MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE LODGERS TAX ADVISORY BOARD OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, NEW MEXICO, HELD IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 101 N. HALAGUENO, CARLSBAD, NM TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2018, AT 7:30 A.M. Voting Members Present: Neil Wiggins Dale Balzano Dr. S.S. Dara Bob Lynch Jill Torres Also Present: Mike Hernandez Deputy City Administrator Wendy Hammett Sandy Gonzalez Robert Defer Lisa Boeke Karla Hamel John Lowe Ken Britt Angie Barrios-Testa Tod Hammock Mannie Bemis Carolyn Olson Sharon McIntire Jim Renfrow Janell Whitlock Pam Therrell Cheyenne Methola Kyle Marksteiner Finance Director Accountant Chamber of Commerce Chamber of Commerce Carlsbad MainStreet Community Development Director Entertainment & Promotions Manager Executive Secretary Cycle City Promotions Carlsbad Area Art Association Carlsbad Retirement Council PBC Radio Executive Secretary City of Carlsbad Communication Contractor 00:00:04 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Neil Wiggins called the meeting to order. 00:00:15 2. ROLL CALL OF VOTING MEMBERS AND DETERMINATION OF QUORUM Chairman Wiggins called roll and it was determined that there was a Quorum of the Voting Members. Present: Neil Wiggins, Dale Balzano, Dr. S.S. Dara, Bob Lynch, and Jill Torres 00:00:29 3. APPROVAL OF CHANGING AGENDA ORDER The motion was made by Chairman Wiggins and seconded by Bob Lynch to move the presentation of the FY 2017-2018 2 nd Quarter Financials from item 14 on the agenda up to item 5. Yes: Wiggins, Balzano, Dara, Lynch, Torres 1
00:00:56 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The motion was made by Dale Balzano and seconded by Dr. S.S. Dara to approve the April 3, 2018 Meeting Agenda. Yes: Wiggins, Balzano, Dara, Lynch, Torres 00:01:13 5. PRESENTATION TO BOARD REGARDING HANDLINGS OF LODGERS TAX ADVISORY BOARD MEETINGS Mike Hernandez informed the board members that moving forward, the Lodgers Tax Advisory Board meetings will be handled by Ken Britt under the supervision of John Lowe, the Community Development Director. All lodgers tax proposals will be sent to and reviewed by Ken Britt. The Finance Department will still provide any financial reports, as well as financial leadership. No Vote Needed 00:02:40 6. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF CARLSBAD LODGERS TAX ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD MARCH 6, 2018 The motion was made by Dr. S.S. Dara and seconded by Dale Balzano to approve the March 6, 2018 Meeting Minutes. 00:03:15 7. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF FY 2017 2018 2 ND QUARTER FINANCIALS Sandy Gonzalez presented the 2 nd Quarter Financial Statement for both the Non-Promotional and Promotional Lodgers Tax Fund for the Fiscal Year 2017 2018. A) Non-Promotional Fund > Total Revenues to Date: $912,985.44 > Total Expenditures to Date: $428,643.43 > Total Transferred Out to Date: $450,000.00 > Ending Cash Balance: $796,167.12 B) Promotional Fund > Total Revenues to Date: $608,656.98 > Total Expenditures to Date: $259,628.16 > Ending Cash Balance: $1,877,821.62 Dale Balzano asked for an estimate of how much monthly revenue the city is bringing in for Lodgers Tax and was informed by Ms. Hammett that the figure is roughly $250,000 for both the Non-Promotional and Promotional fund. The board also wishes to know how much carryover revenue still needs to be spent. Ms. Hammett said those figures would be provided at the next meeting. The motion was made by Jill Torres and seconded by Bob Lynch to approve the FY 2017-2018 2 nd Quarter Financials. 00:06:28 8. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM THE CITY OF CARLSBAD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Ken Britt and Robert Defer presented the request for $200,000 for the City of Carlsbad Community Development department to develop a branded advertising campaign to promote the city s attractions and amenities. After much consideration the board ultimately concluded that the request contained too much duplication to the request for 2
advertisement by the Chamber of Commerce. The motion was made by Jill Torres to approve the request but there was not a second resulting in the request being denied. The vote was as follows: Yes: Torres No: Wiggins, Balzano, Dara, and Lynch 00:20:10 9. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM CARLSBAD MAINSTREET Karla Hamel presented the request for $50,000 for Carlsbad MainStreet for continuation of their advertising campaign. Carlsbad MainStreet would like to renew their contract with NM Magazine and Focus Magazine. As a result of newspaper and radio ads, an increase of visitors was achieved so the organization would like to increase the use of radio ads even more than last year. Advertising via social media; Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. will still be implemented as well. The motion was made by Dale Balzano and seconded by Bob Lynch to approve the funding for Carlsbad MainStreet. The vote was as follows: 00:23:40 10. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM CARLSBAD RETIREMENT COUNCIL Janell Whitlock presented the request for $20,000 for the Carlsbad Retirement Council. The organization is making the same request as last year which supports the promotion of Carlsbad as a desirable retirement destination. Advertisements will be placed in AARP, NM Magazine, Snowbird Magazine and more. Previous advertising has resulted in individuals from Florida, Colorado, and California requesting information about retirement opportunities in Carlsbad. The motion was made by Dale Balzano and seconded by Bob Lynch to approve the funding for the Carlsbad Retirement Council. 00:29:13 11. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM CARLSBAD AREA ART ASSOCIATION Jim Renfrow presented the request for $27,000 for the Carlsbad Area Art Association. NM Magazine, Focus Magazine, radio ads, newspaper ads, and flyers are some of the techniques the organization will use. The organization would also like to try and create more of an internet presence to promote Carlsbad. The motion was made by Jill Torres and seconded by Bob Lynch to approve the funding for the Carlsbad Area Art Association. 00:32:09 12. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Lisa Boeke and Robert Defer presented the request for $537,500 for the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. The request is the same as last year and will continue to be used for marketing, staffing and maintenance for the Pecos River Village Conference Center, as well as advertising events taking place in Carlsbad. Ms. Boeke informed the board that the City of Carlsbad now has an advertising display at the El Paso International Airport. Ms. Boeke also stated that the number of people that attended Christmas on the Pecos 2017 increased from the amount that attended in 2016. She also went on to say that the Chamber of Commerce is now receiving roughly 150 inquiries a week regarding the Carlsbad area. Ms. Boeke informed the Board that she attended a tradeshow last year in Denver, CO to promote Carlsbad and hand out flyers. Dale Balzano commented that he has in fact seen a large increase in the number of visitors staying at his hotel that are from Denver, CO and feels that the advertising was 3
successful.. The motion was made by Dr. S.S. Dara and seconded by Dale Balzano to approve the funding for the Chamber of Commerce. 00:41:35 13. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM CYCLE CITY PROMOTIONS Tod Hammock presented the request for $24,400 for Cycle City Promotions to promote the Kicker Arenacross, scheduled to be held August 24 th & 25 th at the Eddy County Sheriff s Posse Arena. Over 5,000 competitors from 20 states will be mailed information; in addition, radio and TV ads will be ran for a minimum of 2 months. The organization plans to use MAVTV for national TV ads and advertise in the Carlsbad Current Argus and Racer X Illustrated magazine. The motion was made by Dale Balzano and seconded by Jill Torres to approve the funding for Cycle City Promotions. 00:44:42 14. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM G MONEY ENTERTAINMENT Anthony Alanzo did not attend to present the request for $27,000 for G Money Entertainment to advertise wrestling entertainment and entertainers. The board reviewed the proposal and discussed previous monies spent by Mr. Alanzo. Ms. Hammett informed the board that Mr. Alanzo rarely spends the full amount of what he is awarded. The motion was made by Bob Lynch and seconded by Dale Balzano to approve the funding for G Money Entertainment. 00:47:17 15. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM CARLSBAD COMMUNITY THEATRE Carolyn Olson, Mannie Bemis, and Sharon McIntire presented the request for $72,000 for Carlsbad Community Theatre to install a state-of-the-art LED highway sign. The theatre plans to utilize the sign to advertising the theatres productions as well as events taking place in Carlsbad. Mrs. Olson also pointed out that the sign would be one of the first signs seen when entering Carlsbad from National Parks Highway. The project is estimated to start in September and should take approximately a month to complete. The motion was made by Dale Balzano and seconded by Dr. S.S. Dara to approve the funding for. 00:50:28 16. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR FUNDING FROM CITY OF CARLSBAD ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT Kyle Marksteiner presented the request for $30,000 for the 2018 Carlsbad Mayor s Energy Summit. Funds will be used to advertise the event as well as promote all that Carlsbad has to offer. Mr. Marksteiner stated that the 2017 summit brought approximately 900 participants. It has been decided to move the summit from October back to September in order to better accommodate the participants holiday schedules. The motion was made by Dr. S.S. Dara and seconded by Jill Torres to approve the funding for the Mayor s Energy Summit. 4
00:53:48 17. PRESENTATION OF 2017 LODGERS TAX AUP REPORT Finance Director, Wendy Hammett presented the Independent Accountant s Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures provided by Hinkle & Landers, P.C. The auditors selected two random locations to evaluate; A-OK RV Getaway and Rodeway Inn. After comparing the business CRS-1 reports to the internal bookkeeping the auditors determined there were no non-compliance findings. Upon conclusion of the Lodgers Tax Audit Report, Dr. S.S. Dara voiced his concern regarding companies booking hotel rooms for more than 30 days but allowing different occupants to lodge within the 30 day period. He questioned whether the company would be applicable to lodgers tax. Wendy Hammett and John Lowe stated that the issue would be looked into and an answer would be provided as soon as possible. No Vote Needed 00:58:33 18. ADJOURN The motion was made by Bob Lynch and seconded by Jill Torres to Adjourn. Chairman 5