Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-03-03-TOUR2-minTourism Committee Meeting Monday, March 3, 2008 Town Office Building, Room 111 Members Present: Susan Bennett, Kerry Brandin, Bebe Fallick, Dawn McKenna, Joanne Myers, Paul O'Shaughnessy, and John Ott Absent: Mary Jo Bohart, Richard Canale, Carla Fortmann, Lou Sideris, Peter Kelley (Selectman Liaison) and Masha Traber (Staff) The meeting was called to order at 4:10 p.m. by Chairman McKenna and the minutes of the January 28, 2008 tourism meeting were reviewed and approved without change. Mrs. McKenna opened the meeting by noting that the Selectman had approved the appointment of Carla Fortmann to the Tourism Committee and she would be attending subsequent meetings. She reviewed her credentials noting her well known retail experience in town as well'as her current work at the Lexington Historical Society and Buckman Tavern. She further noted the loss of Michael Young as town finance officer a person acknowledging his long term support to the tourism committee in dealing with the Liberty Ride and the projects finances. To honor his service it was unanimously voted to present Michael with two printed lifetime tickets for use on the Liberty Ride in recognition of his work. A discussion regarding the upgrading of the exhibits in the Town Visitor Center took place. McKenna mentioned that she and Carla Fortman had visited the center and had come up with some ideas. These were reviewed but it was clear that any changes would have to have the approval of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce which operates the site and there were some strong feelings about the location of the displays, their design, the organizations to be included. She has been working with the Lions' Club who has to approve any changes relating to placement of the USS Lexington artifacts. The goal is to make the center more visitor - friendly and informative by better promoting the historical assets and support organizations of Lexington, without having a negative financial impact on the Chamber of Commerce. The committee will continue to study the matter further. The idea of using the town tavern style information boards that stand on the Battlegreen near Buckman Tavern and at the corner of Mass Ave and Depot Square as more of a bulletin board was discussed. The need for more information covering more cultural organizations is acute and also to increase the font size of the lettering, but it was pointed out that any change will require approval by the HDC. Mrs. McKenna will talk with Mary Jo Bohart to discuss how we can be of help to provide more regular updates to the Board. The next order of business was a discussion of the overall goal of the Tourism Committee. Mrs. McKenna pointed out that she felt we need to continue to strive to work as one body even though we are made up of representatives from a number of participating groups that range from Minute Man National Park to the National Heritage Museum and from the Historical Society to the Chamber of Commerce. The motto she felt we should adopt for the Tourism Committee was, "We are better when we work as one. " The Committee agreed and felt from our promotional materials and publications to our outreach and educational activities this should be central to our work. Joint Training Session: The committee discussed the need for a joint training session for everyone involved with the marketing, promotion or operation of the Liberty Ride with the coming season. Everyone needed to be on the same page to avoid any confusion and to be sure information on pricing, hours of operation and the Ride was uniform. April 17 was the date selected, with the site, time and agenda for the session to be chosen in the few weeks. Everyone was encouraged to make sure staffs were given the time off to attend. It was agreed that a weeknight was better than Sunday and that given the guides would likely be coming from work we should provide refreshments of some kind. Tourism Funds and the 09 Budget: In preparation for Town Meeting Mrs. McKenna wanted to be sure that all excess funds from last years budget in place or earned by the Liberty Ride's operation were made available for Liberty Ride operations. Money from ticket sales and the Battle Green Guides listed as surplus belonged to the Committee and should not be swept into the General Fund. She would spearhead this endeavor and the committee agreed. Patriot's Day 2008: Paul O'Shaughnessy gave a review of the upcoming Patriot's Day activities and the projected re- enactment schedule. This year it will be larger event that will include the Tower Park area for a segment of the British retreat. And unlike last year no severe weather forecasts are expected. A single program guide for Lexington and Concord will again be produced by the Concord Chamber of Commerce for distribution. Liberty Ride Fees for the 2008 season: The committee reviewed the ticket prices for the coming season. It was generally felt that there is added value in a ticket with the price of one Lexington Historical Society property being included in the price. There will again be a three part ticket. The LHS house will retain the top part of the ticket; the customer will keep the center piece and the Liberty Ride Guide will collect the bottom stub. It was indicated by Susan Bennett that one quarter of the people who bought a Liberty Ride ticket went on a house tour. The Go Boston program was also mentioned and its charges. All felt the program was valuable and everyone gained something from this program financially or from the standpoint of public promotion since they produce thousands of booklets that talk about all Lexington sites as well as the Liberty Ride; A motion was made and duly seconded "that the Lexington Historical Society be compensated $2.00 for every adult ticket sold and $1.00 for each child's ticket sold and that all Liberty Ride tickets will be combination tickets." The motion passed unanimously.