President's Message

Dear MCHA Members:

Allow me to take a moment to share some of the proposed activity that has 2007 shaping up as a very busy year for the MCHA and its Membership. But first I would be remiss if we do not publicly thank Michael Becker of the Cannery Row Company for the outstanding job he did as our President in 2006. Mike, thank you for your insightful leadership.

We are a countywide association. In 2007 we will make a special effort to reach out to our new Tourism Improvement District partners from around the county, old and new members alike, to help them understand how important their participation in MCHA, the trade association for Monterey County’s hospitality industry, is to the success of our industry and our organization.

In 2007 MCHA will renew its commitment to pursue affordable housing for our hospitality employees by expanding our relationship with the Community Housing Trust of Monterey County, Inc. and Monterey County Workforce Housing, Inc. MCHA has had a member on the boards of these two important organizations and that will continue with increased emphasis. This is an effort that will require the help of every single MCHA member.

Our standing committees have hit the ground running, and plans are well under way for our Annual Dinner Dance being held on March 30th at Rancho Cańada Golf Club.

I look forward to working with each of you this year.

Gary Cursio
Laguna Seca Golf Ranch
 

Government Affairs E-news
Bob McKenzie, Government Affairs Director
February 2007

Water

We may finally be seeing some progress toward securing an augmented Peninsula water supply! Cal Am recently got approval for a pilot desal plant in Moss Landing; with this plant in place, Cal Am and interested parties will be able to see actual results of production and measure needed environmental mitigations for a larger, permanent plant.’

The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District is close to finalizing work on establishing the water needs of the Peninsula area. City and county representatives serving on MPWMD’s Technical Advisory Committee and Policy Advisory Committee (TAC/PAC) have studied this issue carefully; the result will be a definite quantification of what water supply the Peninsula area needs to accommodate residents, businesses, and prospective general plan realizations. When the quantity is established, it will be presented to Cal Am and others so a water supply project can be defined that will accomplish MCHA’s long-time goal of a stable, secure, safe and sufficient water supply.

MPWMD established a Citizen’s Advisory Committee to study all the various water supply project proposals. The CAC will study the proposals and provide feedback to MPWMD on community concerns and desires surrounding developing a water supply project to serve our needs. MCHA will actively participate in this effort.

The Office of Ratepayer Advocate of the Public Utilities Commission is convening a series of Monterey County “stakeholder” meetings in an attempt to forge a consensus about development of a regional water supply solution for areas of Monterey County in desperate need of water supply augmentation. ORA foresees a series of working group meetings through most of 2007. This is a worthy goal, and it’s possible the PUC has the “weight” to succeed. Stay tuned for more on this development.

The Monterey County Water Resources Agency has unveiled a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for establishing a regional water authority for the coastal area of Monterey County. This long-anticipated MOU is being sent to the various governing boards of cities and agencies for review and a decision about providing initial funding to get the proposed authority underway. The proposed regional authority is not intended to replace any existing water districts or agencies and will not exert any control over water supply currently projects currently under development. The aim of this proposed effort is to find a regional water supply solution for deficiencies on the Peninsula and in the northern coast area of Monterey County. The cities and agencies will have 90 days to respond to the proposal.

Taxis

Monterey-Salinas Transit Director of Administration and Government Affairs Co-chair Hunter Harvath is heading up an effort to resolve the issue of whether a regional taxi authority should be established. This is a follow-on to an idea MCHA worked on over five years ago. The MCHA Board recently agreed to provide a pro rata share of funding for feasibility study to get this project moving. The concept is sound: one authority would be responsible for establishing and implementing standards for driver qualification checks, vehicle inspections and matters related to cab services. As it is now, each city police department has this responsibility and none much like it. The current result is that standards vary and checks and inspections are not uniform or continuous.

About fats, grease and oils

No, not another lecture from the food police! Monterey has been developing a program to curb periodic wastewater systems blockage caused by fats, oil and grease. A draft program, subbed Fats, Oil and Grease Program (FOG) is almost ready to go. The City of Monterey will conduct community meetings so affected and interested parties can review and comment on the draft program. MCHA has bee actively involved in discussions leading up to the program. MCHA’s concern has been that commercial establishments not be unfairly targeted with costs and requirements if residential areas make significant contributions to the problem and should share in the solution.

The county has a new General Plan!

MCHA has been actively involved in the seven plus year struggle to achieve a new county General Plan. As of January 3rd, we have a new plan, but it’s not certain we’ll get to keep it!. Check the MCHA website (www.mcha.net) for more information on this and the General Plan issues that will be on the June 2007 ballot.

Get involved in issues critical to business vitality and viability!!!

The Government Affairs Committee tracks issues critical to the near- and long-term viability and vitality of our businesses and our communities and works hard to assure policies and implemented at the local level are consistent with that goal. Plan to attend a Government Affairs meeting and learn how you can be involved influencing issues of vital concern to our industry and business and community interests generally.

Government Affairs meets the first Thursday of each month at 8:30 am alternating between Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey and the Beach and Tennis Club at Pebble Beach. Once in a while the meeting is rescheduled to a different Thursday to avoid conflicts, so contact Government Affairs Director Bob McKenzie (bobmck@mbay.net or 642-9809) or MCHA Executive Director Bonnie Adams (info@mcha.net or 626-8636) to be sure of the next meeting date and location (or check the MCHA website, where meeting notices and agendas are posted: http://www.mcha.net ).
 

MCHA Education and Training
Betty Hutchins, Co-Chair, Portola Plaza Hotel

This year we are honored to add new people to the committee: Sarah Cruse, General Manger of Quail Lodge; Maureen Doran, General Manager of Moonstone Properties, Karin Wagner, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Meredith Woods, General Manager of Casa Munras Hotel. A great addition to our existing committee of Chair, William Martin, CSUMB; Co-chair, Betty Hutchins, Portola Plaza Hotel; Charlie Hayes, Monterey Airport; Mary Nelson, MPC; Steve Lucas, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Michael Bekker, Cannery Row Company, Bob Buescher, Carmel Mission Inn.
 

Finance Committee
Rolf A. Trautsch, Ph. D., CFP - C & T Financial Services
Chair, Finance Committee

The 2007 budget has been adopted by the Board of Directors, and it is a balanced budget. We did not have to raise dues and are confident that we will have another good year.
 

News

Rolf has been a member of MCHA for 15 years. He joined our Board of Directors in 1996 and has been our Finance Chair since 1998. In addition, Rolf has been a member of the Government Affairs Committee for at least 10 years. He has been MCHA’s representative on the Monterey County Business Political Action Committee since its inception in 2002. Rolf also serves as our Board Liaison with the Monterey County Farm Bureau.

He is a pleasure to work with and we are proud to honor him with “The Hospy”.

Nomination for the Volunteer of the Year award is based on being a Member in good standing; Dedication and tireless effort in supporting the mission of MCHA; and Enthusiastically supporting the events, functions and committees of MCHA.

Other nominees were Amy Baker, Gerard Mattimoe, Ken Rauh, Bob Brower and Marci Bracco.
 

Events

Employee Appreciation Day:
Start getting your teams ready for this fun filled day of friendly competition on June 5th at the Monterey Fairgrounds. More information to come!

2006 Golf Tournament Recap:
The 2006 MCHA Nick Lombardo Memorial Golf Tournament was an enormous success! Del Monte Golf Course donated their beautiful course for the day and delivered fantastic weather. We want to thank our generous sponsors that made this the most successful golf tournament to date:

Major Sponsors, Southern Wine & Spirits, Del Monte Golf Course and KION along with our Specialty and Corporate Sponsors: Lombardo & Gilles, Sam Lindner, Pebble Beach Company, PG&E, Inns of Monterey, Pure Water, Chateau Julien, Bernardus Winery, Cannery Row Company, Mission Linen, Associated Hosts, Monterra, Bio Banc, First National and Foy Peninsula Group. We’d like to thank everyone that sponsored a hole and donated an item for the auction or raffle. Your support was overwhelming and we truly appreciate all you do for MCHA!

We’d also like to congratulate the winning team of Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa who scored a 54.5 and won 1st Place Net. 2nd Place Net went to Swenson & Silacci with a 54.6 and 3rd Place Net was won by Lombardo & Gilles with a score of 54.6. The team of Sardine Factory won 1st Place Gross with a 59.

Also a big thanks to the tournament chairs Gary Cursio, Laguna Seca Golf Ranch and Marci Bracco, Monterra Realty along with their awesome committee of Amy Baker, Marietta Bain, Mark Bastis, Michael Bekker, Nancy Larkin, Ken Lofink, Mia McKee, Baird Pittman, Tish Rogers, Ken Rauh, Michelle Skipwith, Sherri St. Clair and Joseph Violi.

2007 Golf Tournament:
Save the Date of October 15, 2007 for our golf tournament to be held at the newly renovated Carmel Valley Ranch Golf Course. This is a sell out each year so don’t miss out!

2006 Hospitality Recognition Lunch Recap:
The Hospitality Recognition Lunch recognizes all outstanding hourly employees working in the hospitality industry. This year over 700 people attended the event; and over 400 employees were nominated.

We would like to once again congratulate our award winners:  Papa Vince Award Winner Sandra Petricka from the Monterey Marriott for the highest standard of “Excellence in Hospitality”.

Finalists included:

The outstanding supervisor award went to Marge Sanford, Asilomar Conference Grounds.

2007 Hospitality Recognition Lunch:
Mark Your Calendars for the largest Employee Recognition Event of the Year! Join us November 7th at the Monterey Conference Center as we recognize those special employees from 2007!
 

Calendar of Events

Also, don’t forget to check our Website for information about upcoming events! www.mcha.net