Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting

TWENTYNINE PALMS TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT REGULAR MEETING AGENDA 6136 Adobe Road Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 www.29palms.org / www.Visit29.org Thursday, October 20, 2022 REGULAR SESSION AGENDA 3:30 P. M. CALL TO ORDER Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call. CHANGES TO AGENDA PRESENTATIONS BUSINESS 1 Approval of meeting minutes for the August 11, 2022 Tourism Business Improvement 3-5 District meeting. Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting - 11 Aug 2022 - Minutes - Pdf 2 Visit 29 Palms Marketing Activities & Updates 7 - 14 Visit 29 Palms TBID Marketing Updates October 20 2022 PUBLIC COMMENTS DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS 3 Discussion on Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board Appointments and 15 - 16 Staffing Visit 29 Palms TBID Advisory Board & Staffing October 20 2022 4 Discussion on Transition to 5-Year Reauthorization (Property and Business Improvement 17 - 18 District Law of 1994) Visit 29 Palms TBID 5-Year Reauthorization Transition October 20 2022 Page 1 of 26  5 Community Events Subcommittee 19 - 21 Visit 29 Palms TBID Community Events Subcommittee October 20 2022 6 Request for Proposal for Website Services 23 - 26 Visit 29 Palms RFP Website Design Services FY 22-23 BOARDMEMBER COMMENTS DIRECTOR OF MARKETING COMMENTS FUTURE BOARDMEMBER INITIATED ITEMS ADJOURNMENT It is the intention of the City of Twentynine Palms to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act in all respects. If you are a person with a disability who requires a disability-related modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, please request such modification or accommodation from the City Clerk at (760) 367- 4890 (facsimile). Notification at least 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to assure accessibility to the meeting. Please advise us at the time whether you will require accommodations to participate in meetings on a regular basis. Any person affected by any application on this agenda may submit their concerns in writing prior to the meeting or appear in person and be heard in support or opposition to the proposal at the time the matter is considered on the agenda. The staff reports, applications and environmental documents may be viewed at either the office of Community Development or the office of the City Clerk, 6136 Adobe Road, from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, except legal holidays. The Invocation is given per Policy 10-01, and does not reflect the views of the City but rather is an expression of speech by a private citizen making the presentation. Telephone inquiries may be made at (760) 367-6799. If you challenge any agenda issue in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues that you or someone else raised at the public meeting described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Twentynine Palms at, or prior to, the public meeting. This notice of agenda is hereby certified to have been posted on or before 3:30 p.m., October 17, 2022. Cindy Villescas CMC, City Clerk Time/Date Page 2 of 26  TWENTYNINE PALMS TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT REGULAR MEETING MINUTES City Hall, 6136 Adobe Road, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 www.29palms.org / www.Visit29.org August 11, 2022 CALL TO ORDER: 3:34 P.M. Pledge of Allegiance: Lead by Boardmember Quinteros. Roll Call: The following TBID Advisory Boardmembers were present: Knight, Quinteros, Maharaj, Mehta. Boardmember Grunt had an excused absence. CHANGES TO AGENDA: None PRESENTATIONS: None BUSINESS 1. Approval of TBID Meeting Minutes for June 16, 2022 Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting. A motion was made by Chair Mehta, seconded by Boardmember Quinteros to approved the TBID meeting minutes from the June 16, 2022 meeting. The above motion was carried by the following roll call vote: Yes: Knight, Quinteros, Maharaj, Mehta No: None CARRIED. PUBLIC COMMENTS 2. Anita Petke, Desert Beacon Community Engagement Specialist & 29 Palms Downtown Business Association Board Secretary, shared updates on event planning progress for a 2023 Pride weekend event, upcoming mixer events, and details on the Pioneer Days opening event at Freedom Plaza on October 1. 3. Veno Nathraj, owner and operator of Oasis Inn & Suites and America's Best Value, spoke in support of the new Hilton Home2 Suites hotel planned to be built adjacent to Freedom Plaza but expressed concern for its impact to the food and beverage businesses in the downtown area. Nathraj also expressed concern for the need of a sewage treatment plant, how it will be funded and to what extend impact downtown business owners. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS 4. Visit 29 Palms Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 TBID Director of Marketing Dusastre presented Visit 29 Palms' Annual Report for the 21-22 fiscal year, summarizing and highlighting the TBID's achievements and marketing program results in areas of digital marketing, broadcast media, billboards, print media, and event sponsorship. The Annual Report also included year-to-date revenue results and a spotlight on the newly completed Freedom Plaza. Page 1 of 3 Page 3 of 26  Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting August 11, 2022 5. Proposed Visit 29 Palms Tourism Marketing Plan and Budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 TBID Director Dusastre presented the proposed tourism marketing plan and budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The Advisory Board engaged in discussions about budget planning, including a significance increase in the digital marketing and website category to accommodate a rebuild and relaunch of the Visit 29 Palms tourism site, prioritizing funds for advertising campaigns at both Palm Springs International and Ontario International airports, continuing video production projects and event sponsorship. The reduction in funds allocated for special projects and community event sponsorship was discussed with consensus from the Advisory Board and TBID staff that come mid-year budget review, consideration will be made to increase allocated funds to these categories. Within these discussions there was also consensus from the Advisory Board that the TBID should continue operations of the City of 29 Palms Visitor Center and continue to support the part-time Visitor Associate position. Vice Chair Maharaj posed questions to City Manager Luckino about staff salaries and benefits, asking if the city would consider covering these expenditures with the revenue the city collects from the 9% transient occupancy tax. Maharaj also posed questions to Luckino about ways the city can contribute to event sponsorship and development. Regarding staff salaries and benefits, Luckino explained this could be something that the Advisory Board approaches City Council on, and explained how the city does support the TBID operations financially by way of not charging for overhead allocation for general and administration. Board Chair Mehta recommended researching how other cities with TBID's established under the 1989 law handle this. ACTION: A motion was made by Chair Mehta, seconded by Boardmember Knight to approve the TBID's tourism marketing plan and budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The above motion was carried by the following roll call vote: YES: Quinteros, Maharaj, Knight, Mehta NO: None CARRIED. 6. City of 29 Palms Visitor Center Operations During the discussion and review of the proposed budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the Advisory Board agreed that the TBID should continue operations of the City's Visitor Center. Board Chair Mehta recommended against investing in a new or temporary space at this time, and spoke of the importance of maintaining this Visitor Center as it provides such great support for visitors coming to the city. Mehta recommended a subcommittee be established to work with the city on a lease agreement and that an internship opportunity be set up with Copper Mountain College to recruit interns to help with operations. City Manager Luckino said he would report these decisions back to City Council and that as appointed Advisory Boardmembers, the city looks to the TBID Advisory Board as the experts in tourism, and therefore the City Council will support their recommendations. BOARDMEMBER COMMENTS DIRECTOR OF MARKETING COMMENTS TBID Director Dusastre spoke briefly about upcoming fall events that the TBID is sponsoring and provided an update on the first large event of the season which is the annual Night Sky Festival hosted at Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center. Page 2 of 3 Page 4 of 26  Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting August 11, 2022 FUTURE BOARDMEMBER INITIATED ITEMS Visitor Center Subcommittee Copper Mountain College Internship Transition to 5-year reauthorization (Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994) ADJOURNMENT: 4:54 P.M. It is the intention of the City of Twentynine Palms to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act in all respects. If you are a person with a disability who requires a disability-related modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, please request such modification or accommodation from the City Clerk at (760) 367-4890 (facsimile). Notification at least 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to assure accessibility to the meeting. Please advise us at the time whether you will require accommodations to participate in meetings on a regular basis. Any person affected by any application on this agenda may submit their concerns in writing prior to the meeting or appear in person and be heard in support or opposition to the proposal at the time the matter is considered on the agenda. The staff reports, applications and environmental documents may be viewed at either the office of Community Development or the office of the City Clerk, 6136 Adobe Road, from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, except legal holidays. The Invocation is given per Policy 10-01, and does not reflect the views of the City but rather is an expression of speech by a private citizen making the presentation. Telephone inquiries may be made at (760) 367-6799. If you challenge any agenda issue in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues that you or someone else raised at the public meeting described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Twentynine Palms at, or prior to, the public meeting. This notice of agenda is hereby certified to have been posted on or before 3:30 p.m., August 8, 2022. Cindy Villescas CMC, City Clerk Time/Date Page 3 of 3 Page 5 of 26 Page 6 of 26  Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board Meeting October 20, 2022. Page 7 of 26  MARKETING ACTIVITY UPDATES Page 8 of 26  10/17/2022 JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK VISITOR AND CULTURAL CENTER New Exhibit Celebrates and Honors the Fabric of Interconnecting Threads On October 6, a new exhibit was unveiled at the new Joshua Tree National Park Visitor and Cultural Center in Freedom Plaza, celebrating the history, culture, and stories of the 15 Native American Tribes associated with Joshua Tree National Park. This new exhibit beautifully showcases the interconnectivity of the people and the natural resources and offers visitors an insightful and educational way to connect with the landscape of Joshua Tree National Park. Page 9 of 26  10/17/2022 ONTARIO AIRPORT CO-OP PROGRAM November 2022 – April 2023 The new Discover Inland Empire co-op program at Ontario Airports International terminal will launch in November and will provide Visit 29 Palms with some powerful advertising opportunities on the new digital display screen, complimented by display space for Visit 29 Palms rack cards. The 30-day co-branded photo booth opportunity and on-site activation will be scheduled for early 2023. Sample creative for digital display ads Page 10 of 26  10/17/2022 TOURISM VIDEO DEVELOPMENT New Visit 29 Palms Destination Video This new 30 second destination overview video serves as the Visit 29 Palms YouTube channel trailer and will featured in upcoming social media campaigns and travel and trade events and outreach. Watch it now on the Visit 29 Palms YouTube Channel Page 11 of 26  10/17/2022 SPONSORED SIGNATURE FALL EVENTS Night Sky Festival • The 7th annual sold-out Night Sky Festival featured a great lineup of events including family activities in the morning, afternoon lecture series, and evening star party featuring 47 astronomers and assistants on- site with a wide variety of telescopes. Visit 29 Palms sponsored the photo booth and shuttle which provided transportation to and from Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center. Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours • 192 participating artists across 134 studios this year, including 29 artists in 29 Palms. As an information center, the 29 Palms Visitor Center has distributed over 250 Art Tours catalogs and have been busy at work helping visitors plan their self-guided tours. Visit 29 Palms sponsorship includes backlinks on the Art Tours site and mobile app, and a full-page ad in the printed catalog. Joshua Tree Music Festival • 17th annual fall festival featured a great four-day lineup of music, yoga, and workshops. Visit 29 Palms’ sponsorship includes key lodging backlinks on the festival website, connecting event attendees with the complete list of lodging options in 29 Palms. Page 12 of 26  10/17/2022 UPCOMING SPONSORED EVENTS Saturday, October 8 November 3 - 27 November 5 visit29.org/event/joshua-tree-facelift visit29.org/event/jtnp-art-expo visit29.org/event/joshua-tree-half-marathon Page 13 of 26  10/17/2022 29 PALMS VISITOR CENTER New Art in Public Places Exhibit Fifteen local desert artists have interpreted the theme of “Desert Journeys” and incorporated it in their artwork submitted for this exhibition, which includes a beautiful collection of oil and acrylic paintings, pastels, drawings, photography, mixed media, assemblage, mosaics and ceramics. Art in Public Places exhibitions are presented quarterly by the Public Arts Advisory Committee (PAAC) of the City of Twentynine Palms, in cooperation with the city Visitor Center & Gallery. Page 14 of 26  Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board Meeting October 20, 2022. Page 15 of 26  10/17/2022 AGENDA & DISCUSSION ITEMS TBID Advisory Board Appointments & Terms • City Manager Frank Luckino will lead a discussion about appointments and terms for the TBID Advisory Board positions. TBID & Visitor Center Staffing • TBID Director will provide an update on the newly announced internship opportunity and partnership with Copper Mountain College. Page 16 of 26  Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board Meeting October 20, 2022. Page 17 of 26  10/17/2022 AGENDA & DISCUSSION ITEMS Transition to 5-year reauthorization under the Property Business Improvement District Law of 1994 To be discussed: • Benefits and differences between the 1989 and 1994 laws • Comparison to other TBID’s in California • Potential timeline for transition • Required first/next steps Page 18 of 26  Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board Meeting October 20, 2022. Page 19 of 26  10/17/2022 AGENDA & DISCUSSION ITEMS Expansion of Community Events Subcommittee At the April 25 TBID meeting, a community events subcommittee was formed to discuss the development and distribution of a regional events calendar and Visit 29 Palms sponsorship guidelines. The purpose of now expanding the community events subcommittee is to increase city-wide, cross-organizational event coordination and communication. This subcommittee is to meet twice annually to share ideas and provide information to the TBID Advisory Board to help with budget planning. It is recommended that the expansion of this subcommittee should include: National Park Service / Joshua Tree National Park Association Downtown Business Association Farmers Market Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center Theatre 29 29 Palms Art Gallery Tortoise Rock Casino Page 20 of 26  10/17/2022 AGENDA & DISCUSSION ITEMS Visit 29 Palms Event Sponsorship Guidelines As part of the TBID subcommittee discussions, recommendations were given to establish event sponsorship guidelines, as follows: • Sponsorship proposals should be presented and reviewed 3-4 months in advance of event. • Event sponsorship proposals should include clearly defined sponsor benefits. • Visit 29 Palms’ annual event sponsorship budget is to be utilized in a strategic way and balanced between fall and spring event season, and event types (i.e. arts, music, sports/fitness). • Event sponsorship resources should remain focused on supporting events that draw visitors into the city from both in-state and out-of-state markets. • Given the seasonality of established signature events, particular focus should be given towards supporting new events in the winter and summer seasons. Page 21 of 26 Page 22 of 26  Visit 29 Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Request for Proposal October 7, 2022. To All Prospective Bidders: Visit 29 Palms is seeking a qualified agency or individual contractor to provide website design strategy and implementation services to support our organization’s ongoing efforts to promote and grow travel and tourism to the City of Twentynine Palms, California. The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to seek and retain a qualified and creative web design agency or individual contractor to help reimagine, rebuild, and relaunch our tourism website, www.visit29.org and to provide ongoing technical and maintenance support for the duration of our 2022-2023 fiscal year, ending September 30, 2023. All proposals will be carefully reviewed by the Visit 29 Palms Advisory Board and Visit 29 Palms staff and are due to be submitted by 1:00pm PST on Monday, November 7, 2022. Visit 29 Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Web Design Services RFP Page 23 of 26 ABOUT VISIT 29 PALMS Established in October 2017 and branded as Visit 29 Palms, the City of Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) is a nonprofit organization whose goal and objective is to promote Twentynine Palms as a premier travel destination and drive overnight room demand in the city through creative marketing activities and initiatives. To learn more, please visit www.visit29.org/about-us PROJECT OVERVIEW Visit 29 Palms is seeking a professional and creative website developer to reimagine, redesign and relaunch our tourism website, Visit29.org, with the objective of modernizing the site and transitioning into a video-based template/theme, with a responsive, mobile-first design approach. Strategic design & optimization goals: • Update and refresh digital brand style • Improve visually storytelling capabilities, specifically with video content • Improve mobile user experience and engagement • Optimize and rebuild site navigation • Improve tools and abilities for digital lead generation • Improve functionality and presentation of partner business listings • Increase outbound link clicks for partner businesses • Increase organic search engine ranking and organic site traffic Tech & maintenance support needs: • Core WordPress updates • Plugin maintenance and updates • Troubleshooting and general tech support REQUIRED SITE FUNCTIONALITY • Maintain site on WordPress platform • Maintain hosting services through GoDaddy • Video based template/theme • Responsive, mobile-first design approach • Effective SEO plugin solutions and tools • GDRP and California compliance • Google Analytics integration • Contact Us forms • Improved business listings presentation • Robust events calendar • Blog editor/calendar plugin • Social media integration • Constant Contact integration • Live chat feature • Search tool functionality • Square E-commerce integration for Partner Program Visit 29 Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Web Design Services RFP Page 24 of 26  • Translation plugin solutions • Pop-up plugin solutions CONTRACT TERM & PROJECT TIMELINE The contract term will start immediately following the awarding of the contract with the expectation to launch the new site by April 2023. The contract term will run through to September 30, 2023, to include monthly maintenance and technical support for the duration of Visit 29 Palms’ 2022-2023 fiscal year. Following the commencement of the contract term, a detailed project timeline will be established, setting clear monthly goals and objectives to ensure the new site will launch by the expected deadline. COMMUNICATION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT Visit 29 Palms’ Director of Marketing will be the primary point of contact and will work directly with the agency/contractor throughout the website development process and launch, starting with the establishment of the project timeline. The agency/contractor may be requested to participate virtually at bi-monthly Advisory Board meetings to assist the Director of Marketing with providing updates to Advisory Board members. BUDGET Visit 29 Palms is seeking professional, cost-effective services, and will fund the contract up to $50,000 (USD) through to the end of its 2022-2023 fiscal year, ending September 30, 2023. Visit 29 Palms reserves the right to adjust the budget and related services. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS Visit 29 Palms is seeking a creative website designer/agency with a minimum of five years of professional experience building and managing business websites, with experience in the travel and tourism industry preferred. CONTENT OF PROPOSAL Proposals must include the following: 1. A minimum of three links to websites you have built within the last two years, with at least one example of a website built on the WordPress platform. 2. A summary of educational background and work experience. 3. Any relevant certifications. 4. A minimum of three professional references. 5. An overview/outline of your vision for a reimagined Visit29.org. Visit 29 Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Web Design Services RFP Page 25 of 26 RFP SCHEDULE October 7, 2022: RFP public announcement. October 7-21, 2022: Time period for agencies/contractors to submit questions. October 21, 2022: Question period closes; Q&A posted to website. November 7, 2022: Deadline to submit proposal. November 10, 2022: Advisory Board subcommittee review begins. Week of November 14, 2022: Finalists will be selected, notified, and scheduled for presentations. Week of December 5, 2022: Finalists will present to Advisory Board subcommittee. Week of December 12, 2022: Selected agency/contractor will be announced, and contract negotiations will begin. *This RFP schedule may be adjusted at any time at the discretion of Visit 29 Palms. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION The deadline to submit proposals is 1:00pm PST on Monday, November 7, 2022. Proposals are to be submitted in digital PDF format and sent electronically to Visit 29 Palms’ Director of Marketing, Breanne Dusastre, by email to bdusastre@29palms.org. Please note, proposals must be received by the date and time referenced in this RFP and late submissions will not be accepted. CONTACT INFORMATION Breanne Dusastre Director of Marketing Visit 29 Palms 760.367.6799 x 1030 bdusastre@29palms.org Visit 29 Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Web Design Services RFP Page 26 of 26