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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-06-08 Tourism Commission MinutesTOURISM COMMISSION RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI Monday, June 8, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. At 6:00 p.m. on June 8, 2015, the Tourism Commission for the City of Riverside, Missouri, met in the Board of Aldermen Conference Room at City Hall, 2950 NW Vivion Road, Riverside, Missouri. Answering roll call were Commissioners Hope Carriger, Jennifer Goering, Lori Locke and Julie Rule. City staff member Jackie Carlson was also present. Motion to Approve Minutes Commissioner Rule made a motion to approve the minutes from April 13, 2015. Commissioner Goering seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Motion passed.  Financial Overview Ms. Carlson provided a financial overview of the tourism fund. The City’s fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30 and the fund is on track to meet the projected $175,000 in total revenue for fiscal year 2014-15. This same amount is projected for fiscal year 2015-16. The reserve fund has a balance of $392,224.  Platte County Marketing Fund Match Commissioner Goering noted that the Platte County Convention and Visitors Bureau had submitted the grant application requesting $77,500 in matching funds. The State approved the grant giving a total budget of $155,000. From the $155,000, $40,000 will be utilized for the Riverside, Argosy and Zona Rosa campaign ($20,000 local match + $20,000 state match). The Riverside Tourism Commission approved contributing $1,500 towards this campaign. Commissioner Goering noted that Zona Rosa was not able to contribute monetarily, but will be providing in-kind contributions. Thus, Argosy is providing the bulk of the funding at $18,500. The bulk of the campaign will be on-line advertising. Argosy’s team will develop the materials. Commissioner Carriger and Rosemary Salerno with Zona Rosa will be included in the development of the ads and will review the materials. The Commission commented that partnering to receiving $40,000 worth of ads for $1,500 was a good investment and partnership.  2015 Sponsorships Update Ms. Carlson updated the Commission on the status of the approved sponsorships. There have been multiple issues with Scottish Highland Games including a bounced check, missed deadlines and requests for extensions. With each issue staff has scrambled to process paperwork and been lenient to accommodate them. All Truck Nationals, which is held in September, has not submitted a signed MOU or responded to staff. The sponsorship money is held until this is submitted. Commissioner Carriger noted she is still working on trying to obtain information about Riverside and ensuring she is included on communications with the committee. She intends to reach out to the event planner directly and is hopefully she can push more Riverside businesses to be present at the event. Commissioner Goering stated that last year was frustrating as the event planner did not communication well.   2015 Sponsorships Update Ms. Carlson updated the Commission on the status of the approved sponsorships. There have been multiple issues with Scottish Highland Games including a bounced check, missed deadlines and requests for extensions. With each issue staff has scrambled to process paperwork and been lenient to accommodate them. All Truck Nationals, which is held in September, has not submitted a signed MOU or responded to staff. The sponsorship money is held until this is submitted. Commissioner Carriger noted she is still working on trying to obtain information about Riverside and ensuring she is included on communications with the committee. She intends to reach out to the event planner directly and is hopefully she can push more Riverside businesses to be present at the event. Commissioner Goering stated that last year was frustrating as the event planner did not communication well.  Kansas City Art Institute Partnership Ms. Carlson explained that previously both the City and the Tourism Commission have sponsored Riverside En Plein Air – a Kansas City Art Institute’s (KCAI) School of Continuing Education class with four sessions. The sponsorship included covering the costs of the course fee and material fee for up to 15 students provided they were Clay or Platte County residents. The KCAI would like to again offer this class in both October 2015 and March 2016 and has requested that the Tourism Commission sponsor students as was done previously. The cost of the sponsorships, provided all 15 students were Clay or Platte County residents, is $2,610 or $174 per student ($129 class fee + $45 material fee). If both the October and March classes were sponsored the total would be $5,220. The Commission questioned the return on investment wondering how many new visitors the class brought to Riverside. Considering the artwork portrays Riverside scenes the Commission asked if it would be possible to obtain the artwork in some fashion – professional photographs, prints, display pieces, etc. Commissioner Carriger stated that the Chamber is hoping to host an art and wine event in early October and would like the KCAI to participate in some fashion. The Commission liked the idea of partnering and believed it would provide more exposure for both the community and the KCAI. It was mentioned that the Commission could sponsor the two classes as a trial run and see what kind of return it yields. Commissioner Goering made a motion to approve sponsorship of both the fall and spring classes with the conditions that 1.) the KCAI has a presence at the Chamber wine and art event and 2.) the completed artwork is made available in some capacity for marketing purposes. Commissioner Locke seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.  Applications and Reports Ms. Carlson stated that she is working on creating a standard application for sponsorship requests and an outline for the report that recipients are to complete. Commissioner Carriger noted she will assist and may have some examples.  Other Commissioner Carriger provided an overview of Tour de Platte which was held in May with the starting and ending point being at E H Young Park. Platte County Parks and Recreation spear-headed the event and the Chamber provided support. The feedback received from riders indicated a desire to have food, beer and music at the end of the ride. Overall, everyone was happy with the event and looks forward to it occurring again next year.  Adjournment, 7:02 p.m. The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent.