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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRestaurant Association BID Minutes 05/29/20131 Minutes of the Newport Beach Restaurant Association Business Improvement District Board of Directors Meeting May 29, 2013 The Back Bay Bistro 1. Call to Order Mr. Walker called the meeting to order at 9:37 a.m. at The Back Bay Bistro. Directors Present: Jim Walker The Bungalow Thomas Giulioni Newport Dunes Ali Zadeh The Port Sheri Drewry Wilma’s Patio Ron Schwartz Muldoon’s John Robinson Amelia’s Nicole Hay 21 Oceanfront Eldy Galietta Barolo by the Sea Mr. Francisco Royal Thai Cuisine City Representatives: Keith Curry Mayor Shirley Oborny Executive Assistant to the City Manager Public: Peggy Fort CMC, Inc. Jim Mosher Newport Beach Resident Matthew Lenton Whittaker and Company 2. Roll Call Mr. Walker invited introductions. 3. Public Comments Mr. Mosher stated that the minutes of September 27, 2012, indicate there was a quorum of the Executive Committee but he said seven members were not present. Ms. Fort explained that the bylaws have been updated to allow three out of five executive board members present at a meeting to create a quorum. Mr. Mosher said the City’s website does not show minutes from the strategic plan meetings. Ms. Fort explained that the internal strategic plan has not yet been voted on and some of the members have also resigned. The Mayor said he was pleased to be at the meeting and acknowledged that some great new restaurants were coming to town. 2 4. Approval of the Minutes The committee unanimously approved the following sets of minutes as presented:  September 27, 2012  January 23, 2013  March 23, 2013 5. Current Business A) President’s Report Mr. Walker invited Ms. Fort to update the committee on her marketing efforts. She announced the following:  The new ad is running in the Newport Beach Visitor’s Guide.  The new mobile application for the website is nearing completion. It uses new innovative technology to make the website more user- friendly and convenient for people on their smart phones. She offered to demonstrate it at a later date.  The quarterly newsletter is in the process of being distributed. Ms. Fort distributed an article entitled “Restaurant Week’s Residual Impact”. Mr. Walker also invited her to talk about what the scope of work for California Marketing Concepts, Inc. would entail over the next three months. Ms. Fort mentioned some activities she facilitates:  Website development  Daily updating of social media presence that include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram  The production of 100,000 Dining Guides using last year’s budget She suggested the Board might consider continuing the 877 number and the three digit codes through the end of December. There are also different special event opportunities, inquiries that need to be fielded, media requests, representing the association in a professional way, etc. Continuing, she said CMC, Inc. is periodically assisting with details and background on the strategic planning including the financial planning. For the last two years they’ve also taken on the responsibility of the liabilities and the accounts payable for the Restaurant Association. B) Administration & Financial Report Mr. Lenton reviewed the April 2013 financials. Ms. Fort provided input about Restaurant Week and Dining Guide financials. The committee unanimously approved the financials as presented. C) NBRA BID Marketing Report 3 Ms. Fort explained that the BID renewal is in the month of June. It will be presented at the June 11 City Council meeting and voted on at the June 28 meeting. The City retained a consultant, Victoria Cleary, to help with the fiscal year annual report. It will include accomplishments, financials, and a marketing and scope of work outline of the budget. She said the Restaurant Association Board needs to work with Ms. Cleary quickly to get her the information she needs to help draft the staff report for the BID renewal item on the June 11, 2013, City Council Meeting. Mr. Walker reported that he and Mr. Zadeh attended the City Council Study Session yesterday. As part of the new BID structure, the City is offering the BIDs $40,000 for the next five years and allowing the BID to maintain its current BID status. However, our BID will be taking on more responsibility in the way of a BID Administrator. The Board needs to talk about the scope of work for the BID Administrator. It was also proposed that Visit Newport Beach would receive $10,000 to help the BIDs with marketing. In reference to the strategic plan, Mr. Walker stated that Don Anderson would like to meet with board members on June 13 at 9:00 a.m. to finalize the strategic plan. He asked the board members to review the plan between now and June 13 in order to provide feedback. The plan will be the foundation of what the Restaurant Association does and where it plans to go. In regards to Mr. Mosher’s previous comments in which he stated only the agendas for the strategic plan meetings were posted on the web, Ms. Fort suggested that the audio recordings of those meetings could be posted on the web as well. The Mayor suggested that the City Attorney’s office should be consulted with first. Mr. Walker said he located the corporate records of the Newport Beach Restaurant Association going back to 1995. Included in the records are the Association’s bylaws. He would like to have them reviewed and updated to make sure they are in compliance. He suggested Linda Beimfour, an expert in updating bylaws for other agencies, could help with the process. Mr. Giulioni and Mr. Schwartz volunteered to work with her. The committee agreed to this arrangement. Mr. Walker requested Ms. Fort to recluse herself from the next portion of the discussion so the committee could freely discuss whether or not to extend her contract for the next three months. After a lengthy discussion, Ms. Drewry motioned to extend Ms. Fort’s contract for three months. Mr. Schwartz seconded the motion. The committee unanimously agreed to 4 extend Ms. Fort’s contract for three months (June 2013 through September 2013). The committee agreed that it’s important to complete the strategic plan as soon as possible. Mr. Walker asked for volunteers to help draft a Scope of Work or Job Description for the BID Administrator position. Mr. Giulioni and Ms. Drewry volunteered. 6. NBRA BID Announcements No announcements. 7. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:44 a.m.