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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-06 - Minutes -Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission Minutes February 6, 2023 Fayetteville Town Center Commissioners Chair Todd Martin, Tourism & Hospitality Representative Present: Elvis Moya, Tourism & Hospitality Representative Andrew Prysby, Commissioner at -large Sarah Bunch, City Council Representative Chrissy Sanderson, Tourism & Hospitality Representative Sonia Harvey, City Council Representative Katherine Kinney, Tourism & Hospitality Representative * virtual Commissioners Absent: Staff: Molly Rawn, CEO; Jennifer Walker, VP of Finance; Sarah King, VP of Marketing & Communications Chair Martin called the meeting to order at 2:01 pm. Old Business A. Chair Martin asked commissioners to review the November minutes and asked if there were any additions or revisions. Hearing none, he stated that the minutes stood approved. III. New Business A. Vote. Appointment of a commission chairperson. Chair Martin noted that he was interested in being considered and that if he was re- appointed, he would not seek to be re -appointed in 2024. Discussion ensued about other commissioners' possible interest, and this led to Commissioner Bunch nominated Chair Martin to serve as chair and was seconded by Commissioner Moya. Chair Martin called for a vote and it was approved unanimously. B. CEO's Report. Molly Rawn, CEO Rawn began explaining that the presentation on the screen was a truncated report and that the full report was included in the Agenda Packet. She then welcomed Commissioner Sonia Harvey to her first A&P Commission meeting. Commissioner Harvey is a City Council member who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by former City Council member Mark Kinion. We will have an open commission seat with Commissioner Kinney's current appointment ending March 31. Applications for this tourism and hospitality seat are available on the city of Fayetteville's website. Commissioner Kinney is eligible to re- apply and applications must be submitted by Friday, February 24th. If interviews are needed, we will conduct those before the March A&P Commission meeting and vote to make our recommendation and send that to city council. We do not have an update on the lease for the town center but expect an update for the February 271" meeting. We have additional information about the Walker Stone House in an upcoming agenda item but want to note here that we are relocating the sculpture on the Walker Stone House lawn to Mt Sequoyah's art campus and we will be funding the cost of the transport. On the Sales side, Rawn wanted to note Arkansas State Press Association Conference and the American Society of Landscape Architects Summit, both of these are new conferences that we are excited to be working with. On the cycling front, we are hosting the re -scheduled Bicycle Boot Camp this coming Wednesday February 81" and we believe it is at full capacity but let us know if you know of someone who was wanting to attend. Chair Martin added that his experience with his restaurant group attending this training was exceptional and very worthwhile. Rawn spoke about the Visitors Center with a small increase in attendance and a large increase in revenue with holiday shopping. Three Ale Trail Passports were redeemed. In Community Engagement, Rawn noted that Vanny, our Mobile Visitors Center, would be in the Mardi Gras parade coming up on Saturday, February 18". We've also started to reach out to potential sponsors for both First Thursday and also Lights of the Ozarks. Please reach out to either Molly or Chloe Bell if you know of businesses that have expressed interest in being a sponsor. The town center does not have yet have an updated lease, expect one soon. The team has taken advantage of what is typically a slow time to do upgrades and needed maintenance and cleaning. Tyler Wilson and his team also attended the first meeting of the solar array project for the possibility of the town center's inclusion in this project. Rawn referenced HRM data that she's compared to 2019 and mentioned that occupancy was down in December but was also down in 2019. Our ADR, Average Daily Rate, was up 10% compared to 2021 and up 6% compared to 2019. Our YTD Average Daily Rate grew 19% compared to 2021. Discussion ensued concerning ADR and RevPar comparisons and Rawn stated she would follow up with Commissioner Kinney on possible ways to compare this information. A bottom line take away that Rawn gave is that our HMR is up 17% from 2021 and 4% from 2019. C. Financial Report. Jennifer Walker, VP of Finance December financials are in your packet and you'll note that we are at 115% of revenue for 2022 and 94% for expenditures — this is excellent news. HMR tax collections came in at 4.7 million for the year and 12% above projected budget amount. Net operating income for the year is approximately a million dollars. Please note that these are unaudited, early numbers for 2022. Our audit numbers will be available in mid -year after our audit is complete. Rawn took a moment to appreciate General Manager Tyler Wilson and his team at the town center as they exceeded their revised budget numbers and maintained a good control of expenses. Walker added that Cash and Investments came in at 4.7 million dollars. D. Marketing Report. Sarah King, VP of Marketing and Communications and Mike Sells. King reviewed the marketing report, including showing the new pictures taken of Lights of the Ozarks. She previewed Restaurant Week which is February 19-25tn and mentioned she thinks it's been more than a decade since Fayetteville has promoted a Restaurant week. We are doing a multi -prong marketing campaign including print, radio and lots of social. We are opening with a brunch bike valet at Dooms Day coffee on Sunday and a separate proclamation by Mayor Jordan. King also spoke about a recent influencer who was in town from Oklahoma City and that we plan to bring in 2 more influencers this year to focus on a multitude of themes such as dual sport motorcycling, cycling and families. Mike Sells presented some social media and website statistics including an increase in mobile vs desktop viewing. We also saw that the website audience is getting younger. He also spoke about the calendar of events page and the growth it has seen. While the calendar is widely used by our local community, it is also visited extensively by visitors. He also showed the time that visitors are spending on the Visitors Guide flipbook; with the average visit being more than 20 minutes, it shows this is a well -used digital tool. After showing these statistics, Commissioner Moya asked how we could use our website to highlight and promote different months such as Women Empowerment month, Hispanic Heritage month and more. Rawn said this could be a discussion item at the next marketing meeting with Sells. E. Downtown Initiatives Update. Kelly Rich, Director of Downtown Iniatives Kelly Rich spoke about her first 60 days and that her focus has been hosting several meetings with various stakeholders including downtown partners, city departments and more. She mentioned she needed to connect with the commissioners as well. She's also been in touch with other area downtown organizations to meet their leadership, find out their structure and specific goals. She's working with the current leadership of the Downtown Fayetteville Coalition as they work to re -build the coalition and determine how they want it to be structured. F. Vote. Fayetteville Town Center Capital Purchase. Rawn presented a quote from Mity Lite for $48,079.26 to replace the tables available to venue rentals. She requested to make a modification to the recommendation to include a 10% contingency if needed for any changes in the quote. Commissioners asked questions about warranties and a plan for the existing tables. Commissioner Bunch made a motion that they approve the Mity Lite estimate for $48,079.26 from Mity Lite for new tables with a 10% contingency if needed and it was seconded by Commissioner Sanderson. It was approved unanimously. G. Vote. Fayetteville Town Center Capital Purchase. Rawn asked General Manager Tyler Wilson to talk about the request for a new stage purchase. He said that it has reached the end of its life and that with the new carpet install, more damage will occur to the carpet if we continue to use it. Finally, the current stage is not ADA compliant and this new stage will be. With no more questions, Chair Martin asked for a motion. Commissioner Harvey made a motion to accept the quote of $27,731.02 from State Right for a new stage with a 10% contingency if needed and Commissioner Prysby seconded it. It was approved unanimously. H. Walker Stone House — a Space for Music. Rawn began by talking about attending the Music City Forum and how it was a relatable concept to Fayetteville as cities the same size were in attendance. She then spoke about the concept of Walker Stone House serving as a space for music. Our musical ecosystem needs a supportive space to keep it vibrant and give it resources. Rawn discussed the proposed plan which would include the Folk School of Fayetteville using the Walker Stone House space to see how it can best support the music community. Rawn mentioned the first year could be spent doing workshops and more with the partners the Folk School is currently working with. The second year the Folk School of Fayetteville could host small- scale programs such as house concerts, music lessons and multi -day events. At the conclusion of the second year, both Experience Fayetteville and the Folk School would discuss what the future could look like. Rawn is asking the commission to authorize the CEO to develop a 2-year lease agreement to bring back to the commission for a vote and to also make a financial investment of $30,000 to Folk School of Fayetteville to be distributed as follows, $15,000 upon executive of the lease and $15,000 following a presentation from Folk School to the A&P Commission and submitting an operating plan. Commissioner Sanderson asked what the $15,000 could cover and Rawn mentioned marketing materials, hiring contractors, other startup costs. Commissioner Sanderson also asked if there would be additional costs that the building would need and Rawn said yes, but that depending on the lease, that would determine who would cover the costs that were brought up. Commissioner Bunch mentioned that she has received an email from someone who was not in favor of this plan and the person mentioned the valuable antiques that conveyed in the sale to the A&P and Rawn said that any valuable antiques were not stored at the Walker Stone House. It was also noted that the second floor was not ADA and Rawn said it was her intent to work with our attorney to create a lease that acknowledged that and that the second floor would not be used for public activities. Commissioner Harvey asked if the house's historic status would be in jeopardy with a use like this and Rawn spoke and asked guest Maylon Rice to also speak to this and it was decided that it would not be in jeopardy. Chair Martin spoke and said he thought it fit our mission of supporting the arts and the Folk School had a good track record. Maylon Rice spoke on behalf of himself. He is not in support of this proposal as he is in support of us working with a consultant to determine best use of this house. He also asked questions concerning who would pay utilities other items. Rawn said she thinks this opportunity with the Folk School is an example of good timing. Chair Martin said he sees this as incubating Folk School and they've shown a good track record of 13 years in Fayetteville and we have an opportunity to partner with an organization who is grounded in tourism. Commissioner Bunch also spoke in favor of this potential partnership based on her knowledge of what Bryan and Bernice Hembree, the owners of the Folk School, have been involved in the past. She also noted that the lease would be a valuable instrument to help define what the commission would be responsible for. Commissioner Harvey also spoke in favor of it and the possible educational opportunities for our community. She also said she wanted to make sure the space would be taken care and appreciated Maylon Rice's thoughts and concern about the historical status and needs the house would have. Commissioner Moya said there are some things that need to be clearly defined such as utilities, repairs, and more. Commissioner Sanderson said that she is in favor of this program and understands that we will define many of these items in the lease. Rawn asked if the commission was generally in favor of this program to ascertain if she should focus time towards the work of developing a lease and the commissioners stated they are in favor. Commissioner Harvey asked if the floor was structurally safe for something like a small house party that may include up to 30 people. Rawn said an architecture had looked at the floor at one point for another matter and did not have any concerns at that time. Commissioner Harvey moved that we approve the recommendation concerning the lease and the funding as stated and this was seconded by Commissioner Sanderson. Martin read the recommendation back to the commission and asked if there was any further questions. Hearing none, it was voted on and passed unanimously. Before adjourning, Rawn mentioned that it was her intent to have the February commission meeting on February 27th as originally scheduled. Chair Martin reminded commissioners to turn in their financial reporting. Rawn followed up on Commissioner Moya's request to see a list of newly opened restaurants and she said she would have that for the meeting later this month. H. Adjourn Chair Martin requested a motion to adjourn with Commissioner Sanderson making the motion and Commissioner Prysby seconding it. The motion passed unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 3:38 p.m. Minutes submitted by Amy Stockton, Director of Operations, Experience Fayetteville