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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRestaurant Association BID Minutes 10/23/2013NBRA BID Board Meeting Minutes of October 23, 2013 | Page 1 Minutes of the Newport Beach Restaurant Association Business Improvement District October 23, 2013 Muldoon’s Irish Pub, Celtic Bar 1. Call to Order Mr. Walker called the meeting to order at 9:20 am. 2. Roll Call Directors Present: Jim Walker The Bungalow Thomas Giulioni Newport Dunes, Back Bay Bistro Joe Campbell Ruby’s Diner Ron Schwartz Muldoon’s John Robinson Amelia’s Nicole Hay 21 Oceanfront Ali Zadeh Port Restaurant & Bar Cindy O’Shea Whole Foods City Representatives: Tara Finnigan Public Information Manager Mary Locey Public Information Specialist Anthony Nguyen Purchasing Agent BID Administrators: Bob Quaid Willdan Financial Services Joanie Reynolds Willdan Financial Services Public: Jim Mosher Newport Beach Resident Peggy Fort CMC, Inc. Mr. Walker welcomed the Board and guests. 3. Public Comments Mr. Walker requested public comments but no one commented. 4. Approval of Minutes and Financials Mr. Walker asked the Board to review the September 19, 2013 meeting minutes for any corrections. Mr. Walker motioned to approve the minutes. Mr. Campbell provided a first to approve the minutes. Mr. Giulioni seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. Mr. Walker requested an in-depth discussion regarding financials at the next Board meeting, because a representative from Whittaker & Company was not in attendance. Mr. Walker motioned to approve the financials. Mr. Campbell provided a first to approve the financials. Mr. Giulioni seconded the motion and the financials were unanimously approved. NBRA BID Board Meeting Minutes of October 23, 2013 | Page 2 5. Current Business A) Chairman’s Report Mr. Walker informed the group that he met with McFarlane Promotions to discuss project initiation of Restaurant Week. They discussed increasing the entrance/event fee by $25. Extra revenue collected would support the Restaurant Week marketing effort. Ms. Fort confirmed the prior year’s fee for early bird buy-in fee was $300 and the standard buy-in fee is $350. They also discussed the willingness of each restaurant to donate two gift certificates/cards in order to hold a drawing, with the intent that customers will visit again in the near future. The gift cards are not mandatory but rather a request. Mr. Walker informed the group that McFarlane will attend the November 13, 2013 Board meeting to outline the Restaurant Week marketing strategy, as well as provide an update. Mr. Schwartz stated he would be out of town on this date and the Board decided to reschedule the meeting for November 12, 2013 at 9:30 am. Mr. Schwartz confirmed that Muldoon’s can be the venue for the November Board meeting. Ms. Fort with CMC, Inc. provided an update that the Restaurant Week checking accounts had been closed and she provided refund checks to Ms. Locey with the City of Newport Beach. Ms. Fort also provided the usernames and passwords for the social media networks to McFarlane Promotions. Mr. Walker questioned whether credit cards were offered as a form of payment for Restaurant Week event fees because McFarlane recommended that credit card payments be offered for the 2014 event. Ms. Fort confirmed that credit cards were not accepted in prior years. Mr. Giulioni offered to work with McFarlane to establish this payment option on behalf of Restaurant Week. B) NBRA BID By-Laws Revisions Mr. Schwartz reviewed the By-Laws prior to the meeting and identified the following recommendations. 1. Article II, Section 3.E. – Special Meetings-call to meetings. 2. Article III, Section 2. – Number of Board Members-reduce the Board size. 3. Article VII, Section 1. – Annual Report, establish the month of April as the deadline for the Annual Report. Mr. Walker motioned that these recommendations be drafted by the City and entered as an agenda item for the November Board meeting. C) Marketing and Public Relations Services – RFP 14-12 Mr. Walker turned over this agenda item to the City Representatives. Anthony Nguyen the City’s Purchasing Agent, gave preliminary information on the process to the Board and answered a few questions on the format. The consultant presentations followed in this order: 1. Newport Beach & Company 2. CMC, Inc. 3. FSB Core Strategies NBRA BID Board Meeting Minutes of October 23, 2013 | Page 3 Upon conclusion of the presentations, City staff and the Board discussed the presentations and cost proposals presented by each consultant. Discussion included certain contract terms to be negotiated with the winning consultant. Each Board member was asked to individually rank the consultants based on the interviews. Those rankings were collected and tallied by Mr. Nguyen. Mr. Walker requested that the initial ranking be revealed. Mr. Nguyen presented the initial ranking as follows: 1. Newport Beach & Company 2. CMC, Inc. 3. FSB Core Strategies Mr. Nguyen clarified that the Board’s rankings will contribute to the City’s decision and will be combined with the results of the City’s evaluation process. The top ranking consultant will be revealed at the November Board meeting. A discussion will take place at this meeting between the Board and City Representatives before the recommendation is presented to Council. 6. NBRA BID Announcements Mr. Walker requested an update from the City Representatives in regard to amnesty being granted to Corona del Mar BID members that were delinquent paying BID assessments. Ms. Locey shared that Newport City Council did approve the amnesty item and delinquent BID members would not be required to pay associated penalty fees, as long as prior assessment charges were paid in full. Mr. Walker discussed the Aging Report, identifying approximately $175,000 in outstanding revenue. Some of the restaurants that are delinquent paying their annual assessments were named. In order to begin recouping these funds, need to determine whether the restaurant is still in business, as well as the owner and their contact information. Mr. Walker recommends initiating this process by targeting those with the largest outstanding balance. Then the appropriate Board member will place a phone call to the individual responsible for paying the assessment. If the phone call is unsuccessful, a letter will be crafted and mailed to the restaurant requesting payment. Tasks associated with the accounts receivable follow- up will be divided amongst the Board members. 7. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 12:06 pm.