05-06-20 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
3:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: Zoom meeting due to Coronavirus Restrictions
MINUTES
Board Members Present: Dawn Hendrickson, Zac Ford, Bryce Baker, Joe Alexander
Board Members Absent: Emily Schroeder, Lucy Weeder, Janet Clark
Staff Present: Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson, Joe Unterreiner
Guests: Amber Morrison – Fairbridge Inn & Suites
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Meeting called to order by Chair Dawn Hendrickson at 3:08pm
1. Hear from the Public – none
2. Board Action Items
a) Approval of minutes from April 1, 2020:
Motion was made by Zac Ford to approve the minutes. Motion was seconded by Bryce Baker.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b) Approval of TBID financial statements for March 2020:
Motion was made by Bryce Baker to approve the financial statements. Motion was seconded by
Zac Ford. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
c) Approval of FY21 revised budget:
Motion was made to approve increased budget of $560,000 by Bryce Baker. Motion was
seconded by Zac Ford. Discussion: Diane reviews the document included in the board packet
which outlines the rationale behind the request and the processes in place to review budget and
expenditures based on actualized revenue throughout FY21. Board approved Unanimously.
3. Discussion Items
a) Board applications: With the renewal of the Kalispell TBID district which begins beginning July 1,
the current TBID board positions end June 30 and the entire board will need to be appointed
anew. The terms will begin as stated in Ordinance 1833 with one of the members serving 1 year,
two serving 2 years, two serving 3 years, and two serving 4 years. After the initial terms expire,
they renew as 4-year terms. A link to the application will be sent to TBID members. Applications
are to be returned to the city clerk by June 5 and it will go on the agenda for June 15 with
everyone approved by July 1. Everyone must reapply because of the recent TBID renewal and
terms will be staggered.
Board officer positions beginning July 1, 2020: Emily Schroeder has agreed to serve as Chair,
Bryce has agreed to serve as Vice-Chair position and Joe Alexander will fill in as Treasurer.
b) Event updates:
Indoor Soccer: team registrations have been refunded, vendors and sponsors choose to defer
their payment to the October tournament. Ending balance in account is $11,306 including
$4,075 of sponsor & vendor income that is deferred to October. Balance will serve as partial
funding for the October event.
c) Marketing update:
• Monthly dashboard included in board packet was reviewed.
• CVB sent out quarterly newsletters in April to the 17,000+ opt-in database.
• Continue to see strong interest in planning travel to Kalispell in the future through
visitor guide requests and newsletter subscriptions. Those conversions are occurring
without running a paid media campaign currently due to travel restrictions.
• Governor Bullock announced a series of grants available to Montana businesses, non-
profits and social services as part of the state’s share of the CARES ACT funding.
Applications open May 7th.
d) Group Sales update:
• Discussed MLCT considering a reschedule for 2022, due to the concern of social
distancing and the high number of attendees and sentiment about how people will feel
being in a large group setting.
• Developing a brochure to assure planners of what the Kalispell hotels and DK are doing
to create a safe environment for future meetings.
• Continued communication with partners and clients. Mailed personalized cards to client
database.
• Key-takeaways from local calls: trend starting to bring staff back-not seeing them
eagerly wanted to return which may be due to the unemployment or concerns about
COVID-19, very few reservations being made in July and August, most feel it is a wait
and see time. Motorcycle groups still confirmed.
Round Table Discussion
Cleaning protocols:
• Hilton is partnering with Lysol and Mayo Clinic to put out good PR about their new procedures.
• FairBridge is working with the FCH for guidance and working with owners to come up with new
brand standards.
• My Place-working on best practices within the hotel group.
• Red Lion-Joe will forward their Red Lion protocol.
Meeting adjourned at 3:43pm.
Respectfully submitted: Diane Medler
For further information, please contact:
Diane Medler, CVB Director, diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808