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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-02-13 EPPBID Regular Meeting MinutesMINUTES EL PASEO PARKING & BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT MONTHLY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, February 13, 2018 8 am* City of Palm Desert, Development Services Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Patrick Klein, Board Chairman, at 8:05 am. II. ROLL CALL: a. Board Present: Patrick Klein, Elyssa Goldberg, Sonia Campbell, Christine Stein, David Fletcher, Susan Stauber b. Guests: Stephanie Greene, Natalie Berg (FG Creative), Amy Smith (Chartwell Properties), Thomas Soule, Janet Moore, David Herman (City of Palm Desert), Jim Doyle, Paulina Larson (Palm Springs Life), Tracy Worthington (Just Blow Drys), Kelly Gray (Grayse). III. CONSENT ITEMS: a. Approval of minutes from January 18, 2018 Board of Directors Meeting; b. Approval of the Financial Statements ending January 31, 2018. A motion was made (Campbell/Goldberg) to accept and approve both items as submitted. Approved. 5/1 /0. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: Patrick Klein discussed the recent meetings held by the City to review the reports and input from Gibbs & Associates as it related to El Paseo. He proposed that the Board should review the report and suggestions, and discuss at the next meeting. This will be added to the March agenda. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER: None. VI. GUEST PRESENTATIONS: a. PALM SPRINGS LIFE i. Website Report; sent prior to meeting. No comments. ii. Directory/Catalogue Reports: sent prior to meeting. Distribution is ongoing including special events, at the major hotels/resorts and other locations. Also included in the March issue of PSL. iii. Fashion Week/Food & Wine Update: 1. PSL has worked with El Paseo merchants and there are 56 in-store events to date. 2. Paulina reviewed more details of the week, and showed new commercials and video assets, that can be shared to FGC for links on social media and website. FGC to coordinate with Paulina. 3. Online ticket sales are up 10%. On site sales will start March 15fh, with the hotel partnerships with the JW Marriott, Hotel Paseo, and the Kempton Rowan. The Board suggested that PSL look into possible ideas for a "pop up" in the Rowan to gather more attention to fashion week from the PS crowds. PSL to report back. 4. Online Digital Program: The Board asked for an update on this program, that was offered as a part of the overall sponsorship agreement. PSL to send an overview of the program, dates, and impressions. VII. OLD BUSINESS: a. TV SPOT REVISION: REVISE #3 - FGC completed adding Palm Desert. b. AD CAMPAIGN REVISE- changes incorporated by FGC. VIII. NEW BUSINESS: a. City of Palm Desert i. Meeting Location; next meeting March 15, 2018 will be in the ACR Conference room, located just to the right of the entrance to the Council Chambers. ii. Director of Finance; Janet Moore reviewed the new collection procedures and the new software with the Board, explaining why the financial reports may be skewed, however it is correcting monthly and will be a better way of understanding the budgets moving forward. iii. Public Relations: Recent negative stories regarding vacancies. David Herman discussed the "negative PR" and the 17% vacancies stat released in the Gibbs study. The Board thanked Elyssa Goldberg for her recent interview on the News, for talking about the positives and the new stores that were opening, and that the City was looking into new alternatives. After discussion, the Board determined that this should be a topic at the March 15 Board meeting, to develop a set of talking points that can be used in future PR efforts. b. Budget i. Overall Review- The board discussed the budget and reviewed suggestion from FGC for possible areas to reallocate if needed. ii. Summer Co -Op Budget; FGC asked the Board for a final decision on the Summer Co -Op line item allocation of $10,000. After discussion led by Thomas Soule, referencing that the co-op partnership will result in new video assets for El Paseo plus provide outreach to the So Cal region with the CVB Summer Chill program. Depending on the status of the budget, billing could be deferred. After discussion, a motion was made (Stauber/Campbell) to approve moving forward with a co-op through the City of Palm Desert for the Summer Chill program. Approved. 6/0/0. c. FG Creative: Marketing Update i. Eye on the Desert Segment; Review of 2/6 next date is March 15 - Christine Stein handled the February segment focused on Valentine's Day, and it went well. Elyssa Goldberg and FGC will work on the March 15th segment, to gather some props and a list of talking points. ii. Monthly Marketing Report - Sent prior to meeting. The board stated how they are very pleased with the reports and with FGC's efforts. iii. PD First Weekend/ Feb 3 Swing n' Hops Post Event Discussion - FGC gave a brief overview of the event and asked for Board input that could be passed along to the City for planning purposes. Elyssa Goldberg noted that she is not an overall fan of the event or the theme in February, as it is a very busy time. Patrick Klein mentioned stores such as Sephora, and Tommy's claimed they were unaware of the event, and suggested better signage at the entries, and maybe a stack of rack cards to be passed out to neighboring stores day -of to make sure the stores are updated. It was noted that there should be more entrances into the event on the sides. Christine Stein also mentioned that possibly cutting down on the number of vendors could reduce help cover the hard costs of the event. iv. May Merchant Mixer: FGC confirmed that this event is set for May 7, at Cambria, 5-7pm. This will be communicated to the merchants via the monthly E-Blast. v. Public Relations: FGC updated the Board that there is a Fam Tour coming in June, and they have secured having the group on El Paseo. Details to come. vi. E-Blasts to Merchants: FGC updated the Board that the average open rate for all emailed communications with the Board is low, at 26- 31%. This needs to be addressed as it takes hours of FGC time, which could be reallocated. The Board determined that this should be added to the May Planning Session agenda. IX. REMARKS: 1 City of Palm Desert - none 2. Board Members a. Patrick Klein noted that the Palm Desert State of the City was on March 1. Christine Stein suggested that EPBID share a table, however Patrick offered up to 6 seats at his table, for Board members to attend. b. Susan Stauber welcomed store owner, Kelly Gray to the meeting. Kelly expressed concerns about the Swing n' Hops event, as well as the Gibbs Study. She expressed extreme concerns about the rent to sales ratio happening on El Paseo and wanted some information about what was to be done, and a timeline for any major changes to be effected. The Board thanked her for her input and suggested that she meet with City Staff and Council members, and attend future planning sessions. X. Next Meeting- The next meeting is confirmed for March 15, 2018. Note new agenda items herein. XI. Adjournment- With nothing further to discuss, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 9:45am. (Fletcher/Goldberg) APPROVED 5/1/0. Minutes recorded and submitted by Stephanie Greene, FGC.