10-27-21 Tourism Business Improvement District Minutes Board of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
3:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: Board of Directors in person at Kalispell Chamber
Guests – online access via Zoom
Board Members Present: Bryce Baker, Britta Joy, Emily Schroeder, Robert Hall
Board Members Via Zoom: Zac Ford, Noelle Barr
Board Members Absent: Dawn Hendrickson
Staff Present: Lorraine Clarno, Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson, Vonnie Day
Guests: Bill Metzler with Montana Alpine Race School, Katharine King with the City of Kalispell, Chris Walters
with Kalispell Grand Hotel (via Zoom)
MINUTES
The meeting was called to order at 3:02 pm by Chair Bryce Baker.
1. Hear from the Public – none
2. Event grant application presentation – Montana Alpine Race School (MARS), Bill Metzler. Race event at
Blacktail Mountain Ski Area, part of the US Ski Team Jr. Program schedule, January 13 – 16.
• With upgrades completed at Blacktail last winter, Flathead Valley has America’s newest venue
for sanctioned races.
• $2,000 in TBID grant funds paid out last year went toward purchasing Olympic timing
equipment. Last year’s event was cancelled due to COVID.
• MARS raised $47,000 locally last year in 6 weeks to purchase the timing equipment and gear for
future events.
• The timing equipment can be used for other ski events, also mountain biking at Blacktail,
swimming, kayaking.
• MARS is working with Flathead Valley Ski Foundation to hold a shared event at Whitefish
Mountain Resort and Blacktail which will be good for Kalispell due to our location in the middle.
• International Olympic teams have expressed interest in the Flathead Valley due to our relative
remoteness and proximity to the Canadian border.
• MARS will have to bid on the US Ski Team race every year.
• The event is projected to generate at least 75 room nights each night for four nights. Racers are
required to race all four days.
• MARS needs help raising funds and recruiting volunteers for the January race and future events.
• There is interest in creating a national sanctioned event in collaboration with Dream Adaptive.
3. Presentation – Katharine King, City of Kalispell, to share updates on the City’s work with Montana
Hotel Development Partners, LLC for the Charles Hotel Project.
• The $47 million Charles project will include an 89 room boutique hotel, bar, restaurant, casino
and conference space.
• The City will provide the lot valued at $270K and the developer will build the structure.
• The second part of the project will be a 202 space public parking garage in the Eagles lot. The
taxes generated by the hotel will pay for the parking structure over a period of 4 years. The City
will own the parking structure and lease out the ground floor for retail.
• The board expressed concern that the net additional parking spots planned for the project will
not be sufficient.
• With final approval from the City, the developer will tentatively be able to take ownership in
January and break ground in March. Project is expected to be completed 24 months after they
break ground.
• There will be an invitation-only meet & greet with the developers in mid-November.
• The City will add a project Q&A page on its website.
4. Board Action Items
a) Approval of minutes from September 22, 2021
Motion was made by Britta Joy to approve the minutes. Motion was seconded by Emily Schroeder.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b) Approval of TBID financial statements for September 2021
Motion was made by Robert Hall to approve the financials for September 2021. Motion was
seconded by Britta Joy. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
c) Approval of Event Grant Application
Motion was made by Britta Joy to approve the application for a $4,000 grant for the Flathead Valley
Tech Series. Motion was seconded by Emily Schroeder. Discussion: the event is a good fit for the
requirements of the event grant program since it takes place during winter, has potential for growth
and appears it will generate room nights. Board members scored the application individually. The
average of the scores was 86.6%. The board would like to follow up with Bill Metzler to discuss ways
of partnering with his organization to bring more winter ski events to Blacktail. Board approved
unanimously.
5. Board Discussion
a) FY21 rollover funds available for allocation
• The board indicated approval for $5,000 for rebranding (outside of existing budget items) and
$1,500 for Marissa’s new computer and related technical support.
• Diane approached Glacier Park about the importance of guided activities to attract visitors
during the winter and to see if they might be open to financial support for ranger-led
snowshoeing tours this winter. The snowshoe program operated by GNP is not an option this
winter due to low staffing and COVID requirements, however they Park is talking with the
Glacier Institute about leading some winter activities in the park.
• Increasing the event grant budget, another large sports event similar to Spartan, skijoring and
partnering with rafting companies may be candidates for rollover funds.
b) Expedia
• Effective October 1, Expedia and other OTA’s will retain the state bed tax and pay only the room
rent and TBID to lodging properties.
• Properties need to make sure they’re collecting and paying correctly.
c) November & December board meeting schedule
• The board will meet only once on December 15 over the two-month period due to the holiday
schedule.
d) Staff reports
Marketing and Operational Updates
• New staff member Marissa will be starting November 1. Marissa will be replacing Vonnie.
• State bed tax collection for calendar Q1 was up 27% over 2020 and 18% over 2019. Q2 was up
196% over 2020 and 27% over 2019.
Groups, M&C Updates
• Dawn is working on:
o POMA Conference - June, 2022, 480 rooms
o MEDA Conference – November, 2022, 181 rooms
o Philadelphia Church of God Conference – 2022
o Northwest Rental Association – 2023
o PEO Conference - 2024
• Sky Vault Media is in the process of filming a Kalispell video for meeting planners.
• DK sponsored an eblast in Meetings Today in September.
• Tia Troy procured an article on meeting in Kalispell in Small Market Meetings.
• Dawn attended the MLHA Conference in Whitefish.
• Economic Impact from Conferences held in Kalispell in September:
USS Saint Paul $87,980
WELD $17,069
Ghost Town Preservation Society $ 7,080
TOTAL $112,129
e) Roundtable discussion:
• The Canadian border will open November 8th.
• Hotels are getting reservations and calls inquiring whether restaurants and other businesses
are open. Retail is expected to be very busy.
• Northern Rodeo Finals take place this weekend. Hotels are receiving calls asking for a special
NRF rate. Kalispell Grand is the hotel sponsor. NRA listed an incorrect phone number for the
Grand on their website so an unknown number of calls went to another property.
Meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted: Diane Medler
For further information, please contact: diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808