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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1022-Approve Tourism Enhancement Grant GuidelinesBILL NO. 2010-046 ORDINANCE NO. ~Da~ AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI TO REVISE AND IMPLEMENT THE TOURISM ENHANCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM GUIDELINES WHEREAS, the City of Riverside (the "City") desires to increase development and marketing of events, activities and projects that will increase direct visitor expenditures within the City; and WHEREAS, the City developed Tourism Enhancement Grant FY10 Program Guidelines designed to advance these goals and adopted by Ordinance 2009-82; and WHEREAS, the City has developed revised Tourism Enhancement Grant Program Guidelines ("Program Guidelines") designed to further advance these goals, effective, beginning with the 2011 Fiscal Year; and WHEREAS, the City finds that implementing the Program Guidelines is for a public purpose and is to be advisable and in the City's best interests for the promotion of the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN FOR THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. This Ordinance is intended and is hereby determined and declared to be necessary to accomplish and serve the public purpose of promoting and increasing tourism within the City of Riverside. Section 2. The City of Riverside shall implement the provisions set forth in the Program Guidelines, to be substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A, replacing in their entirety the Tourism Enhancement Grant FY10 Program Guidelines. Section 3. The Mayor, the City Administrator, the City Attorney and other appropriate City officials are hereby authorized to take any and all actions as may be deemed necessary or convenient to carry out and comply with the intent of this Ordinance and to execute and deliver for and on behalf of the City all certificates, instruments, agreements and other documents, as may be necessary or convenient to perform all matters herein authorized. BILL NO. 2010-046 ORDINANCE NO. /D~a- Section 4. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Aldermen and APPROVED by the Mayor of the City of Riverside, Missouri, the o?a~~lay of June, 2010. . , ATTE T: ,. ~. =Robin .Littrell, Ci y~Clerk ~~~`! Mayor Kathleen L. Rose Approved as to Form: y omps n, City Attorney City of Riverside, Missouri Tourism Commission Funding Guidelines Approved : Page 1 of 9 City of Riverside, Missouri Tourism Commission Funding Guidelines Table of Contents Chapter Title Page 1. Background: Tourism Tax Fund and the Tourism Enhancement Grant Program 3 2. Tourism Fund Objectives 4 3. Available Funding 4 4. Applicant Eligibility 5 5. City-Initiated Projects 5 6. Tourism Enhancement Grant Process 6 7. Final Report g 8. Sponsorship Recognition g Approved : Page 2 of 9 Tourism Fund Overview 1. Background: Tourism Tax Fund and the Tourism Enhancement Grant Program a. Tourism Tax Fund The enabling legislation for Riverside's bed tax specifies what a bed tax is and how it shall be levied. But the legislation is not specific on how funds will be used; only specifying that, "There is a separate Tourism Tax Fund Commission into which all tourism tax revenues shall be deposited and from which only eligible expenditures for promoting tourism shall be made." From State Statute RSMo 67.1363: "The revenue received from the tax shall be deposited in a special fund and used solely to promote tourism. b. Tourism Tax Commission Upon adoption of the tourism sales tax, there shall be established a Tourism Tax Fund Commission to consist of five members appointed by the governing body of the city. Of these members, one shall be a representative of the hotel and motel industry and two shall be active in the tourism industry; the remaining members of the commission will be members of local general business interests of the city. All members shall be residents of the city. One member of the Board of Aldermen shall serve as liaison in anon-voting capacity. Members of the Tourism Commission will be appointed for a term of three years; but, of the members first appointed, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, two shall be appointed for a term of two years, and two shall be appointed for a term of three years. Members of the commission may serve no more than two consecutive terms. The members will serve without compensation. c. Conflict of Interest All members, including those who are active in the tourism industry, hotel/motel industry and local business, must at the time proposals for funding are. being judged indicate if they have a conflict of interest in regard to any of the proposals. It is the member's responsibility to point out any conflict or potential conflict of interest that is occurring or may occur. If the conflict of interest does occur, the conflicted members must excuse themselves from the area of discussion until the comment period is completed. Conflicted members may not comment or vote on the proposal. Approved : Page 3 of 9 d. Tourism Enhancement Grant Proeram A portion of the Tourism Tax Fund will be utilized to establish and operate a reimbursement program created by the City of Riverside, Missouri to support development and marketing of events, activities and projects that will increase direct visitor expenditures within the City of Riverside. 2. Tourism Fund Objectives a. Mission Statement The mission of the Riverside, Missouri Tourism Commission shall be to expand and enhance the tourism industry to make the City of Riverside one of the region's premier destinations through the use of the Tourism Tax Fund b. Goals Through disbursement of Tourism Tax monies, the Riverside, Missouri Tourism Commission will: • Increase / the number of first-time visitors to Riverside / the number of return trips of current visitors / the length of visitor stays • Generate significant research-based return-on-investment for Riverside's residents and businesses • Expand the visiting public's awareness of Riverside's unique history, events, activities and amenities. 3. Available Funding a. Fundine Pools The City of Riverside's fiscal year is July 1-June 30. The City of Riverside will determine the amount of Tourism Tax Funding available for distribution in the upcoming fiscal year no later than June 30 of the current year. b. Tourism Fund Allocation At least 30% of the Tourism Fund Revenue will allotted to fund projects through the Tourism Enhancement Grant Program. The remaining funds will be available to fund projects including, but not limited to, City-sponsored events and tourism-related marketing. c. Unawarded Funds Any Tourism Tax Fund revenue not awarded will be rolled into the general Tourism Fund to be reallocated in the next fiscal year. Approved : Page 4 of 9 d. Reserve Funds 10% of each year's Tourism Tax Fund revenue will be held in escrow as an emergency reserve. The total of reserve funds shall not exceed $100,000. The fund will be utilized to cover outstanding obligations in the event there is a significant decrease in the revenue stream. Reserve funds may also be used to fund projects deemed as exceptional by the Tourism Commission and Board of Aldermen. Reserve funds may be accessed by a vote of the Tourism Commission and subsequent approval by the Board of Aldermen. 4. Applicant Eligibility Eligible applicants must be: • not-for-profit • non-religious • non-political organizations • divisions of government located in the service area (defined as the City of Riverside or the County of Platte). Organizations that do not meet the not-for-profit criteria, but feel they have a very exceptional project, may appear before the Riverside Tourism Commission for consideration of funding directly from the Commission without having to indirectly apply for funding through anot-for-profit entity. The request must be submitted in writing and detail why the organization feels the project is so exceptional as to be funded without the umbrella of anot-for-profit entity. 5. City-Initiated Projects City projects may be brought to the Tourism Commission for funding consideration. All proposals must be in the form of a memo and contain the following components: • Project overview and history • How the project supports the goals of the Tourism Commission • Measures of success that will be utilized (both quantitative and qualitative) • Budget request including general categories of expenditures As with other funding requests, the Tourism Commission will recommend an overall budget amount to the Board of Aldermen for approval. A detailed budget will be available for review after the event as part of the required Final Report (see #8). All expenditures related to city-initiated projects, including overtime staffing costs, are eligible to be covered by Tourism funds. Approved : Page 5 of 9 6. Tourism Enhancement Grant Process a. Application Process 1. There shall be two Tourism Enhancement Grant funding cycles during each fiscal year. • Fall Deadline: August 1 • Spring Deadline: February 1 2. Half of the funds allotted to the Tourism Enhancement Grant funding pool will be available in the fall. If less than half is awarded during the fall cycle, all remaining funds will be available during the spring cycle. 3. Applicants can apply for funding up to one calendar year in advance of their event date. 4. All requests for funding will be given equal consideration during each funding cycle. Any projects brought to the Tourism Commission outside of this process are not guaranteed funding consideration. 5. All reports from previously funded activities or past activities requesting expansion funding, in addition to new application packets will be reviewed according to guidelines set forth by the Tourism Commission, which will, in turn, make funding recommendations tothe Riverside Board of Aldermen. 6. Applicants may be asked to make afive-minute presentation before one or both bodies concerning project funding. Applicants will be notified at least one week in advance of their presentation time and date. 7. Application Process Schedule Falk Gy~te S rln Cycle Available Funds Determined June 30 December 31 Available Funds Advertised July January Application Deadline (by 12 p.m.) August 1 February 1 Application Review and Applicant August February Presentations to the Tourism Commission. Board of Aldermen review of Tourism September March Commission recommendations and applicant presentations if requested on the first Tuesday of the month. Awards Announced no later than the third September March Tuesday of the month. 8. All applications will be evaluated on their own merit annually. Approved : Page 6 of 9 b. Application Components The following must be attached to the Tourism Enhancement Grant Application: • A list of all officers and board members. • 501 incorporation papers or a copy of the annual report filed with the Secretary of State. • Previous event summaries and budgets (if an on-going event). • A complete budget/financial statement of the project. • Documentation of matching funds (award letters, letter of donation from source, etc.) • Cover letter outlining the project and how it will benefit the City of Riverside. Please address the Tourism Commission goals specifically. c. Application Evaluation Applications will be reviewed by the Tourism Commission and evaluated on items such as: • Supports goals of the Tourism Commission • Potential for positive return on investment • Completeness and thoroughness of application, including budget portion In addition, applications will be considered in relation to the other projects that have received funding in that fiscal year in order to promote a diverse offering. d. Minimum and Maximum Fundine Requests Requests for grant funding must be a minimum of $1,000 and may not exceed 45% of the project's total budget. Approved : Page 7 of 9 e. Fundine Procedures Once funding has been approved for a project, the responsible organization will submit invoices for eligible expenses to the City and the vendor will be paid directly. City staff will work with organizations to guide them through this process and track available funds for a project. f. Elieible Expenses • Advertising /Publicity • Collateral Material Design • Printing • Facility Rental Fees (not including City facilities) • Security Fees (not including those paid to the City of Riverside) • Equipment Rental • Food (itemized receipt or invoice must be provided) • Permits • Event Insurance • Costume Rental • Entertainment • CPA Expenses • Research • Trophies/Awards g. Inelieible Expenses. Exceptions and Exclusions • Postage • Equipment Purchase • Staffing or Security Expenses paid to the City of Riverside • City Facility Rental Fees • Telephone/Long Distance • Office Supplies • Travel Expenses (transportation, lodging, meals, toll and fees) • Administrative Costs (in-house orout-of-house) • Clerical Activities • Consultant or Lobbying Fees • Alcoholic Beverages of Any Kind • Capital Improvement Costs • Contracted Labor Costs • Cost of Promotional Items for Resale • Costs for otherwise eligible materials that contain (or appear to contain) paid advertising • Membership Fees or Dues • Projects not open to the public Approved : Page 8 of 9 7. Final Report Projects receiving Tourism Funds must complete a final report and submit it to the Tourism Commission within 60 days of project completion. The report will include the following details: - The outcome of the project or event - Report on the measures of success (qualitative and quantitative) collected - Budget overview, including total revenues, expenditures and matching funds - If the project will be repeated in the future and if it is anticipated that Tourism Funds will be requested 8. Sponsorship Recognition The City of Riverside must be identified as a sponsor for all projects receiving Tourism Funds. The City reserves to right to request approval on any piece that utilizes the City logo or name in order to preserve the integrity of the City of Riverside brand. Approved : Page 9 of 9 CITY C3F RIVER51 MISSCJl..1R~! Upstream from ordinary. 2950 NW Vivion Road Riverside, Missouri 64150 AGENDA DATE: 2010-06-22 TO: Mayor and Board of Aldermen FROM: Meredith Hauck, Director of Community Relations RE: Tourism Funding Guidelines BACKGROUND: Each year the Board adopts an update to the Tourism Commission Funding Guidelines by the end of June so that the first grant cycle for funding may be advertised starting July 1. The update contains suggested changes to the document by the Tourism Commission to improve their ability to run an efficient and successful tourism funding program. RECOMMENDATION: The following changes were approved unanimously by Tourism Commission motion at their June 14, 2010 meeting: - Section 6, Item c: Scored Applications -The point system for funding was removed and replaced with general wording about what overall goals the Tourism Commission would like to see the project meet. - Section 6, Item f.' Eligible Expenses -The Commission agreed to allow food as an eligible expense as long as an itemized receipt or invoice is provided. - Section 7: Final Report -Final reports must now be submitted within 60 days of project completion instead of 30 days. - Section 8: Sponsorship Recognition -Language was added to help preserve Riverside brand integrity.