Occupancy Tax Board

APPROVED OCCUPANCY TAX BOARD MEETING April 29, 2014 Tuesday, March 25, 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, Stacye Hunter, Monica Garcia, Renee Roach Others Present: Bill Flynt, Laurie Rufe, Sheri Harris, Bill Brainerd, Jan Olesinski, Linda Gilmore, Wendy Forbes, Larry Connolly and Jill McLaughlin. Meeting was called to order at 2:30 pm by Chairperson Josh Ragsdale. The five members of the board were present representing a quorum. Mr. Roe moved to approve the minutes from the February 25, 2014 Occupancy Tax Board meeting. Mr. Ragsdale seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Mr. Olesinski requested to have his application presented first, as he had to leave to teach a class. After consulting with the Linda Gilmore of the RFAL Juried Art Show, the change in the agenda was granted and the meeting proceeded. 1. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – 2014 Bottomless Triathlon (July 12, 2014) Mr. Jan Olesinski was there to present the request for $1,000. The Bottomless Triathlon is held at the Bottomless Lakes State Park. The event is for local and out of town contestants. The fee is kept low so that more people are able to enter and it is not a sanctioned triathlon, so there are no expenses for certified judges. Entrants have come from Las Cruces, El Paso and Albuquerque for this event. Last year there were 120 contestants along with family members, most which stayed at hotels. This year Holiday Inn Express is the host hotel. This year relays for teams have been added as some people are unable to do all three stages. This is the 31st year for the triathlon making it one of the oldest triathlons in New Mexico. Ms. Ortega made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of up to $1,000.00 on a reimbursement basis be provided for this purpose. Mr. Roe seconded the motion. The motion passed four to zero with Ms. Cleveland abstaining. 2. Lodgers Tax Funding Status – Pinatafest 2013 (Sept 13-15, 2013) Ms. Janice Self presented the request to place the funds into the unallocated funds for use by other events. Ms. Self explained that the funding awarded to the Pinatafest 2013 was never requested as a reimbursement. The due date for reimbursement was December 16, 2013. Ms. Self also explained that she extended the invitation for reimbursement as late as February 4, 2014. Although Mr. Villegas responded that he would like to still submit for reimbursement and requested the fillable forms. These were provided to him. On March 11, 2014 Ms. Self sent Mr. Villegas an e-mail providing him with a deadline of March 20, 2014 for reimbursement. No information has been received. Ms. Self requested that the funds ($1,175) be placed into the unallocated funds for use in funding new events. Ms. Morrow made the motion to place the funds into the unallocated funds. Ms. Cleveland seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Self then requested that a determination be made to “default” the funds into unallocated funds or the OTB to review on a case by case basis if funds are not requested by the deadline date (90 days following the last day of the event). Ms. Cleveland made the motion that each event should be heard on a case by case basis. Mr. Ragsdale seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – 31st Annual Roswell Fine Arts League Juried Art Show (Aug 14-24, 2014) Ms. Linda Gilmore was there to present the request for $2,117.00. The Juried Art Show is held at the Roswell Museum and Art Center each year. 32 pieces of art, from all over the country and including England and Ireland are sold at the show. Over 300 people are juried for entries. The staff for the Art Show is made up of volunteers. An opening show is provided with approximately 300 guests attending and is held in the Bassett auditorium at the RMAC. 85% of advertising will be done outside of Roswell. Advertising will be done in Artesia, Carlsbad and Ruidoso; on TV and radio; and also in the SW Art Magazine. It was estimated that 1200 guests attended the event in 2013 with approximately 600 from outside of Roswell. The Art Show will also be coordinating with the Roswell Adult Center for use of panels to display the art work on. This is a new development since the application was turned in. Last year the attendance information was obtained from the guest sign in book. This year they are going to initiate a survey form to get a better out of town count. A sample is attached to the application. Mr. Roe made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of up to $2,117.00 on a reimbursement basis be provided for this purpose. Ms. Ortega seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – 13th Annual Dragonfly Festival (Sept 6-7, 2014) Mr. Bill Flynt was there to present the request for $1,000. Friends of Bitter Lakes is a volunteer organization which hosts the Dragonfly Festival. The event is held to get people out in to nature and to encourage families and children to learn about nature. The Dragonfly Festival is educational, having related arts and crafts for kids and several types of tours during the festival. The birding tour is available on Saturday morning and teaches about birds which frequent the Bitter Lakes. The Biology tours teach about the “critters” which live in the Bitter Lakes area. This year will be the third year that a dragonfly photography workshop will be held. It is hard to get people to slow down to fill out survey forms, but it is estimated that 1200 people attended the event last year. This year the festival will be working harder to get people to fill out the survey. Also last year, there were 3 dragonfly experts who came and all were from out of town. Ms. Morrow made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of up to $1,000.00 on a reimbursement basis be provided for this purpose. Ms. Cleveland seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Lodgers Tax Funding Request – Robert H. Goddard: Aiming for the Stars (Oct 17-18, 2014) Ms. Laurie Rufe, Ms. Bonnie Harris and Mr. Bill Brainerd were there to present the request for $2,465. Ms. Rufe began by letting the board know that the idea was the brain child of former Mayor Bill Brainerd. Mr. Brainerd explained that the space age was born in Roswell. Harry Guggenheim, the Smithsonian Institute and Charles Limdberg helped to further Dr. Goddard’s research. A luncheon is scheduled for Friday, October 17th at the Anderson Museum. A speaker symposium will also be held on Friday afternoon with speakers addressing Robert H. Goddard and his legacy. On Saturday, October 18th an educational showcase will be held featuring space related assets. 63% of the advertising budget will be used for outside of Roswell. Social media (website and facebook) are also being used. Ms. Morrow made the motion to recommend to the Finance Committee that Lodgers’ Tax funding in the amount of up to $2,465.00 on a reimbursement basis be provided for this purpose. Ms. Ortega seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. All attendees were informed that the date for the Finance Committee meeting is Wednesday, March 26th at 8:00 am and would need to attend to present their requests to the Finance Committee. Advertising Report: Ms. Wendy Forbes presented a report of how Social media can be used to help advertise by using the least amount of money. A Social Media workshop was held today for interested parties. Ms. Forbes passed out a summary report to members outlining the results of the use of social media. She informed the board that there were a lot of hits because of the Eagle eggs at the Zoo. She also explained some of the differences between the social medias: Goggle plus is Goggle’s version of facebook and Pintrest is more visual and a more female oriented site. Marketing Directors Report: Ms. Renee Roach presented a report on the where and when of prospective Day Trip Tours for visitors in five venues types for visitors. (Billy the Kid slept here, Museums & Galleries, Parks & Natural Wonders, Alien Visitors & Space Exploration and Aces, Mulligans and Golf Courses.) The Chaves County Tourism Council had created a tourism map of the area. The map needs updating and a different trifold “brochure style” has been suggested. It can then be displayed at hotels and restaurants. Ms. Roach also explained the advertising for April, May & June using Radio, Television, Print – Summer Guides – Abq Journal and New Mexico Biz Directory; web banners social channels, Facebook ads and a new aggressive Public Relations Initiative. The target markets will be Midland/Odessa – Lubbock/Amarillo and El Paso – Albuquerque/Santa Fe. Advertising will be using Brand ads, Fairs, Festivals and Events and will also be adding Spanish language to radio. We are also working on getting brochures at the Sunport Airport in Albuquerque. Reimbursement Report and Event Reports update: Ms. Janice Self informed the board members that the Roswell Road Race Series has finished the first race of the series, the Pecos Valley Stampede, and has requested reimbursement of $333.33. This request has been processed and paid. The event report for the Pecos Valley Stampede was also received and copies were sent to each member in their mailed packet. The meeting adjourned at 3:36 p.m. Minutes submitted for approval by Janice Self.