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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_CVB_08.02.2000Convention & Visitors Bureau Board Meeting Minutes -- August 2, 2000 MEMBERS PRESENT: Jan Nowlin Martha Watkins Rusty Winkstern Bill Lipscomb Gael Dillard Lorraine Crowley Suzanna Pukys JoElla Broussard Larry Simpson MEMBERS ABSENT: Lisa Fisher Cindy Behling STAFF PRESENT: Julie Jacob Debbie Charbonneau STAFF ABSENT: Verna Browning Director, Community Services GUEST PRESENT: Randy Eliassen CALL TO ORDER Larry S. called the meeting to order at 5:18pm. Corrections need to be made to the July minutes. On page 2, Gael would like the 3rd paragraph to be more clear and read: She also reported that the City Council approved the funding for a contract for an economic plan of downtown by Economics Research Associates. Also, correct the 4th paragraph to read: Richard Gitter, Treasurer of the Palace Theater Board, gave a presentation to the board regarding the Palace Theater's plans to request hotel/motel occupancy tax from the City Council in the amount of $100,000; $30,000 a year for the next 3 years. Gael D. made a motion to approve the July minutes with the corrections. Suzanna P. seconded it. It passed unanimously. Rusty W. was absent at time of vote. DIRECTOR & SALES STAFF REPORT Georgetown is hosting the TX Dept of Human Service in October. Approximately 800 people will attend the 3 -day conference. In August, Georgetown will be host an adult softball tournament. Tourism sales have been slow during the Summer months due to the heat. Beginning in August, Julie will be mailing out direct mail pieces to target group travel leaders. It has taken longer than expected to finalize the dining guide. We should have it by mid - August. Julie is already working on the 2001 CVB Board Minutes from August 2, 2000 Page 1 Calendar of Events. She is gathering information from clubs and organizations. Julie and Debbie attended the Budget workshop meetings (3 days). The next Council budget meeting will be August 7 & 9. Julie conducted 1 Texas Hospitality Trainings in July. Twenty -seven people attended. Out of the 5 classes scheduled, Julie only hosted 3 classes. On July 21 st, Georgetown hosted the Mix 94.7 Morning Show on the downtown Square. About 200 people attended the live broadcast. On July 12th, the CVB Board hosted a Tourism Presentation given by Dr. Peter Tarlow. Approximately 15 -20 people attended. Julie is working with Ink Images on the new tear -off maps with the design and layout. Julie gave the report for Verna on the budget. Julie reported that occupancy tax collection last month is 55% higher over last year and year -to -date is up 23 %. Debbie reported the Visitor Center had 2,604 visitors in the month of June. Julie and I are working on bringing in new merchandise to sell. If you have any ideas and/or suggestions, please let us know. The Volunteer Social this month was an Ice Cream Social and very well received. Julie and I played "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" Game and discovered that we need to brush up with our volunteer training. We have four SuperStar Awards that were given out and the volunteers really appreciated the awards. Debbie hosted the first City /County Employee Appreciation Breakfast in the Council Chambers. We had approximately 87 people show up. Debbie will be attending the Pittsburgh Forum 2000 from August 3 - August 6, 2000. The next Main Street Advisory Board meeting is Thursday, July 20, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. in the Training Room. The Main Street Economic Restructuring Committee is in the process of negotiating a contract with Tom Moriarity of ERA. There will be media notices, receptions, walks and a Town Meeting. Dr. Peter Tarlow Presentation Julie gave a breif summary of the Dr. Tarlow presentation. Dr. Tarlow suggested the community needs to set community goal and vision for the future of Georgetown as a tourism community. Cities with successful tourism programs have a community and tourist attractions theme. He also summarized his survey and mentioned it was the first of a scheduled three but this was the only one done. The board discussed product development instead of marketing, the need for evening entertainment and a need for a convention/civic center. CVB Role with ED Commission The board discussed how involved the ED Commission would be with the different departments under the Division. The board discussed the importance the board would have in advising the new commission the CVB Board Minutes from August 2, 2000 Page 2 first year. It was also suggested that the CVB and CVB board do some internal PR. The board decided to stay as a formal board and not change with the formation of the new ED Commission. Economic Development Commission No discussion. Occupancy Allocation Application Julie presented two drafts of applications, one for sports, conventions or meeting and the second one for the arts, historic preservation and restoration, and promotions. The CVB budget needs to be approved before the application can be effective and it also needs approval by the Legal Department. Discussion was held on suggestions to be made the applications. The board discussed the Palace Theatre requesting funds from the CVB. Larry S made a motion to advise the City Council of the CVB Board's support for the funding of the $30,000 per year for 3 years requested from the Palace Theatre. Discussion was held. Martha seconded it. Two (Larry and Martha) were for and seven against. The motion did not pass. Discussion was held on where the money would come from in the CVB budget to fund the Palace Theatre's request. Also, the board discussed that the Palace Theater and other groups should use the new application process. JoElla B. made a motion to write a letter to City Council advising Council that organizations and the Palace Theatre use the CVB application process to give all groups equal opportunity to request hotel occupancy tax. Gael D. seconded it. Discussion was held. Bill L. amended the motion to also include the list of projects that would need to be cut to be able to fund the $30,000 request. Seven for and two against (Larry and Martha). The motion passed. Julie suggested each board member look -over the applications to make suggestions or corrections and bring them to the next meeting to discuss. Bill also suggested creating a list of all the organizations and groups that the CVB has assisted in the past, either financially or with staff time. CVB Board Minutes from August 2, 2000 Page 3 FY 00/01 Budget Julie discussed that the City Council is meeting On Monday July 7 at 5:O0pm to balance the budget. The CVB budget has not be finalized yet, the budget will be finalized in September. 1008 E University Bed & Breakfast Discussion was held regarding a house obtaining approval for zoning as a B &B at 1008 E University. The Planning and Zoning Commission is meeting on August 10th to discuss the zoning of this home. The board discussed the importance of B &Bs to our tourism industry in Georgetown and the zoning issues related to the home in the future if it is not a B &B. Suzanna made a motion to write a letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission stating the CVB Board's support for the general zoning of B &Bs in the community and the importance of B &Bs to the tourism industry. The Lorraine C. seconded it. It passed unanimously. Familiarization Tour Sub- Committee The sub - committee did not meet last month. The committee set Tuesday, August 15th at 2:00 to meet to discuss plans and goals. Williamson County Art Guild Arts & Jazz Festival The Williamson County Art Guild and Carol Woolf would like to host a Arts and Jazz festival October 14 -15, 2000 on the Downtown Square. The Guild would display art and the Palace and Southwestern would assist with musicians. The musicians cost would be $1,000 /day. The Guild would like the CVB to fund the operations and promotions of the festival. Julie is looking into if the hotel/motel tax could be used to pay for musicians for the festival. Discussion was held. FCC Public Service Announcements Larry presented information regarding FCC Public Service Announcements. Larry suggested we try to get free air time with our local radio stations. Julie stated the CVB sends out press releases to radio stations around Austin and they do announce events. Discussion was held. CVB Board Minutes from August 2, 2000 Page 4 Possible items for the next month's board meeting Review the occupancy allocation application and how we are going to promote it Review who we are and what we do, what we support Report which programs /projects that will be cut with the $30,000 arts contribution List of organizations and groups the CVB assists ADJOURN JoElla B. made the (notion to adjourned the meeting at 7:55pm. CVB Board Minutes from August 2, 2000 Page 5