Door County Tourism Zone Commission : Meeting Minutes

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September 20, 2007 Door County Tourism Zone Commission Meeting

DOOR COUNTY TOURISM ZONE COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
Thursday September 20, 2007
Baileys Harbor Town Hall

A regularly scheduled meeting of the Door County Tourism Zone Commission was called to order at 9:05 am, on Thursday, September 20, 2007 by Robert Kufrin.

The following were present:
Chuck Tice, Sevastopol
Bryan Nelson, Baileys Harbor
Barbara Lautenbach, Jacksonport
Bruce Hill, Egg Harbor-Village
Bob Kufrin, Chairperson � Sister Bay
Jim Sarkis, At-Large Member
Charlie Most, Liberty Grove
Andy Coulson, At Large
Patti Bissen-Taylor, Town of Egg Harbor
Bill Weddig, Gibraltar

Dianne Lensert, Kerber, Rose, & Associates

The following members were absent:
Paul Georgia, Nasewaupee
Craig Neddersen, Ephraim

Guests:
Andrew Starr, Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center
Jon Jarosh, Door County Visitors Bureau
Kevin O�Donnell, City of Sturgeon Bay
Todd Trimberger, Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center
David McAllister, City of Sturgeon Bay
Leo Zipperer, Town of Sevastopol
Paige Funkhauser, Advocate
Bill Casey, Town of Liberty Grove
Jerry Zaug, Door County Visitor Bureau
Dina Boettcher, Door County Visitor Bureau
John Lowery, Door County Visitor Bureau
Fred Anderson, Door County Visitor Bureau

Agenda
A motion was made by Charlie Most and seconded by Bruce Hill to approve the amended agenda. All voted in favor of the motion to approve the amended agenda. All Ayes no Nays.

The August 9, 2007 meeting minutes were presented for approval. There were several corrections to the minutes. The motion was made by Andy Coulson and seconded by Bruce Hill to approve the August 9, 2007 meeting minutes as corrected. The motion carried all voted in favor. Most abstained.

The August 23, 2007 meeting minutes were presented for approval. There was considerable discussion regarding the manner that the minutes were prepared. The motion was made by Bruce Hill and seconded by Chuck Tice to table the approval of the August 23, 2007 meeting minutes pending corrections so they read in a similar fashion as the August 9, 2007 minutes. The motion carried all voted in favor.

Kufrin stated that when the original intergovernmental agreement was drafted it was anticipated that just 3 or 4 communities could start the Commission and that over the ensuing months other communities would join. Since the agreement required officers when it started then the later members would not have a chance to become officers, so the agreement was structured so that the initial term of officers was only 6 months. Kufrin noted the officer terms are for 12 months.

Kufrin asked for nominations for the position of Chairperson. Tice, Most and Hill deferred to be nominated. There were no nominations for the position.

Kufrin asked for nominations for the position of Vice-Chairperson. The motion by Bruce Hill and seconded by Bryan Nelson that Jim Sarkis be nominated as Vice-Chairperson. A motion by Charlie Most seconded by Bruce Hill that nominations be closed and that Jim Sarkis be elected Vice-Chairperson by unanimous consent. The motion carried and all voted in favor.

Kufrin asked for nominations for the position of Secretary/Treasurer. There was discussion regarding the duties for the position as they compare to the work being done by Kerber Rose. The concept of splitting the duties into a Secretary and separate Treasurer making greater use of Kerber Rose and the potential of hiring an administrative assistant to prepare minutes and agendas could change the demands and duties of the position. A motion by Jim Sarkis and seconded by Bruce Hill that Bryan Nelson be nominated as Secretary/Treasurer. A motion by Charlie Most seconded by Bruce Hill that nominations be closed and that Bryan Nelson be elected Secretary/Treasurer by unanimous consent. The motion carried and all voted in favor.

Hill asked if the Administrative Assistant position could be placed on the next agenda for discussion. Sarkis asked if the position of Commission Attorney could be placed on the next agenda for discussion. Kufrin volunteered to send an email to the member municipalities asking if any would like to nominate or suggest their attorneys for the Commission.

A motion was made by Charlie Most and seconded by Chuck Tice that the bills and payables as presented were approved in the amount of $311,616.35. The motion carried and all voted in favor.

A motion was made by Charlie Most and seconded by Bill Weddig to accept the reports prepared by Kerber Rose as presented. The motion carried and all voted in favor.

Hill stated that he was getting frustrated with the discussions at the Commission meetings and asked if more time could be spent on discussing the marketing and promotion activities being undertaken by the DCVB. He was hoping that the new DCVB executive will be presenting new perspectives on the ongoing marketing as well.

The Commission discussed the reports that were prepared by Kerber Rose. The properties marked in yellow were locations that had not submitted any occupancy data and the red properties were locations that had differences between the computed tax and the amount paid in. The purple properties were ones that had not responded at all. Most believed that the Commission could place a lien on properties that failed to properly pay their room tax.

Jon Jarosh reported on the marketing report as submitted. He discussed the number of journalists that would be participating in the next trip. He stated that the cost and value of trips were $35,000 to $45,000 and that it worked out to about $5,000 per person per trip. Sarkis concurred that the dollars were being well and probably returning $10 to every $1 spent. Jerry Zaug noted that Jack Moneypenny had been selected at the new Chief Executive of the Visitor Bureau and that he would be starting on October 16.

Dave McAllister, chairman of the Sturgeon Bay Finance Committee introduced himself and stated that the representatives of the City of Sturgeon Bay and Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center were present to discuss how the two organizations could become part of the Tourism Zone or participate in the marketing program. He asked if the Tourism Zone Commission could contract with the SBVB for services. He noted that the City of Sturgeon Bay needed more than 5.5% room tax in order to maintain the City�s current funding and the funding for the SBVB. He went on to state that the City wanted to be part of the marketing efforts of the Door County Visitor Bureau.

Hill noted that when he was president of the Village of Egg Harbor that he was not given any options on joining and was concerned about the options being discussed. Andy Coulson asked about the different options outlined in the opinion letter prepared by Randy Nesbitt on behalf of the City of Sturgeon Bay. Sarkis indicated that the City should raise their rate and use the additional funds for their own marketing.

McAllister responded that the City was unclear as to which option(s) their innkeepers would prefer. Kufrin stated that in his opinion alternatives 1, 3 and 5 were all viable for further discussion by the four groups. There was considerable discussion by the group on the alternatives prepared by Nesbitt and impact of each one on the Door County Visitor Bureau and Tourism Zone Commission.

A motion was made by Jim Sarkis and seconded by Bryan Nelson to take the position that Sturgeon Bay could contract with the DCVB for marketing services if Sturgeon Bay raises their room tax to 5.5% and they pay the DCVB the 70%. A roll call vote was held.

Most no
Hill no
Coulson yes
Nelson yes
Lautenbach no
Taylor no
Tice no
Sarkis yes
Kufrin no
Weddig yes

The motion failed with four yes and six no votes.

A motion was made by Charlie Most and seconded by Bruce Hill that the Tourism Zone Commission would consider options 1, 3 and 5 as viable. There was considerable discussion on the impacts of the different options. A roll call vote was taken.

Most yes
Hill yes
Coulson no
Nelson no
Lautenbach no
Taylor yes
Tice yes
Sarkis no
Kufrin yes
Weddig no

The motion failed on the tie vote.

Dave McAllister indicated that the votes by the Tourism Zone Commission did not provide him with any direction. Kufrin stated that Tourism Zone Commission would always be interested in them joining on the same terms as everyone and he hoped that regardless of what Sturgeon Bay did that they would continue to attend meetings.

Chuck Tice noted that it was late in the morning and many of the items remained. A motion was made by Chuck Tice and seconded by Jim Sarkis that the balance of the items would be tabled until next month�s meeting. The motion carried all ayes.

Sarkis suggested that subcommittee consisting of Barb Lautenbach, Jim Sarkis, Dianne Lensert and Bob Kufrin be created to meet before the October 18th meeting to prepare a job description and advertisement for the administrative assistant position. Kufrin volunteered to host the next meeting on October 18th at the Sister Bay Fire Station.

A motion was made by Bruce Hill and seconded by Jim Sarkis to adjourn at 11:45. The motion carried all ayes.

Respectfully Submitted:

Robert L. Kufrin
Chairperson

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