The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutMinutes_CVB_07.13.2005(i4IM EST. 1848 GEORGETOWN TEXAS Convention & Visitors Bureau Board Meeting Minutes l 3, 2005 Present: Kent Huntsman, Martha Lawlor, Ellen Weimer, Holly Bresser, Gaz Green, Randy Lesseps, RC Lumpkin, Linda Rainsdon, Margie Ranc, Betty Ann Sensabaugh Absent: Bill Banks City Staff: Shelly Hargrove Guests: Ellie Skross, Larry McCormick, Bob Weimer 1. Ca11 to Order The meeting was called to order by Kent Huntsman at 6:35 p.m. 2. Minutes Minutes from the June 8, 2005, meeting were reviewed. Betty Ann asked that a correction to her Task Force report (Item 6) be made. The item should read "Volunteers are currently invited to a monthly social with a luncheon in December. Because attendance has been sketchy, the socials will now be held quarterly and lunch will be included." A MOTION was made and seconded to approve the minutes as corrected. (Ranc/Lumpkin) Motion carried. 3. Cooperative Advertising Application Ellie Skross, representing the Downtown Georgetown Association, presented their application for cooperative advertising. DGA is sponsoring pARTicipate, a Texas month of the arts with events planned for the entire month of October. Events included in pARTicipate are: x Fiddlin' Fest, a two day music event on October 1 & 2 x First Friday, October 7 J:ICVS'+Board Cummissicm\Meelings\03-7-13 M doc x Market Days, October 8 x Taste of Georgetown, October 13 x Art Walk, a two day juried art show on October 22 & 23 x Charlie Brown Film Festival on October 29 Grant funds received will be used for advertising outside the 100-mile radius of Georgetown, will concentrate on the two 2-day events, but will tie in the other events as well. Key advertising will appear in Texas Monthly and rack cards will be included in all CVB mailings sent out from mid -August through mid -October. Additional advertising will appear in local newspapers beyond the 100-mile area. The Texas Monthly ad will be in color; the Iocal newspaper ads will be in black & white. The Board asked how much funding was left in the CVB budget. Per Shelly, the balance is $6480. A MOTION was made and seconded to fund the Texas Monthly ad and % of the newspaper buys. This would total $3928.71. (Ranc/Rainsdon) Questions raised in the subsequent discussion included: x What possibility is there that the Board would be receiving any additional funding applications before the end of the budget year? Shelly shared that she has not received any requests for information about the program. x Could the Board leave $500 in the balance and provide the remainder of the funds to DGA? Yes, if the Board so chose. x It was suggested that DGA consider purchasing 2 ads in Texas Monthly, in both the September and the October issues. Because of the timing of the distribution, both issues would drop in time for all the planned events. x It was also suggested that DGA consider placing an ad in Texas Highways. The MOTION was amended and seconded to provide an allocation of $6,000 to the Downtown Georgetown Association and the Williamson County Art Guild to be used for advertising their pARTicipate events with strong consideration given to placing two ads in Texas Monthly. (Ranc/Lumpkin) Motion carried. Ellie thanked the Board for their suggestions and their vote of confidence. She will provide proof copies of the Texas Monthly ad and samples of the rack card at the August meeting. 4. Heritage Trolley Tour and Project 1900 Larry McCormick, member of the Main Street Board and a citizen with a vision, presented his ideas to the Board. Larry has created a concept that, he feels, will establish Georgetown as a travel destination. Using the architecture and Historic District as a backdrop, Project 1900 is a plan to bring artisans common to 1900 to Georgetown . The plan has 4 parts: 1) Develop a trolley line that will connect the major elements of Georgetown (Southwestern University, Downtown Georgetown, Wolf Ranch) to one another; 2) Develop an Artisans Park where these artists could be located; 3) Scatter the artists throughout the Downtown area; and 4) Develop a Visiting Artisans Program J:ICVBIBoard Commisswi .Mcelengs105-7-13 M.dcn With the opening of Wolf Ranch, the Trolley portion of the plan is the most time sensitive. Larry is asking the Board to endorse a plan that will include a joint venture between the City of Georgetown and other interested parties to combine efforts to bring the Trolley into the forefront. Wolf Ranch is very interested in the project. The Downtown Georgetown Association is on board willing to develop a marketing program. Capital Area Transit System (CARTS) owns the trolley and will lease it to the City. Costs to provide the service for 6 hours a day/6 days a week at $60.00 an hour total $112,000. It is hoped that that cost will be shared between the City of Georgetown and Wolf Ranch. In addition, there is potential for a revenue stream that would include providing tours of the Historic District for a fee and advertising space on the exterior and interior of the trolley. A MOTION was made and seconded that the Board recommend that it supports the implementation of a trolley system and Project 1900 as described. (Lesseps/Green) Discussion continued. Can trolley stops be added to the route to include hotels and B&Bs so that visitors could get on board? It was strongly encouraged that any recommendation made by this Board be tied very specifically to out charge. It was also suggested that the comfort level would be better if there was more active participation by the downtown businesses. The Board also felt that this group should review the process at 3 months and again at 6 months. A MOTION was made and seconded that the Board resolves to support the trolley system as described, as well as Project 1900, with emphasis on the CVB's commitment to attracting overnight guests and adding value to their visit. (Lesseps/Green) Motion carried. 5. Task Force Updates Reports from the individual Task Force groups are as follows: Market Data / Information Services Tourism Industry Partners/Communication A meeting of the lodging group is scheduled for Friday, July 15. The Task Force is attempting to get the group to partner with the CVB and having them gather data from their guests. We would then have data available to help develop a marketing plan. Tourism Events / Consumer Marketing / Tourism Packages Travel n' Tours, the travel agency we've been working with to coordinate the available travel packages has gone out of business. Until a new agency is identified, the CVB office will be the point of contact. A new package is being developed around the Taste of Georgetown event sponsored by the Downtown Georgetown Association. Conference Center / External Funding Kent is chairing this group. No activity this month. Website Review Nikki has greater access to the website, allowing her the capability to update the site. She will also take over coordination of the Calendar of Events. J:ICV B\Board CommissionlMcctings105-7-13 M doc Visitors Center / Volunteers This group is looking for ways to recruit new volunteers and increase the level of service of the existing volunteers through the following: x Development of a questionnaire that would provide volunteer feedback x Development of potential recruitment sources x Scheduling local business owners/staff to speak at the quarterly volunteer luncheons x Development of task specific, hands-on training modules x Establishing a regular training schedule x Development of a plan for staffing of the Wolf Ranch Volunteer Center, scheduled to open in November 2005 6. Updates on HOT Grant Fund Projects Gaz Green reported on the Festival of the Arts event: x Participants not only came from the local Georgetown and Austin areas but from as far away as California and Europe. x The organizers were able to raise $71,000 of the $75,000 budget. x Planning for the 2006 event is already underway. x 2006 event will take place the first weekend in June spotlight the music of Haydn An e-mail report from Fred Carlton on the Model A Ford Texas Tour: Official attendance was 447 people. x Attendees had positive comments about Georgetown and how welcomed they felt x Promotion included live remote broadcasts from KXAN and FOX news 7. Staff Report Highlights included: x Shelly shared two paint scheme options for the CVB office facade and asked for feedback — the majority opted for the design with the red stripe. x She also shared the cover design for the 2006 Visitors Guide as well as the advertising pricing. x There is lots of activity going on with all the new store openings both in the downtown area (DivalNovita Spa and Sweet Serendipity) and in Wolf Ranch (Petsmart, Michaels, Target, Old Navy, Coldstone Creamery, GNC, Sally's Beauty Supply, Payless Shoes, TJ Maxx, Chick-Fil-A, Yankee Candle, and Kirklands) Dates to remember: x TACVB Annual Conference — August 8-11 in Arlington x TTIA Travel Summit — September 25-29 in Corpus Christi x Jon Schallert Destination Creation Conference — October 5-6 in Georgetown x TDA Annual Conference — November 1-4 in Laredo x Grand Opening of Wolf Ranch — November 5 At 8:40 p.m. a MOTION was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. (Lesseps/Lumpkin) Motion carried. 1:1C V gatoard Commission Mcct ings105-7-13 M.dac Approved and attested to by: 7Huntsma(—j72/714 Ke Board Chair Ellen Weimer Board Secretary Date Date 1 ' C V B\3 land Commissio n5.Mlcctings.05-7.13 M. doe