Facilities Committee

Regular Meeting

Charleston, WV · September 16, 2019

Minutes

MINUTES FACILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING 5:00 P. M., SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 A/V CONFERENCE ROOM Jennifer Pharr, Chairperson, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council Committee on Facilities to order at 5:00p.m., SEPTEMBER 16, 2019, in the Audio/Visual Room in City Hall. Committee Members Present: Jennifer Pharr, Chair Ben Adams Brady Campbell Shannon Snodgrass The Chairperson called the meeting to order. 1. Approval of Previous Minutes – Councilmember Campbell moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting on 5-20-2019. There was no objection and the minutes were approved. 2. WV State Arts Office – Grant Opportunities/Application Process – Councilmember Pharr introduced Jenna Green who is the Cultural Facilities and Accessibility Coordinator. Green explained the Cultural Facilities and Capital Resource Grant, stating that it is a matching grant program for facilities that are used for arts/history. Examples would be a seat replacement project and construction/new building renovations. The Committee members received an example of an approved grant application to review. The applications are reviewed and scored by a panel of building experts. Based on the amount of funding available, the applications are usually funded from the top scoring down. An additional option is a Phase Project, where a project is funded over a 3-year period. These funds are awarded on July 1. An additional program is the Fast Track Program, which can be used for emergency repairs and ADA facility upgrades. It is a matching program with a $10,000 cap that can be applied for at any time. Councilmember Campbell asked for tips on high scoring applications. The Committee Chair has previously sat on a scoring panel. The application also has an explanation of the scoring categories. Councilmember Snodgrass asked if the City has ever applied to any of these grants. Green replied the City has not as far as she could find. From the audience, Councilmember Bays asked if there was a wait period for additional applications. Green answered that if the grant is under $100,000, there is no waiting September 16, 2019 period. Otherwise, depending on how much over $100,00 the grant is for, the maximum wait time is 2 years. Councilmember Adams confirmed that the cap for the Phase Project is $750,000 over the 3 years. Councilmember Adams asked how many applications they receive. Green answered that last year they received about 20 with 8 being funded. 3. Discussion of Convention Center and Municipal Auditorium Tour The Committee agreed that the tours were immensely helpful. Councilmember Snodgrass stated that the Municipal Auditorium is in desperate need of repairs/upgrades. Councilmember Pharr suggested they might want to conduct a feasibility study of how the facility could best be used given its historical restrictions. Mayor Goodwin stated that there is a report that the Administration can share with the Committee. Councilmember Pharr stated that she thought the Committee should tour Cato Park. Councilmember Snodgrass suggested that they request a list from the Administration of properties they would like the Committee to examine. Councilmember Campbell suggested that the Committee have a standing meeting to visit one of these properties. Councilmember Snodgrass motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Campbell seconded. Meeting adjourned. September 16, 2019

Agenda

Packet

CITY OF CHARLESTON West Virginia Council Member – AT LARGE Jennifer Pharr Facilities Committee, Chair PO BOX 1171 Charleston, WV 25324 Urban Renewal Committee Telephone: 304‐615‐7574 Planning, Streets and Traffic Committee jennifer.pharr@cityofcharleston.org TO: Facilities Committee FROM: Jennifer Pharr, Chair RE: Committee Meeting There will be a Committee meeting of Facilities on September 16, 2019 – 5:30 PM in the A/V Conference Room, City Hall, Room 308. The agenda will be as follows: APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES 1. 5‐20‐2019 JENNA GREEN ‐ WV STATE ARTS OFFICE ‐ GRANT OPPORTUNITIES/APPLICATION PROCESS DISCUSSION OF CONVENTION CENTER AND MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM TOUR UPCOMING FACILITIES TOURS *Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk.com JF/ns City Council | 501 Virginia Street, East | Post Office Box 2749 | Charleston, West Virginia 25330 www.charlestonwv.gov | 304.348.8179 | 304.348.8038 fax Page | 1 of MINUTES FACILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING 5:00 P. M., MAY 20, 2019 A/V CONFERENCE ROOM Jennifer Pharr, Chairperson, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council Committee on Facilities to order at 5:00p.m., MAY 20, 2019, in the Audio/Visual Room in City Hall. Committee Members Present: Others: Jennifer Pharr, Chair Lexie Kessel Courtney Persinger, Vice Chair Tim Brady Ben Adams Mackenzie Spencer Brady Campbell Kevin Baker Sam Minardi (arrived 5:28 – 5:49) Joseph Jenkins Matt Sutton Mayor Goodwin Larry Malone Will Laird The Chairperson called the meeting to order. 1. Approval of Previous Minutes – Councilmember Campbell moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting on 5-6-2019. Councilmember Adams seconded. There was no objection and the minutes were approved. 2. Overview of CVB – Councilmember Pharr introduced Tim Brady. Highlights of the presentation included: - Roughly 80% of their time and budget goes to actively recruiting for events/sports/conventions. - The Process – getting leads, are the desired dates available, what does the group require, what “we” offer, site visits and negotiation. - Upcoming Events – US Trampoline and Tumbling, US Soccer East Regional President’s Cup, URA Spring Leadership Conference, Delta Special Forces, American Baptist Association, WVSSAC for basketball, volleyball, tennis, baseball and track. - Recent Events – USA Boxing Junior Olympics (3 out of 4 years), NJCAA Volleyball, International Masons Convention AND Firearm and Toolmark Examiners Conference. - For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, 30,512 future room nights were booked (their goal for the current year is 32,000), May 20, 2019 Page | 2 of Councilmember Persinger asked how much of this would happen without the CVB. Tim Brady answered that it is tough to calculate, but probably not much. Councilmember Persinger also asked if more hotels were needed, and Brady answered at least 2 more. Councilmember Pharr asked about their current staff numbers. Brady answered they currently have 8 full time and 2 part time employees. Councilmember Pharr asked about losing the cheerleading competition. Brady answered that they lost the low bid to Huntington. Councilmember Minardi asked what needed to happen to get the football events back. Brady answered he didn’t want it, because the return on investment most likely wouldn’t be worth it. Also Wheeling does a great job with the event. Councilmember Pharr asked how closely they work with the Convention Center staff/ other organizations. Brady answered they contact them when looking for space availability. They also work with the Area Alliance, CVB and Charleston Main Streets, among others, to help promote their events. Additionally, the Convention Center and CVB’s staff are meeting to help develop a sales and marketing plan for the Convention Center. Councilmember Minardi asked if Brady found the rates for the Convention Center to be competitive. Brady answered that they are still learning about the new rate structure. Councilmembers Persinger and Campbell stated that it made sense to have a priority system in place to ensure that the entities that would have the most economic impact were given priority. Councilmember Pharr asked what the committee could do to help the CVB attract more business. Brady answered that they should let them know of any organizations the committee is involved with or knows about that they think would succeed in Charleston; making connections is essential. Councilmember Jenkins asked if they had any connections with WVU. Jenkins answered that WVU already has existing relationships with the hotels and venues, so they do not necessarily need anything from the CVB, but they frequently assist with promoting. Councilmember Pharr asked him to update the Committee concerning travel basketball and trying to attract wrestling. Brady answered that flooring was an economic consideration that they are currently working through. Councilmember Pharr asked him to explain the flash badge program. Brady answered that it is a year-long program where an event participant will get a discount from a list of businesses. 3. Discussion – The Committee made a plan to meet with John Robinson at the Convention Center for their next meeting in 2 weeks. Councilmember Minardi motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Campbell seconded. Meeting adjourned. May 20, 2019 Page | 3 of