Transient Lodging Tax Committee Minutes
March 21, 2019
Baker County Courthouse
Members Present: Lea Gettle, Tori Thatcher and Loran Joseph
Guest Present: Alita Arendell, Dan Sizer, Shelly Cutler, Timothy Bishop, Bill Harvey and Shelly Christensen
Approve Agenda:
Loran moved that the agenda be approved. Tori seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Approve Minutes:
Meeting minutes from February 21st were reviewed. Loran moved that the minutes be approved and Tori seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Grant Requests:
Friends of Haines Fireworks – Alita Arendell
Alita reported that the 2018 Steak Feed Fundraiser at Lefty’s was a success. They had planned to have the same fundraiser for this year but ran into problems. This years’ fundraiser will be a raffle. They have many items that were donated and raffle ticket sales will be at a various merchant and bank locations along with some volunteers selling tickets. The steak feed fundraiser will be brought back next year. TLT grant funds will be used to purchase fireworks and contribute to the new restroom project. Alita reported that the event is very well attended but due to the nature of the event it is difficult to track origin of attendees. Loran moved to award the $3,000 requested for the event, Tori seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Crossroads Art Center Barrel & Vessel – Dan Sizer
Dan reported that Crossroads has scheduled a wine barrel cooper and an amphorae maker to come to Baker City for the event and demonstrate their craft of making wine vessels. The TLT grant funds will be used to pay for mileage, lodging and demonstration fee for the amphorae maker, Andrew Beckham. Dan said Crossroads focus for this event is to bring visitors from the Treasure Valley to the event. Loran moved to award the $1,000 requested for the event. Tori seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Marketing Update: Timothy
Timothy asked Dan to share his delegate experience at Go West. Dan reported that he was thankful for the grant funds from Travel Oregon and TLT that enabled him to attend the Go West conference. He was able to promote Eastern Oregon and his product. Eastern Oregon was represented well with six delegates, which was 1/3 of the total delegation for Oregon. He had five really solid appointments which was successful for his business. He also indicated that he partnered with Cornucopia Lodge during the fam tour to offer several individual itinerary packages.
Timothy extended his congratulations to Eastern Oregon Tribute Fest for being named Oregon Festivals and Events Associations Best Music Festival of 2018. Bill and Colleen Taylor were named Oregon Festival and Events Associations Outstanding Volunteers for 2018 on behalf of their work at the Haines Stampede and Rodeo.
The Baker County Tourism Booth at the Boise Outdoor Expo was a huge success. There was more literature handed out on Thursday and Friday nights than Timothy has seen in any other entire show. Roughly one out of three people that visited the booth were new to the Boise area and seeking weekend family outings.
Spring brings the distribution of guides and materials along with the Oregon Road Rally, May 8th and 9th where 28 international tour operators and travel media representatives will visit our area. The itinerary will include the Sumpter Dredge and then a culinary “Meet the Makers” walking tour of downtown before dinner. Timothy is looking for sponsors to cover dinner costs. They will also visit the Interpretive Center before heading to Pendleton the next day.
The search for a new Executive Director of EOVA is moving forward. There were 31 applicants. The search committee is reviewing the applications and will begin interviews in early April and hope to have made a selection by May.
Bill asked Timothy if he had an update on the house bill that requires TLT dollars to be used for affordable housing. Timothy conveyed that the bill was “dead in the water”.
Timothy will be meeting with the Marketing Committee next week to finalize the 2019-2020 budget. The budget will be based on revenue of $150,000.
Visitors Services Update: Shelly Cutler
Shelly reported that she has received 30-35 vendor applications for Miners Jubilee. The new program for Jubilee and Broncs & Bulls is being created. The Baker City Herald cut way back on their printing of the Go Guide. The Chamber only received 25 copies. Walk in visitors to the Visitors Center has taken a dramatic jump recently. There has been discussion with the museums in creating a passport for reduced admission to the Interpretive Center, Heritage Museum and Crossroads. Baker City has a new crafters mall on 11th Street which will bring visitors to a new part of town.
The Center has been out of EOVA Guides since last March. Bill Harvey asked Shelly if there is an ap that can be accessed for attractions instead of the need for printed material. She referred to the Basecamp Baker website to access that information. The Walking Tour guides, EOVA guides and scenic byways guides have been printed and Shelly distributed some to The Trail Head and asked if anyone had suggestions of other locations to distribute.
Summer staffing at the Center is still an issue. The Center will be open from May 15th to October 15th. She would like to address this further at our next meeting.
Financial Reports:
Reports were reviewed. Fourth quarter 2018 numbers are complete. The first quarter 2019 revenue will be reflected in the April financial reports. The audit is underway and Bill reported that there has been some difficulty in receiving requested information from one house.
Citizen’s Participation: None
Strategic Planning Update:
The focus at this time is rebranding from Basecamp Baker to Travel Baker County. Timothy is waiting to transition all social media at once. He is hoping to have this complete by first of summer season.
Staff Comments:
Shelly Christensen:
Shelly reported that the TLT Committee meeting minutes are now available on the County’s website.
Bill Harvey:
Bill discussed the status of the Cap and Trade bill. Currently there are 26 amendments to the original bill that have not been made public. Shelly Cutler indicated that there will be a meeting of the Committee on Friday at 1:00 pm to discuss those amendments. If passed as it was written this bill will have a devastating effect on Eastern Oregon.
Good news to report is the Blue Mountain Forest Plan has been set aside by the USFS. This means the possibility of more jobs from timber cuts for fuel reduction and will open more miles of roads in Baker County.
The construction of the travel/truck stop in Huntington is going well. The plan is to be open in a couple months and eventually will have a hotel and RV park. Bill is working with Malheur County to share TLT revenue with Baker County.
Committee Comments: None
Next Meeting:
April 25, 2019 @ 9:00 am
Meeting adjourned at 9:56
Respectfully Submitted:
Shelly Christensen