12-14-22 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Location: Marriott Springhill Suites, 250 Old Reserve Drive, Kalispell MT
Board Members Present: Britta Joy, Zac Ford, Robert Hall, Skyler Rieke, Bryce Baker
Zoom: Dawn Hendrickson
Absent: None
Staff Present: Marisa Mikonis, Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson, Lorraine Clarno
Guest: Kisa Davison - KBID, Dan Moderie – Super 8, Fabiano Pereira - HGI, Hailey
Wilson – Super 8
Guest Zoom: Cathy Ritter – Better Destinations
MINUTES
The meeting was called to order at 3:02 PM by Bryce Baker, Chair of the Board.
1. Hear from the Public – None.
2. Grant Application presentation – Kisa Davison, Kalispell Business Improvement District.
• Davison presented the Community Development Grant Application to expand
and improve downtown Kalispell holiday decorations. The 2022 Holiday Stroll
had a huge turn out and they would like to improve the experience with
further decorations. The BID funded enough for development for Main Street
and Depot Park to add LED snowflakes and other new LED swag. They would
like to expand the boundaries further to 1st Ave East and West and Center to
5th. Application is for $5,000 (50/50 match) for the long-term goals and plans
for downtown.
3. Community Engagement Study on Growth Sentiment; Cathy Ritter – Better Destinations
• Ritter presented a review on the outcome of the Community Engagement
Study, how major changes in the community have impacted resident’s
attitudes towards tourism and community growth and what direction they’d
like the community to go.
• 385 residents had completed the study, 13 in-depth interviews and two, 90-
mintue public engagement sessions with around 30 participants. Resident had
volunteered their time from all different occupations, ages ranges, incomes
and perspectives to lend their perspectives.
• Discover Kalispell and TBID board will utilize this input to inform our strategy
and initiatives.
4. Board Action Items
a) Approval of minutes from October 26, 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 October 2022
• Motion was made by Britta Joy to approve the minutes. Motion was
seconded by Zac Ford. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
c) Approval of indoor sports facility Market Opportunity Report and Facility
Program & Opinion of Cost reports by Sport Facilities Company
• Motion was made by Skyler Rieke to approve the Indoor Sport Facility
Market Opportunity Report. Motion was seconded by Zac Ford. Discussion:
Next steps are to share the report with investors and other community
leaders that are interested in the project. The Opinion of Cost report is
provided in an additional format to include a larger building for indoor turf.
Board approved unanimously.
d) Approval of Grant Applications
• Motion was made by Britta Joy to approve $5,000 as requested from the
Kalispell Business Improvement District. Motion was seconded by Zac Ford.
Discussion: The overall cost over everything is going up now, higher quality
products being install that will last 10+ years so it’s a long-term investment
for our community. Board approved unanimously.
• Glacier Institute submitted a grant application to help support their winter
programs in 2022-2023. The Institute will have 4 programs weekly:
Snowshoeing in Glacier National Park and Nordic Skiing. Motion was made
by Britta Joy to approve $4,000 to Glacier Institute for their winter
programs with a stipulation that registration will track where participants
are from, where they are staying (geo location in valley) and what is their
primary reason for visiting the area. Motion was seconded by Robert Hall.
Discussion: What is the maximum number of participants and do we have
last year numbers of the total participants and where they came from?
Board approved unanimously.
5. Board Discussion
a) Staff Reports
o The board and Discover Kalispell thanks Dan Moderie for his time
on the board and his years at the Super 8. Congratulations on his
retirement. Dan introduced the new assistant general manager for
Super 8, Hailey Wilson.
o Discover Kalispell is hosting a group press trip January 11 – 14 and
two photographers during the winter season.
o Glacier National Park will release summer 2023 updates next week.
o Marisa provided updates on the September Highlander Adventure
event. We are working with the event organizers to define the route.
The event is now live and ready for sign up on
HighlanderAdventure.com
o Discover Kalispell has launched the newly designed Discover
Kalispell.com.
o Diane and Dawn met with several of the TBID hotels on the annual
one-on-one touch base meetings. We hope to arrange time with the
remaining properties after the new year.
Meeting was adjourned at 5:03pm
Respectfully submitted: Diane Medler
For further information, please contact:
diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808