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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-11-18 KCVB MinutesKenai Convention and Visitors Bureau Board Meeting Minutes November 18, 2002 Board Members Present: Fred Braun, Ron Malston, Robert Fulton, Jim Bookey, Robin West, Charlotte Legg, Marty Ragan, Marion Nelson Staff Members Present: Ricky Gease, Diana McKenney A. Call to order: Called to order by President Braun at 5:45 p.m. B. Approval of Agenda: Mr. Malston moved and Ms. Ragan seconded approval of the agenda approved unanimously. C. Approval of Minutes: Mr Malston moved and Ms. Nelson seconded approval of the September 23` minutes they were approved unanimously. D. Persons Scheduled to be Heard: Mr. Bookey had to leave at 6:30 for a city budget meeting and took this opportunity to address the Board. The city is looking for a 1 mil tax increase. The budget looks good for KCVB. The city hasn't had a mil rate increase in almost 10 years. They are hoping to run a balanced budget this year. Employees want a raise and health benefits and if this goes through, then some reduction in services may be required. Will begin budget in March instead of this time to give 8 months for budget preparation instead of 3. Will maintain 7 5 million in savings, which is about 80% of an annual budget and hopes to keep it there. Ms. Nelson asked if Kmart and schools will be closing. Mr. Bookey says there are lots of rumors. And they are just that rumors. Lots of new little businesses are opening up. Mr. Braun asked about the low rate for parking at airport. Mr. Bookey says all city fees are up for review. Mr. Braun expressed his appreciation of the City's support not only money, but maintenance, etc. Mr. Bookey just came back from AK Municipal League (AML) Valdez is in much more trouble than we are the number of cruise ships has been dramatically reduced and continues to fall. He also indicated that the city is really comfortable with what we are doing here. E. New Business: 1. Board Election Nominations for 2003: No new nominations have been received. Bill Popp will not be running again. Were going to send ballots out by end of month and will tally by December 14` Mr. Braun and /or Mr. Gease will contact any recommendation. It is not necessary for members to be business owners. Mr. Gease said Steve Horn from Challenger ran an ad in the paper and had several applicants for their Board. He was directed to run the ad and also do some PSA's. Ms. Ragan has agreed to do another year, as well as Mr. Malston and Ms. Vozar. Ms. Vozar will be available by phone if necessary for quorum. If we don't get anyone else, we will send out these three names and the Board will have to appoint other positions. Ms. Nelson recommended Sharon Brower of Grouchy Old Woman B &B 2. New Kenai CVB Membership Directory for 2003: Because we have gone to an annual membership, we can print one directory and have it available instead of constantly producing copies of it. We can print our bulk mail peg uiit on it and mail them in batches and save on staff time and equipment maintenance. It should come out in January or February to accommodate late payers. In mid- December, delinquent members will get a letter about the membership directory indicating this would be their last chance to be included. 3. New Kenai 4 -color Marketing Brochure: Board had indicated that they wanted to produce a brochure. If it can still be budgeted, we have some quotes. We would use the brochure as a rack card for other visitor centers. We would probably use about 10 -12 thousand per year. Mostly used as our in -state piece. Need to have a brochure that can be used for at least 2 years. It would be out -dated after that. Ms. Nelson moved that we should budget for a full color marketing piece Mr. Malston 2nded. There is no money in budget now, but if they were ordered today, they wouldn't arrive until after January. Mr. Braun requested an amendment to motion that dollar amount not exceed $3800 for the printing of the tri -fold brochures. If PrintWorks doesn't come down in price, would we go with A.T. Printing? Ms. Nelson feels that PrintWorks is not only local, but does excellent work. A word of caution with any designer is it is important to ask questions periodically more often than you think they tend to just go with their ideas. Staying on top of it can save a lot of money by not paying for design work that produces a product that is not what you wanted. Mr. Braun, and most board members, felt that the extra money was worth it to use a local business and that we will probably be able to negotiate with PrintWorks to be competitive with A.T. The motion was unanimously approved. F. Old Business: 1. Discuss formation of strategic planning for January, 2003: Mr Braun has set the strategic planning time for late January. The cost is $500 per day and feels it is a bargain. We have a $600 credit with the Foraker Group. Logistics are up for discussion all day, 2 evenings, etc. Mr. Gease asked Ms. Nelson if she liked Dennis McMillan. She said she did and felt he would be good for this purpose. Ms. Legg and Ms Ragan both prefer 1 day and so did Mr. Braun and Mr. Malston. Tuesday Feb. 4` was set for a 1 -day seminar. Some networking can be done prior to the workshop in order to make meeting more productive. 2. Discuss formation of 501 (c) 3 for museum services: At the Foraker Group training, Mr. Gease asked about setting up this status. It allows us to apply for grants and also to set up a fundraising vehicle similar to Friends of the Library. We can set it up as a subsidiary under the existing 501(c) 6 or set it up as a stand alone. Mr. Gease recommended the former. Ms. Tarr didn't like the latter which would require a separate board. At the Pratt Museum, they had problems with a separate board because they developed their own vision that departed from that of the Museum. The (c) 3 status allows donors to get a tax write -off. Mr. Gease recommended that we get legal advice from an attorney for the proper way to set up the subsidiary. Possibly someone in the Foraker Group could direct us. Mr. Braun believes it is the consensus of the board for Mr. Gease to move forward with the research for this option. There is a 3 -year moratorium for the new (c) 3 group to go into gaming. It will also have to be organized so that we can have a membership structure because we need 25 members in order to be eligible for gaming. Rasmussen grants mostly for infrastructure but an organization can only apply for one project per year. One thing for next year's show it's already filled 45 artists need to re -do walls build sheet -rock walls and reclaim the panels. We will need them for the show and they are much more expensive than sheet -rock. Mr. Braun asked for a motion to move forward with the formation of the 501(c) 3. Mr. Malston moved and Mr. Fulton 2nded the motion. Ms. Nelson asked about getting a donation status while the application is in. Mr. West wanted to clarify that the Board is directing Mr. Gease to seek the advice of an attorney for the next Board meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. G. Executive Director's Report: Ms. McKenney reported on the tax status and indicated that we are probably ready for a certified audit. Mr. Braun requested that we try to get it into the budget for 2003 and get it done as soon as possible. Mr. Gease discussed some of the options for budget presentation. We will probably advertise for $2500 in the art collector's magazine Wildlife Art. Mr. Wartinbee, the Curator for our 2003 Summer Show, is very enthusiastic and Mr. Gease would like to request that he do this show every other year. We make a lot more money on the nationally -known artist show than the local contemporary shows, although we still want to provide a venue for both. Mr. Gease asked for direction from Board pertaining to KPTMC involvement. Visitor assessment fees (bed -tax) would have to be Borough -wide from any facility where someone would spend the night hotel, B &B, or campground. This is so visitors pay for some of the maintenance of visitor facilities. This money would go for marketing, visitor services, and infrastructure. The 4 members are already there, so how does the Board see us interacting in this group. We are basically facing the same issues that we will have when it comes to a bed -tax. Mr. West reasoned that the name `visitor assessment' is not favorable it is better to educate and call it bed -tax and have someone from Mat -Su come down and educate on their success. Mr. Malston felt that a split of the bed -tax to all the communities is a fair way to use the money. Mr. Fulton commented on the KP Heritage Research Institute and indicated that there would be a lot of interest and cooperation. Mr. Gease reported that we would be meeting Dec 9` with Oilers about setting up the MBP with a 60/40 split. Wants to make sure he has board approval to make that agreement. The Board granted him the authority to move forward with this arrangement. H. Board Comments: Ms. Ragan thanked Ms. McKenney and Mr. Gease for their hard work. 1. Schedule of Next Board Meeting: December 16, 2002, 5:30p.m. J. Adjournment the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.