The Olds Institute for Community and Regional Development is currently putting together a committee to develop a tourism strategy.
The strategy, which will require council approval, would direct tax revenues collected from taxable properties on the Olds College campus.
"The Town of Olds came to the Olds Institute and asked us to engage the community in how these dollars will be spent and how these dollars can benefit the community as a whole as well as stakeholders that work in this space," said OI executive director Mitch Thomson.
"We're just getting a committee started. We're looking at how we can create the biggest benefit for this community for the use of these dollars."
In December, council passed a bylaw to remove the tax-exempt status of college housing now that it is being run by the for-profit College Housing Olds Co. That bylaw does not take effect until 2017. Other taxable endeavours on campus include the Pomeroy Inn & Suites, said chief administrative officer Norm McInnis.
When it passed the Taxation of College Dormitories Bylaw, council also directed administration to find a way that the money could be used to benefit the town and the college, instead of having it go straight to town coffers.
"It could and that's why we haven't made a final decision to this date. But there's a bigger picture here. It's called the future. If we're planning for the future, what's it going to look like? How are we going to be able to bring tourism here and keep what we have here alive," said Mayor Judy Dahl.
"You don't want to start losing key stakeholders in your community because then it takes a piece of pie out and it doesn't work."
McInnis said a significant proportion of revenues from those properties would go toward the proposed Discover Olds Destination Fund.
"It will be a good chunk of it coming out of the gate but as taxable endeavours on campus get bigger, I don't see all of it used as a tourism fund. The strategy is just being worked on right now," he said.
"If we're going to get into this, let's have dedicated resources and let's make it successful."
