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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-08-08 Tourism Commission MinutesTourism Commission Meeting Minutes August 8, 2016 The following individuals were in attendance: Commission Members – Tourism Commission Chair and Council Secretary Mary Knight; Councilman Dennis Dare; Michael James, Economic Development Committee/MD Tourism Board and Brett Wolf, OC Chamber of Commerce. Staff members present were Doug Miller, City Manager; Donna Abbott, Tourism Director and Lisa Osman, Tourism Department. Also present were Melanie Pursel, Chamber of Commerce; Susan Jones, OCHMRA; Greg Ellison, Ocean City Today; and Shawn Soper, Maryland Coast Dispatch. Mary Knight called the meeting to order at 3 p.m. Approval of Minutes The vote was unanimous to approve the minutes from the July 11, 2016 meeting. Tourism Strategic Plan Commission Chair and Council Secretary Knight and Donna distributed the 2016 Tourism Strategic Plan Reference Sheet and Executive Summary. The documents were prepared by consultant Lyle Sumek following the strategic planning session with the Tourism Commission in March. Donna reviewed the list of action items for 2016. It was determined to have the next update to the plan in January 2018. AirBNB Update Susan Jones reported that she had spoken with the Maryland Hotel & Lodging Association and they are working with their Board and lobbyist to come to an industry- wide “what would be acceptable for statewide hotels.” The state lodging association executive director will be presenting information at a session scheduled at the MACo conference next week (Friday, August 19 at 4 p.m.), and commission members were urged to attend if possible. Susan’s board meets in September. They will be discussing whether they want one big bill, which would cover health, safety, fire, insurance, and taxes, or whether they would rather have it cut into a few different bills. Also being discussed, whether local jurisdictions would feel that it is important to have tighter regulations and restrictions locally or statewide. Any proposed legislation should cover all short-term rentals. Susan was finally able to get a tax point of contact from AirBNB and forwarded that information to Susan Childs. Updates from Departments & Organizations: Chamber of Commerce Melanie Pursel distributed the Chamber of Commerce newsletter. The chamber will be having a patriotic theme at their annual awards banquet, which will be held on September 13 at 6 p.m. at the Clarion. The Business Person of the Year is Ray Taranto with Eastern Shore Golf Magazine; the Citizen of the Year is Lou Taylor with the Worcester County Board of Education; the Young Professional of the Year is Cate Nellans with Insurance Management Group; the Non-Profit of the Year is Worcester County Developmental Center; and the Volunteer of the Year is Sallie Johnson with Farmers Bank of Willards. Nancy Schwendeman has been busy selling advertisements for the 2017 Vacation Guide. Working on the Tourism Advocacy event (MACo event) with Donna Abbott, Susan Jones and Lisa Challenger. Chesapeake Martial Arts will have a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, August 20. The 123rd Street Plaza will have a Grand Opening at the end of August. The Parched Pelican, in that same plaza, will have a separate grand opening in October. The Parched Pelican will also host the Chamber’s Business After Hours in May 2017. Melanie has been asked to serve on the Maryland Chamber’s Legislative Committee. The Chamber’s general membership meeting will be held on September 8 at the Dunes Manor. HMRA Susan Jones reported that Surfer’s Healing will be held on August 17 at Castle in the Sand. The Maryland Tourism Coalition’s Summer Soiree will also be held the evening of August 17. Susan will attend the Tri-County Council Smith Island Fam Tour on Wednesday. Economic Development Board Michael James reported that he is back on the Maryland Tourism Development Board. The next EDC meeting date will be announced in the coming weeks. Department of Tourism Donna reported that the Tourism Department took a sponsorship at the White Marlin Open to promote fall events on the big screen and the live streaming of event. She distributed the July tourism marketing report this morning. Radio ads are now running. Donna attended the Destination Marketing Association International Conference last week in Minneapolis, MN. People from all over the world attended. Donna feels that we are where we need to be with social media, but that we need to step up our video. She attended the opening ceremony of the USSSA Girls Softball World Series at the Inlet and noted teams from numerous states plus Canada were in attendance, including a new team from Maine. More games were played this year at Northside Park for the convenience of teams staying in Ocean City for the event. Convention Center Larry was not present, but gave a report to Donna to pass along to the group. Pursuant to our partnership with Bob Rothermel and Jack Hennen from Team Productions, Celtic Yuletide will perform in the Performing Arts Center on December 3. Ticket sales have been very good. Larry met with the Maryland Stadium Authority, City Engineer, and architects last week to review conceptual drawings for Phase III of the Convention Center. Completed MSA/FY18 budget, turned into MSA last Thursday for review. Working on a Classic Corvette show for winter of 2017, trying to find available dates, more details to follow. Replacing all exterior signage including a new sign over the Visitor Center entrance, it will alleviate most complaints, hopefully. We are expecting record numbers again for MACo, which will be held August 17-20. Susan Jones made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Councilman Dennis Dare seconded, and the meeting adjourned at 4 p.m. The next Tourism Commission meeting will be held on September 12 in the Convention Center at 3 p.m.