Mammoth Lakes Tourism Board

Minutes of Regular Meeting

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

Members Absent:

• Board Member Eric Clark, 
• Board Member Larry Crabb, 
• and Board Member Bill Sauser 

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1.

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Chair Jeremy Goico called the meeting to order at 1:06 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at 437 Old Mammoth Road. Board Member Deb Radcliff joined the meeting via videoconference, the rest of the members of the Board attended in person. 

2.

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

Treasurer John Morris reported that he was in desperate need of employees and said that he hoped that Town staff and the Town Council would revisit rental subsidies as a way to get people who do short-term rentals to convert to long-term rentals, and said that due to staffing shortages employees were exhausted and the quality of guest experience was declining.

Chair Jeremy Goico said that the recent Community Coffee featuring Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML) Public Works Director Haislip Hayes was great and included a lot of information about the Town's snow removal process and routes. Chair Goico thanked the TOML Snow Removal Crew and all others involved in clearing our roads and parking lots for their hard work. 

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.

The Sheet Reporter Charlie Pike said that he had a letter from Civitas regarding a recently issued written opinion from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) stating that sales tax should be applied to revenues generated from Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) assessments on sales at restaurants and retails businesses. Mr. Pike asked who would be responsible for this tax burden and what MLT's plans were to handle it.

There was discussion between Executive Director John Urdi and Mr. Pike.

4.

GUEST PRESENTATION - Mammoth Lakes Mural Project - Melle North

Receive a presentation on a proposed mural project in town.

Mono Arts Council Executive Director Kristen Reese and Project Manager Melle North outlined the information in the Mammoth Lake Mural Project handout.

There was discussion between Ms. North and members of the Board.

5.

CONSENT AGENDA

• Moved by Vice Chair Pat Foster
  Seconded by Secretary John Mendel

  Approve the Consent Agenda.

  For (6)	Chair Jeremy Goico, Vice Chair Pat Foster, Treasurer John Morris, Secretary John Mendel, Board Member Deb Radcliff, and Board Member Darlene Magner
  Absent (3)	Board Member Bill Sauser, Board Member Eric Clark, and Board Member Larry Crabb

  Carried (6 to 0)

5.1

Approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 4, 2023

6.

POLICY MATTERS

6.1

MLT Q2 Budget Variance Report

Recap of budget variances through end of Quarter 2 (July 1 – December 31).

Executive Director John Urdi announced that the Closed Session would take place at 1:45 p.m., when Legal Counsel would be available via teleconference. Mr. Urdi, Director of Marketing Brian Wright, Director of Sales and International Marketing Michael Vanderhurst, Director of Content, Communications, and Public Relations Lara Kaylor, Senior Manager of Marketing and Events Dakota Snider outlined the information in the Q2 Budget Variances Report.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

6.2

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 Update.

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

6.3

Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Renewal Update

Report on the TBID renewal efforts and timeline.

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Renewal Update documents. Mr. Urdi discussed the potential new sales tax that would be applied to the TBID assessment amount in addition to the sales amount on transactions at restaurants and retail businesses.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ken Brengle spoke about the potential taxation on TBID revenues and said that he thought they should get an injunction to halt it. Mr. Brengle said that there would be a discussion about this at the Chamber Board Meeting next week and also at the California Travel Association (CalTravel) meeting on the 9th.

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

6.4

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.

This item was taken out of order.

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the Financial Reports.

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

7.

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

A brief recap of past, current, and future efforts of each department.

7.1

International Sales

Receive an update on international efforts from Director of Sales and International Marketing Michael Vanderhurst. 

Director of Sales and International Marketing Michael Vanderhurst gave an update on international sales activities. Mr. Vanderhurst reported that our recent snow levels had brought a lot of media attention and said that MLT in conjunction with Alterra and Mammoth Resorts, had recently hosted media representatives from Australia, as well as media from Mexico which they also partnered with Alterra on. He said that he had been interviewed by a media outlet from the U.K. to talk about the storm and our ski conditions, and said that he had several visits lined up in March with media from the U.K., Australia, Canada and Mexico. Mr. Vanderhurst reported that MLT hosted a Familiarization (Fam) Visit yesterday in conjunction with Alterra and Mammoth Resorts with participants from Mexico, Australia and Brazil, and reported that they had recently been on a two day sales mission to Mexico with Visit California, would attend Go West Summit later this month, and then head to Toronto with Visit California.

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

7.2

Communications

Receive an update on communications activities from Director of Content, Communications and Public Relations Lara Kaylor. 

Director of Content, Communications and Public Relations Lara Kaylor gave an update on recent communications activities. Ms. Kaylor reported  that a representative from Hemisphere Magazine had flown into Town last week to work on a piece about what to do in the spring in Mammoth, and said that she had a successful trip to New York last week for the International Media Market (IMM) Conference. She announced that she and Director of Marketing Brian Wright had been working together to bring the PBS show Family Travel with Colleen Kelly to Mammoth in March. She said that MLT had recently hosted Athlete and Trainer Anne Reuss and two of her clients in the Crib. She said that Ms. Reuss was hearing impaired and said that Senior Manager of Marketing and Events Dakota Snider was trained in sign language and had met with her this morning.

Executive Director John Urdi said that Visit California had an initiative called Native California which had a focus on the indigenous native tribes in California.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

7.3

Marketing

Receive an update on marketing activities from Director of Marketing Brian Wright.

Director of Marketing Brian Wright gave an update on marketing events and activities. Mr. Wright reported that Matador Network visited Mammoth recently for a four day photo shoot with MLT, gave updates on the website Request for Proposal (RFP) and Agency RFP processes, and said that he would attend the  Visit California Rural Committee meeting tomorrow. He gave an update on MLT's relationship Ink and Hemisphere. Mr. Wrights reported that he and Executive Director John Urdi and would attend the California Travel Board meeting next week and said that he had been asked to join the Sojern Destination Advisory Board. He said that travel show season was starting and President's Day Weekend would start with the Bart Hall Fishing Show in Del Mar, the Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show followed by the Denver Travel and Adventure Show the next weekend.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

7.4

Special Events and Content

Receive an update regarding special events and content from Senior Manager of Marketing and Events Dakota Snider.

Senior Manager of Marketing and Events Dakota Snider gave an update on recent special events and social media activity. Mr. Snider discussed MLT's messaging campaign with a focus on managing expectations and being kind due to the amount of snow we had received and said that they were pushing midweek travel and off mountain activities. He said that the Special Events funding application period closed last night and said that he would review the applications and contact applicants as needed with questions,  the Special Events Committee would meet to review them on February 14th, and announcements with regard to funding would me made on February 17th. He said that their prism webcam would be installed at Fire Station One within the next two weeks which would provide a live feed that media could tap into, and gave an update on the digital billboard at the Footloose corner.

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

7.5

Local Marketing

Receive an update regarding local marketing efforts from Marketing Manager Emily Bryant. 

Marketing Manager Emily Bryant gave an update on recent local marketing activities and website use. Ms. Bryant reported that MLT had placed an extreme weather messaging banner at the top of their website during the midst of the storm and information about how to survive a "Real" storm. She said that had been on the radio for about 45 minutes on the Friday of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend talking with John DeMaria about the weather situation so people traveling up to our region would be aware of they were in store for. She handed out and discussed the new Visitor Guide, and said that MLT was looking for surveyors to work at the Mammoth Airport, and reported that they had started working with Bandwango on a restaurant après ski pass program.

There was discussion between Ms. Bryant and members of the Board.

7.6

Social Media

Receive an update regarding social media marketing efforts from Digital Marketing Coordinator Patrick Griley.

This item was combined with Item 7.4.

8.

OTHER STANDING UPDATES

8.1

Mammoth Resorts Update - Eric Clark

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

Chair Jeremy Goico announced that the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix was in process and more information was available on Mammoth Mountain's website.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

8.2

Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Update - Jeremy Goico 

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

Chair Jeremy Goico gave an update on recent Chamber events and activities. Chair Goico reported that this months Women in Business would take place tonight, the Ski Hour Power Lunch was moved to February 7th at 10:30 a.m. at Chair 3, followed by lunch at Parallax hosted by Mammoth Hospital. He said that the 4th of July Parade planning had started and that the Chamber was seeking submissions for this year's parade theme, and more information about the parade could be found on the Chamber's website. He announced that Bord Member Larry Crabb had submitted a letter of resignation from his At-Large position on the MLT Board.

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

8.3

Town Council Update - Bill Sauser 

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

There was no report given.

9.

CLOSED SESSION

9.1

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. 

This item was taken out of order. 

The Board went into Closed Session at 1:43 p.m.

The Board returned from Closed Session at 1:51 p.m.

10.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION

Chair Jeremy Goico announced that there was no action taken in Closed Session.

11.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting will be adjourned to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on February 1, 2023.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:57 p.m.