The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2021-05-06-TOUR2-min `pus Wo pQ' 1775 1'C v APRIL 19 SFX II61 Town of Lexington Tourism Committee Dawn McKenna, Chair info@tourlexington.us Tourism Committee Minutes May 6, 2021 3:30 —6:08 PM Virtual via Zoom Members Present: Marsha Baker, Kerry Brandin, Sarah Boulos, Margaret Coppe, Bebe Fallick, Dawn McKenna and Wim Nijenberg Members Absent: Jon Himmel Staff Present: Casey Hagerty, Economic Development Coordinator, Sandhya Iyer, Economic Development Director, Katie Johnson, Visitors Center Manager and Meghan McNamara, Land Use Department Assistant Liaisons Present: Fred Johnson, Center Committee, and Jill Hai, Select Board (arrived at 4:OOpm) Guest: Chris Kauffman, Acting Executive Director, Lexington Historical Society 3:30 PM 1) Lexington Historical Society Leadership introduction Chris Kauffman was introduced as the Acting Executive Director of the Lexington Historical Society. He will attend the meetings until a new Director is selected. The new Director will be extended an invitation to serve on the Committee. 2) Economic Development Coordinator Report a) Visitors Center Operations: . i) People Counter Data—Patriots Day Friday—Monday, April 2021 Ms. Johnson informed the Committee that there were 500 visitors on Patriot's Day 2021 and an estimated 1,000 visitors over the course of the entire holiday weekend. ii) Sales Data: The Visitors Center reported a total of$9,530 of net revenue for 2021 and a total of$3,000 on Patriots Day alone. These cumulative values of 2021 all sales in 2019. iii) Staffing: new staff onboarding and orienting. iv) Hours: The Visitors Center will be staying open until 4:00 every Friday. 1 `pus IWOgN� pQ' 1775 1'C v APRIL 19 FX I IN UV Town of Lexington Tourism Committee Dawn McKenna, Chair info@tourlexington.us v) Indoor restrooms: Ms. Hagerty stated that she spoke with the Facilities Department and the indoor restrooms will be available for public use starting Memorial Day weekend. b) Vacancies: Ms. Hagerty is not aware of any new vacancies in the center. Ms. Hagerty informed the Committee that she spoke with the owners of StretchMED and they are looking forward to opening in the first week of July and becoming involved with the community. c) Miscellaneous: Ms. Hagerty informed the Committee that Mr. BJ Dunn, Superintendent of Minute Man National Park announced his retirement for June 2021 and that a transition plan is not in place yet. Ms. Baker asked how the Visitors Center is handling bus tours and restrooms. Ms. Hagerty responded that most school groups and tours are not allowing students and visitors to shop inside the Visitors Center as an extra form of precaution. The demand for restroom use is growing but Ms. Hagerty stated it is not a large concern for the Visitors Center just yet. 3) Visitors Center Opening Regarding large scale events, Ms. Hai informed the Committee that the Select Board has discussed the likelihood of hosting large public events in the near future, however the Select Board does not want to be the responsible party for bringing people together and causing a setback in any reopening phase. The Select Board will reconsider after Memorial Day Weekend and the next announcement from the Governor's office. 4) Center Streetscape—John Livsey, Town Engineer Mr. John Livsey, Town Engineer, presented the Committee with an overview of the Center Streetscape project. Mr. Livsey stated that the Center Streetscape logo was selected from a contest held by a local tech school. The proposal includes new roadway surfaces, new brick and concrete sidewalks, bumpouts, enhanced LED lighting, planting of new trees, enhanced seating, and planters with seat walls, bicycle accommodations, and much more. Mr. Livsey also informed the Committee that the work schedule will be Monday through Thursday for the General Contractor and the hours will generally be 7 AM start to 5 PM finish. However some subcontractors may perform limited work on Fridays as necessary. The substantial completion is November 2022 with a winter shut down between November 2021 and April 2022. Mr. Brian Giovanoni, Environmental Partners, was introduced as the Resident Engineer on the Center Streetscapes project. 2 `pus Wo pQ' 1775 1'C v APRIL 19 SFX IIUV Town of Lexington Tourism Committee Dawn McKenna, Chair info@tourlexington.us Mr. Conrad Leger, Environmental Partners, presented the Committee with the communication plan for residents and visitors that includes an interactive GIS map detailing where and when certain aspects of construction will be occurring. Members of the Committee were enthusiastic and offered praise to the project team for their efforts in informing the community of future construction. 5) Tourism Goals Implementation Discussion a) Leveraging the Visitors-based Economic Impact i) Rebranding update Members of the Committee discussed the rebranding of the Visitors Center logo and whether or not a final decision was made. Ms. Hagerty stated that the redesign will have to be postponed until the next tourism season because the deadline has already passed. The Committee pushed back on that notion. ii) Arts Cultural District update Ms. Coppe informed the Committee that there has been three meetings of potential stakeholders and that she is starting to see a group emerge that could be the group leaders or a future management team. iii) Stone Building Reuse Ms. McKenna stated that she conveyed to the Stone Building reuse Committee the exact wording voted on at the previous Tourism Committee meeting. There is a lot of interest in making the building an active place and would be a nice anchor at the end of the Cultural District area and inclusive of East Lexington b) Completing Outstanding Projects i) Visitors Center (1) Fundraising 3 `pus IWOgN� pQ' 1775 1'C v APRIL 19 Town of Lexington Tourism Committee Dawn McKenna, Chair info@tourlexington.us Ms. McKenna informed the Committee that the Select Board voted to various Visitors Center fundraising effort and had also approved a donation solicitation on the website. The webpage had been taken down.. Ms. McKenna stated that she will discuss with Ms. Hagerty and Ms. Iyer regarding the implementation of donation solicitation at the register when visitors are making purchases into the new training for guides. Members of the Committee discussed whether or not the Visitors Center pamphlet is out of date and if a new pamphlet should be produced. Ms. Hagerty informed the Committee that the pamphlet is being updated and that a"tear-off"map is at the printer and should be done in a few weeks. Ms. Hagerty also stated that many restaurants and shops are unfortunately in a volatile position and the Economic Development department did not want to print a large amount of updated maps just yet. ii) Short-term parking and turnaround The Committee discussed the opening of the depot to one-way traffic entering and one way exiting. This will not be a permanent solution but likely implemented for the tourist season, and it is also promoted by the Center Committee. c) Welcoming Visitors for the 250th 6) LexSeeHer Monument Ms. McKenna informed members of the Committee that a posting in the newspaper stated a monument was being put at the Visitors Center however the Select Board has not yet determined where the monument may be located. Ms. Fallick stated that she is on the Monuments and Memorials Committee and that this item will be discussed at their next meeting. 7) Updates and Miscellaneous a) Future Meetings b) Miscellaneous 8) Other unforeseen items that must be addressed prior to next meeting Adjourned at approximately 6:08 PM Prepared by: Meghan McNamara, Department Assistant Approved: August 26, 2021 4