LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
City, Chamber Work On Tourism Contract
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sitka Chamber of Commerce has sent out an alert to Chamber members and Visit Sitka partners regarding negotiations now under way with the city over the chamber’s bid to continue as the city’s provider of visitor and convention services.
“On June 28th, we confirmed that internal, confidential information was shared outside our organization and provided to the City of Sitka,” wrote Rachel Roy, executive director of the Chamber, which also operates Visit Sitka. “This information was shared during the competitive bid process of the Convention and Visitors Contract RFP with the City of Sitka and impacts the Visit Sitka contract negotiations. We have taken immediate action by terminating an employee for cause in relation to this confidentiality breach. We also promptly took steps to ensure that all of our confidential information is secured going forward and at this phase in our investigation, we have not found that any member/partner financial data was compromised. This information has been provided to the City Attorney.”
Operating as Visit Sitka, the Chamber has been providing visitor services under contract with the city for the past three years. It was the sole responder to an RFP in April to provide convention and visitor services for the year starting July 1. Funding from the city for visitor services comes from lodging tax revenues.
Visit Sitka also generates revenues through memberships and advertising. Its duties includes marketing Sitka to independent travelers, conventions and cruise ships, and providing services to visitors before and during their stay.
Before the Visit Sitka contract expired on June 30, the city Assembly was set to discuss or give direction on a month-to-month contract at the June 26 Assembly meeting, but the meeting was adjourned before that item came up on the agenda.
In the information packet for the June 26 meeting City Administrator Keith Brady proposed a month-to-month contract at $25,000 (a rate of $300,000 per year).
He also proposed ending the contract on Dec. 31, 2021, to avoid having new contract negotiations at the same time as the busy summer visitor season. He suggested that Visit Sitka give more priority to marketing Harrigan Centennial Hall and other convention services, and called for the Chamber to complete a three-year strategic plan and marketing action plan for Assembly approval and for greater emphasis on marketing the shoulder and winter seasons. He also called for quarterly meetings between Visit Sitka and designated CBS staff.
Also new was an annual contract set at $300,000. Currently, Visit Sitka has a budget based on 92 percent of bed tax revenue over the past three years. If that formula is continued, it would fund Visit Sitka at around $448,000 for the coming year.
The Assembly agenda item for next Tuesday’s meeting has an updated memo, proposing a month-to-month contract at $35,166.67 per month, until the new contract is signed. The long-term contract is still being negotiated, and Brady is still recommending the $300,000 figure.
The information packet for the July 10 meeting also indicates an executive session may be called on the contract, with Harrigan Centennial Hall Manager Don Kluting and Community Affairs Director Maegan Bosak invited in as needed.
“Once the negotiation is complete, a final contract will be brought to the Assembly for approval,” Brady said in his memo.
Roy’s email to the Chamber membership and visitor industry clients, also signed by Director of Tourism Sherry Aitken, said the alleged disclosure of confidential information has not disrupted operations at the Chamber or Visit Sitka.
“Currently the Sitka Chamber is continuing to provide convention, visitor services and marketing beyond the end date of our contract of June 30th in a good faith effort for the community of Sitka and our partner businesses,” the letter said. “The goal of the Sitka Chamber, through its work with Visit Sitka, is to increase the level of visitor traffic, enhancing the local economy and maintaining tourism related businesses in Sitka. These efforts are supported by utilizing and maximizing the dedicated Visitor Enhancement Funds.”
The letter to members concludes:
“Despite the serious nature of these actions the Chamber looks forward to a continuing constructive dialogue and would like a positive relationship with the City as the Chamber and the City’s goals are the same.”
Bosak issued a statement today saying the city plans to continue working out a contractual agreement with the Chamber and Visit Sitka.
“The CBS is dedicated to securing and managing a contract for the continuation of visitor and convention services,” Bosak said in the statement. “The contract with the Sitka Chamber of Commerce on the Assembly agenda June 26 was postponed due to the meeting end, to July 10. We value the impact the Visitor Services industry has on our community and look forward to expanding tourism in partnership.”
Assembly member Bob Potrzuski said he saw the $300,000 figure in the contract memo and was not particularly surprised at the decrease, since that was the amount the contract was at three years ago in the initial year of the contract.
“By the end of the third year, it was over $450,000,” he said. “It was unclear we were getting more than 50 percent more service for that amount of money. Why would we pay almost $200,000 more for the same service we were receiving the first year of the contract.”
Potrzuski said the city needs to look at all of its dollars closely.
“The city is restarting at the $300,000 mark and we’ll go from there,” he said. “In budgetary cycles where thousands of dollars count, and you’re looking at something that’s grown exponentially, it seemed prudent to say time out what’s going on here.”
Roy said funding was $300,000 in the initial year of the contract, but was fully funded at 92 percent of the rolling average of bed tax revenues the next two years, in accordance with the contract.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.