Transient Lodging Tax Committee Minutes
April 15, 2021
Baker County Commission Chambers
Tyler called the meeting to order at 9:00.
Members Present: Tyler Brown, Shane Alderson, Buell Gonzales, and Toni Thompson
Guests Present: Timothy Bishop Jared & Jennifer Rivera, Shelly Cutler, Bryan Tweit, Bill Harvey and Shelly Christensen
Approve Minutes:
Meeting minutes from March 18, 2021 were reviewed. Shane moved that the minutes be approved, Buell seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Approve Agenda:
Buell moved to accept the agenda, Shane seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Grant Requests – Brownlee Crappie Shootout – Jared Rivera
Organizers are requesting $500 in grant funding. Grant funding will be used to acquire the first place commemorative belt buckle, bracelet or used for other expenses such as permits and fees. This is a charity kayaking/fishing tournament scheduled to take place May 22nd. Jared reported that 35 people are already registered for the event and participants in the past have come from Portland, Seattle and the Tri Cities area. There will be a potluck/fish fry on Saturday at 3:30. Proceeds from the event will be donated to CASA of Eastern Oregon. Shane made a motion to grant the $500 request, Buell seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Marketing Update – Timothy Bishop
Travel Oregon will be hosting a virtual Governor’s Conference on Tourism, June 15-16 free of charge. Timothy provided a link to register. There were five applications from Baker County for Travel Oregon Competitive Grants; Interpretive Center/Heritage Museum co-location, Halfway Fairground improvements, Sumpter Valley Railroad COVID Compliance, Haines City Park restroom improvements and Anthony Lakes Trailhead Stewardship project. Awards will be announced on April 30th.
Eastern Oregon Media campaign is complete. Eastern Oregon Visitors guides will go to press this week and should be distributed by mid-May. Baker City Herald is working on the Baker County Visitors Guides. Ad sales are very slow due to advertising budgets being cut. With the uncertainty of events this year the guide will focus on “know before you go” messaging. The Marketing Committee decided to allocate $5,000 of the marketing budget to co-op advertising, which will buy down the cost of advertising for any Baker County restaurant or lodging establishment by 25%. In addition to regular distribution of the guide, the Herald will be including the guide in the Herald, La Grande Observer and Blue Mountain Eagle publications. The Baker Heritage Passport campaign with Elkhorn Media Group will begin in June. This campaign showcases museums in Baker City, Haines, Halfway, Huntington and Sumpter. The Hells Canyon Scenic Byway Marketing Coalition is working on website updates, brochures, opportunities to bolster shoulder & winter season activities and reengaging a more robust group of partners. The Marketing Committee is still receiving responses from Go West contacts and actively working on three small group tour requests. In a partnership with Travel Oregon the Marketing Committee is working on introducing Oregon to the German market.
Timothy asked Bill Harvey to update the Committee on the planning of the co-location of the Interpretive Center and the Heritage Museum. This will be a three to four year campaign. The Interpretive Center will begin moving exhibits January 1, 2022 and the Heritage Museum will open March 1, 2022. Bill indicated they have received two letters of support and support from Oregon Senators. Funding from Travel Oregon’s grant program will help greatly. Bill shared his appreciation to Timothy and Alice for their work on writing the grant. Baker City could see an additional 1,000 per month, year round because of this co-location. During construction, the trails at the Interpretive Center will be open but parking lot will be closed.
Visitor Services Update - Shelly Cutler
Shelly shared the Center saw 84 travelers passing through this past month. Of those travelers, 24 were seeking lodging, 71 requested information on Baker County and 42 requested information on Baker City. The Center also mailed 26 Visitors Packets. Visitor numbers are trending higher than they did in 2019. Shelly is working with a third party for social media training. She will be hiring a Visitors Center Manager in May.
Financial Reports: Shelly Christensen
First Quarter reports are starting to come in. Bill Harvey pointed out that the first quarter revenue results will be lower because of the absence of basketball tournaments. Bill Harvey would like to start visiting hotels in the area and talk to them about improving services. He would like the visits to convey that we are helping and let the business owners know that we willing to help. Buell and Shane volunteered to be involved with those visits. Tyler recommended contacting Jason Brandt for assistance.
Citizen’s Participation: None
Strategic Planning Update: Timothy
Tyler asked the Committee members to read the strategic plan. Timothy will email it to Committee members.
EDC Update: Bryan
Bryan shared results from a blind survey he received from Kauffman ROI on services he provided to 70 businesses in a two- month window. Bryan talked briefly about; the Museum co-location and how it will result in a permanent, long-term collaboration, ODOT 10th Street project, real estate trends, increasing construction costs and a 25% increase in rental prices over a two and a half year period. Currently there are 170 job openings in Baker County. The State has expanded the reasons for cause so that an employee who quits their job is now eligible for benefits. He suggested that instead of a un-employment incentive there should be an employment incentive. Childcare in Baker County is a work in progress with several partners working to address the situation.
By-Laws Update: Tyler: No update.
Staff Comments:
Bill Harvey gave an update on the joint TLT/City/County work sessions. These meeting are every Wednesday evening at 5:00 pm in Commission Chambers. There will be two open seats on the TLTC in August and the City Council will review/approve the applicant the TLTC recommends. There is a need for hotel, restaurant and tourism participants on the TLT Committee. Members of the joint work session agree there needs to be an event coordinator position to help organize and schedule events. Currently they are working on making a list of services the Visitor’s Center is to provide for the RFP. The TLTC ordinance will be reviewed and amended to change the number of City appointed members to three. Jason from ORLA has been a great asset at the meetings.
Baker County parks are open and fully staffed. A security system with cameras will be installed later this fall. The goal is that the Parks will become self-sufficient and operate on revenue from camping/launching fees.
Committee Comments:
COVID risk levels were discussed. Baker County will move to high risk next Friday. Toni Thompson reported that the Memorial Day Flea Market is scheduled to take place unless the County is shut down. Vendors will be charged a fee for COVID related insurance liability coverage.
Buell shared that basketball events are still being scheduled, little league regional championships will take place June 18th, there will be an ASA softball tournament and the Shrine Game is scheduled to take place in August.
Timothy asked for a budget topic to be added to the May meeting agenda. EOVA would like to make a presentation at our June meeting.
Next Meeting:
May 20, 2021 @ 9:00 am
Meeting adjourned at 10:56
Respectfully Submitted:
Shelly Christensen