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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-05-16 - Minutes• ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING May 16, 2011 Commissioners Present: Bill Lyle, Bob Davis, Lioneld Jordan, Brandon Karn, Hannah Mills, Maudie Schmitt and Justin Tennant. Commissioners Absent: None Staff Present: Marilyn Heifner, Sandra Bennett CALL TO ORDER Maudie Schmitt called the regular monthly meeting of the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission to order on May 16, 2011, at the Fayetteville Town Center at 2:00 p.m. MINUTES , Minutes of the April 11 meeting should read that Mills was present (not Crawford). Moved by Davis, second by Tennant to approve the minutes of the April 11, 2010 meeting as corrected. Motion carried. FINANCIAL REPORT HMR Revenue — Collections for the month of April was $187.976, a $246 increase. Year to date increase is 3.52%, with a total of $694,651. • Financials— Keith Glass reviewed March financials. All expenses are in line with, budgets. Update from the City Attorney — Kit Williams presented HMR collections from the City Prosecutors Office of $684.90 for a year to date total of $12,017.17. In April, the City Council approved the change in HMR to no longer exempt concession stands at festivals sponsored by Justin Tennant. It is now in effect. CLINTON HOUSE MUSEUM The Museum had 106 visitors in April. Hillary's daffodils and new tulips made the grounds an explosion of color. New exhibits offer a more in depth look at the other residents of the house and its historical significance. The Museum hosted the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism Commissioners and the Cassville Young Democrats in April. CONVENTION VISITORS BUREAU Sales at the Visitor Center increased 141 in April, with $5,220.72 in sales. Visitors in the Center increased 44% as well. Definite bookings were signed for 1,255 attendees with an economic impact of $300,559.95 value. Southwest Tours was the only group which was lost due to poor participant sign-up. 0 • Shelly attended the ASAE trade show. Many there want to book a large conference in Fayetteville, but the challenge is that we don't have rooms. They need 250-300 sleeping rooms which are near adequate meeting space. TOWN CENTER For the first time this year, the Town Center reached its sales goal for the month. Thirty percent of the 2011 goal has been attained. Focus for the staff is increasing the week day business and working on rebooking events for 2012. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT On a regional basis, Marilyn is working with NATA on rebranding. The Clinton House Museum Board met and approved of the current direction of the museum. The Town Center remodeling progresses with painting completed. Tile, carpet, and chairs are due to be completed during the coming month. The Fayetteville Guide is underway. Habitotes with the Find it in Fayetteville logo will be distributed at the May 20 baseball game. A cooperative agreement with the UA Broadcast Journalism department will begin in the fall for students to produce YouTube videos for businesses to be hosted on the experiencefayetteville.com website. The CVB will work on getting marketing and public • relations interns for the summer. The Fayetteville flag was ordered and is being sold in the CVB store. First Thursday was a success despite the rain. ARTospere presented the band ADVERTISING AGENCY Mike Sells introduced Drew Finkbeiner.who will be handling the Fayetteville account. Comparison of the Fayetteville HMR numbers to the state tourism tax numbers, the state was flat in January and February and Fayetteville showed an 8 1/2 % increase. Two brochures of the four being updated are complete. Web stats are up, but the online marketing is just starting. We have had over 8,000 visits this year, a 30% increase. The parking website is being updated so that the QR codes can be put on the parking kiosks OLD BUSINESS HMR for used for bonds for Walton Arts Center — Present were the following: Terri Trotter, Peter Lane, Barb Putnam, Dennis Hunt, Steve; Clark, Fred Vorsanger, Paul Becker, and Don Marr. The Mayor introduced Dennis Hunt who explained that the HMR tax would be used as the revenue stream for the City portion of $6.7 million toward construct of the Walton Arts Center expansion. The Mayor said the site would be on the campus of the present site of the Walton Arts Center. He indicated that the diagram was presented last August. • • . Davis asked for a business plan to be presented to the A & P Commission. Peter Lane said they want the facility to go as close to the present facility as possible and they want at the same time to address some problems with the old facilities, i.e., more restrooms. They are doing the next level of study now. The present WAC is at 90% usage and 95% capacity. They will be shooting for 70-80% usage in the new facility. Studies done in the past have shown that the present customer spends $20 per person in the entertainment district and the WAC has a $2 % -$3 million impact on the entertainment district. Dave Gearhart said the University continues to make investment in arts on the campus. They want to continue to showcase UA arts by adding sculptures to the campus. They have a close partnership with Crystal Bridges. They don't have all of the facilities at the UA to handle all of the needs of the UA. The faculty is bringing talent to the UA. They need 600 seats, which will cost in the neighborhood of $20-$30 million for UA needs without public money. It makes sense to partner with the UA and WAC to continue the partnership. A larger venue in Bentonville will continue the quality of programing at the WAC. The Dali Lama event was ticketed by the WAC. The UA has committed to use Walton Arena and the football stadium for concerts when the basketball practice facility opens. The.UA will be full partners with the Commission and the WAC and will be onboard with fundraising and payment of the bonds. .Davis asked what will be the UA commitment out of the $20-$30 million in bonds. Gearhart said the UA will commit $7 million or match the proposed $7 million City contribution. The rest will be raised by a campaign effort. • Steve Clark, president of the Chamber of Commerce said the COC Board had approved the plan and he was certain the businesses will step up and help with fund raising. Lane said one of the reasons he took this job was because the city supported the arts. Arts leaders have stepped up in the past and we believe they will again. The UA and WAC have a unique opportunity to grow and will unlock doors for kids and the quality of life. The WAC facilities committee has authorized a utilization study which is a 2 x 2 plan (2 years to plan and 2 years to build). Steve Clark is an incoming board member of WAC. The WAC has a 17 year contract with the City. The Mayor indicated that there was no proposal for pursuing the sales tax at this time. Don Man said the sales tax renews every 10 years and that makes up 40% of the operating and capital improvement plan. 1.3 mils of the 5 mils available are currently being used. The City has other funding needs at this time (a $27 million dollar regional park). He said the greatest use of the HMR is to leverage it with a UA match. Parking revenues will be diverted to construction to building a parking deck. In the last 10 years the HMR tax has doubled from $1.1 million to $2.0 million. Kam asked if the A & P were to consider funding a portion of the expansion, would the city consider funding the rest. The Mayor responded that he would prefer that if the A & P funds the • project, that they fund it all. • Davis said his concern is tying up the HMR tax for 25 years. He hasn't seen a business plan. The lack of a hotel makes it difficult to bring in larger convention groups. He said it was hard for him to make a decision today and asked if there were other opportunities to consider. The Mayor asked how much time was needed. He said it was the choice of the people to decide the bond election because it's their money. Lane asked if it would be helpful to share economic impact studies with the committee. Davis said he needed a booklet to read and study. The Mayor asked what the Commission wanted for the next meeting. Karn asked for information as to how much the expansion would cost and how the HMR would be used to get further funding. Lane said a study 2 years ago indicated the cost was $180 million to design and build. He said they would major lead gifts and a "penny campaign". The story of fundraising becomes more palatable when they can say, "Our community believes in this." Lane said he can show the economic impact, a gift table, and show how the HMR fits into the bigger gift picture. The WAC needs the physical plant to fit the art's needs. Clark said he is working on the hotel need. He said, "We clearly know that $20 per person is spent by an arts patron. We clearly know that we're growing. We clearly know that we're a regional and national arts destination. Fayetteville has grown 640 new jobs since 2009. The • Chamber is passionate and that's why we're better suited. Lyle said the A & P was obligated to come up with how many dollars we have and see how much we are willing to commit. Tennant said we need to show the outside how obligated we are to the arts and as well as to each other. Schmitt said there is competition to get our 600 seat facility built before the facility up north and at the same time to be good stewards of the HMR. We need to have as much information as we can have to be prudent. We have people we have to answer to. Clark said he is working with a $20 million dollar hotel with over 200 rooms which will employ 60-100 new people. The Commission asked for a copy of the plan the City presented to the WAC Board. Mills asked where the 900 seat auditorium of the high school fits into this picture and where does that leave us. Tem Trotter said she didn't think the high school auditorium was a competing facility. It would have somewhat limited accessibility with a usage rate of 70-80%. The question of usage was asked — what percentage would be UA usage and what percentage would be WAC? n LJ Lane said he could provide an overall analysis of the best tools available. He couldn't tell what the project would look like. He could provide assumptions that the WAC uses for a business model. Commissioners asked that the data be noted as to its source. The WAC had a $9 million operations budget two years ago and currently the operating budget is $1.2 million. He indicated that he would put something together that would pass the logic test. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, / � L Marilyn Heifner Executive Director 0 0 • ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING May 16, 2011 �lt" fit, Commissioners Present: Bill Lyle, Neal-&wxfoW, Bob Davis, Lioneld Jordan, Brandon Kam, Maudie Schmitt and Justin Tennant. Commissioners Absent: None Staff Present: Marilyn Heifner, Sandra Bennett CALL TO ORDER Maudie Schmitt called the regular monthly meeting of the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission to order on May 16, 2011, at the Fayetteville Town Center at 2:00 p.m. MINUTES Minutes of the April 11 meeting should read that Mills was present (not Crawford). Moved by Davis, second by Tennant to approve the minutes of the April 11, 2010 meeting as corrected. Motion carried. ' FINANCIAL REPORT HMR Revenue — Collections for the month of April was $187.976, a $246 increase. Year • to date increase is 3.52%, with a total of $694,651. Financials — Keith Glass reviewed March financials. All expenses are in line with budgets. Update from the City Attorney — Kit Williams presented HMR collections from the City Prosecutors Office of $684.90 for a year to date total of $12,017.17. In April, the City Council approved the change in HMR to no longer exempt concession stands at festivals sponsored by Justin Tennant. It is now in effect. CLINTON HOUSE MUSEUM The Museum had 106 visitors in April. Hillary's daffodils and new tulips made the grounds an explosion of color. New exhibits offer a more in depth look at the other residents of the house and its historical significance. The Museum hosted the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism Commissioners and the Cassville Young Democrats in April. CONVENTION VISITORS BUREAU Sales at the Visitor Center increased 141 in April, with $5,220.72 in sales. Visitors in the Center increased 44% as well. Definite bookings were signed for 1,255 attendees with an economic impact of $300,559.95 value. Southwest Tours was the only group which was lost due to poor participant sign-up. • • Shelly attended the ASAE trade show. Many there want to book a large conference in Fayetteville, but the challenge is that we don't have rooms. They need 250-300 sleeping rooms which are near adequate meeting space. TOWN CENTER For the first time this year, the Town Center reached its sales goal for the month. Thirty percent of the 2011 goal has been attained. Focus for the staff is increasing the week day business and working on rebooking events for 2012. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT On a regional basis, Marilyn is working with NATA on rebranding. The Clinton House Museum Board met and approved of the current direction of the museum. The Town Center remodeling progresses with painting completed. Tile, carpet, and chairs are due to be completed during the coming month. The Fayetteville Guide is underway. Habitotes with the Find it in Fayetteville logo will be distributed at the May 20 baseball game. A cooperative agreement with the UA Broadcast Journalism department will begin in the fall for students to produce YouTube videos for businesses to be hosted on the experiencefayetteville.com website. The CVB will work on getting marketing and public • relations interns for the summer. The Fayetteville flag was ordered and is being sold in the CVB store. First Thursday was a success despite the rain. ARTospere presented the band. ADVERTISING AGENCY Mike Sells introduced Drew Finkbeiner who will be handling the Fayetteville account. Comparison of the Fayetteville HMR numbers to the state tourism tax numbers, the state was flat in January and February and Fayetteville showed an 8 1/2 % increase. Two brochures of the four being updated are complete. Web stats are up, but the online marketing is just starting. We have had over 8,000 visits this year, a 30% increase. The parking website is being updated so that the QR codes can be put on the parking kiosks. OLD BUSINESS HMR for used for bonds for Walton Arts Center — Present were the following: Tem Trotter, Peter Lane, Barb Putnam, Dennis Hunt, Steve Clark, Fred Vorsanger, Paul Becker, and Don Marr. The Mayor introduced Dennis Hunt who explained that the HMR tax would be used as the revenue stream for the City portion of $6.7 million toward construct of the Walton Arts Center expansion. The Mayor said the site would be on the campus of the present site of the Walton Arts Center. He indicated that the diagram was presented last August. 0 • Davis asked for a business plan to be presented to the A & P Commission. Peter Lane said they want the facility to go as close to the present facility as possible and they want at the same time to address some problems with the old facilities, i.e., more restrooms. They are doing the next level of study now. The present WAC is at 90% usage and 95% capacity. They will be shooting for 70-80% usage in the new facility. Studies done in the past have shown that the present customer spends $20 per person in the entertainment district and the WAC has a $2'/2 -$3 million impact on the entertainment district. Dave Gearhart said the University continues to make investment in arts on the campus. They want to continue to showcase UA arts by adding sculptures to the campus. They have a close partnership with Crystal Bridges. They don't have all of the facilities at the UA to handle all of the needs of the UA. The faculty is bringing talent to the UA. They need 600 seats, which will cost in the neighborhood of $20-$30 million for UA needs without public money. It makes sense to partner with the UA and WAC to continue the partnership. A larger venue in Bentonville will continue the quality of programing at the WAC. The Dali Lama event was ticketed by the WAC. The UA has committed to use Walton Arena and the football stadium for concerts when the basketball practice facility opens. The UA will be full partners with the Commission and the WAC and will be onboard with fundraising and payment of the bonds. Davis asked what will be the UA commitment out of the $20-$30 million in bonds. Gearhart said the UA will commit $7 million or match the proposed $7 million City contribution. The rest will be raised by a campaign effort. is Steve Clark, president of the Chamber of Commerce said the COC Board had approved the plan and he was certain the businesses will step up and help with fund raising. Lane said one of the reasons he took this job was because the city supported the arts. Arts leaders have stepped up in the past and we believe they will again. The UA and WAC have a unique opportunity to grow and will unlock doors for kids and the quality of life. The WAC facilities committee has authorized a utilization study which is a 2 x 2 plan (2 years to plan and 2 years to build). Steve Clark is an incoming board member of WAC. The WAC has a 17 year contract with the City. The Mayor indicated that there was no proposal for suing the sales tax at this time. Don Marr said the sales tax renews every 10 years and that makes up 40% of the operating and capital improvement plan. -1.3 mils of the 5 mils available are currently being used. The City has other funding needs at this time (a $27 million dollar regional park). He said the greatest use of the HMR is to leverage it with a UA match. Parking revenues will be diverted to construction to building a parking deck. In the last 10 years the HMR tax has doubled from $1.1 million to $2.0 million. Karn asked if the A & P were to consider funding a portion of the expansion, would the city consider funding the rest. The Mayor responded that he would prefer that if the A & P funds the project, that they fund it all. • 0 Davis said his concern is tying up the HMR tax for 25 years. He hasn't seen a business plan. The lack of a hotel makes it difficult to bring in larger convention groups. He said it was hard for him to make a decision today and asked if there were other opportunities to consider. The Mayor asked how much time was needed. He said it was the choice of the people to decide the bond election because it's their money. people we have Lane asked if it would be helpful to share economic impact studies with the committee. Davis said he needed a booklet to read and study. The Mayor asked what the Commission wanted for the next meeting. Karn asked for information as to how much the expansion would cost and how the HMR would be used to get further funding. Lane said a study 2 years ago indicated the cost was $180 million to design and build. He said they would major lead gifts and a "penny campaign". The story of fundraising becomes more palatable when they can say, "Our community believes in this." Lane said he can show the economic impact, a gift table, and show how the HMR fits into the bigger gift picture. The WAC needs the physical plant to fit the art's needs. Clark said he is working on the hotel need. He said, "We clearly know that $20 per person is spent by an arts patron. We clearly know that we're growing. We clearly know that we're a regional and national arts destination. Fayetteville has grown 640 new jobs since 2009. The Chamber is passionate and that's why we're better suited. Lyle said the A & P was obligated to come up with how many dollars we have and see how much we are willing to commit. Tennant said we need to show the outside how obligated we are to the arts and as well as to each other. Schmitt said there is competition to get our 600 seat facility built before the facility up north and at the same time to be good stewards of the HMR. We need to have as much information as we can have to be prudent. We have people we have to answer to. Clark said he is working with'a $20 million dollar hotel with over 200 rooms which will employ 60-100 new people. The Commission asked for a copy of the plan the City presented to the WAC Board. Mills asked where the 900 seat auditorium of the high school fits into this picture and where does that leave us. Terri Trotter said she didn't think the high school auditorium was a competing facility. It would have somewhat limited accessibility with a usage rate of 70-80%. The question of usage was asked — what percentage would be UA usage and what percentage would be WAC? L J • Lane said he could provide an overall analysis of the best tools available. He couldn't tell what the project would look like. He could provide assumptions that the WAC uses for a business model. Commissioners asked that the data be noted as to its source. The WAC had a $9 million operations budget two years ago and currently the operating budget is $1.2 million. He indicated that he would put something together that would pass the logic test. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Marilyn Heifner Executive Director • •