TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN - BOARD OF SELECTMEN

TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN – VISITOR SERVICES BOARD

MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2005

JUDGE WELSH HEARING ROOM

Chairman Steve Melamed convened the meeting at 10:05 AM.

VSB members present: Lynne Davies, Vice Chairman; Ellen Freeman; Laurel Guadazno; Steve Melamed, Chairman; Mick Rudd and Barbara Rushmore

VSB member absent (excused): Peter Bez

Other attendees: Candace Collins-Boden, Executive Director, Provincetown Chamber of Commerce; Patricia Fitzpatrick, Tourism Director

Recorder: Cynthia Curran

The following are meeting minutes, in brief.

Chairman Steve Melamed said that he was stepping down as Chairman of the VSB, but would remain a member. Mick Rudd nominated Lynne Davies for the position. There were no other nominations,

MOTION: Move to approve Lynne Davies as Chairman of the Visitor Services Board

Motion by: .. Mick Rudd Seconded by: Laurel Guadazno

Yea 6 Nay 0

Lynne Davies began serving as Chairman immediately.

The position of Vice Chairman was then discussed. Barbara Rushmore suggested Peter Bez, even though he wasn't present. There was a question about whether he could be nominated without being there and it was agreed hat he could be. Ellen Freeman proposed that the position should be left open for the time being until the full Board was present. There was agreement to table the discussion until June.

The next meeting will be on Monday, May 9^{th at 10:00 a.m. (The Board will not
meet on May 3, because of Election Day). The VSB will meet with the Board of
Selectmen in the evening on May 9th. Lynne
Davies will also be at the BOS meeting tonight regarding an error in the grant
for "Crazy Guys."}

^MINUTES

^MOTION^{: Move to approve the minutes of the April 11, 2005 VSB.}

^{Motion by}^{: ..Steve Melamed Seconded by: Mick Rudd}

^{Yea
5 Nay 0 Abstain 1}

^{OLD BUSINESS}

^{Barbara
Rushmore presented her grant application for
the Sinking Fund for Firehouse #2. She felt that the
building needs to be secured and could be turned into Public Restrooms. The
grant would obviously not be enough to do this, but would show the VSB’s
support for the idea of creating restrooms in the building. There was agreement by the Board that this would be a
worthwhile endeavor. Lynne Davies reminded the board that the Town’s Capital
Fund had set aside funding for Firehouse #2 for 2008-2009, but said that both
the town residents and the tourists need the restrooms sooner rather than
later. The Board agreed. Ms. Freeman indicated that the problem was extreme at
that end of town and that her establishment is regularly approached by
desperate folks looking for a restroom. Candace Collins-Boden from the Chamber supported this effort and briefly
discussed possible ways of raising the funds. Lynne Davies felt that, prior to
any further efforts, a feasibility assessment (including realistic costs)
should be done to ascertain that there was a goal in place and that it was
within reach. Lynne Davies agreed to contact the Building Commissioner to begin
that process.}

^MOTION^{: Move to encumber $3000.00 to be potentially used for Firehouse
#2, if the project is deemed viable by the VSB, at a later date.}

^{Motion by}^{: ..Lynne Davies Seconded by: Barbara
Rushmore}

^{Yea
6 Nay 0}

^{The
next item on the Agenda was the Marketing Plan for FY06. Patricia Fitzpatrick
said that the PBG is not doing a Calendar of Events card this year, She had
obtained a quote of $410.00 for 3000 cards. The cost for 7500 would be $630.00
and they could then be shared with others, such as the PBG. There would also be
a $250.00 design fee. It was then suggested the board
solicit a few other quotes to determine if the cards could be printed for less money.}

^MOTION^{: Move to approve $250.00 for the Design Fee for the Calendar of
Events card.}

^{Motion by}^{: ..Steve Melamed Seconded by: Mick Rudd}

^{Yea
6 Nay 0}

^MOTION^{: Move to approve up to $1000.00 for the printing of up to 10,000
Calendar of Events cards.}

^{Motion by}^{: ..Steve Melamed Seconded by: Mick Rudd}

^{Yea
6 Nay 0}

^{During discussion, t}^{he Board agreed that the cards should be a full
color design and a standard 4" X 9" size which would fit into a #10
envelope for mailing. The motion was then amended.}

^MOTION^{: Move to approve up to $1000.00 for the printing of up to 10,000
Calendar of Events cards which would be four color 4" x 9" Rack
Cards.}

^{Motion by}^{: ..Steve Melamed Seconded by: Laurel
Guadazno}

^{Yea
6 Nay 0}

^{Next
Candace Collins-Boden of the Chamber of Commerce spoke about their Visitor
Survey. They have done an informal survey in the past, but want to expand it
and make it more formal. She presented the Chamber's
proposal and costs to the Board. The initial printing will be for 5000 surveys.
Each person who completes the survey will be given the gift of a pen. The
survey will be conducted from June to October and the results will be available
to the VSB and anyone else who wants the information. Sample copies of the
survey were distributed. Barbara Rushmore suggested two additional questions:
the zip code of the respondent and the event which had brought them (if
applicable).}

^MOTION^{: Move to approve up to $7500.00 for the Chamber of Commerce
Visitor Survey for the 2005 Season}

^{Motion by}^{: ..Steve Melamed Seconded by: Laurel
Guadazno}

^{Yea
6 Nay 0}

^{Tourism
Director Patricia Fitzpatrick began the discussion of the proposed
advertisements in various publications. She said that she works with the
Chamber of Commerce and the PBG to advertise cooperatively so that only one of
them would advertise in any one issue. There was a question as to whether there
would be a discounted rate for multiple insertions if the ads were put in by
more than one advertiser (such as the VSB, the C of C, and the PBG). Ellen
Freeman said that some publishers allow this and some do not. The Board said
that they needed more information and could not approve the whole list.
Patricia Fitzpatrick said that each publication contract would be presented to
the Board and that substitutions and changes could be made to the list if
necessary. The Board would like to know the number of issues published by each
publication and how many advertisements would be run in each. In addition, they would like to see an overall
calendar of the advertising. Patricia
Fitzpatrick will send the information about the publication contracts by email
to all the Board Members today and will return next week to discuss them.}

^{The
contract for Panorama and Where to Stay was discussed. There were discrepancies in the presented materials and
presentation. These discrepancies were not immediately resolved and Lynne
Davies suggested tabling the discussion until May 9th, because more information
was needed. Because it is important to get the ads in as soon as possible, Mick
Rudd suggested empowering the Chairman to work with Patricia Fitzpatrick to arrive at the correct numbers and approve the
contract on behalf of the Board if warranted. Once approved the contract would proceed through the
standard procurement process. If she felt that there were still issues, she
would bring it back to the Board.}

^MOTION^{: Move to authorize Lynne Davies to work with Patricia
Fitzpatrick to reconcile the advertising
contract with Panorama and be empowered to authorize
the signing of said contract in the
name of the VSB.}

^{Motion by}^{: .Mick Rudd. Seconded by: Laurel Guadazno}

^{Yea
4 Nay 1 Abstain 1}

^MOTION^{: Move to finish all the publication contracts at the meeting on
May 9th.}

^{Motion by}^{: ..Steve Melamed Seconded by: Laurel
Guadazno Yea 5 Nay 0 Abstain 1}

^VSB
WEBSITE

^{The
Chairman asked for volunteers to work on the new website. Steve Melamed, Mick
Rudd, and Lynne Davies will be on the committee. The Chairman asked for a
report by the end of May. It was suggested that there be a preliminary report
at the next meeting to go over the basic concepts of the website and make sure
the Board is in agreement. The E Newsletter will be worked on after the site is
set up.}

^{The
next three items on the Agenda (Surveys, Booth redesign and Holiday Lighting)
were tabled until the next meeting.}

^LOPES
SQUARE

^{Barbara
Rushmore then spoke about Lopes Square and the sidewalk being put in near the
Chamber of Commerce. She said that it was not put in as it was supposed to be.
She is unhappy about the way the project is being overseen. Ms. Rushmore said
that the trees’ roots need watering, but this hasn't been done as much as it
should be. The Board discussed some concerns about
the landscape architect used on the project and suggested moving to not use the
firm for future projects. Lynne Davies cautioned the Board regarding this
motion and stated that any additional work done on the Waterfront Project could
be addressed with their concerns in mind. Some members of the Board felt
strongly and wanted to present a motion.}

^MOTION^{: Move to not use Martha Lyon on any future projects.}

^{Motion by}^{: ..Steve Melamed Seconded by: Laurel
Guadazno Yea 2 Nay 4}

^{This
matter will be taken into consideration in any future RFP.}

^{The
sidewalk by the Chamber of Commerce is being done by the DPW, not Martha Lyon.
The Board would like to alert the Board of Selectmen about their concerns
regarding this sidewalk. Steve Melamed will
draft a letter and bring it to the next meeting.}

^{Barbara
Rushmore would like to discuss the plan for the Waterfront Park at the
beginning of the next meeting.}

^{The
Chairman said that the VSB had received a bill for a
coop ad for $4000.00 for the Provincetown Film Festival. She said that she would not sign it
until she had more information about the coop ad, given that the VSB had just
granted PIFF an additional $10,000.00.}

^{There
was a brief discussion on the 50% limit on grant contracts. The guidelines say
that the grant cannot be more than 50% percent of the budget for the project
which is being funded. It had been the wish of the
VSB to eliminate that provision from the grant contract. It was agreed to table
this discussion until a later date when it will be part of the grant revisions.}

^MOTION^{: Move to adjourn the meeting at 12:10 p.m.}

^{Motion by}^{: ..Mick Judd Seconded by: Steve Melamed}

^{Yea
6 Nay 0}

^{The
Chairman suggested having two meetings a month going
forward. There was general agreement. Further
discussions will take place at the next meeting. The next meeting will
be May 9th.}