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01-15-2025 Agenda
* Lodging Tax Advisory Committee CITY OF * * Special Meeting UBIJRN January 15, 2025 - 10:00 AM City Hall Council Chambers WASHINGTON AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC PARTICIPATION A. The Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Meeting scheduled for Wednesday January 15, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. will be held in person and virtually. Virtual Participation Link: To listen to the meeting by phone or Zoom, please call the number below or click the link: Telephone: 253 215 8782 Toll Free: 888 475 4499 Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81971197751?pwd=mplULauBtWIIWFTiGBDIMHishIvN3F.1 Meeting ID: 819 7119 7751 Passcode: 267477 ROLL CALL AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION This is the place on the agenda where the public is invited to speak to the Board on any issue. A. The public can participate in-person or submit written comments in advance. Participants can submit written comments via mail, fax, or email. All written comments must be received prior to 5:00 p.m. on the day before the scheduled meeting and must be 350 words or less. Please mail written comments to: City of Auburn Attn: Jenn Francis, Economic Development Manager 25 W Main St Auburn, WA 98001 Please fax written comments to: Attn: Jenn Francis, Economic Development Manager Fax number: 253-804-3114 Email written comments to: jfrancis@auburnwa.gov Page 1 of 60 If an individual requires accommodation to allow for remote oral comment because of a difficulty attending a meeting of the governing body, the City requests notice of the need for accommodation by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the scheduled meeting. Participants can request accommodation to be able to provide a remote oral comment by contacting the Community Development Department in person, by phone (253) 215-8744, or by email (jfrancis©auburnwa.gov). ANNOUNCEMENTS, REPORTS, AND PRESENTATIONS A. 2024 Explore Auburn Recap DISCUSSION ITEMS A. 2024 Lodging Tax Revenue Summary ACTION ITEMS A. Auburn Area Chamber 2025 LTAC Grant Application ADJOURNMENT Agendas and minutes are available to the public at the City Clerk's Office and on the City website (http://www.auburnwa.gov). Page 2 of 60 CITY OF J\I.JBU1R.ts4 AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM WASHINGGTTON Agenda Subject: Meeting Date: 2024 Explore Auburn Recap January 15, 2025 Department: Attachments: Budget Impact: Community Development 2024 Recap For LTAC (1) Administrative Recommendation: Background for Motion: Background Summary: Councilmember: Staff: Page 3 of 60 P L ORE W 2024 Recap Presented By I Kacie Bray I Auburn Area CONNECT Page 4 of 60 Website Visits by State Websit eir Website Visits by State 6 2262 282 31 8 15 50 336 252 30 e 28 12 151 1 373 17 3 5... 37 14 7 25 - Sta26 O •a�.. 29 10 i.Ts*,...,,,cr , i...:7-_, : ,..V,. '.e. �' Website visits r-- �_.�. It' 4 Ns. It I I-:, od ci Oct 26,2029 T 1 00 pm-5.00 pm To c o u n r i e s AUBURN'S HALLOWEEN The Outlet Collection I Seattle HARVEST FESTIVAL 8� cAl FamilyfriendldIP Kfd TRUNK-OR-TREAT .___ LG9Tq+friendly Les Gore Park,9109th SI SE,Auburn,WA98002- (3 Wheelchair accessible) Explore szoo,unitedsates United states I Canada I Germany I Japan I (11*-5 1 Hosted ey Auburn Arta and Events,Auburn Parks.Arts 8.Recreation Read More c�kE rb direct Pa: 11I1111 u 1 5 5-1 B LOG • 1101 OUTLET COLLECTION WAY 1268 PLP� S Qo (253)833-1790 EVENT POSTS N Se outletcollectionseattle.com O L POSTSO� O� Page 5 of 60 SOCIAL MEDIA -Thank you for your V views ws service! CONTENT Xreachi. 384,885 ' TNARI(YOU VETERANS! 1 BREAKDOWN 366 51 ' TM • Events 0 Holidays & Fun :4: ..,, . motif p M, ■ Food ■ Attractions • 0 Interactions . Retail & Hotels Arts & Outdoors CAuburn,Washington Tourism D 1989 • Other may 5nwan `U, / 1 May 10,2024 0 The carnival is back at the Outlet Collection Seattle" Starting TODAY'Son't miss out on your chance to play games,eat dg swings food and brave the classic around Total coaster or the big swings!This fun wool stick around forever,so don't wart and bring Your fnends and family for same fun In the sun #exploreauburn#auburnwa 6% ..... Social followers 12. rAlft ,, .-, media 12,328 levilit •t, J"4 I; al v r 1 S1 /\1S 1It 1 00 ma 550 54 rdj r •ext..auburnwa 13% 17% { d 159,811 #exploreauburn _ " , Accounts 637 \ . .<,,/, reached Link clicks ° ° V on Total posts explareauburnwa On the first day of Christmas, 700 4partdaceto me A partridge in a pear to first face book 565 Page 6 of 60 J %J %• IML _ii, • 0... -..,, r..__ , in. 0, C S 4:, re we ill -li .. 1 ,�I ToptewrsbyGder i L countries 1 Seattle , aii) , . '",... t United states f /1 :. . 4.1", /117 ,. � , :I Los Angeles ; � Canada `� ���� Houston � �� • Mexico C .. , �I , ,h Phoenix _ las Vegas • Puerto Rico / 4W4/ / /tit!)� g ■ Female Male ■ Other . Nigeria a 6t(Lei 60/147t Au burn ' Viewers by age ° 1,1 65+ 55 64 in 88 participated 35 -44 25 -34 Explore 18 -24 . 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% A u u r n P hoto • Facebook Instagram •TikTok Page 7 of 60 w . ■ M a r ket i n g , �� t iIlit °lff �1r►��! ,,, .,.Te •� Wl� rlr A..I ,,,.. ' ` l '1 �Xp*0RE : c 4... ` ,.. 0.�1 Email blasts AubU - EXPcO;EAU;UEN.COM tlf{ ,;,k 1_ w Emails collected 629 I Emails sent 4 I Average open rate 28.8- .T = c>ii. j I6AL)RN , _.•-� �- WASy�'NGTON ,- / ' —NORTHWESTNPTIGNRL *iit't ��� e OVER 1200 PROMOTIONAL ITEMS HANDED OUT IAU j® ` AT EVENTS AND CONFERENCES —W45N"°T°" 111 .aw..,....: ." I\ , 1, Marketing Materials �A ,,, Vendor Booth I Koozies I Posters I Keychains I Postcards I Stickers I Drinkware I slap El as ' bracelets Auburn! 9W,, rn: 1 Hotel room signage I Games I Bubbles I Bz ndanas I Visors I T-Shirts I Visitor Guid E�TE�veN %amp Photo Booth I ADS oloa'' „E 7� W t tea„ns uK, Attended the Washington State Tourism Conference & Received the �/ „Ea a tk g a Gtft„$,, „'«nt�°o. •`i'c 7 f' Washington State Tourism Rookie of the Year Award for Explore Auburn ""`.0,,, 3 k 10 �.- ' / N,6u�.... *„+ M,,...' Isnot - fi ; 4 l .-:.4,0•. 4m0; 'Wanted to let you know visitors LOVE the posters. Lots of folks have taken the = ' - r�' ��� E.-+_;r_v,, �'a� _ and everyone thinks they are so cool!" EP4• _ "' vR ~ Rachael McAlister, Museum and Farm Director ` Au n�ex��w�,.xc3.. r— � 1. VI r Pa _ - Year Long Sponsorship Locations • Emerald Downs I Pacific Raceways I Activations Junior Achievement I Outlet Collection S_ . ,, , ____,-.. ________ . ;;-. , . . . . . . , . _..._ ......,. eattle ,-.:1 • ! mi • Stp `.04, d ,.-1,`rat f, ` +. .` rage \' ,\ ;` • -tom• 1. • w ..41tr. ? . jak x Cyq tio* 0 , ,,,gA _ comma — }} ...... . �- sV Iridfans �f���E 'll.k1 tki ..•../•". 1._.- ..v. ___ • �,. r F` EXPLQREAUBURN.CO�tWONDFP w; :- all ,-1 Q7 PACMOP • _ WNit \SAilaiiirvio COURSE Iwff/�/ff , 1 r g R STRIP. - - r ogtcGu T A XI ., .--. . ,.�„ ice , ,2 air I riiii ..: .,..„.. i_ ________ °15. , . (pi Al "[0. ,it : .••• ^I I • irit , rr �"m. • J i - 1 P' 1 s • 112 I 1 2 .,_ QD t' 1 ,,h t Y i''o; gin ter. t r � I g. Far t ,,�' i rxc� pl x, .. on, i AY 1 _. . , , .. .. E p!" wsrauanlXgo� hii \ \ �I19/� _ j ; \ C/ ., \ _ — . . '. r_ra } I't*_.4- t.' 1 : ,:: ry }' ryj Explore A-,pt t.i.. .._.,-t-4,0.r., . ,_-,,t,-,. 1 Liii i-0 lA,l,.l ' ''A1ri-:/likM 4 ,,-N,,$k„1,,1*li. 1 _ Auburn , , �� = i 4 1 k° y , ,�, Booth _. _ 'A .": d70---i--r,-aL--/• � �. activations S ,-_ 4, R a events + , A +s • �! t� .t ' fir«.� c. , ,0„1� ;1 4 \ Event Sponsorships & Promotions �w: - Al i , Petpalooza I Veterans Day Parade I Airport Day I NHRA Races I ,AQQ,hot,J NHRA Fanfest I Festival of Trees I Students of Color Conference I Y4 Green River New Student Orientation I Emerald Downs Relay �V Races Kentucky ""I , _ , z z4,p iy I derby ~' •r ` «_ Seattle Parrot expo Aloha Fest Native American Workforceippow : onfcr nRc C-3nt y iiiii i i�r lw iCcox.#��. at---''r . _ • / , ‘ I xin ARA hrz,mi / \ it - P�0*PEEP' ,, ,r L `` _ `"�r�,' Explore II y - v or 10 �����. s� � Ex, - Over 1 , worth of ® fi� . ' ` ., 1 `- �,� ' �;� � , a Jul product and gift cards to ` Auburn Gift 41i ., �� — .. 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' 'T CITY OF J\I.JBU1R.ts4 AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM WASHINGGTTON Agenda Subject: Meeting Date: 2024 Lodging Tax Revenue Summary January 15, 2025 Department: Attachments: Budget Impact: Community Development Hotel Motel Fund Financial Report - Dec 2024 (as of 01.14.25), Hotel Motel Fund Financial Report - Jan 2025 (as of 01.14.25) Administrative Recommendation: Background for Motion: Background Summary: Councilmember: Staff: Page 12 of 60 2024 Hotel/Motel Fund Performance Through December 2024 Hotel Motel Fund Revenues Jan-24 Feb-24 Mar-24 Apr-24 May-24 Jun-24 Jul-24 Aug-24 Sep-24 Oct-24 Nov-24 Dec-24 2024 YTD 2024 Total 2024 YTD Variance to Total Budget Budget-Dec Budget Hotel/Motel Excise Tax 10,635 10081 10023 13,375 13130 12,413 15,715 19,362 16,692 27,650 17,150 12,784 179,008 225,000 225,000 (45,992) International Film Festival Admission 2,500 2,500 (2,500) Investment Income 2,218 2,078 2,288 2,154 2,282 2,185 2,348 2,423 1,918 1,954 1,864 - 23,713 1,400 1,400 22,313 Total Fund Revenues 12,853 12,160 12,311 15,529 15,412 14,598 18,063 21,785 18,609 29,604 19,014 12,784 202,721 228,900 228,900 (26,179) Hotel Motel Fund Expenditures Jan-24 Feb-24 Mar-24 Apr-24 May-24 Jun-24 Jul-24 Aug-24 Sep-24 Oct-24 Nov-24 Dec-24 2024 YTD 2024 Total 2024 YTD Variance to Total Budget Budget-Dec Budget Other Wages - - - - - - - - - - - - - 48,950 48,950 48,950 Benefit Expenditures - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8,800 8,800 8,800 Office&Operating Supplies 3,200 3,200 3,200 Services and Charges 25,908 75 75 75 25,908 25,908 75 75 110,908 75 25,908 25,833 240,825 201,150 201,150 (39,675) Transfers Out - Total Fund Expenditures 25,908 75 75 75 25,908 25,908 75 75 110,908 75 25,908 25,833 240,825 262,100 262,100 21,275 Fund Operating Income/(Loss) (13,055) 12,085 12,236 15,454 (10,496) (11,310) 17,988 21,710 (92,299) 29,529 (6,894) (13,050) (38,104) (33,200) Year: 2024 2024 Budgeted Beginning Fund Bal. $ 506,580 YTD Estimated Ending Fund Bal $ 468,476 Page 13 of 60 2025 Hotel/Motel Fund Performance Through January 2025 Hotel Motel Fund Revenues Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 Jun-25 Jul-25 Aug-25 Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 2025 YTD 2025 Total 2025 YTD Variance to Total Budget Budget-Jan Budget Hotel/Motel Excise Tax 145,000 9,388 (9,388) International Film Festival Admission Investment Income 26,000 2,167 (2,167) Total Fund Revenues - - - - - - - - - - - - - 171,000 11,555 (11,555) Hotel Motel Fund Expenditures Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 Jun-25 Jul-25 Aug-25 Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 2025 YTD 2025 Total 2025 YTD Variance to Total Budget Budget-Jan Budget Other Wages 48,950 4,079 4,079 Benefit Expenditures 8,800 733 733 Office&Operating Supplies 3,200 267 267 Services and Charges 116,150 9,679 9,679 Transfers Out Total Fund Expenditures - - - - - - - - - - - - - 177,100 14,758 14,758 Fund Operating Income/(Loss) - - - - - - - - - - - - - (6,100) Year: 2025 2025 Budgeted Beginning Fund Bal. $ 483,780 YTD Estimated Ending Fund Bal $ 483,780 Page 14 of 60 CITY OF J\IJBURJ4 AGENDA BILL APPROVAL FORM WASHINGGTTON Agenda Subject: Meeting Date: Auburn Area Chamber 2025 LTAC Grant Application January 15, 2025 Department: Attachments: Budget Impact: Community Development Chamber of Commerce LTAC 2024 Application for FY2025 LTAC Grant Award doc, 7-2d Explore Auburn Recap numbers as of Jan1 to Dec12 2024, 7-2d 2025 EA TOURISM PLAN, 5-4f 2024 Balance Sheet AACC, 5-4g AACC Bylaws with Amendments 2022, 5-4i 2024 Board of Directors, 5-4h 12.04.2024 Board, 5-4d W9 2024 Administrative Recommendation: Background for Motion: Background Summary: At the meeting on January 15, 2025, LTAC will discuss the Chamber of Commerce application and determine if you wish to award funding, and, if so, at what amount. Once LTAC reaches its decision, staff will appear at a Council study session during which your recommendations will be vetted. At the following Council meeting, the Council may either approve or reject your recommendation. They may not alter it. If they disagree with your recommendation for funding, the matter will return to you for review and comment, and, after a mandatory 45 day period, the matter will return to Council for final action. Councilmember: Staff: Page 15 of 60 CITY OF l- * - 1-.--,--11:-URIN- -- -11- -----' "Ah- WASHINGTON AppOogagon for FiscaO Asap 2U2g Lcd o frog Tax Grant !Endo do Due no later than 5:00pm on December 20, 2024 Application materials may be submitted using any of the following: As an email attachment sent to jfrancisCalauburnwa.aov -OR- Mailed to City Hall (Attn:Jenn Francis),25 West Main Street,Auburn,WA 98001 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Mayor Nancy Backus, Chair Represent Business Authorized to Collect Represent Business Authorized to Receive Andy Cho, Garner Hotel Auburn Susan Roberts, Gosanko Chocolate Aman Ghag, Holiday Inn Express,Auburn Bob Fraser, Emerald Downs Vacant Elizabeth Butchko, Outlet Collection City Staff Support Jenn Francis, Economic Development Manager Jfrancis@auburnwa.gov (253) 215-8774 1 Page 16 of 60 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Lodging Tax Funding Guidelines Page 3 2. Information on Lodging Tax Funds and Who May Apply Page 4 3. Schedule Page 5 4. Reporting Requirements Page 6 5. Submittal Checklist Page 7 6. Insurance Requirements if Funded Page 8 7. Application Page 9 2 Page 17 of 60 1. LODGING TAX FUNDING GUIDELINES Background The objective of the City of Auburn Lodging Tax Advisory Committee process is to support projects, which encourage eligible tourism and cultural activities and support tourism facilities in Auburn. The process is reviewed annually and the guidelines are updated in accordance with reported success of existing programs, potential for new programs, and changes in state law. A calendar for the application process will be established but will allow for emerging opportunities as they arise. Objectives for Hotel/Motel Tax Funds: • Generate increased tourism in Auburn resulting in overnight stays at local hotels. • Generate maximum economic benefit through overnight lodging, sale of meals and goods, and construction of tourism-related facilities. • Increase recognition of Auburn throughout the region as a destination for tourism. • Increase opportunities for tourism by developing new visitor activities. Allocation Guidelines: • The City, on an annual basis, shall seek funding proposals from organizations seeking to use Hotel/Motel Tax funds for promoting tourism. • Organizations seeking funding must complete an application form. • The Lodging Tax Advisory Committee shall review the proposals and make recommendations to City Council as to which applications should receive funding. • The final funding decision will be made by the City Council in the form of approval or denial of the recommendations- no amendments to recommendations will be made by the City Council. • Once approved for funding an organization must enter into a contract with the City and funding will be provided on a reimbursable basis. • Organizations receiving funding must submit a report at the end of the calendar year. 3 Page 18 of 60 2. INFORMATION ON LODGING TAX FUNDS & WHO MAY APPLY WHAT ARE "LODGING TAX FUNDS?" Lodging taxes are paid when people purchase lodging, such as renting a room at a hotel. HOW CAN THOSE FUNDS BE USED? Washington State law (RCW 67.28.1815) requires that funds be expended "...solely for the purpose of paying all or part of the cost of tourism promotion, acquisition of tourism-related facilities, or operation of tourism-related facilities..." Tourism promotion is defined as "...activities and expenditures designed to increase tourism, including but not limited to advertising, publicizing, or otherwise distributing information for the purpose of attracting and welcoming tourists; developing strategies to expand tourism; operating tourism promotion agencies; and funding marketing of special events and festivals designed to attract tourists." WHERE CAN THE FUNDS BE USED? The funds are to be used to draw tourists to stay in Auburn lodging overnight. WHO CAN APPLY FOR FUNDS? Any organization, including private businesses, can use the funds to advertise and promote tourism through the media. The promotion must be designed to attract tourists to Auburn with the goal of increasing the number of overnight stays in the City's lodging facilities. WHO DECIDES WHICH APPLICATIONS GET FUNDED? All complete application packets are reviewed by the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC), which is charged with making recommendations for funding to the Auburn City Council who will make the final funding approval. HOW DO I APPLY? Complete applications are due no later than 5:00pm on December 20, 2024. Application materials may be sent electronically (preferred) via email to ifrancis( auburnwa.aov or mailed to City Hall (Attention: Jenn Francis),25 West Main Street,Auburn, WA 98001. 4 Page 19 of 60 3. SCHEDULE Applications due no later than 5:00pm December 20, 2024 LTAC agenda packet emailed to LTAC committee and available online on January 8, 2025 LTAC meets to discuss applications and to make funding recommendations on January 15, 2025 Recommendations to Auburn City Council Study Session on January 27,2025 Final decision on FY2025 grant award allocation adopted by Council On February 3,2025 Contracts issued for FY2025 LTAC grant awards on February 4,2025 5 Page 20 of 60 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS Reporting Requirements: Entities who receive lodging tax grant funds must report a significant amount of information to the city.This information includes: ➢ Overall Attendance - the total number of people predicted to attend this activity, the actual number of people who attended this activity, and the method used to determine the attendance. ➢ Attendance, 50+ miles-the number of people who travelled greater than 50 miles predicted to attend this activity, the actual number of people who travelled greater than 50 miles to attend the activity, and the method used to determine the attendance. ➢ Attendance, Out of State, Out of Country - the number of people from outside the state and country predicted to attend this activity,the actual number of people from outside the state and country who attended this activity, and the method used to determine the attendance. ➢ Attendance, Paid for Overnight Lodging -the number of people predicted to attend this activity and pay for overnight lodging, the actual number of people who attended this activity and paid for overnight lodging, and the method used to determine the attendance. ➢ Attendance, Did Not Pay for Overnight Lodging -the number of people predicted to attend this activity without paying for overnight lodging, the actual number of people who attended this activity without paying for overnight lodging, and the method used to determine the attendance. ➢ Paid Lodging Nights -the total projected and estimated actual number of paid lodging nights. One lodging night = one or more persons occupying one room for one night. 6 Page 21 of 60 5. SUBMITTAL CHECKLIST Place a check mark by each item to indicate your review& inclusion in your submittal packet. 1. x Provide courtesy notification to Jenn Francis by December 6, 2024 of your intent to submit an application and whether you will submit electronically. The purpose of this notification is to ensure your application is received. 2. x Submit complete application packet by 5:00pm, December 20, 2024 o Email application to ifrancisna auburnwa.aov or mail to City Hall (Attention:Jenn Francis), 25 West Main Street, Auburn, WA 98001. o Be sure to use application for FY2025 grant awards (template with preset font and margins) o Late applications will not be accepted 3. x All questions on application have been answered in a detailed,yet concise manner 4. x Application has been reviewed and includes: a. x Signature by a person authorized to bind the agency to a contract b. x Attachments that are no larger than 81/2 by 11 c. x For Non-Profits, a copy of 501(c)3 or 501(c)6 tax exemption determination letter x N/A d. x Marketing plan for the proposed project e. x Operating budget for the proposed project f. x Your organization's most recent Balance Sheet g. x Your organization's Articles of Incorporation and/or Bylaws h. x Documentation showing your governing body's authorization to submit the grant request Documentation consists of meeting minutes in which the governing body's resolution, motion or other official action is recorded. Examples include: "The board approves for (individual's name) to submit a Auburn lodging tax funding request, or (Individual's name) has the governing body's authorization to make funding requests for(name of the agency"or "I am the person organizing this event and am submitting this funding request for(name of event)). i. x List of your current Board of Directors or other governing body of your organization The list must include names, phone numbers, addresses, and identify the principal officers of your governing body j. x Signed letter from your governing body Chairperson that provides the name, title, address and telephone number for the person authorized to sign this application. 7 Page 22 of 60 6. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS IF FUNDED Unless otherwise waived by the Auburn Legal Department in writing, a Certificate of Insurance listing Auburn as additionally insured and including these minimum requirements will be required for all recipients (if funded): 1. Throughout the life of this Agreement the Contractor and its Subcontractors shall, at their own expense, maintain general liability insurance with an insurance carrier licensed to do business in the State of Washington, and with minimum coverage as follows: Bodily Injury Liability and Property Damage Liability Insurance, $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, with a deductible of not greater than $5,000. 2. Where automobiles are used in conjunction with the performance of this Agreement throughout the life of this Agreement the Contractor and its Subcontractors shall, at their own expense, maintain automobile liability insurance with an insurance carrier licensed to do business in the State of Washington and with minimum coverage as follows: Bodily Injury Liability and Property Damage Liability Insurance, $1,000,000 each occurrence or combined single limit coverage of$1,000,000. 3. General liability insurance and, if applicable, automobile liability insurance coverage shall be provided under a comprehensive general and automobile liability form of insurance, such as is usual to the practice of the insurance industry, including, but not limited to all usual coverage referred to as Personal Injury--including coverage A, B and C. If applicable, automobile liability insurance shall include coverage for owned, non-owned, leased or hired vehicles. 4. Auburn shall be named as an additional insured on all required policies, except automobile insurance, and all such insurance as is carried by the Contractor shall be primary over any insurance carried by Auburn. The Contractor shall provide a certificate of insurance to be approved by Auburn's Economic Development Manager prior to contract execution. 5. Auburn shall have no obligation to report occurrences unless a claim is filed with the Auburn City Clerk's office; nor shall Auburn have an obligation to pay premiums. 6. In the event of nonrenewal or cancellation of or material change in the coverage required,thirty (30) days written notice will be furnished to Auburn's Economic Development Manager prior to the date of cancellation, change or nonrenewal. Such notice to be sent to the City of Auburn - Economic Development Manager, 25 West Main St., Auburn, WA 98001 or ifra nc is(aa u bu rnwa.aov. 7. It is further provided that no liability shall attach to the City of Auburn by reason of entering into a contract with the City, except as expressly provided within the terms and conditions of that contract. 8 Page 23 of 60 7. APPLICATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025 LTAC GRANT FUNDING la. Project Information Project Name: 2025 Oversite/Management of Explore Auburn Amount of Lodging Tax Funding Requested: $150,000 (Amount Requested must match Project Budget column a "Lodging Tax Funding Requested") Total Project Cost: $150,000 (Total Project Amount must match Project Budget column c "Total Project Cost") lb.Applicant Organization Name of Applicant Organization:Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce Mailing Address: 268 E. Main Street,Auburn, WA,98002 Tax ID Number: 91-0493209 Organization Unified Business Identifier (UBI) N/A UBI Expiration Date: N/A Type of Organization: Non - Profit (Non-profit, For-profit, Municipality, Private business, etc.) lc. Contact: Name: Kacie Bray Title: CEO/Executive Director Telephone: 253.833.0777 Email: Kacie@auburnareawa.org Signature: The signatory declares that he/she is an authorized official of the applicant organization, is authorized to make this application, is authorized to commit the organization in financial matters, and will assure that any funds received as a result of this application are used only for the purposes set forth herein, and verifies that all the information contained in this application is valid and true to the best of his/her knowledge. 9 Page 24 of 60 2. Project Description a. Event Date(s): Annual 2025 b. Event Location:All of the City of Auburn c. If there is a charge or fee for this activity, please describe how much and why. N/A d. Please provide a detailed, yet concise scone of work (mandatorvl and/or proposed project/activity. Include information on the area the project will serve, its expected impact and list the responsible party(s). Please see 2025 Explore Auburn Plan for details on scope of work and 2024 Recap for projected outcomes for 2025. 3. Beneficiaries Please list and provide specific information regarding all individuals, businesses, areas, or organizations that will directly benefit from the project/activity. All tourism attractions, hotels, and other businesses in the City of Auburn. 4. Goals/Monitoring Describe the goals of the project. Will the project result in an increase in overnight stays by visitors in Auburn? If so. how will this increase be tracked and monitored? How will an increase in the sale of aoods and services as a result of the broiect be measured? What other short or long-term economic benefits will occur and how will that be tracked? Why do you believe those project/activity outcomes are feasible? Note -Applicants will be required to submit a post-funding report providing pertinent data evaluating tourism benefits resulting from the use of lodging tax funds as compared with the estimates contained in this application. Please see 2025 Explore Auburn Marketing plan for strategies and success metrics plan. 5. Estimate how the funds will increase the amount of people traveling to Auburn to stay overnight in paid accommodations. Increase LTAC dollars annually by 10%or more. Since we have had the Explore Auburn contract starting in 2021 hotel LTAC dollars have increased every year. 6.Estimate how the funds will increase the amount of people traveling to Auburn from more than 50 miles from their residences. Additional hotel night stays resulting in additional LTAC dollars. Secondary increase to attractions, retail, and dining. 10 Page 25 of 60 7. Estimate how the funds will increase the amount of people traveling to Auburn from outside their state or country. We know that every year we have seen an increase from outside WA state and additionally outside the USA to the Auburn Area. We intend to increase the digital following and requests in these categories by 10% (see 2024 recap).Travel and hotel stays by 10%from 2024. 8. Funding Requirements Due to funding constraints, partial funding may be recommended by the LTAC. If partial funding is received, how will that impact the project/activity? Please describe: Review of projects and the need to scall back on hours, marketing, events and projects for Explore Auburn as a whole will need to occur. 9. Use of Funds Provide detail on how the funds will be used. For example, $20,000 of the funds will be used for marketing, $5,000 for administration, $10,000 for Consultants, etc. Please see 10 for budget break down. 11 Page 26 of 60 10. Project Budget (for non-capital projects). Do not include in-kind contributions. Income: A diversified funding base is important to the success of any project. Please list all other sources of funding for the project, both anticipated and confirmed and when that funding will be available to the project. Include your own funding,sponsorships, other grants, etc. Funding Source: List all revenue sources anticipated for 2025. Amount Confirmed? Date Available Do not include requested Lodging Tax Funds Yes/No $NA $NA $NA $NA $NA Expenses: Based on full funding,please list project costs. Note:Certain expenses may not be reimbursable, at the sole discretion of the City of Auburn. You will only be reimbursed at the authorized rates. Ins arance is not an eligible cost. a. Lodging Tax Other Funds (Do not c. Total Project Cost Funds Requested include"in-kind" ** * dollars) Personnel (salaries& $70,000 $NA $70,000 benefits) Administration (rent, utilities, $20,000 $NA $20,000 postage,supplies,janitorial services,etc.) Marketing/Promotion $54,782 $Na $54,782 Direct Sales Activities $750.00 $NA $750 (including trade shows,sales calls,and related travel) Describe below Minor Equipment $968.00 $NA $968 (computers,desks,etc.) Travel $1500.00 $NA $1,500 Contract Services $2,000.00 $NA $2,000 Describe below Other Describe below $0 $NA $0 TOTAL COST $150,000 $NA I $150,000 Description for Direct Sales See 2025 Explore Auburn Plan Activities,Contract Services, Travel and Others In-Kind Contributions NA *Amount in column a"Lodging Tax Funds Requested"must match `Amount of Lodging Tax Funding Requested"under la of application. **Amount in column c "Total Project Cost"must match "Total Project Cost"under la of application. 12 Page 27 of 60 11. Funding History a. Was this project funded with Auburn lodging tax funds in fiscal year 2024? x Yes No b. If you answered yes to lla, how much funding did you receive in 2024? $ 155,000 +35,000 for extra event grants C. If you answered no to lla,what is the last year Auburn funding was received and how much? Year Amount awarded No previous funding 11d. Indicate what efforts have been made to access funding from additional sources? N/A 12. Coordination and Collaboration Please provide information about any other organizations or agencies involved in this project/activity. Describe their level of involvement. Describe how this project coordinates with other tourism promotion efforts or services in the area, including Chambers of Commerce, local festivals, local lodging and restaurants. You may attach up to three letters of support from these organizations. N/A 13 Page 28 of 60 13. Certification The applicant hereby certifies and confirms: 1. That it does not now nor will it during the performance of any contract resulting from this proposal unlawfully discriminate against any employee, applicant for employment, client, customer, or other person(s) by reason of race, ethnicity,color, religion, age, gender, national origin, or disability; 2. That it will abide by all relevant local,state, and federal laws and regulations; 3. That it has read and understands the information contained in this application for funding and is in compliance with the provisions thereof, and; 4. That the individual signing below has the authority to certify to these provisions for the applicant organization, and declares that he/she is an authorized official of the applicant organization, is authorized to make this application,is authorized to commit the organization in financial matters, and will assure that any funds received as a result of this application are used for the purposes set forth herein. 8 0 Primary Signature.. Kacie Bray I Ceo/Executive Director Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce Printed Name &Title of Chief Administrator/Authorizing Official Date 12/20/2024 14 Page 29 of 60 January 1st- December 12th 2024 Website Visits by Country United States 16,463 Canada 1201 Germany 1 165 Japan 1 147 Russia 1 130 Netherlands 1 119 United Kingdom 183 India 181 China 159 Ireland 144 France 131 Spain 127 Latvia 124 Singapore 121 Australia 119 Finland 117 Pakistan 1 15 Turkey 111 Romania 110 Mexico 19 Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Portugal, and Thailand 18 Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, and Vietnam 17 Poland and Sweden 16 Switzerland, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Republic of Korea, Nepal, Slovak Republic, and Ukraine 15 Czechia, Croatia, Israel, Iran, Italy, and Seychelles 14 Colombia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kenya, and Morocco 13 Belarus, Costa Rica, Denmark, Algeria, Estonia, Egypt, Kuwait, Republic of Lithuania, Mauritius, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Venezuela 12 United Arab Emirates, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Gibraltar, Honduras, Hungary, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Saint Lucia, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Nigeria, Serbia, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago, Taiwan, Tanzania, U.S. Virgin Islands, South Africa 1 1 United States Website Visits by State Washington 12,262 Unknown 1 1,498 Virginia 1 506 California 1 373 Wyoming 1336 Oregon 1282 Texas 1272 Page 30 of 60 Iowa 1 252 Ohio 1 151 New York 1 50 Arizona 137 Idaho 131 Pennsylvania 130 Florida and Alabama 129 Nevada 128 North Carolina 125 Michigan and Maryland 121 Georgia, Hawaii, and Illinois 1 18 Colorado 1 17 New Jersey 1 16 Wisconsin 115 Oklahoma 114 Massachusetts 1 13 Indiana 112 Minnesota 18 TennesseeI7 Montana 16 Connecticut, South Carolina, Kentucky, District of Columbia, Utah, Missouri, and Nebraska I5 Kansas, South Dakota, and Alaska 14 Rhode Island, Louisiana, Vermont, and West Virginia 13 Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, New Mexico, and Maine 12 Delaware and Arkansas I 1 Website Visits by Page Home 15,293 Events 12,063 Plan Your Event 1 1,078 Stay Connected 1 466 Can We Start SummerI219 News1123 Rev Up Your Summer 1 105 Outlet Collection 173 Website Visits by Source Direct 16,256 Search 1667 Referral 1 519 Social 1442 Email 15 Page 31 of 60 Social Media Statistics (Excluding X, no longer have access to analytics without upgrading to premium, and does not include shared posts) Views 1368,400 Reach 1362,600 Interactions 119,885 Followers 112,265 Link Clicks 1700 Posts 1410 I about 520 posts when figuring in shares #exploreauburn 1606 posts this year Viewer Demographics by Age TikTok 18-24 1 30.5% 25-34 1 45.4% 35-44 117.8% 45-54 1 4.6% 55+ 1 1.7% Facebook 18-24 13% 25-34 121% 35-44 1 22.6% 45-54 118.2% 55-64 115.5% 65+ 119.7% Instagram 18-24 13.8% 25-34 I 20.4% 35-44 I 34.2% 45-54 I 21.3% 55-64 113.5% 65+ I 6.8% Viewer Demographics by Gender Facebook MaleI32.6% Female 167.4% Instagram Male 130.7% Page 32 of 60 Female 169.3% TikTok MaleI64% Female 135% Other 1 1% Viewer Demographics by Location (Country) Facebook United States 195.4% Canada 11.3% Mexico 11.2% Puerto Rico 10.7% Philippines 10.3% China, Nigeria, Pakistan, United Kingdom, &Vietnam 10.1% Instagram United States 193.6% Nigeria, Canada, India, Japan, Iran, Indonesia, & Mexico 10.2% Poland & United Kingdom 10.1% TikTok United States 197.3% Canada 11.2% Russia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Ukraine, Netherlands, Brazil, & Mexico 1 <1% Viewer Demographics by Location (Top Cities) Facebook Auburn, WAI8.4% Seattle, WA 15.4% Tacoma, WA 15.1% Kent, WAI4.7% Federal Way, WA 12.8% Anchorage, AK 12.6% Renton, WA 11.8% Bellevue, WA 11.4 Everett, WA 1 1.1% Lakewood, WA 11.1% Instagram Auburn, WA 1 31.7% Federal Way, WA 15.5% Tacoma, WA 14.8% Page 33 of 60 Kent, WA I 4.8% Seattle, WA I 2.9% Sumner,WA 12.4% Covington, WA 11.7% South Hill, WA 11.5% Bonney Lake,WA 11.4% Renton, WA 11.3% TikTok Other I 89.8% Seattle I 2.8% Los Angeles I 2.7% Houston 11.7% Phoenix 11.5% Las Vegas 11.5% Marketing Materials (and about how many were given out) Can Koozies (500) Mountain Poster (450) Train Poster(200) River Poster (200) Keychains (500) Explore Auburn Postcard (200) Stay Golden Postcard (200) Stay Golden Sticker (600) PNW Sticker (600) Bigfoot Sticker (450) Bubbles (400) Bandanas (1,000) Visors (350) T-Shirts (20) Visitor and Tourism Guides (12,000) Sponsorships Locations Emerald Downs Pacific Raceways Junior Achievement Outlet Collection Seattle Event Sponsorships & Promotions Petpalozza Page 34 of 60 Veterans Day Parade Airport Day NHRA Races NHRA Fanfest Festival of Trees Students of Color Conference Green River New Student Orientation Emerald Downs Relay Races The Seattle Parrot Festival Aloha Fest Native American Workforce Conference Santa Paws City of Auburn Santa Parade Email Blasts —Seasonal Emails collected 1 629 Emails sent 14 Average open rate 130% Average click rate 11% Misc. Events Explore Auburn was at 14 Gift Baskets given out 1 10 Gift given for outside events 1 1200 People who have participated in Explore Auburn Photo Booth 180 Attended the Washington State Tourism Conference as well as being a Washington State Tourism Rookie of the Year Award Winner for Explore Auburn Page 35 of 60 ExPLORE C74t(10/ (Vett R H ERRLBREAUBURN.CBM 2025 TOURISM PLAN Tourism Key Objectives • Covert Day Trip Visitors to Overnight Visitors • Extend Visitor Stays to Drive Incremental Overnight Visitation and Revenue • Increase Occupancy during off season • Influence Long term development of the Destination and the Explore Auburn Brand Key Components will be grounded on two principles: #1. Communications and messaging will hinge around the City of Auburn's unique brand made up by the city's diverse demographic, attractions, and geographic location. Brand point of view will feature why Auburn is unique, valuable, and worth visiting. We will convey this through taking an authentic approach that emotionally attracts travelers through current tourism trends. #2. Maximize the impact of every dollar. Auburn is a smaller player, budget-wise, competing in a highly competitive space. We, therefore, need to adopt an operating principle of: FEWER, BIGGER, BETTER: We will ensure that we stretch our budget as much as possible by focusing on what will have the biggest impact on our business goals. • Primary Objective: Increase overnight bookings, the most efficient way to increase revenue for all Explore Auburn constituents. • Secondary Objective: Drive day visitors to convert to overnight. ruk•ua In order to meet our objectives, we need to shift priority of who we target, organizing around targeting consumers that have highest propensity to stay overnight in Auburn. Based on our analysis, through Explore Auburn digital analytics and WA State Tourism data we have developed the following target prioritization for 2025: Long Drive Market I Focusing on Idaho, Oregon, and parts of Montana Fly Market I Focus on key direct fly routes consisting of Hawaii, California, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado International Market I British Columbia and parts of Asia The Short Drive Market I Eastern Washington, along with other key cities that are outside 50 plus miles from Auburn TRAVELER FOCU4 Almost every industry in every sector prioritizes consumer loyalty and customer lifetime value over everything else. From a travel perspective, that means repeat visitation and travel recommendation is a core priority to our long-term success. To do this we look at who the current traveler is to our area and additionally to Washington state. Using city, state and country and international travel data over the last year we are focusing on the following audience: Page 36 of 60 Community Driven Tourist Attract repeat visitors that want to feel like they are a part of the community and culture. Business Event Organizations Attract universities, research institutions and advanced/creative industries to better attract high-value business events and conferences. Recreational Tourist Attract recreational and sporting groups and events that continue to drive return hotel nights stays year after year. The above traveler focuses are identified for the ability to impact hotel night stay more frequently. However, there will be other tourism audiences impacted by our tactical plan. Which will benefit the hotels in capturing additional hotel night stays. TACTICAL PL AM Objective 1: Increase awareness and consideration of Auburn, Washington as a destination for recreational and business travel. STRATEGIES: • Develop a new, strategic ad campaign and targeted media plan to reach key audiences effectively and efficiently. • Produce collateral and compelling content that serve to differentiate Auburn and our hotels apart from other nearby cities. • Leverage paid media spend through grant recipient's ad buys to additionally brand Explore Auburn as a destination. • Create an email database that will provide local attraction and tourism information. Segmented by tourism profile and interest. • Ensure consistent positioning and messaging across all communication tactics — including traditional and non-traditional advertising, publishing, social media and public relations efforts. SUCCESS METRICS: • Advertising impressions. • Unique website visitors and social media engagement/followers. • Visitor Guide circulation • Email database open and conversion rate. Objective 2: Drive incremental overnight visitation and revenue STRATEGIES: • Develop tactical programs, tailored messaging and promotions during need periods specifically focused on driving incremental overnight visitation. • Evaluate and prioritize drive vs. fly target markets to focus media investments on those markets that have a higher propensity for overnight stays. • Explore partnerships and collaborate with select drive market destination marketing • organizations on strategic programming/promotions to capitalize on visitors traveling through the area. • Explore development of new materials and messaging to reach primary target audience. • Work with hoteliers, restaurants, and area attractions to create unique multi-day packages and discounts for hotel guests. Page 37 of 60 • Explore nimble advertising solutions that allow for quick adjustments to creative and messaging based on occupancy trends and transient occupancy tax collections. • Provide marketing services and solutions that enhance the visitor experience and thereby, encourage and solicit sharing with friends, family, and influencers. • Partner with regional event venues and partners outside of Auburn to find ways to capture additional hotel night stays from regional events. SUCCESS METRICS: • Benchmark and track activity, engagement and redemption of executed programs, packages, and promotions. • Benchmark and track increase patterns in occupancy tax collections through city reporting. • Track increased brand awareness and new partnerships on a regional level. Objective 3: Utilize ExploreAuburn.com to convert the "Undecided Traveler" to choose Auburn as their next travel destination. STRATEGIES: • Utilize tools within the new site to continually provide strong visuals and authentic storytelling, inspiring travelers to select Auburn as their destination of choice. • Highlight captivating, destination specific visuals so visitors get a true sense of the destination. • Develop unique and compelling content that differentiates Auburn from other nearby cities. • Create and leverage fresh itineraries on an ongoing basis as fuel for potential visitors to imagine what a weekend or season stating in Auburn would look and feel like. • Create in-language inspirational itineraries for top non-English speaking tourist that can be located on our website. • Create a robust SEO strategy to target and direct consumers to our website for those looking to decide on a vacation destination. SUCCESS METRICS: • Increased traffic from international markets. • User engagement- including traffic to, average time on, and scroll depth to bottom of page on key pages and areas of the site. • Ongoing monitoring and optimizing of site SEO & keywords for maximum performance across search engines. Objective 4: Utilize ExploreAuburn.com to extend visitor stays (day trippers and those already planning to overnight in Auburn). STRATEGIES: • Increase the conversion of"Trip Extenders" in the area by showcasing that there is simply too much to do to stay for less than 1-2 days. • Focus content on itinerary building and niche categories to ensure Auburn appeals to diverse demographics and interests. • Ensure that all signature and noteworthy events are added to the Calendar of Events. SUCCESS METRICS: Page 38 of 60 • Creation of 1 article per month focused on what's happening in our"Stay Golden Auburn" Blog, to provide visitors inspiration to extend their stay. • Minimum creation of 4 seasonal itineraries/ideas per year with the intent to show visitors why they need to extend their stay in Auburn. • Increased traffic in unique visitors and unique pageviews. • Increased number of referrals to partner websites for additional trip planning, community, and regional information. • Event page click-throughs for more information. Objective 5: Utilize social media platforms to extend visitor stay and convert day trippers into overnight visitors. STRATEGIES: • Independent of the brand campaign, Explore Auburn social media channels will have an increased focus on fly markets and large group events and conferences. • Social channels will promote local favorites, events, meeting and convention spaces. • Focus on an integrated approach that utilizes social media extensions dedicated to help amplify new ad campaign messaging. • Social media campaign extensions will incorporate fly market cities and segments beyond geography to increase awareness. • Explore partnerships with state and sports tourism organizations for expanded social presence. SUCCESS METRICS: • Increased fan growth in Fly Markets. • Increased fan growth in International Markets. • Increased traffic from partnering sites. • Additional success will be measured by number of impressions from social platforms utilized within a campaign. Objective 6: Drive occupancy during off season utilizing social media. STRATEGIES: • Create seasonally shifted content, advertising and promotional campaigns dedicated to increasing visitation during key need periods. • Create "value for experience" messaging that targets the price conscious consumer that tends to travel during off peak seasons. • Focus on local interest and events to attract drive market users to make a weekend trip to Auburn. • Leverage Facebook events platform to promote local happenings and encourage attendance interest. • Identify key social media influencers within drive markets to extend campaign reach and amplify messaging. SUCCESS METRICS: • Creation of new content/platforms for real-time engagement to drive interest and awareness to target markets during need periods. • Partnerships with influencers in key markets engagement statics. • Increased video views across all platforms. • Newly created Explore Auburn Tik Toc account growth and engagement. Page 39 of 60 • Additional success will be measured by number of impressions from social platforms utilized within the campaign. Objective 7: Grow group meeting, conventions, and sporting group opportunities for Auburn hotels and event spaces. STRATEGIES: • Develop and execute targeted action plans in group verticals. • Explore development of a group advertising campaign that targets Corporate, Association Incentive &Third-Party meetings audiences. • Create and employ prospecting tools to identify prospective list of targets. • Incentivize groups to extend conference/meeting stays through tactical promotions and actives. • Market and grow Explore Auburn grants to new applicants. SUCCESS METRICS: • Creation of digital event space guide for Auburn. • Creation and growth of group travel organizations and contact database. • Creation of online inquiry for group travel, meeting, and events spaces to provide Auburn locations event booking referrals. • Increased grant application submissions. Objective 8: Formalize a tourism relationship with the Muckleshoot Tribe. Growing a partnership with them as their gaming and consumer amenities evolve as a regional tourism asset to our community. STRATEGIES: • Be a point of contact for the Muckleshoot Tribe for tourism information and resources. • Explore the development of a group advertising campaign. • Foster a relationship that will result in monthly or quarterly meetings and/or tourism board involvement. • Find ways to work together for the benefit of both organizations resulting in more hotel night stays and sales revenue. SUCCESS METRICS: • Successful partnership and collaboration meetings. • Creation and growth of comarketing. • Providing website and social media metrics on all promotions of Muckleshoot amenities amongst Explore Auburn assets. • Leads produced and provided to Muckleshoot or leads from Muckleshoot to hotels and other Auburn meeting spaces to provide customers options and opportunities in Auburn. Page 40 of 60 Income/Expense Summary Jan-Dec 2024 Budget Projected Total YTD January February March April May June July August September October November December Total Gala Income $ 5,000 00 $ 4,026 10 $ - $ - $ 1,10000 $ 2,37610 $ - $ 55000 $ - $ - $ - $ - Total Golf Tournament Income $ 23,250 00 $ 23,992 00 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 93000 $ 6,695 00 $ 14,167 00 $ - $ 2,200 00 $ - Total Legislative Programs $ 1,000 00 $ 1,o00 00 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 1,000 00 Total New Partner Income $ 7,000 00 $ 7,400 00 $ 600 00 $ 900 00 $ 300 00 $ 800 00 $ 500 00 $ 1,500 00 $ 600 00 $ 600 00 $ - $ 800 00 $ 300 00 $ 500 00 Total Operating Income $ 187,500 00 $ 183,916 65 $ - $ 26,833 33 $ - $ 6,250 00 $ 25,833 33 $ 25,833 33 $ - $ 6,250 00 $ 60,833 33 $ - $ 32,083 33 Total Publications&Misc Income $ 8,850 00 $ 3,794 43 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 3,794 43 $ - Total Renewing Members $ 115,000 00 $ 97,400 00 $ 5,200 00 $ 6,300 00 $ 7,600 00 $ 15,100 00 $ 8,200 00 $ 13,700 00 $ 8,600 00 $ 2,700 00 $ 8,800 00 $ 10,300 00 $ 5,100 00 $ 5,800 00 Total COO-Export Stamp Income $ 160 00 $ 200 00 $ 40 00 $ - $ 40 00 $ - $ - $ 40 00 $ 40 00 $ - $ - $ 40 00 $Total Income $ 347,760.00 $ 321,729.18 $ 5,840.00 $ 34,033.33 $ 7,940.00 $ 22,150.00 $ 35,633.33 $ 43,409.43 $ 10,170.00 $ 16,835.00 $ 83,800.33 $ 11,100.00 $ 43,517.76 $ 7,300.00 Total Gala Expense $ (1,000 00) $ (1,816 20) $ - $ - $ - $ - $ (1,035 38) $ (780 82) $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - Total Golf Tournament Expenses $ (22,450 00) $ (17,189 30) $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ (563 33) $ (2,947 20) $ (12,936 19) $ (716 48) $ (26 10) $ - Total Legislative Expenses S (300 00) $ (318 43) $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ (318 43) $ - $ - $ - Total Business Connect Expenses $ (2,500 00) $ (1,418 73) $ (164 21) $ (33 05) $ (203 58) $ - $ (44 28) $ - $ (53 79) $ (40 74) $ (32 96) $ (167 61) $ (178 51) $ (500 00) Total Explore Auburn Expenses $ (65,650 00) $ (102,052 20) $ (5,807 20) $ (13,601 58) $ (3,706 66) $ (18,172 56) $ (13,138 08) $ (1,091 35) $ (20,409 02) $ (584 63) $ (8,244 35) $ (4,168 07) $ (1,368 70) $ (11,760 00) Total Operating Expenses $ (39,683 00) $ (40,015 09) $ (3,945 67) $ (2,311 73) $ (3,348 79) $ (3,475 40) $ (2,662 23) $ (2,812 11) $ (7,547 66) $ (3,112 26) $ (3,980 81) $ (2,853 18) $ (1,130 21) $ (2,835 04) Total Salaries&Related Expenses $ (216,385 84) $ (215,040 58) $ (17,184 45) $ (16,565.86) $ (16,961 53) $ (16,571 13) $ (17,327 88) $ (16,444 04) $ (17,151 99) $ (17,042 10) $ (17,070 99) $ (16,603 03) $ (16,716 80) $ (29,400 78) Total Partner Expense-Non profit donation $ (1,900 00) $ (3,312 03) $ - $ (1,545 00) $ (250 00) $ (40 00) $ (35 00) $ (800 00) $ (45 00) $ (222 03) $ (250 00) $ (125 00) $ - $ - 1Total Expenses $ (349,868.84) $ (381,162.56) $ (27,101.53) $ (34,057.22) $ (24,470.56) $ (38,259.09) $ (34,242.85) $ (21,928.32) $ (45,770.79) $ (23,948.96) $ (42,833.73) $ (24,633.37) $ (19,420.32) $ (44,495.82) Total Net Ordinary Income $ (2,108.84) $ (59,433.38) $ (21,261.53) $ (23.89) $ (16,530.56) $ (16,109.09) $ 1,390.48 $ 21,481.11 $ (35,600.79) $ (7,113.96) $ 40,966.60 $ (13,533.37) $ 24,097.44 $ (37,195.82) Page 41 of 60 Page 11 BY-LAWS OF THE AUBURN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ARTICLE I GENERAL 1.1 NAME: This organization is incorporated under the laws of the State of Washington and shall be known as the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce, herein referred to as "the Chamber". 1.2 MISSION: The mission of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce is to serve the needs of the membership and the greater Auburn business community by providing leadership, and a forum to promote, enhance, and encourage business growth. 1.3 PURPOSE: The Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce is organized to achieve three objectives: 1) Promote the general welfare and prosperity of the area business community; 2) Preserve the competitive free enterprise system by creating a better understanding and appreciation of the importance of the business community and a concern for their problems; and 3) Support the enhancement and development of the Auburn area as an attractive place to live and do business. 1.4 AREA OF OPERATIONS: The Chamber's area of operations shall include the cities of Auburn, Algona, and Pacific and unincorporated areas in South King County and North Pierce County located within the boundaries of the Auburn School District. 1.5 LIMITATIONS OF METHODS: The Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce shall observe all local,state and federal laws which apply to a non-profit organization as defined in Section 501(c) (6) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. ARTICLE II MEMBERSHIP 2.1 ELIGIBILITY: Any person, firm, association, corporation, partnership, or company having an interest in the objectives of the organization shall be eligible to apply for membership. 2.2 ACCEPTANCE: Applications for membership shall be in writing, on forms provided for that purpose, and signed by the applicant. Acceptance of members shall be by the Board of Directors at any meeting thereof. Any applicant so accepted shall become a member upon payment of annual dues as determined by their category of membership as provided for in Section 2.3 of Article II. 2.3 INVESTMENTS & CATEGORIES OF MEMBERSHIP: Membership investments, by category, shall be at such annual rate or rates, schedule or formula as may be from time to time Page 42 of 60 Page 12 prescribed by the Board of Directors, published in the Chamber's membership application, and made payable in advance. 2.4 CATEGORY OF MEMBERSHIP: Membership categories may be established, deleted, or changed from time to time by a vote of the Board of Directors. 2.5 NOTICE: Notice of establishment, deletion, or change of categories of membership shall be published at the next meeting of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce following the establishment, deletion, or change of such class of membership. 2.6 TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP: a. Any member may resign from the Chamber upon written request to the Board of Directors. b. Any member, regardless of classification, may be expelled from membership for nonpayment of annual dues after ninety (90) days beyond the anniversary date of that membership, by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors present in person at a regular or special meeting. c. Any member, regardless of classification, may be expelled for conduct unbecoming a member after ten (10) days written notice of charges of such conduct and after an opportunity to be heard before the Board of Directors. If expulsion is voted on and passed by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors, any dues paid by the member beyond the current half-year period shall be refunded. d. In the event of the death of a sole proprietor member, any dues paid beyond the current half-year shall be refunded to the estate. 2.7 VOTING PRIVILEGES: Each member in good standing shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote in any proceeding of the Chamber in which voting by members is called. 2.8 EXERCISE OF PRIVILEGES: Any company, partnership or corporation holding membership shall be entitled to designate an individual who shall be entitled to exercise the privilege of membership covered by its subscriptions. Additionally, said member entity shall have the right to change its representative member designation upon written notice. All persons so designated shall vote as individual members. 2.9 ORIENTATION: At least once each year, orientation on the purposes and activities of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce shall be conducted for the directors, officers, committee chairpersons, committees, and new members. A detailed outline for orientation of each of these groups shall be a part of this organization's procedures manual or orientation handbook. ARTICLE III MEETINGS OF MEMBERS Page 43 of 60 Page 13 3.1 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: The annual membership meeting of the corporation, in compliance with the State law, shall be held annually.The time and place shall be fixed by the Board of Directors and notice thereof E-mailed to each member at least ten (10) days before said meeting. 3.2 SPECIAL MEETINGS: a. Special meetings of the members of the Chamber may be called by the Chairman at any time. b. A special general membership meeting may be called upon petition in writing by one third of current members in good standing. c. Notice of a special general membership meeting shall include the purpose for the meeting and be mailed to each member at least seven (7) days prior to such meetings. 3.3 QUORUM: At any duly called general meeting of the Chamber, ten (10) percent of members eligible to vote shall constitute a quorum. 3.4 NOTICES, AGENDAS, and MINUTES: Written notice of all Chamber meetings must be given at least five (5) days in advance, unless otherwise stated. An advance agenda must be prepared for and minutes must be recorded at all meetings. A detailed outline for preparation of both shall be a part of this organization's procedures manual. ARTICLE IV BOARD OF DIRECTORS 4.1 AUTHORITY OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The government of the Chamber of Commerce, direction of its work,the control of its finances and property and the control and direction of its President/CEO shall be vested in a Board of Directors. 4.2 COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD: The Board of Directors shall be composed of up to twenty- one (21) members as follows: the Chair of the Board; the First Vice-Chair; the Second Vice-Chair; the President/CEO; the immediate Past Chair of the Board; a liaison, non- voting member, for the cities of Auburn, Algona and Pacific and the Business Improvement Assessment District(BIA) of Auburn. Provided each of the members are in good standing of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce; and fifteen (15) elected Directors, three (3) to five (5) of whom shall be elected each year by the Membership to serve for three (3) years. Amended 09/2018 4.2.1 Members of the Board of Directors shall serve no more than 2 terms (6 years) consecutive. 4.3 RE-ELECTION: No member of the Board of Directors shall be eligible for re-election until after the lapse of one (1)year from his/her prior term as a director. This restriction does not include membership on the Board resulting from appointment as a director for less Page 44 of 60 Page 14 than one (1) year or membership on the Board as Chair, First Vice-Chair, Second Vice- Chair, or immediate Past Chair of the Board. a. REGULAR MEETINGS. Regular meetings of the Board of Directors for any purpose or purposes will be held in the months of January, March, May, July, September and November at the Chamber offices, virtually, or other designated location as determined by the Board of Directors, the fourth week of the month or as may be modified by the Board of Directors from year to year. b. SPECIAL MEETINGS. Special meetings of the Board of Directors for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time by the Chair, the 1st Vice Chair, or any six directors. c. QUORUM: The majority of all voting Directors, when present at any regular or special meeting, as provided for in Paragraph 4.2 above, shall constitute a quorum. 4.4 ELECTION OF DIRECTORS: The election of Directors shall be held during the month of May each year, on a date designated by the Board of Directors. 4.5 NOMINATION OF DIRECTORS: a. Nominating Procedure: In March, prior to the date of election, the Chair, with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors, shall appoint a nominating committee composed of three (3)-five (5) members. The nominating committee shall include the outgoing Chair, no more than two (2) members from the Board of Directors, and no more than two (2) members from the membership at large. b. At least 30 days before the election, the nominating committee shall file with the Chamber President/CEO a list of three (3) to five (5) members as candidates who have consented to the presentation of their name as candidate for Director for election to the board. Amended 09/2018 c. Publicity of Director Nomination: Upon receipt of the report of the nominating committee, the President/CEO shall, by mail or by email/through the official publication of the Chamber, notify the membership of the nominations at least thirty (30) days before the election. d. Additional Nominations: Additional nominations to the Board of Directors may be made by any member in good standing. Saidadditional nominations shall be made by filing said nominations with the President/CEO within ten (10) days of publication of initial nominations. e. Determination: If no additional nominations are made within the designated period,the nominations shall be closed and the nominated slate of five (5)or more candidates shall be declared nominated to the ballot by the Board of Directors at their regularly scheduled Board meeting. Page 45 of 60 Page 15 f. Ballots: Following the closing of the nomination period and at least fifteen (15) days before the election, the President/CEO shall Send an electronic poll to all members in good standing. Such ballots shall notify the member of the time and date of election and the method and manner of voting. All ballots shall contain the list of nominated candidates in alphabetical order and shall include instructions as to how to cast said vote. 4.6 Termination of Directors: a. Any Director may resign from the Board of Directors upon written request to the Board of Director. b. Any Director may be expelled for conduct unbecoming of a board member after ten (10) days written notice of charges of such conduct and after an opportunity to be heard before the Board of Directors. 4.6 Timeline of Election — March — nominating committee appointed. May — have list of nominees ready. June—elections. July—seat new board members 4.7 EFFECTIVE DATE OF ELECTION AND SEATING OF NEW DIRECTORS: All newly elected Directors shall be seated at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting (July) and shall be vested with the power and authority of a Director. The duties and obligations of all retiring Directors, as well as their powers and authorities, shall automatically cease as of the first day of the month following the expiration of the last operational year of their term. 4.8 Duties of Board members during board member term, they are required: a. To be a partner/member in good standing b. Attend all Board meetings as per the by-laws- 2 misses allowed (Conference call-in ok); c. Attend a minimum of 5 networking or other special events; d. Attend 1 City Council meeting or City/Chamber meeting; e. Participate in one of the Chamber fundraisers and f. Bring a guest to an event once per year. 4.9 Attendance: I. The absence of any Director from three (3)-meetings of the Board, during the operational year and so recorded by the Board of Directors, shall be construed as a resignation from the Board. II. Extenuating circumstances for absence include:maternity/paternity leave and or family or personal illness. Notice must be given to the Board Chair or the Chamber CEO in a timely fashion. III. Any meeting, regular or special, may be held without the physical presence of some or all Directors, by conference/video call or similar communications equipment, as long as all Directors participating in the meeting can hear one another. (moved from 4.4) Page 46 of 60 Page 16 IV. Unavoidable work-related incidents 4.10 Employment: If a person who is on the Board of Directors leaves a member firm, that person may stay on the Board no longer than ninety(90) days. If after ninety (90) days the person has not found employment with another member firm, then the person is no longer eligible to remain on the Board of Directors. 4.11 VACANCIES: The Chair shall appoint, subject to the approval of the Board, any Chamber member to serve the remainder of the term of any director left vacant for any reason. 4.12 POLICY: The Board of Directors is responsible for establishing procedure and formulating the policies of the organization. It is also responsible for adopting all policies of the organization. These policies shall be maintained in a policy manual, to be reviewed annually and revised as necessary. 4.13 DIVISIONS: The Board of Directors shall have the authority to create from time to time and at its discretion such Divisions as it may deem necessary for the governance, policymaking, direction, control, financing, and budgeting of the organization. The Board of Directors shall have the power to set the number, function, limitations, and authority of all said Divisions, and may delegate that power to the Executive Committee. 4.14 MANAGEMENT: The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the hiring of a President/CEO of the Chamber and shall fix the terms, salary, and other conditions and considerations of employment thereof. All said terms, salary, other conditions, and considerations of employment shall be in the form of a written contract; said contract shall be executed by the Chair and President/CEO, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. 4.15 INDEMNIFICATION: The Chamber may, by resolution of the Board of Directors, provide for indemnification by the Chamber of any and all current or former officers, directors, and employees against expenses actually and necessarily incurred by them in connection with the defense of any action, suit, or proceeding in which they or any of them are made parties, or a party, by reason of having been officers, directors, or employees of the Chamber, except in relation to matters as to which such individual shall be adjudged in such action, suit, or proceeding to be liable for negligence or misconduct in the performance of duty and to such matters as shall be settled by agreement predicated on the existence of such liability for negligence or misconduct. 4.16 COMPENSATION: No part of the funds received by the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce shall inure to the benefit of or be distributable to its members, directors, officers, or other persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for staff payrolls and business services rendered and to make payments and distributions for furtherance of purposes set forth above. Page 47 of 60 Page 17 4.17 ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY AND LIMITATION ON POWERS OF THE BOARD: The Directors may receive and accept property, whether real, personal, by way of gift, devise or grant from any person, firm, trust, foundation, corporation, or governmental body or agency, to be held, administered, and disposed of, in accordance with and pursuant to the provision of these By-Laws and the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce Articles of Incorporation; but no gift, grant, or devise of any property shall be received and accepted if it be conditioned or limited in such manner as shall require the disposition of the income or principal to any person or organization other than a "charitable" organization, or for other than "charitable purposes" within the meaning of such terms as defined by the Internal Revenue Service, or shall, in the opinion of the Directors, jeopardize federal income tax exemptions of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce pursuant to section 501 (c) (6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as now or afterwards amended. ARTICLE V OFFICERS (REVIEW) 5.1 DETERMINATION OF OFFICERS: The Board of Directors, at the regular July meeting shall reorganize for the coming year. The Nominating Committee for Directors shall submit candidates for officers each year. It is recommended, but not required, there be at least two candidates for each officer position. At this meeting,the Board shall elect, by written ballot,the Chair, 1st Vice-Chair, and_2nd Vice-Chair.The Chair, 1st Vice-Chair, and 2nd Vice- Chair shall be elected from members of the Board. At least thirty (30) days before the election of the offices of Chair, 1st Vice Chair and 2nd Vice Chair, the nominating committee shall file with the Chamber President/CEO a list of candidates who have consented to the presentation of their name as candidate for election to the officer positions. The Board of Directors, at its regular July meeting shall complete the reorganization for the coming year. The Nominating Committee for Directors shall submit candidates for the Vice Chair of Finance and as many additional Divisional Vice Chair as is deemed necessary to conduct the activities of the Chamber. It is recommended, but not required, there be at least two candidates for each Vice Chair position. At this meeting, the Board shall elect, by written ballot, the Vice Chair of Finance and any additional Divisional Vice Chair. All other Divisional Vice-Chair, including the Vice-Chair of Finance, shall be elected from the new Board. At least thirty (30) days before the election of the offices of Vice Chair of Finance and all other Divisional Vice Chair, the nominating committee shall file with the Chamber President/CEO a list of candidates who have consented to the presentation of their name as candidate for election to these officer positions. All officers shall take office on the first day of the new calendar year, January, and serve for a term of one (2) years or until their successors assume the duties of office. Page 48 of 60 Page 18 5.2 TERM OF OFFICE: All officers shall be elected for two (2) years which shall be the operational years immediately following their election. No installation meeting or other formality shall be required, but all officers shall be seated and shall automatically become vested with the power and authority of their respective offices on the first day of the month following the election and their duties and obligations shall commence at the same time. The duties and obligations of all retiring officers, as well as their powers and authorities, shall automatically cease as of the same time. 5.3 VACANCIES: Vacancies occurring among the officers of the Board of Directors shall be filled by the Board of Directors upon majority vote for the unexpired term. 5.4 SALARY: None of the elected officers shall receive any salary or compensation. 5.5 SUCCESSION: If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Chair, during the operational years, the First Vice Chair shall succeed him or her for the unexpired term; if a vacancy thereafter occurs, the Second Vice Chair shall succeed to the chairmanship for the unexpired term. 5.6 DUTIES: a. CHAIR: The Chair shall be the chief executive officer of the Chamber and its official spokesperson along with the President/CEO. The Chair, or his/her designee,shall preside at all meetings of the membership. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors, and of the Executive Committee and shall perform such duties as the Board of Directors may require. The Chair shall, with the advice and counsel of the Vice Chair(s), and subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, determine all committees, select all committee chairs and assist in the selection of committee personnel. The Chair shall execute such papers as required by his/her signature and shall exercise supervisory control over the officers of the Chamber. The Chair shall additionally be an "ex-officio" member of all committees established by the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. b. 1ST AND 2ND VICE-CHAIR: The Duties of the 1st and 2nd Vice-Chair shall be such as their titles by general usage would indicate, and such as required by law, as well as those that may be assigned by the Chair or Board of Directors. The 1st and 2nd Vice- Chair may simultaneously hold the office of a Divisional Vice-Chair. c. VICE CHAIR OF FINANCE: The Vice-Chair of Finance shall be responsible to the Board of Directors for the conduct of the Chamber's financial affairs and shall assist the Chairman in such other matters as may be necessary. The Vice-Chair of Finance shall be responsible for the safeguarding of all funds received by the Chamber and for their proper disbursement. Such funds shall be kept on deposit in a financial institution, or invested in a manner approved by the Board of Directors. Checks in excess of$500 are to be signed by the President/CEO and the Vice-Chair of Finance and in the absence of either or both, by any of the following authorized signatories: Chair,Vice Page 49 of 60 Page 19 Chair of Finance, President/CEO, Immediate Past Chair, and 15t Vice-Chair. Checks for an amount less than $500 may be signed by either the President/CEO or Vice- Chair of Finance or any one of the authorized signatories if the President/CEO or Vice-Chair of Finance is not readily available. The Vice-Chair of Finance shall cause a monthly financial report to be made to the Board. Amended 8/23/16 d. ONLINE BANKING POLICY-The Chair, Vice-Chair of Finance, President/CEO or other authorized representative from the Executive Committee is authorized to use online bill pay to pay the debts that are directly related to the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. One click signature is required for any item up to $500. Any amount over $500 will require a two click approval through the online banking portal. Online bill pay may not be used for amounts of $4000 or more or above $4000. Full access to the online banking system is granted to all signors on the account. All financial oversight of the corporation remains the responsibility of the Vice-Chair of Finance. e. DIVISIONAL VICE-CHAIR: The Duties of the Divisional Vice-Chair shall be such as their titles by general usage would indicate, and such as required by law, as well as those that may be assigned by the Chair and Board of Directors. The Divisional Vice Chair will also have under their immediate jurisdiction all committees pertaining to their general duties. Each Divisional Vice-Chair shall assist in the conduct of general Chamber affairs as required by the Chair or Board of Directors and shall supervise such specialized activities as may be assigned to him/her by the Chair or the Board of Directors. f. PRESIDENT/CEO: The President/CEO shall be the chief paid administrative and operations officer. The President/CEO shall serve as Secretary to the Board of Directors, and cause to be prepared notices, agendas, and minutes of meetings of the Board. The President/CEO shall serve as advisor to the Chair on program planning, and shall assemble information and data and cause to be prepared special reports as directed by the Program of Work Committee of the Chamber. The President/CEO shall be a voting member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, and shall be an "ex-officio" member of all committees. With assistance of the divisional Vice Chair, the President/CEO shall be responsible for administration of the program of work in accordance with the policies and regulations of the Board of Directors. The President/CEO shall be responsible for contracting, hiring, discharging, directing, and supervising all employees and contractors. Page 50 of 60 Page 110 With the cooperation of the Executive Committee the President/CEO shall be responsible for the preparation of an operating budget covering all activities of the Chamber, subject to approval of the Board of Directors. The President/CEO shall also be responsible for all expenditures. g. Secretary: The President/CEO of the Chamber or designee shall act as Secretary of the Chamber and shall keep the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors, of the members, and of the Executive Committee. The Secretary shall keep such other records as the Board of Directors may require. In addition, he/she shall maintain such records as may be necessary to show the membership of the Chamber. 5.7 EMPLOYMENT: The President/CEO shall serve for such period of time and shall be paid an annual salary, as the Board of Directors shall determine. For purpose of this provision, all conditions of employment shall be contained in a contract of employment to be executed by the Chair of the Chamber and the Secretary/President/CEO, as described in Article IV, Section 4.13. 5.8 BONDING: At the discretion of the Executive Committee the President/CEO and all staff may be bonded in amounts approved by the Board of Directors and the fee or fees of such bond(s) shall be paid by the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. ARTICLE VI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 6.1 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the elected officers, the immediate Past Chair, and the President/CEO. The Executive Committee shall meet subject to call of the Chair. It shall have the authority and power of the Board of Directors to act in the interim between meetings of the Board, but all action of the Executive Committee shall be subject to review by the Board of Directors. A majority of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum. ARTICLE VII COMMITTEES 7.1 APPOINTMENT AND AUTHORITY: The Chair, by and subject to the approval of the appropriate Divisional Vice-Chair and the Board of Directors, shall have the authority to appoint all committees and committee chairpersons. The Chair may appoint such committees and task forces, and chairpersons as deemed necessary to carry out the program of the Chamber. Committee and task force appointments shall be at the will and pleasure of the Chair. Committees and task forces shall serve concurrent with the term of the appointing Chair, unless a different term is approved by the Board of Directors. It shall be the function of committees and task forces to make investigations, conduct Page 51 of 60 Page 111 studies and hearings, make recommendations to the Board of Directors,and carry on such activities as may be delegated to them by the Board. 7.2 TESTIMONY: Once committee or task force action has been approved by the Board of Directors or the Executive Committee, it shall be incumbent upon the committee Chair or in the Chair's absence, a committee person familiar enough with the issue to give testimony, or make presentations of the same, as necessary or when required. ARTICLE VIII AUTHORITY & RESTRICTIONS 8.1 No action by any member, task force, committee, division, employee, director, or officer shall be binding upon or constitute an expression of the policy of the Chamber until it shall have been approved or ratified by the Board of Directors or the Executive Committee when acting within its authority as provided in Article VI. Page 52 of 60 Page 112 ARTICLE IX PROPERTY AND FUNDS 9.1 DIRECTORS' POWER REGARDING REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY: The Board of Directors shall, by 2/3 majority have the power to purchase, hold, sell, lease, mortgage, or exchange real estate or other personal property required for conducting the affairs of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. 9.2 DIRECTORS' POWER REGARDING FUNDS: The Board of Directors, by 2/3 majority shall have the power to authorize the solicitation of funds, to incur debt, borrow money and to pledge the credit of this organization in order to expedite or finance activities designated to carry out the purposes of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. ARTICLE X FISCAL & OPERATIONAL YEAR 10.1 TERM: The fiscal year and the operational year of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce shall commence on July 1 and shall end on June 30 of the succeeding calendar year. ARTICLE XI REFERENDUM 11.1 The Board of Directors may, from time to time, submit by referendum to the entire membership of the Chamber, questions of general interest and of special importance. ARTICLE XII AMENDMENTS 12.1 AMENDMENTS BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS: These By-Laws may be amended or repealed at any regular meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors, provided majority of Board members present vote in favor of such amendment or repeal,and provided further, that copies of the proposed By-Laws changes be furnished to each member/partner via email at least twenty-one (21) days preceding the meeting at which such proposed changes are to be adopted or rejected. The approved By-law change shall be distributed to the General Membership by any reasonable means of communication within 30 days of Board Approval. ARTICLE XIII Page 53 of 60 Page 113 PARLIMENTARY PROCEDURE 13.1 PROCEDURE: The proceedings of the Chamber meetings shall consist of the framework of the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order. The elected Chair of the organization will determine the extent that the rules are to be followed when such rules are not consistent with the Charter or Bylaws of the Chamber. ARTICLE XIV EMPLOYER 14.1 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: The Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce shall observe all local, state, and federal laws, which apply to a nonprofit organization as defined in Section 501 (c) (6) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. The Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce shall be known as an equal opportunity employer and shall not discriminate in any manner on the basis of race, sex, creed, age, gender, ethnic background, sensory, or physical ability. ARTICLE XV DISSOLUTION 15.1 The Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce shall continue in perpetuity unless sooner dissolved by a three-fourths vote of all of its members, or by operation of law. Upon dissolution, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provisions for the payment of all liabilities and debts of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce, dispose of all of the assets of the corporation and distribute the same to Auburn area charities. Page 54 of 60 AUBURN AREA CONNECT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BO January 2024-December 2024 Name Title/Position Email address Business Cell Phone# Phone# Term Date Jacket/1 Birthdate Connect Project(s) Kacie Bray CEO/President kacie@auburnareawa.org Auburn Area Chamber 253 203-5577 253 833 0700 xs 7-Mar _Richard Stirgus Chair rstirgus@tapcocu.org Tapco Credit Union 775 745-5626 2026 XL 10-Jan Kristina Pressley Past Chair Kristina@keyrecovery.org Key Recovery 405 596-1406 2026 L 3-Aug Gala Committee _David Larsen 1st Vice Chair dlarsen@greenriver.edu Green River College 253 833-9111 x3307 2026 XL 13-Feb Golf Tournament Patti Worley 2nd Vice Chair patti.worley@fastsigns.com FASTSIGNS Auburn 253 394-0600 2026 XXL 14-Sep _Lacey Katz Vice Chair of Finance Ikatz@spinosoreg.com The Outlet Collection Seattle 253 381-9066 253 833-1790 2026 M 3-Aug Gala Committee _Phil Ziegler Board Member philz@emeralddowns.com Emerald Downs 337 564-2275 253 288-7004 2024 L 12-Sep _Rich White Board Member richard.a.white7@boeing.com Boeing 206 856-6305 2024 _Marissa Flannery Board Member mars.m.flannery@gmail.com SEELEY Media 253 561-4994 2025 S 3-Aug Gala Event Carl McCauley Board Member carl.mccauley@daveandbusters.corr Dave and Busters 580 504-5961 253 258-3610 2025 XL 14-Oct Golf Tournament _Brad Thompson Board Member brad.thompson@vrfa.org VRFA 253 293-8917 253 288-5800 2025 M 3-Dec Paris King Board Member paris.king@veritycu.com Verity Credit Union 206 641-2844 2025 XXL 7-Aug VACANT Board Liaison - BIA Dana Hinman Board Liaison -City dhinman@auburnwa.gov City of Auburn Auburn Connect Staff Sandy Roscoe Accounting& Bookkeeping accounts@auburnareawa.org 253 988-4486 253 833 0700 6-Apr Eliie Chowen Connect Coordinator connect@auburnareawa.org 253 263-9665 253 833-0700 23-Sep Executive Committee Page 55 of 60 Project Lead ?? EM 6/1 EM 6/1 EM 6/1 EM 6/1 NO NO EM 6/1 Ad Page 56 of 60 Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting 12/04/2024 In attendance in person and via zoom: Richard Stirgus, David Larsen, Patti Worley, Kacie Bray, Phil Ziegler, Rich White, Mars Flannery, Carl McCauley, Paris King and Sandy Roscoe Richard called the meeting to order at 10:04 AM 1) Finances-Kacie • Checking- $28797, Savings - $50007, 12 month CD - $31543, 6 month CD - $20076 for a total Chamber of$130423. ACSEP is at$15668 -we will pay George in December$2167 • There are 2 payrolls and other misc. bills to pay before the end of the month totaling $19k • We are in good shape right now 2) Events-Kacie • Today from 3-5 at Dave and Busters is our December Business Connect Event • Carl is providing the appetizers and if you preregistered we will give you a drink ticket • There will be lots of prizes, games, crafts, a photo booth and good food! • 54 people RSVP'd -we hope many of the Board will come • We have a small Christmas gift for each of you showing our appreciation • The City's Santa parade and tree lighting is this Saturday from 3-4:30 PM • We will have a photo booth set up at the office at that tie where Kacie and Ellie will take pictures and collect emails to give Explore Auburn more exposure before the end of the year • December 17th is the SSCCLC Legislative Breakfast at Dave and Busters at 7 AM • Many of our local legislators attend -good way to make connections • January Business Connect event will be on January 8 at GRC Trades department from 3-5 PM • Opportunity to learn more about what they offer in their different departments • There are scholarships that are not being taken advantage of-the hope is that this will help • connect businesses to this great program and all it has to offer • Invite other businesses- it is a great facility 3) City of Auburn- Kacie (Dana not available) • Explore Auburn Board meetings have had some changes-Jeff Tate wanted the board meetings held by us at our office for multiple reasons which we have been doing the last 2.5 years. • He did not take code action to make this actionable moving forward. New City attorney- who is also the Mayor of Lakewood and on the Lakewood LTAC Board -sees things differently and has requested us to follow what he is currently doing in the City of Lakewood. Page 57 of 60 • Much discussion around this topic, Vote to move forward requesting LTAC dollars. All board members present approve the request. • We also have a new way to submit our contract—and a different way we will be getting paid. Updates to follow. • There will be $32K in outstanding monies from the City that will not hit our bank account until January. • Hotel stays have increased over the last 3 years since we have taken over Tourism • We are also not going to be the entity writing the checks for LTAC grants—the City must do that as well according to the City Attorney. • We will still ask for the full$155K as expenses have gone up. • Kacie will present her recap to the City Council in January—showcasing our accomplishments • The Economic Development contract for$25K, plus the $2500 for Connect events, will not have any changes as far as we are aware of. • The Mayor's Christmas party is Wednesday on 12/18 from 5-7 PM at Jr Achievement • This is a great event with good food and fun activities • Dana is working on the legislative priorities for the City • After they are presented to the Council and approved, she will share them to us 4) Leadership Institute—Kacie • We have 10 students from all different types of businesses—we gave one scholarship this year • George has the classes going strong with a good mix of people • We would love to have a minimum of 15 people so we could give 2 scholarships • Get the word out to other businesses that might send someone next time 5) Chamber Board—Kacie • We had no applications this year so there was no one to vote on • We like to do a hard push at the end of the year so new members can attend the planning meeting in January • We have several openings, and we can bring someone on anytime during the year • If you have any prospects, please send them on to Kacie • The 2025 Board planning meeting will probably be the 4th Wednesday of January • The Executive Committee will be working further on this • The Executive Board at the last executive meeting made the decision to start 2025's meetings in February and go every other month —this will avoid having meetings during our 2 busiest months -July and September— NHRA and golf • The Executive Committee will meet 1/ hour before the Board meeting, rather than have a separate meeting • Kacie will be sending meeting invites soon 6) Holiday office closure 12/19-01/01 • The 3 of us will be out of the office for those days. • We will check our emails and phone messages • Please call Kacie if anything urgent which immediate attention comes up Page 58 of 60 Meeting adjourned at 10:29AM Page 59 of 60 Form W_9 Request for Taxpayer Give form to the (Rev.March 2024) Identification Number and Certification requester.Do not Department of the Treasury send to the IRS. Internal Revenue Service Go to www.irs.gov/FormW9 for instructions and the latest information. Before you begin.For guidance related to the purpose of Form W-9,see Pfirpos,:of Form,below. 1 Name of entity/individual.An entry is required.(For a sole proprietor or disregarded entity,enter the owner's name on line 1,and enter the business/disregarded entity's name on line 2.) kA\ IA Pr re. CN 4 ` 04 C Yv►UN 2 Business name/disregarded entity name,if different from above. M 3a Check the appropriate box for federal tax classification of the entity/individual whose name is entered on line 1.Check 4 Exemptions(codes apply only to o only one of the following seven boxes. certain entities,not individuals; a see instructions on page 3): c ❑ Individual/sole proprietor M/C corporation ❑ S corporation ❑ Partnership ❑ Trust/estate • y ❑ LLC.Enter the tax classification(C=C corporation,S=S corporation,P=Partnership) . . . . Exempt payee code(if any) a o Note:Check the"LLC"box above and,in the entry space,enter the appropriate code(C,S,or P)for the tax ▪ o classification of the LLC,unless it is a disregarded entity.A disregarded entity should instead check the appropriate Exemption from Foreign Account Tax o 2 box for the tax classification of its owner. Compliance Act(FATCA)reporting ❑ Other(see instructions) code(if any) a • 3b If on line 3a you checked"Partnership"or"Trust/estate,"or checked"LLC"and entered"P"as its tax classification, (Applies lies to accounts maintained d and you are providing this form to a partnership,trust,or estate in which you have an ownership interest,check a this box if you have any foreign partners,owners,or beneficiaries.See instructions ❑ outside the United States.) rn 5 r�Address(number,street,and apt.or suite no.).See instructions. Requester's name and address(optional) co mac.(o 9, Mn i JI. "Sik— 6 City,state,and ZIP code PM,btn.rIn 1t.P - . '11,bo 2 7 List account number(s)hire(optional) • Part I Taxpayer Identification Number(TIN) I Enter your TIN in the appropriate box.The TIN provided must match the name given on line 1 to avoid Social security number backup withholding.For individuals,this is generally your social security number(SSN).However,for a resident alien,sole proprietor,or disregarded entity,see the instructions for Part I,later.For other I —Il entities,it is your employer identification number(EIN).If you do not have a number,see How to get a or TIN,later. f Employer identification number Note:If the account is in more than one name,see the instructions for line 1.See also What Name and I 1 _ I �I 'q Number To Give the Requester for guidelines on whose number to enter. v I` Q9 Z Part II Certification Under penalties of perjury,I certify that: 1.The number shown on this form is my correct taxpayer identification number(or I am waiting for a number to be issued to me);and 2.I am not subject to backup withholding because(a)I am exempt from backup withholding,or(b)I have not been notified by the Internal Revenue Service(IRS)that I am subject to backup withholding as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends,or(c)the IRS has notified me that I am no longer subject to backup withholding;and 3.I am a U.S.citizen or other U.S.person(defined below);and 4.The FATCA code(s)entered on this form(if any)indicating that I am exempt from FATCA reporting is correct. Certification instructions.You must cross out item 2 above if you have been notified by the IRS that you are currently subject to backup withholding because you have failed to report all interest and dividends on your tax return.For real estate transactions,item 2 does not apply.For mortgage interest paid, acquisition or abandonment of secured property,cancellation of debt,contributions to an individual retirement arrangement(IRA),and,generally,payments other than interest and dividends,you are not required to sign the certification,but you must provide your correct TIN.See the instructions for Part II,later. Here• I u.s. to Date 10 I'2U 2 I u.s.pe General Instructions New line 3b has been added to this form.Aflow-through entity is required to complete this line to indicate that it has direct or indirect Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise foreign partners,owners,or beneficiaries when it provides the Form W-9 noted. to another flow-through entity in which it has an ownership interest.This Future developments.For the latest information about developments change is intended to provide a flow through entity with information related to Form W-9 and its instructions,such as legislation enacted regarding the status of its indirect foreign partners,owners,or after they were published,go to www.irs.gov/FormW9. beneficiaries,so that it can satisfy any applicable reporting requirements.For example,a partnership that has any indirect foreign What's New partners may be required to complete Schedules K-2 and K-3.See the Partnership Instructions for Schedules K-2 and K-3(Form 1065). Line 3a has been modified to clarify how a disregarded entity completes this line.An LLC that is a disregarded entity should check the Purpose of Form appropriate box for the tax classification of its owner.Otherwise,it An individual or entity(Form W 9 requester)who is required to file an should check the"LLC"box and enter its appropriate tax classification. information return with the IRS is giving you this form because they Cat.No.10231X Form W-9(Rev.3-2024) Page 60 of 60