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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_CVB_09.01.2004Convention & Visitors Bureau Board Meeting Minutes September 1, 2004 Present: Kent Huntsman, Ellen Weimer, Scherry Chapman, Gaz Green, Bill Banks, Posey Duncan, Martha Lawler, Holly Bresser Absent: Carolyn Martin, John Wiley, Jim Timmons City Staff: Shelly Hargrove 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Kent Huntsman at 6:36 p.m. 2. Minutes Minutes from the July 7, 2004, meeting were reviewed. A MOTION was made and seconded to approve the minutes as presented. (Banks/Lawler) Motion carried. 3. Cooperative Advertising Applications There were no applications presented. However, there was discussion on the process. Shelly shared that any outstanding co-op advertising receipts for funding from the 2003-04 budget must be submitted for payment by September 21, 2004. The question was raised that, if there are funds left in this budgeted line item, are they carried over into the next budget; that answer is no. There was also discussion on where the $40,000 that is being applied to wayfinding signage came from the cooperative advertising budget and that answer is also no. Those monies came from a fund originally established to provide funding to hotels for use in façade renovation. It was called the “Lodging Enhancement Fund.” 4. Task Force Updates • Fiddlin’ Fair: Shelly reported on the events planned for the Fiddlin’ Fair. They include a Chili Cook-off, the Beard Contest, a “Rising Star” contest and an Ice Cream making contest. The Ice Cream contest is to be sponsored by Blue Bell. There will be some great music, food and vendors. Dates for the event are Saturday, September 25th from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm and Sunday, September 26th from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. • Convention Center Research: see comments under Sports & Rec Complex • City Branding: the committee met earlier today and is actively seeking out highly visible people with the community to be part of a Branding Task Force. There are also plans for three community visioning sessions of 40-50 invited participants. The Task Force will take the input gathered from the attendees and will use that to develop a vision statement. In addition, the Task Force will synthesize the information gathered to develop the design brand. Everything is on target for an unveiling in January. This Board is concerned that there may not be enough opportunity for community input so it made the following motion: A MOTION was made and seconded to have Shelly Hargrove, as staff representative of the CVB Board, make a formal recommendation to the Branding Committee that they find additional vehicles in order to gather greater Community input to their process. (Lawler/Banks) Motion carried. • Lodging Liaison: Holly reported that the group last met in July. Completed response forms were back from everyone except the Comfort Inn. The groundbreaking for the new Comfort Suites was originally planned for July but it is uncertain as to when that will begin. Holly also reported that there is a new General Manager at the Holiday Inn Express so the group is hoping for more involvement from them. The group is still attempting to get stronger participation from Holiday Inn, Days Inn, Clare Easley and Jo Ella Broussard. • Sports & Recreation Complex: Information shared at the final presentation included the fact that, while the football stadium is the primary venue for the complex, the additional 120 acres needed by the city and GISD hasn’t been acquired as yet. Knowing that, the CVB is in favor of bringing in a consultant to conduct a feasibility study and suggests approaching the City and the County for funding. It is expected that cost for the study would be $90,000-$100,000. Shelly shared that Paul Brandenburg has set aside $14,000 in the CVB Fund Reserve to support this project. It is uncertain how broad-based the support is for this project. In addition, timing may not be the best in light of the many other bond issues and tax requests that are coming before the community. This project may end up being done in stages. 5. CVB Action Plan Bill presented the initial plan that he, Gaz and Scherry have developed based on input gathered at our Annual Planning Session. The plan needs to be tweaked and responsible people/committees need to be determined for the action steps. Board members are being asked if they can support the goals and objectives outlines in the plan. Kent asked that all members review the plan thoroughly, prioritize the action steps, and get input and comments to Shelly by September 15th. 6. Main Street Advisory Board and CVB Board Collaboration Shelly brought this item to the Board. A collaboration of the two boards was originally raised during her interview with Paul Brandenburg. The rationale is that both Boards address many of the same issues and tend to overlap responsibilities in many areas. Combining the two Boards would result in some efficiencies and, while it may not work in every city, Shelly is confident it could work in Georgetown specifically because the downtown area is the center of the community. This Board asked for an explanation of just what the Main Street Board is; what do they do and how do they function? Because the Main Street program is a federal program there are specific requirements that would have to be maintained. That includes the Main Street 4-Point Approach that encompasses: 1) Promotions (Poppy Fest) 2) Design (Historical Preservation ethic) 3) Organization (partnering, fund-raising) 4) Economic Restructuring (maintaining healthy environment for businesses to survive). Questions that the Board raised included:  How would budgeting be handled?  Would the new entity be a combination of philosophies or would it be one Board being absorbed by the other?  Would it be helpful to put a CVB member on the Main Street Board and vise versa?  Could the CVB Board absorb the Main Street Board if they bring along the Historic Preservation portion?  Could Main Street be a subset of the CVB?  How is Main Street focused on tourism when they don’t go beyond the Downtown District? It was suggested that both boards meet together for a couple of months to determine if we could come together. It was further suggested that both Boards refocus their direction so that each gains strength within their area of expertise. Shelly will provide us with a website where we could get more information as to what the Main Street program is all about. The Board also asked for minutes of the last couple of Main Street meetings so we could see what transpires at their meetings. It was decided that this Board extend an invitation to the Main Street Board to meet with us at our October meeting. Shelly will attempt to develop a joint agenda. Kent will contact Bryant Boyd, chair of the Main Street Board and invite them to our meeting. This Board felt that, because there was enough overlap, the idea was worth exploring. 7. Staff Report  $8,000 is in the 2003-2004 budget for the Branding Campaign to help finance the survey  Shelly will e-mail this month’s financial statements to the Board  The CVB website is being redesigned; the plan is to unveil it in January. Let Shelly know if there are specific things you’d like to see included. Shelly suggested that the Board visit the Chamber website for a great example of a community calendar.  Wayfinding signage is being designed to direct visitors to businesses off the square.  Shelly and Posey are meeting to work on the CVB/Visitor Center renovation project 8. Other Business Gaz shared that the Georgetown Symphony is working on a Georgetown Festival of the Arts. This will be an annual event taking place the 1st weekend of June. It is built around famous composers and will encompass events throughout the weekend at different venues around Georgetown. At 8:25 p.m., a MOTION was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. (Banks/Duncan) Motion carried. Approved and attested to by: Kent Huntsman Date Board Chair Ellen Weimer Date Board Secretary