City of St Helens TOURISM COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 13, 2014 Members Present: Roni Bartlett, Member At-Large, Chair Sherry Quarry, Vice Chair Joe Burks, Chamber Board Member Kyle Boggs, Member At-Large Robin Balza, Member At-Large Brian Vaerewyck, Member At-Large Members Absent: Randy Peterson, Mayor Eric Dahlgren, Hotel/Motel owner J.J. Duehren, Member At-Large Staff Present: Chris Finks, Tourism Director Jon Ellis, Finance Director Heidi Davis, Secretary Visitors Bru Benoist Al Petersen CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 3:08 p.m. by Chair Bartlett. VISITOR COMMENTS Bru Benoist, General Manager with Scappoose Bay Kayaking, introduced himself to the Committee and updated them on their acquisition by Next Adventure. They want to maintain their identify as Scappoose Bay Kayaking and will continue to utilize local vendors and businesses. They will now be open year round, seven days per week, with expanded evening hours. Community Grant Application – Al Petersen At Petersen presented his application for a Community Grant for banners to the Committee. Motion: Burks moved to approve the Community Grant request in the amount of $2,500. Boggs seconded. All in favor; none opposed; motion carries. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion: Boggs moved to approve the minutes of December 12, 2013. Burks seconded. All in favor; none opposed; motion carries. REVIEW OF REVENUES – Finance Director, Jon Ellis Finance Director Ellis reviewed finance reports with the Committee. ANNUAL PLANNING FOLLOW UP & FY 2014-15 PLAN • Goals o Goal 1: Entice events and activities to St. Helens by promoting facilities and opportunities within the city.  Small conventions, sporting and community events. o Goal 2: Maintain a presence for the City of St. Helens on electronic, social and printed media. o Goal 3: Maintain a visible presence in the city throughout the year. o Goal 4: Support and leverage existing and potential opportunities related to the Boise Property and waterfront, including Maritime Heritage and/or commerce. Tourism Committee – February 13, 2014 APPROVED Page 1 of 5 Goal 5: Enhance stable, long-term funding tourism resources via T.O.T. (tourism occupancy tax) events and other strategies to be developed. o Goal 6: Familiarize and advocate for place-making to enhance image of St. Helens. Revenues o T.O.T. Fund  The T.O.T. ordinance establishes a tax that generates funds for tourism development and promotion. More specifically a capital improvement project (e.g. civic center, museum, cultural center, maritime or interpretive center, meeting and event space). o Sponsorships  Seeking regional private sector sponsors to leverage the investment made from the T.O.T. ordinance (e.g. Confederates Tribes of Grand Ronde, Port of St. Helens, Landis & Landis, etc.). Public sector sponsors and financial support would also be sought, which may include the PEG Access or Revenue Sharing Fund. o Grants  Regional and national grant opportunities will be investigated; which are likely to include National Endowment for the Arts Place-Making Grant, Ford Foundation, Oregon Parks & Recreation Historic Travel Oregon, and Preservation Office “Preserving Oregon Grant”. o Media Sponsors (non-cash)  Regional media sponsors for all media types. Expenses o Tourism Director  The Tourism Director works with local, regional, and state partners representing St. Helens and Columbia County’s visitor assets in the industry and to the media. As well as provides strategic marketing, planning, sponsorship development, small convention, sporting events and community event cultivation and support. o Media  Website, website hosting and mobile app. o Billboard  Cooperative programs such as events and spirits promotions on the regional level. o Broadcast  Regional broadcast campaigns to support community events and generate interest in destination, attractions and lodging. o Print/Trade/Maps/Way-finding  Way-finding maps, regional and cooperative campaigns promoting destination, events, attractions and lodging. o New Media  Facebook cooperative promotion, contests and similar promoting destinations, events, attractions and lodging. o Media Relations  Media and public relations to create and earn media supporting destination, events, attractions and lodging. o Signage/Banners  Directional event and attraction support. o Miscellaneous Design  Graphic design for advertising, collateral, signage and related tasks. o Networking/Travel o • • Tourism Committee – February 13, 2014 APPROVED Page 2 of 5  o o o o Expenses include the cost of travel, mileage, conference attendance and stakeholder meetings. This occasionally includes meals, parking and lodging. Meeting Recruitment  Materials and efforts package to cultivate meetings and sporting events, lodging, dining and venue rental. Media Sponsorship  Budget offset to correspond to media sponsorships generated. Community Grants  Quarterly grants to support community events that support the overall good of the community. Generates positive impressions or business and fulfill the mission of the visitor and tourism fund. Contingency  Safety net and or access for projects or initiatives at the recommendation of the tourism direction and discretion of the tourism committee. • What Worked in 2013 o Spirit of Halloweentown o Maritime Heritage Festival o Fourth of July o Social/new media o Use of Boise property for events o Disc Golf o BMX o Christmas ships o Sports • Opportunities o Small business meetings o BMX racing o Disc golf o Wrestling o School bands o Baseball o Basketball o Fishing o Cultural o Grants o Collaboration o Spirits/beer tours o Ghost-Con o Choral groups o Kayaking and wind sports o Grog jog o Welcome package for visitors Tourism Committee – February 13, 2014 APPROVED Page 3 of 5 TOURISM MONTHLY BRIEFING • General briefing & discussion • Upcoming events o Rain or Shine Wine Festival: March 1 o Wrestling tournament: March 21-23 o Oregon Ghost Conference: April 11-12 o Corn Hole and Country-Con: May 16-17 o Fourth of July o Summerfest: July 5-6 o Maritime Heritage Festival and WWII Reenactment: July 25-27 o Disc Golf Association World Championship: August 9-16 o Windy River Festival: August 30-September 1 o Ritchie Bros Auction: September/Fall o Spirit of Halloweentown/Ghost-Con: October EVENT STRATEGY UPDATE Tina Curry gave an update on events and sponsorships. OTHER BUSINESS None. NEXT REGULAR MEETING The next regularly scheduled meeting is Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 3:00 p.m., in Council Chambers. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 5:03 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Heidi Davis Secretary Tourism Committee – February 13, 2014 APPROVED Page 4 of 5 2014 Tourism Committee Attendance Record P = Present E=Excused Absence U=Unexcused Absence Date 1/9/14 2/13/14 Bartlett Quarry Dahlgren P E Burks Finks Peterson Balza Boggs Duehren Vaerewyck Canceled P P P E P P E P 3/13/14 4/10/14 5/8/14 6/12/14 7/10/14 8/14/14 9/11/14 10/9/14 11/13/14 12/11/14 Tourism Committee – February 13, 2014 APPROVED Page 5 of 5