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2008-12-04 - CITY OF ENCI N ITAS CULTURAL TOURISM COMMITTEE : ACT,ION MINUTES , Poinsettia Roorn Civic Center 505 South Vulcan A~venue Thursday, Decem_ber 2008 at.$:00 a.m r THE CITY OF ENGINITAS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PUBLIC ENTITY AND DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, SEX, RELIGION, AGE OR DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICE. PLEASE NOTIFY THE COMMITTEE SECRETARY AT LEAST 72 HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING IF DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS ARE NEEDED. PRESENT: Council Member Dalager, Arts Administrator Gilliam, Richard Phillips, Grace Madamba, Jacy Bolden, Paul Davis, Shari Fortmueller, Tess Radmill, Peder Norby, Charlie Marvin, Sally Foster, Janelle Vesci, Julian Duval, and Committee Secretary Lewis CALL TO DRDER = INTRODUCTIONS Dan Dalager called the meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. Self Introductions were made. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - NOVEMBER 6, 2008 MEETING Committee Consensus to approve the meeting minutes of the November 6, 2008 meeting. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS , None. REGULAR AGENDA 1. GREEN AWARENESS EXPO - T. RADMILL Tess Radmill representing the Cardiff 101 Chamber introduced herself to tfie committee. She discussed the upcoming Green Awareness Expo taking place at Cardiff Elementary School on Sunday, December 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event would feature presentations by local experts, workshops and vendor booths. Tess stated they had over 50 vendors lined=up and the event would focus on environmental issues such as energy efficiency, solar power, water conservation, green arehitecture, landscaping and sustainability. 2. KRINGLE MINGLE EVENT AT CARDIFF TOWN CENTER - T. RADMILL Tess Radmill announced that the Cardiff Kringle Mingle would be on December 11, from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Cardiff Town Center. The event would feature holiday music, bagpipes and crafts, as well as a giant poinsettia tree. She announced that poinsettias were available for a$25 sponsorship which would also include a commemorative ornament. Danny Salzhandler was constructing a large welded tree to hold 12-04-08 Cultural Tourism_Action Minntes.doc and display the sponsored poinsettias. There would be 150 total poinsettia sponsorship possibilities available. 3. SALES TAX REPORT AND INTRODUCTION OF THE BUY LOCAL PROGRAM- R. PHILLIPS Richard Phillips, Assistant to the City Manager, introduced himself to the committee and discussed the intent of the agenda item regarding the sales tax report and the buy local program. Richard stated the concept was that the city would assist to develop some collateral and educational materials as part of an educational campaign. The second phase of the pragram would be to invite the chambers and various merchants to expand the campaign. Richard shared a PowerPoint presentation concerning sales tax information for Encinitas based on information provided by a city consultant that reviews the sales tax figures for various jurisdictions. The presentation covered the second quarter of 2008, from April to June. Richard discussed a slide depicting the bxeakdown and distribution of the California Use and Sales Tax dollars. The sales tax rate in San Diego County was 7.75% and of that 5%% goes to the state which helps to support local schools, state operations, etc. Of the various allocations, approximately 1% comes back to the local community. The next slide depicted a chart by a municipal revenue tracking firm, showing third quarter receipts which were essentially a reflection of second quarter sales covering April through June 2008. According to the graph, Encinitas saw a negative 5% drop in sales tax, which was considered good as many other jurisdictions were seeing double digits losses. AnotHer slide depicted a graph featuring sales tax revenues for Encinitas over the past 13 quarters. The graph illustrated an approximate 9% decrease over that 13 quarter timeframe. The next slide displayed sales tax per capita for Encinitas compared to other cities in the region, with visible peaks and valleys during the holiday shopping season. Encinitas demonstrated a higher per capita spending on goods, more than the county and more than the state, meaning that a portion was captured in - Encinitas by spending from other jurisdictions. Tlie group discussed the chart relative to which regions ` feature yarious shopping outlets and revenue dollars: The next slide showed the breakdown of the city's expenditures based on the general rule that 1% of tlie sales tax revenue goes back to the local agency. In Encinitas, approximately 48% supports public safety; 10% supports parks & recreation services;: 11% supports a portion ofboth engineering and public works services; 8% goes to support capital projects and 4% goes to debt service on items such as the Encinitas Lxbrary and the Hall property. Richard stated the city was proposing the development of a sales tax retention campaign. The objective of the program was to encourage residents and shoppers to obtain their goods and services from local establishments. The first step was to make the connection between ho_w purchasing goods and services locally would provide economic benefits to the community as a whole and by retaining sales tax dollars locally. Discussion ensued regarding zoning and the downtown specific plan relative to profitable land uses, such as car sales. 12-04-08 Cultural Tourism Action Mmutes.doc Richard showed the group a draft logo for the Buy Local-E program and discussed the planning and implementation of the proposed program. Implementation would be done in phases with the first phase being informational and educational, and would include development of a logo, establishment of a web site presence, and having information featured in the city newsletter. Part two of the implementation program would be to obtain merchant participation by working with the various chambers and merchant groups to encourage participation, create shopperincentive, and other strategies such as a buy local loyalty card. The last phase in the campaign was sustainability which would consist of establishing a method to sustain the program itself. With council approval, tlie city would provide the iunding for collateral. Richard showed a few concept pieces for bumper stickers, website, etc. The program would be presented to the City Council on Dec. 10, for funding approval for the collateral materials. With approval, the timeframe for implementation would target January for campaign development and website launch, inviting the merchant groups and encouraging participation. In February they would have an insert in the spring newsletter to educate households. In March and beyond the focus would be to increase participation. After spring the focus would be sustainability to ensure that the program was working. The group made several suggestions regarding the program and discussed similar campaigns in other cities. Discussion ensued regarding various advertising ideas and suggestions on how to get the word out. ANNOUNCEMENTS Committee Secretary Lewis made several announcements on behalf of Grace Swanson with San Dieguito Art Guild. There was currently a small image show at the gallery which would run through the month of December. On Friday, January 9, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., the San Dieguito Art Guild would be having an Artists' reception featuring Grace Swanson; Darlene Katz, Lynn Ely and Ellen Cramer. On New Year's Day, Kirk Van Allyn; one of their long-time members, would construct a sand labyrinth at the foot of Stonesteps. He would begin at 2 p.m. and finish at sunset, Grace Madamba with Lux Art Institute announced that in honor of their one year anniversary, Lux would be free and open to the public through December. Saturday would be the last day of residency for Artist in Residence, Allyson Moritsugu. Her artwark would be on exhibit thru January 3, 2009, On Saturday, December 6, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Lux would have a birthday celebration to commemorate their one year anniversary. December 17, would be their last Lux at Night for the year. Peder Norby commented on Lux winning top honors at the Orchid and Onions Awards, Sally Foster with Mira Costa College stated that in December there were no events scheduled at the San Elijo carripus, but'that there were various activities and events taking place on the Oceanside and other Campuses. Jacy Bolden, the City of Encinitas Environmental Committee Coordinator discussed "A day without a bag" that was planned for December 18, 2008. The event was scheduled to take place every year on the third Thursday in December. Jacy stated there would be a press event and free give-away's of canvas totes and smaller versions of a portable "Chico" bag. They worked with various retailers throughout the city to pazticipate. Paul Davis provided an update regarding plans for a Bourth of July event. He has been working with various groups, such as the Sons of the American Revolution, and many were planning to come in uniform. 12-04-08 Cultural Tourism Action Minutes.doc Janell Vesci with the Encinitas Chamber announced they were having their annual Sundowner event at Quail Gardens on Tuesday, December 9. Charlie Marvin representing the Leucadia 101 MainstreetAssociation commented on the visitor traffic at the Leucadia Beach inn. Charlie announced the annual Light up Leucadia event featuring holiday lights along the 101 in Leucadia. : Peder Norby, the Highway 101 Coordinator, discussed the Leucadia streetscape project. He also mentioned the utilities undergrounding issue which would be discussed at the Council Meeting on December 10, 2008. Arts Administrator Gilliam commented on the Encinitas Live website, stating that many of the upcoming holiday events were posted on the site. Julian Duval with Quail Botanical Gardens announced the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce Sundowner would take place at the gardens on December 9, which would be the preview of their traditional holiday festival Garden of Liglits display. The Garden of Lights would be on display December 11-23 and 26-30 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Julian distributed handouts with various upcoming classes taking place at Quail Gardens: He also announced that the Encinitas Holiday Parade would take place on Saturday, December 6. Quail would be featured in the parade; however, due to animal staging and coordination issues; this year they would not have horses in the parade; a truck would be pulling their entry instead. DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS None. NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2008 AT 8:00 A.M. ADJOURNMENT Council Member Dalager adjourned the meetings at 9:12 a.m. By: Brandi L. Lewis, o tte Secretary 12-04-08Cultural Tourism Action Minutes.doc