Mammoth Lakes Tourism Board

Minutes of Regular Meeting

-
437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite Z, Mammoth Lakes
Members Present:
  • Chair Pat Foster, 
  • Vice Chair Eric Clark, 
  • Secretary John Mendel, 
  • Board Member Bill Sauser, 
  • Board Member Darlene Magner, 
  • Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa, 
  • and Board Member Kirk Wallace 
Members Absent:
  • Treasurer John Morris 
  • and Board Member Jess Karell 

1.
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

 

Chair Pat Foster called the meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at 437 Old Mammoth Road, Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Board Member Darlene Magner reported that she would attend the meeting remotely under the just cause provisions of Assembly Bill (AB) 2449 due to medical issues.

2.
BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

 

Board Member Bill Sauser welcomed the new Board Members to the Board.

Chair Pat Foster gave an update on the Part 380 Flight Rules that Advanced Air adheres to related to their flights at Mammoth Yosemite Airport, and reported that the Part 380 model was being challenged by other airlines due to security issues. Chair Foster reported that they were working with Advanced Air, the Town, MLT and CalTravel. 

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 [email protected] or may be made via Zoom or in person during the meeting in Suite Z. All comments will be limited to a speaking time of three minutes.

There were no comments given at this time.

4.
CONSENT AGENDA

 
  • Moved byVice Chair Eric Clark
    Seconded bySecretary John Mendel

    Approve the Consent Agenda.

    For (7)Chair Pat Foster, Vice Chair Eric Clark, Secretary John Mendel, Board Member Bill Sauser, Board Member Darlene Magner, Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa, and Board Member Kirk Wallace
    Absent (2)Board Member Jess Karell, and Treasurer John Morris
    Carried (7 to 0)

5.
POLICY MATTERS

 

5.1
Official Welcome to new Board Members Cristi Quesada-Costa and Kirk Wallace

 

Chair Pat Foster introduced new Board Members Cristi Quesada-Costa and Kirk Wallace.

There was discussion among members of the Board.

5.2
Obstacle Course Race World Championships (OCR WC) Update - Receive a brief update on this weekend’s event

 

Executive Director John Urdi provided an update on this weekend's Obstacle Course Race World Championships (OCR WC). Mr. Urdi said that part of the goal of this event was to give Mammoth exposure for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, with hopes that Mammoth could be considered for at least Olympic qualifying events..

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

5.3
Bylaws Review

This item has attachments. 
1.Attachment 5.3.1 - Clean Copy MLT Bylaws_.pdf
2.Attachment 5.3.2 - Redline MLT Bylaws.pdf

Recommendations for adjustments from the Ad Hoc Bylaws Review Committee. Board to discuss and vote on recommendations of the Committee.

Chair Pat Foster spoke about the process the Ad Hoc Bylaws Review Committee, which included himself, Secretary John Mendel and Board Member Bill Sauser, went through to develop their recommendations for changes to the Bylaws.

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

  • Moved byBoard Member Bill Sauser
    Seconded bySecretary John Mendel

    Approve the Ad Hoc Bylaws Review Committee's recommendations to the Bylaws as presented.

    For (7)Chair Pat Foster, Vice Chair Eric Clark, Secretary John Mendel, Board Member Bill Sauser, Board Member Darlene Magner, Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa, and Board Member Kirk Wallace
    Absent (2)Treasurer John Morris, and Board Member Jess Karell
    Carried (7 to 0)

5.4
Newly Designed VisitMammoth.com presentation - Sneak preview at the new VisitMammoth.com which will launch soon

 

Digital Marketing Manager Samantha Lindberg provided a preview of the new VisitMammmoth.com website.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

5.5
Executive Director Annual Performance Review

This item has attachments. 
1.Attachment 5.5.1 - ED Review Information - Board Evaluation.pdf
2.Attachment 5.5.2 - ED Review Information Urdi Self Evaluation.pdf
3.Attachment 5.5.3 - ED Review Information – MLT Staff Evaluation.pdf
4.Attachment 5.5.4 - ED Review Committee Recommendations.pdf

Annual review and recommendations from the Ad Hoc Review Committee. Board to discuss and vote on recommendations of the Committee. 

Chair Pat Foster discussed the process that was used by the Executive Director Ad Hoc Review Committee, which consisted of himself, Vice Chair Eric Clark, and Secretary John Mendel, to perform Executive Director John Urdi's Annual Performance Review and the procedure for determining his bonus and merit increase. Chair Foster outlined the information in the Board Evaluation, Executive Director Self Evaluation, MLT Staff Evaluation and the Executive Director Review Committee's Recommendations.

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

  • Moved bySecretary John Mendel
    Seconded byBoard Member Darlene Magner

    Approve the Executive Director's bonus recommendations  as presented.

    For (6)Chair Pat Foster, Vice Chair Eric Clark, Secretary John Mendel, Board Member Darlene Magner, Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa, and Board Member Kirk Wallace
    Against (1)Board Member Bill Sauser
    Absent (2)Treasurer John Morris, and Board Member Jess Karell
    Carried (6 to 1)

5.6
Financial Reports

This item has attachments. 
1.Attachment 5.6.1 - MLT Financial Report 10-4-23.pdf
2.Attachment 5.6.2 - TOT for August 2023.pdf
3.Attachment 5.6.3 -TBID for August 2023.pdf

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.

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

6.
DEPARTMENT UPDATES

 

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

6.1
Communications

 

Receive an update on communications activities from Public Relations Coordinator Lauren MacLeod.

Public Relations Coordinator Lauren MacLeod gave an update on communications activities and media placements. 

6.2
Marketing

 

Receive an update on marketing activities from Director of Marketing Sarah Winters.

Director of Marketing Sarah Winters gave an update on marketing events and activities. Ms. Winters provided an update on the Clean Up The Lake (CUTL) program and progress at Lake George. Ms. Winters provided an update on MLT's research efforts, including the Community Sentiment Survey, the Visitor Profile Survey, and the Airline Survey at the Mammoth Yosemite and Bishop Airports.

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

6.3
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. Ms. Bryant provided an update on the recent Facelift: Act Local as well as the season totals for Trashy Thursdays. She reported that residents could contact MLT Office Manager Jetsabel Aleman to receive a 16 digit Local's Discount Code for United Airlines (UA) and said the Local's Discount Code for Advanced Airlines (AA) was MMHLOCAL, and that ten packs of reduced price flights with AA were still on available.  Ms. Bryant announced that AA winter service would run from November 22nd through April 29th on Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays and Mondays, with extra flights added during the holidays, and said that UA flights would run from December 21st through March 30th. She said that representatives from the Limelight Hotel would provide an update on their project at the October Community Coffee. 

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

6.4
Digital Marketing

 

Receive an update regarding digital marketing efforts and social media from Digital Marketing Manager Samantha Lindberg.

Digital Marketing Manager Samantha Lindberg provided an update on digital marketing efforts and social media activity.

7.
OTHER STANDING UPDATES

 

7.1
Mammoth Resorts Update - Eric Clark

 

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

Board Member Eric Clark gave an update on Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) news, activities and operations. Mr. Clark provided information about the Obstacle Course Race World Championship course on the Mountain. He announced that Opening Day for the Mountain was scheduled for November 10th, gave an update on capital projects, and said that MMSA's booking pace was up compared to last year through November. He said that IKON sales were going well, staffing was better than last year, and that they were trying to add more staff housing. Mr. Clark asked Executive Director John Urdi when MLT staff reviews took place and asked about their bonus structure.

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

7.2
Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Update - Jess Karell

 

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

Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ken Brengle provided a Chamber update. Mr. Brengle spoke about the upcoming Career Expo at Mammoth High School scheduled to be held on October 24th which would also include students from Coleville High School and Lee Vining High School. He announced that the Business Excellence Awards Gala would take place on November 1st and that voting for the nominees would close on October 9th. Mr. Brengle reported that the Chamber had recently amended their Bylaws to make MMSA and MLT permanent seats holders on the Board appointed to by their organization(s) and said now they had two additional open seats to fill the seats held by the previously elected MMSA and MLT Board Members. He also reported that the Chamber had started to do more advocacy announcements in their newsletter.

Board Member Bill Sauser asked Mr. Brengle to speak about the High School Career Fair at tonight's Town Council meeting.

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

7.3
Town Council Update - Bill Sauser 

 

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

Board Member Bill Sauser gave an update on Town Council news, activities and operations. Mr. Sauser spoke about the Town's CIP report that he received and suggested that MLT Board Members ask to be added to that distribution list. He asked if MLT had a legislative policy and said that they may want to consider creating one. He said that the October 18th Town Council meeting would include a transit public meeting to discuss potential new routes and changes to the system, and said that there was potential for a Los Angeles King's sponsored high school hockey tournament mid to late November. Mr. Sauser announced that there was Ribbon Cutting today at 3:00 p.m. at the tennis court and at 3:30 p.m. at the new pickleball facility. He gave a Parcel update and said there would be fifteen units available in December and the other sixty-five would be available in January. 

Executive Director John Urdi reported that there would not be a Closed Session today, and said that there was a hearing date schedule for October 10th and he would have more information after and possibly a Closed Session item on the November 1st meeting agenda. He reported that he wanted schedule a joint workshop with the Board and the Town Council, potentially at the December 6th meeting.

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

8.
CLOSED SESSION

 

There was no Closed Session held.

9.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION

 

10.
ADJOURNMENT

 

The meeting will adjourn to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. Staff is working on a joint meeting between the Town Council and the MLT Board on November 15th to present MLT's fiscal 2022-23 Recap Report and Annual TBID Report.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:59 p.m. to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on November 1, 2023.

No Item Selected