At the May 21 Hollister City Council meeting, three members failed to pass a resolution that would have permitted a $78,000 annual payment for five years to the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce and the Visitors Bureau for Tourism Marketing to promote tourism.
City Manager Bill Avera told BenitoLink May 22 that the resolution can be amended and resubmitted to the council at a later date, though he thought it might be better to wait until after a new CEO was hired to replace the departing Juli Vieira, who announced in April that she was leaving.
Before discussing the resolution, Councilman Jim Gillio recused himself because he is a member of the chamber and legal counsel advised him to do so because his business could possibly benefit from its activities. This left Mayor Ignacio Velazquez, Vice Mayor Mickie Luna, and Councilman Karson Klauer to discuss and vote on the resolution. Councilman Raymond Friend was absent.
Development Services Department Program Manager Mary Paxton said there were a number of stipulations in the memorandum of understanding (MOU): $3,000 per year would be allocated to assist the Pinnacles Gateway Partners, an ad hoc council member would participate with the chamber board to determine spending, and there would be a 25 percent administrative allowance to oversee tourism committee meetings and administer contracts for marketing and advertising. Paxton also said there would be a 20 percent financial incentive linked to the increase in the transient occupancy tax (TOT) net revenues, received when people from out of town stay in Hollister hotels.
Paxton said the council first approved an MOU in 2015 for $50,000, which was increased to $100,000, essentially to pay for a redesign of the chamber’s website, as well as to participate in the Central Coast Tourism Council to leverage spending for international advertising campaigns, and to produce promotional videos that would be played at hotels in Monterey County.
Vice Mayor Luna said over time she had repeatedly suggested sites that she thought should be included in the chamber’s tourism marketing, but they were never added. She said she had issues with the MOU and wanted more information before she could support it. In particular, she wanted to see the budget and future spending plans. Councilman Klauer said he did not want the 20 percent incentive payment based on the net increase of TOT.
“We’re probably going to be asking the citizens to bump the TOT from 8 percent to 12 percent, so on the one hand we’re trying to get more and on the other we’re giving some of it away,” Klauer said. “We already have a contract with the chamber that doesn’t include 20 percent, so for me to approve it that has to come out.”
Mayor Velazquez said he would be more blunt, and he was.
“I don’t like any of it,” Velazquez said. “I find it ironic that we have an annual event (Hollister Independence Rally) that brings in 50,000 tourists and we don’t spend $1 on it, and now we want to give away $400,000 hoping that a local crew will find tourists. It’s bad financial planning.”
Chamber Board Chairman Victor Gomez, also president of Pinnacle Strategy and a former councilmember, came forward to speak on behalf of the chamber. He said Vieira wasn’t present and that the chamber was already recruiting for her replacement, which he anticipated would happen within the next 30 days. He said he didn’t want to discuss the rally because it wasn’t on the agenda. He agreed with Luna that the board should meet with her to discuss the financials. He also agreed with Klauer.
“It wouldn’t make a lot of sense if you push the TOT and then we (the chamber) benefit from an initiative increase, so we wouldn’t be too concerned with that,” Gomez said.
Gomez said the first MOU was initiated to increase tourism when he was on the council.
“I don’t disagree with the mayor on the rally, and that it brings tourism,” he said. “But there’s plenty more other than bikers coming to Hollister to bring tourists to our area. We’ve seen steady increases in visitors here. We know the numbers at our local hotels and at Pinnacles National Park. They are all increasing.”
The chamber chairman granted that the increase cannot be totally attributed to the chamber’s efforts, but it is a component he maintained.
“We appreciate your allocation and dedication to driving tourism in San Benito County and we think this is one of those avenues to get that done,” Gomez concluded.
The council was not convinced and when Velazquez asked for a motion there was none. The item failed due to lack of a motion.
In February 2017, Vieira reported to the Hollister City Council and San Benito County Board of Supervisors that the chamber had spent $70,694 of its $145,000 operating budget through June 2017. She said in addition to the $100,000 from Hollister, San Juan Bautista chipped in $15,000 and the county added another $30,000.
At those meetings, Vieira reminded the council and board of supervisors that they could not afford to hire a full-time employee who would work the same number of hours that the chamber staff had done.
“I have to say you’re getting a good return on your investment,” she said at the time.
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