11-01-17 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
November 1, 2017
3:00 pm — 5:00 pm
Location: Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
Minutes
Board Members Present: Dawn Hendrickson, Lisa Brown, Janet Clark, Emily Schroeder, Shawn Campbell, Zac Ford
Board Members Absent: Dan Moderie
Guests: Rob Brisendine; Marcia Spano - Development Coordinator, Event at Rebecca Farm; Tom Jentz — Planning
Director, City of Kalispell; Lucy Weeder and Kyle Christman, SpringHill Suites
Staff Present: Joe Unterreiner, Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson, Vonnie Day
Meeting was called to order by Dawn Hendrickson at 3:10 PM.
1. Hear from the Public— none
2. Event Grant Application presentation — Marcia Spano presented information about the Skijoring
Championship at Rebecca Farm, December 30 — 31. 50 to 60 competitors from out -of -market are
expected to participate. Many will be accompanied by friends and family and most will stay in local
lodging facilities. Organizers expect several thousand spectators to attend.
3. City of Kalispell Downtown Plan —Tom Jentz reviewed the Downtown Plan highlighting parking issues,
traffic behavior and the importance of the Courthouse couplet as a gateway to downtown. City Council
will hold a public hearing on November 6 and vote on the Downtown Plan on November 20.
4. Board Action Items
a. Approve minutes from the October 4, 2017 meeting:
Action: Motion was made by Zac Ford to approve the minutes. Motion seconded by Janet Clark.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b. TBID financial statements for September, 2017:
Action: Motion was made by Janet Clark to approve the financial statements. Motion seconded by
Zac Ford. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
c. Approval of TBID statement on the City of Kalispell Downtown Plan. See notes from board discussion
in section 5e.
Action: Diane will summarize board viewpoints in a letter to the City Council that will be sent to
board members for review.
d. Approval of event grant sponsorship for Skijoring, held at Rebecca Farm:
Action: Motion was made by Janet Clark to approve a grant of $1,500 cash and an in -kind media
promotion package valuing $1,500. Motion seconded by Shawn Campbell.
Discussion: CVB is basing a Discover Kalispell social media drive -market campaign around the event.
The timing of the event may promote additional room nights on the long New Year's Eve weekend.
Board expressed desire to be able to gather feedback on out -of -market room pick-up resulting from
event grants. Room nights from the skijoring event will likely be weighted in favor of the economy
properties. Board approved unanimously.
5. Board Discussion
a. Indoor Soccer — a press release is going out tomorrow to major markets in the state and region.
Commitments have been received from 20 teams from Nelson, BC, Missoula, Stevensville, Sandpoint, ID
and Henderson, NV. Interest in indoor soccer continues to grow. If the event increases in size over time,
more turf and additional game venues will be needed. The event has been advertised through social
media, eblasts and promotion at state soccer tournaments. Pond Hockey — more than 40 teams from
Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Idaho, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta have registered.
Tamarack Brewing has returned as the largest sponsor and Moose's is again hosting and sponsoring the
welcome party. The event will be held at Foy's Lake with Woodland Park as a backup. Dragon Boat —
registration for the 2018 festival will open November 15. Teams selected for the Rocky Mountain
Championship division are being invited to return. All but four teams from the cancelled 2017 race have
opted to defer their registration fee to 2018. Two teams chose a 50% refund and two teams requested to
delay a decision until November 15.
b. Event grant updates — the board has approved $5,000 in new grants for FY18 which leaves $5,000 in
grant funds remaining. Flathead Celtic Festival returned a $1,000 FY17 grant because of the cancellation
of their event due to wildfire smoke. This amount has been earmarked for their 2018 event.
c. Marketing updates — Year in Review meeting will be held January 10. Properties will be contacted
about hosting. CVB had a booth at the Calgary Women's Show in October and distributed a Kalispell
shopping brochure with lodging packages. Show attendance was up 7% over last year. CVB is
considering attending the Great Outdoor and Bike Expo in Spokane in February, 2018. This show is in
conjunction with the Spokane Golf Show. Glacier Guides/Montana Raft Company is interested in sharing
the booth fee of $800. A Kalispell lodging brochure will be created for the show. CVB is scheduled to do
the Calgary Outdoor Adventure and Travel Show in March. The CVB website www.discoverkalispell.com
was created in 2011 and is due for an update. TBID members are asked to complete an online survey. A
link to the survey will be sent to TBID members via email.
d. Group, M&C Updates —TBID members are encouraged to sign up for the International Round -Up in
April, 2018. Spaces are limited and are going quickly. Diane and Dawn are in the process of conducting
hotel visits with TBID properties to share information about CVB initiatives and get feedback on individual
properties' challenges and successes. Lodging packages are being sought for numerous events. A lodging
package template has been created making it easier for hotels to provide all information needed. Links
to lodging packages are sent to event participants and used for drive -market promos. TBID members are
encouraged to check their current lodging packages on the Discover Kalispell website. Dawn attended
the IMEX conference in October along with representatives of Glacier Country, MOTBD and Whitefish,
Missoula, Bozeman and Billings CVB's. She met with 20 meeting planners who were specifically
interested in Montana, several mentioning their perception of Montana as a safe location. Dawn also
attended Glacier Country group meetings plus additional unscheduled and walk-up meetings. The
conference was well -attended with 12,000 participants from 150 countries. In December, Dawn will be
attending Connect, a conference for NW regional meeting planners in Seattle.
e. Board discussion of a TBID statement on the City of Kalispell Downtown Plan - as a representative
organization for tourism in Kalispell, the board discussed the importance of submitting a statement to the
city council as it considers approval of the Downtown Plan. The CVB's mission is to influence travel to
Kalispell and sees a vibrant, quaint, walkable downtown as an important draw for visitors. The board
agreed that the Courthouse couplet should remain as it is: one lane going each direction. There was
discussion whether it was a good idea to follow the section of the Downtown Plan that proposes to
narrow Main Street to three lanes since that might deter traffic from going through the downtown area.
Other members felt there was a need to slow traffic to create a more pedestrian -friendly downtown that
encourages visitors to park and explore. Two members said their front desk sends visitors to Whitefish
for a quaint downtown experience and also the lively nightlife. Others said their guests enjoy the shops
and restaurants in downtown Kalispell and find plenty to do. The board discussed what assets make
downtown Whitefish attractive to visitors and what Kalispell can do to increase the downtown area's
draw and convince tourists to spend their dollars there. Members agreed on features such as increased
parking, enhanced landscaping, a performance hall/event center and more nightlife - which is dependent
on more liquor licenses becoming available. The group was not unified in support of legislation
proposing unlimited liquor licenses in the downtown area. Board members unanimously supported
actions to promote transportation options and pedestrian and bicyclist safety including street lighting
and bike lanes. Discussion favored creating a unique and identifiable image for Downtown Kalispell
including architectural design standards that encourage blending in with existing historic flavor, widening
of sidewalks to accommodate sidewalk eateries and working with MDT to allow event banners to be
strung across Main Street. It was agreed that Downtown Kalispell should resume its historic role as the
epicenter for arts, culture and historic preservation in the Flathead Valley. Diane will draft a letter to City
Council on behalf of the TBID BOD. The draft will be emailed to the board by Friday for review. Board is
asked to respond asap with any changes or approval. Final letter submitted to the Mayor and City
Council is posted at www.kalispellchamber.com/tbid.
Meeting was adjourned at 5:11 PM
Respectfully Submitted: Diane Medler
For Further Information, please contact:
Diane Medler, CVB Director, diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808