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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-19 Regular MeetingCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, February 19, 2015 — 8:00 a.m. CVB Headquarters 636 South Main Street Grapevine, Texas 76051 AGENDA CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF 4. LIAISON UPDATES A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES 5. SALES & MARKETING REPORT 6. OLD BUSINESS A. PUBLIC ART UNICORN PROJECT UPDATE B. TED R. WARE PLAZA UPDATE C. GVRR REPORT D. TEX RAIL UPDATE 7. NEW BUSINESS A. NEW VINTAGE UPDATE B. PROPOSED PALACE ART CENTER NEW PRICING 8. HOTELS / ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES 9. ADJOURNMENT IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THIS SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING AND YOU HAVE A DISABILITY THAT REQUIRES SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS AT THE MEETING, PLEASE CONTACT THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU AT (817) 410-3185 AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS WILL BE MADE TO ASSIST YOUR NEEDS. IN ACCORDANCE WITH TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, CHAPTER 551.001 et seq, ACTS OF THE 1993 TEXAS LEGISLATURE, THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU ADVISORY BOARD MEETING AGENDA WAS PREPARED AND POSTED ON THIS THE 12TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2015 AT 5:00 P.M. hawna Ba es Assistant to the Execut State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session on Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 8:00 a.m. at the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Headquarters, 636 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Joe Szymaszek Chairman Cindy Blankenship Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member Mark Terpening Board Member Tom Cherry Board Member Debi Meek Alternate Board Member Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present: Sharron Spencer Council Liaison Bella Wright Heritage Foundation Liaison Paul Slechta Chamber Liaison Michael Woody Assistant Executive Director Shawna Barnes Assistant to the Executive Director Absent: Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Jim Quinn Board Member Bruno Rumbelow City Manager Jennifer Hibbs Assistant City Manager CALL TO ORDER Chairman Szymaszek called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Dan Weinberger, seconded by Mark Terpening to approve the minutes from the January 15, 2015 meeting prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Blankenship, Cherry, Meek, Szymaszek, Terpening, Weinberger Nays: None Board of Directors Meeting February 19, 2015 Page 2 of 6 INTRODUCTION OF STAFF Michael Woody introduced Amy Stirman, Sponsorship Sales Manager and Barbara Kenney, National Sales Manager to the board. No action taken by the Board LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Bella Wright reported that the Grapevine Heritage Foundation Board of Directors met on February 18th to discuss their advocacy needs for their mission to protect Grapevine's heritage. They are looking at Grapevine's Bellaire Addition of homes built from 1948 — 1962 as they are now over 50 years old. February 20th the Farm will be hosting the Frugal Farm Wife and March 6th will be the First Friday program featuring Urban Homesteaders. March 7th the Farm will be hosting the Farmhouse on the Grape Vine Prairie and March 14th will be Farmhand Recruitment. February 20th at the Palace will be the movie Rebecca and February 27th will be Derek Anthony. February 21St will be Main Street LIVE performing Born Country. No action taken by the Board Chamber of Commerce Activities Paul Slechta reported that on February 25th the Chamber will host the Economic Development Partnership Meeting at City Hall that will feature guest speaker Iain Scouller, General Manager of LEGOLAND Discovery Center & SEA LIFE Grapevine. March 19th is Grapevine Day in Austin. The Chamber will be taking the 2014-2015 Leadership Grapevine class. April 9th the Women's Division of the Grapevine Chamber will be hosting the 20th Annual Great Taste of Grapevine with all proceeds benefiting Christmas Spirit and School Supplies programs. No action taken by the Board SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Woody reported that convention sales had 61 leads with 68,000 potential room nights and an economic impact of $26,535,000. Thirty-eight of the leads are for 2015. They assisted with 18 definites representing 16,000 room nights and an economic impact of $9,475,000. Thirteen of the bookings are for 2015. The sales team conducted 19 sales appointments and hosted seven site inspections including Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, General Nutrition Corporation Holdings Inc, Board of Directors Meeting February 19, 2015 Page 3 of 6 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. Life's Good Electronics, Mid -Cities Scrabble Club, Nature's Sunshine Products Inc, PharmForce and The Container Store. The sales team attended and exhibited at Professional Convention Management Association, Religious Conference Management Association and Southwest Showcase. Tourism sales and service produced six leads, all of which were for 2015 and they assisted with two bookings, with a combined economic impact of $106,640. The sales team conducted 46 sales appointments and hosted one site inspection that included the Brain Terry Foundation Golf Tournament_ The sales team attended and exhibited at American Bus Association, National Tour Association and TACVB Mid -Winter Conference. The number of brochures distributed in January was 201,000 and they welcomed 3,600 guests into the Visitor Information Center. Destination Services assisted six groups with 7,500 delegates with information and registration assistance and a potential economic impact of $7,000,000. The Visitor Shuttles carried 3,300 passengers. The Convention Center booked 57 future groups representing 10,000 attendees and had $59,000 in sales for the month. The Palace Arts Center booked 32 future groups representing 4,800 attendees and had total sales for the month of $23,500. The Concourse booked ten future groups with1,000 attendees and had $5,300 in sales. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad had total ridership of 0. The train does not operate in January and the first two weeks in February. The web site had 93,400 unique visitors with 14,000 reaching us through a mobile device. For marketing there were 13 print trade insertions, 95,000 online impressions, 39 print consumer publications insertions, 96 TV and radio insertions. Online advertising had 1,000,000 impressions. Public relations print value was $390,000 and electronic was $19,000 for a total of $409,000. No action taken by the Board OLD BUSINESS Public Art Unicorn Project Update Mr. Woody reported that the Public Art Unicorn Project is well under way. Phase one of this project consisted of the armature, which is the metal frame that gives support to the clay sculpture. Phase two included adding foam to the metal armature to build up for the body of clay and Phase three included claying up the armature and foam. All three Phases have been complete and the next phase will include separating and casting different portions of the sculpture. The expected completion date for this project is the first week of May 2015. No Action taken by the Board. Board of Directors Meeting February 19, 2015 Page 4 of 6 OLD BUSINESS cont. Ted R. Ware Plaza Update Mr. Woody reported that staff is currently working with the Historical Society to expand the signage initiative for the Settlement to City Museums. A historic sign painting company, Starr Studios out of Denton, has been hired to develop a creative concept and plan for Ted R. Ware Plaza. Starr Studio's specializes in authentic, hand -painted signs that are thoroughly researched and historically appropriate for the time period of structures. Staff is also working with the Historical Society on programing for the upcoming year. No action taken by the Board GVRR Report Mr. Woody reported that the train service launched last weekend with the Share the Love Train. $3 of all tickets sold we're donated to one of three charities: GRACE, Grapevine Animal Shelter or Wounded Warrior. The train has a new ticket pricing system this year to simplify the ticket purchase for all guests, a flat rate for all age groups on the full run. First Class will be $26, Touring Class will be $16 and there will be a fiat $3 discount for Military, seniors and group parties. Day Out With Thomas event comes to Grapevine April 10-12 and 17-19. Dan Weinberger wants to look into the possibility of changing the dates for Day Out With Thomas, so not to conflict with Blessing of the Vines. Mr. Woody reported the train has experienced vandalism on the coaches, both the regular consist and the Lounge cars. The CVB is currently working with the Grapevine Police Department to install cameras. No action taken by the Board TexRail Update Mr. Woody reported that a lot of movement is happening on the TexRail project in regards to the concept and design. It is projected to have over 60% of the design completed by June of this year and nearly 95% by November. This past Tuesday night, City Council and the Planning and Zoning Board started the dialogue to identify where the corridor boundaries should be. Through this process, the Planning and Zoning Board will make recommendations and Council will approve design standards and work towards a master plan for the corridor. This would be a great opportunity to enhance the Dallas Road area, being mindful that whatever is developed compliments the downtown historic district. Board of Directors Meeting February 19, 2015 Page 5 of 6 OLD BUSINESS cont. TexRail Update cont. The design will include a three platform configuration with access from the new parking area to the Heritage Center be it over, under or on -platform level. The design will also include a slight relocation of the Section Foremans House, new longer platform for GVRR, addition of Rail Operations on the east side of Main Street back to Dooley, proposed third rail -line crossing Main as a dedicated side railing for GVRR and relocation or repurposing of the Ira E Woods bridge in the design. No action taken by the Board NEW BUSINESS New Vintage Update Mr. Woody reported that the Blessing of the Vines will have a new start time of 10 a.m. The price for this event has been increased to $55. The start time and price change is due to the increasing time and costs to accommodate the three new wineries in Grapevine. The ticket price includes three (3) 1 -oz. wine tastes, a souvenir wine glass, one food sample and live entertainment at each winery. The presenting sponsor for this event is Park Place Dealership. The 2015 Jazz Wine Trains will take place on March 20th and 21st. Ticket price for this event will be $59. The change in price is due to adding new wines and changing the food from box dinners to heavy hors d'oeuvres and desserts. No action taken by the Board. Proposed Palace Art Center New Pricing Mr. Woody brought a recommendation from staff to increase the movie ticket price from $5 to $6. The current price of $5 per ticket has been in place since 2010. The price increase is to offset operational costs and accommodate marketing promotions. Dan Weinberger also made a recommendation to increase the beverage size with other possible options that included souvenir refillable cups and T -Shirts. Other recommendations from the Board included running 1940-1950 news reels, cartoons and older TV syndications like the Lone Ranger, Lassie and Heidi. Motion by Cindy Blankenship, seconded by Mark Terpening to increase the movie ticket price from $5 to $6 prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Blankenship, Cherry, Meek, Szymaszek, Terpening, Weinberger Nays: None Board of Directors Meeting February 19, 2015 Page 6 of 6 HOTELS 1 ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES • The Hilton Garden Inn has a new General Manager — Jason Stinnette • First floor development planned for the Gallery on Main Street includes: Cotton Patch Cafe, Southwestern Bistro and Hollywood Feed. • On Tuesday of this week, Council approved two new winery locations on Main Street: Sloan & Williams and The Bingham Family Cellars. • DreamVision plans on building its $3.5 billion, 5,000 -acre theme park in Fort Worth. • In the Galleries: Charles Schultz — Peanuts Naturally — opened two weeks ago and Letters From Texas will open in late February • Upcoming Gallery Exhibit for Summer 2015 includes The Wonderful Wizard of OZ, Based on the book published in 1900 by L Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W.Denslow. The exhibit will open in mid- May and run through August with many interactive elements. No action taken by the Board. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board a motion by Tom Cherry, seconded by Cindy Blankenship to adjourn the meeting at 9:13 a.m. prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Blankenship, Cherry, Meek, Szymaszek, Terpening, Weinberger Nays: None PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS ON THIS 19th DAY OF MARCH, 2015. ATTEST: Shawna Barnes Assistant to the Executive Director