Transient Lodging Tax Committee Minutes
February 18, 2021
Baker County Commission Chambers
Joint work session with Baker County Tourism Marketing Committee
In attendance: TLTC: Tyler Brown. Toni Thompson, Chelsea Judy, Shane Alderson and Buell Gonzales. Marketing Committee: Timothy Bishop, Raeann Van Arsdall, Lori Daniels and Rick Daniels. Staff: Bryan Tweit, Shelly Christensen and Bill Harvey.
Timothy introduced members of the Tourism Marketing Committee of which three were present. Not present were Cathy Cook, Ginger Savage, and Cheryl Buchanan.
Timothy shared comments from the Marketing Committee members who were not in attendance. They would like to focus on a post COVID marketing plan, international travel and marketing of outdoor activities. The 10th Street, Hughes Lane, Cedar Street project is also a project the Marketing Committee would like to be involved in.
Marketing Committee Members in attendance were given the opportunity to share.
Raeann shared her focus as recovery from COVID and the frustration felt by business owners and the public.
Rich and Lori, who operate Airbnb cabins on the Anthony Lakes Highway shared their business has been busy and they have seen a lot of out-of-the-area travelers. Rich expressed his interest in having signage added at their location promoting their North Powder project. He would like to develop a relationship with Union County in order to fully utilize North Powder as a hub.
Chelsea agreed with Rich that North Powder is the entrance to Baker County and adding signage would be beneficial. Due to the change in recreating there will be an influx to Baker County year round and Baker County needs to be able to manage that influx. She would like to see more emergency information at kiosks and also how to recreate responsibly.
Toni shared that the Sumpter area has been lucky during these winter months in hosting several outdoor events. The museum passport program, that is in the works, will also get people out to outlying areas in Baker County.
Chelsea recommended keeping the Interpretive Center remodel part of the conversation. Timothy said they have been very involved in meeting with the BLM. Bill shared he and Bryan have been working on this for some time and meet every Wednesday with BLM. The Interpretive Center will have a large presence at the Regional Museum during construction. On average the Interpretive Center has 40,000 visitors per year, compared to the Regional Museum at 10,000. These numbers indicate that there will be approximately 35,000 visitors to Baker City.
Tyler asked about signage both physical and electronic. Bill said they are currently working with ODOT to change signage to direct traffic to the Regional Museum during the remodel project which will be approximately 3 seasons. Bryan addressed electronic wayfinding and encouraged that as a future project. This would initially cost approximately $75,000 with overall costs between $150,000-225,000. Bryan also talked about the idea of a “make tracks” campaign.
Timothy reviewed priorities in the Tourism Strategic Plan; develop a communications structure with key partners, continue with the branding strategy, and the Travel Baker County website. There was some discussion of results and utilization of social media sites such as Flickr and Instagram.
Rich Daniels asked if Baker County has a mascot or brand. Chelsea mentioned during the strategic plan discussions regarding branding it was recommended Baker County would have generic brand and each area in the County would then be able to add a graphic that is unique to their area such as a train for Sumpter or a wagon for Baker City.
The Tourism Marketing Committee’s priority will be wayfinding/signage and getting a social media plan in place. The first step in wayfinding/signage will be the Elkhorn Scenic Byway Wayfinding and Recreation Access Signage Plan. In order to accomplish this the Marketing Committee will assemble the local team of partners and refine the scope of the project and begin developing the budget for this project. Chelsea asked if that would be in place for the next joint TLTC/Marketing Committee meeting in April. Timothy responded April or May. The social media/digital content could also be addressed in April or May. Timothy will collaborate with Bryan on that priority. In preparing for post Covid events, Timothy will be working with event organizers to manage their event with current restrictions and guidelines. He predicts May and June will bring a greater number of travelers than we have seen before.
Timothy shared the importance of continuing to advertise in the EOVA guide. The Committee’s agreed.
Transient Lodging Tax Committee Meeting
Tyler called the meeting to order at 10:46.
Approve Minutes:
Meeting minutes from January 21, 2021 were reviewed. Chelsea moved that the minutes be approved and Buell seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Approve Agenda:
There was a change to the agenda Shelly Cutler is not available to attend the meeting to present her report but provided a printed report. Chelsea moved to accept the agenda with the change, Buell seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Marketing Update – Timothy Bishop
Oregon Trail and Video is doing a trail throughout Oregon mapping locations where movies were filmed. To promote the project, they are offering grant funding for the placement of one sign. He would like to use budget funds to place additional signs at the Oregon Trail Museum and Anthony Lakes. The cost would be under $1,000. He asked the Committee for approval for that project. Chelsea motioned to approve spending $1,000 for placement of two additional Oregon Trail and Video signs. Buell seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Timothy asked for the Committee’s consensus to participate in the Go West social media platform take over. The cost for that is $635. Because the international advertising budget line has been zeroed out this year this seems like a good program to reallocate some budget funds. This take over footage will run the end of April and first part of May. The Committee gave their consensus to participate in the Go West social media platform takeover.
The Marketing Budget normally allocates $7,000 for EOVA Guide advertising and to co-op with other businesses. Timothy would like to increase that roughly $2,500 as other partners are not able to participate due to advertising budgets being cut. He would like to bolster Baker County’s presence this year with several ½ page ads. Chelsea suggested he request Baker County ads stay together in one area of the publication. Timothy will reallocate other budget lines to cover this cost. Placement of the EOVA and local guides was discussed. Chelsea motioned to reallocate $2,500 to the EOVA guide. Shane seconded the motion. Motion carried.
No action is needed on the draft budget at this time. Timothy was waiting for the completion of fourth quarter revenue reports to draft the 2021-22 budget.
Timothy will be participating in the virtual Go West Summit next week. There will be nine attendees from Baker County participating the virtual Oregon Festival and Events conference.
Visitor Services Update - Shelly Cutler
Tyler referred to Shelly Cutler’s report on January visitors to the Center and noted they had an uptick in Telsa drivers. Shane spoke to Shelly Cutler and she mentioned the Tesla drivers are making frequent stops at charging stations due to the cold weather.
Financial Reports: Shelly Christensen
Fourth quarter 2020 (Oct-Dec) reports have been received except for 16 small AirBnB lodging establishments which will not result in increased revenue. Past due report letters have been sent out to those establishments. In comparing tax revenue for the 4th quarter in 2019 to 2020 there was a $10,000 increase in tax revenue.
Citizen’s Participation: None
Strategic Planning Update: Timothy
The priorities of the Strategic Plan were discussed in the joint work session.
EDC Update: Bryan
Brian reviewed five rounds of grant funding that has been awarded to local businesses. He has been working on an information campaign for low level businesses. The BLM/Oregon Trail Interpretive Center remodel meetings are going well. The possibility of bringing an additional 35,000 visitors to Baker City will be an amazing opportunity for businesses. The input received on the 10th Street/Hughes Lane/Cedar Street project has been amazing. His advice to ODOT is “don’t make it worse”. This project will make property values on 10th Street skyrocket. Bryan has visited with a couple local car dealerships and has been told that they can’t keep up with demand. Bryan suggested that while Tesla owners are charging at the station near the freeway a shuttle service be available to bring them downtown. Maybe something could be worked out with the local taxi service to display a sign. Shane indicated there have been discussions with City Councilors to add a charging station downtown.
By-Laws Update: Tyler: Tyler and Buell will continue to work on the bylaws. Tyler asked if Heidi or Shelly would be a resource for help on the bylaws. Bill indicated County staff would be able to provide information but cannot assist in the writing of the bylaws.
Staff Comments:
Bill Harvey gave an update on the 10th/Hughes/Cedar construction. Funding will be used to widen the street to add bike and walking paths and an additional bridge for pedestrians. Construction is set to begin in 2024. Extra funding is being sought for burying utilities. Tyler asked if property owners were going to be asked to sign EID’s for improvements. Bill stated they were trying to keep costs down so that will not be required as the business lot sizes on 10th street are generally much larger than downtown. Bike traffic will be diverted to side streets from 10th Street. Bill stressed the importance of keeping 10th Street two lanes of traffic and not one with a turn lane.
The County Park (Hewitt/Holcomb) currently has three openings to operate the Parks this summer. The Parks will be open for the season on April 1st. The docks are being refurbished so they will be able to be used this season.
Tyler asked about the Visitors Center contract and Bill indicated that subject was on the March 3rd Commission Session agenda.
Committee Comments:
Shane asked if TLT funds have been available for stranded visitors in the past. Bill told Shane there is a State statute that directs how lodging tax revenue can be used. Bill explained how the funds were distributed and noted that local churches have programs for that purpose. Bill indicated Commissioner Mark Bennett is working on temporary housing for homeless. Shane also asked what funds are available for Search and Rescue. Bill explained the partnership with adjoining Counties and City entities for search and rescue services. Timothy shared Travel Oregon is addressing this issue with safety messaging.
Next Meeting:
March 18, 2020 @ 9:00 am
Meeting adjourned at 11:50
Respectfully Submitted:
Shelly Christensen