Occupancy Tax Board

APPROVED OCCUPANCY TAX BOARD MEETING March 25, 2014 Tuesday, February 25, 2014 - 2:30 p.m. Conference Room, City Hall Members Present: Chair- Josh Ragsdale, Dawn Ortega, Adam Roe Members Absent: Jill Cleveland, Julie Morrow Staff Present: Janice Self, Monica Garcia, Barbara Patterson, Renee Roach Others Present: Ceci Acosta, Nancy Gonzalez, Marc Andrus, Cla Avery, Justin Ellis, Kristen Salyards, Jim Matteucci, Carolyn Mitchell, Brittany Williams, Jill McLaughlin, Larry Connolly, Jared Tucker. Meeting was called to order at 2:31 pm by Chairperson Josh Ragsdale. Three of the five members of the board were present representing a quorum. Mr. Roe moved to approve the minutes from the January 28, 2014 Occupancy Tax Board meeting. Ms. Ortega seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. 1. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – New Mexico Senior Olympics State Games (July 16-19, 2014) Ms. Ceci Acosta and Ms. Nancy Gonzalez were there to present the request for $57,000. Ms. Acosta began by mentioning that $46,000 was provided last year for this event. 1200 athletes are expected to come to Roswell from all over New Mexico. The event will be advertised in 29 counties of New Mexico. This is a qualifying event this year and winners will advance to the nationals held in Minneapolis in 2015. The games will be held at different venues throughout Roswell. The plans are to be able to fill the hotels of Roswell for 2-3 nights. Meals will not be provided and so participants will have to dine at restaurants. Roswell will also benefit from shopping. New Mexico Senior Olympics has seen a significant saving overall from having the event in Roswell. The event location for 2015-2019 is going out for bid. Ms. Ortega asked about the survey information to contain result for stays in hotel and other local lodging. Ms. Acosta explained that it was left off last year’s survey form, but would be included in this year’s. Mr. Roe stated that the events were extremely organized and they visitors seemed impressed. Mr. Roe abstained from the voting process. Ms. Ortega made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of up to $57,000 with a signed contract as a drawdown of advanced funds be provided for this purpose. Mr. Ragsdale seconded the motion. The motion passed with a vote of 2 in favor and 1 abstained (Mr. Roe). 2. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – Pecos Valley Quilt Show 2014 (Sept 18-20, 2014) Ms. Carolyn Mitchell was there to present the request for $1,900. Ms. Mitchell began by telling the board members a little history of the Pecos Valley Quilt Guild and the Quilt Show. This year there is an aggressive advertisement plan to bring people into Roswell. Posters and flyers will be sent to quilt shops & quilt guilds in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and all of New Mexico. There are also plans for advertisement in national quilt magazines. The classes which begin on Thursday, September 18th will have visitors staying overnight to attend other classes and the actual quilt show which will be held at the Convention Center on Friday and Saturday, September 19th & 20th. Classes will be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Roswell Museum & Art Center. Mini classes will be held during the Quilt Show at the Convention Center. The Quilt Show committee consists of 27 members, all volunteers. There is also a Donation Quilt for which the net proceeds will be given to Good Samaritans of Roswell and Loaves & Fishes of Dexter/Hagerman (food banks). This quilt recently won Viewer’s Choice at the Quilt Show in Las Cruces. Ms. Ortega asked about the estimate of attendance and Ms. Mitchell responded that this is based on passed attendance. Mr. Ragsdale asked about any survey information from passed attendance where at this point Ms. Self requested permission to speak and informed the members that she was also a member of the Quilt Show committee and that approximately 77 out of town participants signed up for a quilt that was given away. The out of town info had to be filled out in order to be eligible to win the quilt. There was some discussion concerning available funds, as this is a new request for Lodgers’ Tax funding. Mr. Roe made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of up to $1,200 on a reimbursement basis be provided for this purpose. Mr. Ragsdale seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – 30th Annual Milkman Triathlon (June 7, 2014) Ms. Brittany Williams was there to present the request for $1,000. Ms. Williams began by telling the board members that she has been associated with the Milkman Triathlon for 16 of the 30 years the Milkman has been going on. This will be a qualifying race for the BOUS national triathlons. It is also a sanctioned triathlon. The event is held at Lake Van in Dexter. As Dexter has no hotels, participants will be staying at hotels, eating and shopping in Roswell. This event is also a Southwest challenge series event and the event can be promoted at other series events prior to the Milkman. Open registration is on active.com and “save the date” cards are to be available. The triathlon may be done by one person or it can be done as a relay with different participants doing the swim, bike and run portions of the race. Some people may be uncomfortable with a portion and this still allows them to compete. Ms. Ortega asked about survey information and Ms. Williams was able to provide some information. Ms. Ortega made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of up to $1,000 on a reimbursement basis be provided for this purpose. Mr. Roe seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – Jesse Andrus & Mike Hillman Memorial Bull Riding (July 25- 26, 2014) Mr. Marc Andrus was there to present the request for $3,500. Mr. Andrus informed the board members that this year would be a little different in that there is going to be a double event. Bull Riding competition will be on one end of the arena with a motocross event on the other end. Last year the event received approximately $2,500 from Lodgers’ Tax and has increased the request to $3,500 because of the plans to add billboards this year. Ms. Ortega asked about the locations and Mr. Andrus responded that near the Fair grounds at Poe and SE Main and other locations depending on the availability. Mr. Andrus was also asked about where the survey information came from and responded that the information came from gate admissions. He was requested to try to get more of actual out of town info and hotel stays, other than the letter provided by the host hotel. Ms. Ortega abstained from the vote because her Fairfield Inn & Suites is the host hotel. Mr. Roe mentioned that the Occupancy Tax Board budgeted for $2,500 for this event. Mr. Roe made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of up to $3,000 on a reimbursement basis be provided for this purpose. Mr. Ragsdale seconded the motion. The motion passed with a vote of 2 in favor and 1 abstained (Ms. Ortega). 5. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – 2014 Roswell “Hike It! & Spike It!” 4-on-4 Charity Flag Football Tournament (May 23-25, 2014) Mr. Justin Ellis, Kristen Salyards, Cla Avery and Jim Matteucci were there to present the request for $20,000. Mr. Ellis informed the board that participants from twenty (20) states across the country come to Roswell to participate in the Roswell “Hike It! & Spike It!” event. The requested amount helps to offset the $64,000 used to advertise the event. The different types of advertisement are social media, TV, radio and print advertisement. There was approximately a $3 million economic impact within Roswell through lodging, meals, shopping and fuel. Many of the City’s departments work to help the event: Police & Fire and Recreation are just a few. Mr. Roe stated that this event does bring a lot of economic impact to Roswell. Ms. Ortega abstained from the vote because her Fairfield Inn & Suites is the host hotel. Mr. Roe mentioned that the requested amount was the amount budgeted by the Occupancy Tax Board. Mr. Roe made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of up to $20,000 on a reimbursement basis be provided for this purpose. Mr. Ragsdale seconded the motion. The motion passed with a vote of 2 in favor and 1 abstained (Ms. Ortega). All attendees were informed that the date for the Finance Committee meeting will be on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 8:00 am in the Conference Room at City Hall. Marketing Directors Report: Renee Roach gave the Marketing Director’s report to the Occupancy Tax Board. $15,000 additional funding has been allocated to promote lodging in Roswell. Renee met with the Roswell Hotel Association and the members discussed that they would like to use the funding to promote events and activities during the months of April, November, December and January, when occupancy is low. The Hotel Association representatives suggested creating a day trip brochure using Roswell as the hub, and Z-map design for the day trips that will coordinate with the Roswell Tourism Map created by the members of the Chaves County Tourism Council. Additionally, $50,000 has been allocated for media placements for the NM True campaign and to promote the expansion of the Convention Center that will help pitch conferences, conventions and group leisure tour groups during the low occupancy time periods discussed by the Hotel Association. The artwork will be available at the next meeting. “Tours” are also another avenue of promoting the sites of the area. Some of the “tours” suggested are a Space tour to enhance the education around Dr. Goddard and a Cowboys & Aliens tour of ranch sites. There is also a design in progress for a Tourism app for smart phones. It would be free for certain event users and would include hotel links, a rewards program, shopping & dining links and even could become the ticket for the event. Just show the “ticket” on the phone. The video at the Convention Center is also up for revision. The current video was created five (5) years ago, and needs a revamp. On March 10th there will be a Chaves County Tourism Board meeting. On March 11th there will be a Regional Tourism Board meeting and on March 25th there will be a Social Media workshop at the Bassett room in the Roswell Museum & Art Center. Reimbursement Report and Event Reports update: Ms. Self explained that the reports for the Christmas Fantasy and the Eastern NM State Fair were showing the financial reimbursement request along with the event report and financial report. Other Business: In other business, Ms. Self handed out the 2nd Quarter Lodgers’ Tax DFA (Department of Finance) report along with an actual expenses summary as of December 31, 2013. Ms. Self also reminded the board that Josh Ragsdale term was ending with the March meeting. Ms. Self asked Mr. Ragsdale if he would like to serve another term with the Occupancy Tax Board. Mr. Ragsdale agreed. Ms. Self will submit the recommendation to the Mayor. The meeting was adjourned at 3:25 p.m. Minutes submitted for approval by Janice Self.