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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Lodging Tax Advisory Committee - 02/18/2003 (2) LODGING TAX ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES for February 18 2003 (Corrected) The regular meeting of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee was called to order at 2:30 p.m. by chair, Rico Yingling. Committee Members Present: Kathy Madison, Andy Wangstad, Rico Yingling and Denise Gray Committee Members Absent: Vickie Molzer and Diana Albertson Staff Present: Nathan Torgelson, Economic Development Manager, May Miller, Finance Director, Pete Peterson, Riverbend Golf Operations Superintendent, Brett Wilkinson, PGA Professional and Cheryl Viseth temporarily replacing Brenda Jacober, City Clerk Guests: Raul Vaca, Kent Chamber of Commerce and Jacquie Alexander, Kent Downtown Partnership Welcome New Board Member: The committee introduced themselves to Denise Gray, General Manager of the Town Place Suites, Seattle/SouthCenter. Denise is representing the Hotel side of the committee and is replacing Rene Huseby. Denise has lived in the area for seven months and feels that serving on the board would be a great opportunity to find out what is going on in the community. Rico briefly explained the committee's purpose and goals. Approval of Meeting Minutes for November 5, 2002: Minutes for the November 5, 2002 meeting were approved as read. Kent Lodging Association Update: Raul Vaca, Chamber of Commerce (Copies attached) Raul handed out copies of the "Kent Lodging Association Report to Lodging Tax Advisory Committee dated 2-18-03." The first handout reflects a snapshot of the room revenues for four hotels from 2001 to 2002. Bottom line is that revenues are down overall, year to date. The second handout (see attached copies) reflects the number of hits and number of page views to the Kent Chamber's Web Site, from December 2001 to December 2002. He noted that on February 19, the online reservation system would be up and running. Raul had a copy of the Washington State Visitors Guide for everyone to look at. Upon closing, Raul asked when an appropriate time would be to submit for their July through December estimated budget. Rico suggested that Raul and Nathan put together a preliminary evaluation and bring that back in May with a possible recommendation. Nathan noted that the City's website now included a link to the Kent Chamber of Commerce. Pete will work with Raul to link the Golf Course as well. Rico asked that someone from the golf course attend some of the monthly Kent Lodging Association meetings (2nd Wednesday of each month) as they had particular interest in partnering with the golf course. State Experience Washington Website and Kent Information; Nathan Torgelson, Econ. Dev. Mgr. The State of Washington has a tourism web site, and every city has an opportunity to submit information. Nathan will be the editor of the information submitted for the City. He also noted that you can only link to other existing web sites that are public or non profit sites not, businesses. If you are interested, go to www.experiencewashington.org. (See attached handout). i Recommendation on New Member (Jacquie Alexander); Nathan had nominated Jacquie Alexander as a new member of the Board and she graciously accepted the nomination. Ms. Alexander formerly worked for the Chamber of Commerce at the cities of Shelton, Olympia, Lacey and Vancouver. She had also worked as sales director at a hotel and served on the Lodging Tax Board for the City of Shelton, a panel very similar to this board. Ms. Alexander is currently the Director of Kent Downtown Partnership. The Partnership works closely with a number of downtown businesses much like the Chamber of Commerce, working on issues that impact the business community. The Downtown Partnership is currently moving toward a membership program. Jacquie was recommended to serve on the committee because of her vast experience. Her appointment was unanimously approved. Financial Report and Latest 2003 Projections; May Miller, Finance Director See attached report Update on Softball Tournament Bids; Nathan Torgelson In late winter Raul and Nathan exchanged emails regarding the funding of the Senior Men's Western World Qualifier to take place July 18-23. $12,500 would pay for the bid with 60-80 teams playing at Russell Road Park. Two other softball tournaments came to Nathan and Raul and it was decided not to submit bids for them due to the shorter duration (more bang for the buck with the Senior Men's Tournament). Review/Confirm Community Grant Process Request of$5,000; Nathan noted that at the last meeting the committee reviewed a grant application. The Kent Downtown Partnership had submitted two requests for marketing dollars for two separate events. It was recommended that we not provide funding for the Winter Fest event, but provide preliminary approval for the Canterbury Crier. It was determined that the Canterbury event would potentially draw more hotel stays than the Winter Fest event. Jacquie shared that the money would be used for marketing and entertainment. Jacqui will go back to her committee and see if they can reduce the amount of their request and bring it back to the committee in April. Other Business; Pete and Brett, Riverbend Golf Complex handed out the 2003 Golf Tournament Schedule (see highlighted areas) for out of town visitors. Various questions followed about how the golf course advertises and when asked, what places/businesses they recommended. Next Meeting; April 1, 2003 at 2:30 p.m., Temporary Mayor's Conference Room located on the Fourth Floor of the Centennial Building in Suite 400. Action Item: May Miller will find out when the debt service will be paid in full. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.