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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/01/1999, C6 - USE OF PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE (PCC) ENHANCED PROMOTIONAL FUNDS council j acEnaa Repout C6 C6 C I T Y OF SAN LUIS OBISPO ' FROM: Ken Hampian,Assistant City Administrative OfficerI ' Prepared By: Wendy George,Assistant to the City Administrative Officer 6- SUBJECT: USE OF PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE (PCC) ENHANCED PROMOTIONAL FUNDS CAO RECOMMENDATION 1. Approve the Promotional Coordinating Committee's recommendation to allocate $1,000 of Enhanced Promotional funds as the City's share of a three-party contribution toward modifying the doors at the San Luis Obispo.Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center so that they meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA). 2. Approve the Promotional Coordinating Committee's recommendation to allocate $2,500 of Enhanced Promotional funds to the Chamber of Commerce for the creation of press kit folders to be used for City tourism promotion. DISCUSSION Background Several years ago, in conjunction with an increase in the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) from 9% to 10%, the City created an Enhanced Promotional fund to be used to finance innovative promotional ideas and provide seed money for new special events. Annually, the PCC makes recommendations to the City Council on how this fund should be spent. Two proposals have originated from the PCC requesting expenditures of Enhanced Promotional funds. The first is to make a contribution toward the cost of modifying the Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center doors to make them ADA compliant. The second is to provide funding for the development of press kit folders to by used by the Chamber of Commerce when promoting City tourism. New ADA Compliant Doors for the Visitors Center The PCC has been told by citizens with disabilities who have used the Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center that the entry doors are extremely heavy and not in compliance with the ADA. At a recent meeting, the PCC was sensitized by a representative of SLOCO Access to the need for making the City's tourism industry friendlier to individuals with disabilities. Since the Visitors Center is a significant piece of the City's tourism program, and represents the City to many of its visitors, the PCC felt that it was very unfortunate that its doors prevented it from being ADA accessible. On March 16, 1999, the PCC requested that the City Council allocate $3,000 of Enhanced Promotional funds to bring the Chamber doors into ADA compliance. This amount was estimated to be the full cost of the necessary repairs. While sympathetic to the Ce for Council Agenda Report-,nhance Promotional Fund Recommendations Page 2 accessible doors, City staff was not supportive of that recommendation. They felt that it was inappropriate for the City to bear the full cost of repairs to a privately owned building. The Council supported the staff recommendation, but gave indications that it might be more receptive to the request if the cost of the repairs were shared with the Chamber and/or the property owner. At the most recent PCC meeting, the Chamber of Commerce reported that it had contacted the property owner who had agreed to share in the repairs by paying one-third of the expense. The Chamber is also willing to assume one-third of the cost. Based on that information, the PCC once again recommends the use of Enhanced Promotional funds for repair of the doors, but only in the amount of$1,000,which is one-third of the total estimated cost. Press Kit Folders The Chamber of Commerce has asked the PCC to help it put together press kits for tourism promotion by providing $2,500 in Enhanced Promotional funding. Travel editors and writers receive dozens of press kits and media packets every day from cities across the country which are pitching their destinations. In order to compete with those cities, such as Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Francisco, the City of San Luis Obispo should have an eye-catching, professional press kit folder to house its Visitors Guide and other information. It is important that we not underrate the power of a first impression. The quality of our materials could mean the difference between ending up on the front page of a travel section or ending up in the recycling bin. FISCAL IMPACT There is currently $3,500 remaining of Enhanced Promotional Funds which would be sufficient to fund both PCC recommendations. Attachments 1. PCC minutes of May 12, 1999 C6-2 PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE DRAFT REGULAR MEETING MINUTES May 12, 1999 Council Hearing Room, City Hall San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 CALL TO ORDER The seting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. by Chairperson Sandy Baer with the following members present: itch Massey, George Newland, Bill Pyper, Denis Rizzo and Wilda Rosene. Diane Hunt Roberts arrived at 5: p.m. Wendy George served as staff. Also present were: Maggie Cox, Susan Carvalho, Jonni Biaginni, ve Garth, Alex Cairns and Anja Schlotman. 2. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the regular meeting of April 14, 99,were approved as submitted. 4. POLICY ON LARGE REQUESTS FOR BROCHURES PCC members asked Maggie Cox how many brochures were and what it would cost to print additional brochures. Ms. Cox indicated that the cost of printing 50,000 more ochures would be about$9,000. After discussion of the pros and cons of giving out brochures for free,the P unanimously approved the following motion: • Requests for under 100 brochures will be filled as needed. • Tourism related requests for 100- 1,000 brochures must be made in writing and wi a filled at no cost. Requests for over 1,000 brochures must be taken to the PCC for approval. i • Brochures used for non-tourism related purposes must be purchased. When brochures are rc\d, the price will offset the cost of printing. Currently that price is $.30 per piece. The motion was made by Bill Pyper, seconded by Denis Rizzo and passed unanimously. `•� 5. DECISION ON USE OF REMAINING ENHANCED PROMOTIONAL FUNDS Dave Garth reported that the Chamber of Commerce has done further investigation into the cost of making the Visitors Center door ADA accessible, and has determined that the actual cost would only be$3,000. Mr. Garth has spoken with the owner of the building who has agreed to pay for 113 of the cost. The Chamber of Commerce is also willing to contribute$1,000. He asked the PCC to consider once again recommending the use of Capital Enhanced Promotional Funds for a 1/3 contribution of$1,000. Discussion of potentially using remaining Enhanced Promotional funds for the revitalized La Fiesta Celebration was held by PCC members. Dave Garth then suggested using current Enhanced Promotional funds for the press kits requested by the Chamber of Commerce as part of the their 1999-01 budget request. On a motion by George Newland, seconded by Bill Pyper, the PCC voted 5-0 to fund the$1,000 for the Chamber of Commerce doors and $2,500 for the press kits for the Chamber of Commerce. Mitch Massey abstained from the vote and Diane Hunt Roberts was absent. 6. APPROVAL OF PRELIMINARY GRANTS-IN-AID RECOMMENDATIONS Willda Rosene presented the recommendations from the Grants-In-Aid Subcommittee for this years cultural grants. The PCC congratulated the sub-committee on a job well done. There was a brief discussion on how C6-3