longbeachmerchants.com

Present: President Mikel Burns, VP Steven Linhart, Secretary Keleigh Schwartz, Treasurer Sherry Hash, Una Boyle, Karen Brownlee, Mark Harebottle, Judi Andrew, Rainier Hauser, Gayle Borchard, Jerry Phillips, Dian Barker-Sayce, Merry Scharfe, Chris Stephens, Cara Ciaramella, Vin Ciaramella, Jill Grey, Wayne O’Dell, Eve O’Dell, Jennifer Johnson.

Meeting was called to order at 8:07 am.

Roll Call

Minutes. Read aloud as many had not visited longbeachmerchants.com to review. Corrections noted:

• There are 73 paid memberships of LBMA
• Old Business; Jennifer Johnson moved we accept the slate of officers.
• Other Reports; Judy Beezley is Secretary of the Ocean Park Area Chamber of Commerce
• Other Reports; Gayle Borchard clarified that the $32,000 raised is for the feasibility study.

Moved by Steven Linhart seconded by Jennifer Johnson, to accept minutes as corrected.

Treasurer’s report. None available due to officer change. Mikel Burns will get to Keleigh Schwartz for the blog. Jerry has heard that local merchants have taken counterfeit $100 bills. He would like to get his hands on those so he can further investigate; please contact Jerry at the Bank of Pacific if you have any information. Jerry will send Una information to distribute to Visitors Bureau membership and to Keleigh for the LBMA blog.

Old Business
None
New Business

1. Jerry Phillips noted that Ragan Andrew is putting together bags for cruise ship operators and is seeking donations of ad specialty or other items. Deadline is January 22nd. She is NOT looking for brochures but rather items stamped/tagged/stickered with your business name. Contact Ragan at the City of Long Beach, 642-4421.
2. Chris Stephens from the Pacific County Auditor’s office, made a brief presentation regarding the upcoming election process. All voters must choose a party to vote in the primary. Doing so allows you to vote in the primary but does not keep your affiliation with the party; data is expunged after 90 days. If you don’t want to affiliate with a party, you can vote the non-partisan ballot but not the Presidential Primary. Any questions should be directed to the Auditor’s office.
3. Rainier Hauser, Superintendent of Ocean Beach School District, along with Karen Brownlee, Citizens for Better Education, speaking on behalf of the school levy. There will be 2 propositions. One is the Maintenance and Operations levy, which happens approximately every 3 years and is needed to keep basic operations in place. This is because the state does not fully fund our schools. It is not a new tax; it keeps the existing tax going so as to maintain the current service level. The second levy is a new piece, a Technology levy, 15, 17 and then 19 cents per $1000 over 3 years. Our kids aren’t keeping up with others throughout the state in terms of technology and it takes more and improved equipment to turn that around. The two pieces added together net a total of $1.44 per $1000 (assessed property value); surrounding districts range $3.19 -$4.08. Because the building levy is dropping off now, the combined total is less than the per $1000 rate in 2005. Q & A regarding construction project and misinformation in the community. Articles in the Chinook Observer can be reviewed for more information, else call the District Office
4. LBMA/City After Hours being planned for April at the World Kite Museum. Date TBD. Volunteers requested; contact Mikel Burns.

Committee Reports

• Blue Grass – No report
• Beach to Chowder –Sherry Hash reports the need to purchase timing equipment at a cost of roughly $700. The equipment could be shared with the school district.
• Doggie Olympics –Jill Grey reports the first meeting of the year will be Jan 15, 5:30 at the PUD building. All are welcome.
• SandSations –No report.
• Jake’s Birthday –No report.
• Kite Festival –No report.
• Holidays at the Beach –No report.

Other Reports

• City Lodging Tax Advisory –Mkel Burns reports there is a meeting on Jan 22nd to interview ad companies for tv commercial. 11 am at the Breakers
• Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau –Una Boyle reports the LBPVB Annual Meeting will be Thursday, Feb 28 at the Kite Museum, 5:30 is the tentative time. Theme is “The Summer Vacation You Never Had”. BBQ, wine, noshes. More info to come. Regarding the TV ads, Una reports that people coming into the office are saying they heard about us on the tv &/or radio. Additionally, she is seeing more visitors from Eastern Washington and Oregon, which can be attributed to the radio and tv spots. She is also seeing three times the number of Canadian visitors, which can be attributed to the exchange rate. Most of our out-of-state visitors are from California. Most out-of-country visitors are from Germany. The number of visitors coming from websites continues to increase, as does the traffic to funbeach.com. Overall, we are ‘holding our own’ while counties around us are losing market share. Most recently, visitation is down since the storms of early December.
• Liaison –Steven Linhart reports Ilwaco is having an after hours Bowling Extravaganza, Weds Jan 16, 6pm; RSVP to Bruce Peterson at 642-2291. The Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum new Executive Director is Betsy Mallard. Pacific County has received several grants recently; details are in the Chinook Observer. Eye of the Storm Meeting will be Jan 26th, 9am-6pm RSVP to Nanci Main; food provided as well as a community pot luck. Purpose is to put citizen networks together for future storms.
• National Heritage Area –Gayle Borchard reports public meetings have been rescheduled for the week of March 3-8, due to the storm. Watch the Chinook Observer and website for details. Money raised for the feasibility study is up to $45,000 (of the $50,000 needed).
• Kite Museum –No report.
• Loyalty Days –Mayor Bob Andrew reports that meetings have continued to get things on schedule. Everything looks to be moving forward. New this year is Fort Columbia rededication, including WWII reenactors. Honoring the Navy this year; the banquet will likely have a luau theme to honor losses at Pearl Harbor.
• Surf Perch Derby –No report.
• SummerFest –No report.
• Fireworks – Mayor Bob Andrew report the City puts fireworks on for Independence Day and New Year’s. Finances were tight this past NYE due to the need to hire a pyrotechnical expert. Donations are always welcome.

Announcements

• Steven Linhart announces an entrepreneurial course, “Kick it up a Notch”, at Gray’s Harbor Community College in Ilwaco, Saturday, February 22nd, 9a-3pm; must register by Jan 31. Contact Teri Dodson , 642-9433, $35, includes lunch. Goal: Creating Strategic Plan for growth.
• President Mikel welcomes new merchants the O’Dells from Anchor Realty and the O’Cara’s from Hilltop Bowl

Meeting was adjourned at 9:15 am.