Mammoth Lakes Tourism Board

Minutes of Regular Meeting

Wednesday, April 05, 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 Eric Clark, 
• Board Member Deb Radcliff, 
• and Board Member Bill Sauser 

Members Absent:

• 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. Board Member Deb Radcliff joined the meeting via videoconference.

2.

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

Treasurer John Morris thanked the Town, MLT, the County and everyone else involved in information dissemination regarding safety, propane, closures, etc. Mr. Morris extended well wishes to Board Member Darlene Magner and her family.

Secretary John Mendel reported that the first quarter had been difficult businesswise, but said April had started to pick up.

Board Member Eric Clark expressed his gratitude for the emergency services personnel throughout the storm.

Board Member Bill Sauser said that he thought everything going on in Town, with the efforts of volunteers and professionals, was remarkable. 

Chair Jeremy Goico spoke about the emergency services crews staged by the college and thanked them for being here. Chair Goico thanked the MLT Board for the time they had spent on the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) renewal process and for their overall support for it.

Board Member Deb Radcliff thanked the first responders for their efforts in Town. Ms. Radcliff said that she had met with several businesses last week regarding the TBID and had received a lot of positive feedback. She said the one area of concern was around summer visitation and what activities would be available this summer due to the extreme amout of snow we received.

There was discussion among 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. All comments will be limited to a speaking time of three minutes.

There were no comments given at this time.

4.

CONSENT AGENDA

• Moved by Vice Chair Pat Foster
  Seconded by Board Member Eric Clark

  Approve the Consent Agenda.

  For (7)	Board Member Bill Sauser, Treasurer John Morris, Chair Jeremy Goico, Board Member Eric Clark, Vice Chair Pat Foster, Secretary John Mendel, and Board Member Deb Radcliff
  Absent (1)	Board Member Darlene Magner

  Carried (7 to 0)

4.1

Approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 1, 2023

4.2

Approve the minutes of the Special Meeting of March 21, 2023.

5.

POLICY MATTERS

5.1

Upcoming Terms on MLT Board Seats

Review of upcoming board seats and process: Restaurant seat – incumbent Deb Radcliff,  At-large seat – currently vacant. 

Executive Director John Urdi provided information about the upcoming open Board seats and the process as to how new or returning Board Members would be appointed to them. Mr. Urdi provided the timeline for noticing the positions, conducting interviews, and appointment to the open seats.

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

5.2

Air Service Update - Update on air service to Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) and Bishop Airport (BIH) for winter 2022-23 and summer 2023

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the Air Service Update. Mr. Urdi reported that flights between Mammoth and Burbank may be removed from the Advanced Airlines flight schedule next year.

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

5.3

Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Renewal Update

Report on the TBID renewal efforts and timeline, and Board discussion on TBID renewal process

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Renewal Timeline document and gave an update on the TBID renewal process. 

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

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.

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

5.5

MLT 2023-24 Deliverables

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 Deliverables report.

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

Secretary John Mendel left the meeting at 3:01 p.m.

6.

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

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

6.1

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 and reported that some of the scheduled media visits over the past month had been cancelled due to the extreme weather, but they were able to host a four-person group from Australia in partnership with Mammoth Resorts and Alterra to promote the IKON pass internationally. Mr. Vanderhurst said that he went on a sales mission to Northern Europe in partnership with Yosemite National Park and Palm Springs recently to promote summer visitation and said that he would be in Canada at the end of the month on a sales mission to promote the IKON pass and summer visitation.

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

6.2

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 and reported that she had to reschedule several media visits due to the weather.  Ms. Kaylor said that there was currently a crew in Town filming for the PBS show Family Travel with Colleen Kelly. She said that use of the Crib had started to pick back up, and that she was working with Digital Marketing Coordinator Patrick Griley and Senior Manager of Marketing and Events Dakota Snider on Newsletter content  and that she had worked with the Town on storm messaging. 

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

6.3

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 and announced that MLT had decided to stay with The Shipyard as their advertising agency and said that they would start using the tag line "Winter is over when we say it's over!" Mr. Wright reported that he had attended the Mountain Travel Symposium last week and said that while he was there he picked up a new spring content company, Ascend TV, who would use Glen Plake as the Ambassador. 

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

6.4

Special Events and Social Media

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

Senior Manager of Marketing and Events Dakota Snider gave an update on recent special events activities and reported that he had attended the Bart Hall Fishing Show in Long Beach last week and announced that the Lakes Basin would not be open in time for the fishing opener this year but said that we would likely get 75% of the normal years’ worth of stocking from California Fish and Wildlife and said it should be a great late fishing season. Mr. Snider said that he had attended several travel and adventure shows over the last month and said that installation of the Prism Cam (webcam) on Fire Station One had been delayed due to weather. He reported that he had met with all events producers recently and gave updates on events that had been cancelled or postponed and said that the funding contracts would be signed by the Town on Friday. He said that he and Director of Marketing Brian Wright would attend the National eTourism Summit in Las Vegas and said that he would be presented with an Emerging Tourism Stars Award during the conference. Mr. Snider said that he would communicate with the business owners in Town regarding the plan for the Spartan races after the Spartan Contract had been signed.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

6.5

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 announced that MLT would launch the Bandwango program which would allow visitors to check in at different businesses in Town to earn points to be used for Mammoth Lakes swag, and said that she was gathering ideas for Fishmas materials and said that June Lake Loop and Crowley would try to make the opener. Ms. Bryant voiced concerns  regarding Recreation.gov booking reservations in our local campgrounds and the likelihood of those reservations getting cancelled due to the high levels of  snow we still have and reported that June Lake Loop would try to open their campgrounds by Fishing opener. She gave kudos to members of the Board for their efforts and support of our community.

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

6.6

Social Media

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

Digital Marketing Coordinator Patrick Griley gave an update on social media efforts and said that MLT had been pushing out a lot of educational messaging related to the severe weather.

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

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 and reported that the Mountain had to make some tough decision throughout the season due to the extreme weather and said that the cabins at Tamarack were still closed, and that due to a propane leak at the Lakefront Restaurant it was currently closed while crews dug out the regulators. Mr. Clark said that Tamarack Cross Country Ski Center would be open until the 16th and that snowmobiling would start on the 17th. He said that extended dates for Canyon Lodge and the Village Gondola would be announced soon, and said that he was excited that the process of replacing Chair 16 would begin on the 17th.  He announced that the Pond Skim would take place on the 16th, June Mountain would close on the 9th, and the Mammoth Mountain Community Foundation's (MMCF) Mammoth Invitational would take place from April 21st through April 23rd. 

There was discussion among 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 gave an update on the Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce news, activities and operations and announced the following events: Women in Business tomorrow, Power Lunch on the 11th, and the Student Job Fair on the 26th which would include students from Lee Vining and Coleville this year. Chair Goico said that there would be Disaster Loan Assistance information coming out soon, and said that the Chamber had an opening for a temporary Administrative Assistant for summer and fall. He said that they were looking for for sponsors, volunteers and float entries for the 4th of July Parade.

There was discussion among 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 and said that there were still a lot emergency responders in Town working to widen the streets and asked people to please be patient.  Mr. Sauser said more information regarding the emergency crews would be provided tonight at the Town Council meeting. 

There was discussion among members of the Board.

8.

CLOSED SESSION

There was no Closed Session.

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 AFTER CLOSED SESSION

10.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting will be adjourned to a joint meeting with the Town Council on April 5, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.to discuss the TBID Renewal. The Board's next regular meeting is scheduled to be held on May 3, 2023.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:34 p.m. to a joint meeting with the Town Council today at 4:00 p.m. The next regular meeting is scheduled to be held on May 3, 2023.