Mammoth Lakes Tourism Board

Minutes of Regular Meeting

Wednesday, March 06, 2024 at 1:00 P.m. - 3:30 P.m.

437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite Z, Mammoth Lakes

Members Present:

• Chair Pat Foster, 
• Treasurer John Morris, 
• Board Member John Wentworth, 
• Board Member Jess Karell, 
• Board Member Kirk Wallace, 
• and Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa 

Members Absent:

• Vice Chair Eric Clark, 
• Secretary John Mendel, 
• and Board Member Darlene Magner 

---

1.

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Chair Pat Foster called the meeting to order at 1:06 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at 437 Old Mammoth Road. 

2.

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

Treasurer John Morris reported that business had picked up for the lodging community due to increase in snow and said that the community was hoping for one or two more storms. Mr. Morris said that tonight's Town Council meeting would address two items related to Short Term Rentals 

Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa reported that President's Day weekend was slower than expected for her restaurant, and said that last weekend her restaurant was closed all weekend due to the high winds from the blizzard.

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 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.

Clean Up The Lake (CUTL) Founder and CEO Colin West thanked MLT Board and Staff for helping him with his efforts to clean our local lakes. Mr. West reported that he and his crew removed over 1,060 pounds of small litter from Lake George in addition to locating some heavy lift items and removed  about 3,270 fishing line snags. He said that they also did aquatic invasive species surveillance and sent samples out for testing and identification. Mr. West said that his team would move their efforts to Lake Mary this summer, said that he had been getting the word out to raise funds for the matching support that would be provided by Visit Mammoth's fundraiser, and said that he hoped to clean up one lake per year between now and 2026. 

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

4.

CONSENT AGENDA

• Moved by Treasurer John Morris
  Seconded by Board Member John Wentworth

  Approve the Consent Agenda.

  For (6)	Board Member John Wentworth, Treasurer John Morris, Chair Pat Foster, Board Member Jess Karell, Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa, and Board Member Kirk Wallace
  Absent (3)	Vice Chair Eric Clark, Secretary John Mendel, and Board Member Darlene Magner

  Carried (6 to 0)

4.1

Approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 3, 2024

5.

POLICY MATTERS

5.1

MLT Strategy and Goal Setting for Fiscal Year 2024/25 - Present 2024/25 strategic direction and goals for Board discussion and vote to approve

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the MLT Strategic Framework presentation and the MLT Key Planning Meeting Dates document. Mr. Urdi said the three years this time around after his research. REVIEW very first few minutes.

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

• Moved by Chair Pat Foster
  Seconded by Treasurer John Morris

  Approve MLT Strategy and Goal Setting for Fiscal Year 2024/25.

  For (6)	Chair Pat Foster, Treasurer John Morris, Board Member John Wentworth, Board Member Jess Karell, Board Member Kirk Wallace, and Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa
  Absent (3)	Vice Chair Eric Clark, Secretary John Mendel, and Board Member Darlene Magner

  Carried (6 to 0)

5.2

Winter Air Service Update - Update on bookings for both MMH and BIH Airports

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

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

5.3

MLT Board Ad Hoc Committees - Appoint three Board Members to each of the following Ad Hoc Review Committees:

• Staff Compensation and Benefits
• Executive Director Contract
• Special Event Grant Funding

There was discussion between members of the Board.

Chair Pat Foster, Treasurer John Morris, and Board Member Kirk Wallace volunteered to serve on the Staff Compensation and Benefits Ad Hoc Review Committee.

Vice Chair Eric Clark, Secretary John Mendel, and Chair Pat Foster volunteered to serve on the Executive Director Contract Ad Hoc Review Committee.

Board Members Kirk Wallace and Cristi Quesada-Costa, and Treasurer John Morris, volunteered to serve on the Special Event Grant Funding Ad Hoc Review Committee.

5.4

Financial Reports

Board Chair to appoint a 3 member TBID appeal panel for review of one business.

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.

Board Member Jess, Treasurer John Morris, and Chair Pat Foster volunteered to serve on the TBID Appeal Panel.

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

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

There was no report given.

6.2

Communications

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

Communications Coordinator Lauren MacLeod provided an update on Public Relations and Communications efforts. Ms. MacLeod reported that MLT had a large placement, and was listed as the top winter destination, in United Airlines' in-flight magazine Hemispheres, as well as a placement in Advanced Airlines' new in-flight magazine, AAltitude. She said that they had four media visits last month and several upcoming media visits. Ms. MacLeod said that she had recently attended the Visit California Dallas Media Dinner dinner, and said that MLT had relaunched the Crib Content Strategy, and that the Argentinian Snowboard Team was currently using the Crib while training for the Olympics. She announced that the Lake Mary Road Project had launched, said that tomorrow's Community Coffee would feature an update on the Reds Meadow Project which would pair with a new blog post which would be a living document about the most updated information about the Reds Meadow Project as well as Yosemite National Park.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

6.3

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 announced that the Winter Matador video was out, gave an update on the Community Sentiment Survey, and said that the CUTL tool kit with a press release was now available. She reported that she would attend the Visit California Outlook Forum with Executive Director John Urdi, Director of Sales and International Marketing Michael Vanderhurst, and Chair Pat Foster on Sunday. 

6.4

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 reported that representatives from MLT and CUTL attended the recent Bart Hall Travel shows in Del Mar and Long Beach and were able to play videos for the attendees that showed the amount and and various types of trash found in the lakes. She announced that the Special Event Funding Committee Members John Morris, Stu Brown, Deb Radcliff and Brent Truax went through all the special event applications, and approved funding for twenty three of the twenty seven requests.  The total amount requested was $546,100, the total amount funded was $300k. She said that they were in the process of cutting checks, and thanked those on the ad hoc committee for their efforts. 

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

6.5

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. Ms. Lindberg reported that MLT's Crowd Rift program had a new format which made it more user friendly.

There was discussion between Ms. Lindberg 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.

There was no report given.

7.2

Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Update - Jess Karell

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

Board Member Jess Karell gave an update on the Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce news, activities and operations. Ms. Karell announced that this was her last meeting on the Board and said that there would be a new Chamber Representative appointed to take her seat. She spoke about the impressive sustainability efforts at a festival she attended last weekend in Arizona including discounts for eventgoers who reused their cups, and giveaways such as hats and t-shirts for attendees who grabbed a bag, filled it with trash and turned it in. She announced that Community Coffee was tomorrow with an update on Reds Meadow, the Chamber Ski Power Hour and Power Lunch sponsored by Mammoth Hospital would take place on March 19th at 10:30 a.m. at Chair 3 followed by lunch and a discussion about Altitude Wellness, and the Business After Hours would take place on March 26th at Devils Creek Distillery. She said that the 4th of July Parade sponsorships were now open, discussed changes to how award recipients would be selected for this year's Business Excellence Awards, and announced that the nominations period would open on March 15th.

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

7.3

Town Council Update - John Wentworth

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

Board Member John Wentworth gave an update on Town Council news, activities and operations. Mr. Wentworth said that Visit California announced that they had formally adopted the new tagline "California is the Ultimate Playground" for their campaign. He provided an update on the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) grant that the Town had submitted for a Biomass Plant.

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

8.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting will be adjourned to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on April 3, 2024.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:55 p.m. to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on April 3, 2024.