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07/09/2018 - Minutes 1 City of Port Orchard Economic Development and Tourism Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, July 9, 2018 Committee Members Present: Council Members Bek Ashby (Chair), Scott Diener, Jay Rosapepe City Officials and Staff: Mayor Rob Putaansuu, Community Development Director Nick Bond, Long Range Planner Keri Sallee, Deputy City Clerk Jenine Floyd Guests: Matt Murphy, Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce The meeting was called to order by Chair Ashby at 9:33 a.m. 1. Discussion: Update on Lodging Tax Committee Appointments. Deputy City Clerk Floyd said that City Clerk Rinearson has reached out to several City hoteliers about serving on the Lodging Tax Committee, and Lorraine Olsen of Mrs. Howe’s B&B has agreed to join. Mayor Putaansuu has reached out to the new manager of Days Inn as well. Chair Ashby noted that state law requires an equal number of hoteliers and nonprofit organizations on the committee. The City Clerk also determined that the committee cannot include extra participants, even if they aren’t given voting privileges. The City Attorney has advised that for-profit business representatives should not be appointed to the committee. Matt Murphy said that one reason it has been difficult to find committee members is that hotel managers and owners don’t receive a personal benefit to their business from their participation. 2. Action Item: Appointment of the Lodging Tax Chair. Floyd requested that the EDT committee members select a chair for the Lodging Tax Committee, to be confirmed by Council resolution. The committee voted to appoint Council Member Rosapepe as the chair. 3. Discussion: Update on Lodging Tax Request for Proposals 2019. Floyd said that City Finance Director Crocker is preparing the 2019 Lodging Tax committee funding estimate, which should be available by the end of July. Putaansuu said that the City should advertise the 2019 RFP now with an application deadline of September 1, so that the Lodging Tax committee can start meeting and reviewing applications shortly after funding has been determined. Ashby requested that the EDT committee receive a copy of the application with an opportunity to evaluate the application against the goals of the City’s Tourism Promotion Strategic Plan. 4. Discussion: Plastic Bag Ban. Putaansuu said that County Commissioner Garrido would like the County and the cities of Port Orchard, Bremerton and Poulsbo to adopt identical plastic bag bans on the same time schedule. However, at this time the cities are not supportive of the proposed 5-cent surcharge on each plastic bag. The committee agreed that the decision on whether or not to impose a plastic bag surcharge should be left to individual businesses. Long Range Planner Sallee will contact cities that have already banned plastic bags, such as Bainbridge Island and Bellingham, to obtain additional information on implementation challenges and suggestions for improvement. Putaansuu said that Garrido will be showing the documentary film “Bag It”, which focuses on the issues of plastic bag use, waste and recycling, and environmental effects, at the Dragonfly Theater on July 26 at 6:30 pm. The committee will work on a report and recommendation to Council on the plastic bag ban proposal, with the goal of presenting it to Council by the January 2019 work-study meeting. Prior to completion of the final draft, the committee will reach out to local retailers to invite their participation and comments. 2 5. Discussion: Follow Up on John Powers Website Recommendations. Putaansuu said that all of the recommendations made by John Powers for improvement of the City’s website have been implemented, except for preparing an updated and condensed version of the “Destination Port Orchard” video. City Council may be asked for 2019 funding to enable these edits. A static map showing Port Orchard in regional view is available, and a link to an interactive Google map will be added. The DeKalb Pier now has a live streaming camera view available on the website as well. 6. Discussion: Housing Kitsap, Affordable Homeownership Project at Sherman Ridge. Ashby said that she wished she had known earlier about this project. Putaansuu said that the project was delayed for a while because the demographics changed in the project’s federal census tract during the design and approval process. This change made the project ineligible for the federal grant that Housing Kitsap had hoped to receive. Eventually, Housing Kitsap managed to get a waiver for this project and the funding was received, but it appears that Housing Kitsap will not be able to receive grant funding from this source for future Port Orchard projects. Bond confirmed that Housing Kitsap will pay the same fees for permits, mitigation and the hearing examiner as any other development. Ashby noted that this project will provide “affordable housing” based on current market rates in the local area, and is not intended to be “low income housing”. Putaansuu said that over the past two years in the Puget Sound region, 7 jobs per hour have been created but only 3 housing units per hour have been built, and housing will continue to be a regional challenge into the future. Next Meeting: The committee canceled the August 2018 meeting. The next meeting will be on September 10, 2018, at 9:30 am in the Council Chambers.