09-01-22 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Rescheduled for September 1, 2022
10:00am – 11:00am
Location: Zoom
All Members and Staff Present Via Zoom:
Board Members Present: Bryce Baker, Britta Joy, Zac Ford, Robert Hall, Dawn Hendrickson
Staff Present: Marisa Mikonis, Lorraine Claro, Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson
MINUTES
The meeting was called to order at 10:09 AM by Bryce Baker, Chair of the Board.
1. Hear from the Public – None.
2. Board Action Items
a) Approval of minutes from July 27, 2022
• Motion was made by Zac Ford to approve the minutes. Motion was
seconded by Robert Hall. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b) Approval of financials for July 2022
• Motion was made by Robert Hall to approve the minutes. Motion
was seconded by Zac Ford. Discussion: none. Board approved
unanimously.
c) Approval of FY22 year-end financial reports
Board had no questions or concerns on the year-end FY22 financial reports.
4. Board Discussion
a) Community Conversations around tourism and growth – coop project
with the Kalispell Chamber, proposal by Better Destinations.
• Due to the increase in negative sentiment towards tourism and overall
growth from residents, Discover Kalispell has expanded the organization’s
focus into destination stewardship initiatives over the last few years. Diane
had approached Cathy Ritter with Better Destinations to learn about their
work in tourism communities around community conversations and
surveys with the goal of receiving community input to help direct our
messaging and tactics. Enabling the community to be heard, to be
proactive to build a community vision, understanding what our neighbors
and businesses are looking for in Kalispell within the next 5-10 years.
Community conversations will also enhance education on understanding
the role that Discover Kalispell and the Chamber play in our overall
community well-being.
• The Kalispell Chamber Board of Directors approve the scope of work with
Better Destinations. The Chamber is looking forward to being proactive
within community conversations and Lorraine is confident that this is the
first step on a multi-year project to build a community vision. The board for
the Kalispell Chamber opted to increase the scope of the agreement and as
such agrees to a higher percentage of the total cost of the project.
• Diane proposed to the TBID board to move forward with the project at a
cost to TBID of $6,400 plus half of the consultant’s travel expenses. The
project aligns with the TBID FY23 stewardship and development initiatives
and specifically aligns with the budget line item for community outreach.
• Britta Joy made a motion to approve the proposal for the project with
Discover Kalispell to contract with Better Destinations to work on
community conversations around tourism and growth for $6,400. Funds to
be taken from the TBID reserve account. Zac Ford seconded the motion.
Bryce Baker opposed. Remaining board members approved.
b) Indoor Sports Facility Study
• This week the Sport Facility Companies was in Kalispell. They had
discussions with over 30 community members, including user groups, stake
holders and developers over two full days of meetings. Meetings included:
City of Kalispell, County Parks & Rec, Logan Health, Chamber, MWED, KDA,
TBID, Kalispell and Whitefish Hockey, martial arts, baseball, swimming, and
high school activity directors.
• The meetings this week provided a well-rounded set of conversations, and
the consultants did a great job with being on track based on the RFP. The
TBID will receive a rough draft of the study in 4-5 weeks. Diane will present
to the board for review, submit adjustments with a final report anticipated
in 8 weeks.
• Thank you to the Hampton Inn Kalispell for providing the meeting room.
Meeting was adjourned at
Respectfully submitted: Diane Medler
For further information, please contact:
diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808