HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-02 CSE MinutesCSE Minutes April 2, 2014 Page 1 of 6
MINUTES:
COMMISSION ON SPECIAL EVENTS MEETING
Vail Town Council Chambers
Wednesday, April 2, 2014 @ 8:30 a.m.
CSE Members Present: Jeff Andrews
Bobby Bank
Amy Cassidy
Barry Davis
Mark Gordon
Rayla Kundolf
Nicole Whitaker
Town of Vail Staff Present: Sybill Navas, CSE Coordinator
Pam Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager
Others Present: John Stone, DiscoverWell
Missy Johnson, Highline
Morgan Landers, Scott Robinson and Cathy Ethington; Can Do MS
Euginnia Manseau, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail
Jason Roberts, Intercept Insight
Sandra Perrig, Vail Valley Partnership
Brooke Macke, Vail Resorts
Brian Hall, Blue Creek Productions
Joe Cleary, Resort App
Meeting Materials may be viewed at:
http://www.vailgov.com/WebLink8/Browse.aspx?startid=34151&row=1&dbid=0
CSE Chair, Barry Davis, called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.
1. Administrative Items (10 minutes)
a. Approval of the Minutes of the CSE Meeting of March 5, 2014
Motion to approve the Minutes of the CSE Meeting of March 5, 2014, as
presented.
M/S/P: Kundolf/Whitaker/Unanimous – The motion passed 7-0.
b. Review financial status. Navas stated the spreadsheets clearly show there is no
funding remaining for 2014 and the town is “on target” paying out to event
producers. The board agreed both were valuable documents and evidences how
the CSE has been able over the years to weed out non-or-low performers.
CSE Minutes April 2, 2014 Page 2 of 6
c. Update on marketing efforts for summer events, provided by Laura Waniuk.
Navas recapped Spring Back to Vail which will play over two weekends this year,
with concerts on April 11 and 12 and following the Pond Skimming on April 20th.
A “Great Race” themed event will take place on Golden Peak on the 13th, and 3
days of expo at Mountain Plaza will take place on both weekends. Vail
Whitewater will begin the 6 week Tuesday evening kayak race series at the
International Bridge on May 14, followed by Feast! Vail over Memorial Day
weekend, for which all marketing materials have been approved. Registration for
the GoPro Games is up 30% over this time last year and will provide a new
event, The Bad Ass Dash- a family oriented obstacle run starting and finishing in
Lionshead. King of the Mountain has shown a higher level of design.
2. Funding Request Reconsideration: Living Well, John Stone- Forum for Optimum
Health- reformatted request for Tier IV Category funding allocation to the Vail Living
Well Summit from $30,000 to $10,000 (10 minutes). John Stone with Living Well said
their program was evolving and they recognize they haven’t touched as many as they
should. They want to concentrate on corporate wellness in an even bigger way and
plan to invite just 20 influential corporate executives for cutting edge sessions that will
occur in multiple venues. Thus, they are now asking to reduce their funding request
from $30,000 to $10,000. Gordon said he liked the corporate push and going after
truly influential individuals, while Andrews thought this didn’t necessarily align with the
CSE goal of “heads in beds.” Whitaker also questioned how this would affect
attendance. Stone said this initial 20 person event would then turn into more
corporate wellness retreats and annual meetings. Cassidy asked how many would
initially be invited and how were they being selected in order to get that top 20. Stone
said they’d be staying in Vail, so could really see what Vail is all about. Vail will be
show-cased. Bank said this is more like a private party and Vail taxpayers would not
support it, to which Davis somewhat agreed saying he couldn’t understand how this
would benefit Vail. Whitaker also agreed, saying it would not be sanctioned by the
town. Kundolf said it didn’t feel like an actual event and she did not see how growth
would occur. Andrews said he didn’t question the educational aspect of Living Well
but it does not fall in line with CSE guidelines. Bank said it was the opposite of
building business, to which Stone replied this could become the “Davos” of health
and well being. Navas questioned using public funding for something the public
could not attend.
Motion to rescind the $30,000 originally funded.
M/S/P: Bank/Whitaker/Bank and Whitaker voting in favor, all others opposed.
The motion failed by a vote of 2-5.
Stone suggested, under discussion, that they would consider opening one segment
of the forum to the general public.
Motion to rescind the original $30,000 allocation for Living Well, as
requested by Stone, and to award funding from the Tier IV: Life Long
Learning Category in the amount of $6,000 for the proposed event, with
the directive that at least one component be added that would be open
to the general public.
M/S/P: Andrews/Bank/Unanimous- The motion passed 7-0.
CSE Minutes April 2, 2014 Page 3 of 6
3. Event Recaps (10 Minutes)
a. Vertical Express: Can Do MS, Cathy Ethington. Cathy Ethington, with the
Jimmie Heuga organization and producer of the Vertical Express: Can Do MS
said the programs were based on Jimmie’s philosophies, ending with a final
memorial ski down. Attendance was at 200 participants, which ultimately raised
$42,000. Davis said it was well received and left a very positive impression.
Navas underscored it appealed
b. Freestyle NORAM Cup: Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, Euginnia Manseau. Ski
and Snowboard Club Vail, was introduced by Euginnia Manseau, who said the
event was free to kids and had great involvement in town, with the awards
ceremonies taking place in Solaris. The $2000 funding from CSE provided great
exposure for the town. Bank said he would like to see a little more marketing as
the quality of skiing was outstanding, but few people were aware that the
competition was going on. Andrews said it was great for lodging. When asked
about the date, Manseau said the FIS sets the date and calendar so the dates
aren’t theirs to choose. Next year’s event will be January 25, 2015, right before
the 2015 Alpine Ski Championships.
4. Upcoming Event Reports: Highline (10 minutes)
a. FEAST! Vail: Missy Johnson, representing, Highline reported general support
and involvement both from local restaurants, as well as chefs from Denver. The
first night will be a “small bites” tasting, including Colorado brews and distillers.
The event runs May 23-26, but to guarantee success, they’ve booked inside
venues. They’ll concentrate on lifestyle events and will partner with local lodges
on lodging packages. Andrews asked when marketing was coming to the
lodges. Johnson said it would come in various forms, including ticketing, posters,
rack cards, social media and the event program itself. Whitaker said it will launch
when the venues are signed. Cassidy said that the veterans program will again
be beneficiaries this year, and the brunch on the final day on Gore Creek Drive
will have a kind of “mess hall” atmosphere.
b. Vail America Days: Johnson said Highline is working with the town on marketing
and coordinating with local key events, e.g., the Patriotic Concert at the
Amphitheater. Theme-wise they’re working on a “welcome to the world,” with an
Olympic focus, the 2015’s and other milestones. Andrews said they might also
consider incorporating an international theme celebrating other country’s
independence days, thus a “freedom theme.” Navas said the idea is not to limit
what people do. She mentioned Andy Daly had extended an invitation to Mikaela
Schiffrin to be the parade marshal. Bank said to remember it’s still the Fourth of
July, Independence Day and should be recognized as that whatever theme is
chosen. Kundolf suggested focusing on immigration. Bank asked the status of
the Solaris event, to which Navas replied they’ve booked the 101st Army bands
and are planning an afternoon of music.
5. Strategic Planning Discussion: (60 minutes)
a. History of Funding Document. The board agreed they’d pretty thoroughly
reviewed the funding document. Navas said the CSE budget had mostly been
CSE Minutes April 2, 2014 Page 4 of 6
flat since 2009 but had done a diligent job of weeding out non-performing events.
Navas explained the higher “admin” side of the budget prior to 2007, when she
became a full-time employee of the town, rather than a contract employee of the
VCBA. Andrews said the intercept survey has been requested by the town and
is important to Council consideration and ensuring a consistent philosophy going
forward. So the question is: how do you want to go forward into the future.
b. Review Draft Memo to Town Manager regarding 2015 CSE Budget issues:
Andrews said they should concentrate on what he calls ancillary funding. They
should have a broad strategy so they can efficiently spend the taxpayer’s money.
Bank said the Council made it clear they were not going to fund new events
except in a one-time capacity. Navas said the board has three options, with
respect to gathering the expected event review data: 1) Proceed as usual; 2)
Take a percentage of the total budget off the top; or 3) Place a consistent line
item allocated to funding recaps. Bank said that he has observed from Council
discussions that they don’t want to continue funding surveys, but they do want
the data. The CSE needs to look for a better rate to get better data. Navas
agreed doing the whole program could be beneficial. Andrews said they need to
create a standardized way that promoters can tell us how they did, which would
effectively level the playing field.
Whitaker indicated they should ask for an increase. Bank said he didn’t want to
spend 10% of the budget on surveys. Navas asked, if the increase was denied,
then what? Gordon suggested taking money off the top for one year, thus
establishing good and reliable data, but Bank said none of this information shows
need. Whitaker said the survey needs to be streamlined to level the playing field
and to allow the producer to spend money on what they need to spend it on.
Navas said the promoter needs the data to get their sponsorships. Andrews said
to concentrate on how the CSE is different from other town departments in that
the CSE actually generates revenue. Kundolf said the one-time funding is
opportunity funding and there must be a give and take. Navas said the survey
puts pressure on the producer to deliver results, resulting in accountability.
Gordon stated we have to make it easier to put on events because we want them
to be successful. Andrews said we must take care of the additional requests
coming our way. Whitaker said one-time funding doesn’t address the fact that
most events take at least a couple years to prove themselves. Kundolf
suggested the VLMDAC should fund the surveys, or a percentage of tax
revenues should pay to do them. Navas said the information gathering/survey
should be a separate line item. Whitaker said they must continue to lead and not
to fall behind.
Andrews asked for a clarification on the board’s priorities: opportunities, fireworks
or post event information. Navas reminded the board the Council has stepped
up every consistently with one-time funding based on the CSE recommendation,
but Bank said that most are huge events. Kundolf said it’s imperative the town
stay ahead of the Joneses, or Breckenridge, or whomever. Andrews said the
iconic events are in place to validate the Town Council goals already set. The
CSE needs to remind Council of the good job we’ve been doing over the last ten
years. Andrews and Whitaker agreed to take another crack at the memo, which
would be shared with the rest of the CSE board for their input within the next ten
CSE Minutes April 2, 2014 Page 5 of 6
days or so. A final draft will be brought back to the board for consideration at the
May CSE meeting.
c. Brand discussion: Whitaker said the CSE should discuss how different types of
events fit into the tiers in order to ensure the balance. They will then help guide
the CSE’s decisions. The categories are important. Bank suggested that the
CSE has several new members and the board needs to go through the funding
process to see how the process works before we start to change it.
d. Independent 3rd Party Survey Requirement: How best to manage allocations and
the CSE budget to maintain delivery of consistent event recap data?
6. New Business and Community Input (5 minutes)
Joe Cleary, with Resort App Vail Valley, said their application will provide a complete
vacation guide with GIS mapping on mountain and in Vail and Beaver Creek. It will
have the ability to push special events information and allow people in different parts
of Vail or the valley – find each other. It has a lot of functionality.
Motion to adjourn @ 10:40 a.m.
M/S/P: Kundolf/Cassidy/Unanimous- The motion passed 7-0.
Vail Local Marketing District:
Vail Brand Presentation
Thursday, April 17, 8:30 a.m.
The Grand View, Lionshead
Next CSE Meeting:
Wednesday, May 7, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
Vail Town Council Chamber