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TDA turns focus to bylaws, avoiding deadlock
It skirts debate about 10% cap, backs Kaplan's idea to re-examine legislation
City Council Member Vivian Burke expressed urgency to move past the deadlock.
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Published: August 20, 2008
An air of compromise emerged yesterday over what was expected to be a tense retreat for the Forsyth County Tourism Development Authority.
The tourism authority's board has struggled for seven months -- with 15 full-time jobs at Visit Winston-Salem at stake -- to define what is considered administrative expenses.
Deciding that the topic could have dominated the daylong retreat at Tanglewood Park without being resolved, board members chose to avoid the debate over the 10 percent cap on administrative expenses. Instead, the board focused on the legislation that created the authority and subsequent amendments, and supported board member Ted Kaplan's suggestion of "rewriting the legislation from the ground up."
They agreed to review the authority's by-laws, which haven't been revamped since the early 1990s.
The board also reached a compromise on the leadership of the board for the 2008-09 fiscal year by having two board members share the role.
Pat Bryan, the former vice chairwoman of the board, and Vivian Burke, a member of the Winston-Salem City Council and a member of the tourism-authority board, were appointed to the position and will each serve six-month terms.
Bryan will serve as chairwoman until the end of December, while Burke will serve as vice chairwoman. In January, they will reverse their roles.
The board deadlocked at 6-6 for a second time in two months before reaching the compromise.
Bryan, the general manager of the Fairfield Inn & Suites, got the backing of the hospitality segment of the board, and Burke got the backing of the tourism segment.
"The authority's work is too important and we needed to move forward past the deadlock," Burke said.
"Vivian and I can work together," Bryan said. "We both have our ideas about projects and committee appointees, but most of all it will be an opportunity for Vivian and myself to move the TDA forward."
For months, Kaplan, a Forsyth County commissioner, has said that the TDA has been breaking the 10 percent cap on administrative expenses that the General Assembly imposed when setting up the authority in 1983.
Wrennie Pitt, the attorney for the authority, disputes that opinion. He has said that if the legislature had intended to include salaries as part of TDA administrative expenses, it could have done so when the section involving municipalities was added in 1997.
Dana Simpson, the legislative counsel for the N.C. Travel and Tourism Coalition, said at the retreat that fewer than 10 TDAs in the state have the 10 percent cap on administrative expenses.
"We have two significantly different and strong opinions on what the 10 percent cap represents," Kaplan said.
"We understand more as a board that we need to make the legislation less ambiguous -- on the 10 percent cap, on term limits and on whether this board should appoint its own members.
"We have from now until January to address the ambiguity and take our request for new legislation to the General Assembly for approval," Kaplan said.
Kaplan has been pushing for more direct grants to agencies that might bring in tourists.
That includes proposing that some of the 15 full-time and 10 part-time positions at Visit Winston-Salem be cut to divert some of the salaries and benefits to grants.
The authority operates on an annual budget of $2.7 million that comes from hotel-occupancy-tax proceeds. It promotes travel and tourism largely through marketing efforts.
The battle of the 10 percent cap led to the departure of Bob McCoy as the president of Visit Winston-Salem in June on a six-month medical leave.
The authority named Carmen Caruth as interim president. It remains unclear whether McCoy will return as president after his leave of absence ends.
The authority approved providing $48,750 in business-development grants to five groups.
The largest amount, $20,000, went toward a one-time request to help with the fees for hosting a bowling tournament that's part of Chris Paul Celebrity Weekend in Winston-Salem in September. The tournament will be held on Sept. 20 at AMF Major League Lanes, 811 Jonestown Road.
Professional athletes will be matched with professional bowlers in a doubles tournament that will start the 2008-09 PBA Tour season.
The tournament will be televised on ESPN on Oct. 19.
Another $5,000 was provided to the Tanglewood Equestrian Association for marketing and the printing of brochures for the proposed revival for the Tanglewood Steeplechase.
Kaplan has proposed to the authority that it take ownership of the steeplechase, which is trying to make a comeback after a six-year absence at Tanglewood Park. Kaplan is a member of the association's board.
The races averaged 20,000 in attendance in its heyday in the 1980s.
Kaplan said that the association is making progress in securing an overall sponsor and race sponsors.
■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.
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