[00:00:03]
[1. CALL TO ORDER]
ON MONDAY, JUNE 21ST, WE HAVE A FULL AGENDA, UM, AND LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND CALL THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER IF YOU'RE WILLING TO PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS FOR JUSTICE.
FOR ALL, WE DO HAVE A PROPER NOTIFICATION MEETING.
YOU MISSED WHY WE MOVED IT TO TWO O'CLOCK.
WE WERE TRYING TO DO IT AT ONE, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE IT PROPERLY DOCUMENTED.
SO AGAIN, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE FOLLOW ALL LAWS, UH, ACCORDING TO WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
UM, AND, UM, I'D ASKED EVERYBODY TO
[4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA]
LOOK AT THE AGENDA.IS THERE ANY, UM, UH, IS THERE APPROVAL FOR THE AGENDA WE CURRENTLY HAVE TODAY? IF SOMEONE WON'T APPROVE THAT FOR ME, MR. CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU, MR.
NO SECOND SECOND BY MS. HOWARD.
UH, IS THERE ANY AMENDMENTS TO THAT AGENDA SEEING NONE? WE WILL MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF APRIL 15TH, 1921.
UH, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE OUR PRIOR MINUTES? UH, MARK, JUST TO, TO LET YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT YOU APPROVE THE AGENDA WITHOUT OBJECTIONS.
LET ME GO BACK THEN AND SAY, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO THE AGENDA THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE SEEING? NO OBJECTION.
UH, THE, UH, AGENDA HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES- April 19, 2021]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.IS THERE SOMEONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING MOTION BY MS. HOWARD AND THE SECOND I THINK BY MR. MCKELLEN.
UM, WE WILL THEN MOVE ON TO, UH, I'M SORRY, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO THAT? SEEING AN OBJECTION? I, IT HAS BEEN APPROVED.
UH, WE NOW MOVE ON TO THE PORTION
[6. CITIZEN COMMENTS]
OF THE CITIZENS' COMMENTS.UM, AND THIS IS WHERE YOU ALLOW THE CITIZENS TO COME UP AND COMMENT.
WE HAVE THREE MINUTES FOR A TOTAL OF 15 MINUTES.
SARAH, DO YOU HAVE ANYBODY THAT WHO WANTED TO SPEAK TODAY? IS THERE ANYONE IN ATTENDANCE HERE AT OUR, OUR MEETING TODAY THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? UH, I KNOW THAT, UM, MS. CAROLYN SMITH, SHE WANTS TO STAY.
I THINK THAT SHE REALIZED THAT WE WEREN'T TALKING ABOUT THE ALL JOY TODAY.
IS THERE ANYONE ON THE LINE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK DURING CITIZENS' COMMENTS? IF NOT LINDA LET'S MOVE FORWARD
[7. UPDATE FROM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER WHITNEY RICHLAND REGARDING YEAR TO DATE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2021]
THEN, UM, AND UPDATE FROM OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, HOWEVER, OKAY.HOWEVER, WE'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE MS. WHITNEY RICHLAND WITH HER PROMOTION.
UM, SO THANK YOU, WHITNEY, FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.
UH, SO I THINK MR. HAYES, UH, IS GOING TO BECOME OUR INTERIM FINANCIAL DIRECTOR.
UH, MY NAME'S, UH, FOR Y'ALL Y'ALL DO NOT KNOW ME.
I'M HAYES WILLIAMS. I'M THE INTERIM CFO.
I WAS A FINANCIAL WRECKER UNDER WHITNEY WHEN SHE WAS ACA AND CFO ASKED HER IF SHE WANTED TO HAVE ONE, HAVE ONE LAPSE, HE WROUGHT WITH THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
AND OBVIOUSLY I'LL SEE WHAT HER ANSWER WAS.
I'M UP HERE PRESENTING TODAY, WHICH WAS FINE.
ANYWAYS, IF YOU LOOK IN YOUR PACKET ON PAGE EIGHT, WE HAVE THE SCHEDULE OF SUMMARIES, REVENUES, AND EXPENDITURES.
UH, THIS WAS VERY SIMILAR TO THE FORMAT THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.
UH, WE'LL START OFF WITH THE REVENUES.
UH, WE HAD BUDGETED ABOUT $130 MILLION, AND WE'RE AT $133 MILLION.
UM, THE BIG DIFFERENCE, UH, IN THIS THIS YEAR IS, UH, OUR LICENSE AND PERMITS DID A LOT BETTER THAN WE THOUGHT THEY WOULD.
AND, UH, A REGISTERED NEEDS HAS JUST GONE OFF THE CHART.
WE REALLY HAD NO WAY TO EXPECT THAT, BUT ALL THE SALES ACTIVITY HAS, HAS REALLY DRIVEN THAT, UH, WE HAVE SOME LOWER PERFORMERS THAN WE THOUGHT WE WERE, UH, THAT WAS RELATED TO THE INNER GOVERNMENTAL, AND WE HAVE A STATE AID, UH, THAT WE GET IN QUARTERLY PAYMENTS.
AND WE'RE NOT WANTING TO SEE THAT UNTIL THE END OF AFTER THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND WE'LL BE BOOKING THAT AS A RECEIVABLE, BUT WE SHOULD SEE THAT AT A HUNDRED PERCENT BY NEXT, BY THE NEXT, UM, FINANCIAL STATEMENT PRESENTATION, AND THEN FADS AND FORFEITURES ARE DOWN THERE ABOUT 71%.
THAT WAS TO BE EXPECTED WITH COVID.
UM, COVID WAS REALLY BAD FOR THE COURT SYSTEM, AS WE ALL KNOW.
AND, AND THE FACT THAT THE CASES HADN'T GOTTEN PROXIMALLY PROSECUTED AND THE FINES AND FORFEITURES WERE A LITTLE LOW, THAT TAKES ME ON TO PAGE EIGHT, WHICH IS, UH, THE EXPENDITURES.
AND WE'RE HAD A BUDGET ABOUT 130 MILLION, 131
[00:05:01]
A YEAR TODAY, RIGHT NOW WITH ENCUMBRANCES WHERE AT 113,000, $113 MILLION.AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING'S AT THE 81 TO 88%.
I SEE, UH, NEXT MONTH, UH, THIS WAS AS OF MAY, BUT WE WON'T HAVE THREE MORE PAYROLLS COMING ONLINE AND WE'RE ALSO, WE'LL BE ALLOCATING, UH, SOME, SOME, UH, EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.
THERE'S ONE BIG LINE ITEM THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT THERE.
UH, THE $5.4 MILLION TRANSFER THE DEBT TO THE DEBT SERVICE FUND.
AND THAT WAS, UH, FOR THE GONDA PHASES, UH, FOR THE, UH, 2012 E BONDS, UM, WHICH SAVED US APPROXIMATELY THREE, LET'S SAY THE TAXPAYERS IT'D BE FOR COUNTY, APPROXIMATELY $3.6 MILLION.
UM, PAGE 10 KIND OF HAS YOUR REVENUES.
AND, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE WAS A GAP THERE FOR A WHILE DUE TO THE BILLING TIMING, AND THEY'VE ALL KIND OF COME BACK TOGETHER.
UM, AND AS FAR AS THE EXPENDITURE GOES, THERE'S A LITTLE GAP, BUT WE EXPECT THAT TO, UH, TO NARROW AFTER YEAR, UM, IN THE, THIS REALLY HASN'T BEEN ADDRESSED IN OTHER, BUT WE'VE ADDED SOME STUFF TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS TO GIVE YOU ALL A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
UM, WE CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH DETAIL.
I DON'T THINK SOMETIMES, BUT AT LEAST THIS BREAKS IT OUT REVENUES BY REVENUE SOURCE AND WHERE IT'S GOING TO.
SO ALL THESE REVENUES ROLL UP INTO THAT, THAT OTHER, THAT SUMMARY REPORT.
AND SO YOU CAN DRILL DOWN IF YOU EVER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS WHILE WE ARE ABOVE OR BELOW, I CAN ALWAYS LOOK AND TELL YOU, I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO DO IT FROM THE PODIUM, BUT I CAN DO IT.
UH, WHEN I GET BACK TO THE OFFICE, UM, THAT LEADS US ON TO THE PAGE 13, WHICH IS A DETAIL OF THE EXPENDITURES.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE DEPARTMENTS, WHERE THEIR BUDGET IS FOR THE YEAR WHERE THEY ARE YEAR TODAY.
AND, AND IT, I THINK IT ADDS GREATER TRANSPARENCY FOR THE COUNCIL, BUT ALL OF THOSE TIES UP TO EVERYTHING THAT WE WENT THROUGH.
UM, WELL, YOU'VE ALSO, THIS IS FAIRLY NEW IN THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE'VE BEEN SO DOGGED BY BUDGETS THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN READY REALLY TO PRESENT IT, BUT WE WANTED TO SHOW Y'ALL WHERE THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE YEAR TO DATE.
AND, UH, AND SO THIS IS THE FORMAT IS BASICALLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF THE ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT IS KIND OF A SNAPSHOT.
WE'VE ADDED A COUPLE OF COLUMNS AS AVAILABLE BUDGET AND PERCENT RECEIVED.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE WHERE THEIR REVENUES ARE, HOW MUCH THEY'VE COLLECTED THEIR OPERATING EXPENSES IN DETAILED PERSONNEL, PURCHASE SERVICES, SUPPLIES, CAPITAL APPRECIATION, AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT THEY'RE CHANGING THAT POSITION IS FOR THE YEAR AND WHAT THEIR ESTIMATED NET POSITION WILL BE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
NOW THIS WILL ALL CHANGE BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE YEAR, BUT IT IS, IT'S JUST A ROUGH ESTIMATE.
BUT FOR Y'ALL'S PURPOSES, I HAVE A STORMWATER UTILITY, THE HILTON HEAD ON AIRPORT IN THE BEEF HERD EXECUTIVE AIR FORCE.
AND, UH, SO TH I, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE IT TO YOU JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW AND WANT YOU ALL TO TAKE IT HOME, LOOK AT IT.
AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE GIVE ME A CALL, BUT THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE FOR, UH, MY PRESENTATION TODAY.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANYBODY? UM, CHRIS, GO AHEAD.
THIS, UM, REPORT AND PRESENTATION IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD.
TWO QUICK QUESTIONS AND ONE'S A LITTLE BIT OFF THE WALL.
UM, SO UNDER FINES AND FORFEITURES, THE LATE PENALTIES FOR BUSINESS SERVICES, THERE'S A LARGE VARIANCE THERE.
I'M JUST KINDA CURIOUS WHAT THAT'S FROM.
SO THE BUDGET WAS 50,000 ACTUAL WAS 1 36.
I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK TH THAT'D BE SOMETHING THAT I'D NEED TO LOOK INTO WHEN I GET BACK THAT OFFICE.
THAT'S JUST INDICATIVE OF, YOU KNOW, FOR SMALLER BUSINESSES IN THE, IN THE COUNTY STRUGGLING OR WHAT THAT IS.
SO THAT'S ONE, AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO UPDATE ON THE INTERNAL AUDIT.
ARE WE STILL LOOKING AHEAD? WE, WE, WE, WE ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE RECEIVED A DRAFT REPORT FROM THEM.
UM, WE IN, WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEW.
THEY, THEY SENT ME OUT A BATCH OF QUESTIONS, UH, THIS MORNING THAT I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY HAD TIME TO RESPOND TO YET.
IT'S BEEN A FAIRLY BUSY MONDAY.
UM, BUT I PLAN ON GETTING BACK WITH THEM, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE FAIRLY WELL INTO THE PROCESS TO WHERE THEY WANT TO MAKE THEIR, THEIR, THEIR, THEIR COMMENTS TO US.
AND, UH, W WE'LL PRESENT THEM TO COUNCIL AT THAT TIME.
I MEAN, WE, WE, WE WERE, WE HAD A LOT OF BALLS UP IN THE AIR AT ONE TIME.
WE HAD THE INTERNAL AUDIT, WE HAD THE BUDGET AND IN OTHER REPORTS AND EVERYTHING WE DID AS GOOD A JOB AS I THINK WE COULD DO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHITNEY AND PINCKNEY KIND OF, KIND OF HELD ON THE BUDGET.
AND I WAS TRYING TO KEEP THE REST OF THE TRAIN MOVING.
[00:10:01]
DO WE THINK THAT THIS COMMITTEE WILL GET UPDATED ON THAT MAYBE NEXT MONTH? OR WILL THAT BE FULL COUNCIL OR ARE WE LOOKING AT MAYBE AUGUST OR HOW I WOULD THINK THE POSSIBILITY IS THERE FOR NEXT MONTH, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF WE MEET THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETS NEXT MONTH OR NOT.WE ALMOST DID A PRELIMINARY ONE, BUT OUR MEETING GOT SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS.
WE WERE GOING TO HAVE JUST TO A PRELIMINARY AUDIT MEETING WHENEVER WE FIRST STARTED LOOKING.
SO, AND I WAS TRYING TO DO A FIVER TODAY IN ESSENCE OF TIME.
I, I DIDN'T WANT TO NOT DO MUCH DOWN IN THE DEBITS AND CREDITS, BUT, UM, JUST TRYING TO KEEP IT MOVING FOR YOU.
CHRIS, ANYTHING ELSE? ANYONE ELSE ONLINE OR HERE IN THE ROOM? ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. WILLIAMS? UH, YEAH, JUST ONE, ONE COMMENT ACTUALLY HAYES WHEN THAT REPORT IS DUE, UH, IS GOING TO BE FORTHCOMING.
I HAD APPRECIATE AS MUCH, UM, ADVANCED TIME WITH A HARD COPY, SO I CAN DRILL DOWN TO THE NUMBERS AND, AND BE FAMILIAR WITH IT BEFORE WE START TALKING ABOUT IT.
WELL, UH, YEAH, W WE'LL BE HAPPY TO GIVE YOU ONE.
UM, I KNOW I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE RESULTS OF IT TOO.
I THINK IT WAS GOING TO HELP US, UM, HAVE BETTER TRANSPARENCY IN THE FINANCIAL WORLD HERE.
AND, AND, UM, I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE THIS COUNTY RUN A HECK OF A LOT BETTER, AND HOPEFULLY THAT'S THE FIRST STEP TO IT, BUT YES, SIR.
I WANT TO SEND IT TO YOU ON FRIDAY BEFORE MONDAY MEETING.
I'LL PROBABLY, I'LL GIVE YOU SEVERAL WEEKS WITH IT, SIR.
UM, THE FINANCIALS THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED TO US ARE OUTSTANDING.
THEY GIVE US, UH, YOU KNOW, DEPTH OF PRESENTATION OF THE REVENUES AND THE EXPENDITURES.
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING AND, UM, VERY WELL DONE.
I, I W I WANT TO ADD TWO THINGS.
ONE IS THESE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS.
IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS OR WOULD LIKE US TO DIVE DEEPER IN AREAS, THAT'D BE SUPER HELPFUL.
I WOULD LOVE Y'ALL'S COMMENTS.
UM, IN NUMBER TWO, UH, ABOUT THE INTERNAL AUDIT, WE'VE ACTUALLY RECEIVED THE, UH, THE DRAFT OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT LETTER.
UM, BUT WHITNEY, AMANDA HAD BEEN YESTERDAY AT 11:23 AM.
WE WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN SWIMMING IN THE DEEP END AND HAVING CENTER BLOCKS ARE NOTICE, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO GET THROUGH THE DAY TO DAY.
AND AS SOON AS WE CAN GO OVER, WE'LL HAVE WE HAPPEN TO GET IT BACK AGAIN ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, WHITNEY, I EXPECT, BUT ANYWAYS, LET ME JUST SAY THIS BEFORE.
UH, I WANT TO THANK OUR FINANCE STAFF.
UM, ERIC HAS DONE A GREAT JOB LEADING THEM, AND OF COURSE, WHITNEY AND PAYS AND PINKY.
UM, THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT YOU DO.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO, TO CONTINUING ON WITH THAT.
UM, IF, UH, THAT HAS NO OTHER QUESTIONS, LET'S MOVE
[8. DISCUSSION ON THE PROGRESS OF THE PENN CENTER RENOVATIONS.]
ON THEN TO OUR FIRST AGENDA ITEM.AND THAT IS GOING TO BE, UM, DISCUSSION ON THE PROGRESS OF THE PENN CENTER RENOVATIONS, I THINK, UH, MR. BURNS AND, UH, DAVID'S, UM, PHIL OFF OF WOULD BE, UH, PRESENTING.
ARE THEY ONLINE FOR US TODAY? I AM MARRIED TO SARAH.
SHOULDN'T BE, THIS IS DAVID HILL.
IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, I'M ONLINE, I'M HAVING CAMERA ISSUES, BUT, UM, I NEED TO LOOK AT THE SLIDES AND NOT AT ME.
SO GO AHEAD WITH YOUR PRESENTATION.
MARION, DID YOU WANT TO MAKE ANY INITIAL COMMENTS OR, YEAH, I, I, I'D LIKE TO JUST SUGGEST TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE THAT A NUMBER OF THINGS, UH, HAVE IMPACT THE DIFFERENCE THAN WHAT WE PROJECTED IN DECEMBER OF 2019 AND WHERE WE ARE NOW.
UM, ONE, AND I'M NOT AN ARCHITECT AND I DON'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT PROJECTION, BUT DAVE AND HIS GROUP ARE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB, WELL PHARRELL AND A FRAME OF DETERIORATION BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER AND, AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, FOR YOU GUYS TO KNOW THAT.
UM, SARAH, YOU HAD SAID, I WOULD BE ABLE TO SHARE MY SCREEN HERE AND I DON'T SEE AN OPTION TO DO THAT.
IS THAT A POSSIBILITY? YES, SIR.
SO ARE YOU SEEING THE POWERPOINT SLIDE THAT SAYS PENN CENTER PHASE ONE OVERVIEW AND PROGRESS TO DATE? YES, SIR.
I KNOW I HAVE FIVE MINUTES AND I'VE USED UP 30 SECONDS, SO THEY HAVE JUST CHATTING.
SO WE'LL JUMP RIGHT INTO IT HERE.
UH, YOU CAN SEE POPULATING ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN, UH, BUFORD COUNTY PENN CENTER, AND THEN OUR TEAM OF, UH, INOVA
[00:15:01]
IS MY FIRM.WE'VE GOT A PRESERVATION, UH, MEP FIRM.
WE'VE GOT A STRUCTURAL LANDSCAPE BUILDING ENVELOPE.
AND THEN LATER WE BROUGHT IN A HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TEAM.
AND WHEN I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION, I THOUGHT IF I WAS SITTING IN YOUR SEAT, I'D WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO THREE QUESTIONS.
HOW ARE THINGS GOING? HOW'S THE MONEY BEING SPENT AND WHAT IS THE TIMELINE? SO IN TERMS OF HOW THINGS ARE GOING, WE HAVE COMPLETED THE CONDITION ASSESSMENT REPORT ON SIX BUILDINGS THERE ON THE PENN CENTER CAMPUS, UH, AS MARIANNE ALLUDED TO, UH, THEY WERE IN VARIOUS STATES OF REPAIR AND DISREPAIR.
UH, BUT THERE IS A HAPPY ENDING TO THIS STORY.
AND WE'LL GET TO THAT JUST IN A MINUTE.
IT'S A, IT'S A VERY ROBUST DOCUMENT, UM, HUNDREDS OF PAGES, BUT WE FEEL LIKE IT HAD INPUT FROM EVERY SINGLE DISCIPLINE AND VERY USABLE AND ACTIONABLE, UH, ASSESSMENT OF, OF, OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THOSE BUILDINGS RIGHT NOW AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE NEXT.
THERE'S REALLY MORE THAN SIX CHAPTERS, BUT, UH, BECAUSE THERE'S AN INTRO AND THEN A FINAL CHAPTER, BUT PRIMARILY IT WAS ORGANIZED AROUND SIX CHAPTERS, ONE FOR EACH OF THE BUILDINGS.
WE LOOKED AT IT FROM A HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL STANDPOINT.
WE LOOKED AT EACH BUILDING FROM A PROPOSED USE AND FUNCTION STANDPOINT, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE KIND OF HARD ELEMENTS WERE CONSISTENT WITH THE VISION OF PENN CENTER.
AND WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THAT FROM A PRESERVATION STANDPOINT, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE INTEGRITY, THE CONDITION OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS THERE, UH, MECHANICAL PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL, UM, IN SOME CASES IT'S GOING TO BE A TOTAL REDO ON SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS AND OTHER CASES, ACTUALLY THE SYSTEMS AREN'T IN BAD SHAPE.
THEY, THEY, THEY NEED A LITTLE LOG MENTATION, BUT, UM, IN GENERAL, UM, IT'S NOTHING WE HAVEN'T SEEN BEFORE EFFECTIVELY STRUCTURAL ENGINEER CAME IN AND JUST LIKE THE PRESERVATION FOLKS AND MYSELF FROM AN ARCHITECTURAL STANDPOINT, THEY, WE LOOKED AT WHAT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS TO THE NAKED EYE.
UM, SO CERTAIN THINGS ARE NOT IN GREAT SHAPE.
UH, THE DIFFERENCES AS A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, HE WAS ABLE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND, AND, AND WILL BE ADVISING US AND HAS ALREADY ADVISED US IN TERMS OF, UM, HOW WE FIX THESE THINGS AND HOW WE FIX THEM FOR THE LONG HAUL.
WE DID BRING A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT ON OUR TEAM.
UM, SHE HAS LOOKED AT DIFFERENT ELEMENTS FOR THE SIX BUILDINGS AND ALSO SOME CAMPUS WIDE, UM, DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE HAD, UM, LOOKING AT TREES, UH, LOOKING AT CAMPUS LIGHTING, UH, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT'LL BE HANDLED, I THINK IN LATER DISCUSSIONS AND EFFORTS POTENTIALLY, BUT CERTAINLY AS THEY PERTAIN TO EACH OF THESE SIX BUILDINGS HERE, UM, OUR BUILDING ENVELOPE CONSULTANT, THESE ARE THE FOLKS THAT MAKE SURE THAT, UM, YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, 95% OF ALL BUILDING COMPLAINTS ARE I'M EITHER TOO WARM OR TOO COLD OR THERE'S WATER LEAKING, RIGHT? SO WE BROUGHT SOMEONE IN EARLY TO DO THAT, AND WE'LL RETAIN THAT PERSON THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO MAKE SURE WE WERE ADDRESSING THOSE 95% OF THE ISSUES THERE.
THEN AS WE GOT INTO IT, WE SAW THAT THERE WERE SOME HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IN THESE BUILDINGS.
UM, CERTAINLY THAT SHOULD RAISE A FEW EYEBROWS, BUT IT'S, AGAIN, NOTHING WE HAVEN'T SEEN MANY, MANY TIMES BEFORE.
AND, UH, WE ADVISE PENN CENTER AND THEY DID BRING IN A TEAM THAT COULD GO THROUGH AND TEST FOR MOLD FOR AS BEST AS FOR LEAD PAINT, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
AND, UH, WE'VE GOT THE RESULTS OF THOSE.
AND, AND, UH, WE TOOK ALL OF THOSE VIEWPOINTS, ARCHITECTURAL PRESERVATION, ENGINEERING, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.
AND AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER, WE CAME UP WITH A DETAILED COST ESTIMATE THAT TOOK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES AND SORT OF THE TRADITIONAL SORT OF CONSTRUCTION PACKAGING IN TERMS OF TRADES AND MATERIALS AND METHODS, AND CAME UP WITH A BOTTOM LINE NUMBER FOR EACH OF THOSE, WHICH IS WHAT EVERYBODY WANTS TO SEE.
AND WE'LL GET INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE HERE IN TERMS OF HOW THINGS ARE GOING.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE'VE SEEN FAR WORSE.
I MEAN, WE'VE ALL WORKED ON THESE CRAZY PROJECTS.
THIS IS ONE I DID UP IN ASHEVILLE THAT WAS, UM, ESSENTIALLY FALLING DOWN THE HILL.
SO WE HAD TO BUILD A TEMPORARY WOODEN FOUNDATION BEFORE WE COULD BUILD A STONE FOUNDATION.
AND THEN AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU HAD AS BEST DECIDING FOUR STORIES UP.
UH, SO THE DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY WAS, WAS PRETTY TOUGH ON THIS ONE, BUT AGAIN, AS WE LOOK AT IT, UM, EVERY ONE OF THESE CHALLENGES HERE WITH PENN CENTER BUILDINGS IS, IS, IS, IS ACHIEVABLE IN TERMS OF, OF RESOLVING THAT ISSUE.
SECOND QUESTION, HOW IS THE MONEY BEING SPENT? SO WE CAME UP WITH A LIST OF THESE PROJECTS AND A BOTTOM LINE FIGURE IN TERMS OF TO DO A FULL
[00:20:02]
REHABILITATION RENOVATION OF THESE PROJECTS, WHAT IT WOULD TAKE.THEN WE TOOK A CLOSER LOOK AND SAID, YOU KNOW, ON THESE THREE BUILDINGS OR ORCHARD COTTAGE RETREAT HOUSE IN JASMINE COTTAGE, IF YOU TOOK THOSE THREE BUILDINGS TOGETHER AND PUT THEM INTO A TALLY BASED ON THE COUNTY FUNDING, THAT'S IN PLACE NOW FOR PENN CENTER, UM, THE COSTS OF THE STUDIES, THE COST FOR RENOVATION HERE, UH, ADDITIONAL DESIGN WORK AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE PHASE, UM, HAYES AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS AT SOME POINT, I JUST PUT A PLACE HOLDER IN, I KNOW THE COUNTY HAS SOME COSTS IN TERMS OF ADVERTISING, UH, THESE PROJECTS AS THEY GET INTO THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE.
AND, UM, BOTTOM LINE IS WE THINK WE CAN GET THESE THREE PILLAR BUILDINGS DONE, PLUS ALL THE ADDITIONAL STUDY WORK ON, ON, ON, UH, THE BALANCE OF THE BUILDINGS.
AND BASICALLY WE'VE, WE'VE SPENT AT THAT POINT, WE WILL HAVE SPENT THE COUNTY FUNDING THAT'S IN PLACE ALREADY.
UM, I WOULD REMIND US ALL THAT WE'RE WORKING OFF OF ESTIMATES.
I THINK THEY'RE VERY PROFESSIONALLY DONE BY OUR PRESERVATION FOLKS AND A COMPREHENSIVE, BUT IT'S STILL JUST AN ESTIMATE.
WE CAN MAYBE EVEN DO A LITTLE BETTER THAN THAT AND HAVE SOME MONEY IN FOR STABILIZING ON THE THREE BUILDINGS THAT ARE NOT GOING TO BE ADDRESSED IN THIS FIRST PART OF CONSTRUCTION WORK.
SO YOU'VE GOT THESE THREE BUILDINGS.
UH, AGAIN, THIS IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.
SOME STABILIZATION TECHNIQUES, MAKING SURE THE ROOF IS, IS, IS AS WATERPROOF AS POSSIBLE.
AND THEN THE BUILDINGS ARE SECURE AS POSSIBLE.
AND THEN, UM, WE'VE DONE A BUDGET SUMMARY AS PART OF OUR CONDITION ASSESSMENT THAT NOT ONLY TAKES THE REHABILITATION COSTS AND GIVES YOU A COST PER SQUARE FOOT, BUT WE PROJECTED IT INTO THE FUTURE ORDINARY, YEARLY MINUTE MAINTENANCE, PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE, INSPECTION COSTS, TOTAL YEARLY MAINTENANCE.
WE WERE TRYING TO GET PENN CENTER, A COMPREHENSIVE, NOT JUST A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE THEY ARE RIGHT NOW, BUT WHERE THEY NEED TO BE, UH, GOING DOWN THE ROAD.
AND SO WE HIGHLIGHTED A LOT OF THESE FUTURE COSTS HERE.
THIRD QUESTION, WHAT IS THE TIMELINE? UM, I JUST LAID OUT THE NEXT YEAR HERE BASICALLY, AND THIS IS A, A ROUGH TIMELINE, BUT, UH, AS, AS EVERYONE WELL KNOWS, PAPERWORK'S GOT TO HAPPEN, UH, IN, IN CONCERT WITH A PROPOSED TITLE AT THE TIMELINE.
AND SO WE'RE KIND OF HOPING THAT HERE IN THIS MONTH OF JUNE, SOMETIME WE WILL GET THIS, UM, UH, WHATEVER FINANCIAL CONTRACTUAL ISSUES WE NEED TO HAVE RESOLVED.
UH, IF THAT'S A POSSIBILITY WE CAN MOVE FORWARD OVER THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER INTO DESIGN TEAMWORK.
UM, OUR INTENT IS TO DO THE DESIGN WORK FOR ALL SIX BUILDINGS, BUT THEN, UM, SORT OF HAVE A BATTING ORDER OF, UH, ONE THROUGH SIX BUILDINGS THAT ARE COMPLETED FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIX.
UM, EH, THAT IS IN CONCERT WITH WHAT THE NEEDS OF PENN CENTER ARE.
AND THEREFORE WE CAN, UM, WE CAN START TO PUT THESE PACKAGES OUT.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE A LITTLE BIT OF A OVERLAP BETWEEN THE DESIGN TEAM WORK AND THE BIDDING PHASE, THE COUNTY YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TELL ME, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, WHAT'S POSSIBLE AND WHAT'S NOT.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE HERE TO WORK WITH YOU AND, AND, AND FIGURE OUT HOW THESE THINGS CAN GET DONE MOST EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY, BUT PER THIS SCHEDULE, ANYWAY, THAT PUTS CONTRACT AWARD, UH, UH, AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER HERE, POTENTIALLY, UM, OR THE BEGINNING OF THE FOURTH QUARTER.
I MEAN, AND THEN, UM, BEYOND THAT, WE GET INTO CONSTRUCTION STABILIZATION, UM, AND, UH, PROJECTING BUILDINGS COMING ONLINE, UM, SEQUENTIALLY, UM, THAT WILL BE A DISCUSSION THAT NEEDS TO BE HAD IN TERMS OF WHETHER WE WANT TO PUT ALL THREE BUILDINGS OUT IN ONE PACKAGE, OR IF THEY ARE SEPARATE PACKAGES FOR EACH BUILDING.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HEADED THIS AFTERNOON, BUT, UM, WE'RE WIDE OPEN TO ANY KIND OF PROJECT DELIVERY METHOD AND WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S DOING RIGHT BY PENN CENTER IN, BY, UM, BUFORD COUNTY.
SO WITH THAT, UH, I CAN GO BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS IN THIS THING AS NECESSARY IF YOU NEED TO SEE ANYTHING ELSE, BUT, UH, THAT'S MY UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE WITH THIS PROJECT.
IS THERE ANYBODY THAT HAS A QUESTION? UM, ALICE, GO AHEAD.
AND THEN PAUL, I WANTED TO COMPLIMENT YOUR POWERPOINT IS EXCELLENT, BUT ALSO I'M VERY PLEASED TO SEE THAT YOU HAVE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE COSTS INCLUDED BECAUSE THAT WILL HELP US IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND TO PROTECT THESE PROPERTIES, THERE ARE SO IMPORTANT,
[00:25:01]
UM, INSTEAD OF LETTING THEM FALL INTO THE WHAT TO DO.I DIDN'T, UH, I DIDN'T SEE A CONTINGENCY ON THE, UH, PRICING IS OR CONTINGENCY BUILT INTO THE INDIVIDUAL.
THERE'S A CONTINGENCY ON EACH ONE OF THE, ON EACH ONE OF THE ESTIMATES FOR EACH PER BUILDING.
I'D LIKE TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT WE DID SIGN, OR WE DID VOTE ON AND, AND, UH, APPROVE AND APPROPRIATION OF 822,000 FROM A TAX FUNDING.
I THINK IT WAS, I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY, BUT WE, SO THAT MONEY IS ALREADY ALLOCATED.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, THE ONLY OBLIGATION, UH, FOR COUNTY COUNCIL IS TO PERIODICALLY ENSURE THAT OUR, UH, PROCUREMENT STANDARDS ARE BEING, UM, BEING ACKNOWLEDGED AND BEING FOLLOWED AND, AND THAT, UH, THAT OUR STAFF IS INVOLVED IN THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, BUT AS FAR AS INDIVIDUAL CONTRACT APPROVAL, I DON'T THINK THAT'S WITHIN OUR, UM, OUR, UH, THE REALM OF OUR AUTHORITY OR OUR RESPONSIBILITY.
I THINK THAT AS LONG AS THE STANDARDS ARE BEING MET, THAT THIS IS ALL FROM HERE ON, YOU KNOW, USING COUNTY PERSONNEL TO PAY BILLS AND TO, UH, ACQUIRE THE CONTRACTS.
IT'S ALL WITHIN THE CHOREA OF PENN CENTER.
IF ANYBODY HAS A DIFFERENT RECOLLECTION OR OPINION, I'D LOVE TO DISCUSS IT.
UM, HEY, YOU GO AHEAD AND RESPOND TO THAT.
THIS, THIS IS ON A SEPARATE, UH, ISSUE, UNRELATED, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE FAIRLY EARMARK FUNDS.
UH, JARED FRAELICH SAYS HELPED, UM, US, BUT NO, I LIKE TO THANK DOLORES PRINGLE CAUSE SHE, SHE CHAMPION THE PROCESS AND, UH, MARY AND BURNS TO GIVE IT EVERYTHING IN TIMELY.
WHEN WE'RE HOPE WE'RE TRIPLE, WE PUT IN TO GET AN INITIAL $1.2 MILLION FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HELP OFFSET SOME OF THESE EXPENDITURES EXPENDITURES ON PHASE ONE AND KEEP THE BALL ROLLING, BUT WE HAVEN'T FOUND OUT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER YET.
UM, UH, I WANTED TO SAY THAT, UH, BRIAN IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
BACK IN OCTOBER OF 2020, WE DID PASS AN ORDINANCE NOT TO EXCEED $822,000 OUT OF THE 3% A TAX FUNDS.
UM, UH, DAVID, YOUR PRESENTATION WAS SPOT ON.
IT GIVES US A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AND HOW YOU WANT TO DO IT.
UH, WHAT WOULD YOU BE LOOKING FOR FROM US TODAY? SINCE WE HAVE MONEY IN PLACE YOU'VE MADE A NICE PRESENTATION.
WHAT ELSE WOULD WE BE LOOKING FOR? THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION TODAY IS JUST TO GIVE YOU ALL AN UPDATE TO LET COUNCIL KNOW THAT THE MONEY THAT HAS BEEN AWARDED, UH, IS NOT GOING TO GO AS FAR AS WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT WOULD AND COVERED THE NUMBER OF BUILDINGS THAT WE ORIGINALLY OFF, AND THAT WE'RE ONLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THE THREE BUILDINGS WITH THE MONEY ALLOCATED BASED ON THE WORK OF MR. HILL AND MR. BURNS.
SO THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL ACTION.
AND FOR ME, THIS IS DAVID HILL, AGAIN, JUST MAKING THESE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN OUR TEAM, ALONG WITH PENN CENTER.
AND THE COUNTY IS INVALUABLE TO US JUST TO KIND OF GET A, GO ON A GOOD FOOTING WITH EVERYBODY.
AND UNFORTUNATELY WITH A CAMERA, I CAN'T SAY PUT A FACE WITH THE NAME, BUT, UH, HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET TO WORK FACE TO FACE ON, ON THIS, SOME OF THESE MOVING FORWARD.
ALL RIGHT, MR. ARMOUR, SEAN, LET MR. GLOVER.
UM, SO I HAVE, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION.
NUMBER ONE IS SINCE WE'RE DOING $3, INSTEAD OF FIVE, IS THE PLAN TO DO THE FEDERAL FUNDS FOR THE ADDITIONAL TWO.
IS THAT BASICALLY THE PLAN IF WE GET APPROVED FOR THEM? OKAY.
UM, THE SECOND QUESTION IS THE RETREAT HOUSE IN PARTICULAR, WE HAD BUDGETED 75,000 FOR THAT ORIGINALLY.
AND THE COST IS JUST ABOUT TRIPLE I'M.
JUST WONDERING IF THAT'S JUST BECAUSE HER HOUSE WAS MUCH POORER CONDITION THAN HAD ORIGINALLY BEEN ANTICIPATED.
I THINK IT, IT WAS IN POOR CONDITION THAN ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED.
I THINK CLEARLY ALL SEEN THAT, UH, MATERIAL AND LABOR COSTS HAVE GONE UP.
AND, UM, I, I THINK, I THINK WE REALLY TOOK, UM, OUR, OUR, WE SAW OUR JOB IS TO TAKE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE LOOK POSSIBLE AND SHOW YOU EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS ATTENTION ON THIS BUILDING.
[00:30:01]
IF THE ORIGINAL LOOK WAS AS COMPREHENSIVE OR WHAT THEIR CHARTER WAS, BUT THAT WAS OUR CHARTER.WE WANTED TO LOOK UNDER EVERY ROCK AND INVESTIGATE EVERY, EVERY POSSIBLE ISSUE WITH THESE BUILDINGS.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE SEEING, UH, UH, THERE'S NOTHING LEFT OUT.
I MEAN, THE, THE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ABATEMENT IS PART OF THE BUDGET, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT I SHOWED YOU ON THAT ONE SLIDE.
I THEN THE FINAL QUESTION WAS JUST ABOUT MATERIAL COSTS.
IS THERE ANY OPPORTUNITY IF WE SEE THOSE COSTS DECREASE BEFORE CONSTRUCTION, AGAIN, IS THAT THE FUNDS MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN WHAT'S CURRENTLY BEING PROJECTED.
THERE'S A POSSIBILITY, I MEAN, IN GENERAL, IN THE CONSTRUCTION DESIGN INDUSTRY, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE PRICES COOL OFF A LITTLE BIT.
UM, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN PEOPLE WENT FROM PAYING $17 FOR A SHEET OF PLYWOOD TO $54, UM, THEY KEPT SELLING PLYWOOD LIKE MAD.
SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE INCENTIVE IS AND INDUSTRY WILL BE, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD PRESS THAT.
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS I BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE OF WHETHER THESE WERE RELEASED, LED OUT US THESE FIRST THREE BUILDINGS, ANYWAY, THREE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTS.
I THINK THERE COULD BE SOME OPPORTUNITIES AGAIN, I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE FOLLOWING ALL THE RIGHT PROCUREMENT, UM, APPROACHES AND, AND RULES.
BUT IF YOU GAVE THREE BUILDINGS TO THREE DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS, IT'S GOING TO COST YOU MORNING MORE MONEY THAN IF YOU GIVE THREE BUILDINGS TO ONE CONTRACTOR, UM, THERE'LL BE SOME OVERHEAD COSTS, SUPERVISION COSTS, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
INSURANCE COSTS THAT'LL BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
SO WE'RE CERTAINLY GOING TO LOOK FOR EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO BE AS EFFICIENT WITH THAT AS POSSIBLE.
YEAH, I WAS PRETTY SURE MR. HILL AND MR. BIRD'S PRESENTATION TODAY, UM, UH, PROBABLY THOUGHT GOING IN, I THINK HE'S DONE A VERY GENERAL JOB AND WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.
UM, AND SO MY COMMENT TO HERE IS, UH, THAT, UH, THIS PROJECT WOULD HAVE BEEN OVER A YEAR AGO.
SO ANYTHING THAT HE NEEDS TO DO, I THINK HE NEEDS TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, IF WE ARE A STUMBLING BLOCK TO LET US KNOW I WAS KEEPING THIS PROJECT WOULD HAVE BEEN, UH, COMPLETED A WHOLE.
UM, I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY BRING ON COTTAGE IN THIS WHOLE PROCESS, WHICH IS ABOUT 300,000 HOURS, BUT WE CAN LOOK AT IT AT A LATER POINT WHERE MY COMMENT TO YOU WAS AS EXTREME AS FAST AS HE CAN.
UM, UH, MR. ROBIN, I THINK I SAW YOUR HAND UP.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, JUST A COUPLE OF COMMENTS.
UM, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, UH, THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS A PHASE ONE PHASE TWO, AND WE THOUGHT THE TOTAL WAS GOING TO BE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 2 MILLION.
AND SO I UNDERSTAND THIS FIRST PHASE HAS GROWN FROM ABOUT 800,000 TO ABOUT 2 MILLION.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT A, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ANOTHER, A TOTAL OF 4 MILLION BEFORE WE GET FINISHED.
UM, HAVING SAID THAT THERE'S NO REASON TO STOP THE PROJECT THAT I THINK, UH, WAS TAKEN PLACE.
I THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO PROCEED AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
UH, THESE KINDS OF PROJECTS ALSO LEND THEMSELVES TO OUTSIDE FUNDING.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY FROM THE GOVERNMENT STANDPOINT, BUT ALSO FROM, UH, FROM PRIVATE INTERESTS AND, UH, PENN CENTER HAS HAD SOME SUCCESS OVER TIME AND RAISING PRIVATE FUNDS.
SO, YOU KNOW, I SAY CONTINUE THE MARCH.
I WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED THOUGH, IN AN UPDATE AT SOME POINT ON WHAT WE THINK THE PROGRAM NOW LOOKS LIKE TO DO THE WHOLE PROJECT.
UM, AND UH, OBVIOUSLY SAID THIS, THIS WOULD PROBABLY COME BACK BEFORE EIGHT.
SO IN THE FALL, UM, THE ONLY OTHER COMMENT I WOULD HAVE, I JUST NEED TO THINK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT BRIAN'S COMMENT AS TO WHAT THE ROLE OF THE COUNTY SHOULD BE IN THIS.
UM, AND, UH, I JUST GOTTA GO BACK AND RETHINK THAT.
I, I THINK OUR INTENTION WAS THAT THE COUNTY WOULD BE HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THIS SO THAT WE, THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY QUESTIONS.
SO CLEARLY HOW WE GO ABOUT THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS AND SO ON IS PROBABLY VERY IMPORTANT, BUT I DIDN'T GET TO DISCUSSION BEYOND TODAY, BUT I'M COMFORTABLE WITH PROCEEDING.
ANYBODY ELSE THAT A COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK MR. HILL, MR. BURNS? ANY LAST COMMENTS BEFORE
[00:35:01]
WE MOVE ON? YEAH, SO I HAVE ONE.UH, WE, WHEN WE, WHEN THE PROJECT WAS MOVING ALONG RELATIVELY FAST, WE KEPT THE ECONOMY INVOLVED.
WE MET WITH KEVIN AND DAVE THOMAS AND RIGHT.
I, WE PLAN TO CONTINUE DOING THAT.
I WOULD SUGGEST PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ON PENN CAMPUS OR HAVEN'T BEEN ON CAMPUS RECENTLY THAT YOU COME OUT AND WE'D BE DELIGHTED TO GIVE YOU A TOUR.
SO YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE OTHER EXCITING THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING ON CAMPUS.
AND I'VE BEEN IMPRESSED THAT, UH, OUR COUNCIL HAS BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF PENN CENTER.
I THINK WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
UH, AND OBVIOUSLY, ESPECIALLY IF WE STAY TRANSPARENT, LIKE WE ARE AND DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY INVOLVED, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR TIME, BUT I THANK YOU, MR. BURNS.
[9. RECOMMENDATION FOR FY22 CONTRACT RENEWAL APPROVALS FROM VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE.]
LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM AND THIS IS GOING TO BE FOR A CONTRACT RENEWALS AND, UH, APPROVAL OF THOSE.AND WE'RE GOING HAVE, UH, MR. THOMAS ACTUALLY, UH, GAVE A PRESENTATION, UH, OF ALL THE CONTRACT RENEWALS WHENEVER HE HAS DONE.
UH, WE WILL VOTE ON THIS JUST LIKE A CONSENT CONSENT AGENDA, UNLESS THERE IS SOMETHING YOU WANT TO PULL OFF AND WE CAN VOTE ON IT SEPARATELY.
SO AGAIN, JUST TO KEEP IT SIMPLE, KEEP IT SWEET.
WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT THAT WAY.
SO AGAIN, AFTER MR. THOMAS HAS DONE ANY OF THE ITEMS THAT YOU WANT TO PULL OFF AND HAVE US GO SEPARATELY, WE WILL DO THAT.
OTHERWISE WE'LL LOOK TO APPROVE THEM ALL AT ONE TIME.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'M DAVE THOMAS DIRECTOR OF PURCHASING.
AND THAT FIRST NIGHT I LIKED HIM.
A POINT I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS ON THE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH SOME PROCESS WITH OUR NEW MUNI CODE SYSTEM THAT ACTUALLY HELPS US PASS INFORMATION THROUGH AND GET APPROVALS FROM DIFFERENT STAFF LEVELS AND THEN SENT TO THE COUNTY MINISTER COUNTY MINISTER.
AND THEN, THEN FINALLY TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL, UH, MEMBERS, UH, WE DID LEAVE OUT ONE OF THE CONTRACTS ON, UH, ON THE ACTUAL AGENDA LIST, BUT THE ACTUAL LIST OF LISTING THE CONTRACTS, UH, WHICH STATES THAT WHO WE'RE CONTRACTING WITH FOR RENEWALS, WHAT WE PAID LAST YEAR, WHAT BUDGETS WE'RE USING, AND IF THERE'S ANY COSTS TO INCREASE, I PUT NOTES ON THE SPREADSHEET AS WELL, BUT ON MY ASKING IS THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE ON THE AGENDA THAT WE ADD FOR THIS ONE IS EXTERIOR IS THE COMPANY AND IS ON THE EXCEL SPREADSHEET THAT I PROVIDED TO THE COUNCIL.
IT JUST WASN'T LISTED AS NUMBER A THROUGH J IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A THROUGH K AND, UH, WE HAD SOME ISSUES WITH SOFTWARE GETTING THAT TO WORK PROPERLY WITHOUT IT MESSING UP THE ACTUAL PACKET, BUT THAT NEEDS TO BE A THROUGH K INSTEAD OF A, THROUGH J WITH ADDING THE CONTRACT EXTERIOR.
UH, I THINK SOME OF THE DEPARTMENT HEADS ARE ONLINE.
IF ANYBODY WANTS TO DISCUSS OR PULLING THE ITEMS ONE THROUGH 11 FROM THE, UH, FROM THE PRESENTATION WE CAN DISCUSS.
BUT MOST OF THESE ARE FIRST, LIKE ALL OF THESE ARE FOR SOFTWARE RENEWALS.
UM, AND IF THERE'S ANY INCREASES, EITHER DUE TO CPI, UM, COVID-19, OR WE'VE ADDED AN ADDITIONAL, UH, UH, SOFTWARE ITEMS LIKE FOR ADELE BUTTS AND THE, UH, RESTAURANT DEAN.
SO I THINK HE HAD A, A FRONT-END SOFTWARE PACKAGE THAT HE ADDED TO THE CURRENT SOFTWARE, WE NEW VISION, AND THAT CHANGED IT.
SO OF YOUR QUESTIONS, I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING WE CAN APPROVE QUICKLY MOVE ONTO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
THIS IS JUST A POINT OF ORDER.
DO WE NEED TO AMEND THE AGENDA FOR ANY REASON OR CAUSE IT WAS THAT ONE IS LISTED IN THE PRODUCTIZATION.
I BELIEVE THE TOPIC, SINCE IT TALKS ABOUT CONTRACT RENEWALS AND CONTRACT RENEWAL, WOULD WE JUST LISTED THOSE ON THE AGENDA FOR CLARITY? IT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT, SO YEAH, THE HEADING COVERS EVERYTHING.
TH SO YOU SAID XTERRA IS ON THE WIDTH.
IT IS NOT LISTED, WAS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA, BUT IT'S LISTED ON THE ASSETS PACKET WITH AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET THAT EXPLAINS THIS NUMBER EIGHT.
UM, QUESTIONS, CHRIS, GO AHEAD.
UM, PROOF POINT THAT'S FOR REPLACING ANOTHER SYSTEM.
WHAT SYSTEM IS THAT? AND WHAT WAS THE COST? LET'S SEE, UH, LAST YEAR'S COST ME.
I WOULD HAVE TO RE REFER TO PATRICK HILL ON THAT ONE ON THIS IS LAND PURCHASE OFF OF A COOPERATIVE CONTRACT FROM OMNIA AND PATRICK, IF YOU WANT TO ADDRESS ISSUES WE'VE HAD WITH THE LAST COMPANY AND WE NEED TO GO THERE.
UM, SO PROOF POINT THAT'S, UH, OUR EMAIL SPAM.
IT'S GOING TO BE OUR EMAIL FOR SPAM FILTER.
SO WE PREVIOUSLY USED, UM, BARRACUDA, UM, AND IT WAS ROUGHLY 40 K.
UM, AND WE'RE REPLACING THAT BECAUSE, UM, AS YOU GOT, AS YOU ALL
[00:40:01]
KNOW, WE GET THOSE SPAM FILTERS FROM CHAIRMAN PASS SUMMIT.THAT'S REALLY FROM SOMEBODY ELSE, THIS WILL CATCH THAT BARRACUDA DOESN'T.
UM, AND THAT HAPPENS TO YOU ALL, BUT IT ALSO HAPPENS TO A LOT OF STAFF.
SO WE REALLY NEEDED A SOFTWARE THAT WAS, THEY HAD ENOUGH LOGIC AND ENOUGH AI TO FIGURE OUT THAT THOSE TWO NAMES DON'T MATCH AND THEN, THEN PUT IT IN A, PUT IT IN A BUCKET.
UM, SO IT'S ROUGHLY 40 K FROM THE, UM, PREVIOUS SOFTWARE.
AND THEN THE SECOND ONE WAS, CAN YOU JUST GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT EXTERRO IS AND HOW IT'S GOING TO CHANGE THE, FOR THE, SORRY, HOW IT'S GOING TO CHANGE THE FOI PROCESS? AND SO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT WE WERE CHARGED WITH WAS IMPROVING THE, UM, THE FOYER OF REQUEST, AND THAT WAS LIKE A NO FAIL MISSION, RIGHT? SO, UM, OUR CURRENT VOYA SYSTEM IS NOT REALLY A SYSTEM.
IT'S JUST KIND OF A FORM-BASED, UH, IT WAS WRITTEN IN 2010, VERY OLD.
SO, UM, SO NOW WE HAVE, SINCE WE HAVE 365 MICROSOFT OFFICE, UM, AND WE HAVE ALL THESE OTHER DIFFERENT SOFTWARE PACKAGES EXTERRO IS AN ACTUAL FOIL PACKAGE.
THAT'S SEPARATE FROM OUR ENVIRONMENT THAT ALLOWS, UM, FOR A PUBLIC PORTAL, SO THEY CAN PUT IN THEIR OWN REQUESTS.
WE CAN GET BETTER SEARCH REQUESTS, HOPEFULLY DO A LOT FASTER FOR YOUR RETURNS RIGHT NOW, EVERYTHING'S MANUAL.
IT WILL GO IN, IT'LL PULL IT, IT'LL REDACT ON THE FLY.
IT USES AI FOR PATTERN MATCHING.
SO IF IT SEES LIKE A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, IT'LL FLAG IT AND SAY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER IN THERE, UM, INSTEAD OF US HAVING TO MANUALLY GO THROUGH AND LOOK AT EVERYTHING.
WILL THAT DRIVE DOWN THE COST TO THE PUBLIC? THEORETICALLY? I THINK IT WOULD, YES.
CAUSE IT'LL BE, IT SHOULD BE A LOT FASTER.
UM, AND THEN IT TOUCHES ALL OF OUR, ALL OF OUR SOFTWARE THAT WE HAVE NOW.
SO TEAMS AND SKYPE, YOU KNOW, ALL THAT STUFF.
IT'LL, IT'LL PULL THAT AS WELL.
CHRIS, UH, CHRIS HAS FINISHED ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THOSE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE, UH, CURRENTLY ON THE AGENDA? I DON'T SEE IF YOU SPEAK UP, IF YOU DO HAVE ANYTHING.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE DO SO LET'S, UH, LET'S MOVE FORWARD THEN.
JUST ONE NOTE, JUST SO EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS WAS THE CONTRACTS THAT, UM, COINCIDE WITH THE DIVISION, THE FINANCE DIVISION, THE NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING WE HAVE WITH PFC WE'LL HAVE FACILITY CONTRACTS THAT WE'LL BRING FORWARD THIS AFTERNOON.
AND THEN IN AUGUST, WE'LL BRING FORWARD COMMITTEE SERVICE AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONTRACTS.
SO THIS, THIS ISN'T ALL OF THEM, BUT OKAY, GOOD.
DO WE, UH, DO WE NEED TO READ THESE ALOUD OR CAN WE JUST GO AHEAD AND APPROVE THEM ALL AS AGENDA ITEMS? I THINK MARK, AS LONG AS YOU MADE SURE TO, UH, TO ADD XTERRA OF PARTICULAR NOTE AND MAKE SURE IT'S HIGHLIGHTED IN THE MINUTES THAT WE DID SPEAK ABOUT EXPERAL BEING INCLUDED IN THOSE PACKAGE, THE REST OF THEM CAN BE DONE, YOU KNOW, PROFORMA.
UH, IS THERE ANYONE THAT WOULD LIKE TO PULL ANY OF THESE AND HAVE A SEPARATE VOTE ON THESE ITEMS? OR CAN WE GO AHEAD AND VOTE THEM AS ONE? IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO US DOING THEM ALL AT ONE TIME? WELL, I'LL MAKE A MOTION, SIR, THAT THEN THAT WE APPROVE ITEMS. UM, LET ME GET THIS UP ON MY AGENDA HERE.
ITEM A NINE, EIGHT THROUGH GAY AND THE XTERRA CONTRACT, UH, AT THIS TIME AND FORWARD AS NECESSARY APPROVAL TO COUNTY COUNCIL OR OTHERWISE WITHIN OUR OWN AUTHORITY, APPROVE THEM.
THANK YOU, MR. FOIL, IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND, MR. RASHAAN IS SECONDED.
AND AGAIN, THAT, THAT K IS, UM, XTERRA AND THAT TOTAL AMOUNT IS $87,500.
ALL THE REST OF THEM ARE LISTED THERE.
UM, AND WE WILL APPROVE THIS WITHOUT OBJECTION.
IS THERE ANY OBJECTION FROM ANYBODY SEEING NO OBJECTION.
UM, LET'S MOVE ON THEN TO OUR NEXT ITEM.
[10. 2021-2022 SOUTHERN BEAUFORT MARKETING PLAN PRESENTATION- HILTON HEAD ISLAND/BLUFFTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE]
COUPLE OF PRESENTATIONS TODAY AND, UH, WE'RE GOING TO START, UM, WITH, UH, IS THE HILTON HEAD BLUFFTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.UM, AND HAVE THAT COMING UP AND WHO IS PRESENTING THAT FOR US? LET ME SEE IS ON WHO WOULD THAT BE? I'M SORRY, ARIANA.
I AM THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR THE VISITOR AND RE VISITOR AND CONVENTION BUREAU AT THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND, BLUFFTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
AND WE ALSO HAVE OUR CONTROLLER RATE DEAL ON THE PHONE AS WELL.
UM, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, BUT IF YOU WILL, I'LL SHARE MY SCREEN RIGHT NOW.
DOES EVERYBODY SEE MY SCREEN? YES MA'AM.
[00:45:03]
SO WE THOUGHT WE WOULD START WITH THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, TOTAL EXPENSES AT THE BOTTOM, UM, THE REQUEST OF $285,000.IT IS BROKEN OUT FOR YOU IN AN OVERVIEW REGARDING, UM, EVERYTHING FROM OUR WEBSITE, OUR DIGITAL, OUR MEDIA MANAGEMENT REPORTING WEBSITE MOVEMENTS AND CAMPAIGNS, OUR E-NEWSLETTERS, OUR SOUTHERN BUFORD COUNTY VACATION PLANNER, THE REGIONAL VACATION PLANNER GROUP TOUR, WHICH WE'RE EXCITED TO GET GROUP TOUR BACK, UM, POST PANDEMIC, GIVING UP WITH PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT TOUCH POINT IS MOVING FORWARD, UM, IN OUR RECOVERY EFFORTS, RESEARCH AND PLANNING, THE CONTINGENCY AND OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT.
SO IF YOU WILL, THERE'S 285,000 HERE AND IT'S BEING REQUESTED.
UM, I'M HAPPY TO WALK THROUGH, UM, THOSE DETAILS AFTER WE, UM, TALKED THROUGH WHERE WE'VE BEEN, UM, IF YOU'LL ALLOW ME THAT DETAIL.
YES MA'AM AS THE HILTON HAD LEFT HER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, VISITOR AND CONVENTION BUREAU, WE, UM, THE VISION THAT WE, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH EVERY DAY IS TO BE WELCOMING WORLD-CLASS COMMUNITY, EMBRACING NATURE, CULTURE, AND ECONOMIC VIBRANCY FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS, WITH A MISSION TO STIMULATE THE REGIONAL ECONOMY WHILE ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL OUR ROLE IS REALLY TO ENSURE AS A VISITOR AND CONVENTION BUREAU, YOUR DMO FOR SOUTHERN BUFORD COUNTY, AS YOU KNOW, AND TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE REPRESENTING THE DESTINATIONS AND HELPING THE LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITIES THROUGH TRAVEL AND TOURISM.
AND THE GOVERNANCE THAT WE HAVE, UM, IN TERMS OF AN ORGANIZATION, UM, IS SET FORTH BY OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
WE ALSO HAVE, UM, CONTRACTS IN PLACE TO ENSURE, UM, THE, THE GOVERNANCE WITH, UM, THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON, THE ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDIT, THE GOVERNMENT REVIEW AT THE STATE LEVEL WITH SEP RT, TURK, OBVIOUSLY THE TOWN AND COUNTY COUNCIL LEVEL, UM, AND OUR ATEC COMMITTEE.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY AS AN ACCREDITED, UM, ENTITY WITH DESTINATIONS INTERNATIONAL, WHICH WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, UM, AS WELL, CAN'T LOOK FOR IT, BUT THAT LOOKING BACK AT 2020 AS A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, UM, WE, AS MANY OF YOU WERE PARTICIPATING IN, AND PART OF WE SET FORTH VERY EARLY ON OR RECOVERY EFFORTS WITH PAT FOR THAT READINESS PLAN, WORKING TOGETHER TO RESTORE COMMUNITY.
UM, IT WAS A MULTI-PRONGED PROCESS WHICH ALLOWED US TO STAND THE DESTINATION AS A WHOLE, UH, OF OUR SEVEN BUFORD COUNTY AS A WHOLE.
AND WE BROKE THOSE AREAS OUT INTO THESE AREAS OF FOCUS, SO THAT NOT ONLY WAS THAT OUR COMMUNITY FELT SAFE AND IT WAS OUR VISITORS, AS WELL AS OUR WORKFORCE ALL HAD EFFORT, A FEELING, UM, WHAT, READY TO WELCOME OUR VISITORS BACK, UM, WHEN THE TIME WAS RIGHT, YOU COULD SEE THAT VISUALLY, UM, THROUGH THESE PLEDGE SEALS.
ALSO, WE HAD, UM, SEVERAL WEBSITE DETAILS IN PLACE, AS WELL AS ALERT BARS THAT COULD BE ACCESSED.
AND THEN FOR THE BUSINESSES THEMSELVES, THAT READINESS PLAN THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACTION AND THEY WERE ABLE TO HAVE IN THEIR HAND, UM, AS WELL.
SO WITH THAT, WE WERE ABLE TO CHART FORWARD.
WE WERE READY TO BE, WE WERE READY AND ABLE TO ACCEPT OUR VISITORS INTO THE SOUTHERN BEAVER COUNTY AREA, UM, SAFELY.
UM, AND WE DID THAT AND WE WERE BEING RECOGNIZED, UM, THROUGH MANY AWARDS AND MENTIONS THROUGHOUT THE 20, 20 CALENDAR YEAR HERE IN VERY, VERY MANY, UM, EXCUSE ME, WE HAVE MANY RECOGNIZABLE NAMES WITH CONDE NAST, TRAVELER, TRAVEL, LEISURE FORBES, JUST TO NAME A FEW.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT PERFORMANCE METRICS FOR THE JANUARY THROUGH DECEMBER TIMEFRAME OF 2020, WE LOOK@THATTHROUGHTHEMETRICSOFPHYSICALOFTEN.ORG, AND WE'LL GET TO SKIS SITE AS WELL, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, VISITORS TO WEBSITE BY SOCIAL.
SO, UM, ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, WE EMBARKED ON A PLAN WITH THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON, UM, TO HAVE A SOCIAL STRATEGY FIRST MINDSET.
AND THROUGH THAT WE'VE GROWN OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS, UH, EXTENSIVELY.
AND THAT HAS LED TO, UM, WHERE YOU'RE SEEING HERE TODAY IS THAT 48.6% IN WEBSITE CLICKS.
THOSE ARE HANDSHAKES OUT TO BUSINESS AT 22 POINT, UM, 22%.
AND OUR VISITS OVERALL 63.1 FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AGAIN TENDS, UH, IS STILL TRENDING UP VERY HIGH WITH 15,000 TOTAL FOLLOWERS ACROSS ALL OF OUR PORTFOLIO OF SOCIAL MEDIA.
1.4 MILLION IN TOTAL ENGAGEMENTS AND OUR SOCIAL AUDIENCE, WHICH SKEWS A BIT MORE FEMALE AT 70%, OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY, WHICH SPEAKS TO, UM, SOUTHERN BEAVER COUNTY AS A WHOLE IS 32% OCCUPANCY THROUGHOUT A PANDEMIC, WHICH I THINK IS A GREAT STATISTIC TO BE ABLE TO SHARE, UM, REALLY SETTING OURSELVES UP AGAINST WOMEN, TO LOOK AT THE NATION AS A WHOLE, THAT 52%.
UM, WE FARED VERY WELL IN THAT, IN THAT TERM RIGHT THERE,
[00:50:01]
UM, ADR $184 AND 82 CENTS AND REV PAR REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM AT $96 AND 75, RIGHT? AS I MENTIONED, WE ARE, IT TOOK A SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, YOU KNOW, FIRST APPROACH TO, UM, EXPOSURE FOR THE DESTINATION.UM, AND SO WE HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD THROUGHOUT ALL OF OUR CHANNELS.
WE'VE SEEN OVER OVERALL OF OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS WITH THIS STRATEGY IN PLACE 377% OF OVERALL GROWTH.
THESE ARE STAGGERING THEM PERCENTAGES TO SEE IN FRONT OF YOU.
BUT, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU VENTURE INTO A NEW, UM, EFFORT, THOSE NUMBERS TEND TO BE VERY LARGE.
AND AS WE CONTINUE OUR GROWTH EFFORTS, THOSE WILL TEND TO RIGHT-SIDE AGAINST SOME OF OUR COMPETITOR SET.
BUT AGAIN, OUT OF THE GATE, THEY'RE STRENGTHENED THIS BRAND AND WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE THESE DETAILS IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY, THE DUSKY ISLAND, MICRO-SITE AGAIN, THAT'S VISIT TO FESCUE DOT OR 86, ALMOST 87,000 WEBSITE SESSIONS, TOTAL PAGE VIEWS OF 156,000.
AND OUR LINKS OUT TO PARTNERS THAT JUST OVER 13,000, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTINUES TO GROW.
THERE IS A STRONG INTEREST WITHIN
SO I THINK THROUGH, UM, THE PANDEMIC AND THE EFFORTS THAT WERE SET FORTH IN WHICH BEING SURE THAT WE WERE OUT IN FRONT OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENSURE OUR COMMUNITY, OUR WORKFORCE, AS WELL AS OUR VISITORS, WE WERE ABLE TO SEE THOSE REALLY POSITIVE NUMBERS.
WE CONTINUE TO, UM, THAT MOMENTUM INTO 2022 FISCAL YEAR.
AND THIS IS THE PLAN THAT WE'VE, UM, ARE PUTTING FORTH TO YOU TODAY.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT BOTH, UM, UH, ALL OF SOUTHERN BEAVER COUNTY, WE CALL OUT THE, UM, IN THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON, SPECIFICALLY THE DISTRICT DESIGNATION, UM, WITH HISTORY, CULTURAL ARTS, NATURAL HISTORIC REGISTER DESIGNATIONS, INCLUDING THE CHURCH OF THE CROSS AND CHEM, UM, CANDLE, CHAPEL AME, MANY OF THE PARKS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FORTH, WHICHEVER RIGHT FAMILY PARK, MARTIN, FAMILY PARK, GARVIN, GARVEY HOUSE IN THE BLANK, BLUFFTON OYSTER COMPANY, GULLAH, GEECHEE, CULTURAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR, PALMETTO BLUFF, AND MONTAGE, BUT ALSO WE HAVE HAKE POINT AND HATE POINT WHITE HOUSE.
UM, JUST THE OVERALL GENERAL SLOWER LAID BACK PACE WITH BIKES, HORSES, GOLF COURTS, TRANSPORTATION LIFESTYLE, IN TERMS OF NATURE, BEAUTY MAY RIVER.
THESE ARE ALL PIECES THAT WE WILL INCORPORATE INTO OUR MARKETING EFFORTS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 70% IN TERMS OF WHO WE'RE GOING AFTER THE LEISURE TRAVELER.
UM, AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE, IT SKEWS A BIT MORE FEMALES, 67% HUNDRED AND 50,000.
UM, IN TERMS OF TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT THEY TAKE TRIPS THERE THEY'RE OUT TO TRAVEL.
SO THEY'RE EARLY ADOPTERS, NOT ONLY POST QUARANTINE, BUT THEY ARE, UM, HAVE A PROPENSITY TO TRAVEL IN GENERAL.
SO IT SHOULD AFFORD TRIPS AND THEY LOVE TO, TO STAY SOMETIME IN THE LOCATIONS THAT ARE GOING.
SO WE LOOK FOR SEVEN AVERAGE NIGHTS, BUT WE TAKE IT A BIT FURTHER AND WE BREAK IT DOWN INTO, UM, SPECIFICALLY, HOW ARE WE GOING TO TARGET THEM WITH SPECIFIC MESSAGING AND INTEREST POINTS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE? AND SO WE'VE CURATED THESE SIX PERSONAS.
WE HAVE FAMILY ACTIVITIES AND RECREATION, ARTS CULTURE AND HISTORY CULINARY THE WEEKEND AND SNOWBIRDS.
SO WE FIRST IDENTIFY WHO WE'RE TARGETING, AND THEN WE DOWN A BIT SPECIFIC, UM, MORE SPECIFICALLY INTO TARGETED MESSAGING INTO THESE 6% OF THIS TALKING THROUGH HOW, UM, WE GO AFTER THAT CONSUMER SUBSET THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, THAT WE JUST SPOKE.
I SPOKE ABOUT WE'RE GOING TO START AT THE TOP OF THE FUNNEL.
AND OUR GOAL IS TO REALLY WORK THEM DOWN THAT FUNNEL.
SO THIS IS A LONG-TERM CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE OUT IN FRONT OF THEM ON MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TOUCH POINTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR 365 DAYS, ALWAYS ON, UM, IN TERMS OF OUTREACH AND CONNECTION AND BEING ABLE TO BE REFINED AND GIVE THEM THE RIGHT MESSAGING ON A NOW MULTI-DEVICE, UM, TYPE OF WORLD THAT WE'RE LIVING IN.
WE WANT TO BE PRESENT ON ALL OF THOSE.
AND SO AGAIN, STARTING BROAD, AND THEN WE REFINE AS WE COME DOWN THE FUNNEL, WE QUALIFY THEM.
WE ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE THEIR INTENT.
AND THEN THAT CONVERSION AND CONVERSION FROM THIS STANDPOINT MEANS THAT WE'RE SHAKING OUR HAND WITH OUR BUSINESS PARTNER, UM, WITHIN THE SOUTHERN VIEW FOR COUNTY, UM, AREA.
AND WE LIKE TO THINK OF THIS AS, I DON'T KNOW, WE JUST SPOKE ABOUT THAT ALWAYS ON APPROACH.
IT TAKES MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TOUCH POINTS IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT TIMES, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS TO REACH THAT CONSUMER AND TO BRING THEIR, UM, THEIR INTENT AND THEIR PARTNERSHIP WITH THEIR INTENT TO TRAVEL HERE.
SO WE'VE TRIED TO PUT THIS WHEEL TOGETHER TO GIVE YOU THAT INSIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING OF, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TOUCHING THEM THROUGH OUR PR EFFORTS, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS.
IT COULD BE THROUGH OUR COLLATERAL AND FULFILLMENT.
IT COULD BE THROUGH ONE OF THE WEBSITES THAT THEY'RE SEEING A DIGITAL OR SOCIAL MEDIA POST.
UM, THEY HAVE THE ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE, ANY
[00:55:01]
OF OUR MANY MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE, UM, ENGAGE IN.WE ALSO RESEARCH AND SURVEY AND MEETINGS IN GROUPS.
AGAIN, POST QUARANTINE COMING INTO 21, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE, UM, GROUP TRAVEL BACK.
AND THAT'S THE IMPORTANT PART TO THE 22 FISCAL YEAR STRATEGY.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE EFFORTS FOR 22 EACH UNDERNEATH THESE SEVEN STRATEGIES, THERE ARE GOALS UNDERNEATH EACH ONE OF THEM, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT THESE SEVEN FOR YOU.
UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE WANT OUR VISITOR AND POTENTIAL VISITOR TO COME TO THOSE WEBSITES.
WE WANT THEM TO SEE WHAT WE'RE OFFERING IN TERMS OF SOUTHERN BUFORD COUNTY.
AND WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO RESONATE AND CONNECT WITH THOSE DESTINATIONS.
SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, THOSE WEBSITES, BUT HOW DO WE GET THEM THERE? SO THERE'S THAT STRONG SEM AND SEO STRATEGY.
WE WANT TO END SURE WE IDENTIFY AND REACH THE MOST QUALIFIED USERS AGAIN, THINKING OF THAT FUNNEL AND HOW WE'RE PULLING THEM THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PRIORITY FOR US IN THIS NEW FISCAL YEAR AND, UM, MEETINGS AND GROUPS.
BUT WE ALSO WANT TO TOUCH THEM ON THE OFFLINE PIECES, SUCH AS THE NEW VACATION PLANNER WE'LL SPEAK ABOUT AS WELL AS OUR REGIONAL VACATION PLANNER.
SO THESE ITEMS WE'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO THOSE THAT LOVE TO HOLD AND TOUCH, BUT, UM, THOSE PIECES.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THOSE DIGITAL VERSIONS.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WITH RESEARCH AND REPORTING, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NIMBLE AND ADJUSTING.
UM, JUST AS WE WERE, WHEN WE CAME THROUGH 2020 TOGETHER, WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD THAT NIMBLE, ALWAYS ON APPROACH.
AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO ADJUST AND FLEX AS THOSE RESEARCH AND DETAILS WERE SHOWING US WHAT THE VISITOR IS DOING AND WHY.
SO SOME NEW INITIATIVES THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT WILL HELP SUPPORT THOSE SEVEN ITEMS THAT WE JUST SPOKE THROUGH.
UM, ARE THESE THREE PIECES HERE? SO THE INDEPENDENT, UM, STANDALONE VISIT BLUFFTON.ORG WEBSITE, UM, PRIOR TO A FEW MONTHS AGO, THIS WAS A MICROSITE UNDER THE LARGER UMBRELLA OF, UM, HILTON HEAD ISLAND.ORG.
SO THIS IS A BRAND NEW VENTURE FOR US, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO PUSH THIS, UM, WEBSITE FURTHER AND GIVE, UM, OUR VISITORS AND POTENTIAL VISITORS, ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT, UM, THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON.
UM, WE HAVE CREATED A BLUFFTON, UM, VIDEO SERIES, WHICH IS EXPLORE BLUFFTON SOUTH CAROLINA, WHICH IS UNDERNEATH THEIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL, WHICH ALSO FEEDS INTO THE WEBSITE AND GETS A LOT OF EXPOSURE ON NOT ONLY THE SITE, BUT ALSO THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.
AND THEN ALONG SIDE TO SUPPORT OUR REGIONAL VACATION PLANNER, WE HAVE A DEDICATED, UM, UH, OFFICIAL BLUFFTON VACATION PLANNER THAT IS SUPPORTED WITH THE 74 COUNTY EFFORTS WITH DEBUSKEY WRAPPED INTO IT.
SO WE WILL AGAIN HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO REALLY HIGHLIGHT SOUTHERN BEAVER COUNTY AS A WHOLE, UM, WITHIN THIS PIECE, UM, THAT DOES NOT SPEAK TO, UM, HILTON HEAD WITHIN THIS EFFORT.
UM, BUT WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THAT REGIONAL PIECE AS WELL.
AND THAT IS IT FOR MY PRESENTATION, BUT RAY AND I ARE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. BERNICE OR MR. DEAL YOU WANT IN COUNSEL? I CANNOT SEE ANYONE.
SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU EVER MARK, WILL WE BE ABLE TO OBTAIN THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS JUST DONE? YES.
UM, IS THAT WAS IN THE BACKUPS TODAY? WELL, I'M LOOKING AT THE BACKUP MATERIALS AND I SEE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WHAT YOU PRESENTED IN WHAT I WAS TRYING TO FOLLOW ON THE SCREEN.
CAN WE GET A COPY OF WHAT YOU PRESENTED TODAY? YES, THAT WAS, THAT IS IN YOUR HANDS.
I WILL RESEND THAT, BUT I BELIEVE WHAT YOU WERE VIEWING WAS THE ACTUAL MARKETING PLAN AS A WHOLE ON THE PRESENTATION, WE WILL MAKE SURE, UM, IS RE SENT RIGHT AFTER THIS CALL TODAY.
SO WHAT WE DO HAVE IS, IS YOUR, UM, IS, IS THE PRESENT OR THE MARKETING PRESENTATION AND WHAT YOU DID TODAY WAS JUST ANOTHER PRESENTATION.
SO YES, WE CAN GET THAT TO MS. BROCK AND SHE CAN THEN DISTRIBUTE THAT TO EVERYBODY.
THANK YOU, JOE, FOR NOTICING THAT, UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION MORE JUST TO COMMENT.
UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE, UH, PRESENTATION.
I THINK IT WAS VERY WELL DONE AND I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THE REPRESENTATION WE GET FROM THE HILTON HEAD, BLUFFTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
I THINK THEY DO A GREAT JOB AND, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR GOING THROUGH ALL THIS TROUBLE AND PUTTING THIS TOGETHER AS THOROUGHLY AS THEY DID.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? IF NOT GO AHEAD, BRIAN.
YEAH, I, I APPRECIATE THIS STATISTICS, BUT, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT HAVING THE INDUSTRY AND
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WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT 3.95 TOUCHES ARE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, SO IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET AN INTERPRETATION OF THAT DATA? DO YOU HAVE SOME WAY FOR US TO KNOW WHAT AN INDUSTRY STANDARD WOULD BE WITHOUT ANYTHING TO COMPARE TO? IT'S KIND OF, OF POINTLESS.WE'LL BE HAPPY TO PUT SOME MEASUREMENTS AGAINST THAT FOR YOU WHEN WE SEND BACK THROUGH THE DECK FOR YOUR REVIEW.
UM, ANYONE ELSE WITH ANY COMMENTS ARE GREAT.
UM, MR. DOODLE, THANK YOU, MS. BERNICE.
THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TODAY.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, AND AGAIN, WE APPRECIATE ALL YOU DO.
WE KNOW HOW HARD Y'ALL WORK AND THE AWARDS YOU'VE GOTTEN.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR, FOR COMING OUT TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES.
[11. GREATER BEAUFORT-PORT ROYAL CVB 2021- 2022 MARKETING PLAN PRESENTATION]
MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION.AND I THINK AS MR. WELLS IS GOING TO BE PRESENTING FOR US TODAY.
UM, SPRING THIS YEAR, THIS IS THE GREATER VIEW FOR PORT ROYAL CVB, UM, MARKETING PLAN PRESENTATION.
IS THERE A SEAT ON THE SPRING? THEY'RE NOT YET.
NOW WE ACTUALLY SEE YOU THE WHOLE PRESENTATION.
NO, I WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUMP BEFORE YOU TODAY.
IT'S, UM, A LONG TIME SINCE WE'VE GOTTEN A CHANCE TO MEET, I APPRECIATE ARIANA AND THE HILTON HEAD, BOTH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THEIR PRESENTATION IS A GOOD INTRO AND WE'VE MADE, AND WE REVIEW FOR COUNTY.
I CAN'T GIVE YOU A CURRENT STATUS.
WE'VE LAUNCHED OUR RECOVERY ADVERTISING PLAN.
UH, BACK IN, IN MAY, MAY 29TH, 2020, AS WE STARTED SEEING THE REOPENING TAKE PLACE.
AND OUR, OUR CURRENT STATUS WAS BACK IN THE RECOVERY PHASE.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE GROWING OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE.
WE WANTED TO CONTINUE TO HOST TRAVEL WRITERS WHEN IT WAS APPROPRIATE.
WE CONTINUE TO HOST TRAVEL WRITERS AND SOCIAL INFLUENCERS IN OUR MARKETPLACE, AND THAT IS A BIT A BIG ADVANTAGE FOR US AND AFFORDABLE THINGS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WAITING, WE'VE BEEN LEADING, UH, SEE A TREND IN AND TARGET AREAS OF DEMOGRAPHICS.
THAT'D BE CHANGING A LITTLE BIT.
OUR RESEARCH HAS LED US INTO SOME DIFFERENT PATHS AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR MARKET BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE OPEN, UH, TO, TO VISITATION.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE OUR MAIN GOAL WAS TO RESTORE SOME OF THE ECONOMIC SITUATION FOR THE PROJECT, OUR INDUSTRY, AS A WHOLE, UM, JUST REAL QUICK, UH, KEY PERFORMANCE.
I JUST KIND OF PUT IT IN A SUMMARY FORMAT HERE.
UM, AND I WANT TO KIND OF ROLL THROUGH THIS, HOW DURING THIS RECOVERY PHASE, WE SERVED OVER 16 MILLION ADS RAN 196,000 GOLD CONVERSIONS, UH, OVER 196,000 GOLD VERSIONS.
AND FOR US A GOLD CONVERSION IS EVERYTHING FROM TINDER GUIDE REQUEST TO, UH, LODGING PARTNER REFERRALS OR ASKING PEOPLE FROM BUFORD SC.ORG DIRECTLY FOR, UM, THEIR TRANSACTION.
SO WE HAVE A BOOKING ENGINE THAT ALLOWS FOR THAT.
WE HAVE A RESERVATION ENGINES THAT WILL TAKE CARE OF THAT FOR HOTELS, RESTAURANTS AS WELL, PASSENGERS ON THROUGH OUR OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES THAT MAKE UP OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, ANOTHER ONE THAT WE DID HAVE OVER 18,000, UH, LODGING PARTNER REFERRALS, WHICH IS PRETTY IMPRESSIVE DURING THE TIME WHEN WE THOUGHT THAT WAS GOING TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A TRICKY PROPOSITION, BUT WE DID FIND OUT THOUGH, IS THAT WHILE MANY PARTS OF OUR AREA WHERE WE'RE KIND OF SLOW AND STAGNANT FOR FILINGS HUNTING ISLAND, HARBOR ISLAND JUST INHERENT, UM, FEUDS THE INCREASE IN BOOKINGS.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, I BELIEVE IN EACH COMMUNITY STALLED KIND OF THAT EXPANDED SUMMER, UM, WHEN IT'S KIND OF EXTENDED BEYOND JUST THE NORMAL JUNE THROUGH AUGUST.
AND IT WENT THROUGH INTO SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER, AS HAYES WAS MENTIONING EARLIER ABOUT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX INCREASE LAST YEAR.
A LOT OF THAT COMES FROM THOSE COLLECTIONS, UH, FROM INCREASED VISITATION DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.
UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, 500% OVER 500% INCREASING GOAL COMPLETIONS, WHICH WAS, UH, FOR US, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT.
UM, LAUREN'S POINT THIS NEXT BULLET POINT IS $5 COST FOR CONVERSION FOR US.
YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL WAS STANDING OUT WAS TO BE SOMEWHERE AROUND EIGHT TO $12.
UH, WE, WE ACHIEVED A, A BETTER RATE, UH, ALSO DIVERSION WHERE WE'RE HAPPY WITH THAT NUMBER.
UM, IN SOME CASES IT MAY BE LOWER.
IN SOME CASES IT MAY BE HIGHER.
WE TRIED TO OPTIMIZE FOR THE BEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN THAT REGARD.
UM, WE EARNED OVER $11 MILLION IN PUBLICITY, UH, THIS, THIS PAST YEAR OUT OF A HUNDRED, 878 STORIES TALKING ABOUT BUFORD POLO IN SEATTLE, WE WERE ABLE TO HOST 10, UH, IN-PERSON
[01:05:01]
FAMILIARIZATION TOURS, BOTH FROM A PUBLIC RELATIONS SIDE, AS WELL AS OUR SALES TEAM, UH, HOSTING FOUR OR FIVE DIFFERENT SITE VISITS FOR MEETING PLANNERS.UH, WE ALSO SECURED SPORTING EVENTS, UH, FOR JUST FOR THIS YEAR.
AND, UM, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT RIGHT HERE AND GOT THE SLIDES, BUT, UH, WE HOSTED SEVERAL AS WELL.
AND, UM, AND IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN A FASCINATING TO WATCH AS, AS IT RETURNS BACK INTO SOUTH CAROLINA, ESPECIALLY WITH SOME OF THOSE ADULT EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE.
UH, BUT WE'VE ALSO SEEN LOCAL, UH, USE FOR STATE GOLF AS WELL.
UH, THE WEBSITE DO FOR THAT SEAT OUT AWARD.
SO 46% INCREASE IN NEW VISITORS WHILE ORGANIC SEARCH.
SO IT INCREASED TO 60 10%, ALL VERY POSITIVE NUMBERS.
FROM OUR STANDPOINT, OBVIOUSLY WE HAD SOME GREAT GOVERNORS YOU MIGHT'VE READ OF ALISON NEW YORK TIMES.
HE SAW SOME TRAVEL, LEISURE, A RANKING, ONE OF THE TOP ATHLETES AT THE VISITING SMALL TOWNS, A US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, AND A FASCINATING PIECES OF ALL THE CULTURE, AS WELL AS ESSENCE MAGAZINE AND GARDEN.
AND GUN GOES TO DREAM OF CAUTIONS OF ST.
HELENA ISLAND IN THEIR COVERAGE.
AGAIN, THIS IS ONLY A HANDFUL OF THE NOTABLE THINGS, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS A PLEASANT TIME TO SEE OUR AREA HIGHLIGHT.
WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT COME OUT OF THE VENDOR AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOMETHING ABOUT OUR INVESTORS, OUR BUDGET, IF YOU WILL, AFTER THIS UPCOMING YEAR, WE ANTICIPATE THAT BEAVER COUNTY WILL BE ABOUT 43% OF OUR BUDGET, UM, GIVING UP.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT, UM, THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS, BUT THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE, UM, THE HEIGHT OF RETURN TO THE REVIVAL AND HARBOR.
I WAS HUNTING ALLEN, UH, IN BEACH BEACH GOERS, AS WE EXTEND, SEE THAT COME BACK A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT MORE GUN STOVES IN SAY THE DOWNTOWN OR EVEN THE BUFORD PROPERTIES.
NOW WITH MILITARY GRADUATIONS REOPENING, UH, THAT'S BEEN A BOOM TO US HAS BEEN A JUNCTION TO, UH, TO THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR, UH, IN A STABILIZED OUR RATE.
SO WE ALL, WE MAY SEE THIS NUMBER FLUCTUATE A LITTLE BIT, BUT THIS IS A CURRENT I I'M WORKING WITH TEXAS.
YOU SAW ARIANA'S, UH, DETAILED, UH, PRINT OUT.
I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT OUR SEARCH OBJECTIVES, OUR DIGITAL AND PAID SEARCH OBJECTIVES.
OUR GOAL IS TO INCREASE PARTNER REFERRALS.
ONE THING THAT WE DID LEARN THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AND THROUGH THE MARKETING AND RECOVERY CASE WAS THAT WE NEEDED TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF LEADS COMING INTO OUR MARKET INTO OUR AREA.
SO DO WE HAD AN ACTIVE DATABASE, SO WE COULD CONTINUE TO TALK IN THE SHARE OF THE, THE GREAT EVENTS THAT WERE COMING BACK ONLINE.
AND FORTUNATELY THE LOW COUNTRY, ALSO THE AMOUNT OF REFERRALS THAT OUR PARTNERS GET DIRECTLY FROM US AND FROM THE AD PLACEMENTS THAT WE RUN IS IS, IS VERY IMPORTANT.
WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT TO CUT DOWN ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT PEOPLE HAVE IN THE FUNNEL AND THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS.
AND SO WE FEEL LIKE THIS, THIS, THIS OBJECTIVE OF OURS IS, IS THAT, UH, OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, UH, RIGHT UP TO THE TRANSACTION TASTE.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGED ABOUT, UM, ONGOING SUCCESS.
AND WE ALSO ARE GOING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR GROWING UP BRAND RECOGNITION IN OUR MARKET OVERALL.
AND THE SEALANTS, UM, ARE STARTING TO BECOME MORE AND MORE TOP OF MIND AS SOON AS A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT.
UM, IT'S TAKEN US A WHILE TO GET TO THAT POINT, BUT WE, WE FELT LIKE WE'VE CARVED OUT A GREAT PIECE IN BETWEEN OUR, OUR GREAT DESTINATIONS THAT SURROUND US, UH, HILTON HEAD, SAVANNAH CHARLESTON, HAVING GREAT RECOGNITION ALREADY, WHICH I, THE BEAUTIFUL BRAND IS, IS SITTING RIGHT, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT.
AND IT COULD BE A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR IT.
UM, YOU CAN GO THROUGH THE REST OF IT.
WE OPTIMIZE OUR PAGE CENTRAL STRATEGY HERE.
WE'RE ALREADY ENGAGING TRAVELERS, BUT OUR BIGGEST THING IS WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SETTING THE PROPER EXPECTATIONS, EVEN TELLING YOU HOW TO RECOVER.
IT'S NOT A VOLUME BASED GAME, UH, IN BEAVER COUNTY.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING, UM, THE RIGHT, UH, THE VISITORS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR A MARKET, OUR SIZE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T BE ALL THOSE THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE DON'T OFFER A SPRAWLING URBAN AREA FOR THOSE WHO ARE SEEKING THAT URBAN NIGHTLIFE, WE JUST CAN'T PROVIDE IT WHO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE VERY, UH, DOING A VERY GOOD JOB OF ENGAGING AND EDUCATING OUR VISITORS AND YOUR VISITORS AS THEY BEGIN PLANNING FOR THE NEXT PHASE WHERE WE COULD FIT INTO THEIR EXPERIENCE PLANS.
AND OF COURSE, USING THAT COMMUNICATION OPTIMIZATION A CONSTANT CAMPAIGN TO DO SO.
UM, EVEN REAL KIND OF DATA TRAFFIC YEAR FOR US, WE HAVE SEEN A REACH YEAR THAT WE THINK THAT SHOPPING CONTINUES TO BE A HIGH ACTIVITY FOR THE LIVING MUSIC COUNTY.
UH, IT HAPPENS TO BE OUR NUMBER TWO DRIVER, UH, COMING INTO THIS MARKET OUTDOOR, UH, HOW THE WAR WAS DONE.
UH, AND THEN OF COURSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE OPTIMIZING, UH, TO THE LOCATION WITH IS YOUR DATA IN THE SITE SO THAT WE CAN MEET, UH, THOSE INQUIRIES THAT PEOPLE ARE HAVING.
BUT WE'LL SAY THIS, ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING THINGS WE SAW COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC WAS THE CHANGING THE DEMOGRAPHIC OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE LOOKING FOR BEAUTY FOR 41 SEA ISLANDS.
I'LL SIT HERE LOOKING AT OVER A NUMBER SIX.
UM, WE TYPICALLY TREND FROM THE AGE DEMOGRAPHIC
[01:10:01]
ABOUT 45 AND OLDER.WE ACTUALLY ON A PANDEMIC CAUSE WE SAW A LOT OF YOUNGER FAMILIES, UH, LOOKING, UH, TO OUR AREA AS A PLACE WHERE THEY COULD WORK REMOTE AND, AND LIVE IN A MORE OPEN AREA, UM, MORE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, CLOSER TO THE BEACH.
SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE CAPITALIZE ON AND WE'RE GONNA, WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, AS THEY DO TO MAKE THEM MORE EFFECTIVE VISITORS FOR US AND FOR LONG LASTING BRAND AMBASSADORS.
THEN, UM, WE DO HAVE A, OUR SALES OBJECTIVE, OUR SALES TEAM IS MEETING, UH, TO, TO SET SOME NEW GOALS FOR TOMORROW MARKET MEETINGS.
UH, YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE REAL GROUPS AND MOTORCOACH OPERATORS START TO RETURN BACK TO THE AREA.
UM, WE DO HAVE A CRUISE SHIP BUSINESS THAT, THAT DOES MAKE IT AT FOUR IN THE VIEW FOR, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE ACTIVELY SOUGHT AFTER, BUT WE WERE TRYING TO MEET THAT MAN AS IT SERVED THROUGH THAT.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE ENDED UP WITH ALMOST 171 LEADS.
THERE'S NO MARKET MEETINGS AS THEY WERE LOOKING TO LEAVE OTHER LOCATIONS AND MOVE TO A SMALLER DESTINATION.
WHAT DID I WAS MOVING THEM WITHIN THE STATE OR COMING FROM OUTSIDE OF THE STATE, INTO THE AREA WE WERE ABLE TO SEND OUT THERE, POSING STUDENTS.
UM, IF YOU'RE, AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR GOALS ARE TO GENERATE EVEN MORE FOR OUR BUSINESSES AS WE BUILD COMPRESSION IN OUR MARKETPLACE TO HELP DIVERSIFY OUR VISITOR SEGMENT.
AND I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT TO THE NEXT LINE, BECAUSE THIS IS SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES THAT WE HAD THROUGH THE GIFFORD AREA SPORTS COUNCIL THAT WE DID LEARN THROUGH THE PANDEMIC IS THAT WHEN THE MILITARY GRADUATION WENT AWAY, WE SAW THAT DEPENDENCY ON HOW MUCH BUSINESS, WHAT THEIR GRADUATION WAS FOR OUR AREA AND OUR NEED TO DIVERSIFY LEISURE TRAVEL.
DIDN'T MAKE UP A BULK OF THAT RETURN, WHAT SPORTS TOURISM IS IS COMING ON.
HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE VERY, UM, INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR RECOVERY EFFORTS? UM, YOU KNOW, JUST THIS WEEK WE HAVE THE ATHLETICS PROGRAMS, UH, SOFTBALL TOURNAMENTS.
SO WHAT DID THEY, SHANNON, WHO IS RUNNING MAT LOSS AND THE FOLKS AT PARKS AND REC RECRUITING ONE EVENT INTO THE SUMMER TO HELP PUT HEADS IN BEDS IS THERE, BUT ALSO TO SHOW THE AREA TO TWO THIRDS OUTSIDE OF THE HERE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT OVER THE DIXIE JUNIOR BOYS STARTED IN JULY AS TO WHERE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH PARKS AND REC IS CONTINUES TO GROW.
AND I CAN'T THINK OF THOSE TWO, UH, ENOUGH AND THEIR, THEIR TEAM.
UH, WE DID HER SUPPORT WORK ASSOCIATION, THEN STUFF HAPPENED.
IT WAS HELD AT DELTA BORDERS, ADULTS, ALSO SOME GREAT DOGS TAKE PLACE OVER THAT TIME PERIOD AND CONGRATS SCISSORS FROM COLLEGE OF DRESSING FOR WINNING IN FRONT OF IT.
UM, AND OF COURSE WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER NEW, UH, EVENTS GOING THROUGH THE MARKET WE DIDN'T HAVE IN THE PAST IS OUR, OUR, OUR GOAL TO DIVERSIFY HOW PEOPLE COME TO MARKET IT'S TAKING SHAPE.
WELL, THAT'S A BIG, UH, IMPORTANT FEATURE FOR, FOR OUR COMMUNITY IN NORTHERN BUFORD COUNTY AS A WHOLE, AS MOVED FORWARD TO GIVE US, UH, NOT ALL OUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET TECH MENTALITY AS WE MOVED FORWARD.
UM, I WILL OPEN IT UP TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AND FOLLOW-UPS TO THAT.
THANK YOU, MR. WELLS, ANYBODY HAVE A QUESTION OR A COMMENT FOR, UH, MR. WELLS? I DO SEE YOUR HANDLE.
IT WAS GOOD TO HAVE THE, UH, THE, THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
I'M WONDERING, UM, HOW DID YOU GET THAT BEAUTIFUL SHOT OF THE WATERFRONT PARK IN THE NATIONAL COVERAGE SHOWING THE
I THINK YOU, YOU PROBABLY GOT LOTS OF PHONE CALLS AFTER THAT.
SO YES, WE RECEIVED A LOT OF, UM, A LOT OF LOVE FROM, UH, THE PALMETTO CHANNEL.
I FOUND THAT A CLASSIC ACT HENRI, UH, WE THINK, UH, SED RT FOR THEIR INCLUSION OF, OF BUFORD, UH, IN, IN THAT COVERAGE.
AND, UH, WE, WE DEFINITELY REACHED SOME GREAT PHRASE FROM THAT.
UH, JUST HOW BEAUTIFUL AREA WAS THAT.
SO THAT SHOWCASE IT REALLY WAS NICE.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE A COMMENT OR QUESTION MARK? I JUST HAVE A BRIEF ONE.
I JUST WANT TO DO A GRADUATE, THE, UH, CHAMBER POOL, THIS PRESENTATION.
I COULD TELL THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO IT AND THE PRIDE YOU TAKE IN THE PRESENTATION.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR GIVING ME SUCH A THOROUGH OVERVIEW OF WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO GOING FORWARD.
UM, UM, YOU HIGHLIGHT SEVERAL AREAS
[01:15:01]
OF, UH, OF, UH, CONCERNS AND, UH, I WAS LISTENING AND I MAY HAVE MISSED IT.WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU, UH, IN THE CHAMBER? WHAT ARE YOU ADVERTISING TO HIGHLIGHT THE NATIVE CULTURE IN THE SEA ISLANDS AND THE, AND UH, LOW COUNTRY? SO WAS A GREAT QUESTION.
IS THERE AN IMPORTANT EMPHASIS FOR OUR ORGANIZATION BEFORE OUR DESTINATION TO, TO REACH OUT TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN TRAVELERS, TO HIGHLIGHT, TO GO THE CULTURE? UM, YOU KNOW, WE WE'VE VOTED BY TRAVEL WRITERS THAT FEATURED PROMINENT, UH, ARTICLES IN ESSENCE MAGAZINE WHEN THEIR COVERAGE OF THE GOLD CUP COVERAGE AFFORDED OR SHIP WITH THE INTERCOASTAL PODCAST, WITH THE HOST AS FEATURE DESIGNERS THAT MAKE UP THE COMMUNITY IN THIS IN SAYING HOW LONG AGO, UH, IN, IN THOSE MARKETS.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY THOUGH, IS WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING IS MEET THE EXPERIENCE WITH THE EXPEDITIONS OF VISITORS THAT ARE COMING.
IT SOUNDS, WE DONE IT IN OUR RESEARCH.
WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THOSE BUSINESSES THAT CAN MEET THOSE EXPECTATIONS.
NOW, THE PENN CENTER IS, IS OPENING.
AN OPERATING THING IS SEEING THE RENOVATIONS, WORKING WITH THE GOAL OF GRABBING THEIR, THEIR CALENDAR OF EVENTS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN MEET THOSE NEEDS, WHERE THEY'RE AT, WHERE WE CAN MEET THEIR EXPECTATIONS PERIOD.
IT TAKES, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT GUESSING.
I THINK A LOT OF HELP, WE RECEIVED THE SOLID RECONSTRUCTION, PARKLAND MONUMENT AREA, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE THERE, A FULL GROW WHERE THEIR, UM, THEIR, THEIR FORT RANGERS, UH, THE INSTITUTION OF THEIR KNOWLEDGE BASE AT THE FOUR SITES THAT MAKE UP MORE THAN BUFORD COUNTY HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN TELLING THAT STORY OF RECONSTRUCTION, UH, FOR THOSE GUESTS WHO ARE LOOKING TO ATTITUDE, THEIR ITINERARY, OR WE SEE THE TOURS, I LEAVE OUT FROM DOWNTOWN BUFORD IN A DIFFERENT HALL.
AND, UH, THEY GO OUT THROUGH THE WEEK AND WE'VE SEEN THOSE NUMBERS INCREASE AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO VENTURE OUT AND FIND AND FOUND THAT FOR THEIR GENERATOR, THE ACTIVE, ACTIVE UNIVISION THAT WE'VE SEEN OR ENGAGEMENT WE'VE SEEN, EXCUSE ME, UH, FROM OUR PARTNERS IN THAT IT'S JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE RELAYING THAT INFORMATION TO THE PROPER DEMOGRAPHIC DATA IS SEARCHING FOR THOSE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES.
WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE THE FACT OF WHAT WE ARE THE BIGGEST THING THAT MR. DAWSON, TO YOUR POINT.
BUT WE HAVE SEEN THAT HAS BEEN VERY INSTRUMENTAL TO US IS NOW WE CAN HAVE THE LOCAL COMMUNITY TELL THE STORY OF THEIR VISION OR THEIR VERSION OF WHAT, WHAT THEY OFFER.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, GHANA, COASTAL PODCASTS THAT YOU CAN DOWNLOAD ON RAP LODGE.
AND IT'S THE STORY OF ALL DESTINATION BY THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP THE DESTINATION.
SO VICTORIA SWEATERS IN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TELLING THE STORIES OF RECONSTRUCTION HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL BY HAVING SARAH AGREE AND COME IN AND TALK ABOUT ALCOHOL GROVE IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, SINCE THE CENTRICITY THEY'VE HAD REVEREND HODGES AND HEARING A TELL OF MONUMENT AND SOME OF THE ENGAGEMENT THAT WAS GOING THERE ON THE FLIP SIDE, HAVING DO FOR KAYAK TOURS ABOUT THE OPEN SPACE ON THE WATERWAYS IS ONE OF THE NUMBER ONE DRAWS TO OUR AREA.
THAT'S HOW WE'RE TELLING THE STORY.
IF YOU'VE HEARD IT, JUST TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN JUST THAT A PRETTY ART AND DESIGN WORK AND CREATIVE, BUT WE ARE WORKING DAY IN AND DAY OUT TO, TO PRESENT THIS DESTINATION, UH, TO, TO THE VISITORS WHO WANT TO SEEK OUT MORE AND MORE, AND WE WANT TO MEET THEM WHERE THEIR EXPECTATIONS ARE.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. WELLS COMMENTS QUESTIONS, ROB, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT AS USUAL, YOU DO AN INCREDIBLE JOB.
AND, AND JUST LET EVERYONE KNOW.
WE, WE DID GIVE A TIME RESTRAINT FOR BOTH, UH, MR. WELLS AND FOR MS. BERNICE TO KEEP THINGS TO A MINIMUM.
OBVIOUSLY THEIR MARKETING COMPANIES WOULD GET, HAVE BEEN THERE A LOT LONGER, BUT THEY KEPT IT AND KEPT THINGS GOOD, UH, AND, AND DID SHORT FORCE.
BUT, UM, UNLIKE OTHER AREAS THAT DON'T HAVE ANY ORGANIZATIONS, WE'VE GOT A BUNCH OF REALLY GOOD MARKETING COMPANIES THAT WE'VE GOT THAT PROMOTE, UM, BUFORD COUNTY.
SO MR. WELLS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY.
AND OBVIOUSLY HE'S VERY EASY TO GET AHOLD OF ANYONE NEEDS SOMETHING.
HE'S ALWAYS THERE TO ANSWER HIS PHONE.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, JUST GET AHOLD OF, UH, ROB FOREST AGAIN, ROB.
APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT TODAY.
[12. PRESENTATION OF FISCAL YEAR 2021-2022 BUDGETS BY THE FIRE DISTRICTS LOCATED WITHIN BEAUFORT COUNTY.]
ALL RIGHT.LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR, I THINK IT IS OUR, OUR LAST ITEM OF THE DAY.
UM, AND THIS, THIS IS OUR ONLY OTHER ACTION ITEM, WHICH WE WILL BE, UM, EITHER APPROVING OR DENYING, UM, THE, THE BUDGET FOR OUR FIRE DISTRICTS.
UM, AND MS. PINKY, HARRIET HAS TAKEN ON, UM, PRESENTATION FOR THIS, THIS PINKY ONLINE FOR US TODAY.
ALL RIGHT, MS. MS. RUSSELL IS GONNA TAKE OVER.
UM, I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE FIRE CHIEFS THAT ARE IN LINE TODAY TO DISCUSS A LITTLE MORE IN DETAIL THAN WHAT EITHER PINKIE OR I WOULD BE ABLE TO DO, UM, SAY THANK YOU, FIRST OF ALL, FOR YOUR SERVICE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND WHAT YOU DO FOR EACH OF US.
UM, AND B FOR COUNTY, THE IMPORTANT ROLE THAT YOU PLAY IS CERTAINLY
[01:20:01]
NOT EVER LOOKS TO BE FIRST, WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.SECONDLY, ON ANOTHER PERSONAL NOTE TO SAY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE THIS YEAR, WE, THAT THE BUDGET PROCESS HAS BEEN A BIT A TYPICAL, UM, BOTH PINKIE AND I BEING NEW ON STAFF.
UM, AND SIMPLY BEING SLOWLY BROUGHT UP TO SPEED WITH A LOT OF THE INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE THAT EXISTED PREVIOUSLY PRIOR TO OUR TENURE.
SO WE'VE HAD TO RELY ON YOU GUYS A LITTLE BIT TO HELP US ALONG THE WAY.
SO I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT, BUT ALSO FOR YOUR FLEXIBILITY THIS YEAR, KNOWING THAT IT'S, UM, BEEN A BIT MORE OF A GRUELING PROCESS THAN IT NORMALLY WOULD BE, UH, WITH THE VALUE OF THE MILL CALCULATION AND THE WAITING GAME THAT THAT HAS BEEN.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT VERY MUCH.
UM, AT THIS TIME I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF KLEIN, WHO I BELIEVE IS THE ONLY, UM, FOR OUR DISTRICT AT THIS TIME, HE WAS ACTUALLY REQUESTING A SLIGHT INCREASE IN THE MILL RATE.
SO CHIEF CLIENT, IF YOU'RE THERE, I'M GOING TO PASS THE BALL OFF TO YOU.
AND THEN EACH OF THE OTHER CHIEFS CAN SUBSEQUENTLY, UM, TALK BRIEFLY OVER THEIR BUDGETS.
IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS QUIT AND YOU CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME.
UH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, BRUCE KLEIN, FIRE CHIEF OF LADIES.
I WAS SAYING HERE AT FIRE DISTRICT.
UH, FIRST I'D LIKE A SHOUT OUT AND A BIG THANK YOU TO PINKY, UH, FOR ALL OUR HARD WORK WITH US.
AND, UH, FOR HER PATIENCE, I KNOW WE COULD BE A TOUGH GROUP TO WORK WITH.
UH, THE COMMISSIONER AND I ARE PRESENTING A BUDGET THIS YEAR THAT DOES, IS REQUESTING A ONE MIL INCREASE.
UH, WE HAVEN'T INCREASED THE MILL RATE IN MANY YEARS, UH, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THIS YEAR, UM, BECAUSE OF, UH, EXPENSES, WE WILL HAVE TO INCREASE BY ONE MILL.
UM, WE ARE PROPOSING TO GO FROM 40.1 TO 41.1 FOR OPERATIONS.
UH, OUR, WE ARE EXPECTING OUR REVENUE TO BRING IN 6,728,000 6 75.
OUR EXPENDITURES THIS YEAR, OUR 6 MILLION 705, 600 FOR THE IMPACT TO OUR FUND BAL BALANCE WILL BE POSITIVE AT AN INCREASE OF $23,000.
OUR FUND BALANCE CURRENTLY IS 18.5% OF OUR BUDGET.
OUR STAFFING LEVELS HAVE REMAINED THE SAME FOR THE LAST MANY YEARS AND OUR DEBT MILLAGE WILL REMAIN THE SAME AT TWO MILLS.
OUR TOTAL REQUESTS FOR OPERATIONS IN DEBT 3.1 MIL, I WOULD GIVE YOU, UH, THAT THAT ONE MIL INCREASE THIS YEAR IS $4 PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN VALUE.
SO FOR INSTANCE, LAST YEAR, A BILL FOR LADIES ISLAND FIRE DISTRICT SERVICES WAS $168 AND 40 CENTS PER $100,000 IN VALUE.
THIS YEAR, THAT SAME HOME AT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS VALUE WILL BE $172 AND 40 CENTS.
SO AGAIN, WE DON'T LIKE THE RAISE OF THE MILL, UH, BUT THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF EXPENSES, UH, WE ARE HALF.
WE HAVE TO RAISE ONE MILL, BUT THAT IS OUR PREFERS LOOK FROM THE COMMISSION AND MYSELF.
I WOULD BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
LET'S JUST GO FIRST A COMMENT.
THANK YOU, CHIEF, FOR AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.
AND THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THE LINE LO THOSE MANY YEARS.
UH, YOU GUYS DID A TREMENDOUS JOB AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU, MS. SOMERVILLE, ANYONE ELSE WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT QUESTION? I HAVE A QUESTION.
MARK IS THE POINT OF CLARIFICATION ON THE COST PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND FOR A HOME WOULD BE $4 PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND OR $4.
THAT'S THE INCREASE WILL BE $4.
ANYBODY ELSE? THAT HAS A COMMENT QUESTION.
UH, WE CAN, UM, MOVE ON FROM HERE IS ANY OTHER, UH, NEXT FIRE CHIEF IS SOMEONE ELSE GOING TO SPEAK WHITNEY.
HOW ABOUT THAT NEXT? UM, HOW ABOUT CHIEF ROUNDTREE WITH BURTON? IS HE ON TODAY? THANK YOU.
WE INTEND, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, UH, PRESENTED NUMBERS THAT WE RECEIVED, THE ESTIMATED REVENUE THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE COUNTY.
WE DO NOT FEEL THAT WE WILL NEED, UH, ANY TYPE OF INCREASE AT ALL.
WE'RE ASKING TO STAY AT THE SAME MILLAGE THAT WE'VE HAD.
THIS'LL BE THE THIRD BUDGET AT THE SAME MILLAGE.
UH, WE BELIEVE THAT THE REVENUE GENERATED WILL BE, UH, 5 MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ONE EIGHTY $1.
UH, WE'RE ASKING TO UTILIZE THE 120 FROM OUR IMPACT FEES TO GO TOWARDS, UH, SOME, UH, EQUIPMENT ON FIRE APPARATUS.
SO WE HAVE A TOTAL REVENUE OF 5 MILLION, 641, 0 81.
OUR EXPENDITURES ARE 5 MILLION, SIX HUNDRED SIXTY FIVE, THREE HUNDRED AND TEN.
WE ANTICIPATE IF WE SPEND EVERY DOLLAR
[01:25:01]
IN THE BUDGET, UM, THAT WE WOULD BE LOOKING TO GO INTO OUR FUND BALANCE BY 24,229.BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, FROM LAST YEAR, UH, AFTER THERE ARE MID-YEAR REVIEWS AND THREE QUARTER YEAR REVIEWS, WE TIGHTENED OUR BELTS AND WE ANTICIPATED IN THE SAME THING WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY, UM, HAVE A, AN INCREASE OF OUR FUND BALANCE OF 170,000 LAST YEAR AND A PARTICULARLY TOUGH YEAR.
SO WE'RE ANTICIPATING BEING ABLE TO DO THE SAME THING THIS YEAR.
OUR DEBT SERVICE IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME, THE, UH, RETIRED, UH, WE PAID OFF A TRUCK AND THE HABITS FROM FIRE STATION LAST YEAR.
AND IN OUR REPLACEMENT PLAN, WE, UH, ISSUED, UH, WE'VE CONTRACTED WITH A MANUFACTURER TO REPLACE A 20 YEAR OLD FIRETRUCK AND A 17 YEAR OLD FIRETRUCK.
AND WE ACTUALLY SAW A SMALL DECREASE IN OUR OVERALL DEBT SERVICE.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE ASKING FOR, UH, THE SAME MILLAGE THAT WE HAD LAST YEAR AND A NO TAX INCREASE.
OUR BUDGET DOES INCLUDE A 2% COLA.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A COLA AND, UH, SINCE 2019, SO WE DID INCLUDE A 2% COLA, UH, NO NEW FIREFIGHTERS, UM, AND THE SECTOR.
I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANYONE MAY HAVE ON OUR PROPOSAL.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR CHIEF ROUNTREE GUY? UH, YES.
UH, CHIEF ROM TRIA, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU AND THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE BURDEN FIVE TO SHIP FOR THE OUTSTANDING JOB THAT YOU DO.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE.
MY DAD, I, WHEN I ADD MY THANKS AS WELL FOR HOLDING THE LINE CHIEF IT'S GOOD JOB.
ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT? OBVIOUSLY, A CHIEF ROUNTREE IS INCLUDING A COOLER, BUT HE'S KEEPING HIS, UM, HIS, UH, HIS NUMBER THE SAME.
THANK YOU, MR. ROUNDTREE, I GUESS WE'LL THEN MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT, UM, UH, WOULD BE CHIEF THOMPSON WITH THE BLUFFTON FIRE DISTRICT.
ARE YOU READY TO GO? YES, SIR.
I'M GOING TO PRESENT THE BLUFFTON TOWNSHIP FIRE DISTRICT BUDGET.
THIS BUDGET HAS BEEN UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY OUR BOARD, UH, FOR ME TO BRING IT FORWARD INTO PRESENT IT TODAY.
WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR A TAX INCREASE THIS YEAR, BREAK IN OUR AREAS.
IT'S BEEN VERY GOOD AND YOU'RE PAYING FOR THE GROWTH OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
I BELIEVE THIS IS ABOUT THE FOURTH OR FIFTH YEAR THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD A SUBSTANTIAL TAX INCREASE AND BLUFFTON, UH, BASED UPON THE INFORMATION FROM THE COUNTY, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR REVENUES BEING $16,777,000.
UH, WE'RE ASKING BURNET AND OUR EXPENDITURES WE'RE ESTIMATING AT 16 MILLION 761 7 72, EXCUSE ME, WHICH WOULD, UH, WHICH WOULD MEAN THAT WE WOULD, COULD POSSIBLY INCREASE OUR FUND BALANCE BY ABOUT $15,000.
UH, WE ARE, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UH, A SLIGHT DECREASE IN OUR DEBT MILLAGE, RIGHT BASED UPON OUR NEW VALUE.
UH, BUT WHEN THE 1.5 FOR DEBT MILLAGE COMBINED WITH THE 24.2 FOR THE OPERATIONS, NO KNOW THE TOTAL TAX RATE FOR THE CITIZEN, UH, 25.7 MEALS.
SO ESSENTIALLY THAT'S WHERE WE ARE AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR CHIEF THOMPSON? I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT CHIEF THOMPSON.
HE HAD, THANK YOU LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL BEING EFFICIENT AND HOLDING THE LINE AND I'M MAKING OUR JOB EASY TO, TO SUPPORT YOU.
AND, AND AGAIN, YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB IN THE BOSTON COMMUNITY.
I AM, UM, THE SUPER JOB AGAIN, WE APPRECIATE ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND YOUR GUYS', UM, ART WORK.
UM, I HAVE NO OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. THOMPSON OR CHIEF THOMPSON.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, CHIEF JONES FROM SHELDON, MR. JONES.
THE SHELDON FIRE DISTRICT SHE'S PULLING UP, SHOWED HIM FIRE DISTRICT AND IS LOOKING FOR EXPENDITURES THIS YEAR, $1,547,680 AND PERSONNEL OPERATIONS, 1 33, 100 AND DEBT.
WE'RE ACTUALLY REDUCING BOATS BY MILLAGE THIS YEAR.
WE'RE GOING DOWN ABOUT SEVEN TENTHS OF A MILL OPERATIONS AND DOWN ABOUT FOUR TENTHS IN DEBT OR A MILL BY GROWTH DID COME IN PRETTY GOOD THIS YEAR.
AND I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
[01:30:01]
I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN AN ACTUAL DECREASE IN A REQUEST FOR A DEBT MILLAGE, AND I APPRECIATE IT, CHIEF.AND NOT ONLY THAT YOU GUYS DO YOUR JOB OUT THERE AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
YOU'RE WELCOME, MR. DAWSON, GO AHEAD.
AND THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF THE SHELDON FIVE DISTRICT FOR THE OUTSTANDING SERVICE THAT YOU PROVIDE TO THE CITIZENS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT.
UH, WE THANK YOU FOR COMING AND BRINGING THE BUDGET IN WITH NO MILITARY INCREASE AT ALL STANDARD.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR CHIEF JONES, MR. JOE, OR CHIEF JONES? THANK YOU AGAIN FOR COMING TODAY.
WE APPRECIATE YOU TAKING YOUR TIME AND AGAIN, VERY IMPRESSIVE.
AND, AND WE ARE, WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DO, AND ALL YOUR, YOUR, YOUR STAFF ENVIRONMENT DO AS WELL COUNTY STAFF TOO, FOR THE GOOD JOB THEY DID ON THE MILLAGE THIS YEAR.
WE'VE GIVEN US REAL GOOD NUMBERS.
WE'VE GOT A GREAT STAFF HERE, SO THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.
UM, AND OUR FINAL IS, UM, THE DUSKY FIRE DISTRICT, UH, WITH, UH, WITH MY NEIGHBOR, UH, CHIEF LOPER.
UM, I ALSO REPRESENT THE FOSKEY.
SO, UM, UM, MS. GLENN, YOU'RE GOING TO BE PRESENTING WELL, FLIPPER APOLOGIZES THAT HE'S NOT ABLE TO BE PRESENT TODAY.
HE HAD A LOSS IN HIS FAMILY, SO HE'S OUT OF STATE.
THIS IS MS. ERIN QUINN, WHO, UM, YOUR POSITION IS YOU ARE THE, SO TODAY.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THE GUYS ALL KNOW, SO SINCE I GOT TO BE IN THE ROOM, I GET LIKE A FREE MIL, RIGHT? SO HERE WE ARE, WE ARE GOING TO HOLD THE LINE AS WELL WITH OUR MILLAGE.
IT BRINGS US, UM, FOR OUR SALARIES AND BENEFITS TO AT 1.099, AND OUR PURCHASE SERVICES, OUR OPERATIONAL COSTS.
UH, THAT'S GOING TO PUT US AT A 111,000.
WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR.
WE HAVE AN AGING FLEET AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE, UH, APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE EQUIPMENT, UM, NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE AND REPAIRS.
AND THEN WE WERE THANKFUL WE, WE DID HAVE SOME STAFFING CHANGES IN THE LAST YEAR.
WE DID START A PART-TIME PROGRAM.
UM, THAT'S HELPING ALSO WITH OUR SALARIES AND BENEFITS SIDE OF THINGS.
SO WE HAVE NEW FOLKS COMING IN THAT ARE PART OF OUR PART-TIME PROGRAM.
AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE THE SAME OVERHEAD FOR THEIR BENEFITS AS WELL.
AND IT'S ALSO CREATING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INCOMING FULL-TIMERS POTENTIAL, UM, THAT WE'RE GETTING TO KNOW THEM AS WELL.
AND, AND THEY'RE GETTING TO KNOW THE ISLAND, WHICH IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN EVERY OTHER PLACE IN THIS COUNTY.
UM, AND ADDITIONALLY, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE DO NOT HAVE, UH, CONTINUE NOT TO HAVE A DEBT SERVICE MILLAGE AS WELL.
THANK YOU ANY, UH, ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. QUINN FROM THE FOSKEY ISLAND FIRE? I DON'T SEE ANY HANDS AND LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, UM, TELL MR. CHIEF LOPER THAT WE APPRECIATE HIS HARD WORK AND YOUR HARD WORK AND THE STAFF, AND THANK YOU FOR, FOR MAKING OUR JOB EASY AND COMING IN AND BEING, YOU KNOW, UH, NO INCREASE.
AND WE DO APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO.
SO THAT LEAVES IT NOW OPEN FOR DISCUSSION FROM COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, AGAIN, OUR POSITION HERE IS AS AN ACTION ITEM IS TO, UM, TO APPROVE OR, OR DENY, UM, THE BUDGETS AS PRESENTED.
DO I HAVE A, A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE, THE BUDGETS HAS PRESENTED AND I SEE MR. SUMMERVILLE, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
I MOVE TO APPROVE ALL BUDGETS, ALL FIRE DISTRICT BUDGETS, ALL THAT A SECOND BY MR. DAWSON.
UH, ANY DISCUSSION SEEING NO DISCUSSION, UH, WE WILL APPROVE THIS WITHOUT OBJECTION.
IS THERE ANY OBJECTION SEEING NO OBJECTION.
UH, SO THAT ITEM HAS, HAS PASSED, UM, AND, UH, WE WILL MOVE ON AND, UH, THAT IS THE END OF OUR AGENDA.
IS THERE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT WE HAVE SARAH, THAT WE NEED TO COVER? WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYONE IN THE MEETING WITH SO SEEING NO PUBLIC COMMENTS.
SO WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE MEETING.
I ACTUALLY, I THINK IT MOVED ALONG VERY, VERY NICELY.
SO AGAIN, MUSHY AND EVERYONE'S HELP AND CONCERN AND HELPING US TO DO THAT.
UM, SO OUR, UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING FOR MONDAY, JUNE 21ST IS A JERK.
THANK YOU, TICKET AND STU UH, HOW MANY.