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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Corpus Christi Convention & Visitor Bureau - 03/16/1993 • sM earnildelaitt CCA CVB BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 7993 3:00 PM CCACVB BOARD ROOM, 2ND FLOOR /. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 3:02PM by Chairman Al Jones. Chairman Jones noted that a number of issues would be covered today that the Board would be unable to vote on as they were not posted prior to the meeting as agenda items. They included an overview of the audit situation for the USS Lexington, a presentation on a coastal management plan, a presentation on the gaming issue, an overview of amended bylaws for the CVB and information regarc-ag Los Barcos. II. Roll Call Chairman Jones called the roll. Directors attending: Al Jones (Chairman), presiding Stern Feinberg, Cathy Harrison, Lillian Murray, Shirley Pagan, Bill Pruet, Ricardo Sanchez, E.J. Schanfarber, Berney Seal, Barbara Sheppard, and Eugene Urban. Absent: Roy Mayo and Erich Wendel. Attending Staff: Keith E. Arnold, Rob Earley, Kelle Clark, Pat Rousseau, Dana Stephens, and Dottie Sylvester. Guests: Lisa Anderson (KPMG Peat Marwick), Fred Dotts (MDL), Bill Fennell (Westinghouse -Padre Isles Country Club), Gary Miglicco (KPMG Peat Marwick), Holly Q Osborn (MDL) and Jim Stein (Caller Times). zIII. Motion to Approve Minutes of January 27, 1993 Board of Directors Meeting The above minutes were moved by Cathy Harrison, seconded by Chairman Jones and Cr approved by the Board. cn Corpus Christi Area Convention & Visitors Bureau �������pp 1201 N.Shoreline. P. 0. Box 2664, Corpus Christi,Texas 78403-2664 USA FMB (512)882-5603, 1-800-678-OCEAN,TELEX: 798095 HQ CO COC, FAX: (512)882-4256 CCACVB Board of Directors Minutes March 16, 1993 Page 2 of 8 IV. Overview of Audit on USS Lexington Gary Miglicco of KPMG Peat Marwick was asked by Chairman Jones to handle the above topic. In late October/November his firm was asked to provide assistance and bookkeeping services for the Lexington in view of getting systems in place onboard the ship. His firm worked with Flusche, Van Beveren, Kilgore (FVBK) in getting the books in place through October. From November on, Peat Marwick has been doing financial statements for the ship as well as preparation of payroll, reconciliations, etc. Mr. Miglicco stated that on behalf of his firm he wanted "to communicate our concerns and solutions". He stressed that it takes a great expertise in cash control, cash vaults, etc. to handle the volume of revenue and that would be a system that would have to "be put in place". Lisa Anderson, also of KPMG Peat Marwick, explained that she has been working with Rob Earley on cash register reporting, the number of visitors, cash activity and tracking of bank accounts. Her firm has been doing daily reports to enable Mr. Earley to have the tools that he needs for making decisions. She noted that the cash register reporting area would be facilitated by having extra keys to ensure all the different pools are accounted for (Le. combo tickets). An inventory needs to be done on tickets to find out what types are being sold. Another area needing to be handled was special events for items not paid up front. They are putting procedures and reporting in place for this. Grant funds, many of which are used on capital improvements, are being tracked as well as purchase orders to find out where they are coming from and how much is left in each grant. They are looking at food service commissions to see if the amounts being charged can be supported and are reasonable. The firm is also making sure that taxpayer identification numbers are being picked up. It was pointed out that certain talents are needed onboard the ship. To handle cash controls and ticket handling it was recommended that a Head Cashier be hired. This person would have experience in reconciling drawers, counting change, etc. To handle vendor inquires (looking at purchase orders and properly coding and mat::hing them with invoices) it was recommended that a Budget Officer/Bookkeeper be hired. This person would also help the Executive Director monitor where cash is being spent. Mr. Miglicco stressed that the area of cash handling would need to be staffed by the end of May. It would involve: 1) Head cashier talent 2) A joint venture relationship with the Texas State Aquarium (TSA) involving sharing of ticket-taking and cash (through Easter this is being done on a trial basis). The gift shop would also be another area which could be shared so that only one inventory would need to be kept rather than two. 3) Budget Officer -- someone- wr more accounting skills than the Head Cashier who could supe Executive Director. opoe set • CCACVB Board of Directors Minutes March 16, 1993 Page 3of8 When asked by Chairman Jones as to what they considered major concerns, the response was: cash handling, cash controls, a slow invoice system and strengthening of check writing procedures. It was elaborated that the Bookkeeper position would look at day-to-day expenditures and problems with vendors. The person hired would have stronger skills than just bookkeeping. It was also mentioned that Peat Marwick would continue to maintain the general ledger. It was confirmed that there could be a collection problem with pledges. The TSA, for example, experiences collection difficulty with 25% of its pledges. Mr. Miglicco felt it was "still too early to get a feel on it". He noted that the TSA had its Board members call those who had pledged $ 1,000 or more and were delinquent in their payment. Currently, FVBK is doing an audit of pledges. Chairman Jones noted that he had asked Jerry Van Beveren to do a formal presentation on their audit at this meeting but Mr. Van Beveren was out-of-town. Shirley Pagan requested that all Board members receive a copy of the audit. When asked if information was being gathered from Lexington visitors, the response was that Peat Marwick was "putting that in place right now", i.e. zip codes. An explanation of the purchase order process onboard the Lexington was requested. After a P.O. is approved it is sent to Peat Marwick. Peat Marwick then matches the P.O. to the applicable invoice. Invoices are then sent to the appropriate department. Payments are made every two weeks with Peat Marwick sending a listing of approved invoices to Mr. Earley. Checks are then cut at Peat Marwick with signatures by 1) Mr. Earley and 2) one other person onboard the Lexington. It was stressed that an 18 month process of "fine-tuning" was needed for the ship. When asked if they could assure the Board of the complete integrity of the current cash management system onboard the Lexington, the response was "no". Mr. Miglicco felt that the best system was not in place to protect funds adding that "no system will assure you 100%". When further asked what percentage he felt the ship was at currently, the response was "50% ". Chairman Jones added that people were needed onboard the ship who were used to handling large volumes of money. He also added that cash control "depends on the amount of people each day on the ship"; It was affirmed that a computerized cash register system was being looked into. Mrs. Pagan requested that the CVB Board receive copies of the monthly financial statements for the Lexington. The number of visitors onboard the ship for Monday, March 15th, was 2,455. To- date, there have been 130,000 visitors since October (the projected YTD figure was 89,000) God CCACVB Board of Directors Minutes March 16, 1993 Page 4 of 8 Chairman Jones recommended that the CVB use the TSA as a model and asked the CVB President/CEO "to come up with a set of reports to us as to what would be useful for us". Mr. Miglicco pointed out that the Lexington has had higher attendance than the TSA. The topic next turned to transportation and development of North Beach. Mr. Miglicco felt that the parking and transportation on the beach posed the biggest problem. The goal is "getting cars in place so it's a pleasant stay for visitors". He explained that when the parking lot was first built it was envisioned that people would be utilizing the lot for a two hour stay. Now with the Lexington, cars are using the lot for a three hour stay which results in more cars on the street and is dangerous. There is a Parking Task Force for the TSA Board currently at work on this problem. The four-pronged solution for the above (which could result in $ 1 million loss if left unsolved) was given as: 1) Get the City of Corpus Christi to eliminate parking on streets which would get people into the parking lots 2) Place a parking lot fee on the currently free parking lot 3) Have transportation to get people from the outlying parking lots, i.e. tram system 4) Put a parking lot underneath the bridge ($40,000 expense). He urged that the above would need to be in place by the end of May. He felt that the transportation issue should be the highest priority right now and added that parking could do the most serious damage. When asked about the water-taxi, he felt that if it does not come about the Lexington will lose people in the Convention Center area. Barbara Sheppard added that should the water-taxis be passed, stops also need to be at the L or T Head stops -- not just the barge. Chairman Jones reminded the Board that the Regional Transit Authority has the ability to respond overnight to increased transportation demands. When asked about a park and drive-in method for the Lexington, the response was that there is low ridership on the current set-up which utilizes a bus. V. Coastal Management Plan Mr. Bill Fennell of Westinghouse - Padre Isles Country Club was asked by Chairman Jones to speak on the above. Mr. Fennell was concerned about Bill 7053 which had certain requirements regarding new construe ion. In order to submit an application for construction, $25,000 - $35,000 is nto assemble information necessary for filing the application. He wanted to krf -_`� a/lveston was exempted from having Gam CCACVB Board of Directors Minutes March 16, 1993 Page 5of8 to file such an application. The answer he received was that new dunes are being developed along Padre Island/Corpus Christi. He further noted that areas highlighted in yellow (ATTACHMENT A) could not be built upon unless a permit was obtained from the local government. As the Bill 1053 now stands, if a city issues a permit for beach front construction it can be fined. Any structure built is required to be 1,000 feet from "mean high tide". He asked the question "if you can't do anything with the land why pay taxes on it?" Mr. Fennel/requested the Board to lobby with the City of Corpus Christi to exempt Corpus Christi/Padre Island from the necessity of complying to beach regulations. He felt the fight by the City and County would be important to future development of tourism and economic development. With the current law, if a structure is 50% washed away, it cannot be rebuilt. Chairman Jones noted that "we are not sure of our role". He asked if Gene Urban and Bill Pruet would be willing to form a Task Force to work on the issue and if this would be agreeable with the Board. The response was yes. VL Riverboat Gaming Chairman Jones noted that gaming ship legislature has been presented in Austin and that the issue has also been presented to the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber's Board has not voted on it yet. He felt that the CVB Board of Directors needs to work towards a decision on this issue. He introduced Bill Harrison, Chairman of the Legislative Review Committee for the Chamber's Board, to speak on the riverboat gaming issue. Mr. Harrison began by saying that he is "not an expert on this issue" and stated that he has been contacted by two prospective operators in the community. He further noted that he hasn't agreed to represent anyone. Although he felt the odds were 8-5 against the gaming issue, he thought it was an exciting prospect for Corpus Christi. He believed that the City is "coming of age" and that riverboat gaming could be another element to add to the mix of the community which would attract people. He felt that Corpus Christi has taken great strides within the last two years from an agricultural base and oil-petro-chemical base to a different economy. "A rising tide lifts all boats" was used to emphasize that diversification of the economy was a good position for the City to take. He stated that he was "not here to debate or discus's the morality of gambling"but noted that "people like to gamble". Riverboat gaming could be another element in Corpus Christi's package. It was stressed that a gaming ship would be successful only in a tourism environment and would be appropriate only if it could be controlled honestly (via constant double-checking both state-wise and locally). He made a copy of the legislative bill available (ATTACHMENT B) and noted that the Senate would be moving it this weekend. A lot would depend on the May 1st legislature passing. He felt the passage of the legislature could generate $300 million for Texas with S7 million of that for Corpus Christi and $1/2 million for the County. He referred to a book that he.h d been given which was produced by legislative consultants. If riverboat gas passed, there will be 15 licenses • CCACVB Board of Directors Minutes March 76, 1993 Page 6of8 distributed throughout the State of Texas -- Nueces County could have one of them. Gaming boats would have to be at least 150 feet in length, carrying 600 passengers. Although Mr. Harrison had a genuine concern for how riverboat gaming could affect dog and horse racetracks, he didn't think the track attendees were the same type of people that gamble at casinos. If the legislature is passed, 88,000 jobs would be created in the State of Texas with 74,000 of those in Corpus Christi. The projected economic impact for Texas is $4. 7 billion. Thus far, riverboat gaming has been legalized by 20-25 states. It is going to go into Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma as well. The seven counties where the Gaming Commission may issue licenses for riverboat casinos are: Harris, Cameron, Galveston, Jefferson, Brazoria, Nueces and Montgomery. These counties have the option to vote on whether or not they want riverboat gaming in their area. It was clarified that if the bill was passed, slot machines could not only be put on the riverboats but the dog and horse racetracks as well. A question was posed as to why the City wouldn't just pursue casinos. The response was that a "real short lease" was needed "to get it out of the community". The goal is to not have Corpus Christi become an Atlantic City. With riverboat gaming a confined area with heavy regulation could be maintained. It was stated that the earliest "case" when riverboat gaming could happen would be May. Mr. Arnold was asked to comment on the issue. "To compare another city to Corpus Christi is like apples and oranges". Biloxi, MS made $ 14 million in the early stages and New Orleans is getting ready to open casinos. He felt that if Corpus Christi did not get involved, it would get left behind because of the large numbers of our competitors that have legalized gambling. It was pointed out that there were only two cities the ABC had gone back to both of which had gambling -- Reno and Las Vegas. The question was asked "what other industry wouldn't require funding on our (the CVB's) part?" It would not only bring in new business but the City would be able to levy additional taxes on it. It was the general consensus of the Board that they should adopt a "proactive"stance on the riverboat gaming issue. They asked the CVB President/CEO to work towards that end in formulating a resolution on riverboat gaming. VII. CVB Amended Bylaws/Los Barcos Chairman Jones noted that the Los Barcos organization has, on its own volition, voted to form itself in the same fashion as the USS Lexington including the same relationship to the CVB (minus any monies) that the ship has. He invited John Bell, attorney for both the CVB and the Lexingto , to give an overview of CVB amended bylaws and Los Barcos. amen/wit CCACVB Board of Directors Minutes March 16, 1993 Page 7 of 8 Mr. Bell noted that the Los Barcos organization is non-profit and that their bylaws state that the CVB Board of Directors will appoint their Board of Directors. The bylaws also state that the CVB BOO will approve their annual operating budget and any changes to their bylaws. Overall, they want to be subject to control by the Bureau although the Bureau will not be responsible for any monies. A question arose as to whether Los Barcos would involve CVB staff time. The response was that the CVB is using TSA resources for the Lexington. A goal is to pull all three entities together to work for the visitor industry. Los Barcos, as a result of the CVB's participation, will be in a better position to market. It was confirmed that any part Los Barcos takes in marketing they themselves will pay for. When asked if there were any implied obligations by the CVB for Los Barcos, Mr. Bell replied "legally the answer is no". However, he added that the way the three entities were destined was in light of working together (Lexington, TSA, Los Barcos). Mr. Bell noted that at the next CVB Board of Directors meeting a resolution with Los Barcos bylaws would be presented for approval. It was added that the bylaws were to ensure that Los Barcos did not "attack us later". Mr. Bell stated that when the lease had been obtained for the USS Lexington from the City of Corpus Christi, the title of the ship went to the Bureau. He recommended a quitclaim type deed being done by the CVB so that it could not incur any owner liability issues. He also noted that "loose ends" needed to be tied up regarding the bylaws and organizational structure of the CVB Board of Directors (i.e. members of the Chamber of Commerce within Corpus Christi do not pay the Bureau any monies but have voting privileges for the Bureau). VIII. Departmental Reports Mr. Arnold noted that the monthly publication, "Tidings", had been enclosed in the Board's meeting folders (ATTACHMENT C) and that it is a "good summary of our activities in our area". With Pat Rousseau's assistance, a revised Policy & Procedures Manual for the CVB has been done which is in line with Texas law. It will be put in place within the next two weeks. He noted that revised bylaws would be sent out to the Board members by the latter part of the week. Along with the help of Lillian Murray, a new Marketing Committee of the Board has been put together which will be brought before the Board in April for approval. 25-35% of his time will be spent in a direct sales effort. His recent 1 1/2 day trip to Austin with Jill Borelli was mentioned. They went to associations for "really good prospects". It was suggested that in order to capture the State association business, an Austin office for the CVB might prove helpful. A/so noted was that the Gulf of Mexico Symposium continues to be worked on and that a Request for Proposal(RFP)is coming out to Corpus Christi and Galveston. He stated that he had spent 2 1/2L/ ys with the Convention Department resegmenting markets and reassigning _ nts on the computer. It was pointed out that the ASTA (American Society of T- gents) Conference had gone well. One n pe • • CCACVB Board of-Directors Minutes March 16, 1993 Page 8of8 of the goals was to get the agents to sell the package. An ad has been placed in Matamoros this week for Holy Week. Kelly Corbin of the Quality Bayfront Hotel had mentioned to him at a recent gathering that she has sold 20 of the packages. The press conference for the package was a tremendous success -- he and another staff member had greeted the senior citizen couple (purchasers of the first package) at the airport with flowers and champagne. Advantage Rent-a-Car upgraded their car and the hotel at which they were staying gave them a suite. At this point, Mr. Arnold had Dana Stephens, Communications & Film Manager, play a video of excerpts from television shows which highlighted Corpus Christi. They were from the following: o Peppermint Place --a children's show which aired in December in TX, KS and CA o The Pacific War -- a Japanese documentary o Living in the 90's/Travel Guide -- with Christi Brinkley on CNN o Sailing Quarterly -- a video magazine with over 10,000 subscribers. IX. Old Business Lillian Murray thanked Mr. Arnold and the CVB staff for the Board Retreat held on February 20th. She felt it was a step in the right direction. Chairman Jones noted that he has made several appearances at hotels and motels around town. It was his sense that with Mr. Arnold and Ms. Murray's work, relations between the Bureau and the hotels and motels are "on the mend". He also noted that the CVB had received a special award from the Arts Council for their involvement in getting the Los Barcos ships to Corpus Christi last year. He felt many people outside of the Bureau were involved in efforts to bring Los Barcos here and suggested that Mr. Arnold and the CVB Staff prepare a resolution to recognize that group. Mr. Arnold added that perhaps the appropriate time to read the resolution would be when the Los Barcos land here. On a motion made by Ms. Murray and seconded by Mrs. Sheppard the Board approved a draft resolution be made to that effect. X. Adjournment . A motion was made, seconded and approved by the Board to adjourn at 5:10PM. Dottie Sylvester Recording Secretary Gatjemic