The candidates for the four open Ocean Shores City Council seats focused on business-related topics last week at a forum sponsored by the Ocean Shores/North Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Questions ranged from staking out differing views of the proposed Point Brown Avenue redesign project to the management of the Convention Center. All four races were represented, although only Steve Ensley appeared in the Council Position 5 race, with former Councilman Randy Scott absent during the question-and-answer forum attended by about 65 people.

Moderator Miles Longenbaugh of Edward Jones Financial Services in Ocean Shores asked the first question that all candidates responded to: “What role should the city have, and what role should the business community have in promoting tourism in Ocean Shores?”

Council Position 7

Carlos Roldan: “The city needs to look at doing more social media … use the technology. We have to figure out how we can get somebody to work for our city who has that knowledge.”

“As for the business community, the same thing. We need the businesses to start focusing on social media. … But the city needs to bring the people in here first so they can go to your stores.”

On another issue, whether nightly rentals should be expanded, Roldan was in favor of the idea: “We need those people to do some of the things that the hotels won’t be doing.” He also favored the expansion of camping limits on properties: “I think they are a vital part to our community.”

“We need to keep them knowing that they are not going to be in jeopardy,” Roldan said of property owners who use their lots for recreation and vacation.

Bob Crumpacker: “The real issue is, how does the city get more people here? One of the answers lies within this building (the Convention Center). The Pinnacle report brought out that we need to have a dedicated sales person to market this facility. Depending on whose numbers you want to believe, this facility generates between $ 7 million to $10 million a year in economic activity to Ocean Shores. If we can increase that number, put more heads in beds, put more people in our shops, get more people in Ocean Shores enjoying our fresh waterways, enjoying the ocean, enjoying the fact that we have a great quality of life here, that’s one way we can do it.”

On the business side of the question, Crumpacker advocated continuing the advertising campaign already underway with the city: “The advertising side of it has been a cooperative effort the past few years, and I think that’s a good venture.” He said the issue of nightly rentals was one of zoning and that there are zones that permit it now; and Crumpacker supported extending so-called RV camping limits from 90 to 180 days with proper permits.

Council Position 5

Steve Ensley: “The city needs to continue to represent itself as a desirable location to come to. The Point Brown (Ave.) proposition has a raised much interest, and a key point of that beyond safety is the appearance of the city. So as a city, we should be continuing to try to improve our downtown district to make this a place that when people come here a tourists they can find the sidewalks, they can find the businesses. The Convention Center is a key element that we invest in as a city. … It does bring tremendous economic value to the city. It can be better run, we have known that for 10 or 12 years. The solution is to bring in outside professional management.”

Asked if he supported the formation of a Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) to support marketing dollars for Ocean Shores, Ensley noted the decision was largely out of the city’s hands: “Personally, I would support it, but the formation of a TPA is solely at the discretion of the larger hotel units in town. … It is a way they can add a maxium of $2 per room night, that is passed through the state back to us for a dedicated purpose. That is one of the ways we can create advertising dollars to promote the city and tourism in Ocean Shores.”

Council Position 3

Shannon Rubin: “I believe the city has a duty to market itself and to bring itself into the current times. If you look at any of the current marketing for the city, we’re using ads of kids on driftwood that look like they are from the 1980s. The website is not enhanced, it’s out of date and it does absolutely nothing to draw anyone who is technologically advanced into the city. We don’t use social media. We don’t use Facebook ads. There’s a lot we don’t do and that we can expand upon. These are very inexpensive solutions.”

Rubin, general manager of the Canterbury Inn, also noted: “Businesses have a responsibility to market themselves. I don’t look for the city to bring heads into my beds, because quite honestly, what the Convention Center is doing right now are glorified craft fairs. I’m sorry, but you can only go to so many craft fairs before they get tiresome.”

On another issue, whether the city should amend its policy against vending on the beach, Rubin said she does “see how it can be detrimental to some businesses. However, if we came up with a cooperative type agreement or included business, I do think we have room for improvement.”

Lisa Griebel: “I believe it’s our city and our businesses’ responsibility to market the community. I agree that our social media presence could be better, and our website could be improved. We could reach hundreds of thousands of people in a better way. I do believe that our Convention Center is an economic generator, and is a way to bring people to town.”

Griebel also cited the city’s report on Convention Center operations by the Pinnacle Group consulting firm: “The Pinnacle report was quite clear that we as a city need to decide is this a civic center or a convention center. And we are at the cusp where we have to decide and make tough decisions.” On the issue of allowing vending on the beaches, Griebel would “be supportive of it if it were done in a process that involves everyone in the conversation, and that our businesses have an opportunity to be part of that.”

Council Position 1

John Lynn: “The responsibility is not an either/or but a joint responsibility. The city needs to understand that we take the lead in marketing — not only the Convention Center, but the city itself. We have to have a strong marketing program ourselves. The Convention Center needs to have its own marketing. … It takes a long time to break into the convention business, but we need a marketing person here who will market this facility and market it strong, and we can understand that our businesses benefit and also need to help out as we market. … We need to look at ways to make the city more attractive and the Convention Center more competitive.”

On the issue of funding a sales director for the Convention Center, Lynn noted there was not enough money in revenue collected from the facility to currently support such a salary and pay the debt on the city-owned facility.

“When the Convention Center was set up prior to its dedication in 2005, the money from the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee was pledged to pay the debt, was pledged to operate the Convention Center, and there wasn’t very much left over,” said Lynn. “That’a a huge amount of money. If we had more money, that would be different. But we don’t.”

Susan Conniry: “I have a slightly different take, and it has to do with the fact that I have spent a great deal of time in the community listening to people — citizens, businesses, tourists. And it surprised me one day when I asked one of the businesses, ‘How important convention events were to their business?’ They said, ‘Well it really isn’t. Because when you have those events at the Convention Center, they don’t come to our shops. So to focus solely on whether we are going to promote the Convention Center is not the right way to go. We have to develop a marketing plan across the board, and it’s time to look at this in a different way.”

On the issue of a sales director for the Convention Center, Conniry was disappointed there were not enough Lodging Tax funds “left over to be used for perhaps what they should be used for. … We can’t make there be any more money to do that unless we market Ocean Shores and bring in more money across the board, and that’s what I would like to see. It’s an economic development movement that we have to come up with.”