HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 09/11/2001 - JointI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Joint
Council Meeting of the City of Corpus Christi of September 11, 2001, which were approved by the
City Council on September 18, 2001.
WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 18th day of September, 2001.
kt.
Armando C ap
City Secretary
SEAL
T i
A0/
MINUTES
JOINT MEETING OF THE
CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL AND
CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS
September 11, 2001 - 12:04 p.m.
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr.
Mayor Pro Tem Rex Kinnison
Brent Chesney*
Javier Colmenero
Henry Garrett
Bill Kelly*
Jesse Noyola
Mark Scott
City Staff Present
City Manager David R. Garcia
Deputy City Manager George Noe
City Secretary Armando Chapa
First Assistant City Attorney Jay Reining
Recording Secretary Rachelle P. Ramon
CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU
Brad Lomax, Board Chairman
Bill Goin
Bill Morgan
Govind Nadkarni
Jody Patel
Bert Quintanilla
John Trice
Dan Viola
Lillian Riojas (Ex -Officio)
ABSENT
John Longoria (Council Member)
Vangie Chapa (Board Member)
Cristina Garza (Board Member)
Victor Gonzalez (Board Member)
Dave Prewitt (Board Member)
Linda Routh (Board Member)
Tom Schmid (Board Member)
Berney Seal (Board Member)
Mayor Neal called the meeting to order in the Basement Training Room of City Hall. City
Secretary Chapa checked the roll and verified that a quorum of the Council was present to conduct
the meeting. He said the CVB Board did not need a quorum since they were only providing
information to the Council.
The Mayor asked for a moment of silence to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks
earlier that day in New York City and Washington, D.C. He said he had asked that all the flags on
city buildings be lowered to half-staff in memory of the victims and their families. He said there will
be a press conference at 4 p.m. to discuss the city's response to the attacks.
Mr. Lomax reported that the CVB's fiscal year began on August 1st and the organization is
fully staffed, including the presence of four convention/sales people. Mr. Wayne Bennett, CEO,
introduced Mr. Mike Wheeler of the firm of Fite and Wheeler. He explained that the audit of the
CVB's operations from January through July 2000 was particularly time consuming because it
involved the seven-month period following the break up of the former Greater Corpus Christi
Business Alliance into three separate entities. Mr. Wheeler said the next audit should be completed
on a much more timely basis for the period of August 2000 through July 2001. He then discussed
specific aspects of the audit.
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Minutes - Joint Meeting
September 11, 2001
Page 2
*Council Members Kelly and Chesney arrived at approximately 12:10 p.m. Council Members
Scott and Chesney questioned the need to hold the meeting in light of the day's tragic events.
Mr. Bill Pettus of Pettus Advertising discussed the CVB's recent marketing efforts, including
the "Sand Dollar Savings" campaign and recent print advertisements. Mr. Bennett commented on
the visitor and vehicle activity at the visitor information centers as well as the convention sales
marketing plan and the leisure tourism sales goals. Ms. Carol Dunton, Public Relations Manager,
briefed the Council about changes on the CVB's web site. Mr. Bennett said he has been talking with
airline representatives about improving air access to Corpus Christi through increased promotions
to meeting planners.
Mr. Trice talked about the evaluation of the CVB's performance in the areas of finance, sales,
media performance, and web site performance. He said the CEO will be evaluated twice a year and
the board will keep the Council and the public informed about those issues.
Mayor Neal asked what was being done to address the fact that schools will be starting later
next year, either in late August or early September. Mr. Bennett said that will affect both leisure sales
and convention sales, and he noted that two additional conventions have already been booked for
late summer. Mr. Scott commented on the "I Believe in Corpus Christi" web site provided by the
Economic Development Corporation and he said some citizens have offered to put together a
community calendar on the web if the CVB can provide information for it.
Mayor Neal thanked the CVB board members and staff for their efforts. There being no other
business, the Mayor adjourned the meeting at 12:50 p.m. on September 11, 2001.
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