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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-07-07 CSE Minutes CSE Minutes: July 7, 2010 Page 1 of 5 MINUTES: Commission on Special Events Meeting Vail Town Council Chambers Wednesday, July 7, 2010 @9:00 a.m. CSE Members Present: Dave Chapin, Chairman Bobby Bank Jenn Bruno Meggen Kirkham Rayla Kundolf Bob McKown Heather Trub TOV Staff Present: Sybill Navas, CSE Coordinator Kelli McDonald, Economic Development Manager Corey Swisher, Administrative Assistant to the Town Manager Sara Stookey, Community Information Intern Others Present: Rhonda Jackson, Vail Soul Music Fest (VSMF) Mike Imhof and Scott Bluhm, Vail Valley Foundation (VVF) Laurie Asmussen, Eagle Valley Events Cindy Clement Mickey Werner, Taste of Vail Sean Glackin, Alpine Quest Kayak Richard tenBraak, Vail Chamber and Business Association (VCBA) Sarah Franke, LionsHead Merchants Association (LHMA) Katie Richardson, Vail Resorts (VRI) Patty Mueller, Skating Club of Vail (SCV) CSE Chairman, Dave Chapin, called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Administrative Items: · Motion to approve the minutes of the meeting meeting of June 2, 2010, as presented. M/S/P: McKown, Kundolf, Unanimous Coordinator Report: · CSE Members reviewed the financial report and contract status. No issues were raised. · Participatory Sports Funding Group (PSFG) update: Navas reported that of the CSE’s $20,000 allocation to this fund, $6,544 is remaining and, as there are no event contracts pending for 2010 at this time, the balance is not likely to change before the August 1 deadline. · Navas distributed an email from Sean Cross responding to the questions posed to the Vail Film Festival by the CSE at their June meeting. She also passed around a thank you note CSE Minutes: July 7, 2010 Page 2 of 5 from Ski Club Vail, acknowledging the CSE’s contribution to the Junior Olympics, as well as a copy of an enthusiastic letter to the editor of the Vail Daily from the parent of one of the competitors, thanking the Ski and Snowboard Club and the Vail community for running such a “first class operation.” Event Recaps: Since Sean Glackin had not yet arrived, the CSE asked Mickey Werner to go ahead with his report on the Taste of Vail. Werner distributed a report and followed by citing great weather and the success of the Lamb Cook Off, which far exceeded expectations. He explained that the Grand Tasting is capped at the capacity of the room, but that the Mountain-top Picnic, considered to be the signature component of the event, was favored with excellent weather and did “great.” He added that they had focused more marketing dollars on the Front Range, and that about 75% of attendees were from Colorado. Kundolf asked whether they have considered publishing a cookbook and remarked that there were some issues with ticketing that need to be tightened up. Werner stated that a cookbook has been discussed, and that they recognize the event needs to be “tightened up” in some areas. In closing, Werner stated that, although this year’s event did show a $10,000 deficit, they are interviewing candidates for the administrator position and have scheduled next year’s event for April 7-9, 2011. Katie Richardson, representing Vail Resorts, was asked about their plans for the spring of 2011, given the late date of Easter. She stated that they expect to spread out the Spring Back to Vail activities, with two concerts on the weekend of April 18, and close out the season on April 24 with Pond Skimming and an additional concert. Motion to approve the recap of the Taste of Vail. M/S/P: Bank/Kundolf/Unanimous Whitewater Kayak Demos: Sean Glackin, Alpine Quest Sports, stated that they were much better organized this year than last, and had met the challenges of too little water on the opening day and and so much water on June 8 that they had to cancel the demonstration-with an additional demo added on June 29 to compensate for the cancellation. He emphasized that they would like to do the event again next year, and that they would like to improve the marketing and get the word out to more people. He added that they had received good press from the Vail Daily and the Mountaineer, as well as from Channel 4, which featured the event and the kayak park on the opening day. Kundolf stated, “I like this event,” and wondered if Kayak or Paddler Magazines might be approached for additional PR. Bank agreed, and suggested that, in addition to their own staff, some local “showoffs” might provide some additional energy and free up some of the event staff to be “out of the water” and talk to the spectators. American Ski Classic (ASC): Mike Imhof, representing the Vail Valley Foundation, distributed a report which included event recap information for both Bud Light Street Beat and the American Ski Classic. Imhof introduced his report by stating that the American Ski Classic, now in its 28th year, is a factor in the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships being awarded to the Vail Valley, because it keeps the Vail Valley Foundation involved in skiing at a level of international awareness. Imhof emphasized that it is also an excellent marketing tool, with the television coverage airing for over 5 months and providing ‘massive household reach.” He described the addition of the “Conway Community Cup” as one of several new efforts to “open the doors” of the event to the larger community by hosting a series of local ski races and awarding the winning team a full VIP entry into the ASC. He stated that it was successful beyond expectations, so much so that they have included growing this component is part of the 2011 strategic plan for the event. In closing, he stated that the 2010 ASC was the most successful in the last 5 years, and that after two difficult years CSE Minutes: July 7, 2010 Page 3 of 5 economically, sponsorships are beginning to return. Bank suggested that they consider including points earned at the Vail Town and Beaver Creek Town Races Series towards the Conway Cup. Teva Mountain Games: Scott Bluhm, director of the event for the Vail Valley Foundation, distributed a complete report of the event and described this year’s event as a “bang-up success” over the inaugural year of the Foundation’s ownership of the Games in 2009. He informed the board of the television air date coming up on the ABC affiliate on August 8. Chapin inquired about the status of the contract with the IFSC and the bouldering events. Imhof responded that they have a contract through 2012, but that they are confident that the IFSC will renew if the Foundation wants to continue. Chapin, citing input from several of the LionsHead business owners, also asked about why none of the activities have been sited in LionsHead. Bluhm responded that they feel they have a “winning formula” in the way the current venue provides excellent circulation and flow around the various event components and that, until now, they have not felt that there has been enough critical mass to spread out. Additionally, the event relies heavily on outside sponsors, and they want to be “where they are.” He did state that their mission is to continue to grow the event and they are looking at various options that could be successful in the LionsHead, but that they want to be careful not to disrupt the “core” areas by “amputating a successful component.” Motion to approve the final recap of the Teva Mountain Games. M/S/P: McKown, Bank, Unanimous Bud Light Street Beat: In addition to reviewing the event recap, the Town Council has requested that the CSE weigh in on the following discussion items: o It seemed attendance was less this year-and that the quality of the bands was not as high as in previous years o Should the intent of the event be refocused to attract destination guests? o Should the event be moved to Sunday night as an incentive to keep guests in town another night? o Input from VEAC and VLMDAC: Move the event from Wednesday evenings to Thursday evenings in order to incentivize people to come up early for skiing on Friday. It would be difficult to keep them here on a Sunday night, due to work schedules etc., without dramatically raising the quality of the bands. Mike Imhof introduced the conversation by referring the CSE members to the recap and informing them that they were the last of the 4 groups who are being asked for input on how the event might be improved. Asking the question,”What would trigger the Front Range skier to stay in town over Sunday night, and can Street Beat trigger the change?” he answered himself by stating it would require a much larger budget and bands of at least the Spring Back to Vail caliber and suggested that moving the event to Thursday night might help bring in the Friday skiers early for an overnight stay, while still keeping the event with the community feel it has developed. Kirkham agreed that moving the event to Sunday nights might lose the local audience, as they are getting ready for the work week. Kundolf agreed, and stated that holding the concerts on Thursday would be an excellent way to capitalize on the current move to a 4-day work week for many people. Bank agreed that bands would need to be much “bigger” in order to move the event into the category of a draw for destination visitors. Imhof agreed as well, and stated that “Street Beat is for ‘us’”-particularly given the modest budget for talent, and closed by saying that all of the feedback they have received has said to “keep the event for Eagle County.” CSE Minutes: July 7, 2010 Page 4 of 5 Allocation of remaining $5000 from email RFP: Proposals were received from the following events: · Vail Restaurant Month · Vail Soul Music Fest · LionsHead Saturday Afternoon Club · Holidays in Vail: 1st Night · Vail Skating Club: Holiday Ice Show Meggen Kirkham and Heather Trub both recused themselves from the discussion and left the room, citing contractual agreements with some of the event producers. The remaining CSE members agreed that since both Vail Restaurant Month and the Vail Soul Music Fest are first year events that had received relatively large funding allocations, it would be wise to wait and see how they prove themselves before allocating additional funds. Chapin reminded the group that their mission is to drive destination business, and followed by stating that the Vail Skating Club’s proposal does not do that. Sarah Franke, speaking for the LionsHead Merchants Association (LHMA), stated that they would like to use the additional funding to add a completely new educational component to the Saturday Afternoon Clubs. Laurie Asmussen, representing Eagle Valley Events, informed the commission that the Police Department is trying to build LionsHead as “the place for families” on New Year’s Eve, and that she would like the opportunity to build on the success of the first year event. Rhonda Jackson, representing Vail Soul Music Fest, thanked the CSE for their generous allocation, and informed the members that, in an effort contribute to the local community; they have been working with the Youth Foundation and Vail Resorts to add an on-mountain educational component of music and mentoring for ages 12-15. Navas reminded the CSE members that it appears likely there will be an additional $5,000 returned to the CSE’s event budget on August 1, as there is $6544 remaining unallocated in the PSFG budget. She added that some of these funds will probably go to the Vail Firefighter Combat Challenge, to cover some of the hard costs of producing the event. After a brief discussion, McKown moved to allocate $5,000 to the LionsHead Saturday Afternoon Club and an additional $5,000 to 1st Night, contingent on the PSFG returning at least $5,000 to the CSE on August 1. Kundolf seconded the motion, which passed unanimously, 5-0. Kundolf then recommended that the PSFG be encouraged to allocate the remaining $1544 to the Vail Firefighter Combat Challenge event. Approve discussion items for the question and answer session with the Vail Town Council on July 20: Navas described the intent of the meeting as an opportunity for the CSE to get policy direction from the Town Council on items where the CSE is unclear. The CSE approved the format, and made the following policy determinations: Request feedback from the Town Council on the following policies: 1. Evaluation Criteria: Should the CSE put more weight on events that put “heads in beds” and that provide opportunities for leveraging outside sponsorships? CSE Minutes: July 7, 2010 Page 5 of 5 At the request of the VLMDAC, the CSE has changed the weighting of the rating grid used to rank event funding applications to place a heavier value on these types of events. CSE Policy Decision: At the request of the VLMD, the CSE has taken steps to implement this suggestion. 2. Should the CSE allocate a portion of their budget to contract for independent, 3rd party intercept surveys at events that receive public funding? CSE Policy Decision: The CSE members were in unanimous agreement that funding for intercept surveys should not be taken out of the direct event funding budget. 3. How important is it to insure that event funding and/or event venues are equally distributed across the varying commercial districts in the Town of Vail, i.e. Vail Village, LionsHead, Meadow Drive, Ford Park? CSE Policy Decision: The CSE has worked to balance events across the community but believes that each event should be evaluated on its own merits and be sited where it has the greatest opportunity for success. Review draft of the 2011 RFP and discuss how the CSE would like to conduct the 2011 allocation process. After some discussion, the following decisions were agreed to by consensus: · Meeting Dates: o Wednesday, November 3: All day meeting to review the applications. o Wednesday, November 10: Half day meeting to determine funding allocations. · Meeting Procedure: o RFP’s shall be submitted in digital format o Presentations will be scheduled for new or first year event applications only. Applicants for returning events will not be asked to make a presentation, but time will be set aside for questions/answers. o Individual CSE member votes will be recorded for each event allocation, as opposed to a single vote for the combined overall budget. · Language in the RFP referring to requirements for independent intercept surveys will be adjusted in accordance with the feedback received from with the Town Council on July 20. · In order to allow as much creativity as possible, eliminate the reference to the 10th Mountain Division from the request for the development of a Memorial Day event. New Business: No new business was discussed. Motion to adjourn at 11:50 a.m. M/S/P: McKown, Kirkham, Unanimous Next CSE Meeting: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @9:00 a.m.