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Home My WebLink About01. VEAC 06-12-18 Minutes FINALVEAC Minutes June 12, 2018 Vail Economic Advisory Council Tuesday, June 12, 2018 Town Council Chambers 8:00 AM – 10:30 AM MEETING MINUTES Packet Materials Link: https://bit.ly/2Lsqx5i VEAC Members Present: Rayla Kundolf, Laurie Mullen, Mike Lange, Sarah Franke, Phil Metz, Chris Romer, Matt Ivy, Bob Boselli, Travis Coggin Town of Vail Staff Present: Mia Vlaar - Economic Development Director, Laura Waniuk - Event Liaison Specialist, Kathleen Halloran – Finance Director, Greg Clifton – Town Manager, Ernest Saeger, Special Event Coordinator Others Present: James Deighan – Highline Productions Financial Update, Kathleen Halloran (10 minutes) Sales Tax Upon receipt of all sales tax returns, April collections are estimated to be $1,171,550 down 15.5% from last year and down 10.0% compared to budget. Year to date collections of $12,713,412 are up 2.1% from prior year and down 0.4% from budget. Inflation as measured by the consumer price index was up 2.5% for April. The annual budget totals $26.0 million. To eliminate the variances due to the impact of how the Easter holiday fell, staff has combined March and April results. March and April combined collections are estimated to be $5,320,236 up 5.8% from prior year and down 0.8% from budget. Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) RETT collections through May 30 total $3,073,625 up 65.1% from this time last year. The annual 2018 RETT budget totals $6.1 million. Construction Use Tax Use Tax collections through May 30 total $988,167 compared to $633,725 from this time last year. The annual budget totals $1,975,900. Town Manager’s Report, Greg Clifton (10 minutes) • Community Development Director position hiring – still accepting applications. Clifton will ask community members to participate in the interview process as it was done with the Economic Development Director. Face to face interviews in July. • Continue to make progress on 2018 Council Action Plan. Will have another work session to discuss. Review and Discussion of Economic Development Plan, Mia Vlaar, All (40 minutes) VEAC Minutes June 12, 2018 Please see presentation and Economic Development Strategic Plan for full details. Mullen said that the VEAC needs a better communication tool to share with business community. Vlaar said the businesses could opt in for outbound communication. Romer suggested an inclusion with their business license information that the town sends out. Romer said that the VVP do it for Avon through their business listings email addresses. Boselli suggested that the VCBA should be the conduit to the local businesses. VEAC could also do a work session with Town Council once a year. Goal 1: Metz suggested that the objectives need to be sharpened, and that perhaps Vail Health inclusion deviates a little from the overall objective. Vlaar said that Vail Health has a big impact on economic benefit to the town in terms of medical tourism. Metz suggested including only the medical tourism aspect of Vail Health in plan. Goal 2: Boselli stated CPI is more relevant in comparison to other mountain resorts; we should evaluate our competitive set. Romer said that there is a significant amount of data that can be parsed, but there needs to be a close look at what is actionable. Goal 2: Vlaar said that we should create a high level summary dashboard to provide to local businesses, to improve communication of economic indicators. The creation of this dashboard should be an objective in the plan. Goal 3: Kundolf discussed how businesses are closed during key times of the season. Boselli mentioned that the town should go and survey each business and ask them why they are closed. Vlaar said that for next shoulder season there will be information included in the Vail app about pen businesses. VCBA/TOV will continue to communicate out groups in town during shoulder season. What more could the town do to encourage businesses to be open? Clifton asked if there is a basis to consider spring and fall as different seasons. There is some existing consumer behavior that exists. Clifton believes that there is a difference with the fall season, there are more weddings and late summer trips. What opportunities does fall present for a community that can still provide outdoor activities? He suggested looking at two seasons separately and looking into opportunities for both of them as they differ. Boselli said group business is the lowest hanging fruit. He also said that the word “guest” should be defined and carried through the whole presentation. Goal 4: Workforce Goal will be addressed at a future meeting. Goal 5: Vlaar touched on the civic center plan and how it integrates with this goal. The civic area plan encompasses Lionshead, the municipal complex and other areas, including Dobson Arena. Coggin stated that it also includes other Town owned parcels including the public works compound. Lange mentioned that this also includes integrating private industry and consideration of private and public assets. Ivy suggested town improve ease of doing remodels, etc. Lange also suggested strategically balancing major projects and staggering construction to be less impactful to guests. Kundolf suggested a larger facility that could include a tiered theater-style performance space. VEAC Minutes June 12, 2018 Coggin said that we need to think creatively about a mixed-use facility so it can serve many purposes. Kundolf suggested a public/private partnership. Vlaar said that the civic center project will be started earlier in order to use the TIF allocated funds. Romer stated that the new Gaylord hotel in the Front Range is impacting group business here in Vail. Copper Mountain is building a convention center with a 10,000 sq. foot ballroom. Romer said that a10, 000+ size space would be a big help to drive more group business. Coggin mentioned newer technology for optimizing the ice and venue at Dobson Arena. Mullen mentioned that there are a lot of considerations for flexibility for different types of events and uses. Romer suggests revisiting the Goal 4 due to aging workforce and the impact on the community. Mullen said that it would be a good option to focus on specific business needs and categories. Vlaar suggested sub-committees. Franke said that with more detail and KPIs it will be easier to address the objectives and action steps. 2018 Meeting Topics, All (10 minutes) To be discussed at next meeting. Citizen Input (5 minutes) NA Other Business (5 minutes) • Romer reviewed the occupancy reports and said that the other mountain communities are dealing with the same lower occupancy during the week around July 4. Occupancy is down 10% the weekend before and 15% the weekend after July 4. July is pacing behind, but gained ground for the rest of the summer. Overall booking month in May was higher than the industry. Vacation rental and Airbnb market is another consideration that the town is working on getting more insight into. He will look into comparing room nights. • Coggin said that Airbnb rates in his complex are showing a big differentiation in pricing. Adjournment Next Meeting: Tuesday, July 10, 2018, 8:00 – 10:00AM