2020 Oct 14th - Board of Directors Meeting Minutes 📝
MEETING NOTES
IN ATTENDANCE: Stephen Janes, Katy Rogers, Wayne Kelterer, Nicholas Miller, Riley Slack, Karen Steinwachs, Tim Snider
Item 1: Call to Order
o Meeting called to order (9:04am)
Item 2: Approval Minutes – July 15, 2020 & August 25, 2020
o Katy makes motion, Tim seconds. Minutes approved unanimously
Item 3: Nichole Farley, Civitas Update
o Alison gives update before Nichole joins meeting
o Letter from Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association regarding the Wine Preserve was sent to Michael Ghizzoni, County Counsel for Santa Barbara County
o Letter makes argument that Wine Preserve violates Proposition 26 and an illegal tax
o There will be legal opposition from Santa Barbara Wine County Coalition
o Civitas feels we could proceed to establish Wine Preserve and SBC could win case
o The legal action would come in after the Wine Preserve established (30 day window)
o Assessment would be established and collected, but not distributed until legal action concludes
o No benefit of the assessment during the legal action
o Must determine the appetite of Santa Barbara County and if they want to pursue on our behalf
o Nichole Farley joins Zoom meeting
o Nichole explains the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association opposes all taxes and fees
o Two cases against Prop 26 took place in San Diego and Ontario
o Civitas CEO, John Lambeth feels the argument is weak and there is strong ability to win case
o Santa Barbara County would be named as Defendant and Santa Barbara Vintners as Co-Defendant
o In San Diego case, assessment money was held until litigation was concluded, almost three years
o Depending on outcome, if case is dropped or won, money to Wine Preserve minus any fees, if lost, money returned to wineries after legal fees removed
o In San Diego case, it took three years of litigation and plaintiff dropped
o Ontario case was also dropped
o No legal precedent from either case so unclear of results in our case
o Could be held responsible for opposition’s legal fees
o Nichole is setting up meeting with officials of Santa Barbara County to see how they would like to proceed
o Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association will not be taking legal action, member(s) of coalition most likely since they have standing in the industry
o Other wineries received letter from Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
o Individual wineries are protected from this case
o Length of litigation presents the biggest concern since assessment money would be tied up
o This litigation could create legal precedence which could be used in the forming and renewal of other BIDs
o Nichole feels this is the hardest BID establishment and most negative press seen in her career
o SBV will wait for meeting with SBC to see how we should proceed
o SBV will address membership, tiers and reinventing the organization based on meeting outcome
o SBV Board will meet on October 28, 2020 @ 10am to discuss
Item 4: CEO Updates
o IMW Update & CDFA Grant for 2022
§ SBV will send out updated statistics from IMW regarding marketing campaign
§ We are able to extend current LA grant to May 2021
§ Applying for 2022 grant by October 23rd @ 5pm.
§ Focused on Orange County & San Diego County
o SBV Financials
§ Due to our small business loan, we are funded for rest of 2020
§ Current financial provided to Board of Directors
o 2021 Dues & Membership Renewal
§ New structure may need to be built to unify wine community
§ More production based? Per gallon?
§ New tiers?
§ Purpose: To be as inclusive as possible
§ Create new avenue for advocacy
§ Board will discuss further at October 28th meeting depending on Wine Preserve meeting
o Vintners Festival 2021
§ Due to pandemic concerns, we may need to consider switching to virtual auction
§ Under current conditions, unsure 2,000 person festival will be possible in May, 2021
§ Traditional festival=currently have $20,000 in sponsorship
§ Switch to a passport themed event?
§ SBV will follow re-opening closely and will adjust as needed
Item 5: Individual Board Member Updates
o Wayne: Currently working with Wine Direct POS and would like to involve members that use this vendor as well. Experiencing some limitations and would like to have membership coordinated requests to Wine Direct to have features added.
o Stephen: Wally’s states they are sending a check for Wine Futures 2019. They previously sent to our old mailing address
o Riley: Open seat on Board, as well as open Treasurer role. Should we pursue filling these? Wait for next elections
Item 6: Meeting Adjourned
Meeting adjourned at 11:24pm