Apr 18, 2023 Town of Hilton Head Finance & Administrative Committee

[2. FOIA Compliance: Public notification of this meeting has been published, posted, and distributed in compliance with the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act and the requirements of the Town of Hilton Head Island.]

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THE STREET OF COMMITTEE MEETING THE APRIL 18TH THEY ARE WE IN COMPLIANCE BEFORE YOU? YES. THERE WE ARE. HEY, COULD YOU CALL A ROLE PLEASE? ABSOLUTELY. MR. STANFORD AIR ALFRED HERE.

[4. Approval of the Minutes a. Special Meeting – April 4, 2023]

WE HAVE ONE SET OF MINUTES FROM APRIL 4TH, 2023 MEETING MOVED SUBMITTED SECOND CALLER ALL PLEASE CERTAINLY MR. STANFORD FOR THE MOTION MR.. YES YES MR. BROWN YES.

[5. Appearance by Citizens]

IF HOAGLAND WOMEN HARBOR BACK AGAIN FINANCE COMMITTEE IS EXPECTED TO EXERCISE REAL OVERSIGHT OVER THE TOWN'S BOOKS, THEY FAMILIAR WITH THE CPA REPORTS AND OTHERWISE KEEP TRACK OF TAXPAYERS MONEY. NOT EVERY MEMBER NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT WITH TOWN MANAGER IN THE CPA JUST DELEGATE ONE COMMITTEE MEMBER TO REPORT BACK WHAT THEY FOUND IS A PROBLEM AND LOOKS IF A CPA OR COMMITTEE MEMBER HAS HAS AUDIT KNOWLEDGE WHO SERVES ON THE TOWN FINANCE THE COMMITTEE MUST HIRE AN OUTSIDE INDEPENDENT EXCUSE ME IF NO CPA OR COMMITTEE MEMBER HAS AUDIT WHO SERVES ON THE TOWN FINANCE COMMITTEE THE COMMITTEE HIRE AN OUTSIDE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR EXPERT TO REVIEW THE BOOKS PREPARED BY THE TOWN EMPLOYEES. IT'S REAGAN'S PRINCIPLE TRUST BUT VERIFY WHAT IS THE FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBLE MEAN? THIS IS A TERM FOR THIS COMMITTEE'S LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY THE TOWN'S FINANCES. IT MEANS THAT THIS BOARD IS EXPECTED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE TOWN EMPLOYEES. THE TOWN MANAGER ALL THE LAWYERS OVERCHARGE LEGAL BILLS AND A CPA TO FULLY CONFIRM THE TOWN BUDGETS AND AUDITS HAVE BEEN CORRECTLY AND NOT FRAUDULENT FINANCE COMMITTEE IS SUPPOSED TO FIX ERRORS, IRREGULARITIES AND CRIMES IT FINDS ANY IF A COMMITTEE DOES NOT FIX IRREGULARITIES IT CAN GET INTO LEGAL TROUBLE WITH THE TAXPAYERS AND IRS, THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND EVEN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. THE FACT IS THIS COMMITTEE HASN'T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION OR MADE AN EFFORT TO GET INFORMATION OR EVEN FIX ILLEGAL ACTS AND JUST ACCEPTS WHAT THE TOWN MANAGER AND THE TOWN'S CPA TELLS THEM YOU BASICALLY HAVE ZERO OVERSIGHT AND SHAME ON YOU ALEX. DAVID GLENN WELL EVERYBODY WHY DID YOU PROVE 350,000 FUNDING TO THE CHAMBER AND BILL RIGHT BACK HERE WHEN HE TOLD ALL OF YOU TO GO TO THE OPPOSITE OF HEAVEN IS HE LEGAL TAX USE WAS HIS WAS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS AND IT WAS HIS SECRET SOURCE. WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO SKIP HOAGLAND IF I TOLD YOU THAT? WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU INVESTED HUNDRED 50,000 OF YOUR FAMILY'S MONEY WITH ME AND? I TOLD YOU TO GO TO THE OPPOSITE OF HEAVEN. IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

YOU FOLKS ARE UP HERE TO APPROVE, SPEND AND GUARD MONEY LIKE IT WAS YOUR OWN FAMILY'S MONEY. YOU ALL HAVE GOT TO PAY ATTENTION AND STOP WHAT DOING? IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE. I WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE HERE IF I BUT MOST PEOPLE ARE SCARED TO COME UP HERE AND EVEN TAKE IT BECAUSE THEY'RE SCARED YOU MIGHT GET SUED OR THEY MIGHT BE REMOVED BY POLICE. I HOPE YOU FOLKS WAKE UP AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR ANYONE SO TO SPEAK. SO THERE ARE MR. LEN GREELEY LEN GREELEY.

HI. I'M GOING TO GIVE STEVE HOGAN MY 3 MINUTES.

LEN GREELEY FROM HILTON HEAD. I'M HAPPY TO MAKE YOUR YOUR COMMENT FOR YOU.

IT REALLY THE PURPOSE OF A TOWN FINANCE COMMITTEE IS TO REVIEW AGAIN AND ANALYZE THE TOWN'S BUDGETS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS INCLUDING BALANCE SHEET MANAGEMENT VENDOR CONTRACTS, ACCOMMODATION TAX FUNDS AND HIRING THE DESIGNATED MARKETING ORGANIZATION CURRENTLY AN ILLEGAL 100% PROVEN FACTUAL ILLEGAL OPERATED CHAMBER BY THESE FOLKS BACK HERE WHO

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NOBODY HAS SEEN BUDGETS. NOBODY HAS SEEN AUDITS. THERE'S NEVER BEEN A FINANCIAL AUDIT OF THE TOWN BOOKS EVER. NOBODY KNOWS HAS A CLUE WHAT'S GOING ON.

ALL THE FLAGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN RAISED. THE TOWN HAS ALREADY BEEN CAUGHT. MARK ORLANDO ILLEGALLY USING AND AND A TOWN EMPLOYEES AND TAX FUNDS WHEN HE SERVED IN BLUFFTON IT'S HUNDRED PERCENT PROVEN AND AT TOWN LAWYERS IT'S PROVEN AND COVERED BY THE ALAN PACKET ARE OVERCHARGING LEGAL FEES ARE LEGAL FEES ARE MORE ON HILTON HERE THAN THE TOWN THAN IN CHARLESTON OR MYRTLE BEACH THAT ARE MUCH LARGER CITIES THAT MEANS YOU GOT A PROBLEM YOU'RE CAUSING ALL THESE LAWSUITS AND ALL THESE LEGAL FEES BECAUSE SOMEBODY IS NOT DOING WHAT'S RIGHT. YOU NEED TO DO IT.

AND GRUBER I MEAN THIS GUY'S AN EMBARRASSMENT. HE WAS FOUND OF THREE ETHICS VIOLATION AND YOU STILL KEEP THE GUY HIGHER AND THE CPAS HIGHER.

EACH HAD HAD THE LEGAL FEES. EMBARRASSMENT IS ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES AND NOBODY EVER SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT THAT AND ALL OF YOU ALL KEEP DOING IT JUST ISSUING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO THESE CROOKS BACK HERE RADIO OR THE CPA AND BILL MILES AND YOU JUST KEEP ON THIS.

YOU KNOW, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS SOUTH CAROLINA PR AND EVERYBODY ELSE AND YOU NEVER SEE THING AND YOU JUST HELD IT NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS AND YOU JUST KEEP ON HANDING MONEY.

WE ARE IN A REAL, REAL CRISIS. WE ARE IN A FINANCIAL LEGAL AND ACTUALLY JUDICIAL CRISIS IN COUNTY, THE ENTIRE COUNTY AND THE 14TH DISTRICT WE WERE IN BIG TROUBLE.

THE MURDOCK MURDER TRIAL JUST SHED LIGHT AND EXPOSED THAT WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF MURDOCHS THE MURDERS AND YOU FOLKS COULD STOP SOME OF THIS. BUT JUST LOOKING AT BILL MILES AND THAT CPA EMBEZZLING CROOKED CPA RIGHT THERE AND SAY GIVE US THE RECEIPTS AND INVOICES, WE WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH OUR MONEY AND THE MONEY IN CANADA SHOW IT TO US OR WE'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU ANY MORE MONEY. DEFUND THEM AND GIVE YOURSELVES A $25,000 RAISE AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, I LOOK AT THE BANK EDMISTON THANK YOU.

[6.a. Review of the 2022 Hilton Head Island Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) Industry Metrics Repor]

YOU GOT A BETTER INTRODUCTION FROM THE GIVER. YOUR SINGING VOICE IS BETTER THAN MINE SO GO AHEAD. I FIGURED WOULD JUST YOU KNOW, DO IT DO IT RIGHT AND DO A NICE INTRODUCTION FOR OREGON THEN BEFORE THEY COME UP HERE WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH STAFF FROM THE VISITOR AND CONVENTION MARKETING ORGANIZATION OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST IN DEVELOPING THE PLAN AND THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE GOING SEE TODAY, THERE HAS BEEN A EMPHASIS PLACED ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS AND THIS IS INFORMATION THAT WE HEARD IN TERMS OF FEEDBACK FROM TOWN COUNCIL THAT WE'VE THEN BEEN TAKING TO WORK WITH THIS ORGANIZATION. ONE IS ENSURING THAT MARKETING PLAN IS COMMUNITY FOCUSED AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE TODAY IS THAT IT IS LED OFF WITH THE COMMUNITY CORNERSTONE PLAN WHICH IS VERY FORWARD FACING TO THE COMMUNITY IS MEANT TO SERVE AS THAT CONDUIT TO ENSURING WE ARE HAVING DIRECT DIALOG WITH THE COMMUNITY FIRST AND FOREMOST AND THEN THERE IS THE ABILITY CONNECT THIS PLAN WITH THE TOWN'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND ENSURING THAT THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ARE BOTH ARE ALIGNED AS MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER.

SO WITH THAT INFORMATION MIND I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO ARI SO THAT SHE CAN THEN GIVE YOU A PRESENTATION ON THE ACTUAL MARKETING PLAN FOR THIS YEAR.

THANK YOU. OKAY. OKAY.

OKAY. ANY INFORMATION ARIANA SHE YOU HAVE ABOUT INCHES OF DOCUMENTS

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I DON'T I DON'T I BROUGHT THEM AS EXAMPLES AND SOME MATERIALS IF YOU ASKED ME QUESTIONS BUT I KNOW THANK YOU IN ESSENCE OF TIME ARIANA POLICE NEWS FOR THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND BLUFFTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE YOU FOR SEEING US AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON AND FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT ON BOTH WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHERE WE'RE GOING. I KNOW WE'VE HAD SOME EARLIER CONVERSATIONS JUST JOSH PREFACED BUT TODAY THE FIRST HALF OF THE PRESENTATION WILL BE FOCUSED ON THE 13 METRICS THAT WE FIND IN OUR CONTRACT AND THOSE HAVE BEEN PRESENTED EARLIER TO THE ACCOMMODATION TAX ADVISORY COMMITTEE. HOWEVER WE WOULD TO BRING THOSE FORWARD FOR THE CONTRACT TO YOUR COMMITTEE AS WELL. SO IF YOU WILL THIS AGAIN IS REPORTING ON CALENDAR YEAR 22 BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE TO GIVE OUR REPORTING A JUST A QUICK REFRESH WITHIN OUR CONTRACT WE HAVE 13 DELIVERABLES THAT WE WORK TOWARDS EVERY YEAR THE ONES THAT WE'VE HELD HANDS ON AND SAID THESE ARE THE 13 PIECES THAT WE FEEL REPRESENT NOT ONLY OUR RESIDENTS OUR COMMUNITY BUT ALSO RESPONSIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM EFFORTS. SO ONE OF THE NEWER ONES THAT WE HAVE AND WE'VE DONE IT NOW TWO CYCLES OR WAVES IS THE TERM THAT'S USED IN THE CONTRACT BUT WE HAVE A VISITOR AND A RESIDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY SO THE RESIDENT PIECE IS THE NEWER COMPONENT THAT BASED ON THAT COMMUNITY CORNERSTONE PLAN THAT MR. GRUBER SPOKE A BIT EARLIER, WE WILL TALK THROUGH OUR PERFORMANCE OF OCCUPANCY NOT ONLY JUST THE DOLLARS GENERATED BUT OCCUPANCY RATES OVERALL OUR SPENDING STUDIES WHO WE WORK WITH COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON AND WHAT THE RETURN ON THE IMPACT OF THE VISITOR TO OUR DESTINATION IS AND TO OUR COUNTY.

THE LOCAL TAX REVENUES GENERATED NUMBER OF VISITORS REFERRALS MADE TO OUR BUSINESSES THROUGH OUR WEBSITE OUR MAIL FULFILLMENT WHICH WE HAVE I AM PULLING FROM THE PORTAL OUR COFFEE TABLE PIECE WHICH IS OUR VACATION PLANNER WHICH IS ALSO DIGITAL INDUSTRY AWARDS NUMBER OF JOBS CREATED BY TOURISM EVENTS HELD AND PARTICIPATION BY OUR ORGANIZATION THAT REACH OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR PUBLIC RELATIONS EFFORTS BOTH AND IMPRESSIONS AND THE EQUIVALENT FOR THOSE DOLLARS I SAY ALL THAT NOT TO BELABOR AND DRAW OUT OUR TIME TOGETHER TO REALLY GIVE YOU THAT COMPREHENSIVE SCOPE OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON A DAILY THE TEAM IN WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WITH THE TOWN AND THE TOWN STAFF IS WORKING TO ENSURE THESE DETAILS AND BEYOND EVERY DAY AND SO WE'LL DOVE INTO THAT QUICKLY FOR THE RESIDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY I NOTED THAT WE HAD GONE THROUGH OUR SECOND WAVE A WAVE JUST BEING OUR SECOND EFFORT IN REACHING OUT TO OUR RESIDENTS TO SAY HOW ARE YOU DOING? HOW ARE WE DOING? WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CONCERNS? HOW CAN WE MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER IN PARTNERSHIP? SO THIS WAVE THAT WE JUST RAN WAS IN-MARKET FROM AUGUST THROUGH EARLY SEPTEMBER. JUST TO GIVE YOU CONTEXT, THE FIRST TIME THAT WE PUT THIS OUT WE WERE RIGHT SITING WITHIN THE CONTRACT BEING ADJUSTED SO WE IMMEDIATELY WENT TO MARKET IN THAT TIME FRAME WAS MADE THROUGH JUNE SO WE ADJUSTED OUR TIME FRAME THIS YEAR JUST TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE AND TUNE WITH IN THE HEAT OF WHEN WE'RE FEELING IT THE MOST AS RESIDENTS IN THAT SUMMER TIME FRAME. SO THAT'S THE TIME FRAME THAT WE'LL USE GOING FORWARD. I BRING FORWARD TO NOT ONLY THE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS WHICH IS A VERY GOOD NUMBER THE 3200 BUT THE KEY INSIGHTS AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THESE ARE COMPARED TO THE QUESTIONS WERE LAST YEAR WE DIDN'T ADDRESS THOSE QUESTIONS WE KEEP THEM SAME SO WE HAVE A FOUNDATION AND THE FIRST INSIGHT WAS THAT THE COMMUNITY THE RESIDENTS ARE FEELING SLIGHTLY MORE POSITIVE ABOUT TOURISM. THAT'S A GREAT PIECE TO SEE THAT THAT ARROWS UP TRAFFIC CONTINUES TO BE A TOP CONCERN. THE PRIDE IN OUR COMMUNITY IS NOT WE. YOU CANNOT FIND SOMEBODY WHO IS PROUDER TO BE FROM HILTON HEAD ISLAND THAN THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE LIVE HERE. SO WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO SEE THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO POUR INTO THAT OPPORTUNITY AND THEY OUR RESIDENTS CONSIDER THEMSELVES PASSION AMBASSADORS FOR THIS DESTINATION. I KNOW I DO.

I'M SURE YOU ALL DO I SEE IT EVERY DAY IN THE THINGS THAT WE DO TO FIGHT FOR EVERYTHING THAT WE LOVE AND BELIEVE IN HERE AND WE ENJOY ON THE DAY IN THIS DESTINATION SO GREAT FEEDBACK WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THAT SENTIMENT SURVEY YEAR AFTER YEAR AND AS WE HAVE FIVE YEARS WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE FIVE YEAR SCROLLING IN THE METRICS ABOVE.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE'VE DONE ALSO WITH EACH METRIC IS THERE IS OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE FIVE YEARS TO TO SHOWCASE THE VISITOR SENTIMENT SURVEY WHICH WAS IN-MARKET FOR JANUARY IN DECEMBER WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR QUITE SOME TIME. WE WANTED TO JUST ENSURE THAT YOU SEE THESE DETAILS BUT AGAIN WE'VE WE SEE THIS THROUGHOUT OUR EFFORTS AND WHO WE'RE

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IT REALLY TALKS TO THE TOP CHOICE OF ACCOMMODATION WHICH IS HOME AND VILLA AND AS WE WORK FORWARD AND WE ALL KNOW THE NUMBERS THAT REALLY SKEWS TO WHAT WE HAVE THE MOST TO OFFER WHICH IS THAT HOME AND VILLA PRODUCT TRAVEL PLANNING WHO ARE THEY USING WHEN THEY'RE PLANNING THEIR TRIP IF THEY'RE NOT BOOKING LOCALLY DIRECTLY WITH THE PROPERTY OR THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY THEY'RE USING LARGE PLATFORMS LIKE RPO AND THE TOP REASONS FOR VISITING OUR DESTINATION. FIRST AND FOREMOST WE'RE AN ISLAND SO THEY'RE HERE FOR THE BEACH THAT AFTER THE BEACH ALSO WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH ALL THE NATURE AND HOW THEY CAN GET MORE ENTRENCHED IN THE RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES AND THAT 85% PLAN TO RETURN I'VE OFTEN TALKED TO THE 76% SO THAT NUMBER HAS INCREASED AND THAT'S REALLY GREAT TO SEE.

SO NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE A PASSIONATE COMMUNITY BUT WE HAVE A PASSIONATE VISITOR THAT . VISITOR TAKES PRIDE IN VISITING THIS DESTINATION AND REALLY LOOKS TO BUILDING THAT GENERATIONAL OPPORTUNITY YEAR AFTER YEAR WITH THEIR FAMILY.

SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING INSTEAD OF HAVING ONLY TO PULL FROM NEW WE CAN ALSO WORK ON PULLING NEW BUT CONTINUING TO MOVE THE SHARE OF WALLET THROUGH A FAMILY WHICH IS WONDERFUL TO SEE GENERATION AFTER GENERATION THEIR BEHAVIORS AND THEY LOVE NATURAL BEAUTY EASE OF ACCESS QUALITY OF OUR LODGING AND DINING EXCUSE ME THE DIVERSITY IN OUR LODGING AND DINING THAT WE ARE VERY IN COMPARISON TO SOME OTHER DESTINATIONS AND THE DISTANCE YOU CAN THIS IN AN OVERNIGHT AND I BELIEVE IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN THAT WAS OF THE REASONS THAT CHARLES FRASER STARTED WORKING REACHING OUT IN THE OHIO MARKET. THEY KNEW IT WAS JUST FAR ENOUGH THAT YOU'D HAVE TO SPEND THE NIGHT SO THAT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE THAT STILL WORKING LODGING PERFORMANCE. SO IF WE LOOK AT THE THREE COLUMNS THAT I'M READING RIGHT TO LEFT AND YOU'RE READING LEFT TO RIGHT WE'RE GOING TO START WITH THE HOTEL THE HOTEL PERFORMANCE AGAIN IS TAKING ALL OUR FULL SERVICE AND SELECT SERVICE PROPERTIES IN REALLY THAT TIME FRAME OF JANUARY THROUGH DECEMBER. SAME WITH HOME AND VILLA THOSE ARE HOME AND VILLA PROPERTY PROJECT PROPERTY MANAGERS REPORT INTO THE DATA PLATFORM AND THEN WE HAVE THE COMBINED OPPORTUNITY WITH TO SOURCE SO WE'LL LOOK AT THE OVERALL HEALTH AT TWO SOURCE AND WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT OCCUPANCY FOR THE PAST YEAR WAS FLAT SO WITH THE OCCUPANCY BEING FLAT STILL SAW AN INCREASE AND BY 8% OF THE REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM WHICH IS AT 175 WHICH IS GREAT TO SEE AND AN AVERAGE DAILY RATE OF 323 THAT'S AMAZING AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE AS THE WORLD OPENS UP WE'RE NOT HAVING TO NECESSARILY INCREASE THE OCCUPANCY TO THE DESTINATION BUT WE'RE STILL ABLE TO GARNER THAT REALLY STRONG RATE WHICH IS SHOWCASING AS A QUALITY OF VISITOR THIS DESTINATION.

SO AGAIN OUR FOCUS IS ON QUALITY QUALITY VISITOR SHIP QUALITY INVESTMENT TO THIS DESTINATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD IS RESPONSIBLE TOURISM. WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR VISITOR SPENDING STUDIES AND WE LOOK AT THAT ECONOMIC OF TOURISM, THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS SO WHAT IS THAT VISITOR WHEN THEY'RE COMING IN TO THIS DESTINATION? WELL, THEY'RE INVESTING THEY'RE INVESTING IN OUR AND OUR ACCOMMODATIONS THAT ARE INVESTING IN OUR STOREFRONTS FOR RETAIL, SO ON AND SO FORTH. SO THAT'S THREE JUST OVER 3 BILLION IN ECONOMIC IMPACT THIS DESTINATION WE SHOW THAT FIVE YEAR RAMP ONTO THE RIGHT SET OR LEFT SIDE DEPENDING ON WHICH YOU'RE LOOKING. AND THEN AGAIN WE WORK WITH COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ON THAT OPPORTUNITY. SO WHEN YOU INVEST INTO MARKETING WHAT IS YOUR RETURN? SO FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT WE PUT INTO THE MARKETING EFFORTS OF THIS DESTINATION WE'RE SEEING A 25 ALMOST $26 RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENT AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT CONTINUALLY WORKS STRONG FOR US AS YOU SEE THE ROI AND THE FIVE YEAR SPAN TO THE SIDE OF THAT.

SO THE TAX REVENUES GENERATED BY VISITORS YOU'RE SEEING THIS FOUR OR FIVE YEAR SCALE AS WELL AS WELL BUT YOU'RE SEEING STATE ACCOMMODATE IN LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS THE HOSPITALITY TAX AND THE BEACH PRESERVATION TAX GENERATED OR COLLECTED I SHOULD SAY FROM VISITOR WHEN THEY PUT THEIR HEAD IN A BED. THESE ARE THOSE TAXES COLLECTED AND WORK WITH THE TOWN TO ENSURE THESE NUMBERS AND AS YOU CAN SEE THEY'VE INCREASED YEAR OVER YEAR BASED ON THEY'RE COMING IN AND ENJOYING THAT THEIR EXPERIENCE HERE ON THE DESTINATION THE NUMBER OF VISITORS ARE JUST UNDER WHERE WE WERE LAST YEAR AND THE KIND THE AND EFFORT OF COVID AS PEOPLE WERE FINDING THEY WERE HAD OPTIONS TO TRAVEL WE ARE STILL ABLE TO SECURE AND ENSURE A QUALITY CONSUMER BUT AT THE AT THE RATE THAT WE ARE A DESIRABLE RATE AND TO MAINTAIN AND THAT WAS AT THIS YEAR AT THREE JUST OVER 3 MILLION IN VISITORS TO THE DESTINATION

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AND THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE AS THE 1.6 MILLION HANDSHAKES AND WE HAVE THE FIVE YEAR YEAR OVER YEAR HERE AND OUR FULFILLMENT PIECES. SO THE FULFILLMENT PIECE WE HAVE OVER 85,000 THAT WE PRODUCE OF THIS BOOK. AND WHERE ARE THOSE SENT? WELL, WE HAVE SOME IN OUR OFFICES. SO IF YOU HAVE THE WALK INS OR SOMEONE CALLS OR EMAILS WE WILL FULFILL THOSE FROM OUR OFFICE AND THEN ALSO THEY'RE SENT TO ALL OF OUR SOUTH CAROLINA WELCOME CENTERS. THEY'RE SENT TO OUR TRIPLE-A OFFICES AND THEY'RE MEANT TO TRAVEL WITH US TO ANY TRADESHOWS OR EVENTS THAT WE HAVE OR ANY MEDIA INQUIRIES. THEY'RE AT EVERY TOUCHPOINT THAT WE HAVE THE TO SPEAK BROADLY TO A VISITOR OR A POTENTIAL VISITOR OR DIRECTLY TO A VISITOR OR A POTENTIAL VISITOR. THEY'RE ALSO AT BOTH OF OUR AIRPORTS AND IN OUR HOTEL ROOMS AS WELL. SO THOSE WERE 76 OF THOSE HAVE FILLED AND YOU CAN SEE THAT NOW THERE IS SMALLER PIECE THERE IF THEY DO REQUEST A GOLF GUIDE WE PLACE THE GOLF CART IN THERE AND THAT IS THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN LGC AND OURSELVES BUT IT IS NOT CONSIDERED PART OF THE 70 OR THE 85 THAT WE PRODUCE AND PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT US.

ANOTHER METRIC THAT WE MEASURE OUR HEALTH OF OUR DESTINATION IS BY INDUSTRY AWARDS WHO'S ABOUT US AND WHY ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT US AND KNOW THAT WE LOVE A GOOD RECOGNITION AND THAT CONTENT AS HAS AND THEIR READERSHIP HAS REALLY RECOGNIZED THIS YEAR OVER YEAR AND IT'S A SIX YEAR CONSECUTIVE AND WE'RE IN THE VOTING WINDOW RIGHT NOW HOPEFULLY WITH FINGERS CROSSED AND ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT I KNOW WE DO DAY IN AND DAY OUT AS A COMMUNITY THAT SEVENTH WILL BE HOPEFULLY OURS TO TALK ABOUT VERY SHORTLY .

BUT IN ADDITION THEY TALK ABOUT OUR RICH HISTORICAL ASSETS, OUR HERITAGE ASSETS, OUR WONDERFUL BEACHES AND BEST PLACES FOR ALL TYPES OF PEOPLE VISITING COUPLES, FAMILIES, EMPTY NESTERS YOU TALK ABOUT IT, YOU NAME IT, WE HAVE IT AND WE'VE BEEN RECOGNIZED.

WANT TO CONTINUE THAT GOOD OPPORTUNITY AS WE MOVE FORWARD .

BUT THE BUSINESS SIDE OF TOURISM AS OUR NUMBER ONE ECONOMY WHY ARE WE DOING THIS EVERY SINGLE DAY BECAUSE IT'S OUR LIVELIHOOD. IT'S WHAT WE LOVE AND BREATHE AND DO EVERY SINGLE DAY AND OUR PASSIONATE ABOUT AND IT CREATES JOBS THOSE VERY IMPORTANT THAT ARE WHAT WE SEE OUR PARTNERS AND OUR FRIENDS EVERY SINGLE IT'S 38,000 OF THOSE ARE JOBS GENERATED FROM TOURISM TO THIS ISLAND WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR OVER 33% OF JOBS IN COUNTY.

SO AS WE TALK ABOUT TOURISM, WE TALK ABOUT THE RESPONSIBLE EFFORTS THAT WE'RE DOING AND WE'RE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP. WE CANNOT FORGET THAT IT'S SOMEONE'S EVERY DAY IT'S SOMEONE'S JOB. IT'S SOMEONE WHO TAKE JUST AS MUCH PASSION AS WE DO AS THEY WAKE UP EVERY DAY AND GO TO WORK. WE MOVE FROM THIS SLIDE THIS MAKE SURE I US BACK ON YOUR GRAPH HERE SO THE 38 EIGHT JOBS WITHIN THE COUNTY THAT ARE GENERATED FROM HILTON HEAD TOURISM RIGHT SO IN ADDITION TO SO THEY COULD EITHER BE A PRIMARY SO YOU AND I WORK AT THE FRONT OF A STORE AND WE ARE A PRIMARY TOUCHPOINT WE COULD BE A CAR DRIVER A TRUCK DRIVER . WE'RE TRANSPORTING LINENS.

WE'RE BEHIND THE DOORS OR BEHIND IN THE KITCHEN SO WE COULD BE FRONT OF HOUSE BACK OF HOUSE WE COULD BE A SECOND TOUCHPOINT OF TOURISM BUT THOSE JOBS ARE ALL CREATED AND TOUCHING TOURISM IN A PRIMARY OR SECONDARY WAY BASICALLY HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED WITHIN THE COUNTY SINCE 2020. WELCOME, SIR AND HOW ARE WE WORKING IS AS GRUBER HAD NOTED HOW ARE WE WORKING IN ADDITION TO THE OUT MARKETING EFFORTS WE ARE DOING OUR SURVEYS OR REACHING OUT TO OUR RESIDENTS AND TO OUR COMMUNITY BUT WE'RE ALSO WORKING CLOSELY ON A DEEPER FRONT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CELEBRATING SMALL BUSINESSES AND WE'RE CELEBRATING THOSE JOBS THAT YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT AND WE ARE HOLDING OVER WE HELD OVER EXCUSE ME 100 IN-PERSON PLUS VIRTUAL EVENTS AGAIN THAT'S US AS AN ORGANIZATION REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. WE HAVE SUPPORTED 40 RIBBON CUTTINGS AND GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONIES AND WE JUST KEPT THAT DETAIL OFF TO THE RIGHT. I WANT YOU TO AND WHEN WE LOOK

[00:25:08]

THESE ARE THE WAYS THAT THE PUBLIC RELATIONS TEAM WORKS HARD TO GET THOSE OUT BUT THAT REALLY ENCOMPASSES OUR 13 METRICS AND I'M HAPPY TO MOVE INTO AFTER QUESTIONS IF THERE ARE ANY TO WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING FOR FISCAL YEAR 2324. SO ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THE METRIC REPORT I MEAN I DO SO ALL RIGHT. YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE A GRASP OF YOUR PROFESSION THAT IS USING AND YOU HAVE THE WORDS TO EXPRESS IT AND VERY IMPROVING I DO HAVE A NUMBER OF JUST NOTES THAT IF YOU CAN GIVE ME JUST AN IDEA QUICK IDEA YOU SAID REFERRALS TO BUSINESSES WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT REFERRALS TO BUSINESSES ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOUR MAJOR HOTELS IN SAVANNAH HILTON HEAD AIRPORT ARE THEY THE BUSINESSES YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OR YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RESTAURANTS? HOW DO YOU MEASURE BUSINESSES IN THAT WAY? SO IT'S THE ONES THAT ARE LISTED WITHIN OUR WEBSITE AND THEY CAN FIND OUR WEBSITE IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. YOU KNOW THAT EITHER THROUGH AN AD ON A SOCIAL AT OR THROUGH THE THEIR PHONE OR ON ACTUAL DESKTOP OR TABLET BUT ESSENTIALLY GOING TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND DOT ORG AND THROUGH HILTON HEAD ISLAND DOG OR BEING ABLE TO ACCESS ALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE THERE AND LISTED IN THERE REMEMBER LISTING AND BEING ABLE TO CLICK OUT TO THEM TO LEARN MORE AND TO CLICK OUT TO THEIR BUSINESS SO IT COULD BE THE ICE CREAM SHOP IT COULD BE THE RETAIL SHOP ANY TYPE, IT COULD BE THE GROCERY STORE BUT IT INCLUDES ACCOMMODATION. YES I AM GLAD TO SEE YOUR EMPHASIS IN THE SURVEY RESIDENT SURVEY THAT YOU'RE REACHING OUT TO RESIDENTS. I THINK THAT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. I ALSO THINK THAT THE PRIDE THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS EXPRESSING IS IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS TAKE SERIOUSLY.

YOU MENTIONED TRAFFIC AS A THORN THE WORD THAT THE COUNCIL IS GETTING AND MORE IS SIMPLY OVERDEVELOPMENT. DOES YOUR SURVEY PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RESIDENTS TO SPEAK TO THINGS OTHER THAN TRAFFIC? I BELIEVE BUT I CAN GO BACK AND DOUBLE CHECK AND MAKE SURE WE INCLUDE THAT. SHARE THAT WITH YOU.

ABSOLUTELY. YOU MENTIONED AIR SERVICE INCREASING.

IS THAT MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS YOU ARE SEEING COMING TO THE ISLAND? IS THAT HOW WE ARE MEASURING IT THAT WAY BUT ALSO ROUTES SO I WANT TO SEE CARRIERS, I WANT TO SEE INCREASED ROUTES BUT WE ALSO DO THE PASSENGER IMPLEMENT DEPLOYMENT HOME AND VILLA IT LOOKS AS THAT HAS THE HIGHEST REV PAR AND AND WHATEVER THE YEAH I JUST AND WE ARE WE ARE OBVIOUSLY CHALLENGED BY THE GROWTH OF SHORT TERM RENTALS SO I THINK THERE IS INCREASING DEMAND FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS AT THE SAME TIME THAT FROM A POLITICAL STANDPOINT WE'VE GOT SOME CHALLENGES THERE I NEED TO LOOK INTO UNDERSTAND THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE WHAT RELATIONSHIP DOES THE DMO HAVE TO AIRBNB AND VR BIO MARKETING ? SO I WOULD START A LITTLE BIT MORE HYPERLOCAL. WE HAVE A WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO START FIRST AND WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT LOCALLY THAT THOSE COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH EFFORTS WHICH THE TOWN STAFF HAS DONE A WONDERFUL JOB IN THOSE INITIAL OUTREACH OF STARTING WITH THE SHORT TERM RENTAL ORDINANCES WE CONTINUE MEET ON A REGULAR BASIS TO ENSURE THAT QUESTIONS ON EITHER SIDE ARE BEING SHARED AND THEN WHEN WE LOOK AT THE LARGER

[00:30:01]

DOES THE CHAMBER INVEST IN ANY WAY TO GARNER THE AWARDS THAT YOU REFERRED TO? WE ARE NO YOU DO NOT PAY FOR YOUR AWARDS. YOU DO NOT THAT HOWEVER I WILL PREFACE THAT WE DO WORK WITHIN PLATFORMS SUCH CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER AND TRAVEL AND LEISURE THAT HAVE A ACCOLADE COMPONENT BUT. WHAT WE DO IN THERE IS JUST WE'RE MERELY PRESENT. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR DESTINATION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO THEIR READERSHIP WHETHER THEY ARE NOT PAYING FOR THE AWARD.

APPRECIATE THE ANSWER. LAST POINT YOU SHOW AND REMARKABLE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF JOBS CREATED OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS AT THE SAME TIME THAT MOST BUSINESSES STRUGGLING TO FIND WORKERS WHAT IS THERE A DISCONNECT SOMEWHERE? I KNOW THERE'S A DISCONNECT, COUNCILMAN HAINES, BUT I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW THAT THIS IS OUR NUMBER ONE ECONOMY AND THAT WHETHER IT BE PRIMARY OR SECONDARY OR BEYOND THAT TOURISM IS THE DRIVER AND THAT THE FACT IS THAT THERE'S OPPORTUNITY AT ANY ENTRY POINT TO TO SUPPORT THAT.

NUMBER ONE, I'M JUST NOT I'M NOT SURE HOW WITH A DRAMATIC INCREASE THAT WE CAN BE CREATING MORE JOBS WITHOUT HAVING THE WORKERS TO WORK BUT AND WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE THAT AND WORK WITH THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS AND I APPRECIATE THE GOOD ANSWERS NO PROBLEM STEPHANIE THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER EXCELLENT REPORT. I BELIEVE THAT THE CHAMBER DMO IS DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB AND PROMOTING TOURISM HERE ON THE ISLAND.

HOWEVER WE SEE OR HEAR CONSTANTLY FROM OUR CITIZENS THE CONSTITUENTS THAT THERE ARE TOO MANY TOURISTS HERE. THAT'S A DIFFICULT BALANCE FOR ALL OF US I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A CAPACITY IN THIS ISLAND ON THIS ISLAND FOR THE NUMBER OF TOURISTS TEN PLUS YEARS AGO THE TOURISTS WERE HERE FROM MAYBE MEMORIAL DAY UNTIL LABOR DAY.

NOW THEY'RE HERE MUCH LONGER. AND SO THE TOURISM IS SPREADING OUT BUT WE'RE STILL HEARING THESE CONCERNS AND SO WE NEED TO HAVE WAYS TO RESPOND TO THOSE CONCERNS AND SO SALUTE YOU ON DOING YOUR SURVEYS OF RESIDENTS BECAUSE THAT GIVES THE FEEDBACK YOU NEED TO HEAR IN ORDER TO IMPROVE CONCERN THAT WE HAVE IN CITIZENS. I NOTICE IN YOUR DATA THAT

[00:35:08]

HOWEVER, OUR GOAL IS TO FOCUS QUALITY OF VISITOR AND THE RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE AND BRINGING IN QUALIFIED VISITORS TO THIS DESTINATION. SO WE WILL CONTINUE THAT EFFORT AND MOVE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TOWN AND OUR COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT RESPONSIBLY WE'RE BRINGING IN THAT QUALIFIED VISITOR AND RESPONSIBLY GIVING OURSELVES THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISPERSE THE VISITATION THROUGHOUT ALL 12 MONTHS SO WE DON'T HAVE THE THOSE FEELINGS OF OF TRAFFIC AND OTHER THINGS THAT ARE OF THE BENEFITS OF THE TOURISTS NEED TO BE MADE CRYSTAL CLEAR TO THE RESIDENTS THOSE OF US WHO GET A LITTLE DEEPER INTO THIS THAN OUR TYPICAL CITIZEN OUT THERE UNDERSTAND SOME MORE. AND SO WE NEED TO HAVE THAT EDUCATION GOING ON.

I NOTE YOUR KEY INSIGHTS AND I HOPE THAT IT IS INDEED CORRECT THAT MORE CITIZENS ARE POSITIVE ABOUT TOURISM AND YOUR DATA SHOWS THAT AND I HAVE NO REASON TO DOUBT RETURN ON INVESTMENT IS EXTRAORDINARY 25 TO 1 THAT'S THAT'S JUST AMAZING AND SO A GOOD JOB IS BEING DONE THERE I HAVE THE CORNERSTONE PLAN MUCH MORE THAN WE HAD IN THE PAST. YOU HAVE NOW A FULLY DEVELOPED PLAN WHICH I THINK CREATES A REAL CHALLENGE FOR THE DMO IN ORDER TO MEET THOSE CHALLENGES ,TO IMPLEMENT THOSE STRATEGIES, TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS AND SO WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO REPORTING ON THAT. I THINK THAT ON BALANCE WE'RE DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB HERE.

I WANT TO THAT CONTINUE. I MENTIONED IN THE RECENT MEETING THAT WE HAD I WANT TO SEE MORE OF AN EMPHASIS ON CULTURAL TOURISM THAT IS A BIG ITEM THAT IS NOT BEING MET BY MANY COMMUNITIES IN MY VIEW YOU WOULD KNOW BETTER THAN I DO BUT YOU KNOW PROMOTING THINGS LIKE MITCHELL BILL OUR EXTRAORDINARY HISTORY HERE THAT CAN DRAW PEOPLE HERE FOR AT TIMES WHEN THEY MAY NOT BE WANTING TO GO THE BEACH AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT. I ALSO MENTIONED IN OUR RECENT MEETING THAT I WANT TO SEE A DRIVE TRY TO GET MORE CONVENTIONS, GROUPS, MEETINGS, REUNIONS HERE ON THE ISLAND BECAUSE AGAIN, I THINK THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS WHERE THE TOURIST OR THE VISITOR IS IN A PARTICULAR AREA AND MAY NOT BE HAVING WHAT SOME OF THE CITIZENS PERCEIVE AS A NEGATIVE IMPACT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY. SO KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THE METRICS ARE AMAZING AND VERY IMPORTANT TO US ALL AND I JUST ASKED IN THE FUTURE SINCE WE HAVE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY THE POINTS OF CONCERN DO MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE METRIC REPORT SO THAT NEXT YEAR ALTHOUGH COMMITTEE MAY LOOK DIFFERENT THE COUNCIL WILL LOOK THE SAME. WE WILL NOW PUTTING SOME MEASUREMENT TO THE CONCERNS THAT HAVE HAVE COME BEFORE US RIGHT THE THE THE I GUESS THE ONE THAT'S REALLY JUMPING OUT AT ME IS UH THIS INCREASE IN THE JOBS AND IF WE COULD UNPEEL THAT A BIT AND UNDERSTAND THAT A LITTLE BIT BETTER BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WHAT MY MY ASSUMPTION IS IS THAT JOB CREATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY HAVE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AND NECESSARILY ON HILTON HEAD AND THAT THEN STARTS TO BUBBLE IN TO WHAT TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT IS BEING CREATED OFF ISLAND BECAUSE OF HILTON HEADS SUCCESS RIGHT WE ALL KNOW THAT HEIDI VILLE IS GOING TO BLOW UP HERE SOON AND EVERYBODY THINKS THAT THERE'S A BEACH AND HARDY VILLE RIGHT.

[00:40:03]

ALL RIGHT. I'M I'M CURIOUS CURIOUS TO THAT AS WELL AND THE LAST ONE IS UM ,WE'VE SEEN SUCH A SPIKE IN THE TERM RENTALS AND I GUESS THE HOTEL UM IS DOWN OR FLAT BUT THE ROOM RATE IS UP AND I GET THAT BECAUSE OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND BUT MY MY CONCERN IS ARE THE HOTELS BRINGING IN ENOUGH THAT THEY CONTINUE TO REINVEST THEIR PROPERTIES? OKAY. A■NDKNOWWEHAVEA FEW THAT NEED SOME SOME HELP.

UM, BUT THIS SHIFT IN SHORT TERM RENTALS I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ABLE TO RECOVER SO THAT WE DO HAVE THAT REINVESTMENT AND TO COUNCILMAN STAFFORD'S POINT, YOU KNOW, UH, THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN HAVE A CONVENTION OR MEETING IS IN A HOTEL IN A SHORT TERM RENTAL RATE. SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE TRY TO UH TO GET BACK WHERE WE WERE BEFORE COVID SO THAT THESE HAVE A CHANCE TO RECOVER THOSE OVER MY THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS. UM, I'M GOING OPEN UP THE YOUR PAST TO THE PUBLIC WE SEE COUNCILWOMAN BRYSON IS IN THE HOUSE. UM SHE'S ALWAYS WELCOME TO COME IN AS WELL. UH, OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THE METRIC PIECE YOU KNOW WE WILL MOVE ON UM, AT AT OKAY. OKAY. UM AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEXT

[6.b. Consideration of Resolution Recommending the 2023-2024 Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) Marketing Plan & Budget]

UM, I THINK THAT UH THAT'LL HELP US WITH THIS DISCUSSION. I'VE HAD MORE PAPERS ABSOLU THANK YOU BECAUSE I OKAY OKAY SO I AM HERE BUT UM IT'S A REVISIT TO THE CONVERSATION WE HAD A FEW WEEKS AGO UM COUNCILMAN BROWN WE HAVE TAKEN SOME TIME AND MET EACH OF YOU ALMOST ALL OF YOU TO TALK THROUGH THE BACKGROUND OF A DEMO WHAT WE'RE CHARGED WITH HOW WE CAN APPRAISER WITH OUR COMMUNITY, WITH OUR RESIDENTS AND ALSO THE TOWN STAFF AND THE COUNCIL AND OUR COMMITTEES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE IN LOCKSTEP WHEN WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AND ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES I THINK WE'VE HEARD PRETTY CONSISTENTLY THROUGH EACH ONE OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS IS THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A SHIFT IN OUR PRIORITIES THAT WE'RE ARTICULATING BACK TO NOT JUST YOU BUT THE COMMUNITY AND RESIDENTS AS IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE PROMOTING WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TOURISM. AND I THINK THAT ALSO WE'VE HEARD THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE AN

[00:45:03]

I THAT WORD BUT I USE THAT WORD BECAUSE IT'S A WORD WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER HOW DO WE APPROACH A PLAN COMPREHENSIVELY AS OPPOSED TO COMING TO DIFFERENT TIMES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR? AND SO THE PLAN IN FRONT OF YOU HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY ADJUSTED BUT THE CORE THE INFORMATION THAT WE WALK THROUGH HAS NOT CHANGED THE PLATFORMS IN WHICH THAT WE ARE GOING TO TALK THROUGH ARE THE SAME. HOWEVER WE HAVE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO WORK IN THE DETAILS THAT WE WOULD HAVE FOUND IN MORE OF OUR MICRO EFFORTS AND I USE THAT TERM BECAUSE IT WAS ACTUALLY VERY DIGESTIBLE IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING HOW WE WORK ON THE MARKETING SIDE OF EFFORTS WHEN WE'RE OUT TO OUR CONSUMER OR POTENTIAL CONSUMER IN THE OUT MARKET.

SO WE'LL WALK THROUGH THE PLAN AGAIN. THE PLAN HAS ADJUSTED TO INCLUDE BOTH. I THINK WHEN WE APPROACHED OUR DEMO MARKETING PLANS, PREVIOUS EFFORTS AND WE'VE BEEN IN FRONT OF YOU OR TOWN COUNCIL WE REALLY WERE TALKING ABOUT CASTING THAT REALLY BROAD NET TO FILL THE FUNNEL OF QUALIFIED VISITORS AND AS WE PULL THEM THROUGH WE WERE QUALIFYING THEM THROUGH DIFFERENT WAYS AND WE'RE STILL CONTINUING DO THAT BUT NOW WE'RE ADDING IN A LAYER OF HOW ABOUT THESE FESTIVAL EVENTS? HOW ABOUT THESE HISTORIC EFFORTS HOW ABOUT THIS ONE, THIS EFFORTS AND SO THAT MICRO OPPORTUNITY ARE VERY UNIQUE AND SPECIAL TO US IN THIS DESTINATION ARE GOING TO ALSO BE BROUGHT THROUGH. SO THAT'S THE CHANGE. SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD AS YOU KNOW THE DEMO WHICH IS DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION FOR THE TOWN OF HILTON ISLAND IS CHARGED WITH DRIVING AWARENESS AND CONNECTING THESE DESIRED VISITORS TO THE DESTINATION. OUR COMMUNITY WELL AS OUR BUSINESSES TAKE A COMPREHENSIVE TO OUR PLANNING AGAIN WE LOOK AT THE LENS OF ADDRESSING OUR COMMUNITY FIRST HILTON HEAD ISLAND RESIDENTS COMMUNITY OUR BUSINESSES WE WORK ALONGSIDE THE TOWN IS STRATEGIC GUIDANCE INTO WHAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY WHICH IS THE COMMUNITY CORNERSTONE PLAN THE MARKETING PLAN WHICH IS A ONE YEAR PIECE OUR INTERNAL STRATEGIC PLAN AND A TEN YEAR MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR TOURISM THAT RESPONSIVE ALL APPROACH TO GROWTH OF TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE FOR TOURISM OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS THAT COMMUNITY CORNERSTONE PLAN REALLY LEADS US IN OUR EFFORTS WORK ALONGSIDE THE TOWN THE TOWN STAFF AS WE WORK THROUGH THE MANAGEMENT PLAN, THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND OUR MARKETING PLAN THREE CORNERSTONE PLAN WHICH YOU'VE HAD TIME TO READ THROUGH AND MR. COOPER HAS MENTIONED EARLIER AS HE INTRODUCED ME IS SOMETHING THAT WE TAKE SUCH PRIDE IN BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE SPENT A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME ON JUST OURSELVES BUT AS A TOWN STAFF AND LEADERSHIP TEAM WE'VE SPENT TIME TOGETHER FOR OVER A YEAR WORKING ON THAT COMMUNITY PLAN . IT HAS BEEN A BEST PRACTICE THAT COMES OUT OF DESTINATIONS INTERNATIONAL AS DEMOS CONTINUE TO EVOLVE AND ALIGN WITH THEIR COMMUNITY AND SO IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT COMPONENT WHAT WE DO TODAY BUT ALSO WHAT WE DO GOING FORWARD THE GOVERNANCE PIECE WE TALK A LOT ABOUT THAT BUT WE DON'T JUST TOUCH THESE COMPONENTS EVERY IN A WHILE.

WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING ALONGSIDE OUR INTERNAL TEAM IS WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS OUR MARKETING COUNCIL. WE DO HAVE AN ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDIT WE ARE THE STATE AND THE STATE GOVERNANCE OF KIRK TOWN COUNCIL, THE AZTECS AND NOW THE FINANCE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE AND WE ARE ALSO ACCREDITED BY DESTINATIONS INTERNATIONAL WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AMOUNT MARKETING COUNCIL WE DON'T JUST HAVE INTERNAL REPRESENTATION THAT OPPORTUNITY. THESE ARE STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE BUSINESS OWNERS OR WITHIN BUSINESSES THAT YOU INTERACT WITH EVERY SINGLE DAY. YOU'VE MET MOST OF THEM YOU KNOW MOST OF THEM THEY ARE NOT ONLY ARE BUSINESS PARTNERS BUT THEY ARE OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS.

WELL WE HAVE TAKEN A NICE CROSS-SECTION TO TRY TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A FULL REPRESENTATION OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY THAT SIT ALONGSIDE US AS WE NOT ONLY DEVELOP THE PLAN WE ALSO TO WORK WITH THIS GROUP TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING BACK HOW WE CAN ADJUST AND LOOK AT TRENDS WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AND WORKING WITH THEM AS WE WORK THROUGH THE PLAN AND TAKE NOTE OF WHERE WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY AND MOVE FORWARD IN ADDITION TO THIS OF REPRESENTATION FROM OUR COMMUNITY THAT SITS ON THIS COMMITTEE WE ALSO HAVE REPRESENTATION FROM THE COUNCIL AS WELL AS TOWN TOWN MANAGERS AND TOWN STAFF AGAIN WORKING AT SUZETTE THIS IS VERY COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO US AND PLANNING EFFORTS WE'VE

[00:50:04]

WE'VE SEEN A LITTLE BIT OF A BLIP AND CHANGE IN THAT THIS WITH IT SKEWING SLIGHTLY MALE WE ARE WATCHING THAT BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT DIFFERENT METRICS TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE NOT BEING KNEE ADJUSTING ALL OF OUR MARKETING TO SKEW MORE FROM A MALE LENS.

WE ARE KEEPING OUR EFFORTS TOWARDS THE FEMALE DECISION MAKER AND NOTING THAT THE MALE HAS RAISED THEIR HAND TO SAY THAT WE ARE NOW MORE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT ON A DEEPER BASIS AND MAKING SURE THAT ADJUSTING AS NEEDED THROUGH OUR DIFFERENT CAMPAIGNS THAT WE ARE TARGETING NOT ONLY $150,000 HOUSEHOLD INCOME BUT REACHING ALL THE WAY UP TO 250,000 PLUS WE UNDERSTAND TO ENSURE THE STRONG REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM THAT'S GIVING US OUR RETURN THAT WE ALSO NEED TO START WITH A STRONG INCOME.

THE YES WE ALSO ENSURE THAT THERE EDUCATED WITH 55% OR MORE BEING HAVING THEIR UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE OR HIGHER THEY HAVE A PROPENSITY TO TRAVEL WITH 2 TO 4 TRIPS PER YEAR AND THEY'RE STAYING ON MY SEVEN NIGHTS TALKED ABOUT THE JOURNEY AND HOW THAT WORKS AND AS CONSUMERS AND WE LOOK ABOUT HOW WE DIGEST ANYTHING REALLY WHETHER IT BE INFORMATION ON NEW CAR OR APPLIANCE OR WE'RE DOING A PROJECT AT HOME WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE HAVING TO DO THAT ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO TRAVEL THAT WE'RE HAVING TO WORK A LITTLE HARDER WHEN IT COMES TO THE CONSUMER THE CONSUMER HAS A VERY SHORT ATTENTION SPAN LESS THAN 3 SECONDS AND SO HOW ARE WE ENSURING THOSE 3 SECONDS ALL WE HAVE TO DO IT QUICKLY AND WE HAVE TO SPICE IT UP OVER MANY DIFFERENT PLATFORMS AND SO WE DO THAT BY HAVING THIS ALWAYS ON APPROACH THAT WHEN WE'RE SITTING HERE AND WE'RE HAVING A CONVERSATION FACE TO FACE AND MY PHONE RINGS AND MY WATCH GOES OFF AND I'M HAVING THIS PRINT AD IN FRONT OF ME OR I'M CARRYING A BIG WE ALWAYS ARE THINKING OF HOW IS A CONSUMER DIGESTING WHAT WE'RE TRYING TALK ABOUT? HOW ARE THEY GOING TO KNOW ABOUT OUR NEW PROGRAMS? ARE THEY SEEING US ON SOCIAL MEDIA BUT ARE THEY SEEING THAT ALSO SUPPORTING A PRINTED AND THEN A DIGITAL ARTICLE THEY MIGHT BE READING SO ON AND SO FORTH.

IT'S ALWAYS ON KNOWING THAT OUR CONSUMER IS CONSTANTLY HAVING HIT AND BOMBARDED ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE LOOKING FOR SUCH A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD THAT THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE REALLY GETTING IN FRONT OF THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT WE HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TOGETHER TO ENSURE THIS SLIDE.

I HOPE THAT THIS IS REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT WE HAVE TALKING ABOUT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS BUT MOST RECENTLY HAD MADE SOME TO NOT ONLY HAVE ARTS AND CULTURE AND HISTORY AND WELLNESS BUT WE HAVE CHANGED AND MADE THE PRIORITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AND WE ALSO HAVE PULLED UP RECREATION. THOSE ARE THE DESTINATIONS VALUES.

THOSE ARE ONES THAT I HAVE HEARD AND READ AND LEARN SO MUCH ABOUT IN MY TIME HERE THAT OUR PRIORITIES FOR OUR COMMUNITY BUT ALSO HOW WE WERE FOUNDED AND I BELIEVE THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD THOSE WILL BE PIECES THAT WE CONTINUE TO REITERATE RIGHT THAT WE'RE GOING TO BRING FORWARD TO SHOWCASE HOW WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THEM, HOW WE CAN WORK FURTHER TOGETHER TO SHOWCASE THOSE EFFORTS IN OUR IN OUR PLAN IN FRONT OF YOU.

BUT IN ADDITION WE WANT TO ALSO THE FACT THAT WE ARE A WONDERFUL COMMUNITY TO GET OUT AND BIKE AROUND EXPERIENCE ARE WONDERFUL TO TABLE OPPORTUNITIES OF CULINARY.

WE DO KNOW WE HAVE GOLF MEETINGS AND GROUPS AS WE SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER THE RETAIL TENNIS AND THE EVER PICKLEBALL AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE OUR FAIR SHARE OF WEDDINGS HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD PEOPLE LOVE TO GET MARRIED HERE SO AS WE TAKE ALL OF THESE HOW DO WE LEAVE THOSE THROUGH THE PLAN A LITTLE SNAPSHOT OF OUR TIMELINE WE HAVE BUILT OUT THE COMPREHENSIVE EFFORT OF OUR ONE OUR LAUNCH AND GOAL AND STRATEGIES THE OVERARCHING GOAL FOR THE THINGS THAT WE DO IS TO DRIVE THAT QUALIFIED VISITATION TO THE DESTINATION AND SO WE AGAIN ARE GOING TO REVISIT THE FACT THAT WE HAVE OUR SIX STRATEGIES YEARS PRIOR WE ONLY HAD THE FIVE AND THEN WE HAVE ADDED IN AND TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A COMMUNITY PLAN BUT

[00:55:02]

IT IS A COMMUNITY WIDE EFFORT. WE WILL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH MANY DIFFERENT BUSINESSES THE TOWN TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN MEET OUR TIME FRAME OF EACH ONE OF THOSE TACTICS THAT WE HAVE PLACED IN THE PLAN THOSE STRATEGIES UNDERNEATH THAT NUMBER ONE ALONE AND THEN AS WE WORK TWO THROUGH SIX WE TOOK THE FEEDBACK FROM THE ACCOMMODATION TAX COMMITTEE AND HAD IS IN THE PLAN IT LOOK COMPREHENSIVE TO WHAT THE CORNERSTONE PLAN SO THERE IS AN OWNER WHICH IS THE CHAMBER THERE'S A TIME FRAME WHICH IS FISCAL YEAR 24 AND WE HAVE OUR KPIS OR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT HAVE BEEN ADJUSTED WITHIN THE PLAN.

WE'LL TALK AT LENGTH ABOUT THE COMMUNITY CORNERSTONE PLAN. AS MR. GRUBER MENTIONED THIS IS THE COMPONENT THAT WE SPENT OVER A YEAR IN WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE FOSTERING EFFECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY COLLABORATION EXTRAORDINARY TALENT DIVERSIFY THE VISITOR AND LOCAL EXPERIENCE YEAR ROUND MODERNIZE ISLAND CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND VENUE CAPABILITIES FOR THE FUTURE AND IMPROVE MOBILITY AND CONNECTIVITY TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES. FIVE STRATEGIES WILL BE IN EFFORT TO ACHIEVE THEY WILL BE MULTIYEAR TO ACHIEVE AND WE ARE LOOKING TO ENSURE UPON YOUR SUPPORT AND APPROVAL OF PLAN THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE THOSE IN ADDITION TO THESE AND YOU WILL SEE AS MR. GRUBER MENTIONED THEY DO SEEM LIKE THEY'RE MORE COMMUNITY FOCUSED AND EFFORT BUT THEY ALL HELP US ACHIEVE THE OUT MARKETING EFFORT OF SUPPORTING THAT QUALIFIED VISITOR. WE CAN'T BRING A QUALIFIED VISITOR IN FOR A MEETING AND GROUP IF WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITIES ON THE OTHER SIDE HERE AT HOME SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN'T GET THEM FROM ONE PLACE TO THE OTHER.

WE CAN'T BRING THE VISITOR OR BRING THEM AROUND THE ISLAND TO ALL THE OTHER BUSINESSES.

SO AGAIN, THE SIDE OF TOURISM SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY, ENSURING THAT THERE'S RESPONSIBLE EFFORTS IN PLACE STARTS WITH THIS COMMUNITY CORNERSTONE WHAT YOU WILL SEE HERE IS AN INCREASE IN OUR EFFORTS TOTALLY FIRST PRODUCED AND THAT IS TO ENSURE NOT ONLY THE COMMUNITY CORNERSTONE PLAN IS ACHIEVED BUT IT'S ALSO CASTING THAT WIDER NET TO OR TO ACHIEVE THAT HOUSEHOLD INCOME THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. BUT IT'S ALSO TO TALK ABOUT THE PROGRAMS THAT YOU AND I HAVE HAVE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WELLNESS ARTS AND CULTURE HERITAGE ARTS AND CULTURE COMMUNITY I'M SORRY HERITAGE CULTURE ARTS WELLNESS, ARTS AND CULINARY. AND SO THE OPPORTUNITY IS FOR US TO COME ONE ON ONE TIME TO YOU THAT WE WILL BE ABLE NOW SUPPORT ALL INITIATIVES. THIS IS NOT AND IN FOR US COMING BACK FOR SUPPLEMENTAL THIS IS JUST COMING IN FRONT OF YOU FOR THAT ONE TIME AND IT'S THE 30% INCLUSIVE OF SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO SUPPORT THOSE MICRO PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY NONPROFITS AS THE FESTIVAL AND EVENTS AND OTHER EFFORTS WE HAVE MADE FOR YOU IN THE PAST ASK QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF COUNCIL STAFF OF THIS AND AS I SAID BEFORE THINK THE CHAMBER HAS BEEN DOING AN EXTRAORDINARILY GOOD JOB IN ITS EFFORTS TO BRING TOURISTS TO THE ISLAND AND I PARTICULARLY APPRECIATE THE INCREASE IN TARGET THE DOLLAR TARGET OF VISITORS YOU'RE LOOKING AT I THINK THE PRESENTATIONS THAT MS.. PRIEST HAVE GIVEN US HAVE BEEN OUTSTANDING AND YOU CERTAINLY HAVE GIVEN US A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION. I ALSO APPRECIATE THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCOMMODATE OUR DESIRE NOT TO HAVE TWO DIFFERENT TIMES TO LOOK BUDGETS AND THAT IT WOULD BE DONE ONLY ON ONE OCCASION SO THAT THE ITEMS IN THE SECOND BUDGET GO AROUND HAVE BEEN FALLEN INTO THIS ONE. AND THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE IS WITH THE AMOUNT THAT YOU HAVE ON YOUR TOP LINE OF THE BUDGET ON PAGE 32 OR SO AT 4.675 MY RECOLLECTION IS THAT YOU STARTED IT IN THE VERY INITIAL DRAFTS OF THIS AT 3.8 AND THEN WHEN MR. DREIER MADE HIS ESTIMATES OF THE LIKELY COLLECTIONS THAT WE SHOULD APPROXIMATELY $4 MILLION AND THAT'S KIND OF THE FIGURE THAT'S BEEN IN MY HEAD AND I'D BE VERY CURIOUS TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE GOT UP TO 4.675 30% SURE.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. FOR THE RECORD RADIO THE COMPTROLLER LAST MONDAY BILL

[01:00:02]

THE MANDATE THAT WE HAD AT THAT POINT WAS TO SAY LOOK, INSTEAD OF DEALING WITH THE SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS TO COME UP WITH ONE PLAN AND ONE NUMBER AND SO HOW DID WE DO THAT AND AGAIN THAT WAS LITERALLY ONE WEEK AGO. SO WE THE TEAM WORKED TOGETHER AND BASICALLY CAME UP WITH THIS NUMBER PROJECTION FOR FISCAL 2023 IS AND AGAIN WITH ONE QUARTER TO GO BECAUSE WE STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED THE JANUARY THROUGH MARCH QUARTER NUMBERS BUT THE PROJECTION IS ABOUT 4,033,000 OKAY. TO FINISH THE FISCAL YEAR OF THIS YEAR IN TALKING WITH JOHN OUR PROJECTIONS FOR THE AGAIN THE REGULAR STATE ACCOMMODATION TAX 30% FUNDS IS GOING TO BE ROUGHLY 4 MILLION. HIS NUMBER IS 4,017,000.

SO WE'RE VERY, VERY CLOSE WITH OUR ESTIMATES. THE ACTUAL SUPPLEMENTAL TEXT THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED IN THIS FISCAL YEAR WE'VE ALREADY BEEN REIMBURSED FOR IS A LITTLE OVER $303,000 E TAX THAT WE WERE JUST APPROVED FOR FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT 350,000 ASSUMING 175 BEFORE JUNE 30TH AND 175 AFTER JUNE BECAUSE AGAIN IT'S A CALENDAR YEAR GRANT THAT NUMBER COMES UP TO 4,512,000. SO WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE TOTAL NUMBER WE SAID OKAY OUR NUMBER IS GOING TO BE SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN THAT THREE ABOUT THREE AND A HALF PERCENT HIGHER WHICH IS A $163,000 THAT'S HOW WE CAME UP WITH THE 4,675,000.

I WILL SAY THAT THIS IS A LITTLE BIT UNCHARTED TERRITORY FOR US BECAUSE AGAIN WHAT MR. ORLANDO US TO DO WAS COME UP WITH ONE PLAN AND ONE NUMBER AND SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK IN THE FALL. SO THAT'S HOW WE GOT TO THE NUMBER.

THANK YOU MR. DO THAT ON PAGE OF THE NEW BACK THAT I PROVIDED OF PAGE 56 COUNCILMAN BROWN AND THAT IS WHERE SO OVERALL WE WILL LEAVE IN THE PROGRAM INCREASES THAT WE HAVE THE PIECES THAT WERE SPECIFIC TO THE COMMUNITY TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

DO YOU HAVE THAT ON PAGE 56? I'VE JUST LEARNED FROM NATURE ALTERING NATURE SO NURTURING NATURE AND THEN IF YOU IF YOU LOOK THROUGH THAT YOU HAVE ARTS AND CULTURE YOU FESTIVAL AND EVENTS PROMOTION HISTORICAL HERITAGE, TOURISM, WELLNESS TOURISM AND RECREATION MARKETING. SO WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS COMPREHENSIVELY PUT TOGETHER NOT JUST THE OVERARCHING HILTON HEAD ISLAND, THESE ARE OUR OVERARCHING VALUES AND AFTERWARDS WE'VE ALSO CREATED THE NICHE PROGRAMING OR SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTE PROGRAMING THAT WE SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY EVEN FURTHER AND DIFFERENTIATE EVEN FURTHER WITH THE PROGRAMS THAT WOULD HAVE POTENTIALLY AND HAVE IN THE PAST BUT BROUGHT THROUGH SUPPLEMENTAL BUT NOW HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD IN THIS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SO PILLAR WE HAVE OUR OUT MARKETING PILLAR THAT TALKS VERY BROADLY ABOUT HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND THE OVERARCHING ATTRIBUTES AND THE VALUES THAT WE HAVE AND THEN WE HAVE OUR SPECIFIC PROGRAM INITIATIVES THAT ARE COMPREHENSIVELY LAID OUT WITHIN HERE STARTING ON PAGE 54 AND IN DOING AGAIN THAT WOULD NOT HAVE US COME BACK IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL CYCLE. THIS WOULD ALLOW US TO BE HERE ONE TIME WITHIN THE 30% IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT WOULD SUPPORT THESE EFFORTS.

ONE THING THAT I FORGOT TO ADD IF IF USING THE $4 MILLION NUMBER AND AGAIN THINKING THAT WE'RE GOING TO END UP AT FOUR AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, OBVIOUSLY A REDUCTION ABOUT A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS A LITTLE OVER LITTLE OVER 10%.

THE OTHER FACTOR THAT WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING SOME MONEY FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

OKAY THESE WERE KIND OF THE EMERGENCY COVID FUNDS THAT STARTED A FEW YEARS.

THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE NONRECURRING NONRECURRING WHICH MEANS THAT HAPPENS ONCE.

IT'S HAPPENED THREE TIMES. OKAY. SO WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PUT INTO THE MARKET AN ADDITIONAL $1.4 MILLION THREE SEPARATE TIMES THAT'S COMING TO END.

OKAY. THAT'S NEVER BEEN BUDGETED BECAUSE AGAIN IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A ONE TIME DEAL DURING COVID. SO MY POINT TO THAT IS OF A $10 MILLION BUDGET WE ARE NOW LOOKING IF WE ARE REDUCED BY SAY 500,000 FROM FROM THE STATE TAX AND THEN ANOTHER 1.4 NOW YOU'RE LOOKING AT ALMOST A 20% DROP IN TOTAL MARKETING DOLLARS AND I THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT HAPPENS AND THERE'S THERE'S NOTHING WE

[01:05:02]

PRAY RESPECTFULLY I WOULD SAY YOU'RE OPERATING OFF CURRENT NUMBERS AND TALKING ABOUT ADJUSTMENT TO CURRENT NUMBERS RATHER JUSTIFYING YOUR BUDGET JUSTIFYING YOUR BUDGET MEANS WHAT'S GOING INTO THAT BUDGET? WHAT HAS CHANGED? WHAT HAS INCREASED? WHAT HAS DECREASED? WHAT ARE WE NO LONGER DOING? WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO THAT IS NEW? WE HAVEN'T HEARD ANY OF THAT AND I'VE GOT TO CHALLENGE YOU TO BACK TO US WITH WHAT THOSE COMPONENTS THE BUDGET ARE AND WHY THEY ARE JUSTIFIED IN THE IN THE PLAN THERE IS A DETAILED DETAILED BUDGET THAT AGAIN WE'VE WE'VE HAD AS WE DISCUSSED THAT YES I UNDERSTAND I UNDERSTAND I MEAN LITERALLY THE MEETING THAT WE HAD WITH ALEX AND MARK AND JOSH ET CETERA IT HAPPENED LAST MONDAY. SO I'M NOT CRITICAL OF YOU THAT WE JUST GOT THAT. BUT YOU UNDERSTAND MY QUESTION AND WHERE IT COMES FROM.

YES, GOT IT. HOWEVER, THE ADJUSTMENT OF DOLLARS AGAIN NOT LOOKING AT THE 4 MILLION BECAUSE I THINK THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT'S THE FLUCTUATION IN THE SECTIONS IT'S THE IT'S THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT GOES TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAMING THAT HAS BEEN ADDED INTO PAGE THAT'S SPECIFIC TO THE PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS US TO DO BOTH THE BROADER REACH ALSO COME IN AND ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THAT WE HAVE SPOKEN AT LENGTH BUT THAT OUR PRIORITIES OF OUR COMMUNITY OUR RESIDENTS OUR AS WELL AS OUR TOWN BASED ON THE CONFERENCE NOT ONLY BE ABLE TO CREATE EVERGREEN MARKETING EFFORTS THAT TALK BROADLY ABOUT OUR PRIORITIES VALUES BUT ALSO TALK ABOUT THE UNIQUE COMPONENT QUALITIES WITHIN EACH ONE OF THOSE TALK ABOUT SISTER NURTURING NATURE.

THERE'S PLENTY OF PEOPLE AROUND WORLD NURTURING NATURE RIGHT THERE RESPECTING THEIR ENVIRONMENT BUT WHAT WE DOING THAT'S UNIQUE WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR PROGRAMS AND OUR PARTNERS AS THE COASTAL DISCOVERY MUSEUM WE'RE WORKING WITH TURTLE PATROL, SEA TURTLE TRACKERS TO ENSURE WE HAVE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE CAN PULL FORWARD.

I THINK COUNCILMAN STAFFORD WE TALKED ABOUT THAT AT BUT CREATING PROGRAMS THAT NOT ONLY HELP SUPPORT THE OF THOSE PARTNERS ENSURE THAT THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE MOMS SEA TURTLES TO GET UP TO LAY THEIR EGGS AND GO BACK AS WELL AS THE SEA TURTLES TO HATCH AND GO OUT. HOW CAN WE FURTHER INVEST WITH OUR VISITORS WHO ARE HERE THAT ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS AND WANT TO GIVE BACK WHERE THEY CAN GO HELP DO THOSE WALKS WITH THE SEA TURTLE PATROL EXCUSE ME SEA TRACKERS AND THEY CAN HELP PUT THE BEACH TO BED AND IF WE'RE PUTTING THE BEACH TO BED WHAT ARE THEY DOING? THEY'RE LEARNING.

THEY'RE DONATING THEIR TIME AND THEIR ENERGY AND THEY'RE ALSO INVESTING IN HELPING ENSURE OUR NESTING EFFORTS FOR OUR TURTLES. SO THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE HOW CAN WE WORK WITH THE OUTSIDE FOUNDATION IN BUILDING AN UNDERSTANDING OF RECYCLING AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS? HOW CAN WE WORK WITH COASTAL DISCOVERY MUSEUM TO CREATE NICHE PROGRAMS THAT WHEN A FAMILY COMES THEY'VE HAD TOO MANY TIMES AT THE BEACH THEY NEED A LITTLE BIT OF A RESPITE AND THEY CAN COME BACK AND THEY CAN DO AN EXPLORER PROGRAM AND INVEST BACK INTO COASTAL DISCOVERY MUSEUM THOSE PROGRAMS THAT ARE BEING THROUGH THESE ADDITIONAL DOLLARS RIGHT AND THAT WE'RE HELPING TO PROMOTE IN THE ART MARKET AND BRING THAT VISITOR WHO IS A QUALIFIED THAT'S GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE AND INVEST INTO OUR COMMUNITY THAT'S. ONE OPPORTUNITY THAT WOULD TALK ABOUT JUST FROM OUR ENVIRONMENTAL EFFORTS WE ALSO KNOW THAT IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARTS CULTURE THAT WE CAN WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE ARTS COMMUNITY. AND NATALIE WHO HAS TAKEN THIS NEW POSITION AT CULTURE HHI AND HOW WE CAN SUPPORT NOT CRESCENDO BUT ALL THE DIFFERENT ART INSTALLATIONS AROUND COMMUNITY AND HOW WE CAN DRAW PEOPLE THROUGH AGAIN THAT DISBURSEMENT THAT OPPORTUNITY AND HOW CAN WE HAVE THEM WORK THERE THEMSELVES AROUND THE COMMUNITY TO ENJOY THAT ART AND HOW THAT THEY DO IT ON A BIKE THAT WOULD BE AMAZING THAT WOULD HELP SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS WITH THE BIKE WALK COMMITTEE SO ON AND SO FORTH.

SO EACH ONE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE LISTED WITHIN THOSE PAGES TO SHOW YOU THE DEEPER PROGRAMING AND THAT WE CAN BRING FORWARD WITH THIS APPROVAL AND WITH YOUR SUPPORT . AND SO THAT IS WHERE THOSE ADDITIONAL DOLLARS WILL BE GOING. THOSE ARE THOSE ADDITIONAL DOLLARS WILL SUPPORT NOT ONLY THE CREATION AND OF THAT PROGRAMING BUT ALSO THE PROMOTION OF IT INTO THE OUT

[01:10:03]

THANK YOU, ARIANNA. AS I'VE SAID ALREADY, I'M VERY PLEASED WITH THE CORNERSTONE PLAN. THANK YOU. BUT IT'S VERY COMPREHENSIVE AND THE CHAMBER HAS ITS NAME NUMBER OF THE BOXES OF RESPONSIBILITY .

HOW DOES THIS COUNCIL MEASURE SUCCESS NEXT YEAR? WELL, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION WE ARE IN PLACE TO HAVE THOSE HAVE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND SO WITHIN THE PLAN NEXT TO IT AS YOU'LL SEE LAID OUT THERE ARE KIND OF MAP FRONT BOUND BUT ON KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS WE'VE PUT AS A FIRST YEAR AND THIS IS PAGE 21 AND YOU CAN CHOOSE ANY OF THE FIRST FIVE CORNERSTONE FAMILIES YOU CAN EVEN GO TO PAGE 19 FOR EASIER AND AS YOU SEE THEM LAID OUT IN A SPREAD ARE YOU ON PAGE 1819 OR SO LET'S WALK THROUGH 18 AND 19.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO INTO A LOT OF DETAIL. OKAY ON THEN ON THE FIRST ONE INITIATIVE TACTICS WHO THE LEAD WHEN WE PROJECT THAT BEING COMPLETED OR HAVING THIS COMPLETION OF THE FIRST KPI WHICH WOULD BE 15% OF LOCAL BUSINESSES FEATURING THE PROMISE TO THAT COMES WITH A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO WORK HAVE COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE TOWN AND THE TOWN STAFF TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN DEVELOP THAT DEEPER INITIATIVE TO ENSURE THAT THOSE LOCAL BUSINESSES SEE THE VALUE OF PUTTING THAT STICKER IN THEIR WINDOW AND SO THOUGH WE ARE THE LEAD THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE ALONE WILL BE WORKING ON THAT. BUT WE'VE TRIED TO SHOW WHERE THERE MIGHT BE A PARTNERSHIP OR MANY ENTITIES THAT HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING. WE'VE TRIED TO PUT THAT IN THE LEAD AND THEN PUT THE YEAR OF COMPLETION NEXT TO THE KPI MY INTEREST IS BEING ABLE TO SAY TO THE COMMUNITY TO VERIFY THAT THERE WAS AN EFFORT MADE AND IT SUCCEEDED AND THIS IS THE IMPACT THAT IT'S HAD ON THE COMMUNITY RIGHT AND SO WITH THESE KPIS WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHOWCASE BACK TO YOU AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A FOUNDATION. THIS IS OUR FIRST YEAR DOING THAT TOGETHER. WELL AGAIN I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT FOR ME THOUGH THE BUDGET QUESTION OF IF WE SAY THAT WHAT DISTINGUISHES HILTON HEAD ARE ITS CORE VALUES AND WE ARE GOING TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO MARKET THOSE CORE VALUES BUT THEN WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE MIGHT NOT HAVE ADEQUATE NUMBERS OR QUALITY OF FACILITIES OR PROGRAMS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT CORE VALUE. IN OTHER WORDS, MAYBE HAVE UNDER FUNDED THOSE VALUES IN THE PAST WHETHER IT'S CULTURE, HISTORY OR ENVIRONMENT OR WHATEVER.

SO I THINK THE CHALLENGE BEFORE A COUNCIL IN DEALING WITH A TAX FUNDS IS DO WE INVEST IN MORE MARKETING OR DO WE PLANT A SEED BY INVESTING IN A AND PROGRAMING SO IF THERE'S A $4 MILLION 30% AND A 4.6 DESIRE FROM A MARKETING STANDPOINT IS IT THAT $600,000 INTO THE GROUND OR INTO PROGRAMING WILL CREATE AN ACCELERATED BENEFIT VISITOR SO THAT'S TO ME IS THE CHALLENGE BEFORE US. I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ARE VERY CLEAR THAT WE ARE ORDER AND HAPPY THAT WE ARE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION OUT LOUD. OKAY UM WE APPRECIATE ALL THE EFFORTS THAT THE TEAM STARTING WITH WITH MR. MOUSE HAS PUT IN TO YOU KNOW, REALLY UH SOMEWHAT REESTABLISHING THIS THIS RELATIONSHIP, THIS PARTNERSHIP. RIGHT.

AND THANKS TO STAFF THAT HAS BEEN WORKING ON ON BEHALF OF THE TOWN TO HELP COORDINATE OKAY SO I FEEL STRONG THAT WE ARE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

OKAY. UM, BUT AS YOU HAVE HEARD FROM FROM MY COLLEAGUES, UM, WE STILL HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE NUMBER. ALL RIGHT.

UM, AND I THINK THAT MOVING INTO 2 TO 2 NEXT SEASON AS WE UH, AS WE MEASURE OKAY YOU HAVE TO MEASURE IF YOU'RE GOING TO IDENTIFY SUCCESS OR FAILURE AND UM, I THINK THE WAY YOU HAVE THIS LAID OUT THAT WILL HELP US THAT OKAY UM YOU KNOW YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS SOME

[01:15:07]

THE 4,675,000 AS I UNDERSTAND IT INCLUDES WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT.

SO THERE'S STILL A JUMP IN THE NUMBERS AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE TIME NOW TO GO THROUGH THE BLUE LINES BUT ALL OF THE BLUE LINES APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN INCREASED WITHOUT COMMENSURATE EXPLANATION YOU'RE ASKING FOR AND WHAT BEING DONE IN ADDITION AND WHAT HAPPENS TO THE AGENCIES WHO ARE BEING ASSISTED BY THE SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT BEFORE THINK YOU NEED TO KEEP CRYING ABOUT THAT THANK YOU. OKAY. UM WE ARE CHARGED OF COURSE FOR MOVING THIS SO THAT WE CAN, UH, STAY WITHIN OUR TIMELINE OF OF OUR APPROVING OUR BUDGET.

UM, WHAT WHAT I'M HEARING TODAY IS THAT WE HAVE PLEASURE IN THE NEW PLAN AND WHAT BEEN ADDED.

UM, BUT WE STILL HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE BUDGET AND UM WHAT WHAT I SAY TO UH TO MR. MILES IS WE'RE CLOSE, OKAY? WE'RE CLOSE. BUT JUST SOME OF THE FACTORS THAT WE HAVE WE BROUGHT TO LIGHT TODAY WITH THE ORIGINAL BUDGET BEING 3.8 WE HAVE TO SUPPLEMENTAL INCLUDED IN I UNDERSTAND THAT THE 30% NUMBER IS MORE ACCURATE THAN IT WAS YOU PRESENTED THE FIRST TIME I GET THAT PIECE. OKAY BUT THERE'S STILL A GAP HERE AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE SOME EXPLANATION FOR US TO CONSIDER.

BUT I WOULD ASK THE COMMITTEE IF WE COULD MOVE THIS ALONG AS FAR AS THE PLAN IS CONCERNED AND HAVE BUDGETARY PIECE BROUGHT UP AT FULL COUNCIL SO THAT EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO TAKE ABOUT IT AT THAT APPLE AND WE CAN MAKE THE DECISION FROM THERE WE WILL ASK THAT YOU HAVE THAT NUMBER SO WE COULD HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING FOR ALL SEVEN OF US.

TIME FOR ANOTHER. YES, MR. CHAIR. AND I'M COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.

THAT WOULD GIVE ME TIME TO GO THROUGH THE DOCUMENT WAS JUST DELIVERED TODAY AND ALSO I THINK IT'S PROBABLY PRUDENT FOR THE REST OF COUNCIL TO WEIGH ON THAT AS WELL.

THE MOTION I'LL MAKE THE MOTION IF WE NEED A MOTION AND I'LL SECOND.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, THAT UH A COPY OF THIS ALONG WITH THE MEMO OF EXPLANATION BE DELIVERED TO ALL OF THE COUNCIL THAT'D BE GREAT.

OKAY ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION HERE? YEAH.

COULD YOU KINDLY CALL ROLL. ABSOLUTELY YES. YES MR. ALFRED.

YES, MR. BROWN SUPPORT HEARING SIR. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR THIS. IT'S A DEAL, MR. MYERS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS THERE. GAVE ME A PIECE OF PAPER HERE.

[6.c. Consideration of a Proposed Ordinance 2023- 11 Amending Section 4-10- 100 (Management and Use of Local Accommodation Taxes) of the Town of Hilton Head Island Code of Ordinances Pertaining to the Event Management and Hospitality Training Program Fund]

[01:20:03]

OKAY. THANK YOU. CYNTHIA THIS THE GROUP GOING TO COME BEFORE US TO TALK ABOUT THE PROPOSALS AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE TWO 0 TO 3 DAYS 11 MINUTE IN SECTION FOUR DESK TEN DESK 100. SO WELCOME.

YES, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE AT YOUR LAST YOU WERE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH SEVERAL OF THE TOWNS AFFILIATE AGENCIES . DURING THOSE CONVERSATIONS MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE NOTED THAT THE CURRENT LANGUAGE WITHIN THE TOWN CODE SETS A PRESCRIBED PERCENTAGE OF LOCAL ACCOMMODATION TAXES THAT ARE COLLECTED AND PROVIDES THAT FUNDING FOR PURPOSES RELATED TO EVENT MANAGEMENT AND HOSPITALITY TRAINING PROGRAMS AT THE REQUEST, MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE STAFF HAS PREPARED AN ORDINANCE AMENDMENT CHANGING THAT LANGUAGE TO NO LONGER MAKE IT A FIXED PERCENTAGE RATHER TO DESCRIBE THE PROCESS TO BE IN LINE WITH WHAT THE PRACTICE IS WITH COUNCIL ACCEPTING A BUDGET, HAVING DISCUSSIONS THE APPLICANT AND THEN ULTIMATELY MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL AN AWARD. IF I HAD TIME TO REVIEW THIS QUESTION I APPRECIATE THE FLEXIBILITY YOU'RE GIVING. YES SIR.

I COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE. THAT'S OKAY ZOOM.

WE NEED A MOTION TO PUSH THIS FORWARD TO THE FULL COUNCIL. PLEASE, SIR, I MOVE THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE 2023 DASH 11 AMENDING SECTION FOUR DASH TEN DASH 100 MANAGEMENT AND USE OF LOCAL ACCOMMODATION TAXES OF THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND CODE OF ORDINANCES PERTAINING TO THE EVENT MANAGEMENT HOSPITALITY TRAINING FUND BEING FORWARDED APPROVAL BY THE FULL TIME COUNCIL. SECOND, A FURTHER DISCUSSION HEY IF YOU COULD CALL THE ROYAL POLICE ABSOLUTELY NOBODY FROM THE PUBLIC WANTS TO SPEAK AT THIS.

YES, MA'AM. ABSOLUTELY. JUST STAND FIRM.

YES, MR. ALFORD. YES. YES, MR. BROWN PORT OCEAN CARING, SIR. THANK YOU I'M COMING TO THE END OF OUR BUSINESS.

THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR BEING ATTENTIVE TODAY WE WILL FIND OURSELVES A JURY VERY OUT AND READY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPORT

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.