area legislators have sponsored bills in the N.C. House and Senate that call for appropriations of $3 million for the next two fiscal years.

The legislation calls for $2 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1 to improve the market's existing transportation terminal on Commerce Street and possibly establish a second downtown terminal.

In addition, the bills allot $500,000 during the next fiscal year and another $500,000 for the 2004–05 fiscal year for the market's shuttle system.

Mendenhall said that money would allow the Market Authority to provide free shuttle service from area hotels and motels. At the just-concluded market, hotel shuttles were $15 for one round-trip ticket and $35 for a seven-day ticket.

Free shuttles already are in place for several satellite parking lots and a number of furniture showrooms outside the downtown area. Plus, there are two free downtown shuttle routes that include stops at numerous showroom buildings.

At last week's meeting, board members authorized Chairman Steve Kincaid to appoint a marketing committee that would develop a long-range plan for promoting the market and increasing market attendance.

"This board has done a good job of fixing things that needed to be fixed, but now we need to put together a strategic plan for how we can grow this market 40% or 50% in the next five years," said High Point City Manager Strib Boynton, an ex-officio member of the board.

Mendenhall said the Market Authority also plans to apply for a grant from North Carolina's Gold Leaf Fund to help promote the market. The fund, which is the state's portion of a recent nationwide settlement with tobacco companies, must be used for job creation and retention, she said.

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