HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 10/22/2002 - 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 October 22, 2002, which were approved by the City
Council on November 12, 2002.
WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 12`h day of November 2002.
Armando Chapa
City Secretary
SEAL
MINUTES
JOINT MEETING OF THE
CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL AND
CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS
October 22, 2002 - 12:05 p.m.
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr.
Mayor Pro Tem Javier Colmenero
Brent Chesney*
Henry Garrett
Bill Kelly
Rex Kinnison
Jesse Noyola
Mark Scott
City Staff Present
City Manager David R. Garcia
Deputy City Manager George Noe
City Secretary Armando Chapa
City Attorney James R. Bray Jr.
Recording Secretary Rachelle Parry
CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU
Dave Prewitt, Vice Chairman
Bill Goin
Bill Morgan
Jody Patel
Linda Routh
John Trice
Dan Viola
Lillian Riojas (Ex -Officio)
ABSENT
Council Member John Longoria
Bert Quintanilla, Board Chairman
Vangie Chapa Brad Lomax
Cristina Garza Govind Nadkarni
Victor Gonzalez Tom Schmid
Mayor Neal called the meeting to order in the Sixth Floor Conference Room of City Hall.
City Secretary Chapa checked the roll and verified that there was a quorum of the City Council. He
said a quorum was not needed of the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) board because this was
a presentation meeting. Mr. Prewitt said he was leading the meeting in place of Mr. Quintanilla. He
noted that there is a vacancy on the board due to the passing of Mr. Bemey Seal. He said the
nominations committee will be making a recommendation.
Mr. Jerry Van Beveren, with the accounting firm of Flueshe, Van Beveren and Kilgore, said
this is the first year they have audited the CVB. He said they issued a clean opinion with no
qualifications to the report. He said they also recommended only two adjustments -one for
depreciation and another for amortization. Council Member Scott asked if all the issues had been
resolved regarding the former Greater Corpus Christi Business Alliance, of which the CVB was a
member. Mr. Van Beveren said that for the most part they had been with the exception of the
Columbus Fleet. He said they made a few recommendations to the CVB staff.
Mr. Wayne Bennett, President and CEO, also referred to Mr. Seal, saying he had a vision
about what Corpus Christi could be and it is up to the members to make that vision a reality. He said
that at the beginning of the fiscal year, the CVB's goals were to find ways to make the best use of
their funding, to increase staff training, and improve the web site. However, adjustments needed to
be made following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 which, among other things, greatly
impacted tourism all over the country. *Council Member Chesney arrived at the meeting.
Mr. Bennett said the CVB began "branding" Corpus Christi to include Padre Island in every
piece of information they produce. They also emphasized the drive market and the leisure aspects
of tourism here. Ms. Martha Kleine, Director of Convention Sales, discussed the 2002-03 convention
sales goals, including definite bookings, room nights, leads generated, leads for room nights,
Minutes - Joint Meeting
October 22, 2002 - Page 2
conventions serviced and convention service leads. She discussed the impact that the renovation of
the convention center will have on upcoming conventions and she noted that many convention
planners are waiting for that renovation to be completed.
Mr. Bennett also stated that the CVB's promotional video was named the best in the state by
the Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus. He also discussed a report prepared by
Dr. Jim Lee and Dr. Patrick Crowley entitled "Tourism and Its Economic Impact on Corpus Christi."
He said that taking into account the size of this city, the CVB's staff and their budget, the Corpus
Christi CVB is probably the highest performing bureau in the state.
Ms. Carol Dunton, CVB Public Relations Manager, discussed the performance of the web
site, which has a new address. www.corpuschristicvb.com. She said that they have increased the
site's performance by over 50% each month. She said the CVB pays under $1,000 per year for the
web site and the total web site revenue generated through TravelHero booking service for October
2001 through September 2002 was $4,666.08. She said they will also have a Spanish version
available beginning this weekend and she showed examples of magazine articles.
Responding to Council Member Scott, Mr. Bennett said the Padre Island Business
Association and the CVB put out maps about Padre Island. Council Member Colmenero commented
on links to both the water and the beach and Mr. Prewitt discussed how the beaches' improved
cleanliness since the city annexed portions of Mustang Island has greatly enhanced tourism efforts.
Mr. Bill Pettus, of Pettus Advertising Inc., discussed the "2001 Corpus Christi Conversion
Study" prepared by Preprint Publishing Company Inc.; a two-page ad that ran all over the state; the
ongoing importance of the driving market; advertising in Mexico; convention center advertising; and
third -party endorsements from articles.
Council Member Kinnison asked about the CVB's relationship with the Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce. Mr. Pettus said that entity is electing new board members and forming new marketing
committees; once that is done, they will work with the CVB's staff on promoting the area. He said
the Hispanic Chamber understands that they are accountable to the CVB in the same way the CVB
is accountable to the city for the funding it receives. Mr. Pettus also discussed other aspects of the
CVB's advertising campaign, including pieces that are sent out and the hotels' support.
Mr. Kevin Latone, General Manager of the Omni Corpus Christi Hotel, discussed the recently
published brochure called "Tourism Industry—Economic Impact and Community Benefits." He said
that without the tourism industry in Texas, every household would pay an additional $792 in taxes.
He said he hopes all citizens recognize the value of tourism in Corpus Christi.
Mr. Prewitt concluded by saying that these presentations show that the CVB board members
believe in what they are doing and he invited the Council to the CVB's upcoming planning retreat.
Mayor Neal asked the CVB to tell the Council what would be the economic impact of adding
one more night's stay for a visitor to Corpus Christi and he asked the CVB staff to respond to
negative and incorrect information that appears in the letters to the editor. There being no other
business, the Mayor adjourned the joint meeting at 1:08 p.m. on October 22, 2002.