HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-03-19-TOUR2-min 1
Town of Lexington
Tourism Committee
Minutes of the Meeting of
March 19, 2024
Select Board Meeting Room and via Zoom
3:30 pm
PRESENT: Marsha Baker, Margaret Coppe (Chair), Sandhya Iyer, Fred Johnson,
Doug Lucente, Melissa Robbins, Marie Tristan-Rago, and Elsie Xu
Observer via zoom: Michael Patnode
Margaret called the meeting to order at 3:35pm
Economic Development Report Sandhya Iyer
• Battle Green, Liberty Ride Trolley, and Charter tours have been booked for
the spring.
• Visitor’s Center Sales for Jan. Feb. and March were $8,000.
Sandhya presented general and statistical information for the first two months of
the new Website. She indicated that more information will be available when the
website has been active for 6 months.
• The number of total users in January was 972 – it is now 4,500.
• These figures are for those spending more than 30 seconds on the site.
• The most popular pages are:
Liberty Ride – Battle Green – Restaurants
During discussion Sandhya:
• agreed to send the link to website analytics in advance of future meetings
so that committee members can study the information before the meeting.
• also said that some of the marketing has been done in conjunction with
Concord and the Middlesex Visitors Bureau to cut down on expense while
maximizing coverage.
There was additional discussion about the cost effectiveness of advertising
methods and ways to spend marketing dollars more efficiently.
Print marketing (magazines/newspapers) is expensive – digital sites cost less and
are more effective.
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Fred inquired whether there was a way to determine whether website visits
resulted in actual bookings of tours and visits. Sandhya indicated that some of
this information is already available and that additional modifications will increase
the availability and efficacy of conversion rates.
It was also mentioned that the Visitor’s Center is now scheduling their events at
least one month in advance to assure adequate time for marketing.
Minutes: Margaret stated that the minutes for February and March would be
available for approval at the April meeting.
Lex 250 Report
There was a brief discussion about the proposed 250th monument.
• The 4 semi-finalists have been chosen
• The packets describing each proposal are on the website. The time for
public comments ends tomorrow (Wednesday).
• The selection panel will meet on the 23rd.
Doug reported that Lex250 is heading in the right direction:
• the Commission is meeting weekly
• the kickoff ceremony will be on April 19th and the countdown clock
unveiled
• the Lex250.og website will have all the 250th events and programs listed in
one place.
Cultural District Report
Margaret reported that she had attended a meeting and learned a lot about their
process and grant opportunities.
The $15,000 in 2024 funding for Lexington’s Cultural district has been distributed.
It will support both long standing and new initiatives. Each grant was for a
maximum of $3,000.
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Additional Points raised
Fred stated that he hoped that committee members would support the initiatives
by the Lexington Lyceum group for the Stone Building as it would serve to make
East Lexington more attractive for Tourism.
We were reminded that the LexSeeHer monument will be unveiled on May 15th at
10 am and the Dedication will be on the 18th at 2pm.
Town Meeting Articles
We discussed and voted on two Town Meeting articles that have bearing on
Lexington Tourism.
Article 39: Home Rule Petition to adjust the number of on-premise wine and malt
alcohol licenses.
This article would allow the businesses to serve wine and beer on a regular basis.
Pinot’s Palette, the Movie Theater, and Galaray House are examples of the types
of businesses that would benefit from on-premise wine and malt liquor licenses
Currently these businesses would have to apply for a 1 day license each time they
serve these beverages.
If Town Meeting approves Article 39 it would need approval by the State
Legislature so it will be some time before it would be effective.
The Select Board and the Center Committee have both voted unanimously to
recommend approval of this article.
Marsha made a motion for the Tourism Committee to support Article 39.
Mellissa seconded the motion
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Article 47: To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 5.2 and Section 10.0 of
the Zoning By-Law to update regulations related to signs and add new definitions
for certain types of signs, or act in any other manner in relation thereto.
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The Select Board and the Center Committee have both voted unanimously to
recommend approval of this article.
After a brief discussion Marie made a motion for the Tourism Committee to
support Article 47.
Melissa seconded the motion.
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Potential New Member
Margaret announced that she has spoken with Ting Fang who has expressed
interest in joining this committee. Her name will be submitted to the Select
Board for their approval.
Adjournment
Marsha made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Melissa seconded the motion.
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Respectfully submitted:
Marsha Baker
3/25/2024