2013-05-15-TFMP-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lexington Visitor's Center Revised Programmatic Report and a spreadsheet with revenue from the Hotel/Motel tax and the Meals Tax. • The updated programmatic report does not change the substance of the recommendations. • The Visitor's Center program needs do not compare with the program needs of the Public Safety needs of the Fire and Police Departments. • The Visitor Center does have an economic impact for the Town; tourism results in direct revenue to the Town. • Ms. McKenna's recent experience at the Discover New England Conference indicates that European tour operators are interested in the Lexington experience, and improvements recommended in the Programmatic Report support these types of tours. • Residents also use the Visitor's Center for their own guests to experience Lexington and sometimes even for use of the public restrooms. • Mr. Kennedy asked who benefits from a renovated Visitor's Center. Ms. McKenna explained that the Town benefits with increased tax revenue from additional tourism, as well as job creation, as tourism is the 5 th largest Lexington job creator. Business also benefit and the residents benefit from improved quality of life. • Mr. Pagett asked what the process will be to arrive at the appropriate design and Ms. McKenna replied that there will be a public process, and the design in the report was to generate an order of magnitude cost estimate. • Discussion continued on the inadequacy of the current Visitor Center to accommodate school groups or to accommodate self - service selection of tours. The Hosmer House location was also discussed as a potential alternate location for the Visitor's Center. Ms. Hooper and Ms. Vine then provided an update on the status of developing the program to use the Stone Building as a Lexington Heritage Center. Originally, the concept was to use the building for several uses, including public use of the upstairs Lyceum Hall for meetings, a neighborhood gathering place, and to exhibit archives in the first floor. The public use and security requirements for the exhibits present a conflict that has not been overcome. Additionally, with the new Community Center opportunity on Marrett Road, the pressing need for neighborhood space and meeting space will likely be minimized. Discussion continued on the intent to restore the ell and add an elevator in the ell for access to the second floor, what other potential stakeholders have been considered for collaboration with operating the building, and that the "gift" of the building requires continued library or educational use. 4. Draft Final Report Chapters Comments from the committee on the two draft chapters, 2 — Existing Conditions and 4 — Alternatives, were recorded by Joe Strayer of Cecil Group. Many of the comments were that the existing conditions need to update the status of the building to the time of the Final Report. Also, it was commented that the Hastings School was not included in the Existing Conditions chapter and should be included.