Tourism Commission

City of Verona Tourism Commission Agenda City Hall – 111 Lincoln Street Verona, WI 53593-1520 Tuesday – September 15, 2020 – 2:00 P.M. www.ci.verona.wi.us Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Verona Tourism Commission will hold its meeting as a virtual meeting. The Tourism Commission will not meet at City Hall, 111 Lincoln Street. Members of the Tourism Commission and Staff will join the meeting by using Zoom Webinar, as described immediately below. Members of the public can join the meeting using Zoom Webinar via a computer, tablet, or smartphone, or by calling into the meeting using phones, as described immediately below. Those requiring toll-free options are asked to contact City Hall for details prior to the meeting at adam.sayre@ci.verona.wi.us or 608-848-9941. Join the meeting via computer, tablet, or smart phone: https://zoom.us/j/94617604346 Webinar ID: 946 1760 4346 Join the meeting via phone by dialing: 312-626-6799 Webinar ID: 946 1760 4346 The online meeting agenda and all support materials can be found at https://www.ci.verona.wi.us/. In addition to the public, all Tourism Commission members and staff will also be participating remotely Anyone with questions prior to the meeting may contact the City at (608) 848-9941 or adam.sayre@ci.verona.wi.us. 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Discussion and Possible Action: Approval of the June 16, 2020 Tourism Commission minutes. 4. Discussion and Possible Action: 2020 2nd Quarter Room Tax Revenue Report 1  5. Discussion and Possible Action: Update on 2020 and 2021 budgets. 6. Discussion and Possible Action: Update on Discover Wisconsin 7. Reports and comments from Tourism Coordinator 8. Reports and comments from Staff 9. Reports and comments from Commission Members 10. Adjournment Posted: Verona City Hall, Verona Public Library, Miller’s Market All agendas are posted on the City’s website at: www.ci.verona.wi.us Notice is hereby given that a quorum of the members of the City Council or other standing committees of the City Council may be present at the meeting of the Tourism Commission to gather information about a subject over which they have decision-making responsibility. The City Council and any other standing committees will not take formal action at this meeting. If you need an interpreter, materials in alternative formats, or other accommodation to access the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 845-6495 at least 48-hours preceding the meeting. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate your request. 2  CITY OF VERONA MINUTES TOURISM COMMISSION June 16, 2020 Verona City Hall 1. Call to Order: Jason Hunt called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. 2. Roll Call: Charlie Eggen, Sara Hoechst, Jason Hunt, Charlotte Jerney and Patricia Wehrley were present. Also present: Adam Sayre, City Administrator; Brian Lamers, Finance Director; Ellen Clark, City Clerk; Le Jordan, Verona Area Chamber of Commerce (VACC) Executive Director; and Halley Jones, VACC Tourism Coordinator. 3. Discussion and Possible Action Re: Approval of the April 21, 2020 Tourism Commission Minutes Motion by Jerney, seconded by Wehrley, to approve the April 21, 2020 Tourism Commission minutes. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Discussion and Possible Action Re: 2020 1st Quarter Room Tax Revenue Report Lamers went over the first quarter room tax and stated that the total collected was $106,259 and the payouts went over so we had to utilize $12,620 of the excess funds. The excess funds remaining after paying the Chamber and Discover Wisconsin is $166,495. 5. Discussion and Possible Action Re: Update on 2020 and 2021 budgets Jordan stated that she would like an update from the hotels and checking on the reserve amount. The two hotels Eggen manages will bring in $3,500 and $4,000 of room tax for the first two months and that June will be about the same. Jordan stated that she will need to go through the funds to see what is left from the money that was given to the Chamber. Hunt asked if we can hold any money back from the Chamber if needed. Sayre responded that they could look into it. Jordan shared that the Chamber has been really trying to think outside of the box to bring people in at the best cost. Lamers stated that if there is money at the end of the year, the Commission could just use the money to lower the budget for next year. Eggen shared that Destination Madison has been cutting staff and has been looking at how to cut funding for different organizations. Many other tourism groups are in the same boat. Hunt reiterated the importance of being carful on spending. Jones stated that the main thing money is spent on getting people to stay in our hotels. Hoechst said that the Hop Haus Brewing Company is starting to host events, but nothing too big. The next big one would be October 17th with the Beer Run.  Eggen stated that it would be smart to reach out to other communities to piggy back off of their events. He says that the pools at the hotels are open, but at a smaller capacity. Jones talked about the “Ing is the Thing” campaign that they are running at a 50 mile radius. This campaign is highlighting all the activities that you can do in Verona like hiking, biking, kayaking, etc. The Ice Age Trail has an event in October, the Mammoth Hike 40 Challenge, that will help promote coming to Verona and other communities along the trail. Eggen shared that Epic canceled UGM and the Dairy World Expo was also canceled. Many other things have been canceled like weddings and other smaller events. There is currently no in-person training available at Epic. Maybe we should promote a “Home Away From Home” feel. 6. Discussion and Possible Action Re: Update on Discover Wisconsin Jones said that they are staring to film tomorrow. They will be doing general filming and photos around Verona during their time here. They will be featuring different places like Fierman’s Park, the different breweries, Hartland Farm Sanctuary, Epic, and the Sugar River. She will be accompanying them most of the time to help point things out. Airing will take place in 2021. 7. Reports and comments from Tourism Coordinator Jones shared that on VisitVeronaWI.com there is a wedding page where they share different venues and shops for wedding related things. A podcast has just been added on there to spotlight local venders. They are not spending a lot of money on digital ads right now. 8. Reports and comments from Staff There were no comments from Staff. 9. Reports and comments from Commission Members There were no reports or comments from Commission Members. 10. Adjournment Motion by Jerney, seconded by Eggen, to adjourn at 2:58 p.m. Motion carried 5-0. Ellen Clark, City Clerk  City of Verona Room Tax Report Madison Convention Sports TOTAL Chamber Bureau Commission Excess City 6% 10% to be Retained 30% 1st Quarter 2016 81,334.55 43,920.66 4,880.07 8,133.46 - 24,400.37 2nd Quarter 2016 110,537.19 59,690.08 6,632.23 11,053.72 - 33,161.16 3rd Quarter 2016 110,608.50 59,728.59 6,636.51 11,060.85 - 33,182.55 4th Quarter 2016 103,140.05 55,695.63 6,188.40 10,314.01 - 30,942.02 Total 2016 405,620.29 219,034.96 24,337.21 40,562.04 - 121,686.09 1st Quarter 2017 77,987.31 42,113.15 4,679.24 7,798.73 - 23,396.19 2nd Quarter 2017 128,024.36 50,000.00 7,681.47 12,802.44 19,133.16 38,407.31 3rd Quarter 2017 174,023.52 50,000.00 10,441.41 17,402.35 43,972.70 52,207.06 4th Quarter 2017 139,078.57 53,333.00 8,344.71 13,907.86 21,769.43 41,723.57 Total 2017 519,113.76 195,446.15 31,146.83 51,911.38 84,875.29 155,734.13 1st Quarter 2018 119,939.01 70,000.00 7,196.34 11,993.90 (5,232.93) 35,981.70 2nd Quarter 2018 175,176.54 70,000.00 10,810.59 17,517.65 24,295.33 52,552.96 3rd Quarter 2018 201,210.34 70,000.00 12,072.62 20,121.03 38,653.61 60,363.08 4th Quarter 2018 143,904.30 70,000.00 8,634.26 14,390.43 7,708.32 43,171.29 Total 2018 640,230.19 280,000.00 38,713.81 64,023.01 65,424.33 192,069.04 1st Quarter 2019 131,235.57 70,000.00 7,874.13 13,123.56 867.21 39,370.67 2nd Quarter 2019 169,384.26 70,000.00 10,163.06 16,938.43 21,467.50 50,815.27 3rd Quarter 2019 205,123.34 70,000.00 12,307.40 20,512.33 40,766.60 61,537.00 4th Quarter 2019 149,470.40 70,000.00 8,968.22 14,947.04 10,714.02 44,841.12 Total 2019 655,213.57 280,000.00 39,312.81 65,521.36 73,815.33 196,564.06 1st Quarter 2020 106,259.22 70,000.00 6,375.55 10,625.92 (12,620.02) 31,877.77 2nd Quarter 2020 23,187.02 70,000.00 1,391.22 2,318.70 (57,479.01) 6,956.11 3rd Quarter 2020 - - - - - - 4th Quarter 2020 - - - - - - Total 2020 129,446.24 140,000.00 7,766.77 12,944.62 (70,099.03) 38,833.87 Cumulative 154,015.92 Discover WI (45,000.00) Remaining 109,015.92