Door County Tourism Zone Commission : Meeting Minutes

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June 19, 2008 Door County Tourism Zone Commission Meeting

DOOR COUNTY TAX ZONE COMMISSION
MINUTES OF THE JUNE 19, 2008, MEETING

ACTION ITEMS
Nelson moved and Goss seconded to approve the agenda as modified. Kufrin noted that the closed session would not take place today since Vande Castle was unavailable. Motion carried unanimously.

Weddig moved and Boston seconded to approve the May 8 minutes as submitted. Motion carried unanimously.

Tice moved and Goss seconded to approve the May 15 minutes as submitted. Motion carried with Stayton abstaining.

Nelson moved and Tice seconded to approve the May 27 Annual Meeting minutes as submitted. Motion carried unanimously.

Appointment of Officers
Stayton moved and Nelson seconded to nominate Kufrin as Chair for another one-year term.Nominations were closed. Motion carried, all ayes except Kufrin, nay.

Nelson moved and Coulson seconded to nominate Tice as Vice-Chair for another one-year term. Nominations were closed. Motion carried unanimously.

Tice moved and Nelson seconded to nominate LeClair as Secretary. Nominations were closed. Motion carried unanimously.

Coulson moved and Tice seconded to nominate Nelson as Treasurer for another one-year term. Nominations were closed. Motion carried unanimously.

Nelson moved and Stayton seconded to approve the Door County Visitor Bureau budget as proposed. Motion approved, all ayes except Kufrin, nay.

Coulson moved and LeClair seconded to approve the Kerber Rose reports. Motion carried unanimously.

Commissioners Present:
Mary Boston, Andy Coulson, Nancy Goss, Diane Jacobson, Bob Kufrin,
Jeff Larson, LilBit LeClair, Amy McClelland Craig Neddersen, Bryan Nelson, Carol Stayton, Chuck Tice, Bill Weddig, and Nora Zacek.

Excused: Richard Skare; Theresa Shepherd, new appointee for the Town of Gardner

Also Present: Dianne Lensert, Kerber Rose; Jack Moneypenny and Jon Jarosh, Door County Visitor Bureau.

Call to Order: Chairperson Kufrin called the meeting to order in the Egg Harbor Town Hall at 9:05 a.m. He stated that Vande Castle could not be there. He called roll to verify that a quorum was present.

Approval of Agenda
Nelson moved and Goss seconded to approve the agenda as modified.
Motion carried unanimously.

Approval of Minutes
Weddig moved and Boston seconded to approve the May 8 minutes as
submitted. Motion carried unanimously. Tice moved and Goss seconded to approve the May 15 minutes as submitted. Motion carried, with Stayton abstaining because she hadn�t gotten the minutes. Nelson moved and Tice seconded to approve the May 27 Annual Meeting minutes. Kufrin asked for input on length and detail; Tice noted that much was repeated from the PowerPoint and Audit attachments. By consensus, members agreed that Nelson�s format for general meeting minutes, with motions presented upfront, was useful. Kufrin called the question. Motion carried
unanimously.

Election of Officers
Kufrin noted that the Bylaws call for appointment of officers at this meeting under the assumption that municipal appointments would be complete. These annual positions come after Village/Town reorganization in April/May each year. The officers are Chair, Vice-Chair, and combined Secretary/Treasurer for one-year terms. Tice stated the new Amendments/Bylaws give us the ability to split Secretary and Treasurer into two positions. He felt we should do so today and,should the municipalities not approve the Amendments/Bylaws, combine the positions.
Kufrin opened the floor for nominations/volunteers for Chairperson. Nelson felt Kufrin should remain as Chair and work with Kathy Kirkland as new Administrative Assistant. Stayton nominated Kufrin and Nelson seconded. Nominations were closed. Motion approved except for Kufrin, nay.

Coulson nominated and Nelson seconded for Tice as Vice-Chair. Nominations were closed. Motion carried unanimously.

The Secretary, would be signing documents, signing checks, being the fourth
officer; Tice noted a fourth officer is useful if we form an Executive Committee. Tice nominated and Nelson seconded LeClair as Secretary. Nominations closed. Motion carried unanimously.

Kufrin noted that the Treasurer should appear at the Kerber Rose offices to review financials and sign off; Lensert said it�s being done through e-mail currently. Coulson nominated and Tice seconded Nelson for a second term. Nominations were closed. Motion carried unanimously. Kufrin
noted that LeClair should fill out a bond application to become a bank signer.

Report by Door County Visitor Bureau
Moneypenny stated that Mary Denis�s efforts regarding Group Sales and Tours will be in the submitted reports from now on. Jarosh updated the June 12 report. Geiger�s ad value equivalency has increased with six more articles in the last few days; it�s now $638,315 or $25,235 more than in the report, translating to 406,000 more readers. Coulson questioned return on investment; Jarosh confirmed they made back the money invested plus another 142%. He noted that in-kind contributions (partners and airlines) were $38,000, which hasn�t been included in the ROI calculation. Coulson felt it should be considered since someone spent that money for a total of
$383,000; we want to make sure the value exceeds that.

Moneypenny said the $250,000 represents what we�ve spent to date; the contract is $300,000. Jarosh said breaking it out becomes confusing; articles are coming out now from visits last July.

Kufrin asked if the financial information is confidential; Moneypenny said it becomes public at our meeting. Jarosh stated that Geiger sends out a quarterly update with articles. Kufrin said with Funkhouser leaving the Advocate, we won�t get coverage at meetings. Either the newsletter or a
separate press release from Kirkland could cover important news. Stayton asked if the print publicity translates into occupancy? Jarosh said the definitive way is taxes collected and occupancy. Anecdotally, it seems to be working; we�ll track specifically when we have a baseline and can compare year-to-year. Stayton asked if the articles tie into the brand or just specific destinations? There was discussion that while there are Fact Sheets and account representatives (with all staff trained to push the brand), writers can be led in that direction but can�t be mandated to write it up that way. Neddersen felt the Visitor Bureau will have a long-term impact across the industry; this is a proven method but we have to give it some time. It was noted that there will be �spillover� into neighboring communities. Jacobson said recent Ephraim guests came from
Nebraska, Florida, Oregon, Texas, Colorado and Georgia; word must be getting out. Nelson said the question is, �How bad would it be if we hadn�t started this effort?� There�s no way to tell. Stayton
asked Jarosh if there�s anything about the contract they would do differently. Jarosh said no; the proposed arrangement through 2008 is working and we are getting coverage. It�s just a matter of
time.

DOOR COUNTY VISITOR BUREAU REPORT
Line Item Budget Description: Moneypenny handed out this report for August through December 2008, attached to these minutes for the record. He noted that there will be funds left in the current budget that will roll in 2009; not sure how much at this point. Moneypenny explained the August
Marketing Revenue of $161,000 is for operating expenses; looking at the Budget Summary, there is a zero balance at the end of each month, projecting a $511 surplus at the end of December.

Historically, June taxes don�t cover August obligations, so he asked eBrains to bill in September instead of August. There is a $25,000 �opportunity fund� cushion in budget in case money doesn�t come in as projected.

Budget Notes: Moneypenny ran thorough the budget. The Marketing Staff Expense is higher because they anticipate hiring a salaried marketing coordinator to research, handle co-op advertising, newspaper inserts, ads, handle collateral material. Question: Should the staff member be in-house or outsourced? Moneypenny felt in-house is more cost effective; an agency is expensive and will spend less time on the account than a dedicated person.

When the Commission reviewed the Visitor Bureau budget at the end of 2007, it saw a complete financial picture; none of that is detailed in this report. At the October meeting, a PowerPoint presentation will show everything. Moneypenny said the quarterly report in July will show both
profit-and-loss columns from 2007 and 2008 for comparison.

Kufrin�s concern is from the projection side: Do our projections match so we don�t create a larger expectation or a shortfall? Weddig asked if projections were since Gardner joined; Moneypenny said Washington Island was included but not Gardner. Weddig noted that April is already behind by
a few thousand; projected $32,000 but it�s $14,000 less. Tice felt we should go ahead with the campaign; the contingency would cover any shortfall.

Moneypenny stated that the budget can be adjusted. He expanded on some definitions in the printed report; additional notes not covered in the report are:
eBrains is budgeted for the final six months of their contract, which runs through January 31, 2009; to keep the same schedule as an annual budget, the Visitor Bureau will pay off the entire amount in five months instead of six.
Image Library: Since the Visitor Guide will now have higher quality paper plus an Index, Moneypenny wants some photography to be professionally shot and invest money into an Image Library so writers can choose from images after the Visitor Bureau uses them. It�s $10,000 for
the Image Library and $3-$4,000 for Podcasts (which includes extra for Jarosh because they�re produced on his own time).
Media Monitoring Service: This clipping service currently includes only copy, but not photos; should it search for photo spreads to capture all mentions?
The Visitor Bureau is working with Visitor Centers as an ongoing project with computers and training accomplished over the past couple of months; signage is being done now. The touch screen kiosks are dying; they cost $510. It�s budgeted to replace all of them and include a sleep
mode for longer life.
The Kingdom So Delicious promotion has been moved from June to September with the culmination from September 14-27, a �50-mile feast� on the 27th where all food served will come from 50-mile radius to drive culinary tourism. Budgeted at $20,000 but may not need it all. The campaign includes a recyclable shopping bag with Kingdom So Delicious; possible ad space on the back to allay costs.

Coulson asked about website hosting; will backups be remote? Moneypenny said they will. By hosting internally, if community�s websites are with different vendors, the Visitor Bureau could offer to host websites at a reduced rate. Moneypenny said the website/telephone infrastructure is
scheduled to be up and running by September.

Moneypenny noted that Geiger dropped their monthly fee from $20,833 to $18,000; a result of their knowing the vendors and needing less time.
Neddersen felt there should be a fund separate from contingency fund, probably larger than $25,000, to take advantage of marketing opportunities. What does Moneypenny see beyond eBrains and Geiger: a major shift or on the right track? Moneypenny stated they�d have two days of
strategic planning to look at one- and three-year goals and all the branding data. The three-year goals will help flesh out next year�s goals. Right now, we�re doing what we need: hitting three-to-four-hour drive radius, day trips, week trips, rather than big vacations. What defines a family? We need to look at that and develop what to do. He has an idea for a Door County Family Vacation Scrapbook online for people to upload their story, pictures, for others to see. He felt the October Commission meeting be nothing, but projections.

Kufrin asked if need to take action on the Visitor Bureau budget today. Weddig asked if the budget had been approved by other entities; Moneypenny said it had. Nelson moved to approve budget as proposed; Stayton seconded.
Discussion: McClelland asked if approval should be contingent on verification of revenue dollars; Nelson agreed. Kufrin said if revenues aren�t there, what will be sacrificed? Moneypenny said if there�s a shortfall, you go back and look at the expense side. Stayton asked if he would still increase salaries by 4%? Moneypenny said there will be merit reviews, not an automatic 4%, but any adjustments would be made on the administrative side. He expects that we�ll take in 90% of the yearly funds in next five months; the funds will be there to fulfill this budget but would be adjusted for 2009 as necessary. Nelson removed the contingency on his motion. Kufrin called the question; all in favor except Kufrin, who voted nay as being inconsistent with approved budget and inability
to compare the proposed budget with updated projections. Motion passed to approve the April-December 2008 Door County Tourism Bureau budget. Goss left the meeting for another obligation.

Administrative Assistant Report Attached for the record. Nelson felt housekeeping details such as wording on forms and website should be left up to Kirkland with Kufrin�s approval. Boston reported problems with trying to update her information online; Justin from Bay Lake will check on
it. Kirkland asked if we needed to solicit bids for website design and hosting? The consensus was that we should request written proposals.

Weddig asked if the Commission be hosted on the Visitor Bureau server? Kufrin is determined to have a seamless link. He noted Jacksonport�s website as concise; Ephraim is fairly simple, as examples. If anyone�s aware of model site, let us know. There is the option to build our own.

Status of Intergovernmental Agreement/Bylaws Sister Bay, Ephraim, and Sevastopol have approved so far with no suggestions or questions. The revised agreements reached the following municipalities too late to take action: Baileys Harbor, Gibraltar, Washington Island. Commission
members from the following did not have any update: Egg Harbor Village and Town, Jacksonport, Nasewaupee, Gardner. Kufrin stated we need eight approvals for a majority. Tice suggested postponing the deadline for discussion to the August meeting instead of July. Kufrin asked all
members to remind their town clerks to get it on the agendas.

Approval of Reports and Payables
Coulson moved and LeClair seconded to approve the Kerber Rose reports. Neddersen requested a monthly printout on administrative expenses/budget/YTD comparison. Lensert said she can arrange that. Motion passed unanimously.

Tice asked about hiring the investigator; Kufrin said Vande Castle will present that at the July meeting.

Kufrin suggested that since there are seven members serving for less than two or three meetings that a �training� meeting be held to go over the history of the Commission and decisions. Consensus is that it would be valuable; Nelson offered to help Kufrin run the meeting(s). Kufrin will send an eemail with suggested dates.

Tice asked everyone to everyone should check addresses and contact information on the official Commission member list.

Weddig asked if quarterly reports are necessary, considering they are 60 days old by the time of receipt; what is the relevance? He noted that the Bylaws and Agreements state that the Commission and Visitor Bureau need to provide them. Kufrin said they should be made available online for
those who want them.

Nelson moved and Coulson seconded to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Kufrin adjourned the meeting at 10:53 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Kirkland
Administrative Assistant

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