Lodging Tax Advisory Committee

City Hall City of Olympia 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Contact: Cathie Butler Meeting Minutes (360) 753-8361 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Monday, July 15, 2013 3:00 PM Room 112 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Hankins called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 4 - Chair Julie Hankins, Committee Member Nathan Allan, Committee Member Jack Kiley, and Committee Member Greg Taylor Excused: 1 - Committee Member Russell Carstensen 2. ANNOUNCEMENTS Communications Manager Cathie Butler reviewed 2013 revenue. She noted revenue has dropped significantly in 2013, to the lowest level in several years. Mr. Taylor said he is not surprised. After the 2012 storm, service technicians and staff from the power and cable companies were in the area for several weeks. He also noted one hotel has closed and the Phoenix Inn has brought rooms out of service on a rolling schedule this year for renovation. Ms. Butler reminded the Committee of changes in state law, including reporting requirements and decision-making, and she distributed a copy of the law. Ms. Butler announced that one group, Earthbound Productions, chose to not sign a contract with the City for 2013 lodging tax funding or provide liability insurance and an event application. Since their event was in April, they will not receive reimbursement for 2013 expenses. 3. BUSINESS ITEMS 3.A 13-0566 2013 Lodging Tax Process and Form Committee members reviewed the changes in state law and draft applications for the cities of Tumwater and Lacey. Ms. Butler suggested using most of the questions in the Lacey application so that local applicants would have similar questions to answer. Committee members said they definitely want to know if a group is requesting funding from another city. City of Olympia Page 1 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes July 15, 2013 Mr. Taylor suggested staff rework the questions based on state law requirements so they go from macro to micro, e.g. overall attendance, then attendance from 50 miles or more, etc. After discussion, Committee members agreed Chair Hankins and staff should work on the application, which will be acceptable for the Committee. Committee members agreed with a September 30 deadline for applications. They discussed possible meeting dates in October, and asked staff to send an Outlook meeting invitation. The report was received. 4. OTHER TOPICS -None 5. ADJOURNMENT Chair Hankins adjourned the meeting at 3:45 p.m. City of Olympia Page 2