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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 09/27/2006 . . . ;... LODGING TAX ADVISORY COMMITTEE Port Angeles, Washington September 27, 2006 MEETING MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Rogers called the meeting to order at 2:01 pm. ROLL CALL Members Present: Mayor Rogers, Pat Davis, Bob Harbick, Jack Harmon, Dave Neupert, Bill Rinehart, Brian Savage and Joseph Mollerus. Members Absent: Karen McCormick, Counci1member Munro, and Steve Oliver. Staff Present: Yvonne Ziomkowski, Glenn Cutler, and Sherry Wright. Public Present: Russ Veenema, Vanessa Shearer, Orville Campbell, Lee Embree, Shawn McDonald, Glenn Wiggins, Lorraine Ross, Dennis Yakovich, Dan McGuire, Charlie Smith, Don Perry. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Bill Rinehart to approve the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee minutes of September 6,2006. The motion was seconded by Joseph Mollerus and carried unanimously. REVIEW CAPITAL PROJECT APPLICATIONS Mayor Rogers noted that there were six capital project applications submitted, including one late application submitted by Jack Harmon. The committee agreed to accept the late application and review as part ofthe meeting. Mayor Rogers asked representatives from each of the groups to provide a brief overview of their project and then answer questions from the committee. Avenue of the People Charlie Smith and Don Perry gave a brief overview of the sidewalk and sculpture proposal. The total amount requested was $677,650, with $120,420 and $86,170 requested in the first and second years respectively, and $26,170 per year requested in years 3 through 20. .. . . . .. L T AC Minutes September 27,2006 Page 2 Timbertown Museum Glenn Wiggins, Lee Embree and Bob Harbick provided details on the Timbertown Museum proposal. A total of $400,000 is being requested from the Lodging Tax fund to be paid over four or five years. In response to a question from Dave Neupert, Mr. Embree noted that Timbertown is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. It was noted that nearly $500,000 in cash, plus $100,000 in'in-kind donations has been donated so far. The money being requested from the City will allow some of the initial buildings to be built. City Pier Stage Russ Veenema and Shawn McDonald provided a brief overview of the City Pier stage request, noting that they have been able to secure materials for the stage at cost plus 5%, in addition to having labor donated by a local contractor. The funding request is for a one-time payment of$19,000. Field House Russ Veenema described the Field House proposal, and informed the committee that the City would be able to provide an additional $250,000 per year from the savings achieved by not operating the William Shore Pool. The request is for one-time funding in the amount of $300,000. Mr. Veenema noted that the Field House would be the largest covered facility in the City, and could be used to accommodate dog and horse shows. Mayor Rogers cautioned the committee that the City would not be able to contribute a full $250,000 per year to the Field House in the beginning as the costs of operating the proposed Aquatic Center could not be determined until the facility was up and running for some time. Discovery Trail Paving Russ Veenema described the request for paving the Discovery Trail from Morse Creek through the Rayonier site, noting that the County has offered to loan their chip seal machine for this project. This request is for one-time funding in the amount of$93,395. He noted that Rayonier has already given approval to pave the portion of the trail through their property. Mayor Rogers noted that depending on the outcome of the current Department of Ecology proceedings related to dioxins, the City might have to re-route the trail off the Rayonier property. She cautioned that this could cause paving figures to increase beyond what is noted in the proposal. Aquarium Jack Harmon noted that his request is for funding to build a world-class aquarium on the Port Angeles waterfront. The total project cost is estimated at $20-25 million, with $100,000 per year requested from the Lodging Tax Fund for the next 20 years. -. . LTAC Minutes September 27,2006 Page 3 Pat Davis asked how much money was available to allocate to these projects in 2007. Yvonne Ziomkowski noted that the committee agreed to allocate 1/3 ofthe annual lodging tax revenue to capital projects, which would equate to approximately $150,000 annually. However, in 2007, the committee voted to allocate $86,000 to capital projects, with the remainder of the revenue going to the Chamber of Commerce for special events and marketing. There is also an additional $200,000 available in reserves, which could be used as one-time funding for capital projects. In 2007, Ms. Ziomkowski noted that the committee could safely allocate up to $300,000 and still have sufficient cash flow to cover expenditures. City Attorney Bill Bloor joined the meeting at this point to discuss the legal requirements of committee members voting on projects in which they have a vested interest. Mr. Bloor noted that state law says officers of a non-profit corporation who are unpaid are considered to have a remote interest, and therefore would not be disqualified from voting. He said committee members were certainly welcome to excuse themselves from voting on any project that they were involved in, even if the law doesn't require them to. . Mayor Rogers informed the committee of their option to either rank the projects, approve one or more projects, or continue the discussion at a future meeting. Following discussion, motion by Jack Harmon to fund the City Pier Stage and Avenue of the People. The motion was seconded by Bob Harbick and failed 2-6, with Jack Harmon and Bob Harbick voting yes. Karen Rogers, Pat Davis, Joseph Mollerus, Dave Neupert, Bill Rinehart and Brian Savage voted no. Motion by Dave Neupert to allocate lodging tax funds for the City Pier Stage and Olympic Discovery Trail paving. The motion was seconded by Joseph Mollerus and carried 6-2, with Karen Rogers, Pat Davis, Joseph Mollerus, Dave Neupert, Bill Rinehart and Brian Savage voting yes. Jack Harmon and Bob Harbick voted no. Bill Rinehart reminded the committee that Glenn Cutler was on a strict timeline and needed an answer on the sidewalk project funding as soon as possible. Motion by Bill Rinehart to allocate funding for the sidewalk project in the amount of $26,170 per year for 20 years, plus a first-year loan match of$41,250. The motion was seconded by Brian Savage and failed 1-7 with Bill Rinehart voting yes. Karen Rogers, Pat Davis, Bob Harbick, Jack Harmon, Joseph Mollerus, Dave Neupert, and Brian Savage voted no. . Following further discussion on the importance of resolving the sidewalk issue at this meeting, a motion was made my Jack Harmon to fund the sidewalk project in the amount of $26, 170 per year for 20 years. The motion was seconded by Dave Neupert. . , . . . -4 L T AC Minutes September 27, 2006 Page 4 Discussion followed on the merits of using lodging tax revenue to fund sidewalk replacement, when only a portion of the funding was related to preserving the underground. Jack Harmon withdrew his motion, with the acceptance of Dave Neupert. A revised motion was made by Jack Harmon to allocate funds necessary to directly preserve the infrastructure of the underground from Front to First in an amount not to exceed $26,170 per year for 20 years. The motion was seconded by Bill Rinehart and carried 5-3 with Jack Harmon, Joseph Mollerus, Bill Rinehart, Karen Rogers and Brian Savage voting yes. Dave Neupert, Pat Davis and Bob Harbick voted no. Pat Davis suggested bringing a list of projects to the next meeting with additional information on the Field House, Timbertown Museum and Aquarium. Specifically, the committee requested a building schedule and business plan for Timbertown, a project scope for the Aquarium and additional tourism information related to the Field House. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held Wednesday, October 18 at 2:00 pm in the Vern Burton Conference Room. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 4:18 pm. ~ herry W. t