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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.a. 2016-06-01 CSE Minutes DRAFT DRAFT COMMISSION ON SPECIAL EVENTS MEETING and Joint Meeting with Vail Local Marketing Advisory Council Vail Town Council Chambers Wednesday, June 1, 2016 @ 8:30am CSE Members Present: Barry Davis Mark Christie Kim Newbury Rediker Shenna Richardson Alison Wadey- departed at 11:03 CSE Members Absent: Mark Gordon Marco Valenti Town of Vail Staff Present: Sybill Navas, CSE Coordinator Kelli McDonald, Economic Development Manager Laura Waniuk, Event Marketing Liaison Others Present: Ainslie Fortune, Cactus Skip Thurnauer, VLMDAC Jessie Klehfoth, VLMDAC Laurie Mullen, VLMDAC Mike Imhof, Vail Valley Foundation Missy Johnson, Highline Brooke Skjonsby, Vail Resorts Amanda Zinn, AIPP Stephen Connolly Cheryl Jensen, Vail Veterans Program Angela Mueller, Taste of Vail AGENDA: Meeting materials can be accessed after May 27th at the following link: http://65.38.144.10/WebLink/0/fol/346300/Row1.aspx CSE Chair, Barry Davis, called the meeting to order at 8:40 am CSE Minutes June 1, 2016 Page 1 of 5 Joint Meeting with Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Committee (VLMDAC ): Development of revised RFP criteria based on revised Town Council Mission and Vision Navas stated that the Town Council agreed that the RFP was on the right track. The Town Council did ask about an event recruitment strategy and how would the CSE bring new events to town. Davis said that it will be important to make some bold choices during the RFP process to free up some dollars and calendar time. Navas stated the budget will most likely stay the same as last year without the additional funds from the closing weekend with Spring Back to Vail. Last year the overall budget increase was set at 3%. The town’s budget increase for 2017 has not yet been determined. At times the CSE has requested additional funds outside of their budget from the Town Council, for example, the Bluegrass Concert Series. Event Recruitment Strategy Discussion: What should the CSE’s role be? Thurnauer asked about the type of event the CSE is looking for, iconic events or destination events. Mullen said she realized that it’s difficult for the CSE to bring iconic events such as a Bravo! Vail to town. Davis asked if it’s easier to bring in an iconic event or grow an existing event. Navas mentioned that the Mountain Games, Spring Back to Vail and Gourmet on Gore were all homegrown events and have developed successfully. She continued that the Outlier Offroad Mountain Bike Festival has potential to grow. McDonald stated that through the VLMDAC, sports tournaments have been brought in through group sales and the Vail Valley Partnership. Navas said that the baseball tournament is one of those tournaments and the Bundesliga event is poised to grow in 2017, both taking place in mid-July. Wadey asked what the board could do to make the town more appealing to producers to place their events in other need times. Thurnauer said there is not a lot of capacity on weekends left in the year, and the goal of the VLMDAC is to fill in the mid-week stay. McDonald said that when the CSE took over the Education and Enrichment events, that provided an opportunity to host programs during the week. Rediker said that it’s easier for kids’ sports tournaments to occur during July because the kids are out of school. If the events are held in September, then they would have to be held on weekends. Navas stated that September is a great example where some weekends are double and triple loaded with events and maybe there is an opportunity to move some of those events. Richardson stated that October 2015 was very busy in Vail Village. Davis asked if it would be valuable to have a conversation with the VRD about booking the fields and capacity in town. There may be an opportunity to create space for other events. Mullen said that it is a good idea to extend events an extra day as that small step increases occupancy by 13%. Cactus Presentation of VLMD Creative for 2016 Please see presentation for strategy, tactics and execution details. CSE Minutes June 1, 2016 Page 2 of 5 Regular CSE Monthly Meeting: Administrative Items Approval of the Minutes of the CSE Regular Meeting on May 4, 2016  Motion to approve the minutes of the CSE Meeting, May 4, 2016 as presented. M/S/P: Christie/Rediker/Unanimous The motion passed 5-0 Review Financials: Refer to spreadsheet: no issues were raised. Event Recaps: *motion to release final funding disbursement required Taste of Vail* Mueller said thank you for the funding support; as a non-profit it’s really key to the success of the event. Taste of Vail was started to fill a need weekend and this year that didn’t happen due to the extension of ski season. They exceeded expectations for Debut of Rosé, and were successful holding it indoors. They plan to hold it indoors for next year’s event as well. Taste of Vail will continue to hire Walking Mountains for future recycling programs. Navas noted that the Taste of Vail was recognized with the town’s Celebrate Green! Award for their efforts in implementing sustainable event practices. Mueller continued, stating that they still need help with sponsorship. Wadey said that she thinks there is a better way to handle sponsorship, perhaps on an annual basis from one main point of contact. Taste of Vail is trying to attract a younger crowd and the percentage increases every year. Their social media presence is growing. Media placement was very strong; over 18 media representatives attended the event. Mueller provided feedback on the event RFP process. She said the RFP process is easy if you have help from PR and marketing, they can assist with completing it. Davis asked Mueller to review the RFP and point out where it’s challenging to complete. Richardson asked about the RRC survey program and Mueller said RRC didn’t offer to send a survey to attendees and they only covered one event, the Lamb Cook off. Mueller’s suggestion was to have RRC send a survey after the event. Wadey said it might be good to switch up the survey to a different event in 2017, or to use the post-event email option. Vail Veterans Program* Jensen said thank you for the support. The community and the program have had a profound effect on the lives of veterans, and that the Vail program is recognized as “the gold standard” throughout Veterans Hospital networks. They hosted two incredibly successful events this last winter and the CSE’s funding went to pay lodging and meal costs. In 2017 there will be an additional day added to each program, as requested by the attendees. Vail Veterans Program also pays for the ski lessons; Vail Resorts provides free lift tickets. They are the only adaptive program to fund the experience for the entire family. The Vail Veterans program will be expanding outside the area to Florida with a new CSE Minutes June 1, 2016 Page 3 of 5 program and the support of Johnson & Johnson. They also have signed American Airlines as a sponsor. Jensen stated that the Vail Veterans Programs have a lasting effect on both the town and on the participants, and that in spite of the expansion of their programs and their national recognition, they “will never change the name”. Cheryl’s feedback on the RFP process is that their event doesn’t necessarily fit into the standard event type. Rediker stated that it’s great that the program is willing to cover the costs of lodging and meals and that the local businesses really appreciate it.  Motion to approve the final funding distribution of $10,000 for Taste of Vail, and $6,000 for the Vail Veteran’s Program. M/S/P: Rediker/Christie/Unanimous The motion passed 5-0 Review CSE Work Plan Please see CSE Work Plan for details. Navas said that the CSE would need to start considering an update to their strategic plan in February 2017. Wadey mentioned that there needs to be more discussion about group business. McDonald stated that it would be good for the Vail Valley Partnership to come in and discuss their group business strategies for both categories of events. McDonald said that some of the event producers hold brand meetings prior to their event, which also brings in group business. Wadey asked about the section of the work plan that stated, “Continue communications between the CSE and the VEAC at a higher level”. McDonald said that the CSE could have the similar conversation with the VEAC that they did with the VLMDAC today. In addition, the event sponsorship conversation could be held with the VEAC. Wadey asked if there was a way to create a “cheat sheet” to send to businesses explaining the sponsorship levels so the businesses can be proactive. Navas asked the CSE to consider adding in a request in the RFP asking for the event’s sponsorship deck. McDonald said that the staff could create a spreadsheet that incorporates information about the event and their target audience to disseminate to local businesses. Rediker asked about information regarding environmental issues and sustainability to be added to the work plan. It was recommended by the CSE to add an additional question in the RFP to address the event producer’s plan for commitment to environmental sustainability and what steps will be taken. Sustainable event practices are also addressed by the Green Events Checklist requirements that are part of the Town of Vail’s special event permitting process.  Motion to approve the 2016 CSE Work Plan as presented. M/S/P: Christie/Richardson/Unanimous The motion passed 5-0 Competitive Resort Event Schedules Please see competitive events spreadsheet. Rediker asked to add Frisco to the Breckenridge section and Wadey asked to add the Hamptons or Nantucket to provide East-coast comparisons. CSE Minutes June 1, 2016 Page 4 of 5 KAABOO- CSE to provide specific comments Imhof presented an overview about KAABOO to the CSE. The Vail Valley Foundation (VVF) has agreed to extend their deadline to July 19 for a final decision on the event by the Vail Town Council. The VVF decided to move the event activation out of the lower bench of Ford Park to Golden Peak based on feedback from involved parties. There have been and will be multiple opportunities for public comment, such as the VRD Board Meeting, VEAC, VLMDAC, Town Council and Town Hall public forums. Imhof stated that the protection of the playing fields remains paramount. Navas commented that they have cut back on the use time of the park and that’s a positive change. Imhof said that they have simplified the layout and schedule of construction and load in of the event. Navas asked about road closures and Imhof stated that there are multiple types of traffic: emergency and normal traffic. He said emergency access has to remain critical. There would be traffic management for KAABOO. Richardson stated that she is in favor of KAABOO, it is creative and everything that the CSE has been looking for. Wadey thinks that there is a way to address the concerns and solve them for this event. Davis stated that the CSE is interested in this event as a board. Wadey stated that the due diligence needs to be done prior to approval for this event. Rediker explained that different boards look at this event in different ways. She said that there is impact on the fields and tennis courts and that there are constituents who are paying taxes to use those facilities for recreation. Rediker stated that the most important thing is that the VVF was open to extending the decision period and open it up for public comment. Christie asked about the turnout for the public forums, Imhof said the morning session was better attended than the afternoon session on May 26th. They will hold future forums in the late afternoon from 4-6pm to allow for more people to attend after work. Imhof stated that the target demographic for this event is different from the typical music festival based on ticket price and the type of experience that audience expects. Rediker asked if there is a video of KAABOO from Del Mar to show an example of who attends and what type of event it is. New Business and Community Input N/A  Motion to Adjourn at 11:14am M/S/P: Rediker/Christie/Unanimous The motion passed 4-0 (Wadey absent) Next CSE Meeting: Wednesday, July 6, 2016 @ 8:30am Vail Town Council Chambers CSE Minutes June 1, 2016 Page 5 of 5