Convention Center Task Force

January 2007 Meeting Summaries

 

 

CONVENTION CENTER TASK FORCE – Steering Committee

January 25, 2007

 

Clanzenetta “Mickee” Brown

JCCI Planner

cmbrown@yourspecialproject.com

 

In attendance:

Steering Committee – M.G. Orender (Chair), Charles Appleby, Ron Barton, Kelly Madden, Don McClure, John Reyes, Phil Tufano, Mark Wood

 

Staff members – Mickee Brown, Skip Cramer, John Reyes

[Staff note: if your name is not listed above please advise staff.]

 

Meeting Time: 4:30 - 5:15 p.m.

 

Purpose: Choose vendor for convention center feasibility study

 

Discussion:  M. G. Orender opened the meeting by asking Skip Cramer to outline JCCI’s role in the study process.

 

Skip went on to state that JCCI will fulfill multiple roles over the course of the study…

·         Neutral facilitation: Either Skip or Ben Warner will act as a third party facilitator to maintain the consistency of each meeting and to provide an opportunity for the chair to lead and participate in the process.

·         Record keeping: Planner, Mickee Brown will prepare all meeting summaries, help maintain a master file of all study materials, and vet all external inputs from the community and others.

·         Administration: Mickee will also work with steering committee members to set subcommittee meeting dates and record each meeting.

·         Community engagement: JCCI will provide multiple outlets for the community to make their voices heard during the study, including email, a web log, phone access, public comment during the meetings, and collection of comment cards at the end of each meeting.

·         Process expert: JCCI’s staff will facilitate each meeting using its forum decorum (rules of engagement) and solutions oriented consensus building techniques that encourage full participation from all study members.

 

M. G. asked each task force member to hand in his or her list of five feasibility study vendors in order of preference from 1 through 5. The ranking of the candidate firms, in descending order, was as follows:

 

1.       CSL International

2.       HVS

3.       CH Johnson

4.       Price Waterhouse

5.       Keith Johnson, CPA

 

Convention, Sports, and Leisure (CSL) International was the highest ranking vendor and will be asked to conduct a feasibility study should the task force move to continue the study process upon review of the destination and appeal studies to be delivered at the end of February 2007.

 

M. G. also provided the group with the following updates:

 

·         The February 22nd task force meeting is a tour of the Prime Osborn Convention Center with discussion centered on the current state of business for the facility. Members of the task force will also receive a summary of past feasibility studies.

 

·         Every task force member will receive announcements declaring when each subcommittee will meet to encourage members to participate as fully as their time allows even though they will be assigned to only one working subcommittee. Don McClure added that everyone should be apprised of what all groups are doing from meetings to lunches.

 

·         The destination and appeal studies are due at the end of February and will help to inform the work of the Business Demand Subcommittee. Copies may be available at the February 22nd meeting, but it is not guaranteed according to John Reyes.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:15pm.

 

 

 

CONVENTION CENTER TASK FORCE

January 25, 2007

 

Clanzenetta “Mickee” Brown

JCCI Planner

cmbrown@yourspecialproject.com

 

In attendance:

Task force members and Community participants: M.G. Orender (Chair), Tony Allegretti, Charles Appleby, Ron Barton, Danny Berenberg, Melody Bishop, Juan Diaz, Pam Edwards-Roine, Bruce Ferguson, Randy Goodwin, John Haley, Amy Harrell, Annette Hastings, Donald Harris, Bob Johnson, Kish Kanji, Millie Kanyar, Scott Kim, Bruce MacKenzie, Kelly Madden, Albert Marchant, Karen Mathis, Don McClure, Mike Miller, Medardo Monzon, Michael Munz, Ted Pappas, Dennis Pate, David Potts, Fred Pozin, Jim Pritchard, John Reyes, A.D. Roberts, Toney Sleiman, Michael Stewart, Scott Stuckey, Arnold Tritt, Phil Tufano, Tri Vu, Robert White, Anthony Williams, Mark Wood, and Tony Wynn

 

 

Staff – Mickee Brown, Skip Cramer, John Reyes

** [Staff note: Please advise staff if your name is not listed above. Also, the phrase “study participants” as used below refers jointly to task force members and community participants.]

 

Meeting Time: 5:30-6:45 p.m.

 

Speakers: The Honorable Michael Corrigan, City Council President

                   R. William Crowe, City of Jacksonville Assistant General Counsel

 

Purpose: Orientation for study participants on roles and processes

 

Discussion:  Task force chair M. G. Orender opened the meeting by introducing the evening’s agenda and asking City Council President Michael Corrigan to provide study participants with an overview of why it is important for the community to have an open dialogue about the future of the convention center at this time.

 

Michael Corrigan

  • Though many studies have been conducted in the past, Jacksonville is in a unique position right now to plan what happens next with its convention center due to tremendous community growth. As a community, Jacksonville must decide if pursuing more convention business and/or a larger facility is a worthwhile investment and if so what can be done to maximize the chance for success.

 

  • JCCI was chosen as a third party facilitator for this exercise because the organization has a history of being fair and inclusive. Everyone will not agree with the final results, but everyone will have an opportunity to participate in the process.

 

Later M. G. introduced members of the Convention Center steering committee and members of the subcommittees they will helm as follows:

 

·         Kelly Madden, Business Demand

·         Phil Tufano, Marketing Support and Infrastructure

·         Charles Appleby, Site Selection

·         Mark Wood, Finance

·         Don McClure, Facility Operation

·         Ron Townsend, Community ROI

[Staff note: A full list of members per subcommittee is available upon request.]

 

Each subcommittee meeting will be announced in advance to allow all task force members to participate in the process as fully as his or her time will allow. That information will be made available at each meeting, via the JCCI web, and on request.

 

JCCI Executive Director Skip Cramer reviewed the roles of the steering committee, the task force, community participants, and JCCI.

·         Steering committee: Along with influencing the design and content of the study, each steering committee member will helm a subcommittee examining one critical area of the study (see above). 

·         Task force: Each member of the task force has two primary roles; subcommittee member and general (task force) consensus member.  As a member of a subcommittee, task force members will explore one topic in detail over a period of three weeks. Upon reconvening, the general task force will review the subcommittee’s work and through consensus reach agreement on the smaller group’s findings and recommendations.

·         Community participants: Are welcome to share their observations and give input at every subcommittee and task force meeting. Specific time will be set aside on every agenda for such inputs.  Observations and comments are also welcome via the JCCI website, CCTF web log, and the comment cards to be distributed at every meeting – these are all avenues for the community to voice their opinions for the study record. However, community participants are not consensus members of the task force.

·         JCCI: In addition to neutral third party facilitator, JCCI is the study’s record keeper and administrator.   Any material to be considered by the task force must be cleared in advance through JCCI.  No materials may be distributed at meetings without this clearance.

 

Skip reminded all attendees that the study process is most successful when everyone leaves behind his or her professional and/or personal interest to represent the interests of Jacksonville’s citizens. He also asked that the meetings be governed by the following rules of engagement (JCCI’s Forum Decorum).

- Start and end on time                           - Turn all cell phones and pagers off

- Engage in active listening                                 - Raise your hand to speak

- All ideas and opinions are debatable      - Attack the problem not the person

- Stick to the topic                                             - No filibustering

- Respect the process                                        - Have a great time!

 

Skip reminded participants that all information pertaining to the task force (agendas, schedules, meeting summaries, notices, etc.) are available on the web (www.jcci.org), by email request at ccctf@jcci.org,   or by contacting JCCI’s offices (396-3052).

 

M. G. also provided study participants with an update on the three contract studies that will influence the length of the study.

 

1.       On December 15, 2006 steering committee members commissioned two studies; one to determine Jacksonville’s appeal as a tourist destination and another to clarify whether or not Jacksonville would become a sought-after destination for conventioneers if there were additional convention space. The results from both studies will be available at the end of February. The results from both studies will then inform the work of the Business Demand subcommittee beginning in March.  If the task force then agrees the studies do not support expanding convention capacity, the task force will end its work.

 

2.       On January 25, 2007 the steering committee met to discuss feasibility study proposals from five firms. The top ranking firm was Convention, Sports and Leisure (CSL) International, with offices in Dallas and Minneapolis. While the selected firm will be notified, the feasibility study contract will not be executed until the task force agrees that the outcomes of the destination and appeal studies support proceeding with that step.  That decision is expected in March.  The task force is scheduled to review the feasibility study results on June 28, 2007.  If the cost vs. benefit is disproportionate (high cost/low benefit), then the task force’s work will cease.

 

Bill Crowe, Assistant General Counsel, gave the last presentation of the evening regarding Florida’s Sunshine law. The highlights of his presentation are listed below. 

 

·         All Convention Center Task Force meetings are governed by Florida’s Sunshine law.

 

·         The Sunshine law requires that 1) meetings of boards or commissions must be open to the public; 2) reasonable notice of such meetings must be given, and 3) minutes of the meeting must be taken. Tell-tale signs of potential violations include, short meeting notice, lack of minutes, and whispering at meetings.

 

 

·         The Sunshine law applies to any gathering, whether formal or casual, of two or more members of the same board or commission to discuss some matter on which foreseeable action will be taken. Telephone conversations and chance meetings are also subject to Sunshine law.

 

·         Members of a public board are not prohibited under the Sunshine law from meeting together socially, provided that matters which may come before the board are not discussed at such gatherings.

 

·         Any material made or received by the board or committee to perpetuate, communicate or formalize knowledge is considered public record, subject to Florida record retention requirements and Freedom of Information Act requests.  All written documents, tapes, photographs, films and sound recordings are also considered public records and are subject to inspection.

 

·         To gather more information about Sunshine law contact Bill Crowe directly, review the packages of information distributed by Bill and the CVB, or visit the Florida Office of the Attorney General online (myfloridalegal.com)

 

·         For the purposes of the Convention Center Task Force all “master files” will be maintained by JCCI.

 

M.G. opened the floor to public comment from all in attendance, but none were offered.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 6:45pm.