VISITORS
SERVICE BOARD
Meeting
Minutes of
Members Present: Lynne Davies, Laurel Guadazno,
Michael Peregon, and Rita "Hersh" Schwartz
Members Absent: Peter Bez and Mick Rudd (both
excused)
Kathleen Fitzgerald (unexcused)
Advisory Staff: Bill Schneider, Administrative
Director of Tourism (ADT)
Agenda: The
meeting was called to order at 10:05 AM.
Motion: Approve
the minutes of the June 20th meeting with changes.
Motion: Laurel Guadazno Seconded: Hersh Schwartz Vote: 4-0-0.
Provincetown Video Tour – Cable Advisory Committee (PTV)
Eileen Kennedy, Thanassi Kuliopulos, and Catherine Russo
presented their dilemma to the Board.
PTV was awarded an original grant for a video tour of the Town and its
events. The grant was in the amount of
$4,800 and due to unforeseeable events, the video is not going to be able to be
completed.
Catherine Russo said that there’s a vacuum of authority
right now and none of the replacements are able to accomplish this task. Mr. Kuliopulos said that the group feels
that we can do it but it’ll be delayed.
He further said that they can’t even call a meeting without a chair and
no one wants to be a chair. He projects
that it may be a month or two before the work can commence.
Ms. Russo said PTV feels too pressured to do this. "Nobody’s fault – just
circumstances."
Chairman Davies expressed concern that the Town has a lot of
events happening and waiting several months would put the VSB behind the eight ball
in their effort to complete this project.
Perhaps the CAC can apply another time for a grant? Ms. Davies thanked the group for their input
and honesty and for their excellent services to the Town.
Ms. Russo said she is available for volunteering for
PTV. Mr. Kuliopulos said that the
equipment is available, along with all the computers and the editing,
suggesting someone else could do the filming.
Michael Peregon asked what kind of timeframe would we have
if we got someone else. The ADT
believes the project could be developed during the fall. Laurel Guadazno suggested asking a volunteer
to select some footage from what has been done.
Eileen Kennedy and Catherine Russo have just completed a
video for the National Seashore and mentioned someone named Chris who will
provide editorial services. He loves
editing the finished product. Ms. Russo
said all Chris would have to do is to follow the story board.
After the discussion, the following motion was made:
Motion: Authorize
the ADT to create an RFP for a video tour of Provincetown. The RFP would appear in the Banner on July
20 and July 27 with an August 3rd deadline.
Motion: Michael Peregon Seconded: Hersh
Schwartz Vote: 4-0-0.
Funding Request – Disability Commission
Doug Johnstone came before the Board to request funding for the newly updated wheelchair accessibility brochure. It hasn’t been updated since 2000, and there are only 10 copies left. Michelle DeMarco is a promoter in Town and she felt that a professional should do the design and layout. Doug said that ideally the Disability Commission would like to update this brochure every year. It’s great but now we have the problem of paying for it.
Hersh said that her store has wheelchair bound customers
and, as a special service, they carry things out to the customers. Doug said that they highlighted in the
brochure that people carry things out to those unable to come into the shops.
Motion: The VSB
will fund the printing of the wheelchair accessibility brochure as presented by
the Disability Commission in the amount of $1,426.
Motion: Laurel Guadazno Seconded: Michael
Peregon Vote: 4-0-0.
Data Collection Initiative
The ADT distributed a draft of the information that has been
pulled together, but he is awaiting more data from the National Seashore, Cape
Air, the Provincetown Theater and a few other sources.
Michael Peregon asked what the next steps were. The ADT is working with the assessor and
licensing agent to obtain additional data.
Mr. Peregon wants more information on bus riders. The only way to obtain this information,
said Ms. Davies, was to have the drivers register some place. The ADT has requested ridership information
from Plymouth & Brockton and they have declined providing this
information.
The ADT will present a revised draft at the next VSB
meeting, including additional information from the National Seashore.
Tourism Director’s Report
Family
Week
In an effort to help promote the various activities
scheduled throughout Town during Family Week (July 29th through
August 5th), the ADT requested members of the Chamber of Commerce
and PBG, as well as our cultural institutions, to provide information that will
be produced as a mini-version of our Calendar of Events. The Family Pride organization will include this
pictorial calendar in the "Welcome Bags" provided to all 500 families
attending Family Week. The production
costs for the calendar are $250.
A letter to all businesses would not be as economical as the
following:
Motion: Request
the ADT to run an ad in the Banner July 20 and July 27 for two consecutive
weeks requesting any Provincetown business or organization wishing to have a
link to the PTO website submit a written request, providing their business
name, address, telephone number, website address and their commitment to advise
the ADT in writing if and when they have a change of information.
Motion: Michael Peregon Seconded: Hersh
Schwartz Vote: 4-0-0.
Advertising
A discussion ensued regarding the Concierge Magazine ad for
Fall 2006. Ms. Guadazno suggested
adding “shopping” and change the reference to art, history and culture to be
“the arts.”
Motion: Approve
the proposed advertising contract with Boston Phoenix for a super website
banner ad to run for four weeks during August 2006, at a cost not to exceed
$2,500 to be funded from the FY07 marketing budget.
Motion: Hersh Schwartz Seconded: Michael
Peregon Vote: 4-0-0.
The ADT said that the Tourism Office has not attended a mainstream
trade show in Canada for several years.
Toronto was the show under discussion and Mr. Peregon expressed concern
that Toronto is a long way away. He
hears a lot of French speaking Canadians around here so it means that Montreal
is where our strongest market is. Ms.
Davies believes Toronto is cosmopolitan
and she thinks it’s worth a try.
Motion: Approve
the ADT's recommendation to attend the Travel and Leisure Show in Toronto,
Canada on November 2-5, 2006, and that expenses not to exceed $4,300 be funded
from the FY07 marketing budget.
Motion: Hersh Schwartz Seconded: Michael
Peregon Vote: 4-0-0.
One-Day
Museum Pass
The response seems to have been underwhelming. The Whydah said that they’ve sold only a few
tickets. The Monument (PMPM) has sold
less than 10. The ADT will develop a
sign for each of the venues and the Chamber to display, promoting this
initiative.
The ADT would like to invite both PBG and the Chamber of
Commerce to a joint meeting to discuss the marketing plan for FY07.
Budget Update
Ms. Davies discussed the room tax revenues. “We’re ahead of last year and we had a great
fall season.” Ms. Davies recommends
keeping the budget flat. Ms. Davies
raised questions regarding the budget, which the ADT will research and report
about at the next VSB meeting.
Tourism
Office Logo Design RFP
The ADT has reviewed the contract regarding the current
usage of the Tourism logo and has determined a realistic price to design a new
logo would be around $2,500. Mr.
Schneider expressed many concerns about the proposed RFP since all
advertisements and collateral material have the current logo on it, so all of
these materials will need to be replaced.
A discussion ensued as to whether or not the Tourism Office
needs to have a new identity and how that ties in with branding. Mr. Peregon concurs with the ADT, as does
Ms. Schwartz. Ms. Guadazno suggested
the ADT explore purchasing the rights from the designer to enable the Tourism
Office to sell T-shirts and other insignia products to raise money for
Tourism-sponsored gift funds to benefit of the Town.
Winter
Windows
Ms. Schwartz provided an overview of this project. Twenty paintings are done and others are
being completed. Ms. Schwartz will
continue to confirm which businesses are willing to participate and she is
confident there may be 35 pieces of art (including those from last year).
Ms. Davies expressed her thanks to Ms. Schwartz for all of
the work she's done. The ADT will work
on a press release regarding this project.
Mr. Peregon would like to see the stores stay open beyond
the end of the summer, and see the Town operate like a shopping mall. Ms. Schwartz offered to encourage the
restaurants and businesses that remain open to take out an ad. Ms. Davies agreed this should be a joint
effort.
Ms. Schwartz would like to see the
Holly Folly event beefed up. Another
idea without costing restaurants or inns a lot of money would be to offer
complimentary hors d'oevres, free dessert or early bird specials in the
winter. This could stimulate
business. Ms. Guadazno cited the Mews
Wednesday night initiative last winter, which was well patronized.
Mr. Peregon suggested that businesses consider offering a
promotional discount coupon.
Bathroom Initiative
Ms. Schwartz said that we need maps to help guide tourists
to where the bathrooms are located. Ms.
Guadazno agreed that the lack of proper signage is a concern.
A discussion ensued about this initiative, and it was suggested that Mr. Peregon research where all of the public/private bathrooms are and provide a list for the next VSB meeting.
The Farmer’s Market was discussed and Ms. Guadazno believes
an effort should be made to reinstate it.
The plan from the Pier Corp was to start with one small business and
then enlarge.
Laser
Color Printer
The ADT stated his need for a laser color printer. After a bit of discussion, the following
motion was made.
Motion: Approve
the ADT's recommendation to purchase a laser color printer at a cost not to
exceed $600, to be funded from the FY06 coordination and support budget.
Motion: Laurel Guadazno Seconded: Hersh
Schwartz Vote: 4-0-0.
The
meeting was adjourned at 12:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted,