Harbor Commission

HARBOR COMMISSION MINUTES MEETING OF AUGUST 23, 2016 A regular meeting of the Manistee Harbor Commission was held on Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at 1 p.m. in the Second Floor Conference Room, City Hall, 70 Maple Street, Manistee MI 49660. The meeting was called to order by the Chair. Roll Call Present Excused Absence Unexcused Absence Commissioner Dave Bachman  Commissioner Fritz Boehm  Commissioner Ty Cook  Commissioner Jim Smith  Commissioner Alex Zaccanelli  Commissioner Glenn Zaring  Commissioner Roger Zielinski  City Manager Thad Taylor  OTHERS PRESENT: Kathryn Kenny and Maralee Cook of the Manistee Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Roger Zielinski, second by Glenn Zaring, to approve the agenda as submitted. Voice vote - Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS None APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION by Roger Zielinski, second by Jim Smith, to approve the minutes for the July 19, 2016 meeting as presented. Voice vote - Motion carried. STAFF REPORTS Harbormaster. No report. City Manager. Presented launch ramp revenue updates to the Harbor Commission as of July 31, 2016. Holding our own on permit revenue. Marina fuel sales are up. Roger Zielinski noted the number of boats along the seawall. Maralee Cook said a couple of the boats at the marina are on the Loop tour. City Marina needs to join the Great Lakes Cruising Club for $100 which would allow the Marina to post information and photos on their website. This website provides a good source of information to boaters cruising the Great Lakes. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Parking Ordinance – Nothing to report. Marketing Discussion – At the last meeting Kathryn Kenny was asked to provide a quote to assist the Municipal Marina as their Facebook Page Administrator. In talking to her Board she can assist and train someone to provide that service but she cannot act as the administrator. Her Harbor Commission Minutes – August 23, 2016 Page 1 Board is considering putting together some Ala Carte options for organizations to post on the Pure Manistee Facebook page for a cost. The marina is a business and needs to be marketed like one with advertising to draw people in. Kenny presented a sample promotion plan that included annual ad in the Visitors Guide and a monthly Facebook ad (with suggested promotions). The Harbor Commission and Marina needs to find their targeted audience and market promotions like dinner and a movie, event at the smoking lounge, new brewery, FlyManistee, MDNR, etc. with trackable advertising. This could be a fulltime job. The Marina needs to train the current manager or hire a manager with Facebook skills. An administrator needs to develop authentic content and not just share posts. Dave Bachman arrived at 1:36 p.m. Discussion continued on the Facebook concept. Glenn Zaring questioned whether or not the DDA could provide this service. Discussed any liability from inappropriate posts or comments; Bachman thought the liability was minimal. Discussed using a waiver to use photos on a page. Kathryn noted that as a Commission you need to find someone who could do this. Bachman suggested an intern from the High School or the College. Discussed how to track marketing efforts. Reviewed the survey cards used by the marina. Bachman asked the City Manager to float a discussion regarding Facebook marketing on the manager’s listserv. MOTION by Ty Cook, second by Glenn Zaring that the Harbor Commission adopt the use of Facebook to advertise the City Marina. Voice vote – 1 opposed – Motion carried. This is step one, step two will be to decide on how to implement. Commissioners and Maralee Cook were encouraged to submit a proposal to be the Facebook administrator. Maralee Cook and Kathryn Kenny left the meeting at 2:20 p.m. NEW BUSINESS None PUBLIC COMMENTS None OTHER COMMENTS  Dave Bachman – Hired one person at the marina to fill a vacancy. Will reduce staff hours at the marina in September. The practice of tipping at the marina needs to stop. Some employees are taking risks for higher tips.  Glenn Zaring – Provided some marketing recommendations. Facebook is the cheapest route to go. Those marketing efforts should be combined with possible partnerships to offer various packages to the target audience in pursuit of activities while in port. ADJOURNMENT Next meeting is scheduled for October 18, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. in the Second Floor Conference Room, City Hall. MOTION to adjourn by Jim Smith, second by Glenn Zaring at 2:35 p.m. Cynthia Lokovich, CAP-OM Recording Secretary Harbor Commission Minutes – August 23, 2016 Page 2