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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-04-13 Tourism Commission MinutesTOURISM COMMISSION RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI Monday, April 13, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. At 6:00 p.m. on April 13, 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, Julie Rule, Lori Locke, Jennifer Goering and Board liaison Alderman Aaron Thatcher. City staff members Jackie Carlson and Stacey Rasco (Scribe) were also present. Motion to Approve Minutes Commissioner Goering made a motion to approve the minutes from February 9, 2015. Commissioner Rule seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Motion passed.  Platte County Marketing Fund Match Commissioner Carriger reported that Tom Tiesdale, with Argosy Casino, approached the Chamber regarding a joint Platte County Marketing effort. The purpose of the effort would be to submit for a grant through the Missouri Division of Tourism that provides 50% matching funds for tourism related marketing/advertising. The Chamber does not have funding to accommodate this request, but Hope thought perhaps the Tourism Commission would want to participate. Platte County Convention and Visitors Bureau will be submitting for the funding and asked if area partners wanted to participate. The CVB has an overall budget of $200,000. The CVB allocated $20,000 for print and on-line ads and billboards, Parkville (Main Street Association) is putting in $17,500 for broadcasting and Weston is contributing $10,000 for prints, on-line ads and billboards. Although the CVB will submit the joint grant application, each participating partner is in charge of utilizing the matching funds how they see fit. Argosy is wanting to partner as the State funds cannot be utilized to market just an individual business, it must be a destination and there must be at least 3 entities included on the application. However, the amount of money that each entity puts in does not need to be equal. Argosy was originally looking at TV spots but has changed to on-line marketing. Mr. Tiesdale also approached Zona Rosa about partnering and they were considering a $5,000 contribution. However, Commissioner Goering believes that if Zona Rosa participates it will be at a much lower level. Applications are due to the State May 1 so information must be to the CVB by April 27. The CVB utilizes H&L Partners for their advertising work and they bill 50% directly to the State, making the process easier. The campaign runs from June 1-June 30. Commissioner Rule noted that it may be a worthwhile venture because a win for Argosy is a win for Riverside, but thinks a conservative amount is best. It was suggested that the reserve funds could be used. Alderman Thatcher noted that caution should be used when dipping into the reserve funds and that there may be use for those in the near future. He stated that given the timeframe, money from the 2015-2016 fiscal year tourism sponsorship funds could be used. Commissioner Rule motioned to allocate $1,500 from the 2015-2016 sponsorship funds for the marketing campaign. Commissioner Locke seconded the motion. The motion passed. Commissioner Goering abstained as it is her grant being proposed.   Platte County Marketing Fund Match Commissioner Carriger reported that Tom Tiesdale, with Argosy Casino, approached the Chamber regarding a joint Platte County Marketing effort. The purpose of the effort would be to submit for a grant through the Missouri Division of Tourism that provides 50% matching funds for tourism related marketing/advertising. The Chamber does not have funding to accommodate this request, but Hope thought perhaps the Tourism Commission would want to participate. Platte County Convention and Visitors Bureau will be submitting for the funding and asked if area partners wanted to participate. The CVB has an overall budget of $200,000. The CVB allocated $20,000 for print and on-line ads and billboards, Parkville (Main Street Association) is putting in $17,500 for broadcasting and Weston is contributing $10,000 for prints, on-line ads and billboards. Although the CVB will submit the joint grant application, each participating partner is in charge of utilizing the matching funds how they see fit. Argosy is wanting to partner as the State funds cannot be utilized to market just an individual business, it must be a destination and there must be at least 3 entities included on the application. However, the amount of money that each entity puts in does not need to be equal. Argosy was originally looking at TV spots but has changed to on-line marketing. Mr. Tiesdale also approached Zona Rosa about partnering and they were considering a $5,000 contribution. However, Commissioner Goering believes that if Zona Rosa participates it will be at a much lower level. Applications are due to the State May 1 so information must be to the CVB by April 27. The CVB utilizes H&L Partners for their advertising work and they bill 50% directly to the State, making the process easier. The campaign runs from June 1-June 30. Commissioner Rule noted that it may be a worthwhile venture because a win for Argosy is a win for Riverside, but thinks a conservative amount is best. It was suggested that the reserve funds could be used. Alderman Thatcher noted that caution should be used when dipping into the reserve funds and that there may be use for those in the near future. He stated that given the timeframe, money from the 2015-2016 fiscal year tourism sponsorship funds could be used. Commissioner Rule motioned to allocate $1,500 from the 2015-2016 sponsorship funds for the marketing campaign. Commissioner Locke seconded the motion. The motion passed. Commissioner Goering abstained as it is her grant being proposed.  2015 Sponsorships Update Other Events Ms. Carlson updated the Commission on the status of the approved sponsorships. Scottish Highland Games have been delinquent and unresponsive in submitting the signed MOU and the necessary paperwork and deposit to reserve the park. There had been many attempts to contact them, noting that in order to reserve the park for June 12-14 all items must be submitted no later than two months prior to the end. Friday, April 10 at noon they supplied the necessary paperwork and deposit. The MOU is signed and completed. All Truck Nationals, which is held in September, has also not submitted a signed MOU or responded to staff. The sponsorship money is held until this is submitted. As the Commission reviews future sponsorship applications, these are items to keep in mind. Tour de Platte will be next month at E H Young Park. Platte Co Parks and Recreation is spear-heading this event and the Chamber is supporting them. The park has not been reserved with Riverside to date. May 16th is the tentative date.  Sponsorship vs. Grant Ms. Carlson completed her research regarding invoices and how the City has managed those in the past. Previously the City paid the vendors directly vs. the applicants. This required significant staff time to track all the invoices, payments, and stop paying once the sponsorship amount had been received, even if it meant only paying a portion of an invoice. There were also issues with City’s tax exempt status. The paperwork was very time consuming so the Commission shifted to more of a sponsorship than a grant. In the future a standard application needs to be created with an estimated budget and expenditures outlined. A report is needed at the end of the event, to include a detailed outline of how the money was spent. Commissioner Carriger will reach out to Lee’s Summit for an example of the application and report form.  Tourism Commission Next Meeting The next Tourism Commission meeting will be on June 8, at 6 p.m.  Adjournment, 7:19p.m. Commission was adjourned by unanimous consent.