Door County Tourism Zone Commission : Meeting Minutes

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April 16, 2009 Door County Tourism Zone Commission Meeting - Minutes

DOOR COUNTY TOURISM ZONE COMMISSION
MINUTES OF APRIL 16, 2009
Sister Bay Fire Station

ACTION ITEMS:
Stayton moved and Boston seconded to approve the Agenda as submitted. Motion passed unanimously.

Weddig moved and Larson seconded to approve the March 19, 2009, minutes as submitted. Motion passed unanimously.

Larson moved and LeClair seconded to hold the May TZC meeting on May 14 in the Community Room at Sturgeon Bay�s City Hall. Motion passed unanimously.

Nelson moved and Tice seconded to approve the entire rosters of the Executive, Finance, and Compliance committees as submitted. Motion passed unanimously.

Tice moved and Larson seconded to approve all Kerber Rose reports and payables as submitted. Motion passed unanimously.

Benzshawel moved and Stayton seconded to go into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statute, Section 19.85(1)(ea). Roll call vote: Ayes: Benzshawel, Boston, D�Amico, Goss, Holtz, Jacobson, Kufrin, Larson, LeClair, Nelson, Sawyer, Stayton, Tice, Weddig. Nay: Skare.

Skare moved and Nelson seconded to reconvene into open session. All ayes by roll call: Benzshawel, Boston, D�Amico, Goss, Holtz, Jacobson, Kufrin, Larson, LeClair, Nelson, Sawyer, Skare, Stayton, Tice, Weddig.

Stayton moved and Goss seconded to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously.

Committee Members Present by Roll Call: Mary Boston, Bryan Nelson (arr. 9:10), Sarah Sawyer, Sandy D�Amico, Jeff Larson, Diane Jacobson, Bill Weddig, Dick Skare, Little Bit LeClair, Nancy Goss, Chuck Tice, Bob Kufrin, Nora Zacek, Tom Benzshawel, Dave Holtz, Carol Stayton

Excused: Richard Briggs, Andy Coulson, George Delveaux, Debra Jeanquart, Nedd Neddersen

Absent: Mike Johnson, Tom Tostrup, Edson Stevens, Mark Stevenson, Amy McClelland

Also Present: Jack Moneypenny, Dave Elliot, Sally Everhardus, Jon Jarosh from Door County Visitor Bureau; Kathy Kirkland, TZC Administrative Assistant

Call to Order
Chair Bob Kufrin called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m.

Approval of Agenda
Stayton moved and Boston seconded to approve the Agenda as submitted. All ayes.

Approval of Minutes of March 19, 2009
Weddig moved and Larson seconded to approve the March 19, 2009, minutes as submitted. Kufrin asked about length and content. Various opinions, but consensus was that the minutes stay as is or a little shorter. All ayes.

Administrative Assistant Report
Kirkland reported that the Village of Forestville has submitted its final Ordinance language, so all municipalities are up to date. Both Roger Rockwell and Wave Pointe Condo have paid for the Room Tax in arrears, and Kerber Rose will calculate fees and penalties. May 26 is the Annual Meeting at Crossroads/Sturgeon Bay but the recommended caterer has not gotten back after messages have been left; she�ll try another. She noted that the next Commission meeting is rescheduled for a week earlier than on the calendar: May 14.

Kufrin stated that the audit draft will be ready this week and the Finance Committee will review it first. To get a copy of the audit before the deadline, we have to move the full Commission meeting to either the 14th or the 7th. Kirkland said it would be tight, but we�re supposed to notify all permit holders of the meeting and send the packets 10 days prior to the meeting. Moneypenny said they had sent a postcard out last year early in May announcing the time and place; they can do so again this year. Moneypenny will also blend his PowerPoint presentation in with the TZC�s (Kirkland is doing a draft). Bob said that the Kerber Rose reports will not be ready in time for the 7th. Larson moved to hold the next TZC meeting on May 14 in the Community Room at Sturgeon Bay�s City Hall; LeClair seconded. All ayes.

Kufrin said he documented many campgrounds that have fixed buildings for rental. Several will be getting notices stating that they owe taxes back to May 2007. Tice said he found some people in the DCVB Visitors Guide who are not permitted. Kufrin said the State Department of Health is finding several hundred people who don�t have health permits; Steve Bell will be providing a list of his permit holders for our information.

Kufrin reported that Vande Castle is asking for a policy statement/resolution from the TZC regarding compliant questions as they relate to cost. How will we handle all the non-compliant owners and permit holders who are late? The Compliance Committee will come up with a policy to follow that�s evenhanded for all lodging properties.

Update on Community Marketing Fund
Moneypenny said there are 11 resumes for the CMF liaison, all Door County residents. The DCVB assembled a committee from their board to cull the list to three, interview them, then make a job offer. That will happen next Wednesday. Once the contract is done, the DCVB will establish the funding for each community. Moneypenny talked about Kufrin�s request for quarterly financials. For 2008, the difference in income is $2 million higher than in 2007, so the audit is taking longer. He can offer the TZC unaudited quarterly financials. The audit itself should be done by May 15.

Report by Door County Visitor Bureau on Marketing Efforts
Jarosh handed out packets of press clippings from Geiger; they�re also sent out on CD. A recent article in the Florida Times Union has been syndicated widely; the Florida paper covers 181,000 readership. The DCVB is in the process of reviewing the conversion study; it will be fully reported next month. eBrains� exceeded its contract guarantee. Moneypenny said the report is complex, and he�ll have cogent answers next month. Jarosh said advertising is starting to kick in in all media; Moneypenny said the majors started 2 to 3 weeks ago, and the when the Visitor Bureau asks callers how they heard about Door County, 9 out of 10 mention the advertising. The spring campaign is pushing to get people here before June. One hotel has sold 6 Blossom packages; there are 30 participating properties.

Stayton asked Jarosh about the podcasts; can the DCVB send notices as soon as they know about publicity or ads so members can be aware of events such as the Harley Davidson timing? Perhaps even log in to the DCVB site and go to the link. When Geiger sent a CD, she heard complaints that the articles need to be more prevalent in the Midwest. She feels communication has to be improved. Moneypenny is gauging the best way to get the information out; if there�s a link to view the ads or commercials, it would have to be on the members� side, and that website will be worked on. Stayton said Debbie Geiger said in 2007 that they�d gear publicity to the target market, but most are outside our target area. (Moneypenny noted that one couple from Texas actually bought a house here from an article.) The publications themselves are contacted regarding sending a writer; they don�t deal with the writers directly until the �fam� tours. Moneypenny said it has been difficult to get permission from publications to link or post on the site, but there are 8 to 10 articles almost ready. Jarosh mentioned the articles are online in the Media section �In the Press.� Stayton said we should set expectations for Geiger about Midwest publicity; Jarosh said they have talked about the core focus of the Midwest. Stayton asked if the contract goals specify a target market or is it an informal understanding. Moneypenny will personally call Debbie Geiger and ask for her input. Kufrin asked if DCVB approves the list of writers and who they write for; Moneypenny said they do. The writers aren�t here unless they have a reason to come here.

Goss observed that the Geiger report is quite thick and not very green; about a quarter of the articles are reprints/syndicated articles but just in different publications. It was decided that they should either be put on CDs or else a cover sheet should state how many publications X-article appeared in and the span of the audience reached.

Moneypenny wants to clarify on Meeting Planner contact, Michele Bailey is now onboard as an assistant and has put together meeting planner packets and will be the fulfillment person. Benzshawel asked if they�re concerned about the slowdown on web hits. Moneypenny said he feels April will start building. The YTD has a bell curve, so they�re concerned, but this year follows the last 10 years� growth pattern. Stayton said Washington Island is not getting as many referrals from the DCVB as last year, but their own site�s traffic is up. Nelson said his advance reservations are way above the norm for this time of year. It seems some people are coming directly to their site.

Kirkland talked about a rumor at the Ephraim business entity level that business will be down 15% this year; apparently, those are State-wide predictions. Weddig asked if the numbers are comparable in any way. Moneypenny said other state visitor bureaus are running scared and staff is being cut. However, Door County is not expected to be affected as much. Anecdotally, we are still at �normal� levels for the coming season. The closing of the state Visitors Centers is alarming, and Stayton feels the DCVB should send a strong letter to the governor to reconsider the investment in the tourism industry and keep those visitors centers open. Moneypenny reiterated that the 10% budget cut was either the Visitors Centers or marketing. He has asked the state about the shuttering date, and five of the 10 CVBs will stay open with local communities taking over and carry all the state information, including the DCVB Visitor Guide in their lobby. The actual buildings are still in question as to their fate.

Moneypenny said the May tourism numbers in the state for our market share of tourism are wonderful. They will be included in next month�s packet as the figures hit the press. The number we have for 2008 in the state exceeds 1997 as well as the highest peaks for that report 2000�2001by many thousands of dollars. It should be in the presentation at the Annual Meeting.

Committee Appointments
Kufrin asked if anyone has concerns about the committee members as listed:
Executive Committee: Kufrin, Tice, Nelson, LeClair, Coulson
Finance Committee: Kufrin, Neddersen, Nelson, Coulson, Benzshawel
Compliance Committee: Tice, Jeanquart, Boston

Nelson moved to approve the entire roster; Tice seconded. All ayes. Tice stated that when the committees meet, they should post their meeting dates; the legal standard is to post 24 hours ahead, even though it might be mostly a closed session. All the communities get the TZC agendas to post (Kirkland noted that WDOR, the Pulse and Advocate also get them). When you have an agenda, send to Kirkland for distribution. Tice discussed the Compliance Committee�s authority. Its policy needs to become a Resolution with approval from Vande Castle and the Commission. Kufrin said the structure is set up so that the Commissioners would know before any prosecution takes place and the full Committee would vote on any litigation. Tice felt each lodging owner should get due process and get standardized treatment. Weddig was asked if an owner could plead his case. Tice said he has several thoughts about time payments. Allowing time to pay is not fair to the rest of the permit holders; if the owners have been charging tax, it�s supposed to be set aside and not co-mingled with their own funds. If they hadn�t been charging the tax for whatever reason, that may be different because they�d have to pay out of their own pocket. Tice said the policy has to state whether we allow any arrangements at all. Stayton felt the Compliance Committee should work as a legislative body instead of judicial; the judicial part is the Commission�s responsibility. Kufrin said Tice will make specific recommendations by the May meeting; the upshot is, �Who do we prosecute?�

Benzshawel asked if the attorney should be on the committee; Tice said he can be requested to attend as necessary, but he�s not a member of the Commission. Conference calling is already allowed in the Bylaws. Tice said if someone�s not a permitted business, call Kirkland first. Kirkland explained the process at TZC up to this point: monthly late notices are sent out as well as notices of the need to permit; if no response, a certified letter is sent. If that gets no response, Vande Castle is sent the information to send a stronger legalese letter. So far, in the past year, only a handful of properties have faced prosecution but many are in arrears. Kufrin said when Tice�s committee finishes a draft, it�ll be sent for people to review and comments and then brought to the Commission.

Discussion on Current Comparable Occupancy 2009
Dianne Lensert/Kerber Rose was unavailable for the meeting today; however, she sent an adjusted/unadjusted comparison to highlight the difficulties in reconciling even adjusted numbers. It just what it is; any report unreliable when looking at only a specific date. Weddig said Units Available and filled also reflects that skewing. Nelson feels it�s a question of timing; one large late report skews it. Tice feels we�re doing an injustice to put these numbers together; should we look at it quarterly or perhaps mid-year, Nelson asked. Kufrin said the feds do two corrections to all their reports; there�s a cost from Kerber Rose to constantly readjust the numbers, which we�re doing now twice a year. He likes having the snapshot because trends could develop without our seeing them, and Moneypenny needs to know as well. Nelson feels despite trying to tweak each month, it�s impossible to come to conclusions. We should stop asking Lensert to keep coming up with more stats; just give us the unadjusted, periodically give us adjusted, and continue showing the new communities for comparison but do adjusted only occasionally. Stayton asked how other commissions do it. Kufrin said our commission is unique; others do not have all municipalities in a county. Kirkland said the properties we�re taking to court will drastically skew once they pay up. Kufrin said our own intuition and minds are better than computations.

Consideration of Approving Reports and Payables
Tice moved to approve all Kerber Rose reports and payables. Larson seconded. All ayes.

Motion to Convene into Closed Session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statute, Section 19.85(1)(ea) to discuss performance of the DCVB
Nelson questions the need to go into closed session to discuss the Visitors Bureau; it sends a signal of mistrust. He�s comfortable discussing concerns in open session, and some have already been discussed today. Kufrin proposed it as closed session because individuals and staff members will be discussed; he does not want to name people in an open meeting. Discussion about staff has to be done in closed session as per State statute. In addition, a closed session preserves the conversations and complaints from public knowledge.

Nelson felt the DCVB board and Visitor Bureau have been reformulated, and they are looking at their own staff. He believed chairperson-to-chairperson is good enough for individuals� concerns. Stayton noted that some staffing issues continue unresolved until Jack himself takes over; he can�t take on the entire job. She was concerned about issues aired in public and jeopardizing faith in the program, which we don�t want to do. She would rather have them raised with Moneypenny and their board chairman at the meeting. Benzshawel agreed. Going into closed session is at the discretion of the chair. (Zacek left the meeting.) Benzshawel moved into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statute, Section 19.85(1)(ea). Stayton seconded. Roll call vote: Ayes: Benzshawel, Boston, D�Amico, Goss, Holtz, Jacobson, Kufrin, Larson, LeClair, Nelson, Sawyer, Stayton, Tice, Weddig. Nay: Skare.

[Closed Session]

Consider a Motion to Reconvene into Open Session
Skare moved and Nelson seconded to reconvene to open session. All ayes by roll call: Benzshawel, Boston, D�Amico, Goss, Holtz, Jacobson, Kufrin, Larson, LeClair, Nelson, Sawyer, Skare, Stayton, Tice, Weddig. No motions were required.

Adjournment
Stayton moved and Boston seconded to adjourn. All ayes. The meeting adjourned at 11:37 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Kirkland
Administrative Assistant

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