HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-09-15-TOUR2-min
Town of Lexington
Tourism Committee
Dawn McKenna, Chair info@tourlexington.us
1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420
Tourism Committee Minutes
Thursday, September 15, 2022 11:30 am
Conducted Remotely
Members Present: Marsha Baker, Kerry Brandin, Margaret Coppe, Bebe Fallick, Dawn McKenna, Carol Ward
Members Absent: Wim Nijenberg, Elsie Xu
Others Present: Doug Lucente (Select Board Liaison), Sandhya Iyer (Economic Development Director), Casey
Hagerty (Economic Development Coordinator)
1) Annual Report Submission
The annual report was reviewed. Margaret indicated that she had some minor edits that Marsha moved and
Margaret seconded the following motion which was approved unanimously by roll call vote:
To approve the submittal of the Annual Report subject to making minor corrections and formatting changes.
The Committee agreed that the picture to be submitted with the Annual Report would be the one taken of the
Tourism Committee in front of the Visitors Center for the Ribbon Cutting ceremony.
2) Minutes
The minutes of December 9, 2021 were reviewed. Margaret indicated that she had minor changes that had not
been received by the Committee and could not find them during the discussion. Carol moved and the
following was seconded and approved unanimously by roll call vote.
To approve the minutes of December 9, 2021 subject to typographical changes.
Discussion began on edits to the draft December 16, 2021 minutes. Part way through the discussion, one of
the members indicating they had to leave early. The review was stopped so that several updates could be
discussed while all members were still present. The intention was to return to those minutes.
3) Update and Miscellaneous
Margaret and Sandhya reported that the Cultural District Application has been submitted. The next step is a
for representatives from the Mass Cultural Council to walk through the proposed District. In is anticipated
that it will be scheduled in October.
Dawn announced that she was not seeking reappointment to the Committee when her appointment ends on
September 30, 2022. She indicated that she always said that she would stay on the Tourism Committee until it
was so ingrained in the system that it would remain an economic development priority. Given the success in
building the $5.1 million Visitors Center, the Liberty Ride, and with the implementation of the Battle Green
Master Plan nearing completion, she believed that Lexington would continue to reap the revenues tourism
generates. Additionally she stated, there would be opportunities over the next couple of years to engage with
people who might help lead the tourism efforts going forward with the energy being invested in the 250th. .
Therefore she felt it was a good time for a transition. A reorganization for a new chair will take place at the
September 29th meeting.
4) Liberty Ride
Casey and Sandhya provided a preview of what they will be proposing to the Select Board regarding the
future of the Liberty Ride. This was the first time the Tourism Committee had seen the proposal.
A survey was conducted looking for feedback on the Liberty Ride with different audiences. It was sent to
Boards and Committees (Select Board, Planning Board, Tourism Committee, Economic Development
Advisory Committee, and Lexington Center Committee), local businesses, and Liberty Ride customers. A key
takeaway was that the collective surveys demonstrated the popularity of the Liberty Ride. The Board and
Committee respondents felt that the Liberty Ride should continue as a municipal service. Businesses
overwhelmingly felt that tourism positively impacts their operations. They valued the Liberty Ride and were
looking for partnership opportunities. Just under 90% of Liberty Ride customers would recommend the tour
to their friends.
Three options were considered: Issue a new long-term RFP to lease a Trolley with town guides and hire a
coordinator; Purchase an electric trolley using ARPA funds using town guides and hire a coordinator and
drivers, as well as receiving ARPA funding to cover one year of operations; or Purchase a diesel trolley with
the same parameters as the electric trolley. These options are proposed with four tours per day, seven days a
week, 166 days a season as the Liberty Ride had been prior to the pandemic.
During the discussion staff was asked if an analysis had been done on the costs and operational implications
of the Town owning the vehicle and bidding the operation, maintenance and staffing of the vehicle.
Previously, this option had been considered and provided a viable way of ensuring access to a backup vehicle,
multiple trained drivers in this tough labor market, etc. This suggestion had not been considered. The fixed
daily operational cost of the Liberty Ride was currently indicated to be $981.
Most of the members expressed a preference for purchase an electric vehicle. Owning the vehicle would allow
earning extra revenue through offering additional tours during the offseason, perhaps performance type or
theme based, as well as making the vehicle available for private rentals when not in use. Sandhya indicated
that there was 9 -18 months of lead time to arrival if we purchase a new trolley so the 2023 season will
require additional stop gap measures. The original vehicle was taken out of service this season after 17 years
of use. The replacement vehicle does not offer the same experience and does not meet our specifications.
Therefore, a decision regarding the vehicle cannot wait.
There was strong sentiment that the guides needed to be adequately compensated, and that a full-time
manager for the Liberty Ride was necessary. The Visitors Center Manager position always existed, as did a
separate Liberty Ride Coordinator who work year-round. It was never intended for the Visitors Center
Manager to run the tour operations. A staffing recommendation memo was sent to the Town Manager and the
Select Board in January 2020 outlining similar concerns.
Additional comments shared were that given the commitment that Town Meeting and the Select Board have
made to reducing dependence on fossil fuel, this is an opportunity to take another important step in that
direction that would not be economically feasible without the proposed ARPA funds.
There was some interest expressed in the survey and by Marsha that Liberty Ride be available for hop on and
off. The Committee did not come to a conclusion about that possibility. It should be noted that when the
Liberty Ride was initially operated, it was advertised as hop on and hop off. The first year there were two
trolleys operating which cut down the wait time at each stop. Considering the maximum length of the tour, the
willingness to pay for a tour when Concord is piloting a free hop on hop off shuttle as well as operational
challenges would impact such a decision. Finding ways to make this operationally work would require
further discussion and planning and could not be done in the short-term.
Dawn moved and Bebe seconded the following motion which was unanimously approved by roll call vote:
That the Tourism Committee recommends that Lexington purchase an electric trolley using ARPA funds, that
an analysis be done on the costs and operational implications of the Town owning the vehicle and bidding the
operation, maintenance and staffing of the vehicle; that a full-time Liberty Ride Manager be hired; that hourly
rates for all Liberty Ride guides be reviewed and increased to reflect the upper range of rates paid to
comparable positions in the region; and that opportunities be explored for other uses of the trolley to support
funding overall operational costs.
It should be noted that connection was lost with Margaret at the time of voting so her vote could not be
formally counted. However, based on comments she made during the discussion, it is reasonable to believe
that she too would have voted in favor of the recommendation.
Per Doug’s recommendation, Dawn will send a memo to the Select Board with our comments and
motion today so that it can be included in the Select Board meeting packet tomorrow.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 1:25 pm following
a unanimous roll call vote.
Respectfully submitted Dawn E. McKenna
Approved: September 29, 2022