Chairman, Ronald E. Kitchen, Jr. Councilmember Linda Bega Frank Peters Vice-Chairman Michael Mancke Dr. Paresh Desai Daryl Seaton Councilmember Mike Gudis Karlene Feliciano Gene McGee Council Members Present: Chairman Ronald E. Kitchen Vice Chair Michael Mancke Dr. Paresh Desai Frank Peters Councilwoman Linda Bega Karlene Feliciano Councilmember Mike Gudis Daryl Seaton Council Members Absent: Gene McGee County Staff Present: Adam Thomas, Marti Spewock, Randy Oliver Public in Attendance: Linda Avery, Mike Bates, Mike Engiles, Meredith Bleakley, Jim Behuniak, Kathy Fordham, Leslie Bollin, Art Jones Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am followed by the invocation and pledge of allegiance. Marti Spewock called the roll. There were eight members present for a quorum. For the record, Mr. McGee provided notice he would not be in attendance. Approval of Agenda A motion was made to adopt the agenda as presented: Result: Unanimous Mover: Linda Bega Seconder: Mike Gudis Ayes: Kitchen, Seaton, Bega, Mancke, Gudis, Peters, Feliciano, Desai OPEN TO THE PUBLIC NA APPROVE MINUTES OF MEETING Approval of Minutes A motion was made to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2016 meeting. Result: Unanimous Mover: Karlene Feliciano Seconder: Dr. Paresh Desai Page 1
Ayes: Kitchen, Seaton, Bega, Mancke, Gudis, Peters, Feliciano, Desai Approval of Excused Absences Excused absences Gene McGee NEW BUSINESS 2016 Annual Report: Adam Thomas addressed the board and thanked them for their support throughout the year. He walked them through his Annual Report and the key factors that made the year successful: Evok advertising and design, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media (100,000 followers), PR/Marketing Plan, traditional print campaigns, online/digital campaigns, tradeshows and results, visitors guide, RDS s visitor metrics, FAM Tours, welcome center visitation, and VCB financials/key performance indicators. Additionally, he updated the board on the various grants awarded throughout the year to qualified applicants. The Director of OMB will be asked to attend the February meeting to further explain the Reserve Fund Balance and how it is managed for Capital Improvements, Events, and Collateral Materials. Chairman Kitchen commented that he liked the summary and format of the VCB annual report. He would like to make sure that all of the Commissioners on the Board get a copy of it, as well as the media in attendance. Mike Gudis liked the report also and thought it clearly stated what the TDC/VCB is doing with the tourist development tax. He would like extra copies and would like to see it posted on the TDC website. Frank Peters loves it and called it the bible of the TDC. He commented that it helped the board members see what we have accomplished and what can be accomplished going forward. PRESENTATIONS Research Data Services, 2016 Visitor Study: Walter Klages, Owner/President, addressed the board and provided his Summer 2016 and Overall 2016 Visitor Metrics. Key factors in his presentation: the dollar index ($ is very strong), the importance of attendance at ITB Germany (better than 100 nations discussing tourism), and our close proximity to two major destinations (Orlando theme parks and the Tampa Bay market). Chairman Kitchen commented that some of the Board of County Commissioners question the value of attendance at ITB and London and does Mr. Klages feel this is necessary travel. Mr. Klages responded that these are huge markets and that there is large discretionary disposable income allocated to the tourism market and the core sits in the German segment of the continental Europe. Chairman Kitchen asked further if it was a good expenditure of money. Yes, definitely. The German market is growing and is very strong. The UK market is also growing rapidly. What makes that market attractive? This is a very wealthy market, very upscale market with high profile people that are very serious vacation travelers. The turmoil in other countries redirects them to the US where they have value for the money and they also have the manatees and nature oriented activities. It all boils down to rate of Return on Investment. Mr. Klages commented that there is a push to increase manufacturing employment in this country. Manufacturing employment has at best, not been growing as hoped. We need to be aware that this is a tough market. Michael Page 2
Mancke questioned if it would be a point with the domestic market not as strong that we really need the exclamation point on the international market. Chairman Kitchen commented that there is a feeling that the economy will make a drastic recovery. Mr. Klages commented that the trending he is seeing today and going forward is the likelihood of aggressive trade promotion and tariffs. 2017 is strongly positive. Inflation will be seen in all industries. The likely hood is that the incoming administration is going to be very aggressive in promotion trade and this could really affect the current policies on immigration and tariff issues. Tariffs could really hurt us down the road and he is very concerned if changes are implemented. It is the same with immigration and the unskilled labor force and lack of education. This country needs to invest in education and technical skills to ensure the workforce can meet these requirements. Chairman Kitchen asked: 1) how do we compare with other counties in FL, and 2) how do we compare Return On Investment compared with others. Mr. Klages responded that we show a 9.1% increase in visitation, direct expenditures are up 13% (exceeding $130MM); the multiplier effect is real and with it we are looking at better than $200MM in economic impact. That performance is exceptional considering the size of the budget and that we are still not totally developing the tourism resources. Dr. Desai asked where we should concentrate our spending efforts. Mr. Klages responded that the County needs to beef up the infrastructure (manufacturing, economic development, etc.) and tourism. Don t ignore that down the road economic development is critical. Chairman Kitchen asked if these numbers encompass our shoulder-season. Are the numbers up due to our increased advertising and marketing campaigns? Are we getting a good return on our $189,000 expenditure? Mr. Klages feels that it was a very smart investment. In the process of face-to-face interviews, the advertising campaigns played a key role in their decision to visit. What you spend today does not end today, but has a window going two to three years forward. People remember the messages. He suggests that we invest smartly where it is most productive with a high rate of return. It s just good business. Tourism is no different, it is a business. Walter provided that the real focus of a business is how black is my bottom line and ours is black. The real goal is not to flood the market with people, but to bring in quality people that add to the economy of the destination. Mr. Klages walked through visitor origins and top domestic DMA s. Daryl Seaton asked if we target the Boston market in any of our campaigns. Kathy Fordham, Evok, provided that some of our digital banner ads are possibly being picked up in Boston. Chairman Kitchen commented that of the top 10 DMS s, only two cities aren t in Florida (Atlanta and Boston) and Florida, overall, is doing very well in destination marketing. Regarding information sources used to plan Florida travel, Mr. Klages is a firm believer of billboards simply because he feels they work. Our visitors guide should be brought to ITB and handed out to everyone. These are carried far and wide and read more than once. Maps are also critical to finding our destination. Make sure to keep our website current and inviting. Nothing is more important than satisfying your customer. Daryl Seaton commented that the perception of service is poor but the numbers say we are doing a pretty good job at it. Is that specifically for lodging or both? These numbers are based on face to face interviews with people who are in the destination. We need to focus on satisfaction of the activities (kayak rental, diving, manatee Page 3
encounter, etc. You need to be fully aware that you are only as good as yesterday but what do you have for me today? Chairman Kitchen provided that the board values Mr. Klages opinion. The numbers are what they are and an analysis is an analysis. We will be under scrutiny going forward. If you were doing this board s yearly evaluation, would you hire us again? Yes, based on all your success. Mr. Klages commented that Sexy Beaches is not a bad slogan, but do you have sexy beaches? No. The campaign s message was too focused on destinations whose major assets were beaches and it does not resonate with the state in its entirety. Chairman Kitchen commented that we could potentially get another 2 pennies and asked if Mr. Klages thought we should continue with our strategy as you see it today? There is a sense on the board that we should not be spending money outside of the County for vendors, etc., and would like your opinion on that. Mr. Klages commented that it s an issue of where the talent is. For example, a pilot for a 747 will not be found in the back streets, highly unlikely. You need to be realistic about what you are looking for and the requirements needed to conduct business wisely. Mr. Klages last comment when asked about his take away on his report was, You are doing damn well. DIRECTORS REPORT / MEDIA REPORT Secretary Ken Lawson of the Dept. of Business and Professional Regulations has been appointed as the new CEO and President of Visit FL. The new 2017 Visitors Guide magazine has been delivered and will begin being distributed to partners and visitors requesting a copy. Chairman Kitchen loves the magazine. The STR report shows that we are down a little in November for occupancy, but up for the year. The TDT shows that November collection was up report up almost 29%, with a YTD of 18.5%. In the event that the additional two pennies are approved, Chairman Kitchen asked for an addition to the report that shows an additional column, for comparison purposes, of the 5% and 3% going forward. The Leads for November were 2,394. This is a major avenue of distribution for our number one marketing tool, the visitors guide. We are currently over 102,000 followers on Facebook. We reached our 100,000 goal on January 5th at 5:00 PM. We just passed Daytona. Adam wants to grow social media at an organic rate and does not want to have to pay for an audience. He would rather grow slower but at an organic rate. Posts are analyzed daily for success and trends. We are doing really well on Instagram also, with 2,200 followers. We are also gaining a little bit more traction on Twitter. FAM Tours: Nadia & Jesus have been recognized as Europe s youngest YouTube and Nomads in history of the goals of prompting sports, culture and environment among children. While they were here they swam with the manatees, rode the trolley, and rode bikes on the Withlacoochee State Trail. Shane & Ramona Reynolds, of Color Earth, (provided by Evok) stayed at the Homosassa Riverside Resort and are featuring the whole Chazzahowitzka River. They film in 4K and we get the raw and edited videos for our Page 4
usage. They also sell their videos to Nat Geo and the Travel Channel. We have the potential of having their videos picked up by one or both of them. Traveling Moms.com, which is Disney s only sponsored travel blogger, was here for three days and two nights and swam with the manatees, visited the wildlife park, took a Wild Bill s Airboat ride, and cycled the Withlacoochee State Trail. Frank Peters loves the fact that we are showcasing the whole county. Upcoming: We will have 10 German media reps (press, bloggers, journalists or tour operators) coming in for a post Huddle FAM Tour. Two have just been added from Mexico, along with the Visit FL Mexican rep. Chairman Kitchen attended the Commissioners Retreat /Planning Session and addressed the board about Tourism and how well we cover it and then about Transit and how we struggle with it. We have an award winning transit system in Citrus County that way underutilized. He asked if we could find a way to use the county transit system to help the cities of Crystal River and Inverness to get people back and forth across the county in a more efficient manner. We can t accommodate special events, but we can cover seasonal routes. OTHER BUSINESS BY COUNCIL MEMBERS Chairman Kitchen commented that the March meeting date needs to be addressed, there is a budget meeting on the 14 th and no one will be available. We need to check on another date. Mr. Kitchen will have the OMB Director present at the February meeting to explain the different categories in the Fund Balance account and why it was set up the way it is. Additionally, questions about what the difference is between cash carry forward and total fund balance will be addressed at the February meeting. If any members receive questions about any line items on the budget, these questions can be addressed or sent to Adam for clarification. The budget will be under tighter scrutiny from the BoCC going forward. FWC held a scalloping management meeting on January 4, 2017. FWC has received requests from stakeholders and local governments to consider possible changes to scallop management. They are tentatively planning to bring a rule change packet to the Conservation Commission for consideration in early 2017. Before, some of our northern counties have pushed to have scalloping season open earlier that resulted in overfishing of supply and now want to go back to the old timeframe. Citrus County is interested in a sustainable program. One thought was to push the start date back to the first Saturday after July 4 th and last a week longer. The FWC will be back in Crystal River in February and they are being hosted at the Plantation. They continue to solicit input. Adam asked if regulations were discussed on regulating trips per boat and how would that be enforced? Self-enforcement is the key. The key question is what is the amount that keeps it sustainable. Applications are being received for grants and all will be heard at the April TDC meeting. Possible Concerns: The BoCC voted to have the public hearings for the increased TDT at the 1/24/17 meeting, two separate ordinances. There was a great turnout of people supporting this increase. This is not a slam dunk and the TDC board members need to get out and support the passing of the ordinances. It s everyone s job to explain to the board about the importance of the additional two pennies. We are all tourism ambassadors. Page 5
The amendment for media planning and public relations to Evok s contract was not unanimous. One commissioner was against it and wants to see it awarded to a local entity. We need to let the board know that we have invested in strategic planning and have put together a great team to increase tourism and benefit the County. We are getting the best talent for the job we performing. We have a one year contract with three additional, one year renewals. Adam would like to move forward to recommend the first year renewal. Michael Mancke feels we need to first make sure that the people we talk to know whether we are spending advertising dollars or consultant or service or fee dollars. We need to know 1) if we can buy advertising within the community which may have restrictions within the statues, and 2) if we can find the service within the county they need to go through the process like everyone else. We need the best people for the biggest return. We will, where we can, use local vendors if they are as qualified as outside organizations. Approval of Contract Renewal A motion was made to approve a one year renewal of the contract with Evok Advertising. Result: Unanimous Mover: Karlene Feliciano Seconder: Mike Gudis Ayes: Kitchen, Seaton, Bega, Mancke, Gudis, Peters, Feliciano, Desai The recommendation for the Flip My FL Yard campaign was denied 4-1. They did not see the value in the campaign. We need to always step up and say this is good because. and back it up with adequate back up. We need to be able to show the board why we think something is good for tourism and why we need to do it. Daryl Seaton feels this was a real positive. It shows they are reading and digesting what we send forward. Dr. Desai feels we need to make sure they are educated on the fourth and fifth penny to ensure a positive vote. Being a commissioner is a hard job. The more information they receive to make a decision the better; providing education on the topic is critical to a positive outcome. Chairman Kitchen feels we ve learned a very important lesson from Visit FL and when legislature asks a question, give an answer. We need to show full transparency in all we do. Linda Bega commented that she read something about a push in Tallahassee legislation looking to collect 10% across the State for all TDT funds. Adam provided that the bill was filed last year but there has been no activity on it. There has been a different bill filed for auditorium usage. The only other comment being discussed is from Speaker Corcoran where he stated that they might just pull the plug on Visit FL. Chairman Kitchen is not sure whether that will happen or not, but feels it would have minimal impact on Citrus County VCB. Linda Bega provided that Inverness has broken ground on the renovation of courthouse square and they will be re-landscaping the sidewalk, installing bike racks and otherwise enhancing Courthouse Square. This project should be completed sometime in March. Mike Gudis provided that the City has received all the okays needed and expect to break ground on River Walk in early February. There is a real push by people at the University of Florida and locals to have a museum in the Page 6
city; nothing as big as an aquarium and less expensive. At this time last year 2,300 people used the trolley to Three Sisters, and this year we have already had 3,160. That number does not count the passes that have been purchased. The City will try to promote the purchase of passes more going forward. He reminded everyone that the Manatee festival is this weekend. He would also like to see the County and the City tie together the transportation system. Chairman Kitchen commented that there are some really good concepts being considered on that subject. Chairman Kitchen provided that at the Restore Fund Workshop held on 1/10/17, the Board discussed things that impact tourism the most such as the boat ramps in the County, the water side parks, and full buy in on the close inshore artificial reef. The County has committed a combination of over $4M just for the board walk and the continuation of the clean-up of Kings Bay. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Meredith Bleakley thinks the magazine is the best produced yet. She also asked if it was BoCC policy to only advertise on DemandStar which is a paid service and smaller vendors probably do not have access to it. They need to make bids more available to locals. Art Jones brought the board up to date on the Aquarium. Their key benefactor wants to wait to buy the property. New people bought the Mall and with Kmart leaving what are they going to do with it? New owners would like to see an aquarium in there. The aquarium would create jobs and improve economic development. Art still loves the Hampton property but that could be Phase II. They will take another look at the Mall, will scale back from the original plans and this would also decrease costs a little. Chairman Kitchen wishes them well and feels it would be a strong magnet for all the mall stores. He would like to see the county go full speed ahead with the artificial reef project. ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Kitchen called for adjournment at 11:35 AM. The next meeting is Wednesday, February 15 th, 9:00 am in the same location. Page 7