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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.18.2002• • COUNCIL WORK SESSION March 18, 2002 4:45 p.m. Council Chambers Members present: Mayor Rooff, Berry, Welper, Jordan, Hurley, Getty. Members absent: Greenwood, Clark. Moved by Jordan, seconded by Hurley that the Agenda, as proposed, be approved. Ayes: Five. Absent: Greenwood, Clark. Motion carried. Mayor Rooff stated that the work session is to discuss allocation of hotel/motel funds. Mayor Rooff reported that a letter has been received from Barbara Roeder, Grants Projects Manager for Hawkeye Community College. Ms. Roeder is recommending that the council move forward with approval of the present allocations as recommended by the Waterloo Convention and Visitors Bureau grant review board. Ms. Roeder is also recommending the council establish an ad hoc committee to establish grant criteria and guidelines including funding award amounts for future grant cycles. Moved by Hurley, seconded by Berry that the letter from Barbara Roeder be received and placed on file. Ayes: Five. Absent: Greenwood, Clark. Motion carried. Councilperson Getty stated that in January 2002 he asked that the recommendations from the Waterloo Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors for funding of the hotel/motel tax grant be tabled because the request from the Waterloo Open was not included in the recommendations. Councilperson Getty stated he does not agree with the guidelines, and he feels the council needs to draw up their own guidelines and then meet with the Convention and Visitors Bureau Board. Councilperson Getty noted that the Waterloo Center for the Arts applied for and has been recommended to receive three grants for marketing and billboard campaigns. Councilperson Getty stated he has a problem giving the Center for the Arts those amounts and cutting other organizations. Councilperson Getty stated he has letters at home from the Tennis Association, Soccer Association and Baseball Association. These organizations bring people into town and put heads on beds, which is exactly what the money is suppose to be used for. Councilperson Berry stated that she believes the funds are also suppose to be used for quality of life. Councilperson Welper stated he has been approached by organizations not being funded and also received letters from other organizations. Councilperson Welper stated the city is focusing on 16 organizations, and he would like to distribute the money around. Councilperson Jordan stated the organizations say they don't understand how they are suppose to apply. Councilperson Jordan stated we need to be sure everyone understands the process. Mayor Rooff asked if the council would like to review the process before or after they approve the list. Councilperson Hurley stated he believes the council should review the process after approval of the list. Councilperson Hurley stated the ground rules for allocation of the hotel/motel funds have changed over the years. Councilperson Hurley stated that the council needs to remember that in terms of the ordinance the distribution of funds is separate from the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Councilperson Hurley stated that back in January there was conversation as to whether the Waterloo Jaycees submitted the paperwork on time. At that time, the council asked that the Waterloo Jaycees' request be included in the allocation of funds, and right now $4,800 has been allocated for the Waterloo Open Golf. Councilperson Hurley stated that the grant guidelines set a maximum amount of $7,500 that could be awarded per grant, and most applicants did not receive the maximum. The Municipal Band's request for funding was moved to the council's discretionary hotel/motel funds. In January, the council also asked that funds be allocated for a sound system for the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. Council Work Session March 18, 2002 Page 2 Martha Place, Executive Director of the Waterloo Convention and Visitors Bureau, stated that at the January 28, 2002 council meeting, council members asked if the Board would fund the Waterloo Jaycees in the amount of $4,800, and the Board agreed to fund that organization. Ms. Place stated that out of $100,000 designated for funding, there remains $24,500 undesignated funds for the council to use at its discretion. Ms. Place stated the $24,500 is for the council to do as they want, the Board acted on applications they received. Ms. Place recommended the council add $24,500 to their discretionary funds. Councilperson Hurley stated the council could prorate the $24,500 to organizations already on the list. Councilperson Jordan stated he does not wish to approve the allocation of funds at tonight's meeting. Councilperson Getty stated he has questions regarding the process and would like to meet with the other council members to discuss the grant process. Councilperson Welper stated he agrees with Councilperson Getty. Councilperson Berry stated she would like to go ahead with allocation of the funds. Councilperson Hurley stated that the Waterloo Convention and Visitors Board has looked all the requests, and the Board is comprised of a large cross section of the community. These organizations have been waiting since January. Mayor Rooff stated he believes we should create an Ad Hoc Committee. Councilperson Welper stated he agrees with creating an Ad Hoc Committee, as did Councilperson Hurley as long as it is not tied to waiting longer. Mayor Rooff reported that the council has received $100,000 in request for discretionary hotel/motel funds, but there is only $58,000 available. Councilperson Getty stated he did not have a problem putting the list on the council agenda next week, but he would like to have a meeting with the council. Councilperson Getty stated he does not have a problem with most of the organizations on the list, but there are some organizations not on list that should have been funded. David Will, Secretary of Met Tennis Association, stated he sent a letter to the council. Mr. Will stated he has concerns regarding the criteria for funding. Mr. Will stated we have good tennis facilities, and people like to come to Waterloo to play tennis. Mr. Will stated one year the criteria allowed for bricks and mortar and then the next year bricks and mortar did not meet the criteria. Mr. Will stated he was just concern that we have continuity. Mr. Will stated you could get a billboard in Chicago, but we aren't sure that is going to bring people to Waterloo to play tennis. Bob Molinaro, 3545 Augusta, stated he sent a letter to the council as he has concerns what the rules are. Mr. Molinaro stated that somebody changed the rules in the middle of the game that the criteria using heads on beds won't get it, and that's wrong and flies in the face of the ordinance. Mr. Molinaro stated when the public approved the hotel/motel tax they said for overnight stays, and the rules do not deal with that, such as the Waterloo Open Golf and Iowa Open Golf. Mr. Molinaro stated the ordinance clearly states what the funds should be used for, and that is overnight stays. How about this year for the people who have been denied. Mr. Molinaro stated we need more than advertisement. Mr. Molinaro stated he has no problem with creating an Ad Hoc Committee, and he agrees that we need to look at the criteria for funding. Roger Olesen, speaking on behalf of the Grout Museum, stated that applications were made on time, and organizations still don't know where they stand. Mr. Olesen urged the council to get on with the allocation and study the balance of the problem later. Mr. Olesen stated the hotel/motel tax as passed was to provide a separate funding stream, and Grout Museum specifically. Mr. Olesen stated funding for the Grout Museum has dwindled to about 1/3 of what they were receiving. Mr. Olesen stated that about 70 percent of the people who visit the Grout Museum are from outside of Waterloo and some are from out of the state. Mr. Olesen stated the Grout Museum has developed a Grout Museum District Manual, and that is what the money will be used for. Mr. Olesen stated the Grout Museum has five buildings, a campus, a large budget and a number of employees. • • Council Work Session March 18, 2002 Page 3 Gale Sands, a member of the Grout Museum Board, stated she supports what Bob Molinaro has said. Ms. Sands stated the Grout Museum is the largest, non-commercial attraction in Waterloo, and the council has honored them by using Grout's facilities for meetings. Ms. Sands urged the council to pass this year's allocation and look at how funds will be allocated in the future. Judy McVey, Director of the National Cattle Congress, thanked the council for last year's grant funds, and that the National Cattle Congress has a new brochure thanks to those funds. Ms. McVey agreed that advertising helps, but bricks and mortar has a definite advantage because improving the buildings will bring people back. Ms. McVey distributed a copy of the list of events scheduled for the National Cattle Congress. A member of the Waterloo Jaycees stated that 70 percent of the people who come here for the Waterloo Open stay at hotels in the Cedar Valley, and 85 percent of those stay in hotels in Waterloo. He agrees with looking at the criteria so that everyone is on the same page. He urged the council to approve funding for the Waterloo Open event and look at creating policy that everyone can understand. Mary Ellen Warren, 3638 Inverness Road, stated that hotel owners bring in taxes and give them back to the city for distribution. Ms. Warren strongly believes the funds should go for quality of life, not just heads on beds. People coming into town need other things to do other than golf and baseball. Mayor Rooff read what the ordinance states the funding should be used for. With no further business before the council, it was moved by Getty, seconded by Jordan that the meeting be adjourned at 5:25 p.m. Ayes: Five. Absent: Greenwood, Clark. Motion carried. Nancy Eckert City Clerk