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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-09-16 KCVB MinutesKenai Visitors Convention Bureau, Inc. Board of Directors Meeting Past President Ron Malston, Presiding Thursday, September 16, 1999 MINUTES A. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The board members agreed to continue the mee presented. F. PERSONS SCHEDULED TO BE HEARD: None. G. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Executive Director's Report C r i e7g /YWt+115) B. ROLL CALL Directors present: Jerilue Seekins Hopley; Ron Malston; Diane Lofstedt; Sandra Vozar; James Bookey; Robert Fulton; Marion Nelson. Staff present: Kathy Tarr, Executive Director (Special note: Because there were only six voting board members present out of 13, one director short of a quorum, the board meeting was changed to a work session only since official action or motions could not be adopted) g and discuss the agenda items as D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the June 24, 1999 meeting were included in the board packets but were not officially adopted without a quorum present. E. CORRESPONDENCE Board members received copies of the following correspondence: Sheila Lutes' letter re: Great Alaska Fish Camp; thank -you letter from Allan Norville of the Kenai River Classic; Certificate of commendation from the firefighters; thank -you letter from the Kenai River Festival; thank -you from the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Executive Director Tarr reported on the Alaska Travel Industry Association's election. The official candidate booklet was distributed. A total of 41 candidates state -wide are running for 17 elected ATIA board seats. Tarr is one of 14 candidates KVCB Board Minutes September 16, 1999 Page 2 for the Southcentral region (only 3 will be elected.) Since the Kenai Peninsula captured 4% of the total new charter memberships in ATIA, even if none of the Kenai Peninsula candidates gets voted in, according to Tarr, one of them will be appointed to ATIA's board after the new board and officers are seated. Tarr reported that she was appointed to serve on the newly formed Brown Beak Conservation Stakeholder. (soup for the Kenai Peninsula as the tourism representative. The first meetings will held over the weekend of October 2" A KC VB staff planning retreat will be held on Thursday, September 23 to outline all projects and to review all deadlines from now through May 1, 2000. The list of the 24 confirmed artists for Alaska 2000: A Celebration of Wildlife Art was passed out. NEW PRINT PIECE FOR KENAI There was a lot of discussion about the need for a new tourism promotional piece for Kenai.. The Bureau has been using the "fireweed" rack -card brochure which KVCB printed in early 1997 with partial funding from the City of Kenai as its primary print piece. The original 50,000 copies are almost depleted and KVCB staff have been exploring new ideas. Tan presented several options to the board for discussion. Director Bookey stated that his preference was to continue with a full- color, glossy format for the new brochure rather than a newsprint format. Most board members concurred. There was discussion about the need for an informational piece to be developed which visitors could use once they arrive in the central Peninsula. Tarr explained that staff had been discussing a newspaper supplement which would include information on the local arts scene, the exhibits schedule at KVCC, the calendar of events, some information on the area's natural history, Kenai's parks, things to see and do, etc. There was discussion about whether this kind of publication should contain advertising or whether it should be underwritten by sponsors as is the case with the Old Town Walking Tour map/brochure. Director Nelson suggested that the informational piece also include a guide to where Kenai's best flower gardens are. Discussion ensued about KVCB's need for two separate promotional pieces: one to lure visitors to Kenai and to mail out to all inquirers, and another, more basic publication with info ration about the area once people arrive, Director Seekins suggested that the newspaper guide could be personalized by individual KVCB members who want to pitch in and help pay for the printing costs. The suggestion was made for Tarr to discuss the proposed newsprint -type guide with Stan Pitlo at the Peninsula Clarion. KVCB Board Minutes September 16, 1999 Page 3 The board directed Tarr to come up with a proposal for the promotional publications at the next board meeting in October. PHOTO RECEPTION September 9, 1999. Directors Matson and Nelson commented on the event held at the Kenai Visitors Cultural Center. Both agreed that it was a good reception and that they enjoyed meeting the local photographers and seeing their work presented in a short slide show. Tarr reported that after expenses, the Bureau netted approximately $300 from the Third Annual Kenai Peninsula Photographer's Guild exhibition. WELCOME BANNER Tarr reported that she had received a request from local organizers of the upcoming Alaska Municipal League Convention in Kenai /Soldotna on November 6 to install a welcome banner at the airport, and to help meet and greet AML delegates when they arrive. The Kenai Airport does not have a standard "Welcome to Kenai" banner that can be stored at the airport and used for many different occasions. Tarr said she planned to discuss the possibility with the airport manager. KVCB will assist in developing a welcome table and small display for the AML at the Kenai Airport. It is difficult to assign non- exempt employees to help "meet and greet" since all employees would have to be paid 1.5 if Saturday was not a regularly scheduled work day for them. Tarr offered to work at the airport for a few hours. H. REVIEW OF MONTHLY REPORTS All written monthly reports were included in the board packets. The financial reports were the only reports discussed in detail. Tarr reported that every year there seemed to be one or two months where gaming revenues were extremely low or non existent. In 1998, the month was June. There were no profits to transfer from gaming to the general operating account in June of 1998. July and August 1999 were low profit months for Bicentennial Bingo. July's net profit: $2,490.68. August's net profit: $1,944.08. The fall season usually brings higher gaming revenues, said Tarr. Overall, gaming revenues are tracking higher year -to -date in 1999, than in 1998. Wednesday night bingo continues to trail Friday night bingo by a wide margin When gaming transfers are lower as in July- August period, cash flow is affected, said Tarr. There will be a transfer made from the retail account to the general account to make up the difference The transfer was budgeted as an income item in 1999. Donations box revenues were $421.83 lower than the summer of 1998. KVCB Board Minutes September 16, 1999 Page 4 I. REVIEW OF BYLAWS KVCB BOARD OF DIRECTORS This item was tabled and will be placed on the October 1999 board agenda. J. NEW BUSINESS EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK REVISIONS Tarr reviewed a memo to the board concerning her suggestions and recommendations for updating KVCB's Personnel Policy Manual. For the past year, Tarr has reviewed other non profit employee handbooks and has also attended several meetings on personnel issues specific to CVBs. Tarr discussed why she wanted to make the suggested changes outlined in her memo. KVCB's employee handbook had not been updated for almost three years. Currently, it's missing some important pieces of information. Other parts need to be rewritten so that the guidelines are more clearly defined and understood. Tarr reminded the board that none of the KVCB employees, including the CEO, receive any health, vision, dental, or retirement benefits. It's worth considering some adjustments to the holiday and vacation benefits to help compensate for the lack of other benefits. The board directed Tarr to incorporate the recommendations outlined in her memo into a new draft of the KVCB Employee Handbook. The new draft will be discussed at the next board meeting. K. BOARD COMMENTS The subject of board liability insurance was raised once again. Director Seekins inquired about the cost of such insurance. Tarr said she will follow -up with this request. Director Bookey said this subject had been discussed several times over the past seven years but that the insurance was never purchased due to its high cost. Tarr asked if any board members would be interested in attending an informal evening social to meet the new CEO of the Kenai Native Association, Doug Campbell. Campbell is fairly new to the community and is interested in meeting with some of the local tourism business people. Several KVCB board members said they would like to attend. Director Malston suggested that the board try several morning meetings over the winter. KVCB Board Minutes September 16, 1999 Page 5 KVCB NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Directors Nelson and Vozar agreed to serve on the nominating committee. Director Fulton suggested that KVCB Bylaws be changed so that the size of the quorum is a simple majority determined by the number of "sitting" board members. L. SCHEDULE OF THE NEXT BOARD MEETING Tarr said there would be regular board meeting planned for October. Any possible changes to the bylaws regarding size of the board would have to be officially adopted before the KVCB 2000 Board of Elections could be conducted. M. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted by, Kathleen Tarr Executive Director