Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee

ACCOMMODATIONS TAX ADVISORY COMMITTEE Monday, April 15, 2019 at 12:00pm Municipal Complex, Committee Meeting Room, 3rd Floor 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 MINUTES PRESENT: Rebecca Gosnell; Chair; Cheryl Craven, Shannon Hartman, Laurie Bixler, Brumby McLeod, and Vishal Patel ABSENT: Su McManus Frost ALSO ABSENT: Tom O’Rourke, Council Liaison STAFF PRESENT: Lauren Sims, Community & Government Affairs Chief and John Holladay, Business Development Manager Ms. Gosnell called the meeting to order at 12:06 noon. I. Approval of the minutes from the November 15 and 16, 2018 meetings Ms. Craven moved for approval; seconded by Mr. Patel. All present voted in favor. II. Public Comments [None] III. Financial Statement for period ending March 31, 2019 Ms. Gosnell stated that there is $150,000 available in this cycle to meet all of the requests that have been made. Mr. Holladay clarified that the $150,000 covers this cycle and the spring cycle.  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 2 of 16 IV. FY 19/20 (June – December) Funding Presentations A. Men’s Select Shootout Matt Farmer, Tournament Director for United Soccer Academy of Mount Pleasant provided his presentation for the two fall events (Men’s and Women’s Select Shootouts), for the upcoming fall season. He said they recently had the largest event ever in Charleston with 200 teams, up 25% from the previous season. With the current marketing plan and relationship building, they will see that growth all across their events. This will be the first season where they are not directly connected with the Town of Mount Pleasant for facility use. and are working with the Town to arrange for the use of the fields at Patriots Point, Carolina Park and Park West, which will be a big asset to retain those events at Town fields. He stated that they are currently developing their own complex in Awendaw and will be breaking ground in a month. He stated that it will be four fields; however, they will never be outside of Mount Pleasant for their events as long as they have the support of the Town, which they hope to retain. He stated that all the families will obviously stay in Mount Pleasant. Mr. Patel stated that Mr. Farmer mentioned that they had 200 teams at the last event and asked where the 200 teams came from. Mr. Farmer stated that of the 200 teams 65% of them were from outside of the Charleston area, which requires lodging, and 40% were from within the Charleston area. He would be happy to submit the supplemental report. Mr. Patel stated that with the marketing plan outlined there are email blasts for South Carolina Youth Soccer and the online database for soccer in college. He asked if these were targeted to reach out of town teams or encouraging the local teams to participate. Mr. Farmer stated that it would be 100% out of town teams that they would utilize this method for and while some in town teams may receive this, they have direct communications with the club  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 3 of 16 director in Town and reach them in a more formal invitation setting versus an email blast in publications. Mr. Patel asked if they were targeting a particular geographical area. Mr. Farmer stated that how they have been able to grow their events is to have reciprocal agreements with other clubs. He said within the immediate driving range of six hours; Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh would be their main target sites. Ms. Gosnell asked if their expansion into Awendaw would affect their participation on the Mount Pleasant fields. She asked if the Town is simply accommodating growth. Mr. Farmer stated that the Awendaw fields would be aimed at accommodating growth. He said one of the dynamics in their relationship with the Town of Mount Pleasant is that they had an exclusive agreement for field use at five fields at various different sites in Town and an agreement for hosting their event. He stated that this agreement will not be continued by the Town; however, they will have the ability to rent for training space. He said ultimately having something that they knew would be there for their participants was the goal behind buying property in Awendaw. He stated that being in Mount Pleasant would have been their first goal, but the price challenge for being a non-profit youth club with the cost of land in Mount Pleasant was not feasible. Ms. Gosnell asked if the Town discontinued the agreement because of the increasing demand of their own Recreation Department. Mr. Farmer stated that he believes there is a demand on the facilities and they are always attempting to utilize their resources. He stated that they were also directly tied to the Town for a number of years and when they became a private non-profit organization, the agreement still remained until recently. He is not certain if it was a legal issue for exclusive use; however, he does not understand all the dynamics.  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 4 of 16 Mr. Patel asked what the obligations of the hotels were, as their application shows there are six selected for the tournament. Mr. Farmer stated that they utilize a tournament office company located in Charlotte to handle all the bookings for their teams. He stated that this company reaches out to the hotels directly to negotiate a rate, but also returns compensation to the tournament company for setting this up, as well as to the club. He stated that they are open to working with every single hotel and some hotels are more interested than others. Mr. Patel asked if there is an advantage to using this booking agent. Mr. Farmer stated that they do not have the resources or staff required to handle this task. Ms. Gosnell stated that Mr. Farmer works out a substantial discount and compensation from this arrangement which exceeds what other groups do and believes he is the model for how this should be handled. Mr. McLeod asked about event sponsors. Mr. Farmer stated that they do not have sponsors at this time for this event and are in the process of searching for one. Mr. McLeod asked if there is a requirement of the hotels to be a sponsor. Mr. Farmer responded in the negative and stated that they would be open to a hotel that is interested. He stated that he would forward an email to Committee members with the breakdown of the teams and where they are coming from. B. Women’s Select Shootout [Addressed with item A] C. Mount Pleasant Symphony Orchestra Tyler All, President of the South Coast Symphony Orchestra, thanked the ATAC for all their support. He said they are here today  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 5 of 16 to request support for their October and December concerts this year as the Mount Pleasant Symphony. He said they have not officially changed their name but show a deep commitment to Mount Pleasant and the East Cooper area. He said that Dawn Durst, the Executive Director was unable to be here today, but is happy to have Ron Mendola, their Music Director. Ron Mendola, stated that they have two concerts planned in this cycle and are looking at a concert that is about Human Rights. He stated that the Town’s contribution will make it possible to upgrade their advertisement and bring in guest artists. He said rights of music is becoming more and more expensive due to streaming. He said they need to have a branding meeting with the appropriate individuals from the Town of Mount Pleasant and an ongoing relationship, which Dawn Durst has started working on. He said they are trying to determine if the Town would like to be all inclusive with an East Cooper or Cooper River Symphony Orchestra or Mount Pleasant Symphony Orchestra. He added that Christ Church has been their venue for three years and when they lose that venue is still up in the air. He stated that they are talking to Seacoast, as they are moving into their new sanctuary, which will make it possible to be in the old sanctuary and would fit with their 4:00 pm post brunch concerts on Sunday. He said they are still working on this with Seacoast. Ms. Gosnell stated that she appreciates Ms. Durst’s efforts and the efforts of the Board members to expand their sponsorship representation. Mr. Mendola stated that it was standing room only at the last concert. Ms. Bixler stated that she is a great supporter and thrilled that the symphony is outgrowing their space. She asked if Seacoast will have more space.  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 6 of 16 Mr. Mendola stated that he has not done a site survey yet. He said he understands it occupies 700 to 800 people and where they are currently tops out at 400 to 450 people. He said they always have to look at the acoustical properties but apparently this space is well designed. He said this is not their only option but is their best option. Ms. Gosnell stated that the space was donated by Christ Church. Mr. Mendola stated that their services conclude at noon, so many of their congregants would return. He stated that they always attempted to integrate the choir. He stated that it costs approximately $3,000 to rent a church in Charleston which is exclusive of their current resources and they are not able to do this. If Seacoast is looking for a $500 maintenance donation, they will be able to manage this; however, if they are looking for an orchestra to support their particular ongoing performances as they relate to the faith, this is something they would need to discuss. He said their concerts should be free, open to the public and generally non- religious. Ms. Gosnell stated that she was surprised by their out of town guest numbers. Mr. All stated that Ms. Durst would be best suited to address that question. Ms. Bixler asked what else is done by the Symphony to bring in more people in the community to the concerts. Mr. Mendola stated that he produces videos where he discusses the music on both their website and Facebook. He said they have very little website traffic as compared to Facebook. He stated that with all his experience teaching music, he knows how to reach people who have little or no experience in music. Mr. All stated that they have been able to track some of the out of town guests through Facebook as well as some family members of their orchestra, who travel from out of town.  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 7 of 16 Ms. Gosnell stated that in the budget, they show having a music director and a concert master. She asked if they were one and the same. Mr. Mendola responded in the negative. Concert master is the first violinist and is someone who must communicate with all the string players and it takes a great deal of hours. He said they are thrilled for the first time to have four African Americans in the orchestra which is heartwarming for everyone in the orchestra. He stated that past the concert master position, which is approximately $1,000 per concert, they also have four or five other musicians that must be hired to fill chairs, which gives them a number of approximately 60 musicians. Ms. Bixler stated that she is impressed that the symphony has reduced the amount they are requesting. Ms. Gosnell stated that when they move, if they incur additional expenses for renting a facility, she would like to know during the next cycle. Ms. Bixler stated that she would like to have the symphony request additional funding and allocate that towards the Facebook advertising in the future. Mr. Mendola stated that it means a great deal to the symphony that the Town is interested in seeing the arts blossom here in the Town. He said they are picking up corporate sponsorships and private donors who are very concerned about the growth of the arts here. D. Park Pleasantly/Play Downtown William Hamilton, stated that he has been working with the Town of Mount Pleasant on maintaining our transit assets and building up transit ridership since 2011. He said there has been a continual issue with the remainder of the region being perfectly happy to take 40% of their sales taxes from Mount Pleasant and returning us 4% of the transit service that the Town pays 40% of the cost of the sales tax portion. He said there is a tendency not to  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 8 of 16 appreciate the fact that Mount Pleasant needs transit service. He said 10% of the population in Mount Pleasant lives below the poverty line and there is a large population of elderly and disabled individuals. He said another thing the Town has is a very large and critical tourism industry which contributes to the generation of those sales taxes. He said the tourism industry benefits a great deal from transit, particularly a large number of people working in our hotels and restaurants east of the cooper use transit to get to and from work. He said we have also seen a steady and increasing trickle of international visitors and visitors who choose to use transit to access the City of Charleston. Many do not wish to drive into downtown Charleston, nor do they wish to pay to park downtown and use the bus services we currently have. He stated that they have always attempted to stimulate this utilization by visiting the hotels at the appropriate times of the year. The best time of the year is the Tuesday of the third week of January when occupancy is low. He stated that CARTA is continually looking for ways to cut routes and keep threatening to cut the services to Mount Pleasant. He said getting more people on the buses such as hotel employees and staff and tourists puts the bus service in a stronger position. He stated that every hotel room that is filled east of the cooper increases sales tax revenue, property tax values and business license fees. He said they would like to turn this into a year long project that includes distributing free bus passes on occasion to the various hotels and having each of them marked by the hotels to see which hotels are actually generating transit rides. He said we know currently, for instance, that the Holiday Inn on Wingo Way is very popular with German tourists that ride the #40 and #41 bus into downtown Charleston, as well as Canadian and European tourists. He believes this can be built up and the budget is for a year long effort to reach people on the availability of this service and making sure that people understand that they may also use their phone to plan their trips. He said they need to work with the hotels and online to reach these tourists as they are planning their trips. He said the increased  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 9 of 16 ridership will help to maintain the bus service and keep hotels staffed in Mount Pleasant. Ms. Craven stated that the travelers are finding out about the bus service once they arrive. Mr. Hamilton stated that the German travelers are obtaining this information off of a website from material that he had worked on seven or eight years ago. Ideally, he would like to reach out across the internet to those searching for information on a way to stay here and reach downtown, so they are moving their hotel utilization from downtown to here or adding trips that they may otherwise believe are too expensive. Ms. Craven stated that the bus is basically going to take people from Mount Pleasant to the Charleston Visitors Center. Mr. Hamilton stated that from there they have Dash buses that take them all over the City of Charleston for free. Ms. Craven stated that her concern is that we want to keep people in Mount Pleasant as much as possible to visit Mount Pleasant and eat in Mount Pleasant restaurants. Mr. Hamilton stated that there is a peculiar and perverse advantage, because most of the buses leave the City at approximately 7:00 pm. He said most will choose to return to Mount Pleasant for that evening meal, which is the high ticket item. Ms. Gosnell asked about CARTA service within the Town limits. Mr. Hamilton stated that the #40 route runs once an hour down Highway 17 from Mount Pleasant Town Centre, to Wando Crossing, then down the frontage road of US 17 until it reaches the intersection of Houston Northcutt where all the hotels are in this area. He said it goes down Coleman Boulevard to the City of Charleston, passing the cluster of hotels around Patriots Point, except Seaside Farms. He added that the #41 goes down Coleman Boulevard and through Patriots Point and Wingo Way. He said  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 10 of 16 around the Ravenel Gateway, every other hour there is service every 30 minutes. He said at Wando Crossing Shopping Center in the mornings and evenings, there is an Express Bus #1, the #41 and #40 all stopping there. Ms. Gosnell stated that there are then two buses making those loops through Mount Pleasant. Mr. Hamilton stated that they begin at 6:00 am for those hotel and restaurant workers and the last bus out of Charleston back to Mount Pleasant is 8:15 pm with a later bus on Saturday nights. He stated that there is also a bus that goes all the way out to Wando High School and Hamlin (Oakland) Market, but it only runs six days a week. Ms. Gosnell asked about ridership on those two buses. Mr. Hamilton stated that CARTA has not released ridership numbers recently. He said it is how he evaluates the success of what they have accomplished. Since CARTA has cut the service back in May 2016, ridership has dropped, which is not good because if the ridership is low, this is where CARTA will cut services. It is incredibly important to the community to keep the ridership numbers up. He said the fastest way to do this is to encourage visitors to ride the bus and if we are able to track that type of visitor, we can bring those people to Mount Pleasant. He said the other options are West Ashley and North Charleston and he believes that Mount Pleasant is the only place that allows visitors a satellite vacation for Charleston and easy access to the beaches. Ms. Craven asked how the perception can be changed, because Mount Pleasant has always been a drive market. She added that it is very difficult to convince many of her guests at her hotel to take public transportation. How do we change people’s perception? Mr. Hamilton stated that Charleston is doing its best by increasingly raising the parking fees downtown. He said it is now $22 per day or $4 to $5 per hour and the traffic downtown is very unpleasant. He  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 11 of 16 said much of this is aimed at travelers who are already comfortable with and ready to use transit. Ms. Gosnell stated that Mr. Hamilton has provided a breakdown on how they will market this in the presentation. Mr. Hamilton stated that the Red Roof Inn has been active in doing this, the Best Western has also been active over the years and the Holiday Inn has a number of German tourists who are active with public transportation. He said they have been limited to giving those visitors photo copied flyers on how it works and giving them regular every day bus schedules. He said what they propose to do here is much more focused and limited. A palm card that indicates that for this area of hotels in Mount Pleasant, where the bus stops and the buses that go downtown, and rather than handing out a long complex schedule, their primary reliance will be on electric wayfinding. Ms. Gosnell asked why ATAC is the appropriate place to secure these funds versus the CARTA advertising budget. Mr. Hamilton stated that their goal is to largely provide the hotels with the raw material they need to engage their marketing budgets. The technical information on where their busses are, when they arrive and something that they can hand out to guests, but also provide them with an electronic component which is cost-free pictures and texts that they are able to incorporate into their websites and send out to attract visitors to Mount Pleasant that are looking for options like this. He stated that they are attempting to reach those that are shopping for hotels and making sure those hotels have this option mentioned in their materials. Mr. Patel stated that everyone supports public transit and wishes it was utilized more in any municipality, especially the Town. From a marketing standpoint, the biggest concern he has is that their guests come in all the time and are looking for transportation. How does public transportation combat ridesharing apps such as Lyft and  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 12 of 16 Uber? He said public transit is almost being hurt by ridesharing apps and how does public transportation combat these ridesharing apps. Mr. Hamilton stated that there are times when Uber and Lyft become expensive and people have multiple options. He said for many people, public transportation is the most cost effective option. He said there are a number of people who are culturally comfortable with public transit and based on what has happened recently, we all need to take a hard look at how ride sharing works and what the risks are. He stated that the CARTA buses are safer and more reliable. Ms. Bixler stated that she has been impressed with what Mr. Hamilton has accomplished over the years. She stated that in reference to the budget which begins with 32 hotels, what will the $2,500 of supervision materials be utilized for. Mr. Hamilton stated that this will be for him writing all the materials, laying them out, getting them printed, supervising the people and doing a good bit of the work himself. He stated that he will need to go to every hotel initially himself to collect the contact information, because there is no substitute for eight years of experience. He said this is for an entire year. Ms. Gosnell stated that she always appreciates Mr. Hamilton as a transportation advocate for the greater Charleston area. Ms. Bixler stated that Mr. Hamilton has single-handedly done fantastic things. Mr. Hamilton stated that the Town of Mount Pleasant has assisted greatly. E. Scottish Games Wayne Morgan, stated that this is his second year as President of the Society. Last year, they conducted the 47th Scottish Games and Highland gathering and the 26th year at Boone Hall Plantation. He said what was different is that they moved from September to the  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 13 of 16 first weekend in November. He said it was a tremendous move and saw an increase all across the spectrum and had one of the largest pipe band competitions. He said these bands come from Canada, California, Texas and throughout the southeast. He said they were extremely pleased and excited and had a revenue plus because with the games before, they had the hurricane within five days and broke even. He said they are hopeful that the November timeframe continues to be highly successful. They inaugurated the Southern USA Pipe Band Championship Grade 3 which will increase the draw of bands. He said when the bands show up and have 15 pipers and 10 drummers, there are family sets that go with each one of those individuals. They had 36 clan societies representing their chiefs in Scotland. He said these individuals are not local. He said their games here in Charleston are the 2nd oldest in the southeast. He said they continue to grow each year and have achieved 501(c)3 status, which they have never had in 47 years of existence. He said this allows them to go out to the community and request sponsorship. He said they have had a very strong response to this. He said this year they have two dignitaries coming from Scotland and will bring eight to ten people with them. He said the funds received from the Town last year allowed them to seek a marketing firm, which they have never had. He said the IT portion of the marketing plan must be sophisticated. Ms. Gosnell thanked Colonel Morgan and stated that this is an amazing event and history and does a great deal for the Town of Mount Pleasant. She knows that all the judges are booked in the local hotels. She said for the 2018 games, the Town provided $10,000 from the accommodations sales tax and they are requesting $20,000 this year and this comes on the heels of making a $30,000 profit last year. She asked the Colonel to address this. Colonel Morgan stated that they are required to and do use the funds from the Town of Mount Pleasant in marketing. He said this allows them to do other things that they have not been able to do  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 14 of 16 previously. He said they are an all-volunteer organization, and no one gets paid. He stated that they contracted additional police for traffic enforcement. Ms. Gosnell asked about a parking fee. Colonel Morgan stated that it is worked into the cost of admission. He said when they tried to collect for parking, it was backing up traffic which was a major concern. Ms. Gosnell asked about the cost of the admissions ticket this year. Colonel Morgan said that online it is $20 per adult. Ms. Gosnell stated that the games have incurred new expenses; however, it has not been reflected in the ticket price. Colonel Morgan stated that if you do not order your ticket in advance online, the price increases to $35 per person at the gate. He said this was a significant increase and it has not hurt the event at all. Ms. Gosnell stated that the online ticket price could also be increased, and it would also not hurt the event. Colonel Morgan stated that this is likely true. He said they compare their costs to the other 200 gatherings in the US and Canada every year. Ms. Gosnell stated that she agrees that taking traffic off the roads is important and appreciates that the event has hired professional staffing to be good neighbors when hosting this event. She asked if there are any concerns about continuing to have the event at Boone Hall Plantation. Colonel Morgan stated that they have discussed this with the staff at Boone Hall and have an ongoing verbal contract and have been there for 27 years. He stated that last year, they went from $10,000 to $12,500 which was the first price increase in ten years. Ms. Bixler asked what the increase was when they hired the marketing firm.  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 15 of 16 Colonel Morgan stated that it was approximately $37,000 and most of it had to be paid up front and there are continuing costs. He said four years ago there was a significant increase because they also brought in professional tent-age, so it looks more like a festival site. He said these expenses have doubled in the past four years, but attendance has also doubled. Mr. Patel stated that in reference to the total number of rooms, how is this being tracked. Colonel Morgan stated that they receive feedback from Committee members who go to the hotels and make arrangements for the judges, participants and others. He said what is great about Mount Pleasant is that it is next to Boone Hall and people are not going to make long treks when they can stay in Mount Pleasant. They come in on a Friday and typically leave Sunday, because they are one day games. He stated that something they started four or five years ago was the Tartan Ball, which was always perceived as a society event not a public event. He said they have been making every effort to ensure that this gala is seen as a Charleston Tartan Ball and have had it at the Daniel Island Club for the past three years with an 18 piece swing band, black tie, pipes and drums, the Citadel and it is a wonderful gala open to the public. Ms. Gosnell stated that it is a well run event and has a fabulous history. Ms. Gosnell stated that Nicole Harvey, Events Manager for the Town of Mount Pleasant, will do a presentation on the projects they are requesting accommodations tax funding for and asked Committee members to review their packets. F. Town of Mount Pleasant’s Art Fest G. Town of Mount Pleasant’s Art on the Half Shell H. Town of Mount Pleasant’s Blessing of the Fleet I. Town of Mount Pleasant’s Children’s Day Festival  Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee April 15, 2019 Page 16 of 16 J. Town of Mount Pleasant’s Community Arts Project K. Town of Mount Pleasant’s Culture, Arts and Pride Commission’s Community Art Projects V. Adjourn Ms. Craven moved to adjourn; seconded by Ms. Bixler. All present voted in favor. There being no further business, meeting adjourned at 1:04 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Ashe April 15, 2019