Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-08-26-TOUR2-min Town of Lexington Tourism Committee Dawn McKenna, Chair info@tourlexington.us 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420 Tourism Committee Minutes Thursday, August 26, 2021 3:30 pm Conducted Remotely Members Present: Marsha Baker, Kerry Brandin, Margaret Coppe, Bebe Fallick, Jon Himmel, Dawn McKenna, Wim Nijenberg Members Absent: Sarah Boulos Others Present: Doug Lucente (Select Board Liaison), Fred Johnson, (Center Committee Liaison), Sandhya Iyer, (Economic Development Director), Chris Kauffman, Acting Executive Director, Lexington Historical Society 1) Economic Development Coordinator Report Casey Hagerty (Economic Development Coordinator) is unable to attend today and the branding reveal video has not been completed. Hopefully the video will be available for our September 9th meeting. The new logo is already being used on merchandise and in marketing materials. Casey provided a sample advertorial that was done for Group Tour Magazine and other publications for the Committee to see. In July 2021 there were 9,200 visitors which was a big improvement and approached pre-pandemic July numbers typically 12,000+. Battle Green Guided tours in July 2021 were 646 and Liberty Ride were 479. The books have not yet been closed on FY2021, so the total year-end picture was not available. Due to the pandemic, there was no income or expenses for the Liberty Ride in FY2021. One of our goals is to help provide support and guidance to the Select Board and Town Manager to reinforce the funding needed to run tourism operations. Sandhya indicated that they are still crunching the numbers so the FY2022 budget process has not yet begun. They do not expect any capital projects for this year but are looking at anything else that might be in the pipeline. New businesses mentioned by Sandhya include Cocoa Bubble Tea, Anise Mercantile, Maxima which had a successful pop-up shop and are now opening a physical location, as well as Battle Road Bikes and Pedego Bikes which has electric bikes. Bread Obsession is also coming and as a result businesses such as wine, cheese, and olive oil shops are looking to come to Lexington. Margaret mentioned another new business in East Lexington had opened: Parfait Place which is where Crickets was and near Great Harvest. 2) Minutes The minutes of February 4, 2021, April 8, 2021 and May 6, 2021 were reviewed. It was noted that it is important remember that the Visitors Center is plural, not possessive and that spreading this word so that any references to it, whether online or in minutes, reports, advertising, etc. contain the correct spelling. A few technical corrections and some wording changes were made to the drafts at the meeting. The following motion was made by Dawn and seconded by Bebe passed unanimously by roll call vote: That we accept the minutes of February 4, 2021, April 8, 2021, and of May 6, 2021 with the corrections noted. 2 3) Tourism Goals and Implementation Marketing Under leveraging the economic impact from the visitors-based economy, Dawn had asked why an updated marketing plan based on the Tourism Committee votes had not been issued, and were not incorporated into the presentation to the Select Board. Sandhya had dropped off the zoom so the Tourism Committee will seek the answers as to why not at the next meeting. Calendars of events are not being regularly updated on Mass. Ave. (Depot Square and Visitors Center). Dawn noticed that a new calendar was recently updated. However, it is generic and does not list specific events. It is important that a more proactive approach to providing the information regarding many events happening and hours the historic sites are open that people need while they are in Lexington. General statements of what is happening were not the purpose of those particular signs. This needs to be discussed with Casey. Margaret suggested that the process to provide the data for inclusion in the various calendars and newsletters needs to be made clear to businesses and organizations. Regarding the monthly newsletter that was sent out regularly for years, Dawn and Kerry discussed that when the Town switched over the accounts, there was a problem with our Constant Contact list and the Town’s ability to have access to it even though it was a Town account. Wim stated that the prior newsletter that Kerry sent out monthly for years was fantastic. Dawn also indicated that the single community calendar on the town website that was designed to be the “go to” place for all events to be posted is still active but looks awful. All groups interested in making the public aware of events they hold are now working in silos. This is why the Committee met with Sean Dugan recently to discuss the best ways to communicate to the various audiences. Concord for example now has an excellent newsletter and Margaret offered to do research on whether they have a calendar system that works. Kerry reminded the Committee that many of the events needed to be promoted are of interest to both tourists and residents. In her opinion there should be one database of events that allows for the tagging of who the audience is in categories such as children, adults, seniors, visitors, residents, etc., which can then be sorted to targeted audiences. Having the mechanism for us to be pro-active in sending the information as opposed to expecting people to come to our website to find out about events is key. Margaret mentioned that getting people to opt-in is difficult. However, in the past we had provided handouts and other marketing that helped that effort. Now the ability to opt-into a newsletter could be added to the self-serve kiosks where visitors could sign up directly . Sandhya indicated that she and Casey are thinking about how to improve this and hopes to have plans for doing so in the coming months. Visitors Center Celebration Sandhya reviewed the proposed program and list of invitees that the Tourism Committee has developed. She is on board with what has been written and Mike Cronin is prepared to help the Economic Development Office to make the arrangements. The date has been set for October 7th at 9:30 am at the Visitors Center. Dawn asked what help was needed to connect with those we want to invite to speak. Sandhya and Dawn will talk offline to clarify responsibilities as to who will invite the speakers. The Committee was comfortable with the program. Cathy Severance (Office Manager for the Town Manager) will be sending out the formal invitation to the full list of invitees. Regarding the invitations, the Committee reviewed the categories of invitees. Jon gave a number of people who should be invited, including those who signed the beam and donors. The invitation will go out to all senior managers. The Committee is trying to make sure the list is comprehensive so those instrumental in the project get a direct invitation. Margaret and Marsha also indicated that organizations that the Visitors Center serves should be invited and Fred noted that the businesses have a keen interest and should be included, especially those who have a direct interest in tourism. Dawn suggested that the Economic Development newsletter include a paragraph letting businesses know the date of the celebration. The general comment was that the intent is to include anyone who has been part of the process along the way, and anyone who is interested. 3 Cultural District Dawn recognized Margaret for the phenomenal amount of work she has done on the Cultural District. Margaret indicated that there are 73 organizations that might participate in and benefit from a possible Lexington District. There have been 6-7 meetings of these stakeholders for brainstorming. Margaret thanked Sandhya for being invaluable and also Casey and Suzie Barry for their help and support. Luis Cotto, the Project Manager for the Mass Cultural Council (MCC) on these Districts met with Lexington and provided guidance on the process. Steve Poltorzycki (Lexington Council for the Arts co-chair) who is on the management team of the Arlington District is working with Margaret, Sandhya and Casey to put together a spreadsheet of cultural assets. They are hoping to submit the formal application by the end of the year. MCC will then likely review the application in May 2022. Mr. Cotto will help the Town through the process. Dawn mentioned that Mr. Cotto had also come to a meeting of the Tourism Committee prior to the pandemic and is well aware of our interest in becoming a Cultural District. The proposed district is likely to start at Hastings Park, go down Massachusetts Avenue to Pleasant Street. Including East Lexington in the District was very important to the stakeholders. While ordinarily a district that large might not be considered based on state criteria, since that encompasses the Patriots’ Day Parade route, and after consultation with Luis Cotto, the Town will submit that as the proposed district. Public outreach is an important component of the process. Displays are planned at the East Lexington Fair and Discovery Day, on the wall in the library, as well as a community conversation, probably by Zoom. After the public comments, the Select Board needs to approve a resolution in support. Each Select Board member has met with the group and made suggestions. Sandhya said we are looking at why we are doing this, why we need a Cultural District in Lexington. Given that Lexington has many assets, how do we recognize not just what is on the map but partners who can be affiliated with the District. MCC will come and walk the District prior to acting on the application. The application has to come from the town and Dawn appreciated Sandhya’s enthusiasm about working on this. Sandhya now has formal approval to submit the application on behalf of the Town. Dawn also explained that the reason the Town had not already applied to be a district was because this is a more recent program. Previously, the Tourism Committee had applied for a grant to put together a similar program bringing entities together to create vibrancy and economic opportunities. While we did not get that grant, the exploration process led to Revolutionary Revelry which ran for six years and helped extend the tourism season into May. It was a successful effort that helped solidify the season to be April – October. Documents already exist that will be needed for the application. Completing Outstanding Projects Visitors Center Project There will be a meeting with Sandhya and Mike Cronin (Department of Public Facilities Director) on Monday regarding the outstanding Visitors Center Project items such as the Presidential Panel. Margaret asked about whether the corrected Visitors Center building plaque will be installed in time for the opening. Dawn has seen the revised plaque template and it has been sent to the fabricator. She will ask Mike the expected timing of the installation. Visitors Center Fundraising Dawn reported that grants totaling $402,500 have been approved. The funding for two grants (Community Endowment of Lexington $2,500 and State Funding line item $200k,) had already been received. Thanks to help from Sergio DeMango and Carolyn Kosnoff who provided me the information necessary to request the funding, the $200k Mass Cultural Facilities Grant funds were wired to the Town yesterday. Individual donations collected were $25,600.30 which includes two recent donations of $10k and $5k. A ten-year $50k pledge was made by the Lions Club to be paid $5k per year was received. The first payment was made in 2020. There were also miscellaneous receipts. Of the $1 million the Tourism Committee outlined as possible fundraising towards the project, $506,342.10 has been raised as of August 25, 2021. Appropriations for design and construction were discussed and need to be documented. Bebe thanked Dawn for the extent of efforts Dawn has made to raise these funds. In particular, a potential donor who walked into the Visitors Center and saw the poster reached out to the Town to possibly donate. Dawn pursued it and it became a $10k gift. Bebe also informed the Committee that because of the positive feelings he had working with Dawn, he is going to become financially involved with Dawn’s the 250th celebration. 4 This example was then cited as the reason for having the poster up and clear and free of displays around it so people can see and read it. Also, the donation box was supposed to be under the poster and all donations in the box applied to the Visitors Center Stabilization Fund. Some of the financial downturns of the past couple of years led to a suspension of this but it is critical that we have as many of the fundraising activities that have been approved by the Select Board and Town Manager be set up and implemented before the Visitors Center Ribbon Cutting. An updated Visitors Center Fundraising Activities list was reviewed by the members as well as the design and text for the temporary plaque. Jon suggested that we may be missing an opportunity to invite a broader audience to the ribbon cutting who might be more friendly to the project and willing to donate that are not aware of the need. The Tourism Committee had committed to seek donations and collections until either the 10-year mark (life of the bond) or we have exceeded our $1 million goal. Sarah and Dawn are working on the fundraising efforts. Those items already approved and current updates are: • The Bestowers recognition categories and plaque were reviewed at the meeting so the temporary plaque can be fabricated and hung by 10/7; • Donation envelopes will be updated and ready for 10/7; • Rack cards will be updated and ready for 10/7; • The webpage for online donations that had been put up on the town webpage was somehow taken down. Dawn indicated that Casey was working on get it reposted by August 1. Since it is still not up, Sandhya was asked to help make sure it gets done; • Direct solicitations subject to Town Manager approval regarding possible conflicts. There are several approvals pending that have not yet been approached. Jon asked whether we had reached out to the generous organizations in town. Because the fundraising has primarily been on Dawn’s shoulders, we have not done so. Sarah was active with the Burlington Chamber of Commerce and in her words “loves to ask people for money” so has offered to work on this. The issue is who, in addition to Sarah, is willing to go around and do the asks. The Economic Development Office has a list of businesses that we can review to approach; • Cash register asks with a goal of $3k annually over 10 years. Despite the approval of this, it is not being implemented. Sarah suggested that modeling for staff as to how to do so and perhaps setting weekly goals would help make it easier. When this element started under the previous Visitors Center Manager, visitors willingly contributed. That data helped determine a realistic goal. Given that it was approved as part of the fundraising strategy, the Committee asked Sandhya for her help in implementing the request. Sandhya wonders what the cause is that is being asked. Both Casey and Katie are uncomfortable with the ask given that the project was complete. Dawn indicated that it is typical of capital campaigns to continue after completion of the project. Jon asked about the gifts to Cary Library and whether the fundraising efforts continued after the project was completed. Kerry confirmed that it did continue after the building was built for approximately 2 years. Jon felt that example should ease the concerns of staff; • Chapter 209 Bond Bill authorized $675k towards the project. However, in order to obtain the funds, the Governor must approve the funding. This is a political process and there is no guarantee the Town will ultimately receive the funds; • Tax insert in 2018 is what introduced residents to the request for donations and the online payment option. Dawn asked if the Committee thought we should request another opportunity for a tax insert which was left unanswered; • Increase in Battle Green Tour charter fees of $25 for deposit into the VC stabilization account. This requires conversations with Sandhya offline as this has also not been implemented. A number of ideas under consideration included: events, possible memberships in the Visitors Center and what that could include, involving children around the world, a text to give program, visitors fundraising challenge, soliciting tour bus companies, and a monthly raffle which would require a conversation with the Town Clerk as Massachusetts requires a permit for raffles. One idea that the Select Board was open to and needed more information was crowdsource funding. This was considered a good approach as there are people across the country and the world that appreciate Lexington’s history that we might have no other way to reach. Enough time has now gone by that the research done previously into which sites are most effective, especially for 5 municipalities, time of year to launch, and how to use social media to maximize the efforts needs updating. Three items specifically discussed were: should an event around the ribbon cutting; given that Re-discovery Day is the weekend of the ribbon cutting should we have a table outside the Visitors Center for fundraising to highlight that the building is now open; and should we add a QR code for giving on the documents we are updating for giving on the assumption the webpage will be up and running. It was agreed that the Committee should have a table on Discovery Day and that more people are using QR codes so one should be created directed to the online fundraising page and added to all appropriate displays and handouts. Dawn and Sarah will continue to move forward with Sandhya and Casey and move forward with whatever fundraising we can. Prepare and plan for the Lex250 Bebe indicated that the Lex250 Committee did not meet over the summer. They are currently asking for brainstorming ideas. Bebe will send a list of ideas she has gathered to the Committee and ask that any feedback or new ideas be sent to her such as asking Abbotts and Rancatores to make special flavors. Commemorative merchandise for the Lex250 will be desired at the Visitors Center. Dawn mentioned the importance of planning transportation to and from Boston, as well as within Lexington. 4) Stone Building Proposal Dawn has been asked by the Stone Building Reuse Committee to formally submit a plan for the building. She has been attending the meetings. The link to the project will be sent to the Committee for review. Although the Tourism Committee previously sent the Motion on the uses recommended by the Tourism Committee to the Stone Building Reuse Committee, Dawn asked the Committee whether the Committee wanted to submit a formal. Financing plans would need to be included in such a plan. This could include use of Community Preservation Grants (CPA), American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) or other funds. Marsha asked whether it was within our purview to make a proposal and stay involved. Dawn indicated that the Stone Building Reuse Committee is not clear about what they are looking to accomplish with the request. From Dawn’s experience, she is watching a reoccurrence of 2009 reoccur when ideas were so disjointed that the idea fizzled. Jon, Fred, Kerry all said that the Tourism Committee does not want ownership of this project and raised questions about operational and maintenance issues. Dawn stated her belief that the municipality is conservative in nature and without commitment from staff to run a new operation, it would require more effort than she was willing to put in at this point. The Committee agreed that the Tourism Committee should not submit a proposal at this point. 5) Annual Report A draft Annual Report was sent to the Committee. Please review so we can make any edits and finalize the report at our next meeting. 6) Future Meetings Proposed meetings through June 2022 were drafted and reviewed anticipating that starting in October meeting may resume in person. Dawn asked whether we should meet on September 30th in anticipation of issues we might have to address for the Ribbon Cutting on October 7th. September 30th was agreed as a shortened additional date focused primarily on the Visitors Center celebration. 7) Updates and Miscellaneous A reminder for everybody to submit their information regarding reappointments and training. Wim has sold his home and will be moving around April 1st but will submit his application. The HDC meeting for Lafayette marker and Battle Green Master Plan about the benches is on September 9th beginning at 5 pm so that meeting will be shortened. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 6:01 pm Unanimously passed by roll call vote. Respectfully submitted Dawn E. McKenna Approved: November 21, 2022