Door County Tourism Zone Commission : Meeting Minutes

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August 9, 2007 Door County Tourism Zone Commission Meeting

DOOR COUNTY TOURISM ZONE COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
Thursday August 9, 2007
Gibraltar Town Center

A regularly scheduled meeting of the Door County Tourism Zone Commission was called to order at 9:00 am, on Thursday, August 9, 2007 by Robert Kufrin.

The following were present:
Chuck Tice, Sevastopol � Sevastopol
Bryan Nelson, Baileys Harbor
Barbara Lautenbach, Jacksonport
Bill Weddig, Gibraltar
Craig Neddersen, Ephraim
Bruce Hill, Egg Harbor-Village
Bob Kufrin, Chairperson � Sister Bay
Paul Georgia � Nasewaupee
Jim Sarkis, At-Large Member

The following members were absent:
Andy Coulson � excused
Charlie Most � excused
Patti Bissen-Taylor - excused

Others:
Bill Casey, Liberty Grove Chairman
Jon Jarosh, Door County Visitors Bureau
Randy Nesbitt, Pinkert Law Firm
Dianne Lensert, Kerber, Rose, & Associates
Jerry Zaug

Summary of Motions passed at meeting
July 12, 2007 Meeting Minutes motions for approval by Chuck Tice and Bryan Nelson; all voted in favor � motion passed.

June 21, 2007 Meeting Minutes motions for approval by Bryan Nelson and Bruce Hill; all voted in favor � motion passed.

June 14, 2007 Meeting minutes motions for approval by Chuck Tice and Craig Neddersen; all voted in favor � motion passed.

June 28, 2007 Meeting minutes motions for approval by Bryan Nelson and Chuck Tice; all voted in favor � motion passed.

May 31, 2007 Meeting minutes motions for approval by Chuck Tice and Bryan Nelson � subject to removal of Page 2 Items 2-19; all voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Barb Lautenbach and Bruce Hill to move regularly scheduled meeting to the 3rd Thursday of the month. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Chuck Tice and Bryan Nelson to accept Dianne�s reports. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Bryan Nelson and Bill Weddig to approve bills. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Bruce Hill and Craig Nedderson to not pay any withheld room tax portion to Jacksonport and to cash checks received from and await direction from Jacksonport. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Bryan Nelson and Jim Sarkis to enter into contract with Kerber Rose through 2007. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Bryan Nelson and Bruce Hill to go into closed session. All voted in favor � motion passed. Went into closed session at 11:45 am; came out of closed session at 1:12 pm.

Motion made by Jim Sarkis and Bill Weddig to pay $10,000 for Searchwide. Searchwide is the nationwide search firm for a candidate for the Door County Visitors Bureau Executive Director position. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Craig Nedderson and Chuck Tice to consider operational issues and direct the DCVB to address current financial condition and consider hiring a CPA firm to conduct an audit. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Chuck Tice and Jim Sarkis to accept resignation from Bruce Hill as Vice-chairperson. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Agenda
Discussion on who can vote and act for their communities.
An issue arose � Charlie Most contacted Bob stating that he would be unable to attend the meeting today and that Bill Casey will be attending in his place. The question came up from Carol Stayton on Washington Island � if they could appoint a member and then an alternate who doesn�t live on the island in the event of inclement weather so that they could still have representation. Bob spoke with Randy Nesbitt (the Commission�s Attorney) and our agreement doesn�t have anything stated on this issue; therefore it would be up to the individual villages to do as they see fit � but the alternate would need to be appointed in the same fashion as the member is appointed. It was discussed that this would be acceptable provided there was prior written notification as to who the alternate would be in attendance at a particular meeting. It was voted that each municipality should vote on alternates in the event that their representative is unable to attend a meeting. Correspondence will be sent to each village to have them vote on and appoint alternatives at their next meeting � if they choose to do so.

Concern was expressed in regards to sending out meeting materials and the list of individuals that will be receiving the confidential information. It was decided that only the appointed representatives would receive meeting correspondence and materials. It will be up to the particular member to forward that information to the approved alternate who will be in attendance.

Report by Dianne Lensert on the Status of Operations
We are up to 604 permitted properties. 119 properties have remained non-responding. The Vacation Rental by Owner (VBRO) project and researching the ones that are advertising on the internet pulled out 25-26 mailings of ones that were not in the database.

It was stated that Vacation Rental by Owner website showed quite a few listings in Door County that cost about $12-14 to get. Dianne was able to do a reverse search by phone number to get an address or name to go on. Some of these properties were renting for thousands of dollars per week, so one weeks room tax far exceeds the cost for looking this up. Jim Sarkis asked Dianne if she tried Navigator.com. Jim indicated that this is an excellent source. Chuck Tice mentioned that there are a couple of properties in the Town of Sturgeon Bay that he is still researching for compliance.

June Collections $275,056.89 ($175,000 Budgeted)
Checks $90,786.00
Checkbook Balance $211,538.00
Review of the payments and permits in general
Consideration of approving various bills and payables

The bills to be paid were submitted for payment. Motion made to pay the bills as submitted. Motion passed.

Consider Changing the Regular Meeting Date
Dianne states that they have to allow a few days to cutoff � but they cannot generate reports until after all information is entered. Timing is way too tight. The initial agreement calls for reporting on the 15th of the month. It was suggested that meetings are moved to the 3rd Thursday of the month, motion made and was passed. It was decided to try to have the November meeting on Washington Island.

Review the Listing of Adopted Policies and Procedures
It is important to have a list of significant policies and procedures that the DCTZC is approving. Reviewing past minutes to verify that everything is represented correctly. Review Policies and procedures memo � Bob will resend document to all to review. Document summarizes minutes from previous meetings. It was suggested to put the action items at the top of the meeting minutes for each meeting.

Consideration of approving the recommendation that the member municipalities adopt an ordinance authorizing the Tourism Zone Commission to enforce permitting violations

This suggested modification was drafted by Randy � Section 2a modified in a way that it was rented or offered to rent. Then Section 2b � delegated enforcement authority to the Tourism Zone Commission to do it consistently across all municipalities, to be done on a timely basis, and for the cost of that enforcement to be borne by the commission rather than the members. The idea behind the modification is to make sure that the commission has the authority to enforce. Also stating that the penalties associated with not having a permit. In addition to penalties � the penalties for actually offering a room to rent without having a permit � as it becomes more difficult to prove that a room was actually rented. The idea is to encourage people to comply. There is also an issue of persons failing to report their occupancy rates which is addressed in the original ordinance. Each community does have their own ordinance that does vary slightly. The sections that have changes are: Liberty Grove Section 18.4; Baileys Harbor Section 4; Washington Island Section 18.4; Gibraltar Section 4; Village of Egg Harbor Section 4/18.4; Ephraim Section 18.4; Town of Egg Harbor Section 4; Town of Sevastopol Section 18.4; Sister Bay Section 18.4. Voted � all approved.

Consider a report and analysis of who the Commission customers are and how the DCVB marketing plan is serving them.

Various discussions were had, but for now this is a complicated matter; therefore it was tabled for potential further discussion.

Consider requesting that the DCVB establish various reporting and performance tracking requirements for the Commission
Report by Jerry Zaug on the current operations of the Door County Visitor Bureau and status of the approved marketing plan
Roughly 25% of our total number of permits are for commercial operations. The number of units by community is roughly 3600 units of which 1500 are non-commercial. Question to the Commission � when reviewing these statistics do you feel that the marketing plan that the Tourism Zone approved still is meeting the needs of all permit holders? DCVB job is to bring people to Door County � it�s up to the individual innkeepers or groups of types of lodging to get people in your doors. The marketing plan does address the issue of getting people to Door County. We are promoting general activities and enjoyment in Door County. We are not promoting a specific type of lodging or specific place. We make an effort to not focus or sell B&B's etc. Commercial versus non-commercial discussion � what classifies as commercial. Commercial innkeepers are more visible in advertising and their livelihood depends upon the operation and tourist trade; whereas the non-commercial, they are doing it for extra money � it isn�t their livelihood.

Kerber Rose Proposal
Consider motion to convene into discuss a proposed contract with Kerber Rose for services.The Commission discussed the proposal from Kerber Rose in open session. The members thanked Dianne for her efforts. There were no concerns raised regarding the proposal. Motion made by Bryan Nelson and Jim Sarkis to enter into contract with Kerber Rose through 2007. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Consider an update on the status of room tax adoptions
We need to get a copy of everyone�s approved Room Tax Ordinance. George Bagnall contacted Bob last week and said that somehow it fell through the cracks but that the Town of Jacksonport never adopted the ordinance. Contacted Jill Lau at the County Clerks Office and she will send a signed copy. Town of Jacksonport approved the intergovernmental agreement but never approved the ordinance. This creates an operational problem and image issue for the Commission; and it creates a problem for the Town. Bob reviewed all their meeting agendas and never saw anything that the ordinance was up for consideration.

Randy will contact someone from the Dept of Revenue to see if there is anything that can be done. There is no way to pass an ordinance with an earlier effective date so we can�t effectively back date it, so the ordinance is going to be effective when they can adopt it at the end of August provided that they address it at this month�s meeting and they meet the publishing deadline for the Door County Advocate. Their next meeting is August 28, 2007. So unless the Dept of Revenue has a better idea � we will have to refund the room tax that has been collected up until the effective date of the ordinance. There is a question as to how the refunds will actually get back to the original customer � as the business owner will likely just cash the refund check. According to how sales tax refunds work � it is refunded to the town, which in turn will go back to the business owners, which in turn it is supposed to go to the actual renters. If the business owners cannot return that money then it is to go back to the government. The potential refund process will need to be reviewed but it is the obligation of the Tourism Commission to first get the money back to the town. The Town actually needs to send the Commission a refund for the tax collected and then Dianne will need to refund each lodging/innkeeper directly from the Commission. Potentially refunds may need to be issued for May, June, July, and August as well.

Motion made by Bruce Hill and Craig Nedderson to not pay any withheld room tax portion to Jacksonport and to cash checks received from and await direction from Jacksonport. All voted in favor � motion passed.
Consider motion to convene into Closed Session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statutes, Section 19.85(1)(c) to consider officer status and to consider a request from the DCVB to fund the search for the Executive Director as a marketing cost.

Closed Session
Motion made by Bryan Nelson and Bruce Hill to go into closed session. All voted in favor � motion passed. Went into closed session at 11:45 am; came out of closed session at 1:12 pm.

Bruce Hill left the meeting at 12:00 pm.
Bryan Nelson left the meeting at 12:30 pm.
Bill Casey left the meeting at 12:30 pm.

A motion by Bill Weddig to convene into open session at 1:10 pm seconded by Barb Lautenbach. Motion passed all ayes.

Consider a motion to take action, if required to elect various officers of the Commission.
No action on this item.

Motion made by Jim Sarkis and Bill Weddig to pay $10,000 for Searchwide. Searchwide is the nationwide search firm for a candidate for the Door County Visitors Bureau Executive Director position. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Craig Nedderson and Chuck Tice to consider operational issues and direct the DCVB to address current financial condition and consider hiring a CPA firm to conduct an audit. All voted in favor � motion passed.

Motion made by Chuck Tice and Jim Sarkis to accept resignation from Bruce Hill as the Vice-chairperson with him continuing to serve as the Egg Harbor Village representative. All voted in favor � motion passed.
Consider motion to convene into Closed Session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statutes, Section 19.85(1)(a)(f) or (g) to consider enforcement action against certain businesses regarding the room tax permitting and reporting.
This item was tabled unit the next meeting.

Motion made by Paul Georgia and Chuck Tice to adjourn. All voted in favor � motion passed. Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted:

Paul J. Georgia
Secretary Treasurer

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