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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM102009 Jefferson County LTAC Meeting Minutes, Corrected, 10-20-09 Commissioner’s Chambers, Jefferson County Courthouse Attendees were: Bill Roney in place of Bill Tennent, Joy Baisch, John Austin, Philip Morley, Amanda Lovelady, Miriam Villiard, Kitti deLong. John Austin stated that the Jefferson County LTAC has a different set of bylaws and rules than the Port Townsend LTAC, and a different st of bylaws and rules than the Jefferson County Tourism Coordinating Council. Approval of Minutes: Joy moved to accept minutes as presented. Bill seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Timeline and Process for reviewing Lodging Tax Application– Philip We have a target of $303,000 to distribute for 2010. We have been receiving applications. October 30 is the deadline for fully completed funding requests to be received at the Commissioner’s office. Presentation of budgets is set for Friday, November 13, 2009. November 17 is the date set for making the actual awards. Discussion about extending our meeting time on November 13 to try to make awards after the presentations, which it was determined that we will do. We will save the November 17 date until we determine whether we will have enough time to finish on November 13. Review of Definitions Page 11, Item 4, #1: The Fund will only be used for the following purposes: “. . . . to attract and draw (tourists) from outside the Jefferson County area.” We reviewed “high priority” on page 12. Joy stated the B & B night and rental housing was up 88%. We continued with the review of requirements and definitions. John Austin stated that it was important to minimize duplication of services and to cooperate with other entities in marketing. Bill stated that when visitors stop for direction to Port Townsend, they try to direct people, if the visitor has enough time, to take the Oak Bay Road and to take the Beaver Valley route if there wasn’t enough time. Joy agreed that they also split people up when they give directions north. Joy also reported that when people go to the West End, they often backtrack all the way back to East Jefferson County. Page 13: An important element to recall is that we can not fund services beyond 2010. Promotional activities can not be designed to only draw attendance from within the County but must draw tourism from outside of the County. The amounts of the Budget Proposals were discussed. Philip stated that he felt that the preliminary budget showed that LTAC would award less than the amount we thought, and that we would award between $300,000 and $310,000. Discussion about some fund balances that have been a carry-over from prior years. Joy felt that the trend here is different from the rest of the state, that we have been able to maintain our level of tourism where the rest of the state has declined a lot. John asked if we could consider going beyond the limits we had last year in making awards. Philip recommended trying to balance expenditure with expected revenue so that we are not working on capital reserves. John asked if Bill had figures on what it would cost to pave the parking area around Gateway Visitor’s Center. Bill said that he did not. The general consensus was to remain conservative with funding. Joy would like to save some money toward the National Geographic project that will take place on the Olympic Peninsula, for partnership with and support from local entities. Discussion about what that project entails. Philip asked if we should consider an out-of-sequence funding request for special projects of regional significance. Discussion. Joy felt we should hold to last years funding requests even if we have more money than anticipated so that we have a reserve for a one time, unexpected promotional opportunity with National Geographic. There was consensus of agreement that that project was very important. Philip asked if we should save money out of the total $303,000 that we were planning to award. Joy and Bill both said no, that the Capital Reserve would be a good source of the funds needed for that opportunity. ACTION ITEM: Kitti will call Diane Schostak to ask her if she has any more information about the National Geographic special issue on the Olympic Peninsula. Next Meeting: November 13, 2009, from 9:30 am to noon for presentations in the upstairs meeting room, and from noon to 3:00 pm for awards, also in the upstairs meeting room. We will each bring our lunches.