TOWN
OF PROVINCETOWN
VISITOR
SERVICES BOARD
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2005
Chairman Lynne Davies convened the
meeting at 10:05 AM noting the following attendees:
VSB members: Lynne Davies, Chairman; Kathleen Fitzgerald; Laurel Guadazno; Michael Peregon; Mick Rudd; Hersh Schwartz
Absent VSB member: Peter Bez; (excused absence)
Other attendees: Bill
Schneider, Administrative Tourism Director; Candace Collins-Boden, Executive
Director, Chamber of Commerce
Recorder: Cynthia Curran
The following are meeting minutes, in
brief:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION: Move to approve the minutes of the November 4, 2005 VSB
meeting as written.
Motion by: Michael Peregon Seconded by: Hersh Schwartz Yea 5 Nay 0
Abstain 1 (MR)
MOTION: Move to approve the minutes of the November 8, 2005 VSB
meeting as written.
Motion by: Michael Peregon Seconded by: Hersh Schwartz Yea 4 Nay 0
Abstain 2 (LG, KF)
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Lynne Davies discussed three gatherings,
which needed to be arranged. The first
was a meeting to explain the grant guidelines to applicants. She thought that it should be after
Thanksgiving. The Board decided to hold
the meeting on Thursday, December 1 from 9:00 to 11:00 AM
Ms. Davies also wanted to organize a time
to decorate Town Hall. There will
already be wreaths and some lights, but additional decorations should also be
put up. She hoped that it could be done
before Holly Folly. It was decided to
hold it in the afternoon on December 1.
The PBG and Chamber of Commerce will be asked to email their members to
come and help. Bill Schneider will meet
with Candace Collins-Boden and Gabby Hanna to form a plan for the
decorations. The lights, which were
previously affixed to the Town Hall, will be replaced as necessary today by
Long Point Electric and Town Hall custodial staff.
MOTION: Move to authorize up to $200.00 for additional decorations
for Town Hall (from the Marketing funds).
Motion by: Michael Peregon Seconded by: Hersh Schwartz
Yea 6 Nay 0
MOTION: Move to authorize up to $100.00 for refreshments for the
decorating party for Town Hall (from the Marketing funds).
Motion by: Michael Peregon Seconded by: Hersh Schwartz
Yea 6 Nay 0
Ms.
Davies also requested Bill Schneider to arrange a meeting with the Chamber of
Commerce, the PBG and other businesses to discuss strategic marketing for
Provincetown. She thought that they
should hold quarterly meetings. Ms. Collins-Boden
thought that twice a year would be better.
The Board agreed on twice a year.
Ms. Davies said that the meeting should be held soon, because it might
affect the marketing budget.
REVIEW
OF PR FIRM RFP
Bill
Schneider said he had reviewed both RFP’s and had some questions he would like
to ask of both companies. He went over
some of them. Lynne Davies suggested
that Mr. Schneider should take the lead on choosing the right firm, since it is
his area of expertise. The other Board
members agreed. Laurel Guadazno said
that the members should be present at the interviews. Mick Rudd said that Mr. Schneider must be comfortable with the
firm chosen, but the VSB must help Mr. Schneider with the decision. Ms. Davies said that Mr. Schneider should
set up the interviews. The Board
members will be present and will discuss the interviews with Mr. Schneider and
make a decision. Mr. Schneider will try
to arrange the interviews for Tuesday, December 29th, beginning at
10:00 AM. Mr. Rudd asked if the PBG and
the Chamber of Commerce should be involved.
Ms. Davies said that they would be welcome to sit in and listen.
STAFFING
REPORT
Bill
Schneider said that five candidates had been interviewed for the Administrative
Assistant position. David Gardner was
chosen for the job and the Town Manager approved the appointment. Mr. Schneider said that Mr. Gardner has had
previous municipal experience in California.
WATERFRONT
PARK INITIATIVE
Lynne
Davies said that the Waterfront Park renovation should be a separate part of
the budget proposal. The VSB could make
a presentation to the BOS. Laurel
Guadazno said that that would be a stronger way to approach it and that the
renovation was well within our mission.
On a related subject, she asked about the Historic Walking Tour
project. Ms. Davies said that it still
needed to be worked on and that a meeting should be held in December. The money has already been provided for by
an article at Town Meeting.
PROPOSED
GUIDELINES – FY07 GRANT PROGRAM
The
grant application and guidelines were presented to the BOS on Monday
night. Bill Schneider will “wordsmith”
the grant application following the suggestions of the BOS. Ms. Davies said that the BOS accepted the
application in general but thought that it should be more “user-friendly.” It does not have to go back to the BOS for
approval. Mr. Schneider will work on
the application and send copies to all the members.
FY07
BUDGET REVIEW
Lynne
Davies said that as part of the budget review process, the VSB should look at
its mission and goals. She distributed
sheets with the mission statement, and past target markets and goals. Mick Rudd said that in the past the VSB’s
mission was to promote the shoulder season, but that it has changed to
promoting year-round tourism. The Board
reviewed the list of markets, modifying some and adding some new markets. The list (not in any particular order) was:
· GLBT
· Eco-tourism
· Interest in Arts
(galleries, theatre, museums, etc.)
· Regional
· Families
· Day trippers
· Return business
· Small meetings and
conventions
· New Generation
· International
· Second home owners
· Group Tours
· Adjunct to
business trip in Boston
· Beach vacationers
·
The goals were reviewed.
Although some have been accomplished or are in process, most have not
been reached.
Lynne Davies reviewed the budgeted amounts as listed in the Five Year
Plan. She questioned the amount for
beautification. Part of the municipal
portion of the budget is marked for “beautification maintenance” (for watering,
grass cutting of parks and public areas).
Part of the VSB’s money has also been used to fund the Beautification
Committee. This money is used for
projects such as trees, landscaping, benches and bike racks. Ms. Davies thought that it was perhaps not
right that one board should fund another.
She also thought that since they are using VSB funds, the VSB should
have fiscal oversight over the committee.
Ms. Davies said that an alternative use of the money would be for the
Waterfront Park renovation. Mick Rudd
said that the chairman of the Beautification Committee used to attend VSB
meetings. He thought that the Town
Meeting should fund the Beautification Committee separately or the
Beautification Committee should develop a plan and submit it to the VSB for a
grant. Ms. Davies said that this was an
issue because other committees would also like to use part of the VSB’s
funds. Laurel Guadazno said that in not
overseeing the Beautification Committee the VSB is not really meeting its
responsibilities. In regards to funding
DPW work, Mick Rudd said that tourists put an extraordinary burden on the town,
so the DPW should be helped because of this extra burden. In response to a question, Mr. Rudd said
that the Beautification Committee did not come out of the VSB, but was a
long-standing committee. Ms. Davies
said that she has requested details about the Beautification Committee’s
spending, but was told that she could not have that information, because it was
a separate committee. Ms. Davies said
that the Board needs more information about this subject. Mr. Schneider said he would speak to
Michelle Jarusiewicz about it. Ms.
Davies said that maybe the Board could get information from past members about
the history.
Lynne Davies felt that the VSB’s goals and philosophy need to be
reflected in the budget. She said that
the Board needs to feel very comfortable that what it puts forward matches its
mission. Bill Schneider said, regarding
the municipal funds paid to the DPW, that the work will not be done if the VSB
does not fund it.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:40 PM.