09/27/2018 - Minutes
City of Port Orchard
216 Prospect Street, Port Orchard, WA 98366
(360) 876-4407 • FAX (360) 895-9029
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee
September 27, 2018; 6:00 p.m. at City Hall
Committee Members present: Chair Jay Rosapepe; Lorraine Olsen, Mrs. Howe’s Bed and
Breakfast; Keith Woyshnis, Saints Car Club; Kathy Garcia, Port of Bremerton; Jack Edwards, Days
Inn; and staff City Clerk Brandy Rinearson.
Introductions/Roll Call - Chair Rosapepe introduced himself and so did each of the committee
members and staff.
Applicants spoke to the committee explaining their proposal which are as follows:
Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce – Explore Port Orchard – Tourism & Visitor Marketing-
Seagull Calling Festival
Matt Murphy, Executive Director, presented to the committee that they provide something to
do, a Visitor Center, and they bring people into town. The funds being asked is for Marketing
and Operations of events and Tourism Marketing. Funds received will be supporting the
historical Seagull Calling Festival and Wings Cook-off event, in conjunction with the Harbor
Festival allowing events on both sides of the water. In addition, funds received will support the
Port Orchard Visitor Center, representing all of Port Orchard and South Kitsap with information
and full racks of brochures. Lastly, funds to support Tourism promotion to promote South
Kitsap and Port Orchard with a variety of mediums of social media, websites, and print
materials; including Explore Port Orchard that is a collaboration of local organizations to
combine marketing to attract people to eat, drink, be happy, stay and sleep in Port Orchard.
Marketing materials have been updated with messages to “Relax” and “Getaways” versus lots
of texts.
Amount of funding requested: $30,203.
Fathoms O’ Fun Festival – Marketing and Operations of Events
Sharron King, Chair and Karen Aquino, Treasurer, presented that they strive to make Port
Orchard a fun environment for families that live within South Kitsap, bring free activities, and
bring people downtown. Funds received will support operations of events and printed materials
being distributed to all the Hotels and B&B’s and others, listing all the events put on from May
to December. In addition, they advertise in the Discover Kitsap; which is disturbed on the
Ferries and do digital advertising. Something new for next year is an event by a reenactor group
to reenact battle grounds, a mini “Battle of Bay Street”. Lastly, they are including 2 shuttle
busses for the parade and need a new truck that pulls the float; as it on its last end and has
reached beyond repair.
Amount of funding requested: $34,500.
September 27, 2018, Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
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Kitsap Mustang Club – Mustangs on the Waterfront
Susan Stadshaug, Show Chair, and Len McCready, President, presented that they used the
funds from last year for additional advertising and marketing; which allowed the Club to do
more advertising of the event and included more activities for the guests to do while here.
“Save the Date” cards are mailed out to past participants or attendees and a program is
printed. This event is one of the last Mustang shows in Washington; if not on the West Coast.
Funds received will be used for additional marketing of the event.
Amount of funding requested: $2,500.
Saints Car Club – The Cruz
Bill Hubble and Mark Edwards, presented that the funds being asked to advertise the event.
With other funds they have updated their radios and increased T-shirts to help bring in more
revenue. In addition, this year they purchased a highway sign to help direct the cars not to drive
on gravel as they head into town for the event. The advertising is done by sending out
postcards to participates throughout Washington and in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
Additional printed materials are printed and when visiting other car shows, the flyer is taken
and handed out to promote the Port Orchard event; with additional advertising done in the
Cruisin’ Car magazine.
Amount of funding requested: $2,400.
City of Port Orchard – Summer Event Foot Ferry Services
City Clerk Rinearson presented saying the funds being asked is to support the [operational cost]
foot ferry for Sunday and Holidays. The City partners with other governmental agencies to help
fund the service. The service is to provide transportation between the City of Bremerton and
the City of Port Orchard for events happening on both sides.
Amount of funding requested: $6,500.
Visit Kitsap Peninsula
Patty Graf-Hoke, Director, presented saying that the agency is a regional marketing agency that
markets all the Kitsap Region, including Port Orchard, to help support and fund events. The
marketing is to tell people to choose you. The funding from Port Orchard is leveraged with
other contributors that get put on the literature to market on the City’s behalf. Additional funds
are used in publication such as Northwest Travel and Leisure, Seattle Magazine, and West
Sound Home and Gardening. They partner with the Port of Seattle and the International
Tourism Office and provide them with brochures that promote our area. Literature cards are
provided to focus on certain activities, such as museum, farmers markets, art galleries, etc. that
promote Port Orchard. They provide global marketing that others might not have. The increase
of funds asked for 2019 is to develop and work with local restaurants, and hoteliers, to develop
a Night-Life program.
Amount of funding requested: $18,000 for basic and $6,000 for Night-Life.
September 27, 2018, Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
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Port Orchard Bay Street Association (POBSA) – Tourism Marketing
Kathleen Wilson, President; Dave Jeff Coat, Vice President; and Christine Stansbery, Treasurer,
presented saying the ask is to help support and run the association. Funds from last year were
used to help with a downtown walking map that has the list of scheduled downtown events;
and updated the website. Funds being asked for this year is to help maintain the website, along
with an interactive website that allows for “clicking” on icons that have more information, and
for buildouts of more features that they don’t have yet, and to print more of the downtown
walking maps. In addition, they advertise in the Country Register that is distributed to antique
stores, fabric stores, and craft stores throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British
Columbia. They use Facebook target marketing for outside of the area; including Olympia,
Portland, Seattle, and North Jefferson County. When marketing for art events, it is advertised in
Art Access; which is distributed to hotel concierge from Vancouver, WA to Vancouver, B.C.
Amount of funding requested: $10,925.
Port Orchard Bay Street Association (POBSA) – Marketing and Operations of Events
Kathleen Wilson, President; Dave Jeff Coat, Vice President; and Christine Stansbery, Treasurer,
presented saying they put on various events throughout the year; including the Taste of Port
Orchard, Art & Antique Fair in conjunction with the Chris-Craft Rendezvous, and Ladies Night
Out. Marketing for these events are not just done locally, but also done outside the area. The
ask is for marketing funds, as well as some operation expenses to hold the events, like banners.
The newest event is the Halloween event, which drew quite a bit of people out of the area
because of marketing on Macaroni Kitsap. They are all about promoting downtown and Port
Orchard by having events to draw people in. Lastly, marketing is also done in the Seattle
Weekly and the Federal Way Register.
Amount of funding requested: $27,013.
Sidney Museum and Arts Association
Christine Stansbery, Treasurer, presented saying the ask is for tourism marketing. They publish
in Art Access, which is distributed from Vancouver, WA to Vancouver, B.C.; and it includes print
and website presence. Advertisement is placed in Discover Kitsap and the Country Register,
which is distributed in four states; and they allow them to do articles from time to time about
history. They partner with Visit Kitsap for marketing. In addition, postcards are printed and
placed in the boater bags. Funds are to support a sign that markets the organization on the
State Hwy; which can be seen in both directions. Lastly, they have a presence online with Dex
Media, which is yellow pages on the internet, and on Scenic Washington site.
Amount of funding requested: $5,070.
Follow Up– The committee would like staff to provide the current Fund Balance and the history
of the applicants funding ask and allocations.
September 27, 2018, Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
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There being no further business, Chair Rosapepe adjourned the meeting at 8:23 p.m. Audio-
only, recording was successful.
Next meeting: October 4, 2018
c: Council/Mayor/Department Directors