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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-06-13 Tourism Commission Minutes (2) TOURISM COMMISSION MEETING RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI Monday, June 13, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. The Tourism Commission for the City of Riverside, Missouri, was to meet in regular session at Riverside City Hall, 2950 NW Vivion Road, Riverside, Missouri. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm. Answering roll call were Commissioners Jennifer Goering and Julie Rule. Also present were Board liaison Alderman Frank Biondo, City staff members Jackie Carlson, Lori Boji and Stacey Rasco, (recorder). As there was not a quorum present the meeting was not held and no action was taken on any items. Ms. Carlson did provide a few brief updates. New Tourism Ms. Carlson introduced Lori Boji, Manager for the Riverside Commission Staff Community Center, as the newly selected City Liaison for the Liaison Commission when Ms. Carlson leaves in the fall. Welcome Lori! 2016 Tourism Ms. Carlson updated the committee on Tourism Sponsorship Sponsorship application statuses. Application Status  Northland Ethnic Fest, held in April, was a success. Ms. Carlson will email out to the Commission the news clip from the Park High South School TV News. The festival organizers provided a Certificate of Appreciation to the Commission.  The Scottish Highland Games were this past weekend. Throughout the process the applicant continued to have issues with submitting necessary documents in a timely manner.  Taste of Africa has still not obtained their non-profit status. They have completed a website and the website company has been paid directly.  Midwest All Truck Nationals has not received funding as they have not yet reserved the park.  Riverside Area Chamber of Commerce  Tour de Platte was May 21 and there were double the riders/participants over last year.  Riverfest is slated for Sept. 17th with Little River Band confirmed as the headliner.  Dust Bowl Jamboree is moving along nicely and the organizer has been great to work with. 2016 – 2017 City Ms. Carlson reported that the city budget runs from July 1 – June 30 Budget and Tourism and staff has recommended to the Board a reduction in funds for the Grant Funding coming year. Proposed is $150,000 instead of $175,000. The goal of reducing the amount is two-fold: 1)It will help the Commission wean out festivals that continually rely on a large sponsorship from Tourism monies to hold their event. 2)The additional tourism dollars will be added to the reserve fund creating a large poll that can hopefully be utilized for a larger capital type project like a high-end RV park, tournament fields, natatorium or similar facilities. Ms. Carlson noted that there is no official project and if something were to come to fruition the builder/developer/owner would come before the Commission to request funds. The City would not want to own, maintain or operate such a facility. Commissioner Rule noted that the Commission would want to be involved in the planning phases very early on. She suggested the Commission may want to investigate scale, costs, impact, etc. for these types of projects so they have an idea if something does come forward. Commissioner Goering noted that Brian Nowotny with Platte Co. would have all the information regarding what is required and needed for large projects such as a soccer fields. Ms. Carlson reiterated that there is not a set project to date. The discussion is only to keep the Commission informed and to provide an opportunity to comment on the change before the budget is official adopted by the Board of Aldermen in late June. Both Commissioners Goering and Rule believed it was a good change. They mentioned that going forward the Commission must be steadfast on the rules and policies of application submission to ensure those following the rules receive the limited funds. Plus, this will effectively help to cut down on so much re-work and time management details.