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VEAC 05-08-18 Minutes FINALVail Economic Advisory Council Tuesday, May 8, 2018 Town Council Chambers 8:00 AM – 10:30 AM MEETING MINUTES Packet Materials Link: https://bit.ly/2HwAhdc VEAC Members Present: Rayla Kundolf, Mark Gordon, Mike Ortiz, Jean Alexander, Lori Pohl, Laurie Mullen, Alison Wadey, Mike Glass, Mike Lange, Sarah Franke, Phil Metz, Brian Nolan, Chris Romer, Matt Morgan Town of Vail Staff Present: Mia Vlaar - Economic Development Director, Laura Waniuk - Event Liaison Specialist, Kathleen Halloran – Finance Director, Greg Clifton – Town Manager, Lynn Campbell – Coordinator, Housing Department, George Ruther – Housing Director Others Present: Gabe Shalley – Manager, EGE Airline Programs, Kim Williams - Housing Director, Eagle County, Dave Dressman – Vail Valley Foundation, Mac Garnsey – Vail Valley Foundation, Amy Moser-Harrison – Director of Sales & Marketing, Four Seasons, Tori Franks - Housing Specialist, Eagle County 2017 Year End Report/Financial Update, Kathleen Halloran (10 minutes) Please see presentation included in the meeting packet for detailed results. Sales Tax Upon receipt of all sales tax returns, March collections are estimated to be $4,072,634 up 11.8% from last year and up 0.4% compared to budget. Year to date collections of $11,462,845 are up 3.42% from prior year and down 0.2% from budget. Inflation as measured by the consumer price index was up 2.4% for March. The annual budget totals $26.0 million. Part of the large variance to prior year collections is due to the Easter holiday falling in March for 2018 (Easter was in April in 2017). Once April tax collections are remitted, staff will combine the monthly data for March and April to compare to the prior March/April in order to eliminate the variances caused by the holiday. Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) RETT collections through April 25 total $1,888,514 up 25.1% from this time last year. The annual 2018 RETT budget totals $6.1 million. Construction Use Tax Use Tax collections through April 25 total $660,975 compared to $278,509 from this time last year. The annual budget totals $1,975,900. VEAC Minutes May 8, 2018 Parking Revenue Season to date: Pass sales from November through April total $1,241,595 up 22.2% from prior winter season. The significant increase in pass sales was largely due to the purchase of blue passes by Vail Health due to loss of parking during construction. Daily sales from the parking structures from November through April total approximately $3,685,336, down 6.7% from the prior winter season. Winter Review, Epic Discovery/Summer Preview, Phil Metz (10 minutes) • Please see presentation for complete information. Starting June 8, Epic Discovery will be open 7 days a week until 6pm. • The passes are now height based and not age based. Family Pass is a new product, buy four, and get one free. • They are also adding a Scout Sampler Pass for 3-4 year olds. It will be priced at $39 and get them into the “mini” activities. • They are keeping “Kids Ride Free” with a paying adult. • There may be some adjusted pricing based on day, holiday, weekends, weekdays, this won’t be affected until 2019. • Consider them as an “addition” to the Vail experience. Epic Discovery is considered an amenity to the Vail vacation, not a destination driver. Colorado Classic Bike Festival, Vail Valley Foundation – Mac Garnsey, Sarah Franke, Dave Dressman (15 minutes) • Please see presentation for complete information. • They plan to book at least 420 room nights during the event. There is an expectation of an additional 500 room nights booked through race owners. • Media strategy is being updated using Eurosport and Tour Tracker. • Mac Garnsey reviewed the route with the group (also included in presentation). • Communication plan is going to be created in conjunction with VVF and the town. • Different neighborhoods impacted on different days. • Kundolf said that the race end at 3pm is good for business. She also asked about activation in town. Garnsey said that access to athletes will be challenging because they are racing the entire day, but there would be a press conference that may be open to the public. Kundolf suggested going door to door to Solaris businesses to alert them. • Mullen said that from a marketing standpoint that it’s important to promote which racers are coming and create excitement around the announcement. • Metz asked if they have a media packet yet, Franke said that have the revised route maps and will get that to Metz. EGE Update, Gabe Shalley (10 minutes) • Please see presentation for complete information. • Increase in service has not been seen since the 90’s. • The service from Denver has doubled. • Filled seats in November and April exceeded expectations. • Some of the data is impacted by where Spring Break and Easter fell on a different date. • EGE seats are up 8% year over year. VEAC Minutes May 8, 2018 • March booking trends were interesting; people were booking late for travel in March. • Metz mentioned that there is a parallel timeline between airline bookings and hotel booking in Vail Resorts owned and operated properties. Eagle River Valley Housing Needs & Solutions 2018 Report, George Ruther & Kim Williams (30 minutes) • Please see presentation for complete information. • Study broken down into 3 areas – Down, Mid and Up Valley. • Extremely low vacancy rate and rising rents. • Approximately 1,600 jobs were unfilled for the peak winter season. • Rental costs have increased 48% since 2007. • Housing gap shows the existing need for homes in terms of overcrowding, rental market, in-commuters and unfilled jobs. • Link to related housing article: https://www.vaildaily.com/news/vail-valleys-housing- problem-is-obvious-but-answers-are-harder-to-find-heres-a-list-of-projects-currently-in- the-works/ • See page 20 and 21 of the NWCOG presentation for valuable demographic statistics for Colorado especially county inflow/outflow job counts/commuting patterns: NWCCOG Demographics and Economic Trends Town Manager’s Report, Greg Clifton (10 minutes) • Colorado Classic: This event is a great opportunity on a need weekend in August. • Burton US Open: The presentation to town council was uplifting and proved the event very successful through economic and media ROI. • Transportation Initiatives: The town is tracking at the state level to keep up with what’s happening statewide. All the funding mechanisms would be sales tax driven. • Council and Staff Retreat: Happening next week on 5/15, many topics discussed in the VEAC meetings will be reviewed during that retreat. • Job Description: Community Development Director draft is in progress. • Interviews: In previous hiring processes, the town has utilized local board and business members in vetting candidates. It helps to bring the community into an internal process which has been very effective. • Assistant Town Manager: Search will begin soon. Goal is to fill by end of summer. • Concert Location Discussions: Event Review Committee has been involved as well as Director Staff in working through assets, goals, operations and • Town Council Room: Acoustics will be improved and updated. • Boards & Commissions: Potential for some meetings to be televised to enable residents to see what’s happening and offer outreach to everyone. Housing Authority, Development Review Board and Planning and Environmental Commission are currently being considered. Neighboring Business Reports, All (10 minutes) • Kundolf reported on Meadow Drive. The merchants said that the marketing was lacking for the right type of guest. They also reported they did not see much international in retail. The people coming to town are not buying luxury goods. Clothing sales are VEAC Minutes May 8, 2018 higher, but preferring to buy items on sale. Until the demographic hits 30-40 years old, that audience will not buy luxury goods. Merchants said they will be more prudent in terms of ordering and stocking. They are looking forward to summertime. She said there is a strange demographic coming to town. • Mullen said that the Safeway Manager would like to see marketing bringing in more people. They see incremental revenue during events like Pink Vail and from tour buses. They are offering reduced customer service, they can’t house the employees. • The Ale House profits were down, got things turned around after the New Year and snow. They are only focusing on one band for one day a week. They saw a lot more families in their restaurant. They requested Frontage Road signage for more visibility. • More Global View: Summit County bar and restaurant business was up because they got more snow and season started earlier. Perhaps people ate and drank more because they weren’t on the mountain skiing and snowboarding. • West Vail Liquor Mart, they did a lot more promotion and marketing, their hours are longer on Sunday 9am-9pm. One of the best things for their profitability is the Doubletree opening and Burton US Open was a great event for them. The number of people making transactions is declining. The Vail lodging rates continue to increase and ADR could be impacting occupancy. For summer they will continue the more advanced marketing, May is up quite a bit already. Optimistic about summer. • Wadey said that businesses had a decent March, they are putting ski season behind them and looking forward to having contingency plans with Vail Resorts. They said that there was a lot of chatter on social media about the snow conditions. There is a need for collaborative messages for local businesses. • Wadey said second jobs didn’t pay well enough. There isn’t a strong labor pool. • Retailers got more creative and did more trunk shows for promotions. • Businesses need to adjust to new and emerging markets. • Businesses are looking forward to updated Economic Development Strategic Plan. • Franke said that there is communication from this group to the local businesses in terms of targeting specific audiences and customer behaviors. • Metz said that there is work to be done on the overall Vail brand and strategy with competitive set. • Vlaar summarized that while business was challenging this season, Vail Resorts and the Town are already working on new strategies to address the weather challenges as well as targeting the right guests. Citizen Input (5 minutes) NA Other Business (5 minutes) • Metz suggested that during the Town Council retreat, funding additional signature events such as Burton US Open should be considered. • Lange asked about investing in the snow-making equipment. Metz said Vail Mountain will be expanding snow making over the next 3 summers. Adjournment Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 8:00 – 10:00AM VEAC Minutes May 8, 2018