12-08-10 TBID MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 — 3:00 PM
Kalispell Hilton Garden Inn
Minutes
Board Members Present: Chris Walter, David Ginepra, Bryan Scott, Janet Clark, Lori Fisher and Gib Bissell
Board Members Absent: Arlinna Wolfe
Staff Present: Diane Medler Staff Absent: Joe Unterreiner
Guests Present: Winnie Storli
Meeting was called to order by Chris Walters, Chairman of the Board at 3:09 PM.
1. Hear from the public- none
2. Consent Agenda
a. Approve Minutes from the November 10, 2010 Meeting:
Discussion: None
Action: Motion was made by Janet Clark to approve the minutes as written. Motion seconded by
Gibb Bissell. Board approved unanimously.
b. TBID proposed expenditures for remainder of fiscal year:
Diane Medler provided the board with a spreadsheet showing the TBID proposed revised
revenue and expenditures showing a reallocation of funds with an increased emphasis put on the
branding and marketing plan and website.
Discussion: David & Winnie suggested that we should piggy back on other existing websites
such as Glacier Park and the Kalispell Downtown instead of putting so much money into a new
website. Gib stated that website and branding are the highest priority for the CVB. Lori stressed
that a good website is very important when marketing to visitors out of this area.
Action: Motion was made by Gib Bissell to accept proposed budget. Motion seconded by Janet
Clark. Board approved unanimously.
c. Recording of minutes:
Chris Walters clarified that this is a notification item, not consent agenda. Bryan Scott has
recorded the last two TBID board meetings and will continue to record the meetings for his
personal use. He travels a lot and by recording he can listen to the meeting when convenient.
The official minutes will be taken by the CVB. No action taken.
3. Board Discussions
a. Kalispell Chamber visitor center hours:
David suggested that the visitor center should have coverage on holidays and weekend when
most tourists are in the area. He suggested that the TBID could fund extra coverage through a
CVB assistant. Chris stated that the visitor center is the Chamber's responsibility and is partially
funded by bed tax dollars. He recommended that we wait and look at increasing hours in the
summer. The group questioned why the current visitor center staffing hours aren't adjusted so
evenings and weekends are covered, for example staff on Saturday instead of Monday.
4. CVB Updates - Diane
a. The RFP for branding and marketing services will be posted December loth to be awarded the
first week of February.
b. The strategic plan will be sent to the board for review prior to the January board meeting and
added as a discussion item on the agenda.
c. The group discussed how the CVB could incorporate a hotel discount code in e-marketing
campaigns to be able to track the effectiveness of the advertising. CVB will create the discount
and send out to all TBID hotels enabling them to opt -in or out.
d. The group discussed how leads garnered by the CVB should be distributed. Some had concerns
that the email leads would be inundated with ads if both the CVB and hotels were utilizing the
lists. Lori stated that an individual hotel may want to use the list to promote a special event at
that hotel. It was suggested that TBID members receiving leads sign a Lead Use Policy to assure
responsible use of the database. This will be added to next month's agenda.
5. Other Business
a. Revenue Generation: Bryan suggested that as we move forward with the branding and marketing
plan there will be opportunities to generate revenue to offset the costs. He suggested that it
either becomes a regular discussion topic at the board meetings or a separate committee be
formed to formulate ideas to bring to the board. It was suggested that the board give some
thought to the concept of how a committee would be organized and what its function would be.
This will be added to next month's agenda for action.
b. Auditing of TBID collection returns: David asked if there was further action taken on the
discussion from the November board meeting regarding possible irregularities in the latest
returns. Chris informed the group that the executive committee felt that to insure fairness and
objectivity any evaluation of a return should be done by a third party, not a TBID member or
staff The committee is researching options for contracting with an accounting firm to develop
an audit process. Recommendations will be brought to the board when ready.
Meeting was adjourned by Chris Walters at 5:00 PM.
Respectfully Submitted: Diane Medler