SWEETWATER COUNTY TOURISM BOARD
JANUARY 9 , 2008 MINUTES
7:00 PM
SWEETWATER COUNTY COURTHOUSE
GREEN RIVER, WY 82935
- Call to Order
- Cindy Bailey called the meeting to order at 6:57 p.m.
- Roll Call
- Members Present: Cindy Bailey, David Tate, Justin Spicer, Tom McIntosh, Gregg Waldner, Kandi Pendleton, Julie Waters and Terri Cook.
- Members Absent: Kevin Yeend, Pat Robbins and Shirl Coble.
- Visitors, guests and staff: Chad Banks, Jenissa Bartlett and Thora Martodam.
- Approval of Agenda
- Justin moved to approve the agenda; David seconded (motion passes 8-0).
- Correspondence
- T&T received a number of Christmas cards; Jenissa accepted them on behalf of the board.
- Public Comment
1. None.
- Quarterly Reports
- RSCC – Dave Hanks (will present in February)
- GRCC – Janet Hartford (will present in February)
- Sweetwater Events Complex – Chad Banks
- Chad reported on the two tourism events in December: the Arena Cross consisted of 256 riders over the weekend; 102 were from out of the area. The BMX consisted of 193 riders over the weekend; 120 were from out of the area. They had a free BMX race day, which brought in 15 new racers.
- Chad reported that the Events Complex was working on a number of improvements which will help impact and hopefully attract new events.
- $3 Million in renovations were started last spring; the funding for the renovations came from the Sweetwater County Commissioners, their Capital Improvements Fund and revenue generated from the campground.
- The campground was established 2 years ago as a public/private partnership; US Pipeline donated $250,000 to upgrade the existing spaces and put in an additional 100 spaces. The campground serves as living space for their temporary employees, it allows for flexibility when attracting new events, it generates revenue for capital improvements ($500,000 so far) and it fills the need for other temporary housing.
- Chad reported that the campground has been beneficial for the area and explained that the temporary workers and their families have impacted the local economy (i.e. by purchasing new vehicles and R.V.s from local dealers, shopping, etc.).
- The Exhibit Hall restrooms were renovated to triple the number of units available. The Hall itself was painted and the ceiling was blacked out. Bids have also been released for new lighting, air conditioning and sound systems. The Meeting and Conference Room was renovated to include a drop down screen and projector, state of the art sound system and the walls were acoustically padded.
- The irrigation system also underwent improvements; all the watering systems around the building began utilizing city water to help keep things cleaner.
- $300,000 worth of new asphalt has been installed so far; the indoor arena has been surrounded by new asphalt, and a drainage system will be added and the road will be done this spring.
- Chad reported that they have been working on the promotions for the Sweetwater County fair (Wyoming Big Show); the theme this year is “Give It A Whirl”. He announced the various entertainment acts that have been booked for the event so far.
- Approval of Minutes – December 12, 2007
- Kandi made a motion to approve the minutes; Julie seconded (motion passes 8-0)
- Secretary – Signing of Minutes
- Julie signed the minutes from December 12, 2007.
- Payment of Bills
- David made a motion to approve the payment of the bills as proposed from check number 1609 to check number 1630 in the amount of $24,874.81; Terri seconded (motion passes 8-0).
- Chairperson’s Report
- None.
- Vice Chairperson’s Report
- None.
- Treasurer’s Report
- None.
- Director’s Report
- Jenissa passed out the Director’s report. She provided examples of the two standing banners she ordered to be displayed at the Sportsman’s Expo in Denver later this month.
- Jenissa distributed a copy of the Madden Newspaper insert; the ad is complete and will be part of a 2.5 million distribution.
- Jenissa reported that she finalized a second contract, worth $500, with Skylar Hansen; $250 for unlimited and continued use of the first picture we used of his and $250 for the use of a new picture.
- Jenissa summarized the promotional items she had ordered for the Sportsman’s Expo in Denver, including binoculars, luggage tags, trail mix, bottled water, standing banner, prize wheel, tablecloth and portfolios.
- Jenissa reported that the WWCC land that has been committed to the HDIVC is scheduled to be surveyed in the next couple of weeks.
- Jenissa reported on the ad she placed in BMW Magazine; because Gillette is hosting the BMW Motorcycle Rally in July, the state offered a $500.00 co-op for a 1/6th of a page ad in the May issue of the magazine.
- Jenissa reported that the occupancy rate was 71%, second in the state to Gillette, in November, 2007.
- Jenissa indicated that the tax collection for December, 2007 has not yet been released.
- Jenissa reviewed the four expenditures she had approved over the past month, which were listed on the bottom of her report.
- Jenissa purchased the BMW Motorcycle Rally Wyoming co-op ad in BMW Magazine for $500, the binoculars and luggage tags for the Sportsman’s Expo from Print Link for $785, the standing banners and prize wheel for the Sportsman’s Expo from Siegel Display Products for $302.92 and a table cloth for the Sportsman’s Expo and portfolios from 4 Imprint for $557.22.
- Kandi moved to approve the Director’s Report; Tom seconded (motion passes 8-0).
- Old Business
- Grant Process Changes
- Cindy advised that the Grant Committee met and Jenissa reported on the results of the meeting.
- Jenissa summarized that the guidelines were split into two separate grants: Advertising & Marketing and Sponsorships; and, each event can apply for one or the other. She explained that the Advertising & Marketing grant is for those events that need to advertise to bring people to the event; the Sponsorship grant is for those events that do not need to advertise to bring people to the event, they are culminating events that will occur regardless of advertising being done. Jenissa noted that the Convention budget will eventually roll into the Sponsorship budget; this will increase the amount that is offered to the Conventions.
- In further explanation of the revised guidelines, Jenissa noted that we would now be asking for tickets to each event and then summarized the details of the Advertising & Sponsorship grants: we will be asking for 3 bids for the printing of brochures, posters and promotional flyers, but will not be asking for bids for billboard, newspaper, magazine, radio or television advertising. The maximum amount awarded will still be $4,000.00 and the Marketing Bonus will only apply to the Advertising grants. The following items will not be covered in these grants: postage or phone expenses, equipment, portable advertising space, entertainment, administration, officials, judges, presenters, teachers, facilitators etc., event programs for on-site use only or sold for profit, and alcoholic beverages.
- Jenissa indicated that the Sponsorship grants would cover items such as judges, officials, entertainment, t-shirts, etc.; and, bids would not be required. The maximum amount awarded will still be $4,000.00 and the following items will not be covered in these grants: advertising and alcoholic beverages. We would be like any other sponsor where a recognition requirement is the purpose.
- The final payment reimbursement date will be increased from 90 to 120 days, after which the grant will become null and void.
- The applications will be reformatted to allow for easier processing; an area has been added to the forms to allow T&T to estimate the total economic impact of the event over time and a second page has been added to allow the applicants to explain their bids in detail.
- Jenissa reviewed the budget and explained how there will be a new line item specifically for the Sponsorship grant system; it will be beneficial to track the disbursement of the money, $80,000 will be rolled out of the Board Discretion line item to complete this.
- Jenissa advised that she will be advertising the changes to the guidelines in the paper in February and they will come into effect in March. The new guidelines will be posted on the website; she will also be contacting past recipients to advise them of the changes.
- Kandi questioned if the process would cause more recipients to apply for Sponsorship grants rather than the Advertising & Marketing grants that we want to encourage, and if the amount awarded for the Sponsorship grants should be a lesser amount as a result. Jenissa explained that the majority of the events that would qualify for the Sponsorship grant are full and do not need to advertise; she questioned lowering the amount of one of the grants because of the sufficient amount of funds that are available.
- Gregg noted that the Town Council of Wamsutter informed him that the “Welcome to Wamsutter” billboard sign outside of town had been crushed by the wind; in light of the new grant system he questioned if the board would cover a new sign. It was suggested that this type of project would qualify as a Board Project; Jenissa will email the application form to Gregg.
- Kandi questioned the idea of not requiring bids for the Sponsorship grants; and, due to the pricing differences between vendors we will end up having to pay for the higher bid as a result. Cindy and Jenissa explained that the main intention of the Sponsorship grant is to get our name out there and to promote Sweetwater County. The responsibility lies with the Grantee to be fiscally responsible with the grant funds that they are awarded.
- Tom made a motion to approve the new grant process as proposed and transfer $80,000 from the Board Discretion to the new Sponsorship line item; Julie seconded (motion passes 8-0).
- New Business
- Audit Recommendations
- Justin reported on the audit findings and summarized that the report was relatively clean. It outlined a few minor capitalization issues, the need for segregation of duties (it was noted that there was not a big enough staff base to allow for this), an issue with cash disbursements (he gave an example of a vote to approve June expenditures that were not necessarily marked as June, it was noted that close attention must be paid when approving bills that fall near the end of the fiscal year), it was noted that the credit card must be watched closely (a question was raised in the audit about the credit card receipts not always being attached to the appropriate credit card statement), and it was also pointed out that the bank account is not sufficiently collateralized (Jenissa is looking into this issue and working to resolve it with the bank).
- Justin made a motion to approve the audit; Gregg seconded (motion passes 8-0).
- Adjournment
- Cindy motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 p.m. and Justin seconded (motion passes 8-0).
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Secretary’s signature Date
Minutes submitted by Thora Martoda
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