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TDC Minutes 07/20/2009 Subcommittee July 20, 2009 MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING Naples, Florida, July 20, 2009 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Collier County Tourist Development Council Subcommittee, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 10:00 AM in a REGULAR Collier County Convention and Visitors Bureau Office, 3050 North Horseshoe Drive, Suite 215 Naples, Florida with the following members present: Chairman: Murray H. Hendel Susan Becker Clark Hill Robert Miller ALSO PRESENT: Jack Wert, Tourism Director Colleen Greene, Assistant County Attorney Kelly Green, Tourist Tax Coordinator Gary McAlpin, Director, Coastal Zone Management 1 Collier County Government Communication & Customer Relations Department 3301 East Tamiami Trail Naples, FL 34112 Contact: (239) 252-8848 www.colliergov.net www.twitter.com/CollierPIO July 14, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA MONDAY, JULY 20,2009 10 A.M. -12 P.M. Notice is hereby given that the Tourist Development Council Subcommittee as a subcommittee of the Tourist Development Council Advisory Board will hold a public meeting on Monday, July 20 at 10 a.m. in the Tourism Department conference room, located at 3050 Horseshoe Drive North, Suite 218, Naples. Two or more members of the Tourist Development Council may be present and may participate at the meeting. The subject matter of this meeting may be a future item for discussion and action at a Tourist Development Council Meeting. Two or more members of the Coastal Advisory Committee may be present and may participate at the meeting. The subject matter of this meeting may be a future item for discussion and action at a Coastal Advisory Committee meeting. In regard to the public meeting: All interested parties are invited to attend, and to register to speak and to submit their objections, if any, in writing, to the board/committee prior to the meeting if applicable. All registered public speakers will be limited to three minutes unless permission for additional time is granted by the chairman. Collier County Ordinance No. 2004-05 requires that all lobbyists shall, before engaging in any lobbying activities (including, but not limited to, addressing the Board of County Commissioners, an advisory board or quasi-judicial board), register with the Clerk to the Board at the Board Minutes and Records Department. If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact the Collier County Facilities Management Department, located at 3301 E. Tamiami Trail, Naples, FL 34112, (239) 252-8380, at least two days prior to the meeting. Assisted listening devices for the hearing impaired are available in the Board of County Commissioners Office. For more information, call Jack Wert in the Tourism Department at (239) 252-2384 -End- Kelly Green Tourist Development Tax Coordinator Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau 3050 Horseshoe Drive North, Ste 218 Naples, FL 34104 (239) 252-2384; (239) 252-2404 fax Ke 11 vGreen(ci)co lliergov. net Discover Florida's Last Paradise Naples, Marco [slant!, Everglades City July 20,2009 I. CALL TO ORDER - CHAIRMAN HENDEL Chairman Hendel called the meeting to order 10:00 a.m. A quorum was present. II. CHANGES/ APPROVAL OF AGENDA There were no changes to the Agenda. III. NEW BUSINESS 1. CVB Operational Review by Department Discussion occurred on how a majority of Administrative Staff time is spent preparing documents for Tourist Development Council meetings, reviewing invoices for accounts payable, assisting in TDC Grant Administration along with other regular daily duties. It was noted given the hiring freeze obtaining additional support is difficult. The Department does utilize student interns, however much time is spent training them and they leave after 3 months. Michelle Klinowski, Vice President, Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce noted the Chamber has a network of volunteers they utilize 3-4 days a week. They are full time residents who sign "non-disclosure statements" and are trained on applicable software. She suggested the Department consider this avenue to relieve some burdens on Staff. The following questions raised in previous meetings were addressed: 1. Do the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Hoteliers duplicate efforts in the area of marketing Group Sales? Jack Wert, Tourism Director noted there is no "duplication of efforts" in this area. If the CVB obtains a lead, it is sent to the various Hoteliers qualified to provide a proposal on an event. They are the facilitator for events and/or an extension of the Hotel's sales team. 2. What is the Return of Investment on the Film Office? Chairman Hendel noted figures provided to him indicate, the Film Office budget is $134,000 with a Return of Investment of approximately 6.9%. A revenue analysis has been provided to the Subcommittee. The Office has a well-established conduit within the Industry. 3. What are the allocations and status of Reserves Funds for Beach Maintenance? Gary McAlpin, Director, Coastal Zone Management noted there are two Reserve Funds: . An annual Emergency Reserve of $500,000 is allocated for "Emergencies" (emergency expenditures to be allocated at the discretion of the Board of County Commissioners) with a current balance of$3.5M and a cap of$10M. 2 July 20,2009 . An annual $2M reserve is allocated for future Beach Re- nourishment. Discussion occurred on the status of the beach parking funds. These funds are utilized for the "up front" maintenance (access, parking, lighting, landscaping, etc.) of Beach Facilities. It was noted any questions regarding the beach parking fee schedule should be directed to the Parks and Recreation Department. 2. Visitor Publications - Susan Becker Ms. Becker provided a written analysis of the similarities and differences between "Florida's Last Paradise" (CVB publication) and "Naples on the Gulf- 2009" (Chamber of Commerce publication). Discussion occurred on the following: . Does the area need two publications? . If the publications were merged, what effect would this have on the advertisers? . Could combining publications save funds? . Should there be one "Official Visitor's Guide" for the County? . Should some publications be reduced in size (height and width) so it is more convenient for the user? . A portion of the budget for the CVB publication includes the Digital Guide on the Internet. . The CVB publication's function is to draw visitors to the area, while the Chamber publication serves visitors "while they are in the area." . The Chamber of Commerce publication is a revenue source for the organization, which would need to be protected. . Merging publications would reduce overall costs of publishing, storage delivery, etc. . Combing publications would assist in combining advertising costs for vendors who advertise in both publications and not force them to choose one or the other. 3. Information Coordination - Michelle Klinowski, Naples Chamber of Commerce Michelle Klinowski provided a document "TDC Subcommittee Information Center Coordinator" which outlines a proposed Staff position, which would "Coordinate visitor information among all information centers in Collier County in conjunction with the CVB." Discussion occurred on the following: . What is the overall cost to fimd the position and how would it be funded? . Who would the employee report to? She noted the overall costs; funding sources, etc. are under review and could be discussed at the next meeting. 3 July 20, 2009 4. Reports from other Subcommittee Members on Assigned Topics Discussion occurred on Staff/Members formulating draft recommendations for the Subcommittee to review at the next meeting in areas including but not limited to: . Chairman Hendel: How to increase Tax Collections for single-family short-term rentals; whether or not the Tourist Tax Rate should be increased; the allocation of the interest earned on Tourist Development Council funds (reserve funds). . Jack Wert and Michelle KJinowski: How to increase coordination between the CVB and Chambers of Commerce. . Mr. Hill: Funding of the County Owned Museums, possible sources where temporary funding for advertising/promotions could be generated. . Ms. Becker: Tourism publications in the region. Chairman Hendel clarified the status of the Beach Maintenance Reserves: . The Emen!:ency Reserve: $500,000 dedicated annually, current balance of approximately $3.5M with a cap of $1 OM. Since the inception of this fund, it has not been utilized (7 years). . The Beach Re-nourishment Reserve: $2M dedicated annually, with a current balance of approximately $6M. In addition, the Tourist Tax Rates may be raised a fraction of a percentage (.25 %, .5%, .75%, etc.) 5. Staff progress report on Annual Marketing and Media Plan Jack Wert provided an overview on the progress on the Annual Marketing Report and Media Plan. At the August 3, 2009 Subcommittee meeting he will provide 3 different snapshot budgets for review: 1. A mirror image of the past fiscal year. 2. What additional funds will be required if contingency funds are not utilized for additional advertising as they were this past fiscal year. 3. A budget, which provides a permanent year round advertising campaign without utilizing contingency funds. Discussion occurred on what Amendments in either the (TDC) Ordinance or (TDC) Funding Policy would be required if there were revisions in the current funding allocations. It was noted an Ordinance Amendment is a more lengthy process than a Policy change. IV. SUBCOMMITTEE DISCUSSION Jack Wert provided an update on the status of the tourist map. V. AUDIENCE INPUT None 4 July 20, 2009 VII. NEXT MEETING DATE/LOCATION August 3, 2009 Tourist Office Conference Room There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the chair at 12:09 P.M. COLLIER COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE Murray Hendel, Chairman These minutes approved by the Board/Committee on as presented or as amended 5