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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVisitor Services and Information Advisory Committee Minutes March 17, 2010_201402041408002228Minutes of Visitor Services Advisory Committee Wednesday, March 17, 2010 Land Bank Conference Room In attendance: Kate Hamilton, Director, David Sharpe, Office Administrator, James Blunt, Diane Reis-Flaherty, Louise Swift and Linda Williams. Kate called the meeting to order at 3:07pm Kate announced that Kevin Dugan has retired from Visitor Services. She will try to fill the position by September. The first item on the agenda was The Lodging Update. Kate reported that as the weather improves we will start seeing calls inquiring about summer lodging. Budget was next on the agenda. Kate reported that the FY11 budget is all set. Beach Cleaning will now be handled by the Marine Department and the money for that line item has been transferred to that department. The third item on the agenda was the Fireworks. Kate reported that a new company, Bay Fireworks, won the bid for this year. They underbid Grucci. Bay has been doing the Boston Pops fireworks in recent years. Kate also noted that the Town is paying for the fireworks this year but said it wouldn’t be definite for next years.. Kate reported that she is thinking about fundraising for next year’s fireworks. David has designed a t-shirt and that we are looking at prices for shirts. Linda offered to help with shirts and emphasized that a selling location is important. Kate also reported that other towns including Nahant and Swampscott have similar fundraisers. Diane asked about the possibility of getting a sponsor or underwriter. Kate said that she will look into that further. Kate reported that the fourth falls on a Sunday this year and that the children’s activities on Main Street will be held on Saturday, July 3rd because of church services. Kate also noted that she might also sell T-Shirts with the Town Seal next year. Linda explained that the black and white whale is the official seal. Kate explained that she will need Libby’s approval in order to sell it. Kate reported that she is still pushing Press Releases to bring attention about Nantucket specifically doing big mailings about lodging availability for special weekends. Kate informed the committee that the Light and Carpet renovations to the main office are done. The ‘Sconset Restrooms was next on the agenda. Kate reported that the person who won the bid could not get a bond. It has been awarded to the next lowest bidder and most of the work should be done by Daffodil Weekend. The seventh item on the agenda was Twitter Partnerships. Kate reported to the committee that she pitched Tracy Bakalar about having the Chamber help send out messages on big weekends letting people know to call NVS about rooms. Kate noted that at this point the Town won’t let the office Twitter but they are looking at that. Kate suggested that the NLA should look into Twitter and Facebook. James said that he would check. The Island-wide Tourism Campaign was the next item on the agenda. Kate would like to create a contest to ask the population to come up with a tagline. James noted that Catalina Island off California is called the “Island of Romance.” Kate noted that this would be a great partnership with the Chamber since Tracy Bakalar has expressed interest in collaborating with VS. If they do not want to do it, Kate would like to pursue it through her office. Weblinks was the next item discussed. David reported about the ferry companies and airlines have cooperated with placing a link to us on their web pages. The 10th item on the agenda was Cisco Brewers. Kate reported that Cisco wanted to have a van pick up at the office. She noted that in order to do so she needs approval from the Town. There is a formal process. The hotel vans that park out front are able to do so because the hotels pay the rooms tax. New Business was the final item on the agenda. Kate reported that her 15 year old dog, Bailey went on “walkabout” recently. She was able to find him because the Inquirer and Mirror and Geno TV ran alerts. Linda noted that her volleyball polls were stolen from Jetties Beach. They were returned after the info ran in the Inky. The committee agreed that the local media is helpful and can create a “Nantucket Buzz.” Kate will continue to use these outlets for her office. The meeting was adjourned at 3:47pm.