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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010/10/04 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session (fl St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA OCTOBER 4, 2010 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, Phil Finkelstein, Anne Mavity, Paul Omodt, Julia Ross (arrived at 6:33 p.m.), Susan Sanger, and Sue Santa. Councilmembers absent: None. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), City Attorney (Mr. Scott), Economic Development Coordinator (Mr. Hunt), Communications Coordinator (Mr. Zwilling), Organizational Development Coordinator (Ms. Gothberg), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Hughes). Guests: Vicki Stute, consultant, and Bruce Nustad, President, TwinWest Chamber of Commerce. 1. Formation of a Convention and Visitors Bureau Mr. Harmening presented the staff report and discussed the public process undertaken to date with local hoteliers regarding the formation of a Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), including a meeting last week which provided an opportunity for large stakeholders to learn more about the CVB. He stated that the formal next steps include adopting a Lodging Tax Ordinance imposing a tax of up to 3% on gross lodging receipts. Mr. Hunt presented the proposed Concept Plan, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, draft Operating Budget, Ordinance establishing a local lodging tax, and Operating Agreement for Council consideration. He explained that the Bylaws propose an initial Board of Directors comprised of not less than nine and no more than fifteen directors, with two directors from the local hotel industry, three directors from the general business community, the Mayor and City Manager of St. Louis Park, one representative nominated by TwinWest Chamber of Commerce, and one director representing the nonprofit community of St. Louis Park. Mr. Scott advised that State law does not allow the City or the EDA to be the incorporator of the CVB nor does it allow the City to act as fiscal agent of the CVB. Mr. Hunt discussed the proposed Operating Agreement between the City and the CVB, and explained that particularly during the first year of operation, City staff would need to provide a number of services to the entity to assist in getting it up and operating. He stated that the proposed Ordinance would impose a tax of 3% on gross lodging proceeds within the city; these proceeds will provide the entity's operating revenue, augmented by additional advertising sales revenue and other partnership and grant opportunities. Ms. Stute stated that it will be important for the CVB to have a powerful website since the website will serve as the primary information portal for tourists and other interested persons. Special Study Session Minutes -2- October 4, 2010 Mr. Hunt indicated that people could make their room reservations through the CVB website and this feature is one way to demonstrate value to the hoteliers. Councilmember Ross asked if it is possible to extend the tax to include restaurants or alcohol sales, as a way of spreading out the tax and/or to lower the tax. Mr. Harmening replied that the City is statutorily allowed to form a CVB without special legislation, but if an alcohol or food tax were imposed, the City would be required to go to the legislature to obtain authority to impose such a tax. Councilmember Sanger suggested having the ability to make restaurant reservations via the CVB website. She also encouraged visiting local companies that bring a lot of employees into town or that relocate employees here as an additional area of emphasis in terms of marketing. Mr. Hunt stated that it is expected that the president of the new organization will introduce the CVB to local companies as well as to companies outside the City limits. Councilmember Mavity applauded the goals of the CVB and stated that she would like to have a way of measuring outcomes in a succinct fashion to determine if the entity is successful. She asked if an increase in room demand is one way of measuring whether the CVB is successful. Mr. Hunt stated that the overall goal of the CVB is to increase exposure to St. Louis Park in the local, regional and national marketplace and to generate additional economic activity, which includes additional room rentals, additional retail sales, and additional restaurant sales. Councilmember Sanger pointed out that it will be up to the CVB's Board of Directors to determine the goals of the entity and to determine whether it is successful. Councilmember Mavity asked if the City's financial involvement in the CVB will be nothing other than staff time in collecting the lodging tax. Mr. Harmening stated that this is correct and added the City will have no liability other than responsibility for collecting the 3% tax every month and disbursing 95% of the revenue to the CVB, as stated in the Operating Agreement. He added that the Operating Agreement provides the City with the right to terminate the Operating Agreement if for some reason it is determined that the CVB is not working as it should. Councilmember Mavity requested that the CVB Board of Directors include a reasonable number of women and minorities. Councilmember Santa stated that it will be important that the CVB make connections with transportation, shuttle buses, etc. and that the website and other printed materials include information on how to get around town and how to get to places with options including public transportation. Special Study Session Minutes -3- October 4, 2010 Councilmember Finkelstein stated he felt it was important that a couple of the CVB boardmembers be residents of the community. Councilmember Sanger suggested that the CVB focus on reaching out to clients of the various medical institutions, including Park Nicollet. She also suggested that the CVB consider offering packages such as hotel and theater packages. Councilmember Finkelstein asked if the City's cable channels could be reserved for CVB use. Mr. Zwilling stated that the City has quite a bit of leverage on programming for its community channels. Councilmember Ross asked how competitive the City's hotel rates are compared with other hotel prices in the area, including Minneapolis or Bloomington. She stated she does not want to see the City price itself out of the market. Mr. Hunt advised that the price of rooms themselves would not change and based on research, the City is very competitive with other first ring suburbs. He added that the advantage of St. Louis Park's hotels is that they are less expensive than downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul hotels, are in close proximity to many attractions and are convenient to get to. It was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to proceed with the formal creation of a Convention and Visitors Bureau to serve St. Louis Park. The meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m. 41IPi Nancy Stroth, City Clerk Jeff J.cobs, Mayor