Mammoth Lakes Tourism Board

Minutes of Regular Meeting

Wednesday, March 01, 2023 at 1:00 P.m. - 3:30 P.m.

437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite Z, Mammoth Lakes

Members Present:

• Chair Jeremy Goico, 
• Vice Chair Pat Foster, 
• Treasurer John Morris, 
• Board Member Eric Clark, 
• and Board Member Bill Sauser 

Members Absent:

• Secretary John Mendel, 
• Board Member Deb Radcliff, 
• and Board Member Darlene Magner 

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1.

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Chair Jeremy Goico called the meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at 437 Old Mammoth Road. 

2.

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

Chair Jeremy Goico voiced his disappointment that today's meeting could not be held virtually due to the severe weather in Town, especially given the fact that Assembly Bill (AB) 361 just ended yesterday. 

Treasurer John Morris spoke about a letter that he had sent to Town staff and the response he had received from Parks and Recreation Director Stu Brown with regard to the Main Street and Old Mammoth Road snowflakes, the lack of animation, and only having three flags up, over President's Day holiday. Mr. Morris suggested that MLT work with the Town Council to assist with funding for other types of animation, flags, etc. to help with curb appeal on the main corridors in Town.

Vice Chair Pat Foster reported that the Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) had been closed since Friday and hoped to get flights in by tomorrow. 

Board Member Bill Sauser said that he would like to see more "dressing" on the main roads and said that in past years Main Street was lit up like a Christmas Lane throughout the winter because the businesses had lights up around their buildings. Mr. Sauser said that the community should participate in dressing up their store fronts. He asked that everyone be patient due to the storms, piles of snow, plowing, and the amount of hauling required to open things up.

There was discussion between Executive Director John Urdi and members of the Board

3.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Public Comments may be sent via email to the Town of Mammoth Lakes Assistant Clerk before or during the meeting at or may be made via Zoom or in person during the meeting in Suite Z.

There were no comments given at this time.

4.

CONSENT AGENDA

• Moved by Board Member Bill Sauser
  Seconded by Treasurer John Morris

  Approve the Consent Agenda.

  For (5)	Chair Jeremy Goico, Vice Chair Pat Foster, Treasurer John Morris, Board Member Eric Clark, and Board Member Bill Sauser
  Absent (3)	Secretary John Mendel, Board Member Deb Radcliff, and Board Member Darlene Magner

  Carried (5 to 0)

4.1

Approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 1, 2023.

5.

POLICY MATTERS

5.1

Upcoming Terms on MLT Board Seats and Creation of  Ad Hoc Nominating Committee

Review of upcoming Board seats and process: Restaurant seat – incumbent Deb Radcliff and At-large seat – currently vacant. Creation of Ad Hoc Nominating Committee and appointment of three members of the Board to the newly formed Committee.

Executive Director John Urdi provided information about the upcoming Board seats and the process as to how new or returning Board Members would be appointed to the open seats.

Treasurer John Morris, Board Member Eric Clark, and Vice Chair Pat Foster volunteered to serve on the Ad Hoc Nominating Committee.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi and members of the Board.

 

5.2

Winter Air Service Update

Update on air service to Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) and Bishop Airport (BIH) for winter 2022-23

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the Air Service Report.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi and members of the Board.

5.3

Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Renewal and Sales Tax Update

Report on the TBID renewal efforts and timeline. Board discussion and vote on TBID Sales Tax direction and to begin renewal process.

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the TBID documents and noted that there had been revisions made to some of the items after the packet was published.  Mr. Urdi reported that the joint meeting with the Town Council had been moved to April 5th. He suggested that the Board consider going back to the original plan for businesses to collect 1.5% for TBID, remit 1.38% and keep the remaining .12% for sales tax.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi and members of the Board.

• Moved by Treasurer John Morris
  Seconded by Board Member Bill Sauser

  Request that the affected businesses collect 1.5% for Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID), remit 1.38%, and if businesses were audited for previous sales tax issues, MLT would provide an hour's worth of support, and once their appeal was finalized the Board would consider reimbursing them for potential fees and penalties.

  For (5)	Chair Jeremy Goico, Vice Chair Pat Foster, Treasurer John Morris, Board Member Eric Clark, and Board Member Bill Sauser
  Absent (3)	Secretary John Mendel, Board Member Deb Radcliff, and Board Member Darlene Magner

  Carried (5 to 0)

5.4

Financial Reports

Receive an update regarding the financial health of the Mammoth Lakes Tourism and the results of the previous month for Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) and current account balances.  

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the Financial Reports and said that final numbers for the Tourism Occupancy Tax (TOT) for January were not available at the time the agenda was published, but reported that it came in substantially higher than last January, and could potentially be $4.8M when all outstanding returns were remitted. He said that the January Tourism Business Improvement District (TBIS) numbers were not available at this time.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi, Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML) Administrative Services/Finance Director Rob Patterson and members of the Board.

5.5

Board Discussion and Approval of MLT Fiscal Year 2023-24 Strategic Framework 

Board discussion on proposed 2023-24 strategic direction for Mammoth Lakes Tourism

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the MLT Fiscal Year 2023-24 Strategic Framework PowerPoint presentation.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi and members of the Board.

6.

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

Tabled for the March BOD meeting due to the heavy agenda.

7.

OTHER STANDING UPDATES

7.1

Mammoth Resorts Update - Eric Clark

Brief update on Mammoth Mountain news, activity, and operations.

Board Member Eric Clark reported that it was slow going at the Mountain due to the amount of snow and that they decided to just focus on the lower part of the Mountain to open as many chairs there as they could. Mr. Clark said that they were doing avalanche mitigation and would look at higher areas on the Mountain tomorrow. He discussed operational solutions they had employed to work around the snow and said that they had 26-27 inches this morning for a total of 524 inches at Main Lodge for the season, which was a season to date record. He announced that Paramount Plus was scheduled to do a guest experience at Eagle Lodge lot this weekend, with 1923, the Pink Ladies, CBS Sports and several big influencers, and encouraged members of the Board to attend. He also announced that Vulcania Restaurant was now open and said that the University Collège Championships would take place at Tamarack Sunday through next week with snowboard, ski racing, etc. Mr. Clark reported that they did recently have to close Tamarack and depart their guests due to the amount of snow but hoped to reopen it in the next day or two.

There was discussion between Executive Director John Urdi and members of the Board.

7.2

Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Update - Jeremy Goico 

Brief update on Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce news, activity, and operations.

Chair Jeremy Goico made the following announcements: the Lodging Association meeting was moved from March 6th to March 13th, the Power Lunch would take place on March 15th and would focus on Human Resources and employee assistance, and the Chamber had a temporary job opening to assist with administrative duties while Assistant Director Briana Goico was out on maternity leave. He also announced that the Mammoth Film Festival would take place from March 2nd through March 6th and said that Mammoth locals were eligible for 50% off badges and tickets. He also reported that the high school job fair would take place on April 26th, and that the Grand Marshalls for this year's 4th of July Parade would be Rob and Cheryl Witherill.

7.3

Town Council Update - Bill Sauser 

Brief update on Town Council news, activity, and operations.

Board Member Bill Sauser reported that there was a Town Council meeting tonight and that the Council would deal with the second quarter true up. Mr. Sauser spoke about recent traffic issue with Highway 395 and Meridian both closed, provided an update on housing and the Community Recreation Center (CRC) and gave kudos to the Town of Mammoth Lakes staff's efforts during the recent blizzard.

There was discussion among members of the Board.

8.

CLOSED SESSION

There was no Closed Session held.

8.1

CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL- EXISTING LITIGATION (Paragraph 1 of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9) Name of case: Main Street Taxpayer Association v. Mammoth Lakes Tourism.

9.

Announcement of Action Taken in Closed Session

10.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting will be adjourned to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on April 5, 2023.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:10 p.m. to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on April 5, 2023.