Occupancy Tax Board

APPROVED OCCUPANCY TAX BOARD MEETING February 25, 2014 Tuesday, January 28, 2014 - 2:30 p.m. Conference Room, City Hall Members Present: Chair- Josh Ragsdale, Jill Cleveland, Julie Morrow, Dawn Ortega, Adam Roe Members Absent: None Staff Present: Janice Self, Barbara Patterson, Monica Garcia Others Present: Bob Edwards, Dusty Huckabee, Mark Brisco, Peggy Seskey, Artie Morrow Meeting was called to order at 2:30 pm by Chairperson Josh Ragsdale. The five members of the board were present representing a quorum. Ms. Ortega moved to approve the minutes from the October 29, 2013 Occupancy Tax Board meeting. Ms. Morrow seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. 1. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – Roswell Road Race Series (various dates) Mr. Bob Edwards was there to present the request for $2,000. Mr. Edwards began by explaining that there were 6 road races, each with varying distances. The races promote health, exercise and physical fitness. A suggestion from a past OTB meeting was to incorporate a survey into the registration form so that information could be collected. Mr. Edwards gave a recap of the 2013 survey information which was gathered. Ms. Morrow made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of $2,000 be provided for this purpose on a reimbursement basis. Mr. Roe seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. (5 for, 0 against) 2. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – 2014 Fiddle & Griddle Festival (June 6-8-, 2014) Mr. Dusty Huckabee, Ms. Peggy Seskey and Mr. Mark Brisco were there to present the request for $65,000. This is the third Fiddle & Griddle Festival. Although the first two were successful, there was a learning curve involved on the first Festival, and the second Festival went much better. Competitors for the Fiddle contest came from Arizona, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Oregon. Using facebook to get the word out has been a huge success. The BBQ cook off (Griddle) will be Kansas City certified, which will allow for more national coverage in magazines. Entertainment will go all day with the Fiddlers playing through the day. Friday evening during the event kick-off, teenagers and children will be allowed to perform without being judged. Promotional avenues include going to the Texas Championship in March to promote the 2014 Fiddle & Griddle Festival. Mr. Ragsdale asked about survey information. Ms. Seskey informed the members that there were several thousand attendees. The Texas State Fair Fiddle Champion along with people from Las Cruces, El Paso, and many local. Ms. Seskey also informed the members that some of the Fiddlers also have a “following” which travel from site to site. Ms. Ortega asked about a cost to see the Fiddle contest or BBQ cook off. Ms. Seskey let the members know that there is a fee to enter the contests, but there is no attendance fee as the venue is outside and open to the public. Mr. Ragsdale asked how the survey information is gathered, and Ms. Seskey told about the information booth where “passports” are handed out and people can return them, stamped by businesses that they visited, and once a survey is completed the person receives a free item from the Festival. Ms. Morrow stated that she has reviewed the previous year’s financial information and has based her recommendation on that information. Ms. Morrow made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of $50,000, with a signed contract, on an estimated advanced drawdown funding be provided for this purpose. Mr. Roe seconded the motion. The motion passed with four for and 1 against. Ms. Cleveland felt more funds were needed. 3. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – Roswell UFO Festival 2014 (July 3-6, 2014) Mr. Dusty Huckabee, Ms. Peggy Seskey and Mr. Mark Brisco were there to present the request for $88,100. Ms. Seskey began by letting the members know that this is the 67th Anniversary of the UFO crash. Hotels filled up last year and volunteers were calling around for visitors trying to find places for them to stay. The UFO Festival committee is talking with the Museum and Art Center about have shows in the Planetarium. There will lots of Family entertainment. Advertisement will be done through facebook, New Mexico Magazine, Parade (insert in the Sunday Roswell Daily Record) and the AAA Magazine. A program from last year was passed around for members to see that they also promote other area attractions so that visitors will stay longer to see the sites. Information booths are also set up and tourism maps are handed out. The UFO Festival works with the FilmFest in coordinating on the advertising. This year the expenses will be higher because we do not have the stockpile of Lodgers’ Tax inventory of items (from previous years) to hand out to visitors. We will have to order any merchandise that we plan on giving away. There was some further discussion on eligible items. Ms. Morrow stated that she has reviewed the previous year’s financial information and has based her recommendation on that information. Ms. Morrow made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of $70,000, with a signed contract, on an estimated advanced drawdown be provided for this purpose. Ms. Ortega seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 for and 2 against. Ms. Cleveland and Mr. Ragsdale felt more funds were needed. All attendees were informed that the date for the Finance Committee meeting has been set for Wednesday, January 29, 2014. Marketing Directors Report: There was no report. Reimbursement Report and Event Reports update: Ms. Self passed out the copies Reimbursement and Event/Financial reports to the members. Because the Occupancy Tax Board did not meet for November & December the copies were too many to mail. There were no questions concerning the reports. Ms. Cleveland made the motion to adjourn and Mr. Ragsdale seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 3:41 p.m. Minutes submitted for approval by Janice Self.