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Home My WebLink About1998-01-19 KCVB MinutesKenai Visitors Convention Bureau, Inc. Wednesday, January 14, 1998 Board of Directors Meeting, 5:00 p.m. President Ron Malston Presiding MINUTES A. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:06 p.m. President Malston welcomed the new KVCB board members: Robert Fulton, Shirley Roberts, and Becky Vandehey. B. ROLL CALL Directors present: Ron Malston, Diane Lofstedt, Sandra Vozar, Rebecca Godek, Ron Rainey, Fred Braun, Jim Bookey, Will Jahrig, Shirley Roberts, Robert Fulton, Becky Vandehey. Staff present: Kathy Tarr, Executive Director C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved without changes. D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES M/S (Fulton/Nelson) to approve the minutes of December 10, 1997. E. CORRESPONDENCE *Copies of KVCB's January 9 letter to the Alaska Board of Fisheries were included in the January 14 board packets. *Tarr reported on the legislative priorities of the Anchorage Convention Visitors Bureau regarding some tourism related tax bills being introduced in the Alaska State Legislature. MIS (Nelson/Roberts) to draft a resolution opposing Senator Bert Sharp's tourism tax bill (525 per person for all cruise ship passengers) and to provide a copy to the Kenai Chamber of Commerce for their consideration. F. KVCB banking change re: credit card payments. There was some discussion about setting up an additional credit card payment system for KVCB's general fund so that the Bureau could accept credit cards for payment of membership dues, etc. payment. This discussion was tabled until a future board meeting. G. PERSONS SCHEDULED TO BE HEARD: Director Ron Rainey Subject: Review of KVCB's January 9 letter to the Board of Fish Rainey thanked Fred Braun and Louis Schilling for their time and help in finalizing the draft the letter to the Board of Fisheries. (The draft letter was approved in principle by the full KVCB Board at the December 10,1997 meeting.) He also thanked Director Will Jahrig who sat in on one of the ad -hoc committee meetings when the BOF letter was being finalized. Braun reiterated that the sonar counter on the Kenai River needs Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, January 14, 1998 Page 2 replaced. The Kenai River Sportfishing Association is working with ADF &G on the counter and new methods will be introduced in 1998. Rainey then read from an article in Western Outdoors Magazine which described proposed changes in bag limits for non- resident fishers as being highly discriminatory. The article was very negative about Alaska, and encouraged Lower 48 sportfishers to fish elsewhere. There would be approximately 13 -14 proposals from commercial fishing interests before the Board of Fish at their upcoming February meeting in Anchorage, Rainey said, which supported reduced bag limits and more restrictions on out -of -state fishers. Rainey asked the board to consider passing a resolution to ask the Board of Fisheries to not treat non- resident fishers differently from resident fishers. Out -of -state fishers pay a higher license fee and they average less than one king per person in total number of out -of -state licenses issued each season. There was discussion about some of the abuses which had been reported whereby non residents were selling Alaskan, surplus sport- caught fish in Arizona. Some board members expressed concern that the end result is a diminishing resource. The board agreed that protecting habitat and sustained yield is a must. Discussion continued. Directors Jahrig, Braun, Fulton, and Rainey agreed to work on a draft resolution to the Board of Fisheries opposing any changes to the current non resident bag limits. Director Lofstedt stated that all board members should see the draft resolution before it is sent to the Board of Fisheries. M/S (Braun/Rainey) to draft a resolution to encourage and recommend that the Board of Fisheries retain current sport fish limits for non- residents, and to further state that more study and enforcement was needed to help target and stop the people who are abusing the system. (It was agreed that the draft resolution would be faxed to all board members for their prior approval.) H. FINANCES Tarr presented the end -of -short year budget report, the six -month gaming report, and the six -month retail report. (Note: due to the change in the Bureau's fiscal year to a calendar year budget, the end-of-short year budget report covered the six month period July 1, 1997 to Dec. 31, 1997. The Bureau is now operating on a full, calendar year budget, January 1, 1998 to December 31, 1998.) Total income reported for the six -month period was $151,436.91, and total expenses were $143,366.63. Tarr reported that the Bureau's IRS tax return was to have been mailed on November 17 by the Bureau's C.P.A. firm, however, due to a mistake in the accountant's office, the return was not postmarked to the IRS until November 18, 1997. The accountant apologized for the error and said his firm would pay any fines the IRS may charge. The accountant will also prepare the FY97 financial statement, July 1, 1996 to June 30, 1997 (compilation report) for the City of Kenai which is required under KVCB's city contract. Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, January 14, 1998 Page 3 Tarr reported that staff completed an inventory for the retail area on December 30 and that the overall recordkeeping for inventory is being improved. Other financial news: KVCB has been using QuickBooks for its accounting software. Based on recommendations from the bookkeeper and the C.P.A., the Bureau purchased new accounting software, Peachtree. (It will take several months to complete the software conversion.) The State of Alaska recently ruled to agree with the IRS tax position in regard to unrelated business income as it applies to pull tab and gaming requirements. (This is a simple explanation for a complicated tax issue. In summary, the State of Alaska had been trying to institute taxes on income from unrelated business income in regard to gaming, even though the IRS did not require any federal taxes be paid. The IRS said no taxes were due as long as the income was used in accordance with state laws. For a long time, the State did not agree with the federal government. With this new ruling, the State and the feds are now in agreement with each other.) L UNFINISHED BUSINESS The executive director's report was presented. Tarr reported that the Manager of Exhibits and Education, Veronica Kessler, resigned and relocated to Olympia, Washington with her family. Cecelia Richard, Visitor Services Coordinator, also resigned to take a new position at GoodBooks More in Kenai. Director Nelson gave an update on the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska. Tarr attended the Governor's Conference on Cultural Tourism on January 28- 29. At the conference, Tarr met with staff from the Anchorage Museum, Museums Associations Alaska, and the new director of the Pratt Museum. CVB directors from around the state also attended the Cultural Tourism conference. Before departing the Bureau, Kessler and Tarr discussed the possibility of the Bureau sponsoring some workshops locally on the theme of developing cultural tourism. Visitor Statistics: 1997 resulted in a total of 70,460 visitors to the Kenai Visitors Cultural Center, making it a record breaking year. In 1997, the Bureau mailed a total of 2,024 packets on the City of Kenai to potential visitors. In December 1997, 196 packets were mailed on the City of Kenai and 7 custom packets to travel agencies were mailed. A written visitor statistics report was provided. Membership: As of January 14, 1997, there were 200 dues paying members of the KVCB. A written membership report was provided. Meetings Conferences: In calendar year 1997, almost 4,000 people met at the KVCC. (In summer months, the large meeting room is reserved for daily Alaskana videos.) Over 1,000 area school children visited the Center on scheduled tours during 1997. Tarr reported that work was progressing on the development of a brand new "meeting portfolio," Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, January 14, 1998 Page 4 professional "sales" collateral, to promote the City of Kenai as a meetings conferences destination. Advertising/Trade Shows: In December 1997, the KVCB Board adopted the 1998 Budget which reflected an increase in the total number of dollars spent on advertising and promotion for the City of Kenai. Included in the new advertising plans ($27,000 est. annual advertising budget) are the development of the Bureau's first web site, expanded print advertising, and possible design purchase of a traveling trade show booth for the City of Kenai to be used at national and state consumer trade shows. (The Bureau has never had its own trade show booth and display. Kenai VCB has always shared booth space with other communities.) N. NEXT BOARD MEETING The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for March 11 or March 12. O. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:09 p.m. Respectfully submitted by, Kathy Tarr Executive Director