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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-08-18 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, August 18, 2011 — 8:00 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. BOARD MEMBER INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS IV. OLD BUSINESS A. CV B HEADQUARTERS UPDATE B. SHUTTLE UPDATE V. NEW BUSINESS A. 2011 — 2012 MEETING SCHEDULE B. HISTORIC STRUCTURES RELOCATION C. HISTORIC DISTRICT PARKING VI. SALES & MARKETING REPORT VII. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES VIII. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT IX. LIAISON UPDATES A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES X. ADJOURNMENT State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Paul Slechta Chairman Tom Cherry Board Member LuAnn Chapman Gatts Board Member John Imaizumi Board member Dennis Roberts Board member Peggy Weaver Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member Rick Lawlis Heritage Foundation Liaison Sharron Spencer Council Liaison Jennifer Hibbs Assistant City Manager Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Absent: Angela Mitcham Chamber Liaison George Kakos Assistant Executive Director CALL TO ORDER Chairman Slechta called the meeting to order and introduced Steve Norder, a freelance writer for the Courier and Fort Worth Star Telegram. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the July 21, 2011 meeting was made by LuAnn Chapman Gatts and seconded by Dan Weinberger. Motion carried. BOARD MEMBER INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS • Mills mall is doing great. Tax free weekend starts Friday and runs through midnight Sunday. • Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life had record breaking months. OLD BUSINESS CVB Headquarters Update Mr. McCallum reported that all of the exterior scaffolding has been removed, although there is still some trim work to be completed. The concrete curb and gutter is 80% complete and two of the three lifts of asphalt in the parking area are complete. The Dunn Building façade is complete. The Land Patent building is waiting on hoods to go over the windows. The interior wood trim is 85% complete. Wood trim and stain work at Function Room is complete and 99% of walls on second floor have received the finish Board of Directors Meeting August 18, 2011 Page 2 of 5 OLD BUSINESS cont. CVB Headquarters Update cont. paint coat. The marble flooring in lobby is complete as well as the tile in the lobby restrooms. We expect to enter the second phase of the building process by October 1, which will include work on the tower animation, the wine museum and gallery spaces. We expect to move staff into the building by the end of September. The very intricate and detailed staircase is the only item we see that could possibly delay this timetable. Mr. McCallum thanked those board members that attended the August 6th Leveling Program performed by the Grapevine Masonic Lodge and the State of Texas Grand Lodge members. Grapevine Shuttle Update Mr. McCallum reported that the Grapevine Visitor Shuttle carried 5,185 passengers during the month of July. Ridership continues to grow as we are seeing more staycations, an expansion in the draw area for visitors, and an increase in the number of leisure visitors. 1,159 of the shuttle passengers came from the Grand Hyatt/Terminal D and the Hyatt Regency DFW stops. The third major stop is the Gaylord Texan. Passenger spending on Shopping, Dining, and Attractions during July was $318,000. May and June were also strong months. Mr. McCallum also shared comments from some of the rider surveys. NEW BUSINESS 2011 — 20121 Meeting Schedule Mr. Slechta distributed a draft copy of the meeting schedule for the next fiscal year. He asked that board members review it. The schedule will be voted on at next month's meeting. Historic Structures Relocation Mr. McCallum reported that oftentimes we have historic structures that can be saved but not on their original sites. Grapevine has a history of moving structures that dates to the late 1800s. Two structures have recently come to staff's attention that are a significant piece of Grapevine's history. The first building is located on property that was acquired three years ago for use in conjunction with the commuter rail. Research has shown that the 400-plus sq. foot building was the soil conservation building in the 1930s and was originally located on Main Street. It is recommended that pending approval it be moved to Nash Farm near the existing barn and again be used to teach children and adults about farming on the Grape Vine Prairie. The second building is located just outside the original township and was not under a protective ordinance. It is approximately 500 sq. foot mini version of the "Texas T" style of home. The home originally belonged to the Board of Directors Meeting August 18, 2011 Page 3 of 5 NEW BUSINESS cont. Historic Structures Relocation, cont. Estill family, who were builders in Grapevine in the 19th century. It has been donated to the city by the present owner, Joe Teakell, and it is recommended that the home be moved to Nash Farm and become the Gate House for the Farm. Lu Ann Chapman Gatts made a motion that the CVB board endorse this project and recommend to council the moving of these two structures to the Nash Farm. John Imaizumi seconded the motion; motion carried. Historic District Parking Mr. McCallum reported to the board that the City had a quick turnaround on an opportunity to purchase the property at the corner of Jenkins and Worth Streets. The structure at this location was built in the late 1970s and is not a historic structure. This past Tuesday council approved the purchase of this property by the CVB. The building will be deconstructed and the property used for parking and festival venues. SALES & MARKETING REPORT Mr. McCallum reported that during the month of July the convention sales team produced 35 leads representing 36,118 potential room nights; six of the leads were for 2011, 20 for 2012 and nine for 2013 and beyond. Staff assisted with six definite bookings representing 8,477 room nights; two for 2011, two for 2012 and two for 2013. Staff conducted eight site inspections and co-hosted the DFW Chapter of Meeting Planners International at the Hyatt Regency DFW. Tourism sales produced three leads representing 70 room nights for 2011 and assisted with four definite bookings with 65 room nights. This includes two youth baseball tournaments that were held in July. Staff conducted one site inspection and hosted two familiarization tours for 200 of the DFW Airport Ambassadors. The Visitor Information Center staff distributed 99,825 brochures and welcomed 5,121 guests to the Visitor Information Center. During one week over 1,000 tickets to Legoland and Sealife were sold. Destination Services provided information and registration assistance to twelve groups representing 17,354 delegates. The Convention Center booked 20 future groups representing 3,614 attendees and had $31,452 in total sales. The Palace Arts Center booked 21 future groups representing 4,495 attendees and had $18,081 in total sales. The Concourse booked eight future groups representing 635 attendees and had $9,623 in total sales. The website had 239,941 unique visitors, a 26% increase over last year. There were 9,574,736 hits, a 57% increase over last year. The advertising investment included 20 convention group trade publication print insertions, two leisure group trade publication Board of Directors Meeting August 18, 2011 Page 4 of 5 SALES & MARKETING REPORT cont. insertions, nine online group advertising insertions and 44 consumer print insertions. TV and radio had 453 runs and online consumer advertising insertions were 82. Print publicity was $141,422 and electronic publicity was $125,775 for a total of$267,197. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES Mr. McCallum reported: • WFAA Good Morning Texas filmed and ran footage of Sea Life Aquarium Grapevine. • Papadeux's has begun construction of their new Grapevine restaurant and have added additional square footage from the original plan. • Eatzi's conditional use permit was approved by council. • Fuzzy's Taco Shop will open in the old Bayley's Café located at Glade Road and Highway 121. • Freebirds and Winewood Grill are now open. Mi Dia is opening soon. • Baylor Regional Medical Center has announced a $100.5 million construction project, adding a five-story patient tower. It is expected to open summer 2013. • Lance Marrin is the new General Manager of the Grand Hyatt. 4, • A windmill is now in place at the Settlement to City location. • John Mayfield celebrated 20 years with Willhoite's. • The 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy will be recognized on September 11th 2011. The program includes a flag lowering at 7:30 a.m. and a program that evening at 7 p.m. at the Memorial on Northwest Highway. • The Harrison Group reports that 30% of leisure travelers took a Staycation within a 50-mile radius of their home, that seven of ten travelers have taken a "celebration vacation" in the past twelve months, that 28% of travelers downloaded a smart phone travel app this year, and that 61% of leisure travelers visited Trip Advisor prior to booking a hotel reservation. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT Mr. McCallum reported that July passenger count was 7,527. There were 12 field trips, six groups, one charter and eight special promotional runs. Staff fulfilled 19 requests for donations. The National Day of the American Cowboy Train on July 23rd was sold out, as well as three Friday Fun Trains. The Lionel Collectors Club of America chartered the train on July 27th with 130 passengers, and there was also a presentation at the roundhouse and a tour of the Hi Railers train display for the group. The 92-day inspection has been completed on engine 2199 and coach 206 is being air conditioned. LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Rick Lawlis reported that the moving of the structure to be a gate house at Nash Farm will fit in with the new fencing that will complement the fencing at the Botanic Gardens. This is something the Nash Farm Committee has been working on. The Nash Farm Directors Meeting August 18, 2011 Page 5 of 5 LIAISON UPDATES cont. Heritage Foundation Activities cont. Committee continues to work on the volunteer program and have a new volunteer, Jason Wright, who lives in the Township and is a heritage craftsman. The school tours on Main Street and Nash Farm will resume in September. On September 3rd from 10 a.m. — noon will be a program on bees at Nash Farm. Chamber of Commerce Activities The Chamber golf tournament for next month is sold out. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, LuAnn Chapman Gatts made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Tom Cherry. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: