New contract for promotions goes to local bidder, IMG

By Bill Reed

VIRGINIA BEACH

The city will award its resort entertainment contract to IMG, an events-management company with offices in Virginia Beach and Portsmouth. The business beat out four competitors for the job, including long-standing pact holder Live Nation.

The announcement came at the Feb. 5 meeting of the Resort Advisory Commission, a scant six days after Live Nation's contract with the city expired. Live Nation is a California-based entertainment conglomerate that took over the beachfront amusement programs in 2005 for an annual fee of $450,000.

The amount of the new contract has yet to be disclosed, due to a legal 10-day period required of the city to receive protests from other bidders and the public, said Mike Eason, head of the city's Resort Management Office.

City officials issued a request for proposal for a new events manager in late September at the recommendation of the Resort Advisory Commission. The move followed the abrupt firing of longtime Beach Events director Bobby Melatti on Aug. 1.

Melatti immediately joined IMG, along with former colleague Mike Hilton, who resigned shortly after Melatti was fired. This means Melatti and Hilton will be back in the saddle overseeing a host of events such as the American Music Festival, Holiday Lights at the Beach and Beach Street USA.

At the time of the shakeup in the events program, Ken MacDonald, a principal in IMG, said his company would probably seek the Beach contract if an agreement with Live Nation was not renewed.

"CARD CHECK" ACT OPPOSED

The Virginia Beach Hotel-Motel Association opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the "card check act," now before Congress. Association leaders say it would give unions a toehold in resort hotel operations by simply gathering signatures of a handful of the employees at any establishment.

In fact, the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, representing the lodging and restaurant industry across the state, is lobbying against the law change, said Vern Burlage, newly elected president of the association.

"The card check act will do away with elections by secret ballot," Burlage told a late January meeting of the Beach association, which represents some 85 hotels and motels in the city.

"Employees can sign cards and everybody will know how they voted," he said. " Secret ballot is the way to avoid group pressure and intimidation. There's no minimum membership requirement and it targets small businesses, especially hotels."

Under current law, the U.S. Labor Relations Board can certify a union as exclusive representatives of employees if a majority of them sign petitions for a ballot. If more than 30 percent of employees in a company or organization sign statements seeking union representation, the labor board would then schedule an election.

Under proposed legislation, the Board would be required to certify a wage and benefits bargaining unit without an election, if a majority of employees sign cards indicating they want to be represented by a union.

The Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association has distributed form letters that state hoteliers and restaurant operators can mail to their Congressional representatives expressing hostility to the legislation.

The act "will severely diminish the ability of our members' businesses to succeed in a highly competitive market," the association letter declares.

SPSA FUTURE DIM

The Southeastern Public Service Authority, the outfit that picks up trash in eight South Hampton Roads communities, may be headed for the dump as early as April, even if arrangements are made to sell off its assets and refinance its $240 million in debts.

That's what Michael Barrett, a SPSA board member representing Virginia Beach, told the Beach City Council at an informal briefing Feb. 3.

"SPSA will fail if it doesn't set fees high enough to meet its debts," Barrett said. Outstanding bank loans are coming due in the next two months.

The likelihood that all participating communities will agree to higher tipping fees to pay off the debts by April are slim, he said, adding, "SPSA won't last beyond April."

Privatization of the waste management operation is the most practical solution, insisted Councilman Bill DeSteph. "Richmond and Henrico County privatized their waste management and it's working at lower costs than here."

ZIP FOR ROADS

What can Virginia Beach expect in the way of contributions to local road building projects with the nation's economy in the tank?

Answer: Nothing.

So said David Hansen, deputy city manager, at a late January City Council briefing on the status of municipal finances.

"There will be no contributions for road construction from VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation)," Hansen told council members.

"The state cut $105 million in road construction money from the budget. The good news is gas prices are down," he said.

Bill Reed, BchReed34@aol.com