BUSINESS & CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
June 20, 2007
A
Regular Meeting of the Business & Cultural Development Board was held on June
20, 2007 at the City Hall Annex,
Chairperson
Anderson called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.
John
Anderson
Hugh
Evans
Dianne
Marcum
Joanne
Muncey
Darrell
Peterson
Alison
Spiesman
None
Mayor
Council Member Shannon
Roberts
City Manager Bennett Boucher
Recording Secretary Kim
McIntire
Ray Osbourne
Chairperson Anderson thanked
Vice Chair Muncey for her diligence in his absence.
ADOPTION OF MINUTES:
1. Regular Meeting of May 16, 2007
Moved by Ms. Marcum, seconded by Ms. Muncey to approve
the minutes of the Regular Meeting of
May 16, 2007. Motion passed unanimously.
Chairperson Anderson thanked Mayor
Randels and City Manager Boucher for attending this evening’s meeting and
commended them on managing a challenging situation at Tuesday’s council
meeting.
Mr. Anderson voiced that he
was aware of the ongoing State legislature regarding property tax reform and
speculation on how the future economy will affect the City and the board’s
work.
Chairperson Anderson reviewed
the board’s mid-year mission tasks as mandated by ordinance as follows:
Redevelopment Plan
Recommendations
Business Survey
Recommendations
Successful Launch of “Images in Art”
Mr. Anderson also mentioned
the idea of an ITT sponsored City event that was initiated by ITT.
Chairperson Anderson
requested that the City Manager present a State of the City synopsis and how
the proposed legislation would impact the City as a whole and, specifically,
the board’s work in terms of revenues and programs.
Mr. Boucher stated the
current year has not been a normal year and the end result of the January
property tax voter referendum is unknown at this point in time. Mr. Boucher has implemented a soft hiring
freeze and the City is trying to do more with less. He is reviewing recently received data from the
Department of Revenue that includes issues such as CRA’s and a cap on the
increase of millage. It will be
difficult for the City to take on new, large projects. Staff is aware of what the board desires;
there are community events and things we would like to continue and we are
going to try and keep them in the budget.
Mr. Anderson reminded that
the board was asked to follow the format of the 1999 Redevelopment Plan and
recommendations were made that were out of the board’s purview. Mr. Boucher acknowledged that the board’s
recommendations were very good; however, they may not be able to be
accomplished due to the roll back in taxes.
Mayor Randels assured board
members that will not be any lay-off of City personnel. He mentioned that a new public safety
building will be on the November ballot.
Mr. Boucher told members that
cities must comply with the legislative rules; otherwise, they will lose half a
cent in sales tax. The City receives a
share of the State’s sales tax which is unknown at this point. He does not know how big a hit the City will
take; however, he wants to keep status quo as much as possible.
Regarding the acquisition of
Mr. Anderson asked if the
board should prioritize the line items within its budget. Mr. Boucher replied in the affirmative. Mr. Boucher stated that non-essential items
such as training, seminars, and membership fees would definitely be on the
table.
In response to Ms. Marcum’s
question regarding when the current budget year ends, Mr. Boucher replied
September 30th. Because money
for the business survey was budgeted for the fy 2006/2007, members could
proceed with the implementation of the survey.
Council Member Roberts recommended that the business survey be done now
as it would be meaningful for business outreach.
In regards to membership
fees, Mr. Boucher replied if it were between the funding of the EDC or the loss
of personnel, the membership fees would be eliminated. Mr. Anderson recommended that if the City
does not currently have contracts with organizations that the City funds, this
practice should be implemented for accountability purposes.
Mr. Anderson asked if the
proposed ITT luncheon was germane to this discussion. He stated that the Radisson is anxious to
receive a letter of confirmation from the City.
Mayor Randels reported that
there was to have been a meeting with Lynda Weatherman last week; however, it
never materialized. The City needs a
commitment from the EDC that they will provide online registration for the
event. Mr. Boucher reminded members that
this is the first request the City has made of the EDC and relates to what the
City receives in return for its membership dues. Ms. Muncey stressed the importance of the EDC
providing their commitment in writing to the City which will dependent upon the
funding they receive from the county.
Mr. Boucher stated that the
board should not limit itself to one sponsor; he gave the Reindeer Run as an
example of a successful event with multiple sponsors.
Mr. Anderson said that ITT
was interested in being the prominent name of the event. They are looking at the City to develop a
theme and identify a speaker that will attract 300-400 people. He feels the gathering in January is
brilliant and would be timely. The event
would be a success if there were only 75 attendees. The event needs to occur in the City which
would demonstrate that City government is interested and aware. Mr. Anderson stated that one of the board’s
responsibilities was promoting tourism; however, to date the board has done
nothing in this area.
Mr. Boucher recommended that
an event planner be hired if the EDC declines to be responsible for the “nuts
and bolts” of the event. He suggested
the leaders of the big businesses in the City be contacted by the board for
possible assistance.
Ms. Marcum reminded that the
City of
Mr. Anderson recommended
“Transition Conference ‘08”.
Members discussed possible
components of the event as the space industry transition, the port’s transition
to more cargo, industrial, commercial, business, tourism and cultural.
Mr. Boucher tasked the board
with developing an event outline and reminded that the board did not need to be
concerned with the “nuts and bolts” of the event. Mr. Boucher will present the event outline to
ITT and other potential sponsors. If the
event outline is good, it will sell itself.
Mr. Boucher is looking at having the event pay for itself.
In response to Lt. Evans’s
question, Mr. Boucher reminded that the B&CDB is an advisory board; its
task is to come up with ideas and present them to the City Council. Many of the board’s past recommendations have
been implemented by the City. The City
Council wants to know the board’s issues and ideas.
Members asked Mr. Boucher for
a status report on the
Mr. Boucher told members that
the Redevelopment Plan would go before City Council in July.
Members thanked Mayor Randels
and City Manager Boucher for their input.
The chair called for a recess
at 7:00 pm.
The meeting resumed at 7:05
pm.
Council Member Roberts
requested that Mr. Ray Osbourne be allowed to address the board regarding his
current project, “Images of America”, which includes a historical display of
the City, at this point in time rather than at the end of the agenda
Mr. Osbourne envisioned a
portable display that could travel from the library, to local restaurants and
hotels. He is seeking pictures of the
City’s early developers.
Ms. Marcum advised that
Shelley Williams of the Brevard Cultural Alliance had accepted her invitation
to attend the board’s July meeting. She
recommended that Mr. Osbourne may also want to attend the July meeting.
Mr. Osbourne thanked the
board for their input.
Ms. McIntire reviewed the
spreadsheet of the participating exhibitors at the July 11th Cocoa
Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Wednesday-Friendsday with the members. In response to Council Member Roberts’
request regarding a welcome banner, Ms. McIntire responded that the City’s
large wooden city seal would be displayed in the Pavilion foyer. Ms. McIntire confirmed the time of the event
as 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm and asked members to take turns at the City’s table
welcoming the attendees and handing out the City’s goodie bags.
The chair called for a recess
at 7:35 pm.
The meeting resumed at 7:55
pm.
Chairperson asked members to
review what was discussed at the beginning of the meeting and asked for agenda
items for the July 18th meeting.
He advised that he would not be present.
Agenda items were listed as follows:
Presentation: Brevard Cultural
Alliance; Old Business: Status of the
ITT Business Luncheon, Status report on Budget; Prioritize budget line
items; Wednesday-Friendsday feedback;
business survey.
The board proceeded to
develop a program outline of the proposed ITT business luncheon as follows:
EVENT OUTLINE
NAME OF EVENT:
THEME: Transition:
Present to Future; Transformation; Fork in the Road; Crossroads;
COMPONENTS: Space,
AGENDA: Mayor: Welcome, Business Survey, Highlight New Businesses
Emcee: Presentation of Situational Analysis, Statistics, Challenges, Landscape, Perspective, and Introduction
Panel: (3) Participants, Brief Talk, Q&A
ATTENDEES: Media, Large Businesses Consisting of Decision Makers, Political Leaders
TIME: 11:30 am – 2:00 pm (1/2 - hour Reception; 1/2 hour - Mayor; 1/2 hour - Lunch; 1 hour - Panel and Q&A)
CITY’S OBJECTIVE: Create a forum where businesses and public leaders can come together and discuss important transitioning issues
SPONSORS: Visibility; PR; Link to Content
BUDGET
Food/Beverage: $ 3,500
Audio Visual: $ 1,500
Invitations/Postage: $ 500
Marketing/PR: $ 500
Printing: $ 1,000
Event Planner: $ 0 - $ 4,000
Speechwriter: $ 1,000
Fees/Gifts: $ 500
Décor: $ 500
Other: $ 2,000
Sub-Total: $ 11,000 $ 15,000
Business Survey: $ 8,361 $
8,361
TOTAL: $ 19,361 $
23,361
|
Attendees |
Cost Per Attendee |
Total |
175 PaidTickets/25
Comped Tickets |
|
200 |
$ 50.00 |
$ 10,000 |
$ 57.15 |
|
200 |
$ 60.00 |
$ 12,000 |
|
|
200 |
$ 70.00 |
$ 14,000 |
|
|
200 |
$ 80.00 |
$ 16,000 |
|
|
200 |
$ 90.00 |
$ 18,000 |
|
|
200 |
$100.00 |
$ 20,000 |
$ 114.29 |
ADJOURNMENT
There
being no further business, the chairperson adjourned the meeting at 9:30 p.m.
Approved
this ________________ day of ______________________, 2007
___________________________
John
Anderson, Chairperson
ATTEST:
__________________________
Kim
M. McIntire, Secretary