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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRestaurant Association BID Minutes 02/19/2014Page 1 of 6 Minutes of the Newport Beach Restaurant Association Business Improvement District Board Meeting February 19, 2014 Law Offices of Ronald B. Schwartz, ACP 202 Newport Center Drive, 2nd Floor Newport Beach 1) Call to Order President Jim Walker called the meeting to order at 9:39 am. 2) Roll Call Directors Present: Jim Walker The Bungalow Restaurant Thomas Giulioni Newport Dunes, Back Bay Bistro Cindy O’Shea Back Bay Tavern / Whole Foods Market John Robinson Amelia’s Ronald Schwartz Muldoon’s Irish Pub Sam Tila Royal Thai Cuisine Sheri Drewry Wilma’s Patio Arrived after approval of minutes. Quorum Achieved City Representatives: Mary Locey Public Information Specialist BID Administrators: Bob Quaid Willdan Financial Services Public: Polly Peak Newport Beach & Company Jim Mosher Newport Beach Resident Peggy Fort CMC, Inc. Laurel McFarlane McFarlane Promotions Ciara Johnson McFarlane Promotions Steve Spriggs American Legion & 1/1 Marines Foundation Page 2 of 6 3) Approval of Minutes President Walker requested a motion to approve the November 12, 2013 minutes. MOTION: Director Giulioni moved to approve the minutes of the November 12, 2013 meeting. Director Schwartz seconded the motion. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: President Walker, Director Giulioni, Director O’Shea, Director Robinson, Director Schwartz and Director Tila. MOTION: Director Giulioni moved to approve the minutes of the January 22, 2014 meeting. Director Schwartz seconded the motion. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: President Walker, Director Giulioni, Director O’Shea, Director Robinson, Director Schwartz and Director Tila. 4) Public Comments on Agenda Items Director Giulioni introduced Steve Spriggs of the Marine 1/1 Foundation of Newport Beach. Mr. Spriggs discussed the Mess Night fundraiser that is scheduled for June 28, 2014 from 4:00 - 8:00 PM on the Newport Beach Civic Center Civic Green. He requested event support from the Newport Beach Restaurant Association. Mr. Mosher commented that he had submitted written comments to Mr. Quaid regarding the January 22, 2014 minutes. He also commented on the City’s Library Services program “What’s Cooking at the Library”. President Walker stated that the BID would get information out to the membership on the program. 5) Current Business A) President’s Report President Walker deferred his report to move right into the Restaurant Week Program Recap. B) Restaurant Week Program Recap President Walker invited Ciara Johnson of McFarlane Promotions (MP) to give an update on Restaurant Week (RW). McFarlane Promotions started working on the RW event in October 2013, which provided only two and ½ months to generate participation and marketing efforts. Ms. Johnson reported on the following 2014 RW event highlights. • Sixty (60) restaurants participated. Page 3 of 6 • Nineteen (19) restaurants, or nearly 25% of the prior year RW participants, did not participate this year. • Eight (8) new restaurants participated for the first time. • Survey results o Twenty-four (24) of the participating restaurants responded to the survey. Compared to last year, fourteen (14) reported an increase in business; five (5) reported business was about the same and four (4) reported a slight decrease in business. • RW participation fee income was $18,925. • No RW sponsorships were secured primarily due to the late start of the RW campaign. AMEX has sponsored in the past, but was told the 2014 RW was cancelled and expressed an interest in sponsoring the 2015 RW event. • Social media was highly utilized to promote the event, which showed significant gains in Facebook engagement over last year. • In-kind trade and promotions were donated by Southern Wine & Spirits, Sadie Rose, Sun Meats. Several local newspapers provided discounted rates with an estimated value of over $150,000. Ms. McFarlane stated MP would put a dollar value to the trade/promotion items and send it to the Board. • A summary report of the media exposure and promotions for Restaurant Week was distributed. The participating restaurants were asked to provide gift certificates, which McFarlane used in trade to reduce media costs for the event. President Walker requested a report from Ms. McFarlane showing stats as to what cities the RW customers came from and a report from Mr. Quaid showing the financials of the RW event. Both reports will be prepared and submitted. . C) BID Financial Reports for November 2013, December 2013 and January 2014 Mr. Quaid reviewed the November 2013, December 2013, and January 2014 Financial Statements. President Walker mentioned that as of the new fiscal year, starting July 1, 2014, funding of the BID accounting (currently being performed by Whittaker & Company) will become the NBRA BID’s responsibility and money will have to be allocated for this expense. MOTION: Director Giulioni moved to approve the November 2013, December 2013 and January 2014 Financial Statements. Director Schwartz seconded the motion. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: President Walker, Director Giulioni, Director Drewry, Director O’Shea, Director Robinson, Director Schwartz and Director Tila. Mr. Quaid distributed the cash flow projection for the balance of this fiscal year that was prepared by President Walker, Director Giulioni and Mr. Quaid. Board members discussed putting a hold on marketing costs until additional BID revenue is received. D) Newport Beach Restaurant Association BID By-Law Revisions Page 4 of 6 Mr. Quaid reviewed the proposed amendment to the NBRA BID Bylaws that would remove any verbiage regarding the compensation and/or reimbursement of expenses to Board Members. MOTION: Director Giulioni moved to approve the proposed bylaw revisions for the Newport Beach Restaurant Association. Director Schwartz seconded the motion. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: President Walker, Director Giulioni, Director Drewry, Director O’Shea, Director Robinson, Director Schwartz and Director Tila. E) Collection Efforts on Past Due Assessments President Walker reported that Whittaker & Company mailed out past due assessment invoices to delinquent BID members. Discussion ensued regarding the near-term actions including 1) redefining what entities should be considered restaurants for membership purposes; 2) enforceability of collection of delinquent BID assessments; and 3) reviewing the BID assessment rates for possible increases to generate more revenues. President Walker stated that following the results of the second assessment billing, the Board would consider potential collection actions. F) BID Marketing Campaign Update Polly Peak of Newport Beach & Company (NB&Co) provided an update on the following marketing items: • 877-4NB-DINE phone number: This number has been redirected to NB&Co concierge desk and is being answered by a live person to help callers make dining reservations. • Newport Beach Dining Guides – The remaining 40,000 guides are in storage. Due to the high cost of having Certified Display distribute the guides for six more months, NB&Co will distribute them as requested and will deliver to other restaurants, hotels, etc. through its concierge. • Dine Newport Beach monthly promotions and outreach – NB&Co is seeking information from NBRA BID members regarding their monthly promotions and specials. The information will be displayed on the NBRA BID website to help promote the member businesses. Response has been good from both restaurants and other businesses that fall under the restaurant umbrella including markets, cupcake shops, ice cream parlors, etc. • Taste of Balboa Event on April 13, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. – NB&Co is currently doing outreach to restaurants to participate in the event. This is not exclusive of restaurants located in the Balboa Village, but space is limited. • Newport Beach Food and Wine Festival - Newbe Productions is scheduling its first Newport Beach event from September 19 - 21, 2014, with celebrity chefs, cooking demos, food and wine tasting, etc. Board members expressed concerns that this event could create a serious conflict with seeking sponsorship for the 2015 NBRA Restaurant Week and that the City should discuss future events like Page 5 of 6 this with the BID before moving forward with approval. Ms. Locey noted that this is not a City event but a special event permit application that is being processed. G) FY 2014 Annual Meeting The Newport Beach Restaurant Association annual meeting is scheduled for March 26, 2014 at 4:00 p.m., after the regular Board Meeting that will be held at 3:00 p.m. It is estimated that about 75 - 100 NBRA BID members will be in attendance. Ms. Peak will look into possible locations and obtaining sponsorships to help defray the event costs. MOTION: Director Drewry moved to set the date and time for the Annual Meeting to be Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at 4:00 p.m., with the location to be determined and communicated to the Board members and NBRA BID members. Director Tila seconded the motion. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: President Walker, Director Giulioni, Director Drewry, Director O’Shea, Director Robinson, Director Schwartz and Director Tila. H) Proposed FY 2014-15 Budget The Fiscal Year 2014-15 proposed budget was prepared by the budget subcommittee comprised of Directors Walker, Campbell and Giulioni that met on February 5, 2014. Mr. Quaid discussed the proposed revenue and expense details. President Walker asked the Board members to look over the proposed budget and get back to him or Mr. Quaid on any thoughts or suggestions. The final budget will be approved at the March 26, 2014 Board Meeting. I) Board Appointments for FY 2014-15 Mr. Quaid informed the Board that the term for a NBRA Board Member is one year, and every year the Board positions open for nomination. The City Clerk will mail out a notice of vacancy to BID members who will have two weeks to respond. Candidates will be screened by the City for eligibility and then presented to the Board for nomination at the March 26, 2014 Board meeting. The list of recommend nominees will be presented to the City Council for confirmation at the May 27 City Council meeting along with the intention of renewal for the NBRA BID for FY 2014-15. 6) Newport Beach Restaurant Association announcements or matters which members would like placed on a future agenda for discussion, action or report (non-discussion item) There were no announcements or matters presented. 7) Public Comments on Non-Agenda items Ms. Locey made the following comments for the Board’s information. • The special event funding application for requesting grant support from the City for events in FY 2014-15 are due by March 21, 2014. The application is posted on the City’s website. The NBRA BID was awarded a $6,000 special event grant for the 2013 & 2014 RW events through this process. Page 6 of 6 • The City is offering training for BID Board members that will go over meeting protocol, board member responsibilities and the Brown Act. This will be a four-hour training session and all members are encouraged to make the time to attend. Mr. Quaid will forward details to the Board and ask for availability. 8) Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 11:39 AM MOTION: Director Giulioni motioned to adjourn the meeting. Director Drewry seconded the motion. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: President Walker, Director Giulioni, Director Drewry, Director O’Shea, Director Robinson, Director Schwartz and Director Tila. 9) Next Scheduled Meeting: Annual Meeting on March 26, 2014 The next scheduled meeting is the Annual Meeting which will be held on March 26, 2014; location TBD.