HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Lodging Tax Advisory Committee - 05/15/2008 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee
May 15, 2008
Started 2:30 pm
Committee Members Present: Tim Clark, Greg Haffner, Dennis Higgins, Andrew
Hutchinson and Vicky Molzer
Others present: Ben Wolters, Bob Nachlinger, and Julie Pulliam
Guest: Katherin Kertzman and Tim Higgins
Tim Clark called the meeting to order at 2:30 pm and introductions were made.
City of Kent & Kent Events Center Update; Ben Wolters gave an overview of the
project noting the Arena is on schedule to open January 2009 and going at a
blistering rate. At this pace the building will be enclosed in about 3 weeks. We may
know if opening will be sooner after the July 1st meeting when the certified opening
date is disclosed.
June 27th is ' off the ice date". This is the final layer of concrete before the ice and it
has to be perfect and cannot be disturbed while drying.
The Kent Events Center budget update will be presented to the Council on June 17tn
At this point the contingency has pretty much been spent. The project has had
weather delays, bids that have come in higher than expected, but with all this we are
still on schedule. The additions that would enhance the function and sell ability of the
building will be in the budget update to the Council, Wolters explained.
SMG has been chosen as the Operator for the Events Center and Tim Higgins is on
board as the General Manager and preparing for the opening.
Sales and Marketing; The Thunderbirds have 12 of the suites purchased at this time
with another 15 possible to be sold in the next month.
Advertising Sales; All the auto advertising at the Kent Events Center has been
purchased by the two Kent Companies Brett Chevrolet and Bowen Scarf.
Key Milestone is the Scoreboard we received 3 bids and 1 was under the allotted
budget. A decision should be final by the end of next week.
RFP's; There are 3 more RFP's left to advertise for securities, food and beverages and
housekeeping.
Introduction of Tim Higgins; Tim came on board about 3 weeks ago and has
temporary offices set up in Kent Commons. See his bio attached. Tim is part of the
SMG family which has connections with 200 facilities throughout the world. SMG also
has connections with a booking person and they are right now working on scheduling
for the Kent Events Center. Tim will be advertising for 3 positions right away. These
positions are; Dir. of Operations, Dir. of Sales and Marketing and Dir. of Finance. All
are vital in the start up of the arena. All in all there will be approximately 17 full time
positions. "I would like to thank everyone for their acceptance into the team,"
Higgins said.
Already we have been talking with the United Indoor Football league as requested by
Chair Tim Clark. They are exploring some summer dates. The other summer event
being talked about is an August Training Camp.
Met with Another Planet a promoter out of San Francisco. We are getting out in the
market place early so we can make sure the Kent Events Center is booked year
around.
SMG will be contracting out the TV part of the Events. KEC will have the
infrastructure for the T-Bird games, but the contractor will handle the TV portion.
With the Economy the Kent Events Center is the perfect size arena. The 6000 seat
arenas are the ones in demand and the Puget Sound is an area with discretionary
income.
SMG along with Lodging Tax are available to go after events that would put heads in
beds. SMG is also fronting $100,000 to this building which gives latitude to go after
more bookings.
GRCC & Tarragon; Groundbreaking is scheduled for mid-June. This will be an
80,000 sq. ft. addition to Kent Station and a 40,000 sq. ft. to Green River Community
College. This will bring in 600 new students in the fall of 2009, which a lot of them
will be International students.
Seattle Southside Update; Room rates continue to increase and room revenue is
up 11 percent. Now the focus is on January through June and the end of September.
On the Seattle Southside website links to the Port of Seattle have been created
making it easier to make hotel reservations. As a result site usage is up. The office
is open 9-5 everyday as of Memorial Day for questions and phone calls. A hotline at
the airport has been set up for hotel reservations. The cruise business is up and
keeps growing each year. One cuisse line will be possibly going to the terminal in
Ballard. Information on website usage travel trends were handed out and are
attached to the minutes.
Sea Fair is offering a unique opportunity to bring the Rock and Roll 26 mile Marathon
to Kent. The race will start in Tukwila and will end at Qwest Field. The route can go
through Kent if we become a sponsor at $25,000. The $25,000 would be each year
for a 3 year commitment. This event is covered by ESPN, KING and KOMO.
Ben Wolters suggested meeting with the Sponsor and collecting more information on
the event so we can inform the Lodging Tax Committee and City Council. This could
be a chance for notoriety for the City of Kent", Clark said. The commitment needs to
be by June 2008. "Lots of money for one event, I feel we need more information?"
questioned Greg Haffner. Worth looking into, I would love to see more information,"
said Molzer. Andrew Hutchinson stated, One day race (event), a lot of money.
"What are the benefits to Kent? Higgins asked. Special meeting June 5t" at 2:00 pm
has been set to discuss the idea and determine if Kent will be involved. In
attendance will be Ben Wolters, Tim Clark, and Vickie Molzer.
Budget; Bob Nachlinger, City of Kent Finance Director gave a report as of April 30,
2008 and handouts were distributed.
Committee Positions; At this time we are fully represented and have a full
committee.
Other Business; The New CTED form will be emailed to Ben Wolters per Katherine
Kertzman of Seattle Southside.
Deadline to file for funds from the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee is approaching.
Contact Ben Wolters for information and CTED form.
Parking garage is in review with the attorney's. We may be able to get in there and
clean the area up as soon as June 6, 2008.
Approval of minutes; Vickie Molzer moved to approve the minutes of the February
28, 2008 meeting, Ryan Noel seconded, motion carried.
Next Meeting Date; Thursday, September 18, 2008, 2 p.m. was set for the next
meeting.
Adjournment; The meeting was adjourned at 3:32 p.m.
Juli uI Ilia m
Economic Dev. Administrative Assistant