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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-11 Tourism Commission Minutes (2) TOURISM COMMISSION RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI, Monday, February 11, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. At 6:00 p.m. on February 11, 2013, 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 was Jason Rule, Deana Winter, and Jerry Pietsch. Meredith Hauck, Director of Administration, was also present and served as recorder. Alderman Aaron Thatcher and Dirk van der Linde were absent. 2013 Riverfest Mayor Kathy Rose, Holly Phillips and Sarah Wagner made a presentation to the Tourism Commission on their plans for the 2013 Riverside Riverfest. The presentation covered the required cost of putting on the event and presented an option for expanding the entertainment on Friday night and bringing in a bigger name act on Saturday. The budget for the event with expanded entertainment was $149,400. The Committee requested funding in the amount of $100,000 from the Tourism Commission. During the Commission’s evaluation of the funding request, the following questions came up: -What is the theme and the identity of the event? Rule commented that he felt the event was trying to be everything to everyone and lost focus. -Do the changes make it a premier tourism draw? The Commission discussed that attendance has been steadily declining over the past five years and they didn’t feel like the proposed changes addressed what was fundamentally broken about the event. The Commission was also not satisfied that the only change to the event was the expanded night entertainment. They felt they had tasked the Riverfest Committee with bringing back a full schedule that would draw a significant number of people to the community and that was not addressed at all during the proposal. -Is the caliber of event presented worth a $100,000 investment? The Commission felt that the event in its current state lacks the professional polish and planning that an event of that size needs. Based on the concerns discussed, the Commission discussed only funding Riverfest at the amount available in its Other Events Line Item - $49,350. Commissioner Rule stated that he felt that the Riverfest Committee would need to make tough choices about how they spent their money this year and that bigger entertainment was still possible at this funding level, but the Committee would need to decide what their priority was – entertainment or the smaller, less impactful events that went on during the day. Commissioner Winter stated that she felt it was her responsibility to act as a good steward of the Tourism Fund and based on the current proposal, she was not comfortable funding more than $49,350 amount. Commissioner Winter made a motion to approve $49,350 in funding for the 2013 Riverside Riverfest. Commissioner Rule seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Motion passes. The Commissioners also discussed the option of allowing the committee to present a revised proposal at the March meeting for an additional $50,000. The conditions for that proposal would be: -Fill the 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule with events and activities that draw a significant crowd and present a tentative schedule to the Commission. -Hire a professional event planner to coordinate the event -Hire a professional firm or individual to establish an overall brand or marketing strategy for the event. Commissioner Winter made a motion to allow the Riverfest Committee to make a revised proposal with the outlined conditions at the March Meeting. Commissioner Pietsch seconded the motion. Commissioner Winter voted in favor, Commissioner Rule was opposed, and Commissioner Pietsch abstained. Motion failed. The Commissioners agreed that they are willing to fund the 2014 event at the $100,000 level if the same conditions outlined above are met. They asked Hauck to communicate this decision to the Riverfest Committee and inform them that the proposal for 2014 Riverfest would be due in Fall 2013. Motion to approve The Commission reviewed the 2013 Midwest All Truck Nationals 2013 grant funding for the 2013 application. The 2013 request increased $900 from $10,400 in 2012 to Midwest All Truck $11,300 in 2013. After reviewing the application, the projected revenues Nationals and expenditures before the Tourism grant equal each other. Commissioner Rule pointed out that since all additional revenues from this event are donated, the grant was essentially funding the organization’s donation to charity. The Tourism Commission did agree that this was a worthy event, but all Commissioners agreed that were not interested in funding an $11,300 charity donation. Commissioner Winter made a motion to approve $5,000 in funding for the 2013 Midwest All Truck Nationals. Commissioner Pietsch seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Motion passes. New Tourism Grant Hauck presented a draft RFP for Tourism Enhancement Projects and Process reviewed it with the Commission. This will be a topic for discussion at the April meeting. March Meeting The Commission discussed the March meeting date and agreed to cancel the meeting. The next Tourism Commission meeting will be on April 8. Adjournment – 8:35 p.m. Commission was adjourned. -