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TDC Minutes 06/18/2002 RJune 18, 2002 Tourist Development Council County Commissioners Boardroom Building F, 3ra Floor 3301 Tamiami Trail Naples, FL 34104 MINUTES June 18, 2002 ATTENDANCE Members: Chairman, Commissioner Jim Coletta Vice-Mayor Gary Galleberg Susan Becker Joe DiNunzio Kevin Durkin Jerry Thirion, Jr. Rhona Saunders Staff: D.E. "Bleu" Wallace - Director, Community Development Operations Jacqueline Hubbard Robinson - County Attorney Others: Ron Jamro - Director, Collier County Museums Charlie Abbott - President, Friends of Museum Ron Hovell, P.E. - Coastal Projects Manager Walter J. Klages - President, Evans Klages, Inc. Susan Kelley - President, Kelley Swofford Roy, Inc. Tom Tweed - Tweed Advertising AGENDA COLLIER COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL 9:00 a.m., June 18, 2002 HI. IV. Vo VI. VII. VIII. Call to Order (Roll Call and Determination of Quorum) Approval of Minutes- April 5, 2002 and April 15, 2002 (Transmitted with May 8, 2002 Agenda Packet) Discussion of Staff CommuniCations Report Items Requiring Action by the Council 1. Category "C-l" Funding Request - Collier County Museums 2. Ratify Chairman's Issuance of May 8, 2002 Proclamation for Collier County Tourism Week 3. Reimbursement of Utility Regulation funds for TDC Related Expenses 4. FY02/03 Tourism Vendor Contracts 5. Category "A' (Beach Renourishment Items) Beach Renourishment Project Cost Sharing Hideaway Beach (10502) Additional Funding Category "A' Projects Update Category "A" Long Range Budget Plan Evans Kiages, Inc. Presentation Kelley Swofford Roy, Inc. Presentation Council Discussion and Scheduling of July Meeting Adjourn June 18, 2002 II. III. IV. Chairmen, Commissioner Jim Coletta called meeting to order at 9:10 A.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF MINUTES -APRIL 5, 2002 AND APRIL 15, 2002 Jerry Thirion, Jr. moved to approve the minutes, Kevin Durkin seconded. Passed unanimously. DISCUSSION OF STAFF COMMUNICATIONS REPORT Mr. Wallace gave an update of the recruitment of a tourism manager. Mr. Thirion stated they had interviewed two finalists, made an offer to one of the finalists, and they were waiting to hear a response. Mr. Wallace asked the county attorney to look at some language to amend the KSR agreement because he would like to roll any savings into the opportunity marketing line item. Gary Galleberg questioned if they were talking about keeping the money in the same pool. Mr. Wallace agreed, and added it will still be up to the director to give approval. Mr. Durkin moved to approve, Mr. Thirion seconded. Passed unanimously. Jacqueline Hubbard Robinson noted an adjustment to the agenda. In item 4e, the Hideaway Beach additional funding project would not be discussed because the CAC meeting was not held in the sunshine. It will be brought back once the CAC has met again. Commissioner Coletta noted that this item was withdrawn from the agenda. ITEMS REQUIRING ACTION BY THE COUNCIL a. Category "C-I" Funding Request - Collier County Museums Ron Jamro, Director of Collier County Museums, stated that there was one item left over from the museum category business which involved a reserve of approximately $200,000. The Board of Collier County Commissioners recommended that the funds be disbursed among County funded and non- County funded museum applicants. The Collier County Museum recommended that $25,000 go to the Naples Botanical Garden and $25,000 to the Marco Island Historical Society, and the remaining balance would go to the Collier County Museum system. This would be divided among site improvements and underground utilities for Robert's Ranch, new carpeting in the Museum's main facility, permanent educational and interactive exhibits at the Museum's main facility, and permanent educational exhibits at the Museum of the Everglades in Everglades City. Mr. Wallace summarized that the TDC had been looking for extra money to bring the allocation up to $500,000 and this money had been found in a non- specific museum fund that was collected prior to the split of County and non- County museums. He added that staff supports this budget amendment. June 18, 2002 bo Charlie Abbott, President of Friends of the Museum, stated that he supported these recommendations. Rhona Saunders questioned if there was anything the Friends of the Museum could do to speed up the rate of Robert's Ranch. Mr. Abbott stated that they work on getting grants from the state. Ms. Saunders asked if some money would help them with marketing and fundraising for Robert's Ranch. Mr. Abbott stated that any money would help and he added that the work they do is free. Ms. Saunders suggested he come back with a wish list or a plan to speed up Robert's Ranch. Mr. Jamro added that they have received a $92,000 preservation grant from the state. He also clarified that $43,000 would be used for the Museum of the Everglades, rather than the $49,000 listed on the memorandum. Mr. Thirion questioned if Marco Island was raising money on their own. Mr. Jamro stated that he believed they were going to match any money that was given by the county. Mr. Thirion stated that he would have problems supporting this if they weren't raising some of their own money. There was some discussion over whether Marco Island had raised money for this project and Ms. Saunders said there was some confusion because the people from Marco Island weren't very open with their plans. She added that she would be willing to match if they had this money. Mr. Jamro said his understanding was their $30,000 is a matching fund for the $25,000 of seed money for this project. Ms Saunders said they could make their vote contingent on these matching funds. Joe DiNunzio moved to accept the $25,000 for Naples Botanical Gardens, Mr. Durkin seconded. Passed unanimously. Mr. DiNunzio moved to approve the $25,000 for Marco Island Historical Society contingent to the fact that they match the funds, Mr. Thirion seconded. Motion carried 6 for and 1 against. Mr. Galleberg voted against the motion. Mr. Jamro stated that the third item was to transfer the balance of the funds to the museum. Mr. Galleberg asked if staff agreed with this request. Mr. Wallace agreed with the request. Mr. Thirion moved to accept the transfer of the balance to the museum, not to exceed $225,000, Mr. Galleberg seconded. Passed unanimously. Ratify Chairman's Issuance of May 8, 2002 Proclamation for Collier County Tourism Week The next item was for the council to ratify the actions made by the chairman at the May 8, 2002 meeting when they did not have a quorum. Mr. Durkin moved to ratify the actions of the Chairman in issuing the Proclamation on May 8, 2002, Mr. Thirion seconded. Passed unanimously. June 18, 2002 Co Reimbursement of Utility Regulation Funds for TDC Related Expenses Mr. Wallace explained that administrative costs were temporarily funded by CDES Operations (Utility Regulation Fund) cost center and these items now needed to be reimbursed through April 30, 2002. The funds now come from the TDC Fund 194 Operating Budget. Mr. Galleberg stated that this was not good practice and he hoped this was the only request for this they were going to receive. Mr. Wallace assured there would be no more requests of this nature. Commissioner Coletta moved to approve the budget amendment to reimburse CDES Operations (Utility Regulation Fund 669), Mr. Thirion seconded. Passed unanimously. de FY 02/03 Tourism Vendor Contracts Mr. Wallace discussed the need for extension of the tourism vendor contracts. The normal approach would be to advertise for Request for Proposals (RFP) prior to the end of the fiscal year, however, the CDES Operations staffis not technically qualified to draft a scope of services for the three tourism vendors. The new Tourism Manager would soon be in place and his plans must also be considered. The staff recommended that they extend the contracts for 1-year with a 30-day termination clause. Ms. Saunders moved to approve the 1- year extension, Susan Becket seconded. Ms. Robinson stated that there could be a legal problem with extending the contracts for another year because it was supposed to be a competitive process only to be extended in case of an emergency. Her advice was that she did not feel these were extenuating circumstances. She added it may be legally permissible to extend the contracts for 30 days once the Tourism Director is on board. Ms. Saunders felt that this was an extraordinary circumstance since they did not have the mechanism to do a review and selection process. Mr. Galleberg questioned if they could have 30-day contracts that could be renewed several times as a middle ground. Ms. Robinson stated that she had been informed that inquiries have been by additional vendors. Mr. Galleberg felt that for a period of time, there were extenuating circumstances. Mr. Durkin felt that a minimum of 90-day or 180-day extensions would be reasonable in this circumstance. Mr. Wallace stated that he brought this matter to the council because he felt it was a very serious issue. The tourism manger would like to have the contracts in place, as well. Commissioner Coletta restated that they have the option to cancel with 30-days notice. Rhona Saunders motioned for the TDC to recommend approval for 1-year extension of the vendor contracts until September 1, 2003, with the 30-day cancellation option, Mr. Durkin seconded. Passed unanimously. 4 June 18, 2002 ee Category "A" (Beach Renourishment Items) Ron Hovell gave an update on the projects. He mentioned that Wiggins Pass was dredged in March and they put 55,000 yards of sand on Delnor-Wiggins State Park. Vanderbilt beach has had 60% of rock removal done. Clam Pass was dredged in February and dunes were planted in April. Park Shore had 9,000 cubic yards of sand placed by the seawall. Naples beach, north of Central Avenue, has had rocks removed and 46,000 cubic yards of sand has been placed. They still need to do planting of sea oats on Naples and Park Shore. Naples beach, south of Central Avenue, is reserved for the Parker Sand Web system. There were two applications with negative recommendations by the TDC, and both were denied by the BCC. Mr. Hovell stated he has received a report from Taylor Engineering and they recommended the dredging of Caxambas Pass in the next year or so. Mr. Hovell stated the next update was the breakwater modifications. He felt they probably wouldn't be actively pursuing the project. The next update was on the Hideaway Beach access improvements and he said there has been a lot of discussion on this issue, but no progress has been made. Mr. Hovell noted the countywide sand search had been approved and was already in progress. Mr. Hovell stated that a grant application has been approved for the Beach Emergency Response Plan. He noted that they only maintain less than 50% of the developed beaches in Collier County. Mr. Hovell noted that they have lost about 5-10% of their 10-year plan budget since the interest has been diverted from the funds into the general revenues, which had already been in their budget equating to a $5 million loss over 10 years. He stated they have begun the sand search for hydraulic fill and he recommended that all the major renourishments be done by hydraulic fill rather than by trucking. For Vanderbilt beach, there will be a truck haul for the dune restoration, but the main beach renourishment will be done by hydraulic fill in 2 or 3 years, as well as for Park Shore. He noted that FEMA wouldn't give any assistance for beaches that have not been maintained. Mr. Hovell estimated it would take about $10-15 million to recover from a catastrophe. Mr. Hovell stated they have not yet received approval from FEMA for the damage caused by Tropical Storm Gabrielle, for which they had $3 million in the budget. Upon speaking to the engineer, he did not get the impression that they were going to get approval. Mr. Hovell added that other beaches could need additional maintenance, as well. There was also the desire to improve public beach accesses and parking. There are additional, unanticipated costs that are not part of the 1 O-year plan; to replace the T-groins at Hideaway beach which is estimated at $2 million, and the countywide beach fill is about $3 million more than expected. Staff recommended they come up with a methodology in order to do project cost sharing. June 18, 2002 Vm VI. Mr. Thirion reminded the council how important it was to use this money to keep these beaches healthy since the tourism generated by these beaches brought in so much money to the area. Commissioner Coletta questioned the lack of FEMA approval, and Mr. Hovell noted that FEMA would only pay for beaches that have been maintained or added sand within the last five years. Commissioner Coletta stated this could be a cause for concern. Ms. Saunders stated that she was concerned about the loss of interest remaining in the fund. Ms. Saunders moved to request to the BCC to provide back to the TDC funds the interest money, Ms. Becket seconded. Mr. Galleberg felt this was a board level decision. The motion carried 5 for and 2 against, with Commissioner Coletta and Mr. Galleberg voting against the motion. EVANS KLAGES, INC. PRESENTATION Mr. Wallace noted that Evans Klages, Inc. was the vendor that does the statistical data of the tourism tax for the County. Walter J. Klages, President of Evans Klages, Inc., stated that they did statistical analysis of the Resort Taxes. After September 1, 2001, there was a 20% impact, which slowly increased throughout January and February ending with about a 5% decrease. He stated this was also due to the recession that started in March 2001, not only the events of September 11 th. The first quarter occupancy showed a fairly significant deficit, but by March, this came back up to almost normal. The number of visitors to Collier County decreased by about 16,500. The direct and induced effects show a negative impact on expenditures of $11 million in the first round. Mr. Klages noted that the majority of the visitors to Collier County were primarily east of the Mississippi River, with a few small markets out west. He stated that the Northeast was the largest market, followed by the Midwest, and Florida. The Florida market and the Midwest market have begun to increase, but they have lost markets in Europe and Canada. He stated the cycle was going in our favor. The major purpose for visiting Collier County was leisure. He noted that 84% of the market was using the internet, with over 50% of people actually booking hotels and vacations online. He estimated it would take 27 months from the end of the recession for this region to regain its previous peak employment. Commissioner Coletta questioned how Collier County was doing compared to the other markets across the state. Mr. Klages stated that Collier has done very well; in fact, there was only one other market that had done better. Mr. Thirion questioned how this data was collected. Mr. Klages explained that they acquire occupancy from the industry, do conversion studies, and have a panel that follows people who came, people who were going to come, or those who went somewhere else. Mr. Thirion questioned if he felt this information was skewed. Mr. Klages said that it was not and he added that they also have control groups. KELLEY SWOFFORD ROY, INC. PRESENTATION Susan Kelley, President of Kelley Swofford Roy, Inc. stated that all this information is available on ClassicFlorida.com. She introduced Barbara Larkin, June 18, 2002 Vice President of Account Services. She stated that the community has pulled together and they now market the area as "Classic Florida". They were able to receive emergency funding after September 11 th and were able to develop some radio spots which began airing in January. They were also able to take advantage of FLAUSA funds to make three TV ads which included the slogan "It's a whole different world". In the first 90 days after the ads were aired, they received over 10,000 requests for more information. They were able to track how well people responded to the ads because each one had a different telephone number listed on it. VII. Ms. Kelley stated that KSR, Inc. has done a lot of work on the website. It was launched in May 2001 and all 82 hotels on the website have direct links to their web pages. There is a Press Room section of the website which contains press materials and photos of the area. There have been over 50,000 visitors to the website in the last year and KSR, Inc. is keeping up with the search engines. They could tell there was an increase in the number of visits to the website after the TV and radio ads began. The website has enabled them to save about $60,000 in postage and handling for brochures. Ms. Kelley stated they also contacted Travelocity. com when they noticed that Naples didn't even appear on the map. This website, which reaches 8 million customers a month, now lists Naples and they have a banner on Travelocity.com which will receive 6 million views. KSR, Inc. has initiated its 2nd co-op summer Florida newspaper campaign to advertise hotel discounts in newspapers across the state. Last year, one hotel received 113 booked nights due to the running of the first ad. The slogan was "It's amazing how far away a 2-hour drive can take you". Ms. Kelley said they have also run advertisements in magazines, including a full-page ad in Travel & Leisure Magazine that ran in the national publication. This weekend they will be hosting the Greater Naples, Marco Island & the Everglades Golf Classic and Meetings Marketplace, and all area hotels are invited to participate. Ms. Kelley also stated that over 400 press kits have been sent to newspapers and magazines. COUNCIL DISCUSSION AND SCHEDULING OF JULY MEETING Mr. Wallace also recognized the vendors of Phase V, who are the fulfillment vendors. Mr. Wallace stated that someone would like to speak on behalf of the other vendors. Tom Tweed - Tweed Advertising Mr. Tweed stated that he was a former representative of Marco Island and the Everglades and they represented the New Tourism Alliance before KSR, Inc. He stated that the contract with the County and KSR, Inc. was renewed without competitive bidding. Mr. DiNunzio questioned where they were in regards to hurricane season and the procedure in getting authorization to use the emergency funding. Mr. Wallace felt that they could always request an emergency meeting, and if they couldn't reach a 7 June 18, 2002 quorum, the board could take action or the county manager. He added that the reserve fund has recently been replenished. Susan Becker questioned if anyone from the TDC was planning to attend the Florida Governor's Conference in August. After some discussion, it was decided that KSR, Inc. would be representing Collier County and they would provide a report to the council. Commissioner Coletta noted that the final board meeting was on July 30th, SO they would schedule the next TDC meeting for July 29th at 9 A.M. in the boardroom. If there wasn't any business to discuss, then the meeting would be cancelled with notification two weeks prior. They decided not to meet in August and scheduled the following meeting for September 9th at 9 A.M. in the boardroom. VllI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 11:30 p.m. TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL COMMISSIONER JIM COLETTA, CHAIRMAN TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF MANPOWER SERVICES, INC., BY AMBER M. FREDERIKSEN, RPR.