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Home My WebLink About04-08-2015 Item LRC3Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting Minutes Wednesday, March 11, 2015 10 am City Hall CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chair Clint Pearce PRESENT: Pearce, Wilkins, Walker, Adams, Hutton (arrived 10:10), Conner STAFF PRESENT: Lee Johnson, Erika Inderlied Call to Order at 10:00 am PUBLIC COMMENT Chuck Davidson, Visit SLO County, summarized the March 10 SLO County Board of Supervisors hearing item regarding the SLO County TMD. He noted that though the public comment vacation rentals, B&Bs and RV parks were proposed for removal from the County TMD. The next action will take place at the April 7 Board of Supervisors meeting and representation at this meeting is encouraged. CONSENT AGENDA ACTION: Moved by Conner/Walker to approve the consent agenda. Motion carried 5:0 PRESENTATIONS 1. MARKETING AGENCY MONTHLY UPDATE BCA staff summarized recent promotional activity including trade shows held in San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles in February 2015, which were also attended by partners from Apple Farm, Embassy Suites, and Hearst Castle. Staff summarized recent online marking activity, including SEO development and the addition of SLO International Film Fest materials for sanluisobispovacations.com; noted recent #ShareSLO blog updates including posts about the upcoming SLO Marathon; noted recent blog posts in partnership with CCTC and SLO Wine; noted upcoming mixers at Cal Poly baseball events during April and May, and during the PAC tour in April. BCA Staff noted that the 2015-2016 marketing plan is under development. Walker asked BCA staff to investigate the feasibility and appropriateness of utilizing pop-up dialogs to improve the experience of web visitors; Hutton asked BCA staff to report back on seasonal trends in web and social metrics. BUSINESS ITEMS 1. SAVOR 2015 SPONSORSHIP Marketing Committee members Walker and Hutton summarized arrangements for the upcoming SAVOR event, including an upgrade to a 10' X 20' booth. The Board also discussed the interest in ordering extra SAVOR bags for promotional efforts. Public Comment: Pragna Patel-Mueller inquired as to what sort of leads were generated at last year's event, and how those leads are being utilized. Pearce asked staff to report back. Staff suggested the review of the minutes following SAVOR that reflect the reporting and outcomes. DRAFT Tourism Board Improvement District Minutes Page 2 ACTION: Moved by Hutton/Wilkins to approve the 2015 SAVOR sponsorship as presented in the amount of $40,000, including the use of current year funding for next year's event. Motion carried 6:0 Staff inquired about the interest in the additional SAVOR bags. The Board directed staff to research the cost and amount needed and bring back to the Board at a later date for commitment. 2. 2015-17 BUDGET DISCUSSION Johnson summarized current and projected budget for fiscal years 2014-2015 and 2015-17. Pearce commented that if the Countywide TMD is approved, it will mean $80,000 - $100,000 in funds retained by the TBID. Hutton stated that it should be set aside in a "big idea" fund. Walker noted the need to focus resources on targeting the mid-week, business traveler and possibility of funding/hosting business events or conferences. There was consensus among the Board to continue with the budget as presented, and pursue augmentation as feasible in the future. Public Comment: Ermina Karim, SLO Chamber, inquired whether the TBID would be interested in renewing a public relations partnership with the Chamber. Walker and Hutton stated that a PR campaign is important in the big picture and should be evaluated. 3. ELECTION OF CHAIR & VICE-CHAIR The Board discussed the Chair and Vice-Chair for the term of April 2015 to March 2016. ACTION: Moved by Adams/Conner to nominate Patel for the seat of Chair, and Pearce for the seat of Vice-Chair. Motion carried 5:0 Abstention: Pearce 4. REVIEW OF COMMITTEE BYLAWS Staff gave a brief history of the formulation of the TBID's bylaws. The history included the following information: On June 17, 2008, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1517 which established the San Luis Obispo City Tourism Business Improvement Board. Ordinance No. 1517 created Municipal Code Chapter 12.42 and specifically Section 12.42.100 (Advisory Body) which states “… The members of the TBID Board shall be appointed following the City’s recruitment guidelines for Advisory Bodies… Members of the TBID Board shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council and may be removed by the City Council at any time.” This establishing Ordinance set the board as five members, but Ordinance No. 1531 adopted on July 21, 2009 modified the membership to seven members. Although in 2013 inadvertent errors to the bylaws seem to revert the membership back to five – The Municipal Code was never modified and the seven member status still stands today. Staff noted this among other clerical errors within the bylaws and proposed edits to the bylaws to address the clerical errors. Public Comment: Pragna-Patel Mueller noted concern about the potential lack of transparency of the TBID's marketing and management committee activities. Board Members noted that the meetings are public and noticed ahead of time. Patel-Mueller expressed a desire to have marketing and management committee meeting dates published in the TBID agenda; Johnson noted that the committee meeting dates are often not known at the time of TBID agenda release; Pearce stated that an effort would be made to ensure that all constituents are notified of committee meeting dates and times. Patel-Mueller expressed disagreement with the process wherein the City Council interviews and appoints new TBID members; noted her desire for the TBID to be able to select its own members in order to make the process less political. Pearce stated that, while there are legal parameters that prescribe the appointment process, her comments would be transmitted to City staff for consideration. Tourism Board Improvement District Minutes Page 3 ACTION: Moved by Walker/Hutton to approved the bylaws as presented. Motion carried 6:0 Staff will publish the revised bylaws for final review and approval in the April meeting. 5. TMD MARKETING COMMITTEE DESIGNATION Chuck Davidson, VSLOC, summarized the composition of the TMD Board and explained the process for appointment of marketing committee representatives. The Management Committee presented the recommendation to have the Tourism Manager apply for the TMD marketing committee as the San Luis Obispo representative. ACTION: Moved by Walker/Hutton for the Tourism Manager to apply to serve as the San Luis Obispo representative to the TMD marketing committee. Motion carried 6:0 Many board members commented on the great performance of M. Cano. 6. LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR SLO WINE - 2015 USDA GRANT The Board considered submitting a letter of support for SLO Wine’s 2015 USDA Specialty Crop Grant Proposal for SLO Wine Country "Taste the Coast" Branding Campaign. Johnson summarized the materials. ACTION: Moved by Wilkins/Adams to approve the letter as presented. Motion carried 6:0 COMMITTEE COMMUNICATION HOTELIER UPDATE Walker noted that she had recently met with the new owners of San Luis Creek Lodge. Pearce noted that the Monterey Hotel, recently approved by City Council, will become a new member once in business. Johnson summarized construction schedules for Garden Street Terraces and the Chinatown mixed-use project. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE UPDATE Pearce noted a Helium demo being presented at BCA offices March 17, 2015, at 1:00. Wilkins invited constituents to attend. Adams noted a recent Courtyard Marriott event in Washington, DC., where the importance of Gen Y patrons was examined. The need to invite constituents to helium demo was advised. MARKETING COMMITTEE UPDATE Walker summarized the recent meeting of the Marketing Committee, where measures for attracting and re- attracting visitors were evaluated. Hutton noted that an archway design for the SLO Marathon has been selected. BCA noted that Peregrine Media Group has been selected for the development of digital assets. Pragna Patel-Mueller inquired as to whether digital assets would be available for use by constituents. Pearce asked staff to investigate and report back. PCC UPDATE Pearce noted recent developments in the wayfinding sign program; noted that a small "beautification" line item is being considered for expenditure on creating consistent, professional-looking signage for the City's open spaces. Tourism Board Improvement District Minutes Page 4 Pearce noted that the SLO Happenings task force is evaluating ways to improve the SLO Happenings app; noted that 2015-2016 Grants-In-Aid applications have been received and will be available for review in the near future. TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE Johnson noted the Advisory Body Recognition Reception event taking place on March 18, 2015, and recognized outgoing Board Member John Conner's service on the TBID. Pearce thanked Conner for playing a key role in the inception of the TBID. Conner encouraged Members to learn more about the Mama Shelter chain of hotels. Meeting adjourned at 11:12 am