Mammoth Lakes Tourism Board

Minutes of Regular Meeting

Wednesday, December 07, 2022 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 Bill Sauser, 
• and Board Member Darlene Magner

Members Absent:

• Board Member Larry Crabb
• and Board Member Deb Radcliff

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1.

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Chair Jeremy Goico called the meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at 437 Old Mammoth Road. 

Executive Director John Urdi requested that the Board consider adding an Urgency Item to the agenda regarding new litigation and stated that the Board needed to make two findings: The matter came to the attention of staff after the agenda was posted, and the matter needs to be addressed at this meeting due to the nature of the item – MLT had thirty days to prepare a response and direction to and from legal counsel was necessary. Mr. Urdi requested that the item be presented in closed session at approximately 2:45 p.m. when Legal Counsel would be available via teleconference.

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

• Moved by Chair Jeremy Goico
  Seconded by Board Member Eric Clark

  Add the following item to the agenda as an Urgency item: Conference with legal counsel regarding existing litigation pursuant to Paragraph 1 of subdivision (d) of section 54956.9. Name of case: Mainstreet Taxpayers vs. Town of Mammoth Lakes, ET AL. and Finding that the: Litigation related information was served on MLT after the agenda was posted being received by MLT on Tuesday, December 6th and that the Board needed to meet with legal counsel immediately to properly prepare, coordinate, and respond to the notice of case management conference and order served on MLT to meet the statutory time frame.

  For (7)	Chair Jeremy Goico, Vice Chair Pat Foster, Treasurer John Morris, Secretary John Mendel, Board Member Eric Clark, Board Member Bill Sauser, and Board Member Darlene Magner
  Absent (2)	Board Member Larry Crabb, and Board Member Deb Radcliff

  Carried (7 to 0)

2.

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

Chair Jeremy Goico spoke about the discussion related to air service which took place during MLT's recent joint meeting with the Town Council. Chair Goico said the Town was in store for a great Christmas season due to the increase in snow and reported that the Chamber's Customer Service training was a success. He said that he hoped everyone was well staffed for the season.

Board Member Bill Sauser reported that grooming on the Trails system in the forest had begun. Mr. Sauser gave an update on Subpart C and said that he would like MLT to submit comments once the public scoping period had opened. 

Board Member Darlene Magner reported that her bookings calendar was filling up and that staff was ready to go.

Secretary John Mendel said that it was good to see people back in Town. Mr. Mendel said that he had received the Chamber's annual report and said that it was well done and that he felt it was important for MLT to start sending out an annual report.

Vice Chair Pat Foster reported that he had sent some of his employees to the customer service training and said that they found it to be beneficial. Mr. Foster announced that Advanced Airlines had started their winter service the day before Thanksgiving and that they were using the Town's terminal at Mammoth Yosemite Airport. He said they had a good working relationship with the Town and that everyone was happy with the service. He reported that two flights had been diverted to the Bishop Airport, but they had coordinated with Mammoth All Weather Service (MAWS) and Mammoth Taxi to transport passengers to Bishop and everything went smoothly.

Treasurer John Morris reported that lodging was doing well and that Snowcreek's bookings were up 40% over last year at this time. Mr. Morris said that guests seemed to be happy and said that they were almost sold out for the Night of Lights weekend. He reported that the Buoy Company made a presentation at the Lodging Association meeting on Monday regarding reusable take out containers and said that he was excited about the program and hoped that MLT and the Town Council could help push the program forward. 

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

3.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no comments given at this time.

4.

CONSENT AGENDA

• Moved by Treasurer John Morris
  Seconded by Secretary John Mendel

  Approve the Consent Agenda.

  For (7)	Chair Jeremy Goico, Vice Chair Pat Foster, Treasurer John Morris, Secretary John Mendel, Board Member Eric Clark, Board Member Bill Sauser, and Board Member Darlene Magner
  Absent (2)	Board Member Larry Crabb, and Board Member Deb Radcliff

  Carried (7 to 0)

4.1

Approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 2, 2022

5.

POLICY MATTERS

5.1

Obstacle Course Race World Championships Update - Dakota Snider. Report on pending new athletic event for Fall 2023 in partnership with Spartan Races.

Senior Manager of Marketing and Events Dakota Snider outlined the information in the Spartan Request for Proposal for 2023-2028 for Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) World Championship presentation.

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

5.2

Research Report - Brian Wright. Receive a presentation on MLT research efforts.

Director of Marketing Brian Wright outlined the information in the MLT 2022 Visitor Volume presentation.

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

5.3

Winter Air Service and Transportation Update. Update on air service for Winter 2022-23.

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the MLT Air Service Update.

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.

6.

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

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

6.1

International Sales

Director Of Sales and International Marketing Michael Vanderhurst gave an update on international sales activities. Mr. Vanderhurst reported that he had recently returned from an UK sales mission with Visit California and several other California destinations. MLT's focus was to talk about winter 2022/23 and to promote air service into the Bishop Airport (BIH) as well as the Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) and to promote summer 2023 visitation. He said that the last sales mission for calendar year 2022 would start tomorrow and would be a trip to India in partnership with Mono County to promote summer, autumn, and spring 2023. He reported that they had just wrapped up an Italian media visit in partnership with Alterra and Black Tie Ski Rentals in which they hosted an Italian journalist who writes for la Repubblica Magazine, and said that they were working on future media visits for this winter with media outlets from the UK, Australia, Germany and Italy.

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

6.2

Communications

Director of Communications and Content Lara Kaylor gave an update on recent communications activities. Ms. Kaylor reported that there was a writer from LA Parent coming in next week for a media visit, and that there were several others lined up for January. She said that she attended a media boot camp in Seattle last month with Visit California, and announced that Mammoth Lakes had been voted Best Ski Town by USA Today and said they would host a writer in January who had written a piece about it. Ms. Kaylor said that they had been working with the Town on a press release for the partnership with the Los Angeles Kings which went out today. She congratulated Devil's Creek Distillery for being highlighted in Sunset Magazine as Best in the West and announced that MLT had signed a contract with Glen Plake last month. She said Mr. Plake was scheduled to take a flight on Advanced Airlines tomorrow after having skied all day, and would be accompanied by Vice Chair Pat Foster who would be documenting the trip. She announced that Community Coffee was tomorrow morning.

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

6.3

Marketing

Director of Marketing Brian Wright gave an update on marketing events and activities. Mr. Wright reported that he and Senior Marketing Manager Dakota Snider would travel to New York City next week for meetings with marketing content providers and would be working on trademarking. He gave an update on website and agency Request for Proposals (RFPs) process.

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

6.4

Special Events and Social Media

Senior Manager of Marketing and Events Dakota Snider gave an update on recent special events and social media activity. Mr. Snider reported that the Special Events Producers Fall mixer at Distant Brewing was a success, and said that the deadline to submit 2023 special events dates was December 12th. He announced that the 2023 Special Events funding application period would be open from January 1st through January 31st and noted that the application would be housed on VisitMammoth's website under the Special Events tab on the Industry page. He said that the Measure U and Measure R funding application periods would be open during the same period. He said that Committee meetings and application reviews would start in early February and that it was expected that decisions would be made by the end of February. Mr. Snider said that in partnership with the Chamber, MLT would like to hold a spring special events forum to help producers with marketing and sales of booth space for their events..

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

6.5

Local Marketing

Marketing Assistant Emily Bryant gave an update on recent local marketing activities and website visitation. Ms. Bryant reported that she was with a Visit California film crew this morning filming a hospitality workforce video. She announced that there was a Yiftee Gift Card Buy One Get One (BOGO) offer in place through the end of December which awarded purchasers with a free $10 gift card for every $50 dollars in gift card purchases. Ms. Bryant said that she did a sticker drop to local businesses before Thanksgiving and said to let her know if you needed more stickers or visitor guides, and reported that the Visitor Center had been fielding a lot of calls asking about activities other than skiing that were available in Mammoth.

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

6.6

Social Media

Digital Marketing Coordinator Patrick Griley gave an update on social media efforts. Mr. Griley reported that the Mountain had received 109 inches of snow which put us at number one in the country for the deepest base. He said that he would be on the flight with Glen Plake tomorrow and would ski with him beforehand. He said that there was potential for 60 inches of snow this weekend, announced that the Night of Lights was coming up and said that MLT would do a Tube Park photo shoot at Woolly's to capture the new tubing lanes.

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

7.

OTHER STANDING UPDATES

7.1

Mammoth Resorts Update - Eric Clark

Board Member Eric Clark gave an update on Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) news, activities and operations. Mr. Clark reported that November had been an incredible month on the Mountain and said that the conditions were great!  He said that the strategy over the past month had been to open everything they could during peak visitation periods, and then close things up again due to staffing shortages. He announced that Eagle Lodge would open for the season on Saturday and that Canyon Lodge was already open for the season. Mr. Clark said that the Woolly's Tube Park renovation was complete and the Park would open for the season soon. He announced that the Night of Lights would take place on December 17th, and said that June Mountain would open on December 10th, with the potential to be able to ski down to the parking lot. He reported that The Mill had been expanded to about twice its original size in order to serve more people. He announced that the IKON Passholder Early Ups would be pushed out another week due to the incoming storm.

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

7.2

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 the Business Excellence Awards Gala was a success and announced that Mammoth Business Essentials had been named Business of the Year. He said the event had its biggest turnout to date and thanked Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce staff for putting on the event. He said the Chamber's website had been redesigned and congratulated their Assistant Director Brianna Goico for being selected as one of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives:40 Under 40 Emerging Leaders. He announced the following events: Business After Hours December 13th at the Chamber and MLT offices from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Peak Therapy and Hydration ribbon cutting on December 19th, and the Ski Hour and Power lunch January 10th at 10:30 a.m. at Chair 3 followed by lunch at Parallax from noon to 1:00 p.m. for a Mammoth Hospital update. Chair Goico reminded Chamber Members to post their events through their Chamber portal or send them to Brianna Goico. He said that last week's Women in Business program was a success as was the recent Customer Service training series.

There was discussion among members of the Board.

7.3

Town Council Update - Bill Sauser 

Board Member Bill Sauser gave an update on Town Council news, activities and operations. Mr. Sauser reported that two new Councilmembers, Amanda Rice and Chris Bubser, would be seated at tonight's Town Council meeting, and reported that incumbent Councilmember John Wentworth had been reelected. He said that appointments of Mayor and Mayor Per Tem would also be made tonight, and that assignments to outside Boards and Committees would take place on January 4th. Mr. Sauser said that a piece outlining the accomplishments for 2022 and goals for 2023 of the Town Council and Town staff would come out soon, and gave an update on the Community Recreation Center (CRC) and the contract with the Los Angeles Kings. He suggested that members of the community drive by Center Street to check out the progress on The Parcel and provided a housing update. He reported that he had been plowing the Austria Hof and reminded visitors and locals to use chains.

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

URGENCY ITEM

7.4 CLOSED SESSION:

Conference with legal Counsel regarding existing litigation pursuant to Paragraph 1 of subdivision (d) of section 54956.9. Name of case: Mainstreet Taxpayers vs. Town of Mammoth Lakes, ET AL.

The Board went into closed session at 2:28 p.m.

The Board returned from closed session at 2:47 p.m.

Chair Jeremy Goico reported that the Board had decided to defend the current litigation.

8.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 2:48 p.m. to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on January 4, 2023.