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June 20, 1997
Hagerstown, Maryland
A Special Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County was
called to order at 10:00 a.m. by the Vice President, John S. Shank, with the
following members present: Commissioners Ronald L. Bowers, R. Lee Downey, and
James R. Wade.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU TRANSITION TEAM
The Commissioners met with Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) Board (the
Transition Team) members Ronald Stansbury, Jim Kell, Richard Trump, Charles
Sekula, and Susan Saum-Wicklein, to discuss the roles and responsibilities of the
Transition Board.
Mr. Trump stated that it was the consensus at the Tourism Roundtable meetings
that the budget of the CVB be restructured so that less money is spent on
salaries and administrative costs and more money is spent for marketing. He
indicated that the majority of the CVB membership felt that they were not getting
the best bang for the buck. Mr. Trump said that 60-70 percent should be spent
on marketing. He then distributed a letter from the Attorney Generals office
stating that the Transition Team is a legal entity operating under the law. The
Commissioners discussed the Transition Teams authority and the adoption of the
bylaws. Commissioner Wade stated that he feels it is questionable that only 11
members of the 110-member CVB membership voted to elect the Transition Team. Mr.
Stansbury stated that the entire membership was informed of the meeting. It was
the consensus of the Commissioners, with reservations, that the Transition Team
is legally acting as the Board of Directors for the six-month time frame
specified in the bylaws. Commissioner Bowers stated that the Transition Team has
exceeded its assigned mission.
Rodney Shoop, County Administrator, reviewed the roles and responsibilities of
the Transition Team as assigned by the Tourism Roundtable. The Commissioners
discussed some of the actions taken by the Transition Board and agreed that they
would feel more comfortable with the decisions being made if the full CVB Board
of Directors was in place. Commissioner Wade stated that he did not envision the
seven-member Transition Board closing tourism centers, dismissing staff, and
making major decisions. Mr. Sekula said that the Transition Board felt that
restructuring of the CVB was its main concern and that it did not have the
funding to operate the tourist information centers. The Transition Team
informed the Commissioners that $150,000 of the funding is targeted for use for
the municipalities. The Commissioners stated that the full CVB membership should
have been informed of the changes being made by the Transition Team.
The Commissioners asked that the Transition Team attempt to have the regular CVB
Board of Directors of 15 members, elected by the full membership, in place within
three weeks and to maintain the current tourism staff until the new board can
make a decision on this and other major issues. The Commissioners agreed that
the newly-hired director should begin his duties as scheduled. They also agreed
to pay the salaries of the employees until the new CVB Board is elected. After
discussion, the Transition Team consented to this recommendation. The
Commissioners asked the Assistant County Attorney, Beth Evans, to draft an
agreement for both parties to review.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
County Administrator
County Attorney , Clerk