Facilities Committee  — Charleston, WV
Date: 2019-09-16
Time: 17:30

CITY OF CHARLESTON
 West Virginia
 Council Member – AT LARGE

Jennifer Pharr Facilities Committee, Chair
PO BOX 1171 Charleston, WV 25324 Urban Renewal Committee
Telephone: 304‐615‐7574 Planning, Streets and Traffic Committee
jennifer.pharr@cityofcharleston.org




TO: Facilities Committee
FROM: Jennifer Pharr, Chair
RE: Committee Meeting


 There will be a Committee meeting of Facilities on September 16, 2019 – 5:30 PM
 in the A/V Conference Room, City Hall, Room 308.

The agenda will be as follows:

APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

 1. 5‐20‐2019

JENNA GREEN ‐ WV STATE ARTS OFFICE ‐ GRANT OPPORTUNITIES/APPLICATION PROCESS

DISCUSSION OF CONVENTION CENTER AND MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM TOUR

UPCOMING FACILITIES TOURS




 *Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk.com

JF/ns




 City Council | 501 Virginia Street, East | Post Office Box 2749 | Charleston, West Virginia 25330
 www.charlestonwv.gov | 304.348.8179 | 304.348.8038 fax

CITY OF CHARLESTON
 West Virginia
 Council Member – AT LARGE

Jennifer Pharr Facilities Committee, Chair
PO BOX 1171 Charleston, WV 25324 Urban Renewal Committee
Telephone: 304‐615‐7574 Planning, Streets and Traffic Committee
jennifer.pharr@cityofcharleston.org




TO: Facilities Committee
FROM: Jennifer Pharr, Chair
RE: Committee Meeting


 There will be a Committee meeting of Facilities on September 16, 2019 – 5:30 PM
 in the A/V Conference Room, City Hall, Room 308.

The agenda will be as follows:

APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

 1. 5‐20‐2019

JENNA GREEN ‐ WV STATE ARTS OFFICE ‐ GRANT OPPORTUNITIES/APPLICATION PROCESS

DISCUSSION OF CONVENTION CENTER AND MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM TOUR

UPCOMING FACILITIES TOURS




 *Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk.com

JF/ns




 City Council | 501 Virginia Street, East | Post Office Box 2749 | Charleston, West Virginia 25330
 www.charlestonwv.gov | 304.348.8179 | 304.348.8038 fax

 Page | 1 of
 MINUTES
 FACILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING

 5:00 P. M., MAY 20, 2019

 A/V CONFERENCE ROOM

Jennifer Pharr, Chairperson, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council
Committee on Facilities to order at 5:00p.m., MAY 20, 2019, in the Audio/Visual Room
in City Hall.

Committee Members Present: Others:
Jennifer Pharr, Chair Lexie Kessel
Courtney Persinger, Vice Chair Tim Brady
Ben Adams Mackenzie Spencer
Brady Campbell Kevin Baker
Sam Minardi (arrived 5:28 – 5:49) Joseph Jenkins
 Matt Sutton
 Mayor Goodwin
 Larry Malone
 Will Laird


The Chairperson called the meeting to order.

 1. Approval of Previous Minutes – Councilmember Campbell moved to approve the
minutes of the previous meeting on 5-6-2019. Councilmember Adams seconded. There
was no objection and the minutes were approved.

 2. Overview of CVB – Councilmember Pharr introduced Tim Brady. Highlights of the
presentation included:
 - Roughly 80% of their time and budget goes to actively recruiting for
 events/sports/conventions.
 - The Process – getting leads, are the desired dates available, what does the
 group require, what “we” offer, site visits and negotiation.
 - Upcoming Events – US Trampoline and Tumbling, US Soccer East Regional
 President’s Cup, URA Spring Leadership Conference, Delta Special Forces,
 American Baptist Association, WVSSAC for basketball, volleyball, tennis,
 baseball and track.
 - Recent Events – USA Boxing Junior Olympics (3 out of 4 years), NJCAA
 Volleyball, International Masons Convention AND Firearm and Toolmark
 Examiners Conference.
 - For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, 30,512 future room nights were booked
 (their goal for the current year is 32,000),



 May 20, 2019

 Page | 2 of
Councilmember Persinger asked how much of this would happen without the
CVB. Tim Brady answered that it is tough to calculate, but probably not much.
Councilmember Persinger also asked if more hotels were needed, and Brady answered
at least 2 more. Councilmember Pharr asked about their current staff numbers. Brady
answered they currently have 8 full time and 2 part time employees.

Councilmember Pharr asked about losing the cheerleading competition. Brady
answered that they lost the low bid to Huntington. Councilmember Minardi asked what
needed to happen to get the football events back. Brady answered he didn’t want it,
because the return on investment most likely wouldn’t be worth it. Also Wheeling does a
great job with the event.

Councilmember Pharr asked how closely they work with the Convention Center staff/
other organizations. Brady answered they contact them when looking for space
availability. They also work with the Area Alliance, CVB and Charleston Main Streets,
among others, to help promote their events. Additionally, the Convention Center and
CVB’s staff are meeting to help develop a sales and marketing plan for the Convention
Center. Councilmember Minardi asked if Brady found the rates for the Convention
Center to be competitive. Brady answered that they are still learning about the new rate
structure. Councilmembers Persinger and Campbell stated that it made sense to have a
priority system in place to ensure that the entities that would have the most economic
impact were given priority.

Councilmember Pharr asked what the committee could do to help the CVB attract more
business. Brady answered that they should let them know of any organizations the
committee is involved with or knows about that they think would succeed in Charleston;
making connections is essential. Councilmember Jenkins asked if they had any
connections with WVU. Jenkins answered that WVU already has existing relationships
with the hotels and venues, so they do not necessarily need anything from the CVB, but
they frequently assist with promoting.

Councilmember Pharr asked him to update the Committee concerning travel basketball
and trying to attract wrestling. Brady answered that flooring was an economic
consideration that they are currently working through. Councilmember Pharr asked him
to explain the flash badge program. Brady answered that it is a year-long program
where an event participant will get a discount from a list of businesses.

  3. Discussion – The Committee made a plan to meet with John Robinson at the
Convention Center for their next meeting in 2 weeks.



Councilmember Minardi motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Campbell
seconded.

Meeting adjourned.



 May 20, 2019

 Page | 3 of

MINUTES
 FACILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING

 5:00 P. M., SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

 A/V CONFERENCE ROOM

Jennifer Pharr, Chairperson, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council
Committee on Facilities to order at 5:00p.m., SEPTEMBER 16, 2019, in the
Audio/Visual Room in City Hall.

Committee Members Present:
Jennifer Pharr, Chair
Ben Adams
Brady Campbell
Shannon Snodgrass



The Chairperson called the meeting to order.

 1. Approval of Previous Minutes – Councilmember Campbell moved to approve the
minutes of the previous meeting on 5-20-2019. There was no objection and the minutes
were approved.

 2. WV State Arts Office – Grant Opportunities/Application Process –
Councilmember Pharr introduced Jenna Green who is the Cultural Facilities and
Accessibility Coordinator. Green explained the Cultural Facilities and Capital Resource
Grant, stating that it is a matching grant program for facilities that are used for
arts/history. Examples would be a seat replacement project and construction/new
building renovations. The Committee members received an example of an approved
grant application to review. The applications are reviewed and scored by a panel of
building experts. Based on the amount of funding available, the applications are usually
funded from the top scoring down. An additional option is a Phase Project, where a
project is funded over a 3-year period. These funds are awarded on July 1. An
additional program is the Fast Track Program, which can be used for emergency repairs
and ADA facility upgrades. It is a matching program with a $10,000 cap that can be
applied for at any time.

Councilmember Campbell asked for tips on high scoring applications. The Committee
Chair has previously sat on a scoring panel. The application also has an explanation of
the scoring categories. Councilmember Snodgrass asked if the City has ever applied to
any of these grants. Green replied the City has not as far as she could find. From the
audience, Councilmember Bays asked if there was a wait period for additional
applications. Green answered that if the grant is under $100,000, there is no waiting


 September 16, 2019
period. Otherwise, depending on how much over $100,00 the grant is for, the maximum
wait time is 2 years. Councilmember Adams confirmed that the cap for the Phase
Project is $750,000 over the 3 years. Councilmember Adams asked how many
applications they receive. Green answered that last year they received about 20 with 8
being funded.

 3. Discussion of Convention Center and Municipal Auditorium Tour
The Committee agreed that the tours were immensely helpful. Councilmember
Snodgrass stated that the Municipal Auditorium is in desperate need of
repairs/upgrades. Councilmember Pharr suggested they might want to conduct a
feasibility study of how the facility could best be used given its historical restrictions.
Mayor Goodwin stated that there is a report that the Administration can share with the
Committee. Councilmember Pharr stated that she thought the Committee should tour
Cato Park. Councilmember Snodgrass suggested that they request a list from the
Administration of properties they would like the Committee to examine. Councilmember
Campbell suggested that the Committee have a standing meeting to visit one of these
properties.




Councilmember Snodgrass motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Campbell
seconded.

Meeting adjourned.




 September 16, 2019