City of Columbia Missouri City Manager's Office

P.O. BOX 6015 COLUMBIA, MO 65205

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 21, 2020

CONTACT: Steven Sapp
Community Relations Director
City of Columbia
[email protected]

Statement from City Manager John Glascock regarding Holiday Inn Executive Center management change and Boone County Commissioner Fred Parry's commentary

(COLUMBIA, MO) -

"On Tuesday, we learned that the management of the Holiday Inn Executive Center, a staple in the Columbia hotel and convention industry for over 30 years, would transfer from Executive Hotel Management to Driftwood Hospitality Management. The new management company has indicated they are excited to become part of Columbia’s hotel and convention providers and announced there would be no closure of the facility. Driftwood manages more than 70 hotels under 20 brands across the United States. Ed and Kathy Baker, who are part of the management team for Executive Hotel Management, also announced they would no longer retain a residence at the Executive Center. We appreciate Ed and Kathy’s contributions to our community and we wish them the very best in their future endeavors.

On Tuesday afternoon, Boone County Commissioner Fred Parry posted to his Facebook account a lengthy commentary regarding the closure of the Executive Center and made a number of statements which I would like to correct or add context too. Much of the post centered around the health orders currently in place to protect our community from the highly infectious coronavirus to which there is no vaccine or approved therapeutic drugs. 

To be clear, the pandemic has been very difficult for hotels and convention centers to navigate locally as well as across our state and country. While some industries were able to adapt to local health regulations and changes in human behavior due to the pandemic, the lodging industry simply must rely on people being present to conduct business.

I am proud of the cooperative agreement the City of Columbia and Boone County entered into many years ago to have a world-class accredited public health department providing direction and services to Columbia and Boone County. I am also proud of how our health and human services teams have worked with large and small businesses in Columbia and Boone County to find solutions which allow businesses to operate, with some restrictions, while protecting the health of the community and the employees of those businesses. 

Since the pandemic was declared, Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) has issued 13 health orders for both Columbia and Boone County. While the City Council and Boone County Commission do not vote to adopt each order, I am told Commissioner Parry has supported each order.  

Since the initial emergency order was enacted on March 16, our Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services department has conducted almost 1,500 interactions with local businesses to provide guidance. These interactions include phone calls, meetings, emails and site visits to ensure each business has ample access to make safe business plans.

It is important to note that 11 of those interactions were directly with the management of the Holiday Inn Executive Center. One of the largest events since the start of the pandemic was held at the Executive Center in July when the Missouri Bar Association administered the Bar Exam to more than 600 people. This event alone involved dozens of hours of interactions including site visits to the Executive Center by PHHS so the exam could be conducted safely. 

For Commissioner Parry to suggest we did not work with the management of the Executive Center is simply wrong. In addition to providing business guidance when requested, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce hosted a meeting with local health officials and leaders. The Columbia Hospitality Association invited health officials to one of their meetings as well. The Executive Center was represented in at least one of those meetings by a member of the management team. The Convention and Visitors Bureau is hosting another meeting this week where health department leaders will be present. 

At the request of Commissioner Parry, Scott Clardy, assistant director of Public Health and Human Services, reached out to Mr. Baker to discuss his concerns with the local health ordinance. Unfortunately, Mr. Baker did not return Mr. Clardy’s call. Mr. Baker did not reach out personally to me or Mayor Brian Treece requesting a meeting. Had he done so, we would have met with him to discuss his concerns. 

Commissioner Parry also stated that Columbia Public Schools would lose almost $300,000 in property taxes remitted by the Executive Center. This is also incorrect. The facility remains open, and even if it closed, the owner would be responsible for paying the property taxes, regardless of who they are. The Executive Center remits to the City of Columbia, on average, $30,000 a month in combined utilities. In reviewing the account, that continues to be the case despite the downturn in business. 

Commissioner Parry seemingly indicated he feels that PHHS has overreacted with the health orders as they pertain to local business. I am told that Commissioner Parry has not voiced objections to each of the 13 health orders, although the County Commission does not take a formal vote like the Columbia City Council does. It’s interesting to me that in the Columbia Missourian’s Candidate Q&A, Commissioner Parry gave PHHS an A+ for their handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

The City of Columbia values the health and well-being of all of our residents, visitors, students and businesses. Additionally, we know our small and locally-owned businesses are vital to our community’s success. We work tirelessly to protect the public health of everyone while balancing that with the short-term economic impact. We want our community and businesses to be able to remain open and not have to revert back to another stay at home order or full closure.  

We are a resilient community. We will get through this together."



City of Columbia Vision
Columbia is the best place for everyone to live, work, learn and play.

City of Columbia Mission
To serve the public equitably through democratic, transparent and efficient government.

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