City to mull giving CVB control over to chamber

The resurrection of a relationship between the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau and the chamber of commerce could save some administrative costs and consolidate two entities whose responsibilities and interests often overlap.

Monday night, the Cape Girardeau City Council will discuss a contract submitted by the local chamber that would give the chamber jurisdiction over the CVB.

Last month, the council asked chamber leaders if they would be interested in taking control of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. The answer came last week, with the chamber's board of directors voting unanimously to accept the city's offer -- if one officially is made -- based on the contract.

Chamber president John Mehner would not elaborate on the details of the contract other than to say, "There's nothing shocking in there." The council has not yet seen the contract, so Mehner declined to release the particulars.

Would stay downtown

According to Mayor Jay Knudtson, who originally brought up the topic, the CVB would remain downtown regardless of what organization is running it. He also said the contract would be up for renewal on a yearly basis, meaning the city could take back the authority if the chamber's management does not satisfy the council.

Before any decision is made, the council will seek comments from the CVB advisory board, Knudtson said.

Tim Blattner, a member of the CVB advisory board, said the board is uniformly neutral.

"I think everybody's interested doing best they can for tourism, and that's what's being proposed here," Blattner said.

That board will review the contract, and the council could take action as soon as Aug. 5, Knudtson said.

City manager Michael Miller said the only disadvantage that he could think of would be "any control the city loses over the tax money taken in. But we feel with a tight contract, there will be no problems. The city has a good relationship with the chamber."

The CVB is funded through the city's hotel-motel and restaurant taxes.

Knudtson said he wanted to explore a chamber-driven CVB option because "in my opinion, the city has not been able to adequately capture the true spirit with which the CVB was created."

He said the city's main purpose is to provide services to the residents. The purpose of the CVB is more in line with the chamber's mission statement than the city's, he said.

Joel Neikirk of the CVB board said the absence of a director -- Terri Clark-Bauer left this spring -- makes the timing right to look into alternatives.

"I see a good opportunity for the city council and the advisory board to research and exhaust what will be best for the city and the use of this tax money," Neikirk said.

When the CVB was formed in 1984, the city contracted with the chamber to run the operation. These year-to-year contracts continued until 1993, when the city decided it wanted to take the "middle man" out of the picture to save money and to give the city more direct control of CVB operations. Now, city leaders say they believe the city will save money by having the chamber take control, though it is not yet clear how much money.

The city took charge of the CVB in 1993 a few months before Mehner was hired.

"I think the chamber has a terrific leader in John Mehner, and I don't mind saying that that has a lot to do with me personally exploring this as an alternative," Knudtson said.

Councilwoman Evelyn Boardman, a longtime downtown businesswoman, has done quite a bit of research on CVBs and how cities operate them.

Each situation is different, she said. Some cities run their own CVBs and are happy with the results. In other cities, like Branson, Sedalia and Washington, the chamber runs those CVBs and they can be successful, too.

Jefferson City and Kansas City organized not-for-profit entities to handle their CVBs, Boardman said.

Boardman said she wanted to look at the contract before endorsing any changes. Generally, she doesn't think it matters much which organization is running it -- it's the person who is in charge that will make a difference.

"As long as we get an expert in the field to run it, I'll be happy," she said. "The CVB office, in my opinion, should be a revenue-producing agency. It should bring tax dollars into the city, and you've got to have an experienced, networking director to do that."

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127