Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Lake Havasu City Council Work Session: Go Lake Havasu Discussion – March 10, 2026

City Council & Planning and Zoning — Tuesday, March 10, 2026

BodyLake Havasu City, Arizona

SessionCity Council & Planning and Zoning

DateTuesday, March 10, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:35:55

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:12

Good afternoon and welcome.

0:14

I called over to the Lake Havasu City Council work session on Tuesday, March 10th, 2026 at 4 p.m.

0:20

If you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:27

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:31

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:34

One nation under God.

0:36

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:43

Thank you.

0:43

Miss Williams, if you please call the roll.

0:48

Council members Jenny Koch.

0:50

Here.

0:50

Michelle Lynn.

0:57

Jim Dolan here.

0:59

Thank you.

1:00

Cameron Moses.

1:02

Nancy Campbell.

1:03

Here.

1:06

Here.

1:07

Thank you.

1:08

Item four is our public hearing.

1:10

Item 4.1 is discussion regarding Golake Havasu.

1:13

I'll turn over to you, Vice Mayor Diaz.

1:15

So you uh request this item for introduction.

1:17

Thank you, Mr.

1:18

Mayor, and thank you everyone for showing up.

1:20

So uh we just wanted to have a discussion regarding Golake Havasu as a work session so we could hear from the public also and hear from the council members and uh just to talk about the the the um kind of a revolving door of CEOs we've had recently and and also some staffing and just have an update from Golake Havasu from the city uh uh attorney on the contract on the funding, and then we want to get some feedback from the citizens.

1:47

So um we are not against tourism.

1:50

I'm certainly not against tourism.

1:52

Um so I want to nip that in the bud.

1:54

I just want to make sure that we're spending taxpayer dollars wisely and that we want to hear from the public, and that's what we're here for today.

2:00

Very simple.

2:01

Um, we want to give the time for the people to talk.

2:04

So I'm whoever's presenting, uh I'd like you to keep it short and to the point.

2:09

So we want to make sure we have enough time.

2:10

We have to probably be done by 5 20.

2:12

Yeah, so thank you.

2:14

Thank you, Vice Mayor Diaz.

2:15

Yeah, so kind of in order of uh business we'll have an update from our city attorney about uh the history of uh the tourism tax and tourism uh dollars will then have an update from uh the board and go like Havasu.

2:26

Uh and then we'll hear from the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association and we'll open up uh public hearings.

2:30

So that's kind of the layout.

2:32

Uh the reason that we're pressed up against time is we do have a council meeting that starts at 5 30 p.m.

2:36

But we'll uh try to ensure we get everyone that wants to engage in this process engage.

2:40

So to start with you, Miss Gary.

2:42

Good evening, afternoon.

2:43

Mayor in council.

2:45

Wait for the PowerPoint to come up real quick.

2:48

I'm gonna give a really quick history overview of Go Lake Havasu.

2:53

It's been known by many names throughout the decades.

2:55

And so as we go through, you'll see different um references to the Visitor and Convention Bureau, VCB or LHTB, the Lake Havasu Tourism Bureau, CVB, and now Golake Havasu, whatever it was called at the time is what I reference in my materials, but they're all the same thing.

3:10

We're gonna start in the 1980s for reference.

3:12

The city incorporated as a city officially in 1978.

3:16

Early in the 1980s, a bunch of hotel owners got together, approached council with this great idea of taxing um transient occupancy for the purpose of promoting tourism.

3:27

In 1981, the city council adopted an ordinance that imposed a 3% transient rental tax, which is called the bed tax for short.

3:35

Um, that was promoted that was for the promotion, development, enhancement of tourism industry and worthworld community project.

3:41

There was a lot of discussion that occurred in the early 1980s about the disbursement of these funds.

3:46

There were two um organizations that were vying for providing these services, which was the Chamber of Commerce and the Sun and uh River of the Sun Visitor and Convention Bureau.

3:56

Um, they finally merged together, and the CVB or the VCB became a division of the chamber, and then in 1984, the city entered into its first agreement for the promotion development enhancement of tourism with the Chamber of Commerce.

4:09

Now, the way that this contract worked is that every year following the budget process, the city would then enter into an amendment or an exhibit or an addendum to the master agreement that set forth the amount that was going to be expended for tourism that following year.

4:21

That continued until about 1994.

4:24

So that agreement with the chamber.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Tourism Management███████████████████████████27%

Public Engagement█████████████████17%

Tourism Marketing█████████████████17%

Tourism Promotion████████████████16%

Personnel Matters█████████████13%

Community Engagement█████5%

Procedural███3%

Fiscal Sustainability█1%

Budget Equity Analysis█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Lake Havasu City Council Work Session: Go Lake Havasu Discussion – March 10, 2026

The Lake Havasu City Council held a work session on March 10, 2026, from 4:00 PM to 5:35 PM to discuss the operations, funding, and governance of Go Lake Havasu, the city's destination marketing organization (DMO). The meeting included presentations from the City Attorney, Go Lake Havasu's board and CEO, and the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association, followed by public testimony and council deliberation. No formal votes were taken, but council members expressed a range of concerns and directed staff to bring back a future agenda item to discuss contract amendments and council liaison voting rights.

Public Comments & Testimony

Edward Kats, citizen: Stated a "hard pass" on Go Lake Havasu, arguing the city does not need it due to growth from California migration.
Neil Tinsley, citizen and City Council candidate: Detailed a public records request revealing that the city holds no conflict-of-interest disclosures, expenditure summaries, invoices, or board meeting minutes from Go Lake Havasu. He also alleged Mayor Sheehy had a conflict of interest for not recusing himself from the 2023 contract vote (Mayor works for London Bridge Resort).
Jan Kassies, former Go Lake Havasu employee: Described a pending lawsuit against the organization, alleging mistreatment, lack of board oversight, and high CEO turnover. He called for the city to bring tourism functions in-house.
Dave Johnson, event organizer (Supercat Fast West): Criticized Go Lake Havasu's digital marketing performance, citing low Instagram followers (25,900 vs. local competitors), ineffective ad campaigns, and minimal sponsorship of major events like Desert Storm ($20,000 in 2026).
Pam Swenson, former employee: Stated she quit due to an unethical, unprofessional work environment, mentioning backdoor city involvement in hiring CEO Susan Smith and receiving a cease-and-desist letter from that CEO.
Reagan Ross, former employee and former board member: Alleged nepotism, cronyism, conflict of interest, and breach of fiduciary duty; proposed restructuring Go Lake Havasu or creating a city-run grant program for tourism.
Dan Roddy, Western Region Manager, Arizona State Parks & Trails: Supported retaining the DMO model, noting Sedona's failed experiment with abandoning its DMO, and emphasized that tourism tax revenue is meant for tourism promotion.
Bob Barrett, citizen: Questioned the return on investment, arguing it is unlikely Go Lake Havasu generates one out of every two hotel room bookings or one out of every four restaurant customers. He cited a failed out-of-market ad campaign.
Alex Ross, citizen: Supported his daughter Reagan's testimony, criticizing CEO retention and lack of board accountability.
Bonny Toy, citizen: Noted a decline in Go Lake Havasu's social media posts and reminded council that the city had not retrieved the "Home of the London Bridge" trademark from Go Lake Havasu upon contract renewal.
Tim Murray, citizen: Stated the council is accountable for taxpayer dollars and called for stronger leadership.

Presentations & Updates

City Attorney Kelly Garry provided a historical overview of tourism funding, beginning with a 3% bed tax in 1981 and subsequent ordinances. Key milestones: 1996 – restaurant/bar tax increased from 2% to 3% (additional 1% designated for tourism/economic development); 2002 – funding split 75% tourism bureau / 25% economic development; 2021 – shifted from percentage-based to fixed monthly payments of $133,333.33 ($1.6M/year) under a contract running through June 30, 2029. The current contract is performance-based.
Go Lake Havasu Board of Directors (Kristina Gallo, Chair; Janene Samp, Vice Chair; Becky Goldberg, At-Large) presented their qualifications and governance improvements, including formation of a nominating committee, bylaw updates, and board composition.
Go Lake Havasu CEO Shawn Buckley presented operational data and industry benchmarks:
- Financials: January 2026 actual spending $155,540 vs. budget $152,383 (-2.1% variance); YTD actual $1,054,762 vs. $1,053,181; fiscal year remaining budget $984,638 out of $2,039,400.
- Web: January 2026 total visits 82K (up 30.6% vs. Jan 2025); new users 77K (up 34.1%); session duration 1:08 (down 39% vs. Jan 2025).
- Social Media: Facebook followers +1,076 vs. Dec 2025; reach -15%, engagement +50%. Instagram followers +194; reach -39%, engagement -87%. X (Twitter) followers +4,359; reach +8%, engagement +13.
- PR & Booking Engine: 26 earned media features; 42M+ earned media impressions; YTD $3,959 (up 166.2% vs. $1,487 in 2025).
- Visitor Center: January 2026 sales $20,172 (+27.3% vs. Jan 2025), traffic 15,259 (+58.9% vs. Jan 2025); YTD sales +10.5%, traffic +19.3%.
- Lodging Tax: October–November 2025 showed mixed results: 3% hotel/motel tax YTD -7.2%; 1% food & beverage tax YTD -1.0%.
- Industry Context: Lake Havasu is a mature drive market with 1.6–1.7M annual visitors; regional comparisons show declining lodging tax revenues in Las Vegas (-5%), Greater Palm Springs (-8%), Big Bear Lake (-7%), North Lake Tahoe (-6%), Sedona (-3%), and Page (-8.7%).
- Performance Grades: Overall assessment improved from B- to A- over evaluation period. Marketing A-, Earned Media A+, Visitor Center A-, Event Marketing A-, Event Sponsorship Model C, Strategic Direction A-.
- Identified Problems: (1) The 1% food & beverage tax is an anomaly among DMOs, effectively taxing residents. CEO suggested raising lodging tax by 3% to offset and eliminate residential portion. (2) Board composition does not align with best practices (hotel/lodging only 17% vs. recommended 30-40%). Proposed board audit, bylaw revision, council placement on executive committee, and board reporting.
JD Butler, Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association (AzLTA): Provided statewide context: 46.5M visitors annually, $30B spending, 300,000 jobs, $4.3B tax revenue. Emphasized that tourism marketing is economic development and DMOs help compete for visitors and events. Compared other DMO budgets: Visit Phoenix $24.2M, Experience Scottsdale $14.2M, South Lake Tahoe $3.1M, Moab $5.9M, Aspen $6M, Jackson Hole $7.5M.

Council Discussion

Vice Mayor Diaz: Requested a future agenda item to discuss the Go Lake Havasu contract and making the council liaison a voting board member.
Councilmember Dolan: Expressed concerns about funding and direction; noted he voted no on the 2023 contract; supports reworking but not eliminating the organization.
Councilmember Campbell: Stated concerns about marketing and sponsorship transparency; described receiving a cease-and-desist letter from a former CEO; advocated for in-house operations, pointing out the city has many departments that communicate with Go Lake Havasu.
Councilmember Moses: Defended the board as community volunteers; suggested increasing marketing dollars over direct event sponsorships; endorsed the idea of funding through lodging tax only; encouraged marketing experts in the public to join the board; noted social media performance has been a long-standing issue.
Councilmember Lin: Compared Go Lake Havasu's $1.6M budget to Kingman's in-house tourism department (budget $751,252 with no sponsorships and full accountability). She suggested the city could bring tourism in-house for greater accountability.
Mayor Sheehy: Thanked the public and board; noted the item will return for further discussion.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes or decisions were made.
Council directed staff to bring back a future agenda item to discuss: (1) the Go Lake Havasu contract, (2) making the council liaison a voting member on the board, and (3) potential board structure and bylaw changes.
Concerns raised by multiple council members about transparency, accountability, event sponsorship model, and the fairness of the 1% food & beverage tax. The discussion is expected to continue at a subsequent meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon and welcome. I called over to the Lake Havasu City Council work session on Tuesday, March 10th, 2026 at 4 p.m. If you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Miss Williams, if you please call the roll. Council members Jenny Koch. Here. Michelle Lynn. Jim Dolan here. Thank you. Cameron Moses. Nancy Campbell. Here. Here. Thank you. Item four is our public hearing. Item 4.1 is discussion regarding Golake Havasu. I'll turn over to you, Vice Mayor Diaz. So you uh request this item for introduction. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and thank you everyone for showing up. So uh we just wanted to have a discussion regarding Golake Havasu as a work session so we could hear from the public also and hear from the council members and uh just to talk about the the the um kind of a revolving door of CEOs we've had recently and and also some staffing and just have an update from Golake Havasu from the city uh uh attorney on the contract on the funding, and then we want to get some feedback from the citizens. So um we are not against tourism. I'm certainly not against tourism. Um so I want to nip that in the bud. I just want to make sure that we're spending taxpayer dollars wisely and that we want to hear from the public, and that's what we're here for today. Very simple. Um, we want to give the time for the people to talk. So I'm whoever's presenting, uh I'd like you to keep it short and to the point. So we want to make sure we have enough time. We have to probably be done by 5 20. Yeah, so thank you. Thank you, Vice Mayor Diaz. Yeah, so kind of in order of uh business we'll have an update from our city attorney about uh the history of uh the tourism tax and tourism uh dollars will then have an update from uh the board and go like Havasu. Uh and then we'll hear from the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association and we'll open up uh public hearings. So that's kind of the layout. Uh the reason that we're pressed up against time is we do have a council meeting that starts at 5 30 p.m. But we'll uh try to ensure we get everyone that wants to engage in this process engage. So to start with you, Miss Gary. Good evening, afternoon. Mayor in council. Wait for the PowerPoint to come up real quick. I'm gonna give a really quick history overview of Go Lake Havasu. It's been known by many names throughout the decades. And so as we go through, you'll see different um references to the Visitor and Convention Bureau, VCB or LHTB, the Lake Havasu Tourism Bureau, CVB, and now Golake Havasu, whatever it was called at the time is what I reference in my materials, but they're all the same thing. We're gonna start in the 1980s for reference.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com