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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-17 Regular Meeting> 0 z I k w FE »§ _ \U) j� m § % ) / 0 j � m � 0 _ \ 4�- .»\ ?§cn « 70 >-M 06Z f§m * \/\ �[w /\ 0 0 § 9 ¥ a »\ m m z \ c > x/) \3® \k > \§ C-) ¥ \ 7 2g \cn \ \ 0 0 m X State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session on Thursday, January 17, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau, 636 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Dan Weinberger Mark Terpening Debi Meek Keith Spinden Iain Scouller Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present: Theresa Mason Melva Stanfield Sharron Rogers Paul W. McCallum Lindy Bell Absent: Chamber of Commerce Liaison Heritage Foundation Liaison Council Liaison Executive Director Assistant to the Executive Director Joe Szymaszek/Board Chairman Cynthia Blankenship/Board Member CALL TO ORDER In the absence of Chair Joe Szymaszek, Mark Terpening called the meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Dan Weinberger, seconded by Debi Meek approved the minutes from the December 11, 2018 meeting and prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Terpening, Weinberger, Meek, Spinden and Scouller Nays: None LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Melva Stanfield provided the report for the Heritage Foundation. The Foundation Board met January 16 to discuss end of year and 2019 events. The Skills & Trades Exposition will be held next week with attendees from five to six states. Expected attendance of around 200. Board of Directors Meeting January 17, 2019 Page 2 of 7 Nash Farm Nash Farm had a busy December with multiple events. 484 people attended the December 1St Christmas Tours while 144 participated in December's First Friday program and 230 visited the Farm for Farmstead Christmas. Including other activities throughout December, there were a total of 1,600 visitors to the Farm. January started off strong with the annual Hog Butchering and Curing Workshop which was sold out for both the Saturday and Sunday sessions. Attendees came from as far away as Tennessee and Louisiana. Chamber of Commerce Theresa Mason provided the monthly up -date for the Chamber of Commerce. The monthly membership luncheon is scheduled for this date at noon. City Manager Bruno Rumbelow will speak on the "State of the City." The luncheon is sponsored by the Grapevine Historical Society. The Chamber Board Retreat will be held Tuesday, January 22nd and will include new Board members and plans for 2019. The Grapevine Community Awards Banquet is scheduled for Thursday, January 24th at the Hilton DFW Lakes. Theresa will be wrapping up her year as Chairman of the Chamber and will be passing the gavel to incoming 2019 Chair Steve Brown of Esparza's Mexican Restaurant during the banquet. Ms. Mason provided an up -date on the building remodel and expansion. The Board selected and approved Trinity Commercial Construction as the contractor for Phase I. A Building Committee has been formed as the core group to meet and communicate with the contractor weekly. A Finance Committee as well as a Fundraising Committee have been formed to help with various aspects of the project. Further discussion, timelines and recommendations will be discussed at the upcoming Board Retreat. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Closson reported that for December, the Convention and Leisure Sales team had 84 sales leads sourced to stakeholder hotels with 74,000 potential room nights and a potential economic impact of $35 million. 35 groups were booked representing almost 55,000 room nights with an economic impact of $23.7 million. There were nine site inspections representing approximately 26,500 potential room nights and $11.9 million in potential economic impact The Visitor Information Center, Settlement to City and Depot welcomed almost 60,600 guests in December with 48,000 coming from Texas, 2,400 domestic visitors and 225 international visitors. Approximately 75,000 brochures were distributed locally, statewide and nationally. Board of Directors Meeting January17, 2019 Page 3 of 7 Destination Services assisted three conventions representing 5,400 attendees with potential economic impact of $3.9 million. Grapevine Visitor Shuttle ridership for December was approximately 3,053 riders representing an increase of 3.18% over December 2017. The increase was potentially due to holiday travel, possible layovers and cancellations due to weather. The Convention Center, Palace Arts Center and Concourse hosted a combined 85 events with over 9,000 in attendance and an anticipated economic impact of $431,000. 28 events have already been booked for 2019. Total ridership for the Grapevine Vintage Railroad in December was 44,204 with North Pole Express being the main factor as well as North Pole Express school runs and Christmas Wine trains. The website welcomed approximately 310,000 total visitors in December 2018 versus 250,545 in December 2017, an increase of 24% year over year. Unique visitors totaled 230,000 versus 189,000 in 2017 for a 21.6% increase year over year. Top five referring sites included Mobile facebook at 5,826, Guidelive.com with3,075, msn.com with 1,476 and 10best.corn with 999. There was one print consumer publication insertion with a total print circulation of 47,000. On-line Trade had two placements with a total of 40,000 impressions: Cvent with 30,000 and Association Forum with 10,000. Print consumer publications had 21 insertions with a circulation of 2.2 million. Total impressions and circulation totaled 7.7 million. Core market TV ran two hours and four minutes of promotions with the outer markets seeing 10 hours and 33 minutes. Core radio carried eight hours and 57 minutes equating to a total of 21 hours and 34 minutes of Grapevine promotion. Print publicity had an ad value of $459,000 representing 5.4 million impressions. Communications produced five press releases during the month of December Mr. Closson reported that the Irish Dance Teachers Association visited Grapevine recently needing 14,100 room nights in 2024 with the Gaylord Texan being under consideration. Mr. Closson received confirmation December 31St that the Dance Association decided to come to the Gaylord Texan with 6,000 overflow room nights. Potential economic impact is $3 million for 2024 No action was taken by the Board. Board of Directors Meeting January 17, 2019 Page 4 of 7 St. Patrick's Day Sales Mission Mr. Closson reported that plans are underway for the 2019 St. Patrick's Day sales mission scheduled Thursday, Friday and Saturday March 14, 15 and 16. Save the date flyers have been sent to hundreds of meeting planners in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut area and RSVP's are already being received. Three key events are planned targeting different tiers of meeting planners. National Sales Manager Codi Missimo has taken over the northeastern market and conducted a planning mission for the St. Patrick's Day mission. This event is the first quarter kick off with up -dates planned throughout the year. Christmas Capital of Texas Mr. McCallum reported results from the 2018 Christmas Capital of Texas stating that it is becoming a bigger challenge to draw visitors as surrounding cities and towns are doing their own version of a holiday experience. More competition is seen coming. Grapevine began its program 35 years ago with plans to continue the traditional Christmas theme. Approximately 6,000 people attended the Carol of Lights tree lighting in front of City Hall with plans to move the event to the Grapevine Main Plaza upon the Plaza's completion. In spite of the cold drizzle weather challenge, Parade of Lights had a strong attendance of 8,000-10,000. Grapevine Mills reported parking lots at capacity for several days as well as large numbers of shopping bags. Visitors to the Gaylord Texan's Lone Star Christmas and ICE exceeded projections with over 358,000 attendees. The renovation at Great Wolf Lodge was completed December 21 st. Venues and activities at Great Wolf were sold out by the end of November. Businesses including LEGOLand and Sea Life Aquarium, Grapevine Market on Main, Dr. Sue's Chocolate, Esparza's, Farmer's Market, Spice & Tea Exchange, the Texas General Store and Chill all reported an increase in sales in 2018 over those from the previous year. In addition, the Grapevine Main Grant Program was well-received with a row of icicle lights installed on all Main Street businesses. The Visitor Information Center welcomed over 67,000 visitors, a 28% increase over 2017. Settlement to City Museums welcomed almost 5,000 visitors, 25% increase over 2017. The Palace Art Center holiday movies had an attendance of over 6,000 and live shows an attendance over 4,300. Theresa Mason left the meeting at 8:45 a.m. Board of Directors Meeting January17, 2019 Page 5 of 7 OLD BUSINESS TEXRail/GVRR Up -Date Mr. McCallum reported that TEXRail schedules have been distributed and that the commuter train has begun running. A December 3181 ribbon cutting was held on the Grapevine platform and one of the first passengers to ride was Tommy Simmons whose great grandfather, B.T. Wall rode the first train into Grapevine in 1888. From Grapevine, the train traveled to DFW Airport where a reception for 600 was held and the Mayors for Fort Worth, North Richland Hills and Grapevine spoke. The actual opening was delayed until January 10th due to rail issues. The Cotton Belt Depot, GVRR Tower 16 and the lot on Dallas Road are being provided for TEXRail parking until the February 5th opening of the first floor of the parking garage. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad is currently in its six-week shutdown in January and February. New floors are being added in the open air coaches, one bar has been removed from one of the coaches and 18 more seats were added and a bar is being added to the 207 converting it to an actual lounge car. It is a goal for 2019 to obtain an alcohol license to allow the Grapevine Vintage Railroad to become more of an entertainment experience. Railroad revenue increased in 2018 in spite of rail construction issues. The FL9 locomotives are now in Fort Worth waiting on the TEXRail schedule to clear before being brought to Grapevine. Grapevine shuttles are coordinating with TEXRail to provide additional transportation around Grapevine for TEXRail riders to experience Grapevine shopping, wineries and dining. For now, a separate ticket will need to be purchased to ride the Grapevine shuttle. Agreements are in process for the Grapevine shuttles to be a bus bridge if TEXRail should break down, transporting passengers no further than TEXRail station on either side of Grapevine. Blevins House/McPherson Barn Up -Date Mr. McCallum reported that due to the unusually rainy weather in 2018, exterior renovations on the Blevins House took longer than anticipated. It is projected that the bids will be going out in six to eight weeks. An up -date will be provided when the house is ready for auction. Bids for the 1,000 square foot McPherson Barn reconstruction will be opened this week. Work has been delayed until now due to the area being used a "lay down" location for Archer Western Herzog during TEXRail construction. It is anticipated the bids will be within reason, however, the Board will be notified for other options if cost is too high. Lr Board of Directors Meeting January 17, 2019 Page 6 of 7 Festival/Christmas Capital of Texas Storage Building Mr. McCallum reported that the Storage Building to be used for storage of Festival/Christmas Capital of Texas items is nearing completion. Fencing, painting, landscaping and a phone hook-up are the last items being completed. Currently, nonflammable, nonperishable items are being stored in the building until the phone line can be hooked up to access full use of the fire suppression system. Cost of the building's construction is self -funding with financial resources coming from festival proceeds. Iain Scouller left the meeting at 9:08 a.m. NEW BUSINESS Moore House/Settlement to City Museum Complex Mr. McCallum requested the Board keep the following discussion confidential. Board approval of this purchase was needed prior to it being brought to Council. Mr. McCallum made the Board aware the 9,400 square foot property and the 1,100 square foot house, owned by long-time Grapevine resident Ruby Moore has become available for purchase. The Board was advised by Mr. McCallum of the value the property would add to the current Ted R. Ware Plaza as well as adding a fourth structure to the Plaza for accommodating third grade students during their curriculum field trips. The plan for the house is to open it to the four exterior walls to provide space for static displays of items relating to the Sister City program. In addition, space would be available behind the Cotton Ginners for a small storage structure. An appraisal in the amount of $351,651 for the 9,000 square foot property located in the Historic District has been received and Mr. McCallum requested the Board's approval for that amount to be taken from surplus GrapeFest funds, Account # 11544582-350- 005. House renovation costs would be paid separately. Motion by Dan Weinberger, seconded by Keith Spinden to approve $351,650 from GrapeFest surplus funds prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Terpening, Weinberger, Meek and Spinden Nays: None HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES Mr. Closson reported that Embassy Suites has successfully completed their room renovation project and Great Wolf Lodge completed their 605 -room renovation project December 21 st. Hyatt Regency DFW will be starting their renovations which will include the lobby, restaurant, lounge and 811 rooms and hotel meeting spaces. Hilton DFW Lakes is also considering possible renovation plans. Board of Directors Meeting January 17, 2019 Page 7 of 7 "Peppa Pig, World of Play" is scheduled to open at Grapevine Mills with an early February launch. Kilwin's Grapevine is close to opening on Main Street. The Crowned by Grace store is closing while the former Back Porch restaurant will be opening as LA Burger. Upcoming events include Day Out with Thomas and the Jazz Wine trains. The 85th Texas Legislative session is underway in Austin and this year's Texas Travel Industry Unity Dinner is February 20th followed the next day by Converge on the Capital. Invitations will be mailed next week. Important topics to be discussed at this year's legislative session include the funding of the Texas Tourism bill and urging to re -instate the funds cut during the previous legislative session. Other legislative topics will include maintaining the standard school start date of the fourth Monday of August, financing for Texas Travelers Counselors as well as funding for international marketing programs. Mr. Closson also mentioned the Skills and Trades Exposition January 24-27, 2019 which the Heritage Foundation and Nash Farm will be hosting. Expected attendance is between 100 and 150 with living history professionals attending from five to seven surrounding states. A handout detailing all of the offerings of the three-day exposition was distributed to Board members. There being no further business to come before the Board a motion by Debi Meek, seconded by Keith Spinden to adjourn the meeting at 9:40 a.m. prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Terpening, Weinberger, Meek and Spinden Nays: None PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS ON THIS 14th DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2019. APPRO ED: r Mark Terpening Vice Chairman ATTEST: Lindy Bell Assistant to the Executive Director