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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.