Columbus, Georgia

Minutes of the Board of Commissioners Meeting

January 19th, 2005

I. Call to Order



Mr. Lee Brantley called the meeting to order at 8:05

a.m. Board members present

were: H.S. Guron, Veola Hymes, Colin Martin, Brian

Plemmons, Col. Roy Plummer, Mayor Bob Poydasheff, Virgil Thompson and Scott

Russmeyer.



Board members who were absent included James McMullen and. Jack Pezold



Ex-officio members present were: Otis Burnham, Larry Campbell, Isaiah

Hugley, Dale Hester, Carmen Cavezza and Ed Wilson.



Ex-officio members who were absent included Lisa Collins, Janice Davis

and Burnie Quick.



CCVB staff members present were Peter Bowden and Linda Olvera.



Special recognition and gifts were presented by Colin Martin to Lee

Brantley, his tenure as Chair of the Board ended December 31st; and Carmen

Cacvezza for his

support of the CCVB as he retires from his position as City Manager.

In their absence, Dr. Hud and Frances Quick were also recognized for their

support of the CCVB as Board members, their tenure also ended December 31st.



II. Approval of Minutes



Mrs. Veola Hymes presented the minutes of the November 17th meeting to the

Board for approval. Lee Brantley made a motion that they be accepted. Mayor

Poydasheff seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed.



III. Treasurer?s Report



In the absence of James McMullen, Linda Olvera presented the November and

December 2004 monthly financial statements. Mrs. Olvera explained to the Board

that the salary for Dr. Rutland, with the Riverway South, would be paid thru

the CCVB payroll account and her gross salary and employer?s matching fica

taxes would be reimbursed by Riverway South, listed as a line item on the

monthly statement. The hotel motel tax for November was $108,011.86,

$28,011.86 more than budgeted, and in December the tax was $104,619.16,

$10,619.16 more than budgeted, stated Mrs. Olvera. Since there were no unusual

expenses or questions by the Board, Mayor Poydasheff made a motion to accept

the reports, Veola Hymes seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion

passed.





IV. Old Business



Arts & Sports Council Briefing



Peter Bowden reported to the Board that both the Councils would present their

financial

statements to the CCVB Board on a quarterly basis to establish a paper trial

for accounting purposes on how the hotel/motel tax monies they receive thru the

CCVB are spent.



Local Option Sales Tax



Mayor Poydasheff updated the Board on the status of the tax, which did not pass

the vote. He felt that the public was not fully informed on how the tax would

work, and assured the Board that the tax would be on the next ballot.



V. New Business



Review CCVB Expense Report Policy



Copies of the policy from the CCVB Employee Handbook were given to each Board

member and Peter Bowden gave a brief review.



Boy Scott Initiative



Colin Martin informed the Board that since he is on the Board for the Boy

Scouts, he would be looking for ways the CCVB can interact with the Scouts.



Ft. Benning-Benning Road Visitors Center



The Welcome Center on Benning Road, which has been closed for the past several

years, will be under renovation in the coming year. The CCVB will provide the

Center with brochures and help to organize volunteers to help man the Center

when it reopens.



Mayor?s Advisory Committee-City Manager



Mayor Poydasheff updated the Board about the search for a new City

Manager. The

Committee will not hire an outside firm to conduct the search and

Isaiah Hugley

will act as City Manager during the interim.



Atlanta CVB Satellite Office



As of the first of this year, the CCVB has been operating an office in the

Atlanta

area to tap into the tourism business. The majority of the Columbus bus and

tourism business comes from the Atlanta area. Brandee Fabiani has agreed to

work the Atlanta market for the CCVB.



VI. Adjournment



The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 a.m.