We ready to get this party started?

Yes.

All right.

Call to order meeting Tuesday, May 12th for visit Broken Arrow agenda.

Dean?

Yes.

Yarty.

Ford.

Here.

Hagan.

Here.

Muskrat.

Mop.

Here.

Schneider.

Here.

Swanson.

Here.

All right.

Action item three presentations.

This one is going to be via Teams, and we are trying to let her in the room at the moment.

Or is that presentations?

Okay.

Oh, never, no presentation.

Sorry.

Sorry, you can go to 4A, but we are waiting to look.

Oh, there she is.

Hello.

Hi, Debbie.

Can you hear us?

I can.

Okay.

Brian, I'll let you introduce, I guess, 4A.

That's the one we're going to be on.

4A.

Say what?

4A.

Okay.

Uh, General Visit Broken Arrow Business A two Six Dash Six Four Seven Consideration Discussion of Possible Approval for the Mocha Conference or MOK for Blind Hotel Rebate Requests and the amount not to exceed twenty-five hundred dollars.

Yeah, so um Debbie and the Mocha team visited us last fall, and um they're gonna be up at Stony Creek this year.

This is the first year that they'll be in Broken Arrow, and um we're excited that they're gonna be joining us this year.

Um, as a reminder, we did approve last meeting changing our room night rebates, but we're gonna start that starting June 1st.

So this would be um one of if not the last 500 for every 12 room nights of this fiscal year.

Um, and there are remaining funds available for this 2500 request, just to let you guys know in advance.

But Debbie, if you can hear us, I'll let you just go ahead and talk a little bit about the conference and what you guys are expecting and um just share with the group a little bit about um about what you guys have going on.

Okay, well, uh to start off with my organization is called My Limitless Vision Foundation, MLV Foundation, and um this is our third MOCA conference for the blind, it's a four state regional event.

We started off our first conference in Mintonville, our second conference was done in Springfield, Missouri, and then this one in Oklahoma is of course at Stony Creek in Broken Arrow.

And um, we started it as a way to get the resources in the four state area out and about so that the blind and visually impaired community and the professionals that work in the field have a great way to access all those resources within our area.

Um if you can only imagine how difficult it is to market to the blind and visually impaired because they don't read newspapers, not that very many people read new newspapers anymore anyway these days, but you know, they don't you can't necessarily try to hone in on marketing to them through radio channels.

Um and so you have to rely on a lot of times the people that are working with the blind and visually impaired, like through state agencies, and like in our case in Oklahoma Newby Oklahoma, to get the word out to the blind community because it's very hard to reach them.

And so the difficulties that we have meeting the needs of this demographic, we felt several years ago.

Let's put on a conference that we can showcase what is actually available in our backyard and our neighboring states and stuff like that.

And so that's how we started this grassroots effort on putting together this conference.

Um for the most part, the only conferences that the blind and visually impaired community go to are membership advocacy group type of conferences, and you know, those type of national conferences and state conferences are typically full of things like committee meetings and stuff like that.

It's very kind of political-minded advocacy-minded per se, and we saw a need for just having a conference to help deal with the living the blind life, um, and getting all the resources out there in a great exhibit hall and the stuff that's available for that, whether it's technology, whether it's um learning about ADA issues and how do you go about filing for disability and stuff like that, and putting together lots of workshops that just deal with day-to-day dealing with going blind, and also help for caregivers like this year.

We've got a big push on mental health, you know, depression within the blind and visually impaired community is is quite high, and so bringing in some mental health things, workshops and stuff with with this particular conference that we're doing this year is is really gonna be great and very helpful.

And so, anyway, that's how we kind of got started.

That's where we are.

We got I think a little over a hundred people signed up for this year's conference, and we feel pretty good about that.

We we're not getting our Arkansas contingency this year, only because the state of Arkansas has furloughed a lot of their uh their state employees that are working in the uh vocational rehabilitation program and stuff because they're dealing with federal funding issues because so they can't send people this year.

Um but we are very excited to be doing this in Oklahoma.

Of course, MLV.

I founded it whenever I started my blindness journey uh almost 15 years ago, um, living up in Perkins, and that's where we started from, and so my connection with Oklahoma is very great, and I'm glad to be bringing this to Oklahoma to have here in the state.

So thank you.

So the um the application, so the event is May 26th through 28th.

Um, they expect 60 hotel nights, and they've requested based on the 500 for every 12 hotel room nights um an amount not to exceed 2500, and as usual, they'll have to come back, show us the hotel room nights after the event, and we will reimburse accordingly.

I'll make a motion to approve item 26-647.

So I go Dean, yes, Yarty, oh sorry, Bowie, yes, Ford, yes, Hagen, yes, Lop, yes, Schneider, yes, Swanson.

Yes.

Thank you, Debbie.

Well, thank you very much.

Okay, action item B26-649 consideration discussion of possible approval of film incentive and hotel rebate of $50,268 and 14 cents.

Okay, so Cassidy Lunan is here.

Um, you guys met her last October when they originally came and requested the rebate.

So she can update you on status of the project, but um they did submit um their final request to us in the amount of 50,268, and back in October, um, we approved a an amount not to exceed 53,500.

So they just about um were right on target there.

So local spending was um 20 just over 22,000 or almost 23,000, uh labor 204,000, 665 hotel room nights with a total spend of 200 and that is not correct amount um total spend.

Yeah, so that is not correct.

Um and so it ignore that last number, but um, I'll let Cassidy come up and just kind of give an update on how their project went.

Yeah.

Hi, thank you.

We were so grateful.

I think those numbers, I was just looking at them.

I was like, no, that's not right.

Um that is not, yeah, because it would at 665 nights, which is what we spend, because I was just looking at the cost report, and I was like, no, no, no, I just in hotels alone.

I I'm looking at a number of 108,000 just for the ones for um anyway.

So uh we we were we really enjoyed our time uh in Broken Arrow and and everyone was just so accommodating and so lovely.

And the hotel, I can't even express to you like you know, everybody enjoyed staying in broken arrow, and obviously there's a lot of uh costs associated that you don't see from this number, which is you know, all of the crew that we did put up here, those 665 nights, they ate here all every night.

They they had a blast in Broken Arrow, so we really appreciate it.

One of our producers, I thought I saw that two seconds ago, uh, wrote like a really nice letter.

And um I'd love to share some pictures with you guys that uh because I know on for you know of of some of our set time, so that would be really great.

And um I don't know, I think what the this picture is scheduled to come out 2027.

There's been some announcements released, so that's exciting.

Um and so far it looks really good.

So we're we're we're very excited, and and Sony should be coming back with another one.

We're already planning on it.

So and hopefully I will come back.

Not not it's a different uh it's a different production, but hopefully I'll um you know this year I'll be back with another one, repeat customer.

So we we we hope to use this again.

This is such a great program, and uh film and and arts in general are very thankful.

So you'll let us know when when it's on its way.

I will make sure if we have what I'm trying to do is if we have a um if we have a uh film uh a film premiere here, we'll make sure that everybody's invited out.

I'm hoping so.

I'm I'm asking Sony to ask to set aside a film premiere just for us.

So yeah, it would be really fun.

Great, cool.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Well, and we just want you to know, too, but for your next project, yes, we have kind of redone the um rebates for the hotel rooms and stuff.

So great double check that before you yeah, actually, one of the things I think it probably even would have been more.

I think I thought that um even some hotel because some of our larger actors stayed in Airbnbs, and we put them out in Airbnbs here in Broken Arrow.

And so that was that was my bad because right both the end gen was like, oh, those don't qualify.

I was like, oh, okay.

Yeah.

Well, we yeah, we're working on the Airbnb, so maybe in the future that'll be something we can use.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But we did make it a permanent part of our budget, the incentive.

So hope you're back.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So I will mention um that because this is over 50,000, it will have to go to a city council meeting for final approval.

So Cassidy will probably have you come back to speak to the council.

Um, but they would be just we would go with the recommendation or not of the VDA.

I'll make a motion then to recommend that we approve.

I'll second it.

Dean.

Yes, Bowie, yes, Ford, yes, Hagen, yes, Lop, yes, Schneider, yes, Swanson.

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Action item C 26-650.

Consideration discussion of possible approval of meeting minutes from April 14th, 2026.

Make a motion to approve.

Um here.

Dean.

Yes.

Bowie, yes, Ford.

Yes.

Hagen.

Yes.

Lop?

Yes.

Schneider.

Yes.

Swanson.

Yes.

Action item D 26-657.

Consideration discussion of possible approval of utilizing Zartico for tourism tracking data.

Yes, so Zartico.

Zartic.

Um Zartico.

And so we Travis and myself met with four different organizations.

And really Zardeco was the only one that fit what we need right now.

There's there were some that use different calculators and things like that, but really from what where we're at and what we need for visitor data, event data, economic impact of events, and things like that.

Zardeco was really the only one that matched what we need for it right now.

So what we're asking for is approval to move forward and using this for a year.

We'll try it out.

We'll you know take full advantage, get full training, um, get the reports that we need, and just make sure that we're you know that it's worth the money.

It's $25,000 a year, so it's it's a big investment.

Um, but like I said last meeting, if we can use it even beyond just I mean, it will help us to be able to target our marketing and all of those things, um, but also when it comes to bigger picture beyond VBA, just the city in general, like who are our visitors, who where's the spending, what's happening.

Um, we knew that that we know that that could have been helpful during the bond as well.

So hopefully there's the other departments and leadership can use it as well, and it's not just for our department.

Um, and then you know, hoping that the information that we gather will pay for this cost.

Did we reach out to the chamber to see if maybe maybe they would um split the cost of this with this since they helped us with the other one?

Yes, one of the things that we're planning to do is once we get into it and dive into it is look at Placer because we are also doing that and decide if we can maybe not use both, and then if the chamber decides, I mean we are paying the majority of Placer.

Um, and so if we can not use both, if there's because I Zartico does do location data as well, so if there's if we can just use one, obviously we want to do that and save money.

So, but we don't really want to get rid of Placer until we know that for sure.

And so this year will kind of be adjustments based on what we can get.

Placer is like 25 also.

Yes.

Yeah.

I'll make a motion to approve um utilizing.

Zardeco.

Yes, yeah.

Dean?

Yes.

Ford, yes, Hagen, yes, La.

Yes, Schneider, yes, Swanson.

Yes.

Action item five, board members' opportunity to address visit broken arrow on general topics related to city businesses or services.

Anybody got anything?

Okay.

So I go ahead.

Oh, okay.

Go ahead.

Um, so you guys have this sheet in front of you.

I just forgot to attach it to my report.

It's just the standard hotel receipt form that you guys get normally included.

Bye.

Bye.

Um, okay, so uh significant spending in March.

Um Uber uh Aaron and I attended the OTIA, which is Oklahoma Tourism Industry Association Conference.

And um I my registration is free because I'm a board member, and then Aaron, so Aaron's was 185, and then our monthly billboard cost of 750 dollars and our state brochures of 150 dollars a month.

That is those are the big spends for the month.

Um remaining grant funding.

Um I did unencumbered if we approved MOCA.

So we have 10,000 left for this fiscal year.

I don't know of any incoming, I mean they would have to come to the next meeting.

I have not heard from anybody.

So if they come, we have 10,000 left.

Um, but that's a pretty good um pretty good spot to be in to have a little money left over just in case.

And then um the remaining film incentive that's unencumbered is about 11,000 out of our original 100,000.

We still have Flyover that's filming currently.

Um we're actually visiting their film set tomorrow, but they're visiting or they're filming currently, so they're they'll come back, but we've already I've already taken that amount out of um the hundred thousand.

So unaccounted for or unencumbered is eleven thousand six hundred and twenty-eight.

Um our April tax collection was actually down quite a bit, and this is the first time in a while.

Um it is this backside.

You can see that it was down about 10%.

So Aaron and I were trying to decide if there was something going on last April that bumped it up, but we couldn't think of anything.

Trevor, I don't know if you remember anything.

Yeah, going on.

But so that was a bummer because we've been doing really well.

So and then fiscal year to date, we're still up from the same time last year.

And then general tourism activity.

Um Aaron and I went to Film Day at the Capitol.

We held the quarterly hotel years meeting.

We had a booth at the farmer's market.

Uh we joined.

There's a new group in Oklahoma that's starting to meet once a month, and it's municipal tourism professionals.

There's a lot of different ways that tourism organizations are funded, and so this is a group of just those that are funded by the municipality.

So that's interesting because we have different funding issues and political issues, so I like this group.

And then we went to the MTHLA luncheon, which was held at Stony Creek.

That is the Metro Tulsa Hotel and Lodging Association Association luncheon.

And next month for that luncheon, I will actually be on a panel for they're gonna be talking about the suburbs of Tulsa, and because it's usually focused on like Metro Tulsa or you know, Tulsa, the city of Tulsa, but they're gonna be um letting the suburbs talk a little bit about what we have going on for tourism and events, so we're excited about that.

Um I do not have the occupancy rate information yet from um or the STR data yet, so that's last month's information, and then upcoming events.

We obviously have rooster days this weekend, and then the golf tournament is starting soon as well, and that's one that we gave some um potential rebate money for, and then obviously MOCA is at the end of the month now, so we can add that to our upcoming events.

But that is all I have, unless someone has any questions, Dean, yes, Bowie, yes, Ford.

Oh Hagan, yes, Mop, yes, Schneider, yes, Swanson.

Yes, and I failed miserably to introduce Lisa Smith at last time she was here, but she is our new admin, so she will be sitting right here every month.

She's been great so far for us.

Thank you.