[0:02] This conference will now be recorded.
[0:04] » Councelor Lavy and Councelor Cannon with
[0:06] us virtually. Councelor Lingren,
[0:08] Councelor Wallace Frien, and myself are
[0:10] in the council chamber along with our
[0:12] guests and our staff.
[0:15] I'd like to begin by acknowledging our
[0:17] traditional territory. We acknowledge
[0:20] that we're gathering here on the
[0:21] traditional territory of the Shaquetmic
[0:23] people with whom we share these lands
[0:26] where we live and we work together.
[0:29] We have a proposed agenda in front of us
[0:31] for the special council meeting. I'll
[0:33] check with our CEO to see if there's any
[0:35] changes to the agenda.
[0:37] » None from staff, your worship.
[0:39] » Thank you. I'll accept a motion then to
[0:42] accept the agenda as presented.
[0:44] Councelor Lingren, Councelor Wallace
[0:45] Richmond. Thank you. Any discussion
[0:47] around that? All those in favor?
[0:55] That passes unanimously. Thank you.
[0:57] Councilors, any disclosure of interest
[1:00] on the item that we're looking at today?
[1:04] Councelor Wallace Fritzman, please go
[1:06] ahead.
[1:06] » Thanks, your worship. On the matter of
[1:08] um disclosure of interest, I wanted to
[1:10] take the time to point out that uh since
[1:13] I haven't done any work for sades since
[1:16] prior to the development of this plan.
[1:18] Um it is a new matter to me. Therefore,
[1:22] I am no longer in conflict and nor do I
[1:25] intend to work uh with sades um in the
[1:28] future. So, I'm uh happy to uh to move
[1:32] ahead and um and um go through the plan
[1:36] as it's presented to us today.
[1:38] » Thank you very much, Councelor Waller
[1:40] with the new matter. We will value your
[1:42] input. Um and just for the record,
[1:44] councelor Ganella is having some
[1:46] internet issues getting on this morning.
[1:48] However, he does have a declaration of
[1:52] interest on this item. So, uh he will
[1:54] not be attending with us.
[1:58] We have no confirmation of minutes this
[2:00] morning. So, we'll go right to our
[2:02] presentations. I see Miss Watson is uh
[2:04] is here. Um good morning to you. Oh,
[2:06] good morning to you both. Nice to see
[2:08] you both. Please come forward. Um
[2:10] counselors, uh we do have a motion for
[2:14] consideration. I'll perhaps just hang on
[2:16] to that motion until after our
[2:18] presentation.
[2:21] » Great to see you.
[2:24] » Thank you. All right. Hello. Thank you,
[2:28] Mayor Harrison and city council for
[2:31] having us attend today to present the
[2:33] MRDT 5-year strategic business plan,
[2:37] one-year tactical plan, and accompany
[2:40] budget. I'm Kate Watson, executive
[2:42] director at SADES. And with me today is
[2:44] Jenna Robbins, our tourism lead and MRDT
[2:47] project coordinator at Sades. Sades has
[2:50] been running the MRDT program through a
[2:52] thirdparty service agreement with the
[2:54] city of Salmon since 2017. And this is
[2:57] the second five-year business plan for
[3:00] the program that will be submitted to
[3:02] the province on behalf of the city of
[3:03] Seminar.
[3:05] This plan has been developed using
[3:07] engagement sessions, stakeholder
[3:09] outreach, conversations with destination
[3:12] British Columbia, Thompson Okonogan
[3:14] Tourism Association, Indigenous Tourism
[3:17] BC, and feedback from our MRDT
[3:19] committee. It was compiled using data
[3:22] from our visitor attraction strategy,
[3:24] value of tourism study, the DBC or
[3:27] destination British Columbia tourism
[3:28] strategy, and regional resources from
[3:31] TOA.
[3:42] Hello. Oh, there we go. Perfect. Just
[3:45] had to wake up.
[3:47] um states through the MRDT program on
[3:49] behalf of the city will submit the
[3:50] 5-year business plan for 2027 to 2032 to
[3:54] destination British Columbia and the
[3:56] Ministry of Finance to renew the
[3:58] municipal and regional district tax
[4:00] program and increase the rate from 2 to
[4:03] 3% starting from June 1st of 2027.
[4:08] um there was an an interest in
[4:10] increasing to the 3% to stay competitive
[4:13] at in within the market and so through
[4:16] that um through the plan we did that
[4:18] this year.
[4:20] So the plan centers on four principles.
[4:24] It will be accommodator leadership,
[4:26] destination stewardship, high ROI
[4:29] investments and alignment with regional
[4:32] provincial tourism strategies. Through
[4:35] these four key strategic pillars, the
[4:38] initiative aims to boost our yearround
[4:40] visitation and foster sustainable
[4:42] economic growth across Samur and the
[4:44] Shushwap region.
[4:50] So this is just explaining the
[4:52] engagement and consultation that went
[4:53] into the process. So the accommodator
[4:56] support we went out and did interviews
[4:59] and site visits and surveys to make sure
[5:01] that a we were um producing a product
[5:04] that our accommodators were happy with.
[5:07] Um the sentiment is very high on what we
[5:09] do through MRDT and we also needed over
[5:13] 51% of our accommodators to agree to
[5:15] move to 3% and we reached uh 77% of
[5:19] accommodators in agreement with that
[5:22] rate shift. We hold uh sorry we held a
[5:26] stakeholder openhouse engagement session
[5:28] at the innovation center. There were 250
[5:31] invitations sent out to our DMO
[5:33] partners, nonprofits, local businesses.
[5:36] Um and in that evening there was good
[5:38] chatter about the program in general. We
[5:41] also had regional and indigenous
[5:43] alignment within this um within this
[5:45] plan. We had one-on-one sessions with
[5:48] Destination British Columbia, Thompson
[5:49] Okonogan Tourism Association and
[5:51] Indigenous Tourism EC which all helped
[5:54] inform the plan.
[5:58] The vision for our MRDT program has not
[6:01] changed. We would like to be a premier
[6:04] allseason destination that offers
[6:06] memorable authentic experiences anchored
[6:09] by sustainable tourism growth,
[6:11] destination stewardship, and a deep
[6:13] respect for the traditional territories
[6:15] of the Squipmic people.
[6:23] The guiding principles of our plan. So
[6:26] this will be an an accommodator-led
[6:29] leadership. So directed by local
[6:30] operators with the DMO and SA's
[6:33] execution,
[6:35] destination stewardship and resiliency.
[6:37] So we need to balance the economic yield
[6:40] with the resident sentiment and the
[6:42] local views. That's really important.
[6:45] It needs to be high ROI focus. So
[6:48] targeted um targeted identified off-
[6:51] peak uh gaps, signature events and
[6:53] infrastructure gaps and brand synergy.
[6:56] So we really need to focus on aligning
[6:58] with destination British Columbia's
[7:00] rainforest to Rocky strategy, the
[7:02] iconics that they've produced and
[7:04] regional strategies initiated by Tota.
[7:08] Um and our the overarching goal of the
[7:11] MRD program will will remain guided by
[7:14] the focus of shoulder and offseason
[7:16] season development and working
[7:18] collaboratively with partner
[7:19] organizations. and our measure of
[7:21] success will remain an increase in room
[7:24] revenue and an increase in occupancy
[7:26] rates.
[7:30] So the key objectives here flatten
[7:33] seasonality. We've talked a lot about
[7:34] this about pulling the string and
[7:37] getting more occupancy on the shoulder
[7:39] seasons. So we'd like to expand
[7:40] multi-day fall, winter, and spring
[7:42] itineraries and event attraction would
[7:45] come into that as well. data-driven
[7:47] strategies. We need to invest in annual
[7:49] data and a value of tourism study to
[7:52] track impacts,
[7:54] experience and asset growth, capitalize
[7:57] on major recreational developments. An
[7:59] example of that could be the Shushwap
[8:00] North Okonogan Rail Trail and success
[8:03] metrics, increase shoulder season
[8:05] occupancy, higher room revenue, and
[8:07] extended length of stay with high
[8:09] resident approval.
[8:13] I'm going to move it over to Jenna for
[8:15] our tactics.
[8:18] Um, under marketing and positioning, we
[8:20] are still focused on BC, Alberta, and
[8:23] the Pacific Northwest. We have two
[8:26] travel segments that have been um uh
[8:30] dictated essentially by destination
[8:32] British Columbia to say that these are
[8:34] the people that are traveling to our
[8:35] region. So then we are capitalizing on
[8:38] um the data that they trickle down.
[8:41] Those are refined globe trotters and
[8:43] outdoor explorers. Uh both of those
[8:45] titles um really tell us exactly who
[8:48] those people are and that is Barry
[8:50] Salmon Arm. We are focused on subreional
[8:53] travel which means we're also focused on
[8:56] um local regional partnerships
[8:59] rebel stoing cam loops really expanding
[9:02] the TransCanada corridor and building
[9:04] out those partnerships. Uh experience
[9:06] and community management we want to
[9:08] improve local wayfinding. We know that
[9:11] an informed traveler is a happy traveler
[9:13] and we really want to ensure that we are
[9:16] giving everything at our travelers
[9:18] fingertips so they know where they're
[9:19] going. We um are excited to advance
[9:23] equipment language integration in our
[9:25] local cultural assets starting with our
[9:27] next um campaign that's launching right
[9:30] now for 26 and that will be included in
[9:33] an upcoming video. And then we are uh
[9:36] committed to building out our climate
[9:38] and emergency readiness plan um and
[9:40] making sure that we have assets ready to
[9:43] go for um if there's an emergency that
[9:46] comes through.
[9:50] We are heavily focused on events,
[9:52] conferences, and amenities. We are
[9:54] currently working with a consultant on
[9:56] an event hosting strategy that's
[9:58] expected to be completed at the end of
[9:59] November. Um there's funding towards
[10:03] anchor community events or signature
[10:05] events. We know that we've got roots and
[10:07] blues right now, but we're looking at
[10:08] building one of those out kind of in
[10:11] each season. Um and having some of those
[10:14] signature events really be a draw in
[10:16] fall, winter, spring, summer to expand
[10:19] travel. Um and then we'll also have
[10:22] sprinkled in with some of those
[10:23] signature events things like business
[10:25] conferences, sporting events as well. Um
[10:28] we are hoping to target business and
[10:30] midweek travel and um work with regional
[10:34] groups for off pe or off peak
[10:36] conferences. Um we are welcoming any
[10:39] conference that anybody knows about that
[10:40] might be a good fit for Salmon Arm. If
[10:43] you could help inform that um we would
[10:45] love that information.
[10:52] The MRGT program is funded by the uh the
[10:56] hotel tax collected. So half of next
[10:59] year will be at 2% and half of next year
[11:01] will be at 3%. We also have a
[11:04] contribution from the city of Seminar.
[11:06] And finally, we have a new merchandising
[11:08] strategy that we will lean into um
[11:11] implementing in 2027 as a source of
[11:14] revenue as well. The province guides the
[11:16] budget line items that you'll see with
[11:18] the four major categories. So, marketing
[11:20] and brand alignment, event and sport
[11:22] tourism, destination experience and
[11:24] management, and visitor services and
[11:26] administration.
[11:28] Breaking this down further into the line
[11:30] items. Um it's important to note that
[11:34] for the budget this year.
[11:37] So we this plan had to be done in
[11:39] September which means we've only um
[11:43] received funds from May up till May for
[11:47] the MRDT collection. So we are
[11:49] projecting from June all the way to
[11:52] December revenue plus we're um
[11:55] projecting expenses till December for
[11:58] the half year. And then we're using that
[12:01] to get our cash carry forward of the
[12:03] number you see at the top, the $46,721.
[12:08] Then we're using the same projections to
[12:12] go forward for 2027. We needed to
[12:14] project revenue at 2% till May or rather
[12:18] till June and then from June until
[12:20] December at 3%. So that's how this um
[12:24] these numbers have come about for
[12:25] revenue. So, we're projecting about
[12:28] $540,000
[12:30] coming in in MRDT and OAP. Um, $100,000
[12:35] from the city of Salmon and uh $4,000
[12:39] from our retail sales, just a modest
[12:42] amount to start us off. So, without our
[12:45] cash carry forward, we're looking at
[12:46] around $644,000.
[12:50] When we look at the expense side of
[12:52] things, again, categorized into those
[12:55] four line items,
[12:58] we plan to spend it all with our cash
[13:01] carry forward, leaving us with a balance
[13:03] of $0. So, the budget will come in at
[13:05] expenses of $690,000
[13:08] 720.
[13:10] So, that's our um that's our projections
[13:14] and just we try to do this in a very
[13:16] conservative manner. We don't know what
[13:18] kind of interruptions we could, you
[13:20] know, could happen. There could be road
[13:22] closures. There could be, you know,
[13:24] we've seen some things in the past that
[13:25] have really disrupted um our occupancy
[13:29] rates. So, we're trying to be as modest
[13:31] as we can.
[13:34] So, I'm trying to be better at being
[13:36] short up here on my words. [laughter]
[13:39] So, [gasps]
[13:40] there it is. We would love to answer any
[13:42] questions that you may have around the
[13:44] plan or the budget.
[13:47] Great. Thank you very much, Jenna and
[13:49] Kate. And uh really appreciate the
[13:51] information sent in advance as well as
[13:54] uh your concise synopsis here. So very
[13:56] helpful. Um counselors, I'll open it up
[13:59] to you if uh you have any questions or
[14:02] comments. Perhaps we'll get the motion
[14:03] for consideration on the floor first. So
[14:06] if there is a mover and a secondary,
[14:08] I'll take virtual movers and seconders
[14:10] and then we can um channel our questions
[14:12] that way. Councelor Cannon will move.
[14:20] Councelor Lavy will second. So the
[14:22] motion is for council to authorize the
[14:24] submission of 2027 to 2032 5-year
[14:28] strategic business plan and 2027's
[14:30] tactical plan to destination British
[14:32] Columbia and the Ministry of Finance in
[14:34] support of the city's salmon arms
[14:36] application to renew the MRDT program.
[14:39] the important part reflecting an
[14:41] increase from 2 to 3% for a 5-year
[14:43] period from June 1st, 2027 to May 31st,
[14:47] 2032. So, we now have that on the table.
[14:50] Um, I'll go to questions or comments.
[14:53] We'll start with councelor Cannon.
[14:56] » But thank you, your worship. Um, just a
[14:59] question. And I was just curious when we
[15:01] did the the first um plan and
[15:05] application to get uh MRDT
[15:10] uh on the table. Did I know that we have
[15:12] to have 51% threshold of accommodators
[15:16] in support and I think this one I don't
[15:18] have in front of me. It was 77
[15:21] » I think this time. What what was it last
[15:24] time when we did it the first time? I
[15:25] was just curious.
[15:27] » Miss Watson, do you remember? It was
[15:29] actually 100%.
[15:32] » Okay, that's what I that's what I
[15:33] thought. So, did we have in that 77%
[15:39] for for the increase, did we have feed
[15:43] negative kind of feedback from hotel
[15:46] like accommodators that uh didn't want
[15:48] to see it increase? Could you share that
[15:50] with us?
[15:51] » Yes, I can. Um, it's a great question as
[15:54] well. Um, there's a couple factors.
[15:57] Number one, there's turnover in
[16:00] management within the um within the
[16:03] accommodators. So, it is a it is up to
[16:06] the discretion of the person in charge
[16:08] whether they agree or not. We got
[16:11] unanimous
[16:12] support of the MRDT program and what
[16:15] we're doing. Not one person said that
[16:17] they thought we mismanaged funds or that
[16:20] they weren't getting a return on the
[16:22] program. what the overall
[16:26] um sentiment around the there was three
[16:29] properties um was that they actually
[16:32] didn't agree with tax in general. So it
[16:35] wasn't in it wasn't necessarily towards
[16:40] the program. It was more that they
[16:42] didn't agree with the tax in general.
[16:45] » Thank you Canon. I'll pass it back to
[16:48] you. So would you can you say like did
[16:51] those
[16:52] because it was a change in management
[16:55] the last time we did this they supported
[16:58] it but now these
[17:02] particular accommodators don't support
[17:04] taxes in general or are these new
[17:06] accommodators?
[17:08] » Um they're all accommodators that were
[17:10] on for the last 5-year plan. I would
[17:14] have to go back farther to confirm for
[17:16] the previous one. Um, but they have had
[17:19] new ownership or management.
[17:23] Okay, that's uh interesting to know
[17:26] because uh I would think
[17:29] that uh any you know this this having
[17:34] this totally increases
[17:37] the offshoulder uh tourism and and we've
[17:41] seen it and we've seen stats of
[17:42] different events and stuff how it has
[17:46] affected and brought people beds
[17:50] heads to beds is uh always the same. So,
[17:54] okay. Well, that's interesting.
[17:56] » Thank you. Appreciate that. And I will
[17:59] totally support uh bringing it to
[18:02] uh 3%. I guess my other question is how
[18:06] does the province look at it if you
[18:09] don't have 100% and you had 77? Is that
[18:14] something that we need to be concerned
[18:16] about or it's just that 51% threshold?
[18:19] » Yeah, that's correct. It's just the the
[18:21] 51% um is needed. Um so it's not
[18:25] uncommon if you if you pull it up,
[18:27] there's uh you know other municipalities
[18:30] within our close range that didn't
[18:32] achieve 100% and actually achieve less
[18:35] than what we did with the 77.
[18:37] » Okay, great. Yeah, good presentation.
[18:40] Thank you.
[18:41] » Thank you. Is there other counselors who
[18:43] have questions or comments? Councelor
[18:45] Lavy, please go ahead. Yeah, thanks
[18:48] Mayor Harrison and uh thanks uh Jenna
[18:50] and Kate for u the Strat plan, the
[18:54] tactical plan being presented and I
[18:56] fully support this and we'll vote in
[18:58] favor of it. Uh and as others have
[19:00] mentioned, it includes the uh shift to
[19:02] 3% MRDT. Um I must admit I'm a little
[19:07] puzzled by the and it's not within our p
[19:11] per purview here but the fact that uh
[19:14] with the taxes most jurisdictions are at
[19:17] 3% uh is visitors that pay it and they
[19:21] don't complain about it and it generates
[19:24] more revenue for the
[19:27] accommodators to to do things. So uh so
[19:31] be what it is. Good work to get to 77%.
[19:34] I appreciate that. I have two general
[19:36] questions. Uh the first one is last year
[19:39] when we were reviewing the stats and uh
[19:43] the component of growth associated with
[19:46] it. Um Kate, I believe you answered that
[19:49] uh a question of mine that said that one
[19:52] of the emerging
[19:53] um sectors was uh essentially the
[19:57] wellness sector. Uh do you still see
[20:00] that today in in the growth growth
[20:02] rates,
[20:03] » Miss Watson?
[20:05] » We do. Um it's been outlined and
[20:08] identified in the plan that Salmon Arm
[20:10] will continue to lean into wellness
[20:13] tourism. Um it was identified in
[20:15] conversation with Destination British
[20:17] Columbia that we are well positioned for
[20:20] that and that we should continue to
[20:22] focus on that as as a um as a strategy
[20:26] for visitor attraction.
[20:28] That's great. Thanks for that. And um I
[20:30] just and it's just a very small question
[20:33] actually that uh where does that sort of
[20:35] wellness sector
[20:38] fit into the uh visitor topologies uh
[20:43] that are in the report? Um is it
[20:45] separate or is it a a subcomponent of
[20:48] some of the traveler segments that have
[20:51] been identified?
[20:53] » Yeah, it's I can't do you remember what
[20:55] the the traveler segment is? The girls
[20:58] um they are in the refin refined globe
[21:00] trotters.
[21:02] » That's great.
[21:02] » So yes, it is identified. It is within
[21:06] um those those refined globe trotters um
[21:09] and outdoor explorers kind of touched a
[21:12] whole bunch of different um categories,
[21:14] but as Kate said, wellness tourism is um
[21:18] is at a at a high and only continuing to
[21:21] go up as people are looking to take a
[21:25] breath. um [laughter]
[21:27] with all that's happening. So um we
[21:29] definitely have a lot of that um on the
[21:32] go and we have a new campaign that's
[21:33] about to launch that actually leans into
[21:35] that. So you're going to start seeing um
[21:37] some of that come to you shortly.
[21:40] » That's great.
[21:42] » Deep fresh breaths are always uh
[21:45] beneficial. Um my my uh second question
[21:48] and I want to paraphrase it. I think
[21:49] it's uh completely within the purview of
[21:52] the accommodators who decide priorities
[21:55] and decide how how they fund it. So I uh
[21:59] I do think though that there's some
[22:00] collaboration with ideas from the city.
[22:03] Um so it it has to do with the financial
[22:06] thing and saying that um not only the
[22:10] about expenditures and not only that the
[22:13] anticipated
[22:15] revenues coming in and again next year
[22:18] 2% perhaps the year 3% but also uh using
[22:22] up the carry forward reserves
[22:26] and I'm intrigued by
[22:29] uh
[22:30] the scenario of why spend it all
[22:35] um and
[22:38] is there a consideration of keeping
[22:41] reserves in terms of prudency given the
[22:43] uncertain times that we have? I I was a
[22:46] little puzzled by that statement. I was
[22:47] wondering if you could flesh that out,
[22:49] » Miss Watson.
[22:51] » Absolutely. Um, so when we initially put
[22:54] our budget together, we were about
[22:56] $150,000
[22:58] over what we had for projected spending.
[23:03] Um,
[23:04] and so when we started to try and pull
[23:07] back and try to create space for
[23:10] different uh potential reserves, we
[23:13] actually moved them into action items in
[23:16] year one. um which just took up
[23:20] basically the entire budget. Um
[23:23] the the amount of dollars it takes to
[23:26] market is exponential
[23:29] and to try and create the strongest
[23:33] campaigns, the most robust campaigns,
[23:38] um it just costs quite a bit of money.
[23:40] So what we've done is we've decided to
[23:42] put all of that into our efforts um
[23:46] knowing that there will potentially be
[23:48] you know some that might not be able to
[23:50] be completed within the year um that
[23:53] could potentially be put into our car
[23:54] our cash carry forward. We are always
[23:57] quite conservative with our campaigns as
[24:00] well. we never go try to go to the full
[24:03] um limit. And so as much as those are
[24:06] set out as a a line item for the year,
[24:09] it's not something that we always aim to
[24:12] kind of hit the cap on every single line
[24:14] item.
[24:16] » Councelor Lavy.
[24:17] » Um yeah, no, thanks for that. I I I just
[24:20] perhaps was just in the in the in in the
[24:21] wording of it all. Um uh and this is not
[24:24] a criticism of the work that's been done
[24:26] and what's been projected here. Um I I
[24:29] think maybe it maybe it's as much as
[24:31] optics as as as reality. Um but I'm just
[24:35] so I think that tourism and tourism
[24:37] related generation is uh a key advantage
[24:42] for us. Um I I I just this is from the
[24:47] outside and I'm not going to be asking
[24:48] these questions next year, but my sense
[24:51] is that uh the
[24:58] and I I appreciate you're saying, okay,
[25:00] we're going to be conservative and
[25:01] cautious about that. Um but I would um
[25:05] like to see some degree of
[25:08] uh factoring in the uncertainty that we
[25:11] don't really know what's ahead of us
[25:12] here and that um
[25:16] I'll take at face value your commitment
[25:19] to looking at those budgets carefully
[25:21] and having to stretch them out perhaps
[25:23] over two or three years uh if the
[25:25] financial fiscal situation warrants
[25:28] that. Other than that, great report.
[25:29] Fully glad to see this and fully support
[25:32] it. Thank you.
[25:33] » Thank you, Councelor Labry. Councelor
[25:35] Lingren.
[25:36] » Uh, thanks worship. Thanks for the
[25:37] report. Uh, just a couple curiosity
[25:40] questions or one curiosity question, one
[25:42] process. Uh, just wondering about um,
[25:46] one of the places listed here is Salmon
[25:48] Arm Camping. Where is that? And is is
[25:52] there a reason that's the only camping
[25:54] facility um, included in this?
[25:58] » Miss Watson or
[25:59] » Yeah, sorry. uh Cam Samar Camping Resort
[26:01] has units that collect MRDT because they
[26:04] have them in the summer months. We are p
[26:07] are given a list from the province of
[26:10] the people that um are in that MRDT
[26:13] collection and then those are the ones
[26:15] that we have to do outreach with. So I
[26:18] was surprised by it as well. It's right
[26:19] next to RJ Haney on the left hand side
[26:22] there.
[26:22] » What used to be the KOA then
[26:25] » That's correct.
[26:26] » I'm not sure.
[26:27] » Okay. So I'm surprised there's only 12
[26:29] sites there. Okay. Uh second question is
[26:32] um
[26:34] uh process. What happens next? This gets
[26:37] referred to Ministry of Tourism and they
[26:40] have the final say or how does that
[26:41] work?
[26:43] » Miss Watson?
[26:44] » Yeah. So the plan gets submitted to the
[26:47] province and then they have until I
[26:49] believe the spring. We won't know until
[26:52] the spring. Um so they they get it in
[26:55] their queue and review it and then we'll
[26:57] report back to us. Um well it'll go yeah
[27:01] to the city um and say if they have any
[27:04] revisions that they would like or if
[27:06] it's a if the the sound the plan is
[27:09] sound and can be accepted and approved.
[27:12] » Thank you.
[27:14] » Thank you councelor Lingren. Any other
[27:15] questions or comments from counselors?
[27:19] » I'll just make my brief ones. um and we
[27:21] we ask you to come to us with a increase
[27:26] from 2 to 3% and you've done that and
[27:29] you have all done all of the work and
[27:31] the process and we appreciate that. Um
[27:35] 100% is very unusual on anything. So I'm
[27:38] pretty happy with 77%. Um and I think
[27:40] that's quite convincing. So
[27:42] accommodators do understand that the
[27:43] work you're doing is actually helping
[27:45] out. Um, I like the the continued focus
[27:50] on uh traction um on the shoulder
[27:54] seasons and uh off peak times. I think
[27:57] that's, you know, that just makes sense
[27:59] um for all of the accommodators. And I
[28:01] also like the idea of uh of working with
[28:04] um other cities along the highway in
[28:07] some type of package kind of deal.
[28:09] Sycamoose, you know, what's good for
[28:10] Sycamoose and Rebel Stoke is good for us
[28:12] and Camelopes as well. So, um, but I
[28:14] like that IDF thought. So, really
[28:17] appreciate your support or your report
[28:19] and I certainly will support the motion.
[28:22] I think councelor Cannon has a question
[28:25] before we call the question. So, council
[28:26] can Jeff please go ahead.
[28:28] » Just something that I thought after
[28:30] councelor Lingren's question. Um, do we
[28:34] collect MRDT on Sandy Point and Pierre's
[28:39] campground and the Elks Park has a
[28:43] campground up there in the summer
[28:45] months?
[28:46] » Thank you for the question. Um,
[28:49] » No,
[28:49] » Miss Watson.
[28:51] » That's a no.
[28:52] » Yeah. And I think the
[28:54] » The camp the campground camping like at
[28:57] Salmon Arm Campground it's it's I
[28:59] believe it is on like the yurt
[29:02] buildings. It's not on the actual camp
[29:05] site piece. You can't collect on a
[29:07] campsite,
[29:07] » But they have 14 sites I think at Samar
[29:10] Camping that are like a cabin that you
[29:13] would rent.
[29:14] » Um and then the indigenous piece of
[29:16] course we don't collect on those lands.
[29:18] » Yeah.
[29:19] » Okay.
[29:20] So, does it have in order for a
[29:23] campground, does it have to be like a
[29:25] cabin like a jerk or something like
[29:27] that, not an actual spot where people
[29:30] bring their own RV?
[29:33] » Yes.
[29:34] » Okay,
[29:35] » Thank you. I totally support it. I just
[29:38] that kind of brought on a question, so I
[29:40] thought I better ask it while I had you
[29:42] here.
[29:42] » Thank you.
[29:43] » Thank you, councelor Cannon. Um, don't
[29:45] want to miss anybody out. Does anyone
[29:46] have any other um thoughts they'd like
[29:48] to share? Councelor Wallace Richmond,
[29:50] please go ahead.
[29:51] » Thanks. Just um being new to the matter,
[29:54] uh what I want to share is that I
[29:56] appreciate the data driven piece and the
[29:59] success metrics uh piece and I will uh
[30:03] vote in favor. Um and I appreciate all
[30:07] of our visitors and as well as um the
[30:10] accommodators. I think we work hard to
[30:12] make people feel welcome. uh it takes a
[30:15] big team and so appreciate your part and
[30:18] I will vote in support.
[30:20] » [clears throat]
[30:21] » I'll just close with one other comment
[30:23] uh that Miss Robbins talked about the
[30:24] the conference piece and uh as as
[30:28] economic development knows in downtown
[30:30] Salmon Arm um the uh the Prestige Hotel
[30:35] does sponsor many conferences and
[30:37] there's still room for more and I am
[30:40] fortunate enough to be able to welcome
[30:41] people there on a regular basis and what
[30:44] I have to say is that you know
[30:46] conferences you know 100 people 75
[30:48] people 125
[30:50] the people love it here. They keep
[30:53] coming back. And so those I agree with
[30:55] you, those just keep paying dividends.
[30:58] So looking further and deeper into that,
[31:00] um I think is a very good idea.
[31:04] All right, counselors. Um everyone's
[31:07] aware of the motion. I will call the
[31:09] question. All those in favor?
[31:13] That passes unanimously. Thank you very
[31:15] much uh for coming and seeing us this
[31:17] morning.
[31:18] » Thank you very much. And we just wanted
[31:19] to mention two things. Number one, the
[31:21] conversation doesn't have to end. If you
[31:23] have other questions, please reach out.
[31:26] Um, and then the other thing is we're
[31:28] holding a stakeholder engagement evening
[31:30] day, September 23rd, Wednesday, from
[31:34] 7:30 to 11:30. It's a working breakfast
[31:37] to help inform the event hosting
[31:39] strategy um as it gets created. So, the
[31:42] consultant will be in town um over a few
[31:44] days there. We will send out an email
[31:46] about that as well, but we just wanted
[31:48] to let you know in person that that is
[31:50] happening and we would love to have you
[31:51] there if you'd like to attend.
[31:53] » Great. Thank you very much.
[31:55] » All right.
[31:56] » Thank you.
[31:56] » Thank you, counselors. Uh we have no
[31:59] other business on uh this special
[32:02] council meeting today. So, I will
[32:05] adjourn this meeting and thank you all
[32:07] for attending three meetings this
[32:09] morning um both to counselors and to our
[32:12] staff.