Loading...
MIN CC 02/11/2010CITY COUNCIL MEETING of February 2010 BOOK "U" ' MINUTES FROM THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX BOARD MEETING HELD ON THE 11'" DAY OF FEBRUARY 2010, AT CITY HALL, 1212 AVENUE M, IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS. Members Present: Charles Forbus, Lanny Ray, Dick Lindeman, David DeShaw, Dalene Zander, Kimm Thomas, Ex- Officio Members Absent: Linda Pease, Ex- Officio CALL TO ORDER [5:30pm] Chairman Forbus called the meeting to order and stated that a quorum was present. Il. CITIZEN INPUT There were no public comments. ii Ill. DISCUSSIONIACTION The Committee will meet to discuss, hear presentations andlor reports and potentially take: action on the following items: li 'l a. Approve the minutes of the December 8, 2009 meeting. [Charles Forbus, Chairman] Councilmember Zander made a motion to approve the minutes. David DeShaw seconded the motion. The motion passed with a vote of 4 -0. ( Councilmember Ray arrived just after the vote.) b. Update from Bill Baine, City Manager, on the recent tourism roundtable. [Charles Forbus, Chairman] Bill Baine, City Manager, said various concerned citizens who regard themselves as having a stake in tourislkl had begun having some roundtable discussions. He said he sent an assistant of the tourism department, but that there had been persons present who were under some scrutiny for their disposition of HOT funds. He said he had asked Chris Holm to come talk about what they were trying to do. c. Report from Chris Holm on the Walker County Tourism Roundtable. [Charles Forbus, Chairman] ' Chris Holm, Parks Superintendent, Huntsville State Park, said one of the primary benefits to him of the former Convention & Visitors Bureau Board (CVB) had been the information exchange among the entities who had attended, and was a big advantage in working at a tourism facility. He said he heard the same from otherq, and so he wanted to bring those people back together again for this purpose. As Mr. Holm is a board member of the Chamber of Commerce, it was natural for him to bring it to their attention, and they were supportive. He said the makeup of the Walker County Tourism Roundtable was very much as the CVB had been, with try¢ understanding that group members could recommend others, and so Dee Everett, Tom Oleinik and Megan Burrough were added. He said the reason the group was brought together was to have an information exchange, that there was no financial backing or expected reporting, and members could choose what to if share. ii Mr. Holm said a recent example was sharing information about the Rocky Raccoon race at the Park, finding if out that hotels were filled due to it, and the Veterans Center hosted meals for the runners. He also said the i; only stipulations he had asked the group to abide by were to be positive in attitude, and to leave any kind Of �I controversy out of the room. I� HI He said the prior CVB Board did not necessarily have good representation throughout the county, but that was trying to include New Waverly, Riverside, etc. j Dick Lindeman said he thought part of the problem was the way it had been reported in the Huntsville Item, rather than the information Mr. Holm had relayed, as the article had been on the front page and implied it woo a reorganization of the prior CVB Board. Mr. Holm acknowledged that he could not be responsible for how the information was reported, and respected the fact that the City was now running the Convention and Visito ii Bureau previously at the Chamber of Commerce. fL h Chairman Forbus said he realized the city needed to work with manL_Orgartizations_ in me commumfy -_ and — - _'_w - ' AN IAMM= ated- -to, the - - - Roundtable bUCUndet' stoatfarnYknew- itwas the - gmap`s- decrskm--Mr.- Hotmsardtre knew the Citytrad issues with Dee Everetfs participation, but felt that someone with 20 years of experience in tourism probably had something to offer. He went on to assure the City that their representative would never be required to present financial or legal information, that it was simply events going on in the area. He said he thought the City participation would be good, but would not try to convince them to do so. d. Discussion of funding a feasibility study for an Expo Centertindoor Arena. [Charles Forbus, Chairman] CITY.LOUNCIL MEETING of February 2010 BOOK V' ' Councilmember Ray said he had gotten positive feedback around town, and thought they could talk about potential feasibility committee members they could submit to the Mayor for consideration. Chairman Forbus also encouraged the community to make recommendations through the office of the City Secretary. Dick Lindeman asked if they had identified someone who represented someone who could bring perspective for gun /boat/RV shows, as they had a lot of representation from the farm and ranch /rodeo angles. Mr. Lindeman said they needed to consider the negative financial experiences they had seen in the reports from other cities, and the importance of considering many event types other than the equestrian - related ones. Councilmember Ray said a number of the people on his list had tried to get something like this started before, without success, so they were not necessarily just proponents of the project. City Manager Baine said how good he thought it was that Dr. Gibson at the University had been approached, since SHSU had also been working on a similar project, and that community support might get their participation. Chairman Forbus said other governmental entities would also be welcomed, as the City's HOT funds were limited. Councilmember Ray reminded the Board that the Arena /Center would be an expense, a government- sponsored amenity like the library or pool, not a profit center, possibly at $100,000 - 200.000 annually. Chairman Forbus said it would bring people to town to spend money, possibly many times over that of the expense. Dick Lindeman said they should probably have a member or two from the community who would be adversely affected. Councilmember Ray said some on his list were skeptics. Mr. Lindeman recalled that the Bryan, Texas proposed facility, and how their arts community would have been adversely affected, and thought it important the Board hear from local groups who would be in similar positions. e. Discuss and take possible action to make recommendations for Expo Centerlindoor Arena Feasibility Committee. [Councilmember Ray] ' Chairman Forbus said they would pass their lists of potential members on to the Mayor. f. Discuss adding a hotelier and a restaurateur as additional HOT Board members. [Charles Forbus, Chairman] Chairman Forbus said he would like to recommend that Karen Fletcher be invited to become a member. Karen Fletcher said she was a founder of the Huntsville Hospitality Association, was manager of the Holiday Inn Express and was getting ready to also open and run the Best Western. She said she had been in the industry for about 17 years, from Galveston to Dallas, and that Huntsville was one of the best places she had ever been. She said she would be honored to be part of the Board, and that it was important to have a hotelier .j on the Board. Chairman Forbus said the Board could not appoint her, but that her name was going to the Mayor as a recommendation. Mr. Lindeman said Ms. Fletcher seemed like a logical choice, but asked if there was a process by which she was chosen as their recommendation. Mr. Baine and Chairman Forbus lauded Ms. Matchers candidness and participation with the Hospitality Association. Councilmember Ray said he felt it would be an oversight not to have a hotelier on the Board, as they collected the HOT tax. g. Review of applications. [Charles Forbus, Chairman] The first application considered was for the General Sam Houston Folk Festival, for $10,000. Kimm Thomas, Director of Tourism and Cultural Arts, said she had some discomfort making a recommendation, as she serves Ij on the Board for the event. Chairman Forbus said the Board was comfortable with her presentation. ii !; Mrs. Thomas recalled the Festival lost money last year, as there was a concern about the spread of swine flu. Mrs. Thomas presented Patrick Nolan, Sam Houston Museum Director, who recalled a major rainout in 2004. He said the City made an $8000 grant to the Festival in 2005, and the Festival had a good year and chose to Mr. Nolan said the amount the Festival was requesting would be used to help offset expenses for demonstrators and re- enactors, and for additional advertising. He said they were able to track admissions to the Festival, and generated over 100 overnight stays among the arrangements the Festival organizers set up, not including vendors and attendees. He recalled the original purpose of the Festival was to fund the Sam Houston Museum, and a portion of each years profits still went to it. CITY COUNCIL MEETING of February 2010 BOOK "U" ' Mr. Nolan recapped prior advertising avenues, and said they get a substantial contingent of attendees from th Dallas/Fort Worth area. Mr. Lindeman pointed out that they would need a way to track if the funds provided an expansion of the Festival, and Mr. Nolan said they had a measure vendors' sales and of admissions, andl number of players /re- enactors hired to perform. Mr. Baine asked Mrs. Thomas if the weekend of the Festival was when the hotels were typically all booked anyway. She said that there was a track meet that weekend, although some rooms become available if meEK participants do not make qualification. She said the meet, the Festival and the Airing of the Quilts all fall on th*t weekend. Mr. Nolan recalled that up until last year, there was also a children's choir festival that weekend/, cancelled last year because of the swine flu. Mr. Nolan said the Sam Houston Festival was scheduled in reference to the state TAKS test, because students would not be permitted to attend on Friday until after thg test was complete, and that date was set by the state. Mrs. Thomas said the City could also assist by havinlg someone at the Festival gate to ask whether attendees were out -of- towners. Mr. Baine asked Winston Duke, Finance Director, if funding the two requests present that evening would wipe out the balance available. Mr. Duke said the Board had committed $21,000 of $50,000 on prior allocations, and that the City expected to be off budget by $50,000 due to the decrease in HOT funds receipts, so the Board could spend $19,000 for the rest of the fiscal year. Councilmember Ray asked if the HOT funds would permit an incremental expansion. Mr. Nolan said the grow would hopefully be in attendance and the number and variety of activities, not in the number of days. Mr. Nolalh confirmed Councilmember Ray's comment that the Festival generally tended to run a profit. They discussed that the Festival kept a portion each year to be the "pot" for the next year's festival, and the remaining profit went to the Sam Houston Museum. Mrs. Thomas said that the last three years, the CVB has produced a combined brochure for the Festival and the ' Airing of the Quilts, at a cost of $2100. She asked that that amount be deducted from the Festival's request, a6 an in -kind amount already covered by the City from her department's budget. Mr. Lindeman said he wasn't sure how they were promoting tourism on a weekend when the hotels wen0 traditionally booked already. Councilmember Ray suggested holding a decision until they had heard the other application presentation. Councilmember Forbus said the Board needed to discuss the financial position wilh Mr. Duke and Mrs. Thomas. Mr. Nolan said the Festival was thankful for any assistance that could be provided. Councilmember Forbus said he knew the Festival was greatly enjoyed. [The Board took a short recess from 6:31 pm -6:35 pm.] The second application considered was for the Gibbs - Powell Home and Oakwood Cemetery tours, for $1 Kimm Thomas, Director of Tourism and Cultural Arts, Connie Heiland and Lee Murrah of the Walker Historical Commission. Mrs. Heiland said the Historical Commission was one of the most underutilized resources in the area, and h; sought to support cultural heritage tourism. She said they were seeking funds for the much needed renoval of the prominently place Gibbs - Powell Home, and the two -level proposal for tours at Oakwood Cemeti through cell phones and through living re- enactments, as well as a new brochure and a map platform on site. Mrs. Heiland said the Commission has worked with Karen Fletcher to establish a historical tourism rate, a would like to work with other local museums and is working with the Texas Historical Commission on setting a Cultural Tourism Summit in Huntsville. Lee Murrah presented an overview of the proposed Oakwood Cemetery Tours. He briefly mentioned Gibbs - Powell House, and its needs for exterior painting. Mr. Murrah showed the Commission's new wet and online survey of historical markers in the County, many of which are in Oakwood Cemetery. excited about working with the Commission as costumed guides, but are not available in the summer. Mr. Murrah said the Society is also excited about performing evening tours during Halloween week. Mr. Murrah also discussed picnics in the cemetery, and his understanding that that is how public parks started, that people were picnicking in the well- maintained cemetery properties. Mr. Murrah next discussed the cell phone guided tours, that a site has a station number, so a phone number is MEETING of February 2010 BOOK "U" called and then the station number entered to hear the text. Mr. Murrah said the system is housed on a remote server, and provisions can also be made to poll users and offer tourism - related coupons via text messaging. Mr. Murrah demonstrated the system by calling the Texas State Museum and playing the message. Mr. Murrah said there is a one -time set up fee of $975, then a monthly fee based on number of calls received, so first year start-up costs would be $3375, $2400 from the second year on. Mrs. Heiland said the March 2" event for Texas Independence would have the costumed students in attendance, and that there would be a fundraising lunch. Councilmember Ray noted the County would evenly match a $4000 funding, and felt it would be a no- brainer in painting and making renovations to the Gibbs - Powell House. He also said he would like to explore the cell phone program City -wide, and possibly using the HOT funds for it and then making it available for the Commission and other sites. Mr. Baine said he thought they could have lots of different numbers rather than the server - related system and done internally, possibly doing the audio but not the text-messaging- Mr. Baine asked Mrs. Thomas how many brochures were needed, and she said about 20,000 annually. She said she just got a set of 20,000 done locally for $4900, which was a great savings compared to some prior purchases. Mrs. Thomas said she had been told by John Hare, who maintains the graveyard for the City, that one problem with the old brochure is that it does not paint a picture of the cemetery, that there are many key points and persons of note who could be profiled on a brochure. Chairman Forbus said his question about cemetery tours was whether they would encourage visitors to spend the night, and if it could be tied to other events. Mrs. Thomas said that was being considered, especially with the evening cemetery tours. Mrs. Heiland said this reinforced why she felt establishing the cultural heritage tourism systems was so important, that there were lots of good things to see locally. Chairman Forbus said he also supported the $4000 exterior repaint of the Gibbs - Powell House, particularly in light of the County's match. Mrs. Heiland said they could removed $1000 from the proposal, as they thought they had an avenue for costumes. Councilmember Ray said he thought the cemetery tour was an excellent use of resources, and thought having costumed guides would be a draw. Mr. Baine reminded the Board that HOT funds were already being used as a portion of the cemetery maintenance. Mr. Murrah suggested that there be more or better signage on major roads to increase awareness of Sam Houston's grave. Councilmember Ray referred back to the Folk Festival application, and his concern about using HOT funds to support an event that benefifted another state entity, and that he thought they needed some legal research into the issue. Mr. Lindeman said he thought the presentation had been very good. He also said that the local historical assets were not being completely integrated to convey the message that Huntsville was important to the state and the country. Mrs. Heiland agreed and said she had a concept piece she could share with them. David DeShaw asked if anyone knew how many tourists the cemetery received. James Patton, Walker County Historical Commission, addressed the history of the cemetery's maintenance, and agreed with Mrs. Thomas and others present that many, many people are referred to and visit the cemetery all year long, but that there is no firm count. h. Presentation of new tourism evaluation tools and materials. [Kimm Thomas, Director of Tourism and Cultural Arts] [Handled with item i below.] it. Update of current advertising. [Kimm Thomas, Director of Tourism and Cultural Arts] = IrdW19 rl1PEareQ-nvffE luum m_arnr�me r�cas n2�i?w con ei i - n rawia____ from that included 21 room nights, and approximately $4596 during the course of their stay. She also said that group booked their event through the Tourism department and the Walker County Historical Commission made a presentation to the group as part of their events. Mrs. Thomas said this was the first year she reached out to the organizers of the Rocky Raccoon event, and provided gift bags and materials, and a transport van from Wiesner. CITY COUNCIL MEETING of February 2010 BOOK "U" , Mr. Lindeman had Mrs. Thomas read the very complimentary remarks from a Texas History Conference participant from Nacogdoches. Chairman Forbus thanked Mrs. Thomas and said she was doing a good job. Mrs. Thomas gave a powerpoint presentation of the current fiscal year's advertising items and costs, and also presented the new Huntsville -At -A -Glance brochure. She said this brochure combined the prior Activity Guidei, Map Our Your Day and Annual Events brochures. Mr. Lindeman asked how they could tell if the advertising worked. Mrs. Thomas said she received response card labels, to whom she then sent brochures, and that she would be bringing an update to the Board. Mrs. Thomas said it was very hard to determine return on investment for advertising. Mr. Lindeman said it was important that they continue to try to get feedback. Chairman Forbus showed the Huntsville Community's postcard which included a statement about their theatre weekend hotel and show package, and thought it was great. Mrs. Thomas said she had encouraged loco[ groups to approach the hotels to get special rates, which would also help tracking, and was working with the hotels to work on common codes to use in advertising. Discussion of Wynne Home funding. [David DeShaw] Mr. DeShaw said he was a little disappointed in the small amount of money the Board had to distribute to valid programs like they had discussed this evening, especially in light of the budgeted amount of HOT funds for the Wynne Home. Mr. Baine said he also had reservations, also about the total cost to the City of maintenance. Mr. Baine asked jjf the Wynne Home was contributing mightily to the tourism effort, and had a sinking feeling, although he kneiv citizens would ask the City to continue a commitment to the arts in Huntsville. He conferred with Mr. Duke thryt it was about a $271,000 cost annually, about half of which came from the HOT funds. Mr. DeShaw said the Wynne Home did a lot of good for Huntsville, and he didn't have anything against it, but'lit , just seemed to be an awful high percentage of the HOT fund budget goes to funding it. Councilmember Ray said it was about a fourth of the HOT funds, and, as Mr. Baine had said, the HOT Board had previously funded 100% of the Home's costs. He applied his binary criteria questions of "Is it wordh funding? and "What do you fund it with ? ", allowing that it was a popular spot, but was used much more qy Huntsville residents than by tourists. Mr. DeShaw wondered how the hoteliers would feel about the HOT funds being used in this way. Mr. Bairie said they could ask the Friends of the Wynne to be very creative in finding ways to ensure tourism was being supported. Mr. Lindeman recalled that supporters had testified that the Wynne Home was never intended to nor desired that to attract tourism, rather that it was a cultural arts facility for the City. Mr. Baine and Councilmember Ray also reminded the Board that the City had also been told that the City would not e expected to pay all of the upkeep for the Home, that it would be funded almost entirely by donations. Thgy confirmed with Mr. Duke that the average annual contributions were about $5000. Mr. Lindeman suggest d that Mr. Baine speak to the Friends of the Wynne about securing donations. Mr. Patton said that for years he has been asked where Huntsville's old houses were. He said the Gibt Powell House has struggled for twenty -five years. Mr. Patton said no one ever seems to question the costs sports fields, which are not used constantly, but must be maintained and lit. He said that preservation is new Huntsville, and that the community is being promoted and it is bringing people in, as the community is comi together. He said that in many cities, a heritage foundation owns and maintains historic properties. Mr. Patt allowed that these are hard questions, and that adaptive reuse was important, that homes are used a enjoyed. Mr. Patton said he, Donna Coffen and Dan Phillips founded a heritage foundation several years ago Mr. DeShaw said he agreed with everything Mr. Patton said, but just wasn't Chairman Forbus suggested opening the facility for weddings and other events. occasioning a lot of maintenance. Mr. Baine said it takes two full time people as the cemetery is large and in three parts, and that the City uses incarcerated labor when available. Mr. DeShaw said he supported stimulating private business and wanted to know if contracting out the work had ever been considered. CITY'COUNCIL MEETING of February 2010 BOOK "U" ' ' Mr. Lindeman invited Charles Smither, Jr. to address the Board, as he had been the treasurer for the former Cemetery Association. Mr. Smither said he thought it had been very ill- advised for the City to take over care of the cemetery, and had been occasioned by individuals who thought more money should be spent on it and that it should be maintained like a park or private home. He said the cemetery association had an annual budget of $40,000 and contracted mowing twice a month. He said people like the job the City is doing, but perhaps they don't realize what it's costing. Mr. Baine asked if the Association had gotten grants. Mr. Smither said they had only done mowing and limb removal in the old section, that the Historical Commission and other groups handled the area around Sam Houston's grave, approximately a 50'x50' area. I. Items of Community Interest (Hear announcements concerning items of community interest from the Board for which no action will be discussed or taken.) Chairman Forbus asked Mrs. Thomas to discuss the Gift Shop, and she said they were stocking up with new merchandise and welcomed the public. Chairman Forbus said there had been rumors he would like to quell, that the gift shop was out of merchandise. Mrs. Thomas said at several meetings she had attended recently all brought forth the concern that there be a comprehensive community calendar for information and promotion. She said it would require a single person to reach out to facilities and events, as well as maintain the calendar. Chairman Forbus said it would also be helpful in scheduling of events. ht. Set date for next meeting. [Charles Forbus, Chairman] Chairman Forbus set the next meeting for Thursday, March 11, 2010, at 6pm. ' n. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Forbus adjourned the meeting at 8:07pm. Lee Woodward, City Secretary