Mendocino County Lodging Association
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Little River Inn, Little River, CA

The meeting was called to order by President Jo Bradley at 1:25pm. Present were Scott Schneider (ED), Pam Amante, Jeff Stanford, Josie Perla, Jan Rodriguez, Cally Dym, Richard Strom, Stuart Marcus, Renata Dorn, Christina Affinito, Steven Musser, Kevin Gallagher, Phil Walker, Raakesh Patel, Jitu Ishwar, Deny Shah, Paul Cayler (guest), Jo Scriven (guest). Phone: Alydia Atkins (guest)

Privilege of the Floor
• New event guides are out and available
• Stuart interviewed by New York Times regarding sustainable tourism

Closed Session
• Board authorized Scott to borrow up to $20,000 to pay the outstanding debt to Ozone and any other pertinent debts. This includes all fees/interest associated with the loan.
• Jo will discuss with County Counsel BID collection of foreclosed properties and properties in delinquent status.

Election of Officers for 2008-2009
• President - Jan Rodriguez
• Vice President - Kevin Gallagher
• Secretary - Josie Perla
• Treasurer - Jo Bradley

Approval of Last Meeting’s Minutes
Stuart makes a motion to approve June minutes. Josie seconds. Motion passes.

Treasurer’s Report
Savings Account - $15576.78
Checking Account - $-13,171.14
Jeff motions to approve treasurer’s report. Richard seconds. Motion Passes.

MCPA Report
• Update:
• Paige Poulos and Tim Thornhill joined MCPA as MWWC representatives
• David Steffen joined as new Redwood Coast Chamber representative
• Funded Redwood Coast Chamber $7,500 for new visitor center in Gualala
• Updating County display at the State Capitol
• Produced new event piece. MCLA feels this piece should not be printed again.
• Welcome Center Partnership – Richard presented update on the Welcome Center and is proposing $3,000 per month funding from MCLA for the Center. The Board would like to know where this money would come from in the budget. Jeff motions we table this issue for our next meeting. Stuart seconds. Motion Passes.


Marketing Committee Report
• Jeff motions Stuart contacts a disaster relief expert by Friday, July 4th. If nothing is heard by Friday, Scott is authorized up to $1,000 for Ozone to develop a media plan for on-line banners dealing with the wildfires. Pam seconds. Motion Passes.
• Jeff motions to place ½ page ad in AAA Tourbook for $10,000. Pam seconds. Motion Fails.
• Jeff motions we place a full page ad in the 2009 CA Visitor’s Guide up to $22,000. Richard Seconds. Motion Passes.
• Jeff motions we spend $5000 in the CTTC Co-Op Advertising opportunity. Cally seconds. Motion Passes. Money comes out of “Advertising Contract”.
• Joint Marketing:
• Marketing project on schedule


Administration Report
• North Coast Tourism Council and Humboldt County requests Mendocino take over the NCTC contract with the CTTC. Jeff motions we contract with CTTC to manage the contract for NCTC. Josie Seconds. Motion Passes.
• Attended CalTIA Conference on Tourism in June – good educational and networking experience.
• Seeks a Board member to attend the SF CVB marketing conference on July 22.
• Working with County CEO’s office on next year’s contract. Scott will send draft as soon as it is received from the County.


Old Business
• Request for Administrative Assistance – MCPA offers administrative assistance – 20 hours per week at $15.00 per hour through the end of September, 2008. Jeff motions we accept MCPA’s offer of administrative assistance. Jitu seconds. Motion Passes.
• Ratification of Executive Director contract – completed at last meeting’s closed session
• BID Collections – Jo & Scott met with County Counsel about BID collection and proper procedures for such. County is taking a more active role in TOT collection.

New Business
• Mendocino County Water Agency presentation – Paul Cayler & Joseph Scriven presented ideas of how lodging operators can conserve water and make visitors aware of our water situation in the County. Joe is available to visit lodging properties to do water audits and help properties learn about water conservation.

Next Meeting
Scheduled for August 6th, Holiday Inn Express, Ukiah

Adjournment - Steven motions to adjourn. Jitu seconds. 4:50pm