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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 11-12-2008ST. LUCIE COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY 0 November 12, 2008 0 12:30 P.M. MINUTES Members present: Commissioner Doug Coward, Chairman Marilyn Minix, Road Runner Travel Resort Diann McDonough, The PGA Golf Club Christopher Egan, Sheraton PGA Vacation Resort Pam Haney, Holiday Inn Express Members absent: Michelle Berger, City of Port St. Lucie Paul Taglieri, St. Lucie Mets Commissioner Christine Coke, City of Fort Pierce Dr. Chris Taylor, St. Lucie County School Board Staff present: Larry Daum, Economic Development Manager Faye Outlaw, Assistant County Administrator Lee Ann Lowery, Assistant County Administrator Heather Lueke, Assistant County Attorney Katherine Mackenzie-Smith, Assistant County Attorney Erick Gill, Public Information Officer Debra Brisson, Parks and Recreation Director Jody Bonet, Cultural Affairs Manager JoAnn Riley, St. Lucie County Property Acquisitions Steve Fousek, St. Lucie County Environmental Lands Manager Ja' Net Pentz, Recording Secretary Also present: George Byfield, Comet Creative, Inc. Erica Byfield, Comet Creative, Inc. Loretta Dillon, Chamber of Commerce Diana Enriquez, Spherion Anne Preston, Cultural Affairs Council Jack Connolly, Cultural Affairs Council Jeanne Johansen, Cultural Affairs Council Eric Haenni, Land Acquisition Committee Daniel Mundis, The Real Estate Agency at Ocean Village Bob Bangert, Environmental Advisory Committee Jennifer Simpkins, Environmental Advisory Committee Mary Chapman, Smart Growth Committee Laura Diederick, Smithsonian Marine Center Melissa Adams, Endless Travel Plus Jose Garofalo, St. Lucie Film Society Barbara Slater, Fairfield Inn Suites -Fort Pierce Ingrid Van Hekken, A-1 Mortgage Ed Griffith -Courtyard by Marriott -Hutchinson Island Lisa Gilrane -Holiday Inn -Port St. Lucie Tourist Development Council Meeting 0 November 12, 2008 Jo Seiler, Hampton Inn Suites Kelly Buckley, OTO Development Jim Hansen, Residence Inn -Port St. Lucie Michelle Valvano, Perfect Drive Golf Villas Chris Dzadovsky, Commissioner Elect Terri Ann Palumbo Tammy Flair, Cultural Affairs Council Lisa Mowers, Southern Eagle Carol Archebelle, Comet Creative, Inc. Marti Reno, Art in Public Places Stanley Silver, Cultural Affairs Council T.A. Wyner, Art in Public Places Joe Holiday, St. Lucie Professional Arts League Kelly Holiday, St. Lucie Professional Arts League Odaly Victorio, Sage P.R. Firm, LLC 1. CALL TO ORDER: Commissioner Coward called the meeting to order at 12:40 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: Ja' Net Pentz called roll. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from October 8, 2008 were approved unanimously. 4. WELCOME 5. SELF INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: Attending guests identified themselves. 6. BRIEF RECAP OF LAUNCH EVENTS/PLANS Mr. George Byfield gave a brief recap of the Tourism Launch. Ms. Faye Outlaw, Assistant County Administrator, gave a brief update on the open position. Ms. Outlaw stated that over 65 applications have been received. The applications were narrowed down to five applicants. The five applicants were interviewed by a panel that consisted of Michael Brillhart, Erick Gill and Larry Daum. The five applicants were narrowed down to three. The final three finalists were interviewed by Ms. Outlaw and Carl Holeva, Human Resources Director. Human Resources is currently doing a background check on the finalist and an offer will be made. 7. OPEN DISCUSSION TDC GOALS AND GROUP MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES Jack Connolly gave a brief presentation on the Cultural Affairs Council. Mr. Connolly stated that one thing he would like to see as you enter the County is a sign that says Page 2 of 6 Tourist Development Council Meeting 0 November 12, 2008 "Welcome to St. Lucie County", the home of Beanie Backus, Zora Neale Hurston, Highway Men, etc. Jody Bonet, Cultural Affairs Manager, spoke about the sculptures that are exhibited throughout the County. Ms. Bonet stated that there are 14 local art pieces throughout the County. Three more will be coming on line in six months. The Art in Public Places in itself is a market, as well as the Historical Museum and the Marine Center. We have a lot of programs and that was the goal of our Mini-Grant Program. The goal of the program was to give funds to a lot of different agencies so they could have events that would attract not only national people, but also attract local visitors. T.A. Wyner, Art in Public Places, gave a brief explanation of what Art in Public Places program is. The Art in Public Places program was put in place by an Ordinance. The Ordinance allows for 1 % to 2% of the budget of new buildings and in some cases the renovation of buildings. She stated that she is interested in seeing what happened to art within the Comprehensive Plan. Asked when and where money has been spent to fulfill that portion of the law, which is the Comprehensive Plan. She also stated that Art and Culture was purposely put into a targeted list so that it would be an area for our children to have a place for a profession and to also continue to bring art into the community. Feels that there have been some missed opportunities and some monies that need to be redirected and shared with not only the industries of research, but to actually focus in on some of that industry that is art related. Larry Daum gave a brief discussion on the several different types of mini grants. The mini grants that are being referred to are administered by the Cultural Affairs Council. There is another set of grants that are administered by the TDC. We need to think about this and make sure that everybody understands which ones we are talking about because there are two different sets of mini grants out there. Jack Connolly had asked people who were getting Cultural Affairs Mini Grants if they would write letters to the Council indicating what Cultural Affairs meant to them, what the mini grant program meant to them and they wrote back how grateful they were to the Board of County Commissioners for all they have done and how much those grants, as small as they may be, help them get cultural events out to the public. T.A. Wyner asked if the money paid for license plates for the arts is being used towards the grants. Jody Bonet stated that the license plate tag money is being used for the grants. Jeanne Johansen, Cultural Affairs Council, gave a brief PowerPoint Presentation on the economic importance of Cultural Affairs. Commissioner Coward stated that his first thought was to develop a list of all the different events and cultural resources that we have in the community. Asked if we are currently acknowledging those on the Tourism website, do the hotels/motels have that information so that the information is getting out. Page 3 of 6 Tourist Development Council Meeting 0 November 12, 2008 Jody Bonet, Cultural Affairs Manager, stated that a lot of the sites are on the Tourism website. Commissioner Coward asked if the Tourism website has a link with all the information. Odaly Victorio stated that the calendar on the Tourism site would have all of those events if they were passed on to the Tourism Department. Those events were put in as we were informed about them. Commissioner Coward stated that maybe the Cultural Affairs Councils at a follow-up meeting can get an overview of the Tourism website and make sure that they are comfortable with what the TDC is doing and if not, provide some additional information. Lisa Mowers asked if the IPRA National Rodeo is on the Tourism website for this weekend. That is going to bring in a lot of people. Commissioner Coward stated that he did not know the answer to that. Commissioner Coward asked how to improve getting these on the calendar. He also asked who is managing the website currently. Larry Daum stated that Tourism cut a deal with the Chamber. He stated that Tourism was doing a quarterly schedule of events and about three years ago, that was turned over to the Chamber. We picked up and kept the major events as we moved forward, but we have not tried to do a quarterly events schedule, let alone a monthly events schedule. He stated that our website has vastly improved over what it was three years ago. Commissioner Elect, Chris Dzadvosky, stated that the terms of "heads on beads" need to be defined better. Marilyn Minix stated that the "heads on beds," as far as the TDC is concerned, is to make sure that all monies come into the TDC for advertising to help bring more "heads on beds." Commissioner Coward stated that what we are talking about goes beyond the role of the TDC and we need to be expanding those efforts, but as it relates to the TDC, as per state law, we are getting money from hotels and we are limited on how we can spend those dollars and it needs to be related back to "heads on beds." Commissioner Coward stated that there needs to be a more specific discussion on marketing. There may be specific user groups, websites and publications within the art realm that we as the TDC may not even be aware of. As we are deciding how to expend our marketing dollars we need information from individuals about how we can target those specific audiences. Commissioner Coward also stated that he Page 4 of 6 Tourist Development Council Meeting 0 November 12, 2008 agrees with the presentation in terms of the economic benefit that can occur in St. Lucie County. Maybe the Cultural Affairs Council can provide some guidance on investing TDC dollars specifically for heritage tours or cultural type activities. Jose Garofalo, St. Lucie Film Society, stated that when you go into hotels in Orlando, the first things you see when you turn the television on is are the events that are happening locally. Chris Egan stated that being a branded property there are brand standards that would not allow that to be broadcasted. Commissioner Coward stated that we will be looking at this grant program for with the TDC again. He also asked that if they have specific suggestions, to please get them to the TDC. Bob Bangert gave a brief presentation on the Environmental Advisory Committee. He stated that it is the job of the committee to make environmental improvements to the County's Comprehensive Plan. Jennifer Simpkins suggested doing an Eco-Tourism package, hiking, biking and kayaking. Laura Diederick stated that Elder Hostel approached the Smithsonian and are actually working with them and created a Smithsonian Research Package and will be in place in 2009. Bob Bangert stated that the Manatee Center and the Oxbow also have kayaking and other events; maybe they ought to widen who they notify about these events. Commissioner Coward asked if there was anyone present from the Land Acquisition Committee. Eric Haenni, Land Acquisition Committee, stated that he loved the idea of Arts in Public Places and suggested Art in Natural Places. Steve Fousek, Environmental Lands Manager, gave a brief presentation on his current projects. Lisa Mowers suggested that with the amount of money that people put into their trailers, it would be wise to put some R.V. hookups in the parks. Commissioner Coward asked if the website has an update on what is taking place with the environmentally sensitive lands. Lee Ann Lowery, Assistant County Administrator, stated that the sites are listed on the Environmental Resources Department website and that she is currently working with the Mosquito Control District and Jody Bonet, Cultural Affairs Manager. Page5of6 Tourist Development Council Meeting 0 November 12, 2008 Erica Byfield stated that St. Lucie Travel Guide will feature a local artist in every issue. Pam Haney stated that this is going to be a step process. She stated that we need to find a funnel for all of the agencies so that we get all of the information. She also stated that there needs to be a creation of consolidation with the smaller events. Anna Preston asked about random sampling. Chris Egan stated that companies are trying to be consistent. Pam Haney stated that franchise standards have become extremely "down the line." Stanley Silver, Cultural Affairs Council, asked if the hotels/motels doing everything they can to promote the Tourism website. Michelle Valvano stated that hotels probably do not promote as much we would other sites because all of competition is listed on that site. A member of the public asked if there are any local advertising dollars in the hotel community to be spent to buy ads on our County website. Ms. Outlaw stated that it is part of the advertising or marketing partnership we include advertisement on the website. Larry Daum stated that we are looking into that right now. There are listings of all the properties, there are emails, there are all types of information about each property on the website now. Chris Egan stated that one of his frustrations serving on this board for the many years is that we have limited marketing dollars and we can't measure the effectiveness of the marketing. Commissioner Coward stated that he was extremely excited about having this meeting. He stated that he could tell with the enthusiasm in the room that there is a lot of opportunity for us to do a whole lot better at working together and marketing St. Lucie County and trying to take advantage of the existing resources that we have and also exploring new opportunities. He stated that we also need to look at non- traditional ways that we can invest in these areas. He also stated that he would like to challenge the committees to make tourism a new priority. 8. OTHER BUSINESS/PUBLIC COMMENT None. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m. Page6of6