HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.a. 2015-02-04 Meeting Minutes DraftCSE Minutes Regular Meeting: Feb 4 , 2015 Page 1 of 4
MINUTES:
COMMISSION ON SPECIAL EVENTS MEETING
Vail Town Council Chambers
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 @ 8:30am
CSE Members Present: Jeff Andrews
Barry Davis
Shenna Engleman
Mark Gordon
Rayla Kundolf
Marco Valenti
Alison Wadey
Town of Vail Staff Present: Sybill Navas, CSE Coordinator
Kelli McDonald, Economic Development Manager
Patty McKenny, Vail Town Clerk
Molly Eppard, Art in Public Places Coordinator
Others Present: Laura Waniuk, Event Liaison
Missy Johnson, Highline
Jeff Brausch, Highline
Laurie Asmussen, Eagle Valley Events
Brian Hall, Blue Creek Productions
Angela Mueller , REN Productions
Ann Foster, REN Productions
Beth Pappas, Vail Recreation District
Sean Glackin, Alpine Quest Sports
Meeting materials can be accessed at the following link:
http://www.vailgov.com/WebLink8/0/fol/321723/Row1.aspx
Acting CSE Chair, Barry Davis, called the meeting to order at 8:42am
Administrative Items
• CSE Members Swearing In: Patty McKenny, Vail Town Clerk. Barry Davis, Mark
Gordon, Marco Valenti and Alison Wadey were appointed on December 2nd by the
Vail Town Council to serve two year terms expiring on December 31, 2016. Shenna
Engleman was appointed on January 20th to serve out the unexpired term of Nicole
Whitaker, which expires on December 31, 2015.
• Election of Officers: CSE Chair and Vice Chair
Motion to approve Barry Davis as 2015 CSE Chair and Mark Gordon as
2015 CSE Vice-chair.
M/S/P: Kundolf/ Andrews/Unanimous The motion passed 7-0
• Approval of the Minutes of the CSE’s Meeting on December 3, 2014
Motion to approve the minutes of the CSE Meeting, December 3, 2014, as
presented.
M/S/P: Gordon/Kundolf/Unanimous The motion passed 7-0
• CSE Contact list and Meeting Dates for 2015
Navas to update as requested.
• CAST (Colorado Association of Ski Towns) Meeting: Barry, Kelli and Sybill gave a
report on January 23 in Dillon explaining how Vail’s Special Events program is
managed. The PowerPoint presentation that was prepared for this meeting is
included in the meeting materials.
CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: Feb 4 , 2015 Page 2 of 4
• Financial Report and Budget Update
Navas reported that Vail Rocks! had cancelled their event due to internal organizational
challenges, and that there had been a clerical error in the amount designated to the CSE as
part of the Town Vail budget, resulting in a $31,000 balance of available Special Event
funding.
Event Survey Agreement with RRC: Review and approve the proposed contract
Motion to approve the RRC contract, as written.
M/S/P: Andrews/Kundolf/Unanimous The motion passed 7-0
Tier IV Criteria: Determine process for revision to Tier IV Category funding criteria to present
to Council by April 3rd- materials would be due March 25th.
• Kundolf and Andrews will be the CSE representatives who work on the criteria.
Rogers will be asked to participate and another Town of Vail staff person will support
the development of the presentation and criteria.
Vail Whitewater Kayak Series: Request to transfer the funding agreement to the Vail
Recreation District: Sean Glackin and Beth Pappas
Motion to approve the transfer of the allocation and agreement from Alpine
Quest Sports to the Vail Recreation District.
M/S/P: Kundolf /Gordon /Unanimous The motion passed 7-0
Event Recaps:
• Vail Snow Daze 2014: rescheduled for March 4 @ request from Highline
Vail Resort impressions and survey data not yet available.
• Vail Holidaze 2014: Highline: Missy Johnson, accompanied by AIPP Coordinator,
Molly Eppard
Christmas tree lighting with lantern walk supported by AIPP was a great success.
Collaboration with local performers to continue the connection with the community was
a key part of the event. Kundolf mentioned that they should continue generating local
sponsorship. Dorothy Browning sponsored the lantern creation and Alpine Bank was a
strong sponsor for the event as well.
Motion to approve the 2014 Vail Holidaze recap and release the final
funding disbursement.
M/S/P: Kundolf/Gordon/Unanimous The motion passed 7-0
Vail Rocks!: cancellation and reallocation of funding
CSE members agreed by consensus to support the staff recommendation to reallocate the
remaining $31,000 of the CSE’s event funds for 2015 to Vail America Days™ and/or Vail
Holidaze.
Vail Holidaze and Vail America Days™: Review proposals, select Event Producer and
allocate funding for Vail America Days™ and Vail Holidaze. The CSE requested to first review
the proposals for Vail America Days™, then follow with the review of the Vail Holidaze
proposals.
2015 Vail America Days™- Blue Creek Productions
Hall’s key strategy is focusing on theatrical and post parade events, variety show and activities
for kids. Brian will lead and tag team with Laurie Asmussen on this event; she will work for him.
2015 Vail America Days™- Ren Productions
Mueller is the producer of Taste of Vail and Vail Farmers’ Market. Her team is able to manage
large crowds and they can bring in some of the vendors from the Farmers’ Market to the event.
Mueller wants to ensure that there is a community feel and positive impact on both the guests’
experience and locals. Focus on “Made in Colorado” local food and vendors. The vendor
location would be in Mountain Plaza, they already have permission from Vail Resorts. Beer
sponsorship is confirmed if the contract is signed. Mueller stated that she had produced a
smaller parade in the past. Staffing budget is high to address the need for crowd control and
parade management. Davis asked about insurance. Mueller said the insurance cost would be
$.44-$.50 per person and she would take out a new policy for the event.
2015 Vail America Days™ - Highline
The original 2015 funding request was a shortfall in relation to last year’s budget. They would
plan the event like last year, with a focus on the parade. Brausch spoke about the insurance
cost for the parade, which is the most expensive for any event that they produce. The reasons
CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: Feb 4 , 2015 Page 3 of 4
for the expense: no barricades, throwing candy which drives people into the street, water
launching and the narrow parade route with many tight turns. A standard 4th of July parade
runs along much wider roads. Brausch stated that ambient activities are a challenge to hold,
may not be as successful. Kundolf stated that the one day celebration has demonstrated itself
to be the most successful. Kundolf also mentioned she’d like to see an evening concert and
asked what other sponsors they are trying to secure. They are researching further sponsorship
opportunities. Solaris will not be holding a 4th of July celebration.
2015 Vail Holidays – Eagle Valley Events
Laurie Asmussen will take the lead on this and Brian will work for her. Asmussen provided her
bio and background to the new CSE members. Asmussen suggested re-naming the event to
utilize the more traditional spelling of “Holidays”. Her main goals are delighting families and
providing a great guest experience. Asmussen would like to bring back a holiday gift market,
produce it outside of the budget for this event. Asmussen would like to work with Solaris and
have a skating show with the local skating club; the extra cost would be $10,000 to include it.
Navas said the cost to use Solaris is increasing. One suggestion was to hold the skating event
at Arrabelle in Lionshead.
2015 Vail Holidaze – Ren Productions
Mueller would focus on the tree lighting, but in addition include the holiday market, prior to the
tree lighting (Dec. 13). The market would be held indoors at a hotel. Mueller would use
vendors from other locations in Colorado. Wadey mentioned that the local vendors should be
considered as well, integrating the Vail businesses. The Kris Kringle market is held a week
before the tree lighting, a weekend event. It could map to Snow Daze timing. Andrews
mentioned that a more optimum day might be Saturday instead, in order to book more room
nights. Kundolf stated that the holiday market has been a challenge and a risk in the past, but
it could be a good opportunity as well. There is no skating show included in the current budget,
but Mueller could follow up with her contacts to research the costs.
2015 Vail Holidaze – Highline
The higher budget included the skating entertainment, high quality, included Olympic level and
local skating groups. They would need an additional $10k-$15k to bring the event to the same
level as the 2014. The skating show is a big line item. Year one was around $70k, production
value was very high. Brausch stated that $40k-$50k would get a good skating show. Vail
Resorts used to be a partner, when they pulled their funding, the event changed to remove the
skating show. Wadey asked if the skating production could be moved to Lionshead, but there
is a concern that the rink is too small. They looked at holding a similar show at Dobson, but
Highline wasn’t sure if the quality and brand fit would be right.
Vail America Days™ ─ Discussion
Davis said that this is the town’s iconic event and it needs to focus on the core product, putting
on a world class parade and fireworks event. Andrews stated that Vail needs to “own” the 4th of
July. Andrews liked the programming from the last two years, and what happens afterwards
might not drive more lodging nights, but it would create a celebratory atmosphere.
Kundolf stated that the parade is the “jewel” of the event. Davis stated that it might be a
consideration to split the fireworks budget differently. He stated that that he thought 70% of the
fireworks budget should be allocated to the 4th of July. Navas mentioned that the Bravo concert
is one of the anchor events of the day. Andrews stated that having activation all day might not
improve the experience. He added that there is a benefit to having the previous producer
manage the parade because of their knowledge. Engleman asked what type of activation and
innovation would/could impact the parade itself. Wadey asked the producers what type of
innovation would they add but still keep the elevated quality of the event. Andrews said that it
would be interesting to see what other types of activation could be created and Gordon said
maybe the allocation funding could be split between producers for different portions of the
event. Davis is interested in trying something new, with a focus on the pageantry. Andrews
stated that there might not be enough information to make a decision for 2015, perhaps it can
be a consideration for 2016.
Motion to select Highline as the producer of the 2015 Vail America Days™
with a budget of $65,000 to support activation similar to 2014.
M/S/P: Gordon/Valenti/Davis opposed. The motion passed 6 -1.
CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: Feb 4 , 2015 Page 4 of 4
Holidaze/Holidays ─ Discussion
Andrews said that although Highline did a great job on this event, perhaps a new producer
could increase the excitement and innovation of this event. Eppard stated that Art in Public
Places lantern creation and walk could be implemented with any of the event producers.
Valenti stated that he thinks it’s a good opportunity to showcase the Vail brand and bring
revenue to local vendors. Wadey gave the example of “Noel Night” in Telluride and it’s
attraction to both guests and locals. Davis asked the producers if they could come back in
March and present a more specific proposal with a $36,000 budget (not including fireworks,
which would be paid for from the Council’s designated funding) Gordon stated that involving
the local merchants is a great idea to investigate further. Molly noted that the Triumph
Winterfest may start the event/installation earlier next year because of the warmer weather,
which has significantly sped up ice melting this January. Davis asked Molly to return in March
to provide an update.
Andrews said that he thinks these two events (America Days™ and Holidaze) should fall into
the overall council budget. McDonald asked Wadey if the Chamber could help with the
activation and operations. Davis stated that the new producer selection is an opportunity to
further define the “Holidaze/Holidays” event. Navas explained how America Days™ and
Holidaze are different from other events because they require so much support from the town,
in-kind and financially. The town provides access and resources for these two events.
Engleman asked where the group wants to align with Holidaze, in comparison to 4th of July.
Andrews stated that the three key pillars are tree lighting, ski down and fireworks. He also
raised the idea that the entire week could be focused on a shopping experience with the local
retailers. Kundolf mentioned that it’s important to keep the event in line with the Vail brand.
The CSE wants to see the producers innovate around the tree lighting, ski down and fireworks.
Engleman stated that it’s key to explain to the producers what we’re looking for – in terms of
the iconic portions of the event. Andrews requested that the CSE have an opportunity to
communicate with the producers prior to their event and provide them with more information on
the CSE strategic focus.
Motion to table the allocation of $36,000 in funding available for Vail
Holidaze to the March 2015 CSE meeting and give an opportunity to event
producers to more explicitly present new ideas, events and innovations.
M/S/P: Gordon/Wadey/Unanimous The motion passed 7-0.
New Business and Community Input
Andrews said that the producer e-newsletter that Waniuk has developed is a good tool and
asked how the CSE can support the effort. Waniuk stated forwarding ideas for topics to her to
include in the next e-newsletter would be helpful.
Gordon stated that there is an opportunity to discuss with promoters or staff to find out what
we’re doing right and what needs improvement. Engleman suggested that we send out a
survey to assess producer insights. McDonald and Navas stated that much of this information
is exchanged in the ERC meeting.
Gordon requested that we see gross numbers for sales. McDonald and Navas stated that the
new RRC survey will include this information.
Motion to Adjourn at 11:30am
M/S/P: Andrews/Kundolf/Unanimous The motion passed 7-0.
Next CSE Meeting: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 @ 8:30 a.m.