Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02251992 - IO.2 I0-2 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS "A..... .,o Contra FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Costa s L County DATE: February 10, 1992 .._�.;-° SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT ON NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CONCORD CONVENTION AND VISITORS ' BUREAU SPECIFIC REOUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . As a matter of Board policy, adopt and/or reaffirm the following positions in regard '.to the current negotiations involving the County, the City of Concord, the Concord Convention and Visitors ' Bureau (CCVB) , the Sheraton Hotel, the City of Walnut Creek and the City of Lafayette regarding the County' s contribution to the budget of the Concord Convention and Visitors ' Bureau and the timing and conditions for any expansion of the CCVB' s representation of hotel and convention facilities in the unincorporated area of the County. A. The Board of Supervisors is encouraged by the willingness of all parties to discuss these subjects and by the dialogue which has taken place to date and is on-going. . In this regard, authorize the County Administrator to formulate and discuss with the CCVB appropriate factors which could be used to limit or "cap" the the CCVB' s expenditures from one year to the next. Just as examples, these might relate to the relative growth in the general purpose revenues_ of the jurisdictions which are supporting the CCVB, including the County, or the growth of the Transient Occupancy Tax revenue of the jurisdictions which are supporting the CCVB, including the County or some combination of such factors . CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COU I TRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE SIGNATURE(S): R:= ASUNNE WRIGHT McPEAK ACTION OF BOARD Orr. February i APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: Please see Pages 3 and 4 . ATTESTED PHIL BATCHELOR, ERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M382 (10/88) BY 'DEPUTY ` I0-2 -2- B. If the County continues to have a contract with the CCVB, the County should have one additional seat on the Board of the CCVB. C. In an effort to resolve the question of whether and under what circumstances the CCVB would expand its representation beyond the City of Concord and the Sheraton, either the City .of Concord or CCVB should host a meeting of all concerned parties so all affected interests are present in the same room at the same time. This meeting should be convened at the earliest possible date. D. Providing all affected parties agree on the timing and conditions under which expansion of the CCVB' s role would occur, the County would agree that the CCVB should represent the Embassy Suites Hotel . Such representation, however, would only occur concurrently with expansion of the role of the CCVB to one or more other jurisdictions. 2 . Request the County Administrator to move forward as quickly as possible to negotiate a contract with the CCVB to represent the Sheraton Hotel and Convention Center on an interim basis while the expansion negotiations are moving forward. As soon as such an interim agreement has been negotiated which the County Administrator is prepared to recommend to the Board of Supervisors, the interim agreement should be returned directly to the Board of Supervisors for its consideration. 3 . Authorize the County Administrator to continue negotiations with the CCVB and all other affected parties in whatever forums are available to conclude a longer-term agreement and contract and make progress reports to the Internal Operations Committee as events warrant. In any case, a further status report should be made to our Committee by May 11, 1992, even, if no completed longer-term agreement providing for expansion has been negotiated by that date. Our Committee will be prepared to consider such an agreement as soon as one has been negotiated. 4 . Pending completion of an interim agreement with the CCVB, calls regarding all current bookings should be referred to the General Manager of the Sheraton. All other calls expressing interest in or seeking further information regarding the Sheraton should be referred to the Chief Assistant County Administrator. BACKGROUND: On December 3, 1991, the Board of Supervisors referred to our Committee continuing oversight of negotiations with the CCVB for possible expansion of the role of the CCVB to represent the Embassy Suites Hotel and other jurisdictions . The County Administrator' s Office was asked to report back to our Committee by February 1, 1992 . On February 10, 1992 our Committee met with Scott . Tandy from the County Administrator's Office, Hazel Sturm and Rita Corbinook from the CCVB, and Tom Kearns from the Sheraton. We reviewed the attached report from Scott Tandy dated February 7, 1992, the - attached letter from James P. Kerrigan, III, President of the CCVB dated February 6, 1992, and the attached memo from Hazel Sturm dated February 7, 1992 . We had a thorough discussion of the issues and the position we believe the Board of Supervisors should take, as are reflected in Recommendation # 1 above. i I0-2 -3- Supervisor McPeak noted that the CCVB' s budget has increased faster than has the general purpose revenue of the County as well as faster than the Transient Occupancy Tax the County receives . This is the reason for supporting the concept of a "cap" on expenditures, as opposed to a cap on funding. Placing a cap on the CCVB's expenditures avoids the need for a detailed line-item review of the CCVB' s budget and insures that the CCVB's expenditures will not increase faster that the County' s ability to pay for them. Supervisor McPeak also noted, that the County supports expansion to other jurisdictions . On the other hand, the County is not opposed to having the CCVB serve only the City of Concord and the Sheraton. The County is open to going either way and is, therefore, ready to renew the recently cancelled contract with the CCVB or negotiate a contract which also provides for expansion of the jurisdictions which are served by the CCVB. Supervisor Schroder noted his concern that the lack of a contract is hurting revenue at the Sheraton and that he wants the Sheraton made a party to all further discussions immediately. Supervisor Schroder also indicated that he believes it is critical that an interim contract which will provide service to the Sheraton be negotiated and approved as quickly as possible. Because of the current lack of a contract between the County and the CCVB, questions have been raised about how to handle calls which come in to the CCVB involving the Sheraton. We have agreed that where an event is already booked, all questions should be referred to Mr. Kearns at the Sheraton. More general questions about the Sheraton which do not involve a current booking are to be referred to Mr. Tandy pending completion of an interim agreement. Our Committee believes that the only way to resolves the current issues is to have all affected parties brought to the same table at the same time so all views, issues and concerns can be addressed at the same time. We do not believe it is appropriate for the County to host this meeting. It appears that it would be more appropriate for the CCVB or the City of Concord to host such a meeting. Hazel Sturm indicated that she would present such a request to her President, Mr. Kerrigan, and that he would take it to their Board if he felt it were necessary and appropriate to do SO. We want consideration of an interim contract between the County and the CCVB to be brought back to the full Board of Supervisors as quickly as possible. We also want longer-term negotiations to proceed. We are asking the County Administrator's Office to provide at least a status report to our Committee on this subject on May 11, 1992, although we will be prepared to schedule a review of a longer-term contract as soon as possible after one has been negotiated. cc: County Administrator Scott Tandy, Chief Assistant Administrator The Honorable Nancy Gore, Mayor City of Concord 1970 Parkside Drive Concord, CA 94520 Rita Hardin, City Manager City of Concord 1970 Parkside Drive Concord, CA 94520 James P. Kerrigan, III, President Concord Convention and Visitors ' Bureau 2151 Salvio Street, Suite N Concord, CA 94520 Hazel Sturm, Executive Director Concord Convention and Visitors ' Bureau 2151 Salvio Street, Suite N Concord, CA 94520 Tom Kearns, General Manager Sheraton Hotel and Convention Center 45 John Glenn Drive Concord, CA 94520 I0-2 _4_ Don Blubaugh, City Manager City of Walnut Creek 1666 N. Main Street Walnut Creek, CA 94596 Robert Adams, City Manager City of Lafayette 3675 Mt. Diablo Boulevard Lafayette, CA 94549 OFFICE OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CONTRA COSTA COUNTY Administration Building Martinez, California To: Internal Operations Committee Date: February 7, 1992 (Supervisors Schroder and McPeak) FromSubject Scott Tandy, Chief V Status of Convention Bureau A. : ssistant Administra or Expansion Discussions The Board of Supervisors referred this matter to the 1992 Internal ' Operations' Committee to continue discussions with,`; . Concord Convention Bureau on expanding to other communities and to discuss alternative contract provisions in any new agreement. A meeting was hosted by Supervisor McPeak on February 3 , 1992 for the purpose of discussing expansion of other contract issues with the City of Concord. Members of the Concord Convention Bureau and Concord Chamber of Commerce were also in attendance. As a result of that meeting, Mr. Jim Kerrigan, President of the Convention Bureau, agreed to send the County a letter indicating the Bureau' s willingness to consider establishing a cap on budget expenditures (as opposed to cap on funding) . Once this letter was received, Supervisor McPeak agreed to respond with a list of suggested provisions including consideration to simultaneously include the Contra Costa Center in the Convention Bureau should expansions be secured with one or two other jurisdictions. Other provisions discussed by Supervisor McPeak and Scott Tandy were restructuring of the Board of Directors to insure more public accountability relative to the amount of public funds used to support the Bureau. The anticipated letter from Mr. Kerrigan dated February 6, 1992 (copy attached for ready reference) has been received. The letter is consistent with the discussions held February 3 , 1992 and indicates that the negotiation process is progressing with the City of Walnut Creek. Therefore, it is my recommendation that you formalize the specific content of a letter to be directed back to the Bureau at your meeting on February 10, 1992 at 10: 30 a.m. ST: lmj Attachment cc: Members, Board of Supervisors Mayor Nancy Gore, City of Concord Rita Hardin, Concord City Manager Tom Kearns, Sheraton Jim Kerrigan, Hilton Hazel Sturm, .Convention Bureau i i i Contra Costa Coonir, TO: Supervisor Robert Schroder RECEIVED Supervisor Sunne Wright-McPeak FEB 10 1992 Internal Operations Committee r Office of FROM: Hazel Sturm, Executive Director /� County Administrator SUBJECT: Bureau Expansion L DATE: February 7, 1992 The following information is intended to update you on the Bureau's progress relative to expanding the Convention and Visitors Bureau's scope of services into Central Contra Costa County. On January 17, 1992, representatives from the Convention and Visitors Bureau, (Jim Kerrigan, John Toffoli, Rita Corbinook, and Hazel Sturm) met with the City Manager of Walnut Creek, Mr. Don Blubaugh, to discuss the proposal submitted by the Convention and Visitors Bureau in Fall of 1991. We found the discussion to be very informative and encouraging. Mr. Blubaugh has a solid understanding of the Bureau's purpose due to his experience in working with the Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau as a public official for the city. On January 31, 1992, Jim Kerrigan, Concord Convention and Visitors Bureau President, Harry York, Concord Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice.President met with Wayne Hoss, General Manager of the Walnut Creek Doubletree Hotel and Jay Hoyer, Executive Vice President of the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce for their input and support of the concept. It is our understanding that a task force consisting of the Hotel/Motel and Business community of Walnut Creek has been formed to review and evaluate the benefits of the proposal as submitted. We will be providing statistical data that is considered non-confidential to this task force. On February 4, 1992, Bureau staff representatives, Hazel Sturm and Rita Corbinook met with Scott Talan, Vice Mayor City of Lafayette, for informal. dialogue relative to the Bureau's expansion efforts. Mr. Talan asked that we supply statistics i.e., cost vs benefit ratio to him at our earliest convenience. He also stressed the importance of garnering support of the business community through working with the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. We are in the process of scheduling a meeting with representatives of the Concord Convention Bureau, Concord Chamber of Commerce and the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce for further discussion. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. cc: Jim Kerrigan, President Phil Batchelor, County Administrator Scott Tandy, Deputy County Administrator CVB Board of Directors Salvio Pacheco Square 2151 Salvio St., Suite N • Concord, CA 94520 510-685-1184 • Fax 510-685-8190 Contra Costa County RECEIVED FEB 7 1992 February 6, 1992 Office of Gounty Administrator Supervisor Sunne McPeak, Chair Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors 651 Pine Street Martinez, CA 94553 Dear Chair McPeak: :0 Thank you for hosting the meeting on Monday, February 3, 1992. I feel that it was beneficial to have brought together elected officials from the County and City of Concord, City and County staff as well as the Convention and Visitors Bureau staff. It is my belief, and I hope yours also, that the end result of our meeting has reopened the dialogue on the issue of the Concord Convention and Visitors Bureau 's representation of the Concord Sheraton and Embassy Suites Hotel as well as Bureau Expansion. It is my understanding that the dialogue and negotiation process will, continue with the County representatives with the following parameters agreed upon: The funding cap that was in place in the former contract between the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the County will be removed. Secondly, growth in the operating budget for the Bureau will be controlled by means of a mutually agreed upon total budget expenditure cap. This concept has been discussed at Convention Bureau Board meetings, and with elected officials from the City of Concord as well as city staff. As I view this concept it is to be a refinement of the concept we discussed at our November meeting. This concept has not had official board approval, but, I feel quite sure from the Boards ' previous discussions that the concept is acceptable to the Convention and Visitors Bureau Board, and hopefully the City of Concord.- It oncord.It is my understanding that the County will spell out a list of items that will need clarification in a new agreement . I am anxious to have the list in order to present the items at the next Convention and Visitors Bureau Board meeting. Since the negotiation process is progressing with the City of Walnut Creek and is a very preliminary way with the City of Lafayette, I feel that it is in all of our mutual best interest to advance the process as quickly as possible. Saluio Pacheco Square 2151 Saluio St., Suite N • Concord. CA 94520 415.685.1184 Thank you again for hosting the meeting of February 3, 1992. I .Look forward to discussing both the expansion of the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the negotiation of a new contract for County Hotels at your convenience.. Si:�cerely, dames F. Kerrigan, III Fresi derl t JFK:bg cc: Mayor A.ancy Gore Rita Haidin Rion .ii,:w, Dale Adams, Esq. Haze_ Sturm Phil Batchelor Sc::t t Tandy P-1 CCVB Board of Directors