Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting - Special Meeting

TWENTYNINE PALMS TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT REGULAR MEETING AGENDA 6136 Adobe Road Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 www.29palms.org / www.Visit29.org Thursday, March 21, 2019 SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA 4:00 P. M. CALL TO ORDER Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call. PRESENTATIONS BUSINESS 1. Approval of TBID Meeting Minutes for March 7, 2019. 3-6 Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting - Special Meeting - 07 Mar 2019 - Minutes - Pdf PUBLIC COMMENTS DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS 2. TBID Brochure/Map Development 3. TBID Logo Development 4. Video Production BOARDMEMBER COMMENTS MARKETING SPECIALIST 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 Page 1 of 6  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 5:00 p.m., March 18, 2019. Cindy Villescas, City Clerk Time/Date Page 2 of 6  TWENTYNINE PALMS TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES City Hall, 6136 Adobe Road, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 www.29palms.org / www.Visit29.org March 7, 2019 CALL TO ORDER– Chair Mehta called meeting to order at 4:05pm Pledge of Allegiance - Boardmember Viloria led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call – The following Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Boardmembers were present: Maharaj, Congdon, Mehta, Grunt, Viloria. PRESENTATIONS 1. Shop and Dine 29 - Presentation by Anna Tyson and Robbie Cooper Shop and Dine 29 founders Anna Tyson and Robby presented the board with introduction and overview of Shop and Dine 29, which they describe as a shop local movement, founded, created, and developed to unify small businesses. Shop and Dine 29 have 60 members and expect continued growth, and are working exclusively through social media right now, but are looking to build a website and expand to events. Shop and Dine 29 is currently setup as a working membership, where participating business owners are responsible for posting and sharing their own content on Facebook. While membership right now is free, they do foresee needing to move to paid membership in the future in order to cover the growing costs. The board was presented with sample brochures and store-front stickers and encouraged to become members. Board consensus to instruct Director of Marketing Dusastre to setup meeting with Anna and Robby to review and discuss the TBID marketing plan and vision. Board consensus also to invite Shop & Dine 29 back once they have a business plan in place to present to the board. Boardmember Viloria would like to see a business plan in place, and Chair Mehta makes recommendation to Anna and Robby to read and review the TBID marketing plan. 2. Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park - Presentation by Kevin Wong. Kevin Wong, Director of the Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park presented the board with an overview of the Desert Institute which is the educational component of the Joshua Tree National Park Association non- profit organization, which has been in business for 20 years. The Desert Institute offers between 40-45 classes in the spring and fall seasons and expects more than 800 students to attend classes in 2019 and will serve as an economic driver as they bring visitors to town and into our hotels. Kevin Wong identified key feeder markets as San Francisco and Las Vegas, San Diego and Santa Barbara, to the river communities and greater Los Angeles area. Wong added that the Desert Institute gets regular press and promotion in the LA Times Sunday travel section, and that students are provided an alphabetical list of all lodging options from the entire Morongo Basin, and that questions about co-branding need to be directed to the Joshua Tree National Park Association Executive Director. Board consensus to instruct Director of Marketing Dusastre to setup meeting with the Executive Director of Joshua Tree National Park Association to pursue partnership and co-branding opportunities. 3. Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) - Presentation by Kathryn Crank and Taryn Crane. MCCS Business Development Specialist Taryn Crane provided an overview of the demographics of the marine base community that currently has more than 20,000 stationed aboard the installation. Ms. Crane emphasized the effectiveness of digital platforms for reaching the marine base community, sharing that the Page 1 of 4 Page 3 of 6  Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting - Special Meeting March 7, 2019 MCCS29Palms.com website sees more than 20,000 visits each month. Ms. Crane provided an overview of the digital advertising campaigns that Visit 29 Palms is currently running, which include a digital ad on the MCCS homepage, as well as in the Life in 29 digital e-newsletter. As a make good offer for the digital ads missed in January, Ms. Crane has offered the TBID an 8-week ad opportunity in the cinema, available anytime during the terms of the agreement. Director of Marketing Breanne Dusastre asked Taryn Crane to provide an overview of We Salute You event sponsorship opportunities for the TBID board to consider in next year’s budget. This is the biggest event of the year, drawing between 7,000-8,000 attendees. Marketing Director Kathryn Crank invited the TBID board to be VIP guests at the 2019 We Salute You event. BUSINESS 4. Approval of TBID meeting minutes for February 7, 2019. TBID Meeting Minutes for February 7, 2019 were approved as submitted by an All in Favor vote. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS 5. Video Production - Selection of potential video production company for Visit 29. The board reviewed three video production RFP’s from the following: 1. Tom Murtagh/Hi-Desert Films 2. JNS Next Media 3. The Adventure Team. ACTION: a. A motion was made by Chair Mehta, seconded by Vice Chair Congdon to approve Tom Murtagh’s proposal of $4,000 to produce a 2-3-minute video. All in favor. b. A motion was made by Chair Mehta, seconded by Boardmember Viloria to authorize spending of up to $2,500 to hire The Adventure Team to produce three 60 second videos. All in favor. 6. Visitor Center - Review and Approve Agreement for Services between the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) and City of Twentynine Palms. City Manager Frank Luckino presented a draft of the Visitor Center Operations Agreement for Services between the 29 Palms Chamber of Commerce and the City of Twentynine Palms. Director of Marketing Breanne Dusastre presented photos of the exterior and interior of the Visitor Center, along with a list of recommendations for maintenance and updates to the space. The Boardmembers commented on the need for the improvements to the Visitor Center and to establish a timeline. 7. Branding of Visit 29– Logo Development Director of Marketing Breanne Dusastre made a recommendation to the board that the Visit 29 logo be reconsidered as well as redeveloped and presented to the board with a collection of logos from other tourism destinations across California. Dusastre outlined the current Visit 29 logo does not effectively promote the City Page 2 of 4 Page 4 of 6  Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting - Special Meeting March 7, 2019 of Twentynine Palms, and the current color treatment stands out in a dated way when compared to logos from other destinations. Dusastre proposed a special meeting with graphic designer Lorie Rennie, artist and logo creator Chuck Caplinger. She recommended working to finalize an updated logo this month ahead of upcoming print advertising. Chair Mehta agrees the current logo design does not identify the City of Twentynine Palms and recommends focusing on developing a strong branding tagline in addition to graphic design updates to the logo. ACTION: a. City Manager Frank Luckino recommends special meeting; set for 4:00pm Thursday, March 21, 2019. b. Director of Marketing Dusastre to setup meeting with Lori Rennie and Chuck Caplinger for the week of March 11 – 15, 2019. 8. Event Sponsorships - Discuss of potential event sponsorship opportunities. Joshua Tree 55 Community Bike Event - Saturday, April 27, 2019. Dusastre presented the board with a $250 event sponsorship proposal that would give Visit 29 Palms a 10x10 booth at the event, their name on the event t-shirts, logo on event posters, and mention in press releases. Shakti & Bhakti Fest – May & September 2019. Dusastre presented the board with the full event sponsorship packet and discussed the benefits of bronze level sponsorship. Dusastre also presented the board with digital advertising opportunities as well as print advertising opportunities in the festival programs. International Dark Sky Week – March 31 – April 7, 2019. Dusastre presented the board an overview of what the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) does to celebrate the annual International Dark Sky Week and presented an outline of a 4-day event that the City of Twentynine Palms could host. Dusastre suggested ways the City could get involved, from hosting responsible lighting workshops or free light bulb exchanges. City Manager Frank Luckino said he will speak with City Council to see if there is interest in these ideas. Joshua Tree Community Bike Event ACTION: a. A motion was made by Chair Mehta, seconded by Vice Chair Congdon to approve $250 sponsorship for the Joshua Tree 55 community bike ride event. Shakti & Bhakti Fest ACTION: a. A motion was made by Chair Mehta, seconded by Boardmember Maharaj to authorize Director of Marketing Dusastre to work with event produce on sponsorship deal for e-blast with backlink to Visit29.org, with spending not to exceed $500. International Dark Sky Week The Boardmembers unanimously agreed that we should celebrate our dark night skies but did not feel planning a multiple day event is necessary as we are in peak tourism season. BOARDMEMBER COMMENTS - None MARKETING SPECIALIST COMMENTS - None FUTURE BOARDMEMBER INITIATED ITEMS Page 3 of 4 Page 5 of 6  Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting - Special Meeting March 7, 2019 Special meeting called for: Thursday, March 21, 2019. Next regular TBID meeting: Thursday, April 11, 2019. ADJOURNMENT– Chair Mehta adjourned the meeting at 6:59 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Breanne Dusastre TBID Marketing Director Page 4 of 4 Page 6 of 6