Mammoth Lakes Tourism Board

Minutes of Regular Meeting

Wednesday, January 04, 2023 at 1:00 P.m. - 3:00 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 Bill Sauser 

Members Absent:

• Board Member Eric Clark, 
• Board Member Larry Crabb, 
• 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 1:03 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at 437 Old Mammoth Road.

2.

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

Chair Jeremy Goico spoke about the recent snowfall and the increase in his business due to the number of visitors in Town. Chair Goico discussed the issues with cell and internet service over the holidays and said that he felt it was most likely caused by hardware issues, and that he had not had any problems at his business since they upgraded their equipment.  He said that they had some power surges right after Christmas and a short power outage around New Year's Eve. He said that snow removal overall had been great and that he was impressed with the job the Town had done clearing the roads. He reported that it had been a great season so far, and that his staff was excited about the snow and were working hard, and that the customer surveys that had been submitted had a lot of positive feedback. Chair Goico thanked the restaurant community who went the extra mile to provide to go orders for his staff.

Board Member Deb Radcliffe discussed snow issues in The Village and mentioned that the Town was currently down nine restaurants, which was causing pressure on the remaining restaurants, and was further stressed by staff shortages and when other local restaurants close down a couple of days a week. Ms. Radcliff reported that guests blamed the restaurants for the issues, with wait times and not enough staffing and said that when the top of the Mountain closes for the day it overloads the restaurants in The Village. 

Board Member Bill Sauser said that he also had internet issues during the holidays even though he had upgraded his hardware and said that the Town was working was on it and added that some people in Town had lost power for several hours on New Year's Eve. Mr. Sauser reported that he attended the recent League of California Cities Desert Mountain Division meeting and had been awarded the Larry Chimbole Public Service Award. He said that he was nominated for the award by the Mayor Pro Tem of Apple Valley. He said that he would like members of the Board to hand out the "snow" cards the Town had printed out to help educate residents and visitors alike about snow safety.

Secretary John Mendel reported that there was a proposal in the works from one of the internet providers to add a new cell tower near Fire Station No 2.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Community and Economic Development Director Sandra Moberly provided additional information about the potential new cell tower, the process required for approval of its installation, and reported that an application had been submitted to the Town, however, it was later withdrawn. Ms. Moberly reported that she anticipated addition of a new tower to be controversial.

Vice Chair Pat Foster reported that it had been a great holiday season at the airport, and said that the partnership with Advanced Air was going very well. Mr. Foster said that the flight loads were good, and that there were a couple of flights that had to be diverted to the Bishop Airport, however, Mammoth Taxi and Mammoth All Weather Service (MAWS) had successfully worked together to transport passengers between the two airports. He said that Inyo County's new Administration Building was dedicated to Inyo County's former County Administrative Officer Clint Quilter this morning. 

Treasurer John Morris said that he was pleased with locals and guests alike, considering the number of people that had been in Town over the holidays had been more than we were built for. Mr. Morris said that everyone had been exhausted, but resilient even amongst the excessive rain and crazy weather. He said that Snowcreek had its best overall December ever, and announced that his daughter and her boyfriend got engaged at Horseshoe Lake recently.

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

3.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ken Brengle voiced concern regarding our local restaurants being overwhelmed and how to support them. Mr. Brengle said that Assistant Director Brianna Goico had created a four question survey for businesses to complete about how things went over the holidays, and said that she would likely create another survey specific to restaurants and would be discussed at tomorrow's Restaurant Steering Committee Meeting. Mr. Brengle spoke about the Buoy recyclable container program.

Marketing Manager Emily Bryant reported that during COVID she had called every business in Town to get updated hours to list on the Visit Mammoth website and had also shared that information with the Chamber to send out with their weekly email with a request for updates but had received no responses. Ms. Bryant encouraged business owners to provide her or Office Manager Jetsabel Aleman with any changes to their business hours in order to provide a better customer experience. 

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

4.

GUEST PRESENTATION - Housing Now!  

Receive a presentation on the Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML) Housing Now! Program

Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML) Community and Economic Development Director Sandra Moberly and Senior Planner/Housing Coordinator Nolan Bobroff outlined the information in the Housing Now! Presentation.

There was discussion between TOML staff and members of the Board.

5.

CONSENT AGENDA

• Moved by Vice Chair Pat Foster
  Seconded by Board Member Deb Radcliff

  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 Bill Sauser
  Absent (3)	Board Member Eric Clark, Board Member Larry Crabb, and Board Member Darlene Magner

  Carried (6 to 0)

5.1

Approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 7, 2022.

6.

POLICY MATTERS

6.1

Research Report - Brian Wright

Presentation on MLT research efforts

Director of Marketing Brian Wright outlined the information in the Revised Visitor Volume, Visitor Volume Year over Year Comparison, and the Summer 2022 Ad Effectiveness Return on Investment reports.

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 Winter 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) Information Sheet and gave an update on the TBID renewal process.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi 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

Receive an update on MLT’s 2021-22 audited financial statements

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

Director Of Sales and International Marketing Michael Vanderhurst gave an update on international sales activities. Mr. Vanderhurst reported that 2023 should be very busy and would start with two sales missions, one in Latin America and the other a strategy session in Palm Springs with Visit California. He said that this would likely be the busiest media familiarization (FAM) visit winter to date and said that MLT would be working in conjunction with Mammoth Resorts, Black Tie, and Alterra to host FAM visits from Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Argentina, Australia, and the UK. 

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

7.2

Communications

Director of Communications and Content Lara Kaylor gave an update on recent communications activities. Ms. Kaylor reported that she had been busy with media visits, and had ten scheduled through the end of February. She said that she would be in New York with Visit California for an international media markets visit at the end of the month, and said that she was working on MLT's content reengagement program. Ms. Kaylor reported that the Crib was full through March, and said that a kayak team would be staying in the Crib next week and would be cross-training in Mammoth.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

7.3

Marketing

Director of Marketing Brian Wright gave an update on marketing events and activities. Mr. Wright reported that they had received five responses to their website Request for Proposals (RFP), and had narrowed them down to three who had interviews scheduled for later in the month He provided an update on MLT's new ads in New York, including a video of his and Senior Manager of Marketing and Events Dakota Snider's trip to New York to view the ads in person in Penn Station and Times Square.

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

7.4

Special Events and Social Media

There was no report special events report given.

7.5

Local Marketing

Marketing Manager Emily Bryant gave an update on recent local marketing activities and website activity. Ms. Bryant reported that MLT had ads in both newspapers, in addition to radio spots on all local stations. She announced that ASO Mammoth and Dish Bistro had just joined the Yiftee Mammoth Lakes Gift Card program, and noted that Bleu and McCoy Sports had left the program. She spoke about an upcoming 'experience" promotion with Bandwango, said that the updated Visitor Guide was in process, and said that Bishop Airport Intercept surveys were currently taking place. 

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

7.6

Social Media

Digital Marketing Coordinator Patrick Griley gave an update on social media marketing efforts. Mr. Griley spoke about the current storm, and educational posts that MLT had been posting to get the word out about winter safety. He reported that some of the Glen Plake content which documented his day on the Mountain and his flight on Advanced Air would go out next week.

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

8.

OTHER STANDING UPDATES

8.1

Mammoth Resorts Update - Eric Clark

There was no report given.

8.2

Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Update - Jeremy Goico 

Chair Jeremy Goico gave an update on the Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce news, activities and operations. Chair Goico reported that there was a Chris Benchetler exhibit in the Mono Arts Council Gallery, and said that there would be a special presentation of his work Friday evening from 5:30-8:00, he also mentioned that one of his managers, Emily McEvoy, had some of her work displayed across from Mr. Benchetler's. He said that the Chamber's new blog was available on their website, and announced that this month's Power Lunch hosted by Mammoth Hospital would take place at noon at Parallax, with skiing and snowboarding prior to lunch starting at 10:30 a.m. at Chair 3. Chair Goico said that the Business After Hours this month would take place on January 17th at the Sierra Nevada Resort, the Dessert'd Ribbon Cutting would take place on January 19th. and there was a Delve into Diversity event scheduled to be held on January 23rd at Stellar Brew.  He also said that the Chamber would be adding new benefits in 2023.

There was discussion among members of the Board.

8.3

Town Council Update - Bill Sauser 

Board Member Bill Sauser gave an update on Town Council news, activities and operations. Mr. Sauser reported that the Town's snow patrol had been assisting people with putting on chains and pulling them out of the snow during the recent storms. He said that the Town had received a $1.4M grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) for work on Sherwin Trailhead and for planning purposes for some of the trails out there, and said that snow removal was underway and would be stored at the Snowcreek VIII site since there was no contract with the Forest Service for snow storage at this time. He also said that Town staff had started providing Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) updates which included updates on projects such as the Community Recreation Center (CRC), mobility hub, charging stations, preliminary plans for a new civic center, and plans for a childcare center in conjunction with the Mammoth Lakes Foundation. Mr. Sauser provided a housing update and suggested that members of the Board drive by The Parcel to take a look at the progress that had been made. He reported that the Town Council would appoint members of the Council to the outside agencies at their meeting tonight.

There was discussion among members of the Board.

9.

CLOSED SESSION

There was no 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.

10.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION

There was no Closed Session.

11.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 3:04 p.m. to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on February 1, 2023.