HomeMy WebLinkAbout 2015-08-05 CSE Meeting MinutesCSE Minutes Regular Meeting: August 5, 2015 Page 1 of 6
MINUTES:
COMMISSION ON SPECIAL EVENTS MEETING
Vail Town Council Chambers
Wednesday, August 5, 2015 @ 8:30am
CSE Members Present: Barry Davis
Jeff Andrews
Mark Gordon
Rayla Kundolf
Shenna Richardson
Alison Wadey
CSE Members Absent: Marco Valenti
Town of Vail Staff Present: Sybill Navas, CSE Coordinator
Kelli McDonald, Economic Development Manager
Others Present: Laura Waniuk, Event Liaison
Cabal Yarne, LHM/Chamber
Jim Kellen, Vail Resorts
Morgan Landers, CanDoMS
Duncan Horner, VVF
Mike Imhof, VVF
Ernest Saeger, VVF
Leon Fell, King of the Mountain Volleyball
Bobby Bank, Vail Info
Helene Mattison, Kids Adventure Games
Corinne Hara, Vail Centre
Kim Langmaid, Vail Centre/Walking Mountains
Todd Wallis, Vail Centre
Rohn Robbins, Vail Centre
Aaron Beckman, Larkspur
Ross Iverson, Vail Leadership Institute
Brooke Skjonsby, Vail Resorts
Sandra Perrig, Vail Valley Partnership
Meeting materials can be accessed at the following link:
http://65.38.144.10/WebLink8/0/fol/321729/Row1.aspx
CSE Chair, Barry Davis, called the meeting to order at 8:35am
Jim Kellen, Vail Resorts: Presentation of strategic event concepts for off-peak winter events
and requesting feedback from the CSE with respect to scheduling and content.
CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: August 5, 2015 Page 2 of 6
Please see presentation for details. These events would be mountain/town partnerships.
Kellen stated that the time periods for these events are based on off-peak 2 and 3 periods.
Spring Back to Vail will be a smaller event to celebrate the end of season, focusing the
activities at Gold Peak. Navas mentioned that the Vail Film Festival is thinking about moving
their event to the week prior to Spring Back to Vail.
• Snow Daze – December 11-13
• Carnivail – February 6-9
• Seven Wonders -February 25-28
• Spring Back to Vail – April 10, 2016
Administrative Items
a. Approval of the Minutes of the CSE’s Meeting on July 1, 2015
Motion to approve the minutes of the CSE Meeting, July 1, 2015, as presented.
M/S/P: Kundolf/Wadey/Unanimous The motion passed 6-0
b. Add to your schedule: **Tuesday, August 11 @ 8:00 a.m.: Joint Meeting with the Vail
Economic Advisory Council (VEAC)
Davis may not be able to attend the VEAC meeting and Gordon will not be able to make it;
Andrews offered to speak at the meeting. Discussion will involve the current
status/recaps/results of events thus far in 2015 and review the 2016 Event RFP.
c. Financial/Contract Overview
There is a request by Andrews for staff to create a short version of the History of Funding
document for the RFP process. Include funds available, funds spent and overall ROI.
McDonald stated that the stats exist for the last 4 years from the survey companies, previous
to that it would be pulled from the event recaps.
d. Review of Special Events conversation between Avon and Vail Town Councils at their joint
meeting on July 22.
Navas said there was a lengthy discussion about events, Avon was interested in sharing the
knowledge about our events here and they are open to combine events and create a
partnership. McDonald mentioned that the capacity for the stage area in Avon is 5,000-7,000,
and noted that is similar to our capacity at the Solaris venue. Navas added that as part of the
ongoing discussion of permit revisions with each ERC of the representatives, the suggestion
has been made that the Town of Vail should have a “portable” stage designed to fit the Solaris
site that would simplify load-in/out and improve general public safety.
Event Recaps:
a. GoPro Mountain Games- Vail Valley Foundation: Mike Imhof, Duncan Horner and
Ernest Saeger
CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: August 5, 2015 Page 3 of 6
Imhof stated that the event is in its 15h year. GoPro has been the sponsor for the last 3 years.
GoPro sponsor agreement for future 2-3 years is in discussion. They want to expand the event
to the west into Lionshead. They are still interested in exploring an Enduro race option on the
new trail system adjacent to Wildridge, but recognize that there are conservation easement
issues still under consideration. Imhof discussed how the event will move away from broadcast
TV and use other channels of delivery. Content will be short form video for digital and social
media. McDonald said the town had another record sales tax June 2015, at just over $1.2
million.
Horner spoke about numbers for the event, which generated more families and higher
business from outside the valley. Athlete participation and registration has softened a bit in the
more traditional events. Overall economic impact from their survey is $5 million. They had 114
sponsors for the event; most have been with the event for many years. Davis asked which
sports are they seeing the most attrition, Horner said kayaking. People are interested in
staying longer in Vail, but it’s expensive for them. Imhof stated that registration was down 7-
20%; the feedback from the athletes is that there is a need for new courses, and the cost is too
high for the athletes to stay in Vail. Also, access to the venues forces athletes to park far from
their competition. If the event becomes very expensive for attendees and athletes, that will
impact attendance. Navas stated that there were a number of people with RV’s and there was
discussion in the ERC meeting about how that could be handled, perhaps allowing a managed
camping area in Ford Park. Imhof said there needs to be a place for camping too. Horner said
there should be better ways to accommodate the athletes for parking and staying. Andrews
mentioned engaging VRBO or air bnb to offer comp stays for the athletes. Perhaps there is a
way to house athletes in private homes. Saeger said working with the Town of Vail went very
well. They are discussing holding the Dock Dogs competition and/or slack line in Lionshead
and opening up the amphitheater for a concert.
Motion to approve the final funding disbursement for GoPro Mountain Games
subject to the recovery of the sales tax revenues still owed to the Town of Vail.
M/S/P:/Andrews/Kundolf/Unanimous The motion passed 6-0
b. King of the Mountain Volleyball- Leon Fell
The tournament grew for the 14th straight year, 666 teams. Lots of families attend the event
and 71% of the teams were returning. The newly re-opened Ford Park was a great resource
for the tournament; they can grow to up to 700 teams. The VRD was a huge help, the
maintenance crew created a seamless event. Davis asked if event could have 700 total teams
with the resources the town has now. Fell said that 2 additional sand courts could expand the
event significantly. Navas asked if the courts needed to be located at the Athletic Fields. Fell
replied, “No,” and that they currently use a shuttle from the Vail Athletic Field and back to
matches that are scheduled to use the sand court at Red Sandstone Park.
Motion to approve the final funding disbursement for King of the Mountain
Volleyball
M/S/P: Gordon/Richardson/Unanimous The motion passed 6-0
CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: August 5, 2015 Page 4 of 6
Event Liaison Marketing Update: Laura Waniuk
Please see full presentation for detailed information
Education and Cultural Center: “Space vs. Strategy”
Determine “what are we missing?” Develop recommendation for Town Council as to how to
move forward with the proposed Education and Cultural Center. Assign responsibilities.
Deadline: August 11.
Ross Iverson, speaking on behalf of the Vail Centre, gave a short presentation on how a
learning center in Vail could contribute to the economy and quality of life. They offered to lead
a process of reaching out to all community stakeholders and flush out a concept that would
best meet the needs of the community and forward the Town Council’s mission to provide a
“vibrant, diverse economy and community, providing our citizens and guests with exceptional
services and an abundance of recreational, cultural and educational opportunities.” Please see
full Vail Centre presentations for more detailed information.
The Vail Centre timing is fortuitous based on the Town of Vail’s interest in an expanded
learning center. Iverson stated that he sees the events as “engagement” and referred to the
Vail Symposium and TedxVail. Iverson spoke about the economic impact of the Vail Centre
and the results over 5 years. Consider bringing the Eagle County community “up-valley” by
focusing on certain demographics along with specific courses. Overall strategy question: What
could Vail’s campus include? What’s the next incremental step?
Iverson passed around a proposal for the Vail Centre to work with the Town of Vail. Navas
stated that there is a time constraint on the CSE recommendation memo, it’s due Aug 11. The
deliverable is for the CSE to provide a structure to start on a facility plan.
Gordon emphasized that he wants some sort of formal acknowledgement that what’s being
built is for the Town of Vail. He continued that when the planning continues that the venue is
built in Vail and not decided to be constructed in other locations. Iverson stated that the Vail
Centre initiative will continue regardless if the Town of Vail supports it or not. The ideal
situation is to work on a parallel path and partnership.
Clarified questions being asked of the CSE by the Town Council:
1. What is Vail missing?
2. What are some of the solutions to that?
Gordon said it seems like the Vail Centre is already answering these questions and doing the
research. The Vail Centre goal would be to create cross-functional group to move forward
together. McDonald said the council asked that the CSE bring additional educational and
cultural events or programs (per the categories in the 2016 RFP). Gordon stated that the
facility should be year round and augment what we have in the amphitheater.
Andrews explained a possible outline for the memo. Wadey said that there are gaps and the
Mayor has asked about filling the gaps in with a facility or with other events. Gordon discussed
that the continued development should lie with the task force. Andrews stated he would add
food facilities and loading docks to the suggested list. Gordon stated that there doesn’t have to
CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: August 5, 2015 Page 5 of 6
be one facility, it could be multiple locations. McDonald raised the topic of the underutilization
of the Ford amphitheater, and could it be considered as an interim location. Andrews
volunteered to prepare a draft memo for the TOV budget discussions compiling the CSE’s
input into a formal recommendation.
Review RFP Draft and provide direction.
Changes from last year include using the same application for both categories of events. The
producers will self-select which category of events they fall into based on the revised criteria
and scorecards that have been developed. The CSE could reassess and move the event to
the other category if they determine that it fits better. Navas noted that the Special Event
Permit is currently undergoing a revision process, and that some of the changes may impact
event budgets. For example: adding certified flaggers which cost $25-$40/hour to event
budgets during event set-up and tear-down or during bus reroutes. In 2015 the town paid for
services, such as parking, hauling trash, waste management, recycling, etc. The event
producers need to be aware they will be responsible for the above operational activities and
costs. CSE members requested that information be included in the RFP.
Motion to accept the draft as final for the 2016 RFP documents with discussed
changes. M/S/P: Kundolf /Richardson/Unanimous The motion passed 6-0
Education and Enrichment (Tier IV in 2014 and 2015) Budget Request
The Finance Dept. is requesting input from the CSE on how much should be in this budget
based on previous qualifying requests in relationship to the amount that has been available.
CSE members expressed their challenge with arriving at a specific amount, since it is unknown
at the present time how many requests may be received. Richardson and Wadey brought
forward a supposition regarding the application process starting much earlier in the year, so
that the needs are understood before the amount of the CSE budget is determined.
Navas stated there may be an opportunity based on the council’s interest in expanding
educational and enrichment events, and referred to their mission statement which reads “Grow
a vibrant, diverse economy and community, providing our citizens and guests with exceptional
services and an abundance of recreational, cultural and educational opportunities.” Wadey
stated that it’s important for the CSE to commit to educational and enrichment funding and
programs and that the present budget of $91,800 doesn’t allow for continued growth in this
area. Andrews added that it’s strategically important to look 3-5 years ahead.
The plan is for McDonald to present budget recommendations to Halloran on Aug 11. Wadey
will prepare a brief memo summarizing the CSE’s request:
• A 3% increase in the Recreation, Cultural and Community Events budget.
• Up to $150k for the Educational and Enrichment Events category.
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CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: August 5, 2015 Page 6 of 6
New Business and Community Input
Navas reminded the CSE of Blue Grass in the Gardens @ Alpine Plaza Betty Ford Gardens
Education Center on Wednesday, August 12 – 1:00-2:00pm,
Motion to Adjourn at 12:05 pm
M/S/P: Kundolf/Wadey/Unanimous The motion passed 6-0
Next CSE Meeting:
Wednesday, September 2, 2015 @ 8:30am
Vail Town Council Chambers