AGENDA Lodging Tax Advisory Committee

AGENDA Lodging Tax Advisory Committee 4:00 PM - Thursday, September 28, 2017 Baxter Room, City Hall NW, 1775 12th Ave NW, Issaquah WA Page 3 5-6 7-9 1. CALL TO ORDER 4:00 PM a) Committee Membership 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) Minutes of June 1, 2017 b) Minutes of November 2, 2016 11 3. AGENDA ITEMS a) Welcome and Orientation, (I) b) Review of LTAC Laws and Roger Brooks Study, (I) Tim Dutter, Economic Development Manager c) Approval of Regular Meeting Schedule, (A) d) Discussion of Formation of Visitor's Organization, (D) Tim Dutter, Economic Development Manager e) Discussion of Agenda Priorities, (D) Tourism Contractor Visit Issaquah Branding Wayfinding [5 min.] [15 min.] [5 min.] [5 min.] [20 min.] Page 1 of 11

f) Review of 2017 Budget, (I) g) Discussion of 2018 Budget, (A) Tim Dutter, Economic Development Manager [5 min.] [10 min.] 4. ADJOURNMENT The next meeting date is to be determined. INQUIRIES Please contact Tim Dutter at (425) 837-3424 or. --------------------------------------- Meeting room is wheelchair accessible. American Disability Act (ADA) accommodations available upon request. Please phone 425-837-3000 at least two business days in advance. Note: Times listed for meetings topics are approximate and items are subject to being shifted from the original order. (I) Informational, (A) Action Needed, (D) Discussion Page 2 of 11

CALL TO ORDER a) Lodging Tax Advisory Committee About Established in 1998, this committee oversees the City's share of lodging tax. Currently, hotels, motels, and bed-and-breakfast inns collect the City's 1 percent share of the tax to pay all or any part of the cost of tourism promotion, acquisition of tourism-related facilities or the operation of tourismrelated facilities. Membership Under state law, the committee's members consist of members from businesses that collect the tax, members involved in activities eligible for lodging tax revenue, and an elected City official, who leads the committee. Staff Liaison Tim Dutter, Economic Development Manager Email Members Erica Maniez, Issaquah History Museums Pham Quynh, SpringHill Suites Will Parkinson, Hilton Garden Inn Hamilton McCulloh, Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce Paul Winterstein, Councilmember Meetings Meetings are scheduled as necessary. Page 3 of 11

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APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) 06-01-17 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Minutes Page 1 4:00 PM June 1, 2017 CITY OF ISSAQUAH LTAC Meeting MINUTES Baxter Room 1775 12th Avenue NW MEMBERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL PRESENT Committee: Erica Maniez, Issaquah History Museums (Excused Absence) Will Parkinson, Hilton Garden Inn Hamilton McCulloh, Chamber of Commerce Paul Winterstein, Councilmember (Chair) Administration/Staff: Keith Niven, Economic & Development Services Director Jen Davis Hayes, Economic Development Manager CALL TO ORDER AGENDA ITEMS The meeting was called to order at 4:00 PM. a) Welcome and Orientation, (I) McCulloh introduced himself. He s a newer member of the Issaquah Chamber and now represents the Chamber on LTAC. Professionally worked for 17 years with tourism organizations statewide. Winterstein discussed the basic history and how the Roger Brooks study set the path for LTAC. b) LTAC 2017 Budget Review, (I) 2017 LTAC Planned Budget Project LTAC Other Funding Notes 2017 Activities Funding COI Branding $40,000 $30,000 City funding Communications lead Project begin in 4Q2017 COI Wayfinding Plan $85,000 N/A Design, location plan only; not implementation costs On hold until after branding completed COI Tourism Contract $135,170 $10,415 Port grant City reallocated Port grant $ due to need to complete project by May 31 2017; includes $50,000 for event promotion expenses On hold until after new staff arrives; additional conversation about best next steps with LTAC Page 5 of 11

APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) 06-01-17 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Minutes Page 2 2017 LTAC Revenue Expected (as reported in the 2017 City of Issaquah Budget) Beginning Fund Balance $ 378,829 Expected Revenue $ 180,000 c) Funding Allocation Request, Association Volleyball Professionals Community Kick-off Event, (A) Hamilton McCulloh, LTAC member Original idea to host community event at Lake Sammamish State Park in 2017 With only 8 weeks to plan, reached out to AVP to discuss details AVP would set up club to allow 175 community members Following discussion regarding long-term plans for AVP, IT WAS MOVED BY PARKINSON, SECONDED BY WINTERSTEIN, TO: Approve $9,960 for event planning and an additional (not to exceed) $3,000 for food for 175 community members. MOTION CARRIED, 3-0. d) LTAC Vacancy Next Steps, (D) Jen Davis Hayes, Economic Development Manager City will contact Holiday Inn, Motel 6 and Springhill Suites to invite them to apply to fill LTAC vacancy seat for hotel member. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 5:10 PM. The next meeting date has yet to be determined. Page 6 of 11

APPROVAL OF MINUTES b) 11-02-16 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Minutes Page 1 1:00 PM November 2, 2016 CITY OF ISSAQUAH LTAC Meeting MINUTES Cedar Room 1775 12th Ave NW MEMBERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL PRESENT Committee: Paul Winterstein, Councilmember (Chair) Will Parkinson, Hilton Garden Inn Erica Maniez, Issaquah Historical Society Skip Rowley, Chamber of Commerce Administration/Staff: Andrea Synder, Economic Development Mgr. Autumn Monahan, Assistant to the City Administrator Warren Kagarise, Communications Coordinator Audience: Joe Deutschman CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order when a quorum arrived at 1:20 PM. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) Minutes of Aug. 26, 2016 IT WAS MOVED BY ROWLEY, SECONDED BY PARKINSON TO: Approve the minutes of Aug. 26, 2016 as presented. MOTION CARRIED, 4-0. AGENDA ITEMS a) Discuss and Confirm Tourism Contract Appointment, (A) Paul Winterstein, Councilmember & Committee Chair Rowley recused himself from discussion, given conflict of interest as he is the representative from the Chamber. Snyder highlights that Tim Morgan was initially recommended because of his resume and performance metrics. He also had a great designer on board who was a founder of Site Selector magazine and could bring contacts as well as design work expertise to Issaquah. That said, immediately before today s LTAC meeting, Tim expressed concerns about executing the contract. The Committee discussed its options. Rowley asked Snyder what the concerns were with the Chamber doing the work. Snyder discussed concerns the selection panel had with the Issaquah Chamber performing the work namely bandwidth. Kagarise, who was also on the selection panel, added that the selection committee was also looking for someone with not only experience but a fresh perspective. Parkinson stated he would like to reissue the RFQ. Page 7 of 11

11-02-16 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Page 2 Snyder offered that perhaps it would be good to involve Visit Seattle and the Bellevue Convention and Visitor s Bureau to take a look at the RFQ and suggest any changes. Rowley expressed reservations at the idea of Visit Seattle wanting to perform the work. Parkinson agreed it may be a conflict of interest since Issaquah would be a competitor. Parkinson later clarified that some small changes to the RFQ might be appropriate, but that any major changes to the scope would not be acceptable. The committee voiced a desire to see and approve of any RFQ changes before it was issued. IT WAS MOVED BY PARKINSON, SECONDED BY ROWLEY, TO: Re-issue the RFQ in the beginning of 2017 after exploring some changes. MOTION CARRIED, 4-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES b) b) Review 2017 LTAC Budget, (D) Paul Winterstein, Councilmember & Committee Chair There was a general consensus that the revenues forecasted were very conservative. c) Final Recommendations for 2017 LTAC Funding, (A) Paul Winterstein, Councilmember & Committee Chair Winterstein asked why there weren t any applications regarding a visitor s center? Snyder replied that she spoke with the Chamber and DIA and the executive directors of both organizations did not feel they would be requiring additional funds for various reasons. The Chamber in particular said they expected to absorb any costs into their existing budget. Winterstein asked if they could set aside some budget for a VIC just in case they determine later they may need it. Snyder said that the city attorney s interpretation of the RCW is that applications are necessary to be granted funding and that LTAC can only recommend funding based off of the applications received. Instead, if an organization would like to apply for LTAC funding mid-year, LTAC could go through another application process to accommodate. Winterstein observed that a wayfinding plan was not included in their draft recommendations at their last meeting, but that they received an application to fund a wayfinding plan. Rowley brought up concerns that the total amount was too much for a plan that didn t include actual design of the signs. Winterstein asked how the project budget was estimated. Snyder replied that she looked at neighboring cities who had done their plans in the past 5 years and the cost reflected what other cities had spent on consultants. Winterstein asked to be sent a sample plan from another city. The Committee discussed the event recruitment proposal. Snyder emphasized that it includes the Port of Seattle matching requirement and the additional marketing budget. Next the Committee talked about the branding proposal. Monahan talked about the proposal, highlighting the city general fund contribution that is in the Mayor s budget proposal. The branding estimate did not include logo or design work. The following are the final budget recommendations which Winterstein will present to City Council: Branding $ 40,000 from LTAC, total budget $70,000 Wayfinding $ 85,000 Tourism contract $135,000 TOTAL $260,000 Page 8 of 11

APPROVAL OF MINUTES b) 11-02-16 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Page 3 IT WAS MOVED BY ROWLEY, SECONDED BY MANIEZ, TO: Approve the final budget recommendations as presented. MOTION CARRIED, 4-0. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:27 PM. Page 9 of 11

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AGENDA ITEMS b) Issaquah Tourism Organizational Plan, August 2014 Prepared by: Roger Brooks International This study is available on the City s website: http://www.issaquahwa.gov/documentcenter/view/3747 Page 11 of 11