FINAL REPORTS DO NOT BRING FORTH FINAL DECISIONS ….
Dear Readers … for the last post on the Oct. 12, 2010 Reg. Comm. Mtg. we deal with the Town Manager/Town Atty. Reports…. Unfortunately these did not go well either…The disconnect was evident from the get-go and due in part because of there being no directives or final decisions made at the last roundtable dealing with the budget as well as no questions or discussion at the final adoption of the FY 2010-2011 budget … leaving items hanging as witnessed this night…in this writer’s opinion… The Town Manager asked for clarification and direction on the Chamber and the LETF Funds as well as parking time for the spaces once designated beach permit parking that had no time limit and are now residential parking spaces …..
The Town Manager Report contained three items for the Chamber (see prev. post agenda for this meeting/on Town website backup for TM Report 16a)… The Chamber was asking for the $9,400 they were shorted last year due to former TM Colon withholding it and stating they made a profit…which they did…and that profit was shown again in the backup received this year… Vice Mayor Dodd was a proponent that it was wrong when it happened and so were the new Commissioners when they were sitting in the audience last year… During the budget meetings VM Dodd offered up a compromise to the Chamber’s larger budget by using the $9,400 as a portion of that increase… It went nowhere …The VM was and is still against giving the Chamber the $11, 500 (or $11,159 depending on which backup you look at …the Chamber’s advertising backup state $11, 500/ Town budget shows $11,159) for advertising for the Welcome Center due to it coming to them as for the Welcome Center only after a more comprehensive expanded plan was poo-pooed by the Chamber’s executive board and board member-liaison Yann Brandt resigned … Now to give them the $9,400 on top of the increase was not what he had in mind…although he tried again to put that idea forth and give them the difference to come up with the $11,000+…. Comm. Sasser stated he thought long and hard about this and while he thought the VM’s point was good he reminded all they had scratched their heads when the monies were withheld ..He felt the Town made a commitment to pay the $9,400 …and then stated if the VM wanted to take it off the $11,5000 he had no problem…due to it still honoring the commitments of the past… The Town Manager stated the $9,400 was still in the budget for 2009/2010…Comm. Vincent said he “tossed this around” and he wanted to “look at this in a business sense”..”personal, if I’d done the job”..He went on to discuss that they were talking about 2 different years…2 budgets and he would not want anyone to take it away from him…He said the Chamber is entitled to both the issues were completely different…The Vice Mayor stated if they had received the $9,400 they would have needed to ask for another $11,500 this year and he would still go for the$9,400 to rectify the last years actions and $2,100 to being the amount to the $11,500…Comm. Sasser said it should be taken as two separate issues to pay the $9,400 and then continue on to discuss and deal with the $11,500 …Comm. Vincent then did some addition and stated that this would brings it up to the $55,000 the Chamber originally requested….The Mayor clearly miffed said that was not the consensus …She called for a motion to approve the $9,400 already in the 2009-10 budget for the Chamber .. Comm. Sasser made the motion with Comm. Vincent making the 2nd…it passed 5-0…Clarification was made that the actual amount budgeted for the 2010/2011 advertising for the Welcome Center is $11, 159 (the Chambers adv. report is based on $11,500 as mentioned above and posted below) …A motion was made to approve the $2100 for the advertising budget for the Welcome Center for FY 2010/2011 by VM Dodd and it received no 2nd… Comm. Vincent made a motion for the $11,159… again there was no 2nd (shades of the Commission during the Parker-McIntee days)…Comm. Vincent then proposed offering 50% of the $11,159 to the Chamber…The Vice Mayor was incredulous and stated then you are intending to increase their budget by $3,000…Comm. Vincent responded no to approve half of the $11,159…again stating the $9,400 had nothing to do with this in his view…Still there was no 2nd… Comm. Sasser said he had a question and also stated he heard what everyone was saying and stated the obvious that they were not going to come to any agreement …they were in a stalemate ..He went on to state the $11,159 is for advertising and if there is no provision for advertising there will be no advertising…The Mayor chimed in that we still do not have an agreement with the Chamber (the 3rd portion of the TM Report for direction/clarification concerning the Chamber)….A motion for $5,578 was made and again no 2nd…Comm. Clottey said there was an agreement with the Chamber before (the Chamber operated without a contract last year we were informed by the Chamber last year unable to get any response from the former TM)…Comm. Clottey wanted the TM to proceed with an agreement with the Chamber and hold off on the dollar amounts until the agreement is in place…Comm. Sasser stated he agreed with everybody but also reminded those on the dais who were still stating they wanted the Chamber to provide advertising information…the Chamber had (it was sent to all weeks prior before the budget adoption and is contained below the 3 items on the Chamber in this TM Report -see below)…The Mayor said she wanted an agreement in place before any amount of money was given…Comm. Clottey wanted a contract that delineates what the Chamber brings and what the Town brings…Comm. Sasser stated he could not understand how we get there…The Mayor said the Clottey motion died for lack of a 2nd…Comm. Clottey said this was more than just advertising … a need for a “cleaner contract”… The Town Manager agreeing there was a stalemate asked if there was any interest in funding any advertising …The plan is not detailed enough is what they seem to be saying and if it is not what they want to do why frustrate themselves and the Chamber (I like this TM more and more )…The Vice Mayor said he wanted a sample advertising budget …give $1759 and get back to the same agreement …He also added as he has before…is it up to the Commission/Town how they advertise…not wanting to micro-manager the Chamber…He asked if they agreed to get back to the $11,159?…Comm Vincent said Comm. Sasser did a wonderful job as liaison between the Commission and Chamber and he still did not want to put last years funds and this years together…he was “vehemently against it”…He said it should be stipulated they are separate…Comm. Sasser stated they would all feel better if there’s a contract agreement with the Chamber and the terms …as well as the $11,159 …He said let’s see what the contract looks like…But he asked how can they agree to a contract not knowing the advertising dollar amounts…Comm. Clottey stated she agreed with Comm. Vincent they are two separate items…The Mayor said she agreed with members of the Commission the amount to the Chamber is $35,000 (per the adopted budget last month)…what is missing is the $11,159 for advertising (for the Welcome Center which is how the Chamber asked for it to be separated out …prev. posts) …She asked were they able to do this type of advertising before…there was no response …The TM stated they spent a sizable amount in prior years using the County money …and were impacted by not getting the $9,400..(BC- backup prior showed the severe drop on advertising over the past years…but never before were either statements made by the TM used as a reason for why there was less advertising )…The Mayor passed the gavel to the Vice Mayor to make a motion…Comm. Vincent picked up on the statements made by the TM and said we “choked them (Chamber) and this “bonus” will get people in LBTS …HUH?… The Chamber as stated previously made a profit last year…they were not “choked”!… Comm. Clottey stated the Chamber was getting the $9,400 and should make an adjustment for what is needed (back to the VM’s motion?)…Comm. Sasser jested that they just spent the $11,000 on keeping the TAtty. past 10 pm…The Mayor still without the gavel in order to make a motion said they get a contract and stipulate that any funding from the County would offset the advertising budget of $11,159 and come back to the Town…The VM made a point of information stating that had already been stipulated prior to the budget …A second came from Comm. Vincent and it passed 4-1 VM Dodd voted no…
BC- What was not discussed as was discussed prior…The Chamber is not to get the full amount…The TM in her report stated again it was monthly payments …keeping them accountable …What this writer would want from the Chamber in addition to the below report is what the online costs actually are from the providers and what they get for that amount and less or more…I also believe there must be a Business Development Committee with a member of the Chamber on the committee other than the president or executive director as put forth by a longtime member to this writer at the start of this back and forth for funding this next year.. This is the only way to move the Chamber and advertising for the Town forward in this writer’s opinion…The TM stated during the item’s discussion that PIO Steve D’Oliveira could not take on the advertising …
THE CHAMBERS REPORT ON ADV. FOR THE WELCOME CENTER …
“LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Projected Advertising Budget Overview 120101
The Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Chamber of Commerce has formulated a strategic plan to aggressively market the
Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea as an appealing and highly desirable tourist destination throughout the world
Using the$11,500 budgeted for this purpose decisions were made to obtain the best results within these
constraints If additional advertising funds become available new campaigns will be considered
While print media has been a popular outlet for advertising in the past the present and future realities are
overwhelmingly in favor of focusing direction online where the worlds traveling population looks for information
when considering vacation destinations The decision to go exclusively online is a wise one and also necessary
due to current limitations placed on the budget In short the best use of all monies presently allocated is
through electronic media including but not limited to ads placed on Google, Facebook, TripAdvisor, Expedia
Orbitz and other mega-sites
The massive worldwide popularity of Google needs no explanation or introduction It therefore stands to reason
that advertising on this search engine is a bright use of funds Through Goggle’s AdWords program it is possible
to target ads according to keywords performed in popular searches for travel to beachfront destinations like
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea The monthly budget can be customized throughout the year using a dynamic plan
which can also be modified as necessary based on results Numerous campaigns can be launched simultaneously
using different configurations of keywords as well as international region targeting all of which make Google
an excellent choice for maximizing this years advertising budget
Placing a variety of ads on the worlds most popular social networking web site Facebook is one of the best
opportunities on the Internet for targeted advertising Because Facebook users provide information about
their age gender location and interests the Chamber can target its ads directly to the demographic the town
wants to reach This is truly the most powerful form of advertising available today as nearly half the wsorld
population is now on Facebook People treat Facebook as an authentic part of their lives so we can be sure we
are connecting with real people with real interest in travel This maximizes the potential results exponentially
The campaign also ties in directly with the Chamber’s own Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Facebook page
TripAdvisor
A recent site satisfaction survey revealed that 97 percent of travelers are likely to use TripAdvisor to plan
their next trip and 96 percent would recommend TripAdvisor to a friend relative or colleague TripAdvisor
has emerged as the undisputed leader in the online travel category by providing its members with the most
comprehensive unbiased and honest travel information on the web for hotels restaurants and attractions
worldwide With over 25 million monthly visitors TripAdvisor is not only the largest online travel resource it
is also one of the most trusted To promote Lauderdale-By-The-Sea using this resource is truly one of the best
choices in online advertising
Expedia Orbitz
With the highest brand recognition of any online travel site Expedia.com is a trusted resource for consumers
In turn Expedia is the ideal place for Lauderdale-By-The-Sea to reach targeted shoppers who are researching
or planning trips Visitors to Expedia.com represent a global audience with significant purchasing power The
LETS Chamber’s plan is to tap into that vast network of in-market consumers and maximize exposure for the
town internationally Likewise Orbitz has established itself as one of the top destinations for hotel shoppers and
destination decision-makingOrbitz targeted banners allow Lauderdale-By-The-Sea to aim messages directly at
the town’s target markets Banners will be delivered to travelers in the LBT5 feeder market and to customers
who are looking for information about travel to the South Florida region
SAMPLE ADVERTISING BUDGET LBTS Chamber of Commerce 2010
Preliminary distribution projection Actual disbursement of funds may vary between media outlets as contracts are negotiated
Only Internet spending is represented as budget does not allow for alternate types of advertising (copy below-online in backup ..link item 16 a. http://www.lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov/town/backup2009.htm )…
……………………..
Next up was the LETF funds and the discussion and decision making from the dais did not fare any better on this topic… Readers will remember that then-Comm. Dodd and this writer felt it was wrong to use LETF funds for the LBTS-VFD’s new quarters in the public safety building…The VFD and AMR were funded for renovations by the Town and the items in the BSO quarters were not out of the ordinary or in the scope of what LETF funds should be used for… While the Fl. ATTy. Generals opinion in the past and this time around give Commission’s a pass for blurring the lines…due we are told to the office not wanting to take on municipal governments…and because so many do it…but it was still the wrong use of those funds… The Comm. stated they wanted to wait on this to see what the millage/budget would be before deciding to reimburse the funds to the LETF funds… The breakdown was still incorrect in the backup of what the VM was looking for..The TM rectified that by stating the numbers …the total was $65,160 …$12,141 was for the jail cell (Readers will remember the prev. BSO office had a chair bolted to the floor with a handcuff … legally allowable but an embarrassment nevertheless…prev. posts) ..$9,700 for the Sally port and the rest for renovation …The VM stated that amount for the jail cell and the Sally port could be viewed as legitimate use…This writer disagrees…perhaps the Sally port…but not the jail cell…In any event he again asked as he had for this Comm. to rectify a wrong decision made by the prior TM/Comm….He made a motion for $43,319 to be returned…Comm. Vincent asked the TAtty. if the opinion of the government was this was correct to refund it?…The TAtty. reiterated what she had prior by downplaying the importance of the AGO’s opinion compared to the original opinion used at the time this vote went down…She stated they felt it was not a legitimate use..but essentially Commission trumps that if they all decided to use the funds this way…Comm. Sasser asked about the General Fund and if this money was budgetd to return the funds…The TM said it was not budgeted…The Vice Mayor made a motion and the TM asked to identify where the funds would come from in the motion…undesignated funds…The Mayor passed her gavel to 2nd the VM… It failed 3-2 (Clottey/Vincent/Sasser voted no)…
BC-This was a big mistake in this writer’s opinion and quite a blunder when you look at righting the wrong of the Chamber’s $9,400 from last year’s budget… The LETF funds were improperly used…this would be righting another wrong from last year’s budget… The Town has approx. $10 million in cash …right now…The LETF funds can only be used int he Town of LBTS…and those returned funds could have been used this year for the cameras needed as discussed prior when addressing the uptick in burglaries etc…To not use the funds in the wrong way going forth does not rectify the wrong use for just one of our public safety providers …..who just happened to have funds available to offset their new renovations especially in a sub-standard building they did not want to move in to…prev. posts…. The 3 that voted against this dropped the ball big time…in this writer’s opinion…sorry to say….
On the topic of the beach patrol and the change of allowing fire assessment funds to be used for per Burton & Assoc. Comm. Sasser asked about liability arriving from the change ..The TAtty. said this was looked into previously and she would email it…Comm. Vincent thanked Comm. Sasser and spoke of the concerns and the perception of VFD being lifeguards (BC-we’re not really gong “there” again)… Com. Clottey told Comm. Vincent the VFD ATVs state not lifeguards …and the Chief had informed them they were all being certified (per Comm. Vincent’s question at the start of the evenings meeting…see above)…Comm. Vincent stated “I think I’m an intelligent man” and stated that if they were certified as 1st responders it could be looked upon as they are lifeguards…UGH!….
The Mayor then reminded all they needed to address the other point of clarification and direction requested by the TM in the report…beach parking…It is now residential parking…t and the Asst. TM ( Bud Bentley is listed as Asst. TM w/out Int.in Town Topics Oct/Nov. issue…but not on Town website as of today)… spoke of the unlimited time that was afforded those beach permit parking patrons (prev. post)… The Mayor asked for this to go on the Oct. roundtable …The Asst. TM asked for it to be on the Nov. roundtable with a draft revision…Comm. Sasser asked about enforcement in the interim…The Asst. TM stated it was now residential and no longer beach per the signage changed that week…The TM said no one had really been abusing the time and they would deal with it using discretion…The Asst. TM briefly touched on residential parking and the use of business parking it can turn in to…Comm. Vincent once more felt the need to state “for the viewers ” that 3 hour parking is the residential parking time limit and asked how we monitor it …chalking the tires…(BC- again,we’re not going “there” again!)… The Asst. TM said they would deal with it administratively..The Vice Mayor stated the old beach parking has meters..The Asst. TM reiterated the past summary of what spaces were changed and where …some becoming handicapped…and stated there are no meters at the beachfront spots…El Prado or the portals…it was never proposed..
The TAtty. report was to include an update and discussion on the Coral Reef Project…Ms. Trevarthen stated the discussions had not gone far enough along to bring to the Commission for discussion…Hmmm… This writer surmises that the reef crowd of Furth…Cry of the Water and Dr. Goreau are not responding to perhaps give the CIC an issue and perhaps due to the liaison being VM Dodd…the wrongly charged as a “traitor” former Chair of the CIC (pre. posts)…Too bad due to VM Dodd being the proponent of trying to move this forward…in the right way…Readers…do not fall for any CIC-Furth led ploy of sinking this project by anyone on this Commission…While we have been treading water and expending funds on this type of coral reef project since 2005-2006…a project we all thought was going to be led by Dr. Goreau and not a former Town Comm. and a non-profit organization from Pompano Beach not even listed in the agreement…our neighbors to the south..Ft. Lauderdale…have not only been successful in accomplishing their project to restore the coral ….they have done it with federal grant monies… This writer’s opinion…If the Goreau Group do not want to come to the table before the Nov. meeting and come to terms advantageous to all…Call em on the breach…and take a field trip to Ft. Lauderdale to come on board in LBTS… Any traction for the CIC on this in a 2012 municipal election…I’ll have the facts to post to sink it!….
The TAtty. ended with a an addition put on at the start of the meeting…Senate Bill 360 (prev. posts)…Weston is going to appeal and asked for municipalities already on board to let them know if they want to continue at no cost to do so…The TAtty. explained the summary judgment and the process…In the end it was decided to vote to stay in…with discussion further at a future date…due to Weston requiring a response asap and the ability to opt out…It passed 5-0…
Due to the late time the Mayor told the TAtty. she could take a pass on the Notice of Intent costs etc…she had asked the TAtty. to give when the vote for the signage did not go her way…
The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 pm…
archived video on Town website link … http://lbts.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2
more to come…
Tags: LBTS Agendas/Meetings, LKauderdale By The Sea Oct. 12 2010 Regular Commission Meeting, local government, organizations, Public Safety, Scoops
