Coronado Tourism Improvement District (CTID)
Minutes from Advisory Board/Board of Directors Meeting
June 11, 2013, Council Chambers, Coronado, Ca.
1.
Call to Order. Meeting was called to order at 1:05 p.m. The following CTID Advisory
Board/Board of Directors were present: Todd Shallan, Brian Johnson, Claudia Ludlow,
Phil Monroe, Eddie Warner and Denise Schwab. Tim Herrmann, David Spatafore and
Mary Ann Berta were absent.
Also in attendance: Executive Director (ED) Todd Little, Robert Arends from San Diego
Tourism Authority, Sara Mettee from MeringCarson, Bruce Linder from CHA, Janet
Francis and Joy Parks from Coronado Visitor Center and Linda Willis from UT San
Diego.
Those who spoke about their community grant application: Ben Vaughan, Sarah Clinton,
Leslie Althof, Carrie Fisher Fernan, Dan McGeorge, Shane Schmeichel, Nora Boswell,
Karen Finch, Courtenay McGowen and Kerry Meads.
2.
Approval of Minutes from May 2, 2013. Denise Schwab submitted minor corrections
prior to the meeting. Motion for approval: Monroe, Second: Johnson. Unanimously
approved 6-0.
3.
Staff Discussion and Updates. The ED updated the Board on the assessments. During
April $39,018 was collected, bringing the YTD total to $449,547. As it stands the total is
about 3% less than projections for FY13 but are 4% over last years YTD actuals.
Board packets included two letters from Mayor Tanaka congratulating and thanking
David Spatafore and Mary Ann Berta for agreeing to a second term of three years as an
At-Large Member of the CTID.
4.
Oral Communications. Chris Racan from UT San Diego introduced their new rewards
platform devoted to customer engagement. It’s a pay per play arrangement with no cost
to merchants until a customer (or guest) is delivered.
5.
Hear request summaries from grant applicants. CTID received 12 applications for
community grants. Board packets included copies of each application. Ten of the twelve
applicants introduced themselves to explain how a possible grant would be applied to
benefit the businesses that depend on tourism during the off-season.
a. Ben Vaughan of Multisport Inc. discussed the 4th annual Coronado Valentine’s Day 10K.
Each year the event grows, reaching 2700 participants in 2013 of which only 400 live in
Coronado. The race featured runners from 35 states. In 2014 he plans to expand the coupon
book introduced last year that profiles Coronado businesses. He hopes to collect even more
hotel and spending data from the participants.
b. Sara Clinton and Kali Martin Superfrog Inc. updated the Board on their race events
Superfrog (Sept.) and Superseal (Mar.) Each welcomed international guests including Lance
Armstrong. Many of them make a weekend of the event, adding to the number of filled room
nights in Coronado. The event encompasses an entire day and is typically marketed in
triathlon publications and websites. They also use race calendars and web ads to promote
each event.
c. Leslie Althof and Deann Brown from Coronado Jr. Woman’s Club discussed the upcoming
4th annual A Taste of Coronado. Last year 1/3 of participants came from across the bridge.
This year they’d like to incorporate packages with the hotels and further engage local
retailers. Their goal includes sampling from 25 restaurants. They don’t spend much on
marketing hoping to keep the budget low. Attendance can be improved upon if they are
awarded a grant. They’d use the grant to advertise in San Diego Magazine. Their marketing
plans include UT San Diego, a billboard in San Diego. Todd Shallan asked how many tickets
were sold. He was told 625 but they are targeting 750 guests in 2013.
d. Dan McGeorge introduced his Open Gallery Night by comparing it to a similar start-up event
on Adams Avenue in Kensington that began in 2003 with 30 attendees. Today the event has
15,000 attendees. He also spoke about the Race Street event in North Park that has also
experienced meteoric growth. He’s held Gallery Night for 3 years and hopes to develop and
promote his event to benefit local businesses across the island. It will require advertising and
he believes San Diego Home & Garden is best for promoting his event.
e. Shane Schmeichel of Coronado School of the Arts discussed the state of the art facilities used
for the Nations of International Dance Festival. Now in its 6th year the event continues to
gain popularity, reaching 1700 attendees in 2013. They collect data with each ticket sold.
Ninety percent of attendees crossed the bridge to attend a performance. Each dance company
(20) stayed in Coronado for one week adding to filled room nights. In 2014 they plan to
increase marketing to included San Diego Home & Garden, UT San Diego, 30,000 mailed
postcards. Each dance company promotes their appearances through their own marketing
methods.
f. Nora Boswell from Coronado Hospital Foundation outlined one of their two annual events, a
golf tournament held at North Island. As they prepare for third annual event they are
confident they can secure more golfers from San Diego. A grant would significantly boost
their very small marketing budget. It would be used for a :60 radio commercial two weeks
prior to the tournament. Plans are in place to collect attendee data. The event benefits the
Hospital Foundation and Nora is currently pursuing funders and sponsors.
g. Karen Finch of Coronado Chamber of Commerce acknowledged that Board Members
already understood the concept of the Holiday Open House and Snow Mountain and used the
time to be available for questions. She believes the events attract guests both young and old.
She said the dual events benefit not one but two business districts and once again they are
looking to further improve the number of San Diegans attending. If awarded a grant, the
funds would be used for radio sponsorships, best negotiated by the CTID Executive Director.
h. Courtenay McGowen introduced the executives at Coronado Historical Association/Visitor
Center who supervise Coronado Art Walk. The event is held at Ferry Landing and attracts
10,000-15,000 to Coronado during the slow tourism season. In 2012 their grant funded a very
effective campaign with UT San Diego. Courtenay believes readers are inspired by their
materials that include the CTID logo. Once again they are planning to incorporate a brochure
and postcard for the event.
i. Kerry Meads of Lamb’s Players Theatre commented on Coronado’s remarkable community
that is perfect for the family-friendly holiday theme of An American Christmas/Festival of
Christmas. They have secured ChristmasInCoronado.com with plans to use it to promote the
performances and ticket/hotel packages. They’d like to make a big splash with full-page ads
in destination publications.
j. Carrie Fischer Fernan of Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Complex outlined an upcoming
clinic for American Swim Coach. The event is held to educate coaches to the outstanding
facility managed by Coronado High School. Because of the clinic, BBMAC has welcomed
teams from across America. The teams stay in Coronado hotels for 3 weeks during the
tourism off-season, a value of $290,000 in 2011 and $300,000 in 2012. Carrie is seeking
funds to promote Coronado at the upcoming clinic, encouraging teams to train there.
6.
Review marketing plans, approve strategy for FY14. MeringCarson is the firm that
places the national media on behalf of the San Diego Tourism Authority and the CTID.
Sarah Mettee and Robert Arends summarized the FY13 plan and provided
recommendations for $328,000 budget for FY14.
Sara Mettee outlined the strategy to attract guests from outside of San Diego, including
the approved $211,000 expenditure on marketing. The campaigns produced 9.7 million
impressions and unpaid PR coverage valued at $2.6 million. The overall (gross) number
of impressions was 266 million. During FY13 SanDiego.com/Coronado received
339,413 page views and was featured in the Tourism Authority’s social media outreach.
During FY13 the CTID’s PR team welcomed 75 travel writers to Coronado. A media
tour was to commence that afternoon to promote the family-friendly side of the island.
Some of the media that have provided coverage includes: AAA Westways, Parents
Magazine, Fox 10 Phoenix, AAA Highroads plus publications from Washington state and
the city of Portland.
In FY14, with a working budget of $328,000 the focus remains on generating top of mind
awareness of Coronado, to inspire and produce hotel stays and to ultimately drive travel
demand for the island during the off-season (October-February.) The media spend of
$196,674 target travel “escapists” between 25-64 with a household income of over
$100,000. Marketing efforts would concentrate on previously penetrated markets such as
LA, Orange County, Phoenix and Palm Springs/Desert. Texas is a secondary
marketplace.
Sara presented two options for moving forward, the difference being the usage of two
new web banner strategies or a print campaign in Sunset Magazine. Option 1
incorporates two new digital marketing platforms, Sojern and Lonely Planet, in addition
to campaigns with TripAdvisor and Virtual Tourists (used during FY13 efforts.) Fullpage ads in the MNI luxury magazine package (Elle Décor, Travel + Leisure, etc.) would
return for a third year.
Option 2 features a greater percentage of digital marketing efforts: 67% (33% print.)
Although Sojern and Lonely Planet are not a part of this plan, TripAdvisor and Virtual
Tourist are. Full-page ads in Southern California edition of Sunset magazine would be
new to the equation, they would accompany the previously-used MNI package.
Todd Shallan acknowledged Robert’s hard work leading the CTID PR efforts. He felt the
CTID could not produce the same results without him. Phil Monroe asked how Robert
collects content for press releases for topics such as biking and weddings. Robert bases
them on meetings with current and new providers and coordinating the content with the
Executive Director. Phil also questioned the scheduling of marketing campaigns between
January and March. He felt they contradict recent plans to double the CTID assessment
to specifically afford marketing campaigns during those months. Todd Shallan felt the
plan to double the assessment was to consistently market between September and May
but the period that could use an improvement in hotel occupancy is between October and
February. Denise Schwab preferred Option 1 and then asked if the QR featured on the
national ads would link to SanDiego.org/Coronado or to mobile app download page.
(They would lead to the former.) Brian Johnson also preferred Option 1 because it
pushed further to reach guests who use digital means to make travel plans. Todd Shallan
said as much as he loved the idea of ads in Sunset, the prudent option (#1) was his
preference. Eddie Warner spoke in favor of Option 1. Motion to approve Option 1:
Shallan, Second: Schwab. Unanimously approved 6-0
7. The Executive Director then presented a summary of Local Marketing during FY13. The
budget was $75,000 and is intended to increase the number of day visitors from San
Diego County. The newest addition to the FY13 program was the use of San Diego
Home & Garden. FY13 saw the launch of the new “Come and Play Across the Bay”
campaign designed by Ideaworks. It was the foundation of artwork used in print (San
Diego Magazine and San Diego Home & Garden) web banners (UT San Diego) and
signage at the Intl Visitors Center. These strategies were accompanied by inserts in the
North County Times during October and March as well as a radio campaign during the
Holiday season. Once completed, the campaigns generated 5.4 million impressions.
When measuring the impact of these campaigns the ED cited these facts: 1) during
calendar year 2012 hotel occupancy grew 5%, 2) sales tax during Q3 of 2013 showed a
4% growth, 3) the CTID assessment is growing at a 4% clip, 4) the most recent CTID
marketing study is suggesting an 11% growth this Spring. The ED’s plan for FY14
builds upon the proven winners used in FY13. His recommendation was shared with the
Local Marketing Subcommittee who showed an interest in print ads that encompass two
pages (double-truck.) In an effort to raise the profile of dining in Coronado, the right
hand side of the ad would be used to categorize local restaurants. The ED felt the cost of
a double-truck is high and does not double the number of impressions. Eddie Warner
asked whom would oversee the layout of the double-truck and the ED reported speaking
with Ideaworks about the project. Their proposal was for $1,200. Todd Shallan felt the
local marketing should be tabled because two committee members (who are
restaurateurs) were absent.
Motion to table topic: Shallan, Second: Schwab.
Unanimously approved 6-0.
8. Review and approve $6,500 for shuttle rebranding The ED brief the Board that on June
18 City Council will decide whether to fund a program that originated with the CTID.
For two years the Board has discussed options for a shuttle for visitors during
summer…one of which was taking over MTS Route 904 and making it a low-cost or free
shuttle during summer. The Board could not justify the expense of rebranding the bus
and operating it for three months.
The City Manager is seeking approval from Council to fund the operation of the service
and has asked whether the CTID would consider paying for just the rebranding or
wrapping of one, possibly two buses.
Tom Ritter supplemented the ED’s report suggesting City Council could decide to
approve up to three buses which would shorten wait times down to 15 minutes. This
would require wrapping three buses. He asked the Board to remain open to funding the
cost of three wraps: $19,500.
Brian Johnson felt the route (between City Hall and the Coronado Island Marriott Resort)
would capitalize on systems that already exist. Eddie Warner asked if there would be
riding or rate changes. Tom Ritter said a low-cost fee cuts down on vagrancy and aids in
measuring the ridership. Janet Francis asked whether the bus wraps can be recycled
beyond summer. The ED implied they are not indestructible but should last an entire
year. Todd Shallan asked who would oversee the creative design. The ED indicated the
art would be supervised by the CTID and City. Phil Monroe reminded the Board they
have wanted to do this for a long time and felt City Council could approve all three buses.
Brian Johnson said this was a chance to give back to the community and City by helping
to reduce traffic. He felt the cost was similar to a double-truck ad and the buses would be
seen by many more drivers than magazine readers. Todd Shallan wanted to assure this
would be done right. He suggested adding to the potential total to allow for $1,000 or so
for 10 hours of development from Ideaworks. Eddie Warner felt increasing the frequency
of the bus was key to its success. Bus arrival should be based on rising needs and
scheduled as often as possible. Motion to approve up to $20,000 from Long Term
Planning Fund for developing artwork and wrapping up to three MTS 904 buses:
Shallan, Second: Monroe. Unanimously approved 6-0
9. Review and approve reclassification of ED position At the end of the previous meeting
the ED was asked to research whether the position of Executive Director should be
reclassified from a 1099 independent contractor to an employee.
After consulting with the Board’s CPA firm, my own CPA, our bookkeeper and several
employment websites for information the ED presented four decision factors:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Who has ultimate authority with decision-making?
Who is financially accountable for those decisions?
Who provides equipment to operate the business?
Where is the work performed?
The Executive Director has never had complete decision approval nor has the ED ever
been responsible for the cost of things such as marketing campaigns. Because the CTID
was newly established he did provide all equipment at first and still provides a laptop to
run the business. The CTID grew a great deal in 3 years and now requires office space
for files, meetings and everyday operations.
In the ED’s opinion, the position has most likely been that of an employee since 2010 and
reclassification is wise to remain compliant IRS taxation guidelines. Converting to an
employee base takes a short time to set up payroll systems, establish state tax IDs and
secure insurance that is mandated.
The ED researched 3 payroll providers and cost ranged from $151 to $35 per pay cycle.
The CTID’s bookkeeper Island Bookkeeping was recommended because Tracey Davis is
the most cost effective and she’s on the island when there are questions. She can assist
with obtaining tax IDs and the QuickBooks program she uses for our bookkeeping can be
easily interfaced for payroll deductions and tax documentation.
The CTID will be required to hold workers compensation insurance and the ED evaluated
three estimates, including one from a firm that currently provides insurance to the CTID.
The most cost efficient provider is a division of PayChex. Am Trust can provide $1
million coverage for $574 annually.
The taxation costs are pretty straightforward, half of Social Security and Medicare,
California and Federal unemployment, plus the ETT training tax. The ED pays half of
the SS and Medicare, Disability insurance and income taxes.
The ED disclosed that as a W-2 employee, his taxation would drop from $11,000 to
$6,200. In previous years he absorbed some operational costs that pertain to the CTID.
As a W-2 these costs (approximately $2250) would need to fall under admin expenses.
The end cost will be approximately $9,300 to convert to a W-2 employee base. The ED
recommended doing so because the job, all along, has likely been W-2 and conversion
will eliminate risk of an IRS inquiry.
To manage the unplanned costs the ED reviewed the options of delaying any decision: 1)
paying the costs as does every other business or adjust the ED budget line, 2) the Board
could alter the ED’s budget line based the tax differential, 3) have the ED pay for the
admin expenses, 4) simply cut $9,300 from the entire ED budget line.
Eddie Warner asked to discuss this matter in closed session. Todd Shallan believed it
could only be discussed in public. Tom Ritter was unsure but felt the conversion to W-2
could be discussed in public but Executive Director negotiation could be closed session.
Phil Monroe felt the Board has to covert. Because of the unplanned costs, Todd Shallan
suggested a review and reforecast of the existing budget. He felt it wasn’t right for the
ED to take a cut in salary. Eddie Warner believed what was right was for both parties to
come out whole. She felt the ED’s salary should be adjusted downward otherwise he
would benefit from a lower tax obligation. Phil Monroe felt the IRS would acknowledge
the fact the CTID is moving in the right direction. Denise Schwab felt reviewing a
reforecasted budget was wise. Eddie Warner reminded the Board the ED’s contract ends
June 30th. The ED was asked by Todd Shallan to work with Phil Monroe on solutions
and present them at the August 1 meeting. The Chairman then offered to extend the
existing contract with the ED 60 days (through September 1) to allow for planning. He
then asked to sign an addendum to the existing agreement for this extension. Motion to
table this topic until August 1: Monroe, Second: Warner. Unanimously approved 6-0.
10. Hear summary of ED evaluations and approve for FY14: Tabled until August 1.
11. Adjournment Brian Johnson spoke on behalf of the Board thanking Todd Shallan for his
leadership since the inception of the CTID. He was thanked for his service to the Board,
the City and the community. The meeting ended at 2:50pm.