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GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.[1. CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/MOMENT OF SILENCE]
WE'RE GONNA CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.UH, PLEASE JOIN ME FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE PUBLIC FOR WHICH STAND ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY, JUSTICE, AND A MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE.
MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU CALL THE ROLL PLEASE WITH DEPUTY CLERK? WHICHEVER.
PRESENT COUN COUNSELOR FULLMAN.
UM, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO KEEP THIS UNDER TWO HOURS, UH, IF WE POSSIBLY CAN.
[3.a AB 2949. Discussion/possible direction/action regarding the development of a municipal destination marketing and management program, including consideration of an Resolution to establish an 11-member Tourism Advisory Board.]
ITEM THREE IS SPECIAL BUSINESS, UH, AB 29 49, DISCUSSION POSSIBLE DIRECTION AND ACTION, UH, REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MUNICIPAL DESTINATION MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, INCLUDING CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD.GOOD AFTERNOON, VICE MAYOR, COUNSELORS.
UM, HAPPY TO BE HERE AND HAPPY TO HAVE HEATHER HERMAN TO, TO MY RIGHT.
UM, HEATHER HERMAN IS THE OWNER, PRINCIPAL OF FRONT BURNER MEDIA, AND SHE HAS BEEN WORKING IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY FOR A LONG TIME.
SHE WORKS DIRECTLY WITH SEVERAL OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA ON THEIR TOURISM MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING EFFORTS.
AND WE HAVE RETAINED HER SERVICES TO HELP US IN THE COMING MONTHS AS WE DEVELOP OUR OWN, UM, DM O AND, UH, TOURISM BUREAU AND, AND PROGRAM AROUND MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURISM OR SEDONA.
SO SHE BRINGS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE.
A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE, AND I THINK SHE IS GOING TO BE A GREAT ASSET, UM, AND ADVISOR TO ALL OF US AS WE MOVE INTO THIS NEXT PHASE OF, UM, OF DEVELOPMENT.
SO SHE'LL BE HERE FOR, AS WE TALK THROUGH THE POTENTIAL CREATION OF A TOURISM ADVISORY BODY, AND SHE'S HERE TO, TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS THAT I'M SURE YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE AND TAP INTO HER KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT SOME OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT SHE DEALS WITH ARE DOING IN THIS AREA.
SO, WHEN YOU ALL MET ON APRIL 12TH TO TALK ABOUT OUR NEXT STEPS IN ENDEAVORING INTO THIS, THIS AREA, YOU EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN HAVING A, AN ADVISORY BODY OF SORTS THAT WOULD BE MADE UP OF A DIVERSE, A BROAD REPRESENTATION OF THE INTERESTS IN TOURISM IN A, IN AROUND TOURISM, UH, TO, TO WEIGH IN AS WE EMBARK UPON THIS EFFORT, AS WE START TO PLAN AROUND IT, AS WE START TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT PROGRAMMING AND, AND KIND OF THOSE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES.
SO WE'RE HERE TO TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THE POTENTIAL TO DO JUST THAT.
NOW, WE MET, IT WAS LESS THAN A MONTH AGO, AND WE DO NOT HAVE EVERY ANSWER TO EVERY QUESTION ABOUT EVERY DETAIL ABOUT HOW THIS GROUP MAY FUNCTION AND WHAT SPECIFIC TASKS, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES THEY WILL HAVE.
SOME OF THAT IS GOING TO HAVE TO DEVELOP AS A PROGRAM UNFOLDS.
WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A PROGRAM YET,
SO WE TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE THE FACT THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE AN ADVISORY BODY.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE, THE DECISION MAKING HAPPENS FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE AT THE COUNCIL LEVEL.
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YOU HAVE ALL BEEN ELECTED BY THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.AND SO WE'RE NOT SUGGESTING THAT THOSE BECOME DELEGATED TO A GROUP, BUT RATHER THIS GROUP HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO VET THINGS, TO DISCUSS THINGS, TO WEIGH IN, TO DEBATE, AND TO COME FORWARD WITH RECOMMENDATIONS TO ALL OF YOU FOR FINAL DECISION MAKING.
SO WE, WE TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE STRATEGIC PLANNING.
I THINK THAT DEVELOPING A TOURISM STRATEGIC PLAN MIGHT BE ONE OF THEIR VERY FIRST UNDERTAKINGS, UM, AS A GROUP TO ULTIMATELY BRING FORWARD TO ALL OF YOU.
BRANDING AND MARKETING IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, THE NEED TO DEVELOP A BRAND, TO UNDERSTAND THE, THE VISITOR, THE TYPE OF VISITOR, THE TYPE OF VISITATION THAT WE HAVE AND THAT WE DESIRE.
AND HOW DO WE OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATE TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS VISITOR MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS. SO THIS IS NOT, UH, A DMO, UM, DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A DMM O, WHICH IS THAT MANAGEMENT COMPONENT, WHICH IS SO CRITICAL FOR US, PARTICULARLY AS WE HAVE EXPERIENCED STRAIN TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AS A RESULT OF OVER TOURISM IN, IN RECENT YEARS AND REGIONAL TOURISM EFFORTS.
HOW DO WE WANNA APPROACH OUR PLACE IN THE REGION IN TERMS OF VISITATION? HOW DO WE WANNA PARTNER WITH ORGANIZATIONS LIKE A O T IN THEIR RURAL CO-OP PROGRAMS AND IN MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND HOW WE INVEST IN THOSE KINDS OF PARTNERSHIPS.
AND FINALLY, OTHER TOURISM RELATED MANNERS MATTERS ASSIGNED TO IT BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
THOSE ARE GONNA BE THE THINGS THAT WILL ORGANICALLY DEVELOP AS WE CREATE A PROGRAM.
SO THE PURPOSE OF THIS WORK SESSION IS REALLY FOR ALL OF YOU TO CONSIDER WHETHER IT'S TIME TO GO AHEAD AND OPEN AN APPLICATION PROCESS TO SEEK INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS THAT YOU WOULD VET AND ULTIMATELY APPOINT TO SUCH A BODY IN YOUR PACKET.
YOU'VE GOT A SERIES OF BULLET POINTS WITH DIFFERENT, THEY, THEY'RE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, BUT, BUT IDEAS AROUND WHAT THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
FIRST, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT IT'S AN 11 MEMBER BODY THAT IS MUCH LARGER THAN ANY OF OUR STANDING COMMISSIONS, UM, EVER.
BUT, BUT IN ORDER TO GET, JESSICA, CAN YOU MUTE YOUR MIC, PLEASE? I THINK THAT MIGHT BE YOU.
I WASN'T TOUCHING NO, I WAS POINTING TOWARDS YOUR PHONE MINUTE.
IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN OVER HERE ON THE DATE.
IT MAY HAVE BEEN ME, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
IT'S ANNOYING TO, TO EVERYBODY, SO I WANNA BE ABLE TO HEAR THE PRESENTATION.
SO IN ORDER TO REALLY HAVE THAT DIVERSITY AND REPRESENTATION, I, I'M JUST NOT SURE ANYTHING LESS THAN AN 11 MEMBER GROUP IS GOING TO SERVE THAT PURPOSE.
SO YOU ALSO WILL SEE, I'M NOT GONNA, UH, GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE BULLETS, BUT A, UM, LIST OF POTENTIAL INTEREST AREAS THAT YOU MIGHT BE LOOKING TO APPOINT A PERSON FROM, LODGING A PERSON FROM, UH, THE REPRESENTING ENVIRONMENT, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS OR THE FOREST SERVICE, BECAUSE THAT'S SUCH A BIG COMPONENT OF WHO WE ARE AS A DESTINATION.
UM, CERTAINLY RESIDENTS, MAYBE SPECIAL EVENTS, ORGANIZERS.
THERE COULD BE, UH, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OR TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA APPOINT TO THOSE 11, UH, 11 SEATS, UM, WHERE YOU LAID OUT SOME, SOME FRAMEWORK FOR LENGTH OF SERVICE.
ULTIMATELY, YOU WANT A STANDING COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE LIKE THIS TO HAVE STAGGERED TERMS. SO IN AN INFANCY, WHEN YOU'RE STARTING UP A GROUP LIKE THIS, YOU WOULD LIKELY HAVE ABOUT HALF OF THE MEMBERSHIP HAVE MAYBE A TWO YEAR TERM.
THE OTHER HALF HAVE A FOUR YEAR TERM.
BUT ULTIMATELY WHEN THOSE INITIAL TERMS EXPIRE, UM, PROBABLY FOUR YEAR TERMS, THAT IS WHAT OUR PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND OUR HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION, WHAT ALL OF THOSE TERMS ARE AS WELL.
YOU CAN MAKE SOME DECISIONS AROUND, UM, HOW YOU WANT TO VET APPLICANTS AND ULTIMATELY MAKE APPOINTMENTS.
I THINK THERE IS PROBABLY, UH, AN INTEREST AMONGST ALL SEVEN OF YOU TO BE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THAT ENTIRE PROCESS.
BUT IF THERE, IF YOU WANTED TO, UM, APPOINT A SUBCOMMITTEE OF COUNSEL TO DO THE INITIAL BEDDING AND, AND
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BRING RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE REST OF THE BODY ABOUT WHO TO ACTUALLY INVITE IN FOR INTERVIEWS, THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE YOU CAN ALSO GET, PROVIDE US DIRECTION ABOUT TODAY SO THAT STAFF CAN GO AHEAD AND, AND LAUNCH A PROCESS IF THAT'S YOUR DESIRE.THIS WOULD BE PROPOSED AS A GROUP THAT WOULD ACT JUST LIKE THE CITY COUNCIL OR OUR TWO STANDING COMMISSIONS, WHERE THEY WOULD BE PUBLICLY AGENDA OPEN MEETINGS.
UM, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THEY WOULD BE BROADCAST JUST LIKE P AND Z AND JUST LIKE COUNSEL AND BE SUBJECT TO ALL THE OPEN MEETING LAW REQUIREMENTS OF, OF THOSE PUBLIC BODIES.
YOU'LL ALSO FIND A DRAFT APPLICATION IN YOUR PACKET.
SO WE PUT TOGETHER BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE FOR PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND WHAT WE HAVE FOR HPC, AN APPLICATION FOR THE, WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD.
IT DOES INCLUDE A SERIES OF QUESTIONS AROUND TOURISM SO THAT YOU CAN BE ABLE TO BETTER GET TO KNOW THE CANDIDATES AS YOU'RE REVIEWING AND COMPARING, UH, THE APPLICATIONS.
BUT THESE ARE JUST SUGGESTIONS AS FAR AS THE QUESTIONS THAT WE MIGHT INCLUDE.
YOU MIGHT DECIDE THERE ARE TOO MANY OR YOU WANT DIFFERENT QUESTIONS, AND WE'RE OPEN TO, UM, TAKING YOUR INPUT ON ALL OF THAT AS WELL.
SO THAT IS ALL THAT I HAVE, AND WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU, MAYOR FOR, UH, QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION.
SO, UM, WHAT I WANT TO DO, UH, IS WE'LL EACH GO DOWN THE, DOWN THE DESK AND ASK QUESTIONS.
AND BEFORE WE GET THE COMMENTS, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE IF THERE'S PUBLIC COMMENT CARDS.
I BELIEVE I SAW SOME PEOPLE FILLING OUT A CARD, SO I WANNA MAKE SURE WE DO THAT TOO.
JOANNE, UH, ARE THERE CARDS? NOT YET, MAYOR.
SO I WILL TAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS.
SO JUST TO REMIND EVERYBODY, IF YOU WISH TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE FILL OUT THE CARDS TO YOUR RIGHT ON THE TABLE.
MOST OF YOU ALL FAMILIAR FACES, YOU KNOW HOW TO DO, HOW, HOW TO DO IT, BUT, UH, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO THAT.
SO, UM, WHY DON'T WE START ON THIS SIDE, UH, COUNCIL FULTZ WOULD.
UH, AND WE'LL GO BACK AND FORTH IN CASE YOU THINK OF SOMETHING LATER, SO, OKAY.
THANK YOU KAREN, FOR THE BRIEFING.
UH, HEATHER, THANKS FOR BEING HERE THIS AFTERNOON.
UM, BEING PART OF THE, UH, THE COUNCIL WORK GROUP ON, UH, THIS TOURISM MATTER.
UM, I HAVE HAD MOST OF MY QUESTIONS, UH, ANSWERED ALREADY, BUT I THINK FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY, HEATHER, COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE, UH, OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT YOU WORK WITH, HOW THEY'RE MANAGING, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO BEING, YOU KNOW, THE CITY'S, EACH OF THEM ARE THEIR OWN D M O AS A CITY AND JUST, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF A BOARD ARE THEY PUTTING TOGETHER OR HOW ARE THEY MANAGING, UM, IN COMPARISON TO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE? SURE.
AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS I JUST PULLED INTO TOWN WAS BECAUSE I WAS ACTUALLY AT THE TOURISM ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING IN PRESCOTT.
SO ONE OF THE THREE COMMUNITIES THAT I WORK WITH, WILLIAMS, COTTONWOOD AND PRESCOTT, ALL HAVE A TOURISM ADVISORY COMMITTEE, OR WE CALL 'EM ATTACK FOR SHORT.
AND I ALSO BROUGHT A SAMPLE OF THE AGENDA THAT WE WENT THROUGH TODAY IN PRESCOTT TO JUST GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF, OF WHAT WE DO.
THEY ARE ALL ADVISORY GROUPS AND EACH ONE IS DIFFERENT.
SO PRESCOTT'S IS SET UP MORE OFFICIALLY SIMILAR TO WHAT IS BEING REVIEWED AND CONSIDERED TODAY.
IT IS CONSIDERED A COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO WE ARE UNDER OPEN MEETING RULES THERE.
IT'S ALL ON THE RECORD AND ALL OFFICIAL IN THAT CAPACITY.
COTTONWOOD IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE THEY TOOK AWAY THE, OR SHIFTED THE FUNDING FROM THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BACK TO THE CITY UNDER THEIR UMBRELLA ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO.
AND THEY ESTABLISHED ATTACK THEN.
AND IT'S NOT OFFICIAL IN THE CAPACITY THAT WE HAVE OPEN MEETING LAW IN THAT TYPE OF THING.
WHAT IT IS, IS IT'S OPEN TO ANYONE IN TOURISM WHO CONTRIBUTES TO THE T BASE IN TAX BASE IN COTTONWOOD TO PARTICIPATE.
AND IN FACT, WE OPEN IT UP TO OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS THERE AS WELL.
SO THE VERDE CANYON RAILROAD OUT OF AFRICA, THEY'RE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE AS WELL AS THE WINERIES.
AND WE HAVE MEETINGS THERE EVERY OTHER MONTH AND KEEP MINUTES AND SEND 'EM OUT AND ALL OF THAT.
WILLIAMS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT'S A SMALLER COMMUNITY, ONLY 3000 RESIDENTS, SO IT'S AN APPOINTED COMMITTEE, BUT IT'S A SUBCOMMITTEE FROM COUNCIL.
AND THOSE MEMBERS WERE APPOINTED PERSONALLY
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BY THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AT THE TIME, MAYOR MOORE AT THE TIME, UH, HANDPICKED THE ONES BASED ON THE MAIN INDUSTRIES IN WILLIAMS, WHICH THE MAIN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS AND ECONOMIC DRIVERS ARE ARIZONA, GRAND CANYON RAILWAY, AND ROUTE 66.SO THERE'S REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH OF THOSE AS WELL AS A COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND WE HAVE THOSE MEETINGS EVERY MONTH.
WE JUST HAD A MEETING THERE, UH, MONDAY OF THIS WEEK.
AND BASICALLY EVERYONE REPORTS TO COUNCIL IN THE END, COTTONWOOD, WE REPORT QUARTERLY AND MYSELF AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT GO IN FRONT OF COUNCIL AND PRESENT OUR FINDINGS AND OUR DISCOVERIES AND SHARE ALL THE INFORMATION.
UM, PRESCOTT, WE REPORT THERE TYPICALLY ABOUT TWICE A YEAR, BUT WE HAVE A COUNCIL MEMBER WHO IS THERE AS PART OF TAC.
SO HE REPORTS TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS DIRECTLY WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND THEN OF COURSE, IT'S, IT'S OPEN MEETINGS, SO ANYONE'S INVITED AND ANYONE CAN LOOK BACK AT THE, AT THE MINUTES AND THE RECORDS TO SEE WHAT'S OFFICIALLY TAKING PLACE.
AND WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN AS FAR AS ANY PITFALLS OR ANY OOPSES OR, GEE, WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS OR THAT DIFFERENTLY AS IT'S RELATED TO SEEING THOSE TYPES OF, UH, COMMITTEES GET ESTABLISHED AT THIS POINT? WELL, I'VE SEEN IT SHIFT FROM, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH PRESCOTT FOR NEARLY A DECADE, AND WHEN IT WAS FIRST ESTABLISHED THERE, IT WAS NOT AN OFFICIAL COMMITTEE WHERE WE HAD OPEN MEETING LAW AND ALL OF THAT, BUT THERE WERE QUESTIONS THAT STARTED TO COME UP ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW THE BED TAX WAS SPENT AND HOW THE MARKETING FUNDS WERE BEING USED AND WHAT WAS BEING DONE.
SO WHEN THERE WAS A CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP AND A NEW CITY MANAGER WHO CAME ALONG, HE SAID, WHY DON'T WE BE MORE TRANSPARENT WITH THIS? AND LET'S MAKE THIS AN OFFICIAL MEETING.
AND YOU'RE GOVERNED BY OPEN MEETING LAWS AND YOU HAVE IT ALL ON THE RECORD, AND ANYONE CAN COME.
AND WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN IT BECOME MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE IT'S INVOLVED THE COMMUNITY MORE.
AND ONE NEAT THING THAT WE DO OVER IN PRESCOTT IS WE HAVE WHAT ARE CALLED TOURISM TEAM UPS.
SO EVERY QUARTER WE INVITE ANYONE IN THE TOURISM FIELD, BUT ALSO ANYONE IN THE COMMUNITY IS WELCOME TO COME.
AND WE HAVE THESE OPEN MEETINGS AND WE MOVE THEM AROUND TO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AROUND THE COMMUNITY, AND WE SHOWCASE THAT, THAT BUSINESS THAT WE'RE AT.
BUT THEN WE ALSO GIVE AN UPDATE ABOUT WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING.
AND AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR, IT'S DIFFERENT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, OUR FIRST TAC MEETING AND TOURISM TEAM UP FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR WILL BE IN AUGUST.
AND AT THAT ONE WE'LL UNVEIL OUR FULL MARKETING PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 23, 24, AND BE ABLE TO SHOW EVERYONE WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE FUNDS, HOW THEY'RE BEING SPENT, AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, BUT THEN ALSO GET FEEDBACK BECAUSE WE WANT TO HEAR WHAT OUR CONSTITUENTS SAY AND WHAT'S WORKED FOR THEM AND WHAT HASN'T WORKED FOR THEM, AND WHAT MARKETS ARE THEY AFTER.
SO IT'S REALLY HELPED IT BECOME MUCH MORE COHESIVE AND INVOLVE THE COMMUNITY THERE.
AND ONE OF THE EXPECTED, YOU KNOW, NUANCES, MAYBE MORE THAN A NUANCE BETWEEN WHAT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT ESTABLISHING VERSUS THOSE OTHER THREE, UH, COMMUNITIES, THEY PRETTY MUCH WANT ALL THE TOURISM THEY CAN GET, RIGHT? LIKE THEY'RE NOT FEELING CAPACITY CONSTRAINED AT THIS TIME, ARE THEY? WELL, IT'S DIFFERENT FOR EACH COMMUNITY.
I WILL TELL YOU IN WILLIAMS, IT'S A SMALL COMMUNITY.
IT'S ONLY 3000 PEOPLE, AND THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE IS INCREDIBLY LIMITED.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, THEIR VISITORS CENTER RECEIVES ALMOST A HUNDRED THOUSAND VISITORS AND THEIR VISITORS CENTER, AND WE GET A LOT OF PEOPLE UP THERE, AND WE HAVE TO MANAGE OUR CROWDS AND OUR COUNCIL.
WE HAVE A NEWLY ELECTED MAYOR AND NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND WE HAVE SHIFT OUR, SHIFTED OUR FOCUS UP THERE.
WE ARE NOT GOING AFTER ANYTHING.
WE HAVE SHIFTED IT TO WHAT IS OUR SHOULDER SEASON, WHAT CAN WE BE DOING TO OFFSET THESE BUSIER TIMES, STOP PROMOTING AND MARKETING WHEN WE'RE AT FULL CAPACITY AND THERE'S NO PLACE TO PUT THESE PEOPLE AND THEY'RE WAITING IN LINE FOR AN HOUR TO EAT.
WE GO AFTER THE MIDWEEK VISITATION SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, AND WE MARKET THOSE SHOULDER SEASONS AND WEATHER IS MUCH MORE OF AN ISSUE UP THERE AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION TOO.
BUT THEN YOU'VE GOT COTTONWOOD WHO IS MORE OF A BRING 'EM ALL DAY.
WE'D LIKE TO HAVE AS MANY VISITORS AS POSSIBLE, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO SHIFT THAT MINDSET ALSO, BECAUSE I WILL BE CLEAR, SEDONA IS SOMEONE AND A DESTINATION THAT OTHERS ARE LEARNING FROM AND USING AS A MODEL.
AND PRESCOTT OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE MORE INFRASTRUCTURE OVER THERE.
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IT'S A BIGGER COMMUNITY.SO WE ALSO, THOUGH WE SHIFT OUR FOCUS TODAY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST TOPICS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY WAS WE'RE NOT MARKETING AND PROMOTING THE WORLD'S OLDEST RODEO, WHICH ATTRACTS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THE SUMMER.
WE DON'T MARKET, WE DON'T PROMOTE IT.
WE DON'T PITCH MEDIA TO COME AND VISIT DURING THAT TIME.
WE SHIFT IT, WE GO TO THE TIMES WHEN IT'S NOT SO BUSY.
WE MARKET SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, WE GO AFTER THOSE SHOULDER SEASONS AS WELL.
LAST QUESTION, JUST ANY SAGE ADVICE YOU WANNA OFFER US TODAY? WELL, I THINK THAT THE WAY THAT THIS IS DRAFTED IS A REALLY GREAT DIRECTION TO TAKE IT.
AND THERE MAY BE A, A FEELING THAT THIS IS FAST OR IT'S TOO MUCH TOO SOON, BUT I, I PERSONALLY DON'T FEEL THAT WAY.
I THINK THAT YOU'VE ALREADY VOTED TO SAY THAT YOU ARE THE OFFICIAL DESTINATION MARKETING MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION, AND I THINK THAT THIS IS YOUR NEXT STEP BECAUSE THESE ARE THE PLAYERS THAT YOU WANT AND YOU WANT THE PARTICIPATION TO TAKE THOSE NEXT STEPS, WHICH MOVING DOWN THE ROAD OF HAVING A STRATEGIC PLAN AND A VISION, MISSION, GOALS, OBJECTIVES FOR THE ORGANIZATION, WHICH ARE, I I CAN SHOW YOU AS AN EXAMPLE.
THAT'S WHAT DRIVES US AT OUR TECH IN PRESCOTT.
EVERYTHING THAT WE DO FOCUSES ON OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND WHEN WE RUN REPORTS, IT ALL FOCUSES ON OUR VISION, OUR MISSION, OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES, WHAT AREA OF FOCUS DID WE GO AFTER? WHAT ARE OUR SUCCESS MEASURES? WHAT ARE OUR RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS? THESE, THIS GROUP, THIS TAB OR T WHATEVER YOU CALL IT, IS GOING TO HELP DRIVE THAT FORWARD FOR YOUR NEXT STEPS.
UH, MELISSA, SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE, AND I'LL JUST OPEN IT TO THE TABLE OVER THERE.
UM, I THINK IT'S FEELS A LITTLE MUDDLED AND CONFUSING TO ME AS TO WHERE THE LINE OF DEMARCATION IS BETWEEN, UM, AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE DMM O UM, THE D M M O ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE WORK.
THEY'RE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, IN, IN OUR CASE WE SAID THAT THAT'S THE CITY IS GOING TO BE OUR DM O.
UM, IF ALL THE TASKS THE DM O ARE BEING HANDLED BY THIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THEN THAT'S NOT THE CITY, IT'S NOT CITY STAFF.
SO I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED AS TO WHERE THAT LINE OF DEMARCATION IS BETWEEN WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE THAT YOU'VE DONE SO FAR AROUND WHAT THE COMMITTEE DOES, OR ADVISORY BOARD OR WHATEVER THEY'RE CALLED.
AND THE, THE CITY ITSELF, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THE CITY STAFF WHO, WHO WE HOLD ACCOUNTABLE TO DELIVER ON OUR POLICIES.
AND IN NO WAY WOULD I VIEW THIS ADVISORY BOARD AS THE ONES CARRYING OUT THE WORK.
IT'S YOUR CITY STAFF WHO OPERATES AS THE DM O JUST LIKE IN IN COTTONWOOD, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE TOURISM DEPARTMENT ARE THE ONES CARRYING OUT ALL OF THE WORK.
IT'S THE TAC, WHICH IS THE ADVISORY GROUP THAT WE'RE REPORTING TO.
THE BOARD IN, IN PRESCOTT DOESN'T HOLD THE AUTHORITY TO SET THE BUDGET OR SAY, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING.
WHEN THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM CO-OP COMES THROUGH AND YOU CAN SPEND $50,000, THIS IS EXACTLY HOW WE'RE SPENDING IT.
THEY'RE NOT MAKING THOSE DECISIONS.
IT'S MYSELF AND THE STAFF MEMBERS.
WE'RE THE ONES SITTING DOWN DOING THE WORK.
AND THEN WE'RE PRESENTING IT TO THEM SAYING, HERE'S WHAT WE'VE COME UP WITH.
THIS IS WHAT WE AS THE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD FEEL, THIS IS THE DIRECTION WE SHOULD TAKE IT.
AND THEN THEY PRESENT US WITH, I DISAGREE WITH THAT, OR CAN YOU COME BACK WITH THIS OPTION? OR WE THINK THIS IS A WISE USE OF THE FUNDS, AND THEN THEY APPROVE IT, AND THEN WE TAKE IT AS STAFF MEMBERS IN FRONT OF COUNCIL AND SAY, THIS IS WHAT TAC HAS AGREED TO OR TAB, AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE PRESENTING TO YOU.
SO THE, THE DM M O THE CITY IS THE ONE DOING THE WORK AND THE ONE ULTIMATELY HAVING THAT RESPONSIBILITY, YOUR ADVISORY GROUP IS THE ONE WHO'S SAYING, YES, WE COMMIT TO THIS.
WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A WISE USE OF FUNDS.
THIS IS A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY TO USE THESE FUNDS.
THIS IS HOW THE MARKETING OR MANAGEMENT SHOULD BE HANDLED.
AND THEN THEY CAN BE YOUR SPOKESPEOPLE GOING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT THE CITY, THE D M M O IS ACCOMPLISHING.
THAT'S WHY WE'VE SIGNED ON TO BE A PART OF IT AND THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING.
OR WE DISAGREE WITH THAT, BUT LET'S
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TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN CHANGE IT.DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS TO HELP US TAKE IT TO THE NEXT MEETING AND DO THAT? THANK YOU.
SO WHEN YOU HAVE DISPUTES, UM, WHICH I'M SURE HAPPEN
UM, HOW DOES THAT GET RESOLVED OR DOES THAT END UP COMING SORT OF BACK IN FRONT OF COUNCIL FOR RESOLUTION? HOW, HOW IS THAT HANDLED IN, IN THE WORLDS THAT YOU'VE BEEN IN SO FAR? SO IN THOSE THREE DESTINATIONS, THE ADVISORY GROUP DOES NOT REPORT DIRECTLY TO COUNCIL.
LIKE, IT'S NOT A, YOU KNOW, WE'RE COMING TO YOU RIGHT HERE AND YOU'RE GOING TO TELL US WHETHER THIS IS A YES OR A NO.
YOUR CITY MANAGER IS, YOU KNOW, YOUR YOUR LEADER IN THAT.
AND THAT'S WHERE, IF IT DOES COME TO A POINT WHERE YOU HAVE THAT SORT OF ISSUE, THEN YOUR CITY MANAGER WOULD STEP IN AND HELP TRY TO MITIGATE THAT SITUATION.
I CAN SAY WE'VE HAD DISAGREEMENTS IN THOSE DESTINATIONS, ABSOLUTELY WE HAVE.
BUT WE ALSO AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL WANT THE SAME THING FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING.
WE WANT OUR BUSINESSES TO SUCCEED, WE WANT OUR COMMUNITY TO THRIVE, AND WE'RE ABLE TO BE ADULTS AND ACT RESPECT RESPECTABLY AND BEHAVE THAT WAY AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE GROUND RULES AND EVERYONE UPHOLDS THEM.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD, UM, I WOULD SAY THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WE'VE HAD IS THE ADVISORY MEMBERS THINKING THEY HAVE A DIRECT LINE OF COMMUNICATION TO THE STAFF MEMBERS OR MYSELF, THE CONSULTANT AT ANY TIME.
AND IT COULD BECOME A REAL TIME CONSUMER.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'VE HAD TO STEP IN AND SAY, OKAY, HERE IS, THIS IS YOUR PLATFORM.
COME TO US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS, YOUR COMMENTS, AND YOUR CONCERNS.
AND THEN WE HAVE A PROCESS FROM THERE.
IF YOU HAVE MORE NEEDS AND YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION OR YOU WANT CLARIFICATION ON ANYTHING, IT'S FUNNELED THROUGH ONE INDIVIDUAL AT THE CITY.
SO, PRESCOTT, AS AN EXAMPLE, IT FLOWS THROUGH OUR DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND OVERSEES TOURISM.
SO HE OVERSEES IT AND LOOKS AT THOSE QUESTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT, FIRST OF ALL, HE CAN'T JUST ANSWER 'EM AND GET THE INFORMATION TO THEM RIGHT AWAY.
BUT THEN FROM THERE, HE FUNNELS IT TO US, OR WE WILL ARRANGE TIMES WHERE WE SIT DOWN WITH THEM AND WE TAKE THE TIME AND WE EDUCATE THEM, OR WE REALLY LISTEN TO WHAT THE CHALLENGE OR THE DISAGREEMENT IS SO WE CAN HAVE MORE INFORMATION.
WE'LL DO ONE-ON-ONE, SIT DOWN WITH THE STAFF MYSELF AND, AND THOSE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS WELL.
JUST ONE LAST QUESTION, WHICH IS GOING TO SEEM A A LITTLE ODD, BUT IT'S A MATTER OF CURIOSITY FOR ME.
UM, WHEN OUR CITY MANAGER SAID 11 MEMBERS, IT IS THE LARGEST BOARD THAT WE HAVE AT OUTNUMBER COUNCIL,
UM, JUST CURIOUS ARE HOW LARGE ARE THE, UM, ADVISORY COMMITTEES OR BOARDS FOR THE OTHER CITIES THAT YOU'VE WORKED WITH OR THAT YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH? SO THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM, THE STATE, THEIR OFFICIAL BOARD IS 15 MEMBERS.
SO REPRESENTING THE ENTIRE STATE OF ARIZONA, AND IT'S BROKEN DOWN BY COUNTIES.
SO THEY HAVE IT ALL KIND OF FILTERED OUT AND DIVIDED, BUT 15 MEMBERS REPRESENTING THE ENTIRE STATE OF ARIZONA.
AND THOSE ARE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR.
AND THEN IN PRESCOTT WE HAVE 11 ALSO.
AND WE HAVE A WAITING LIST FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE ON THEM.
AND WE'VE GOT PEOPLE WHO WE HAVE TERM LIMITS BECAUSE WE HAVE TO, IN ORDER TO LET OTHER PEOPLE HAVE A CHANCE.
IN COTTONWOOD, IT'S NOT AS OFFICIAL.
SO WE DON'T HAVE APPOINTED MEMBERS.
WE HAD OUR ATTACK MEETING LAST THURSDAY AND WE HAD 10 PEOPLE WHO CAME FROM THE COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE WERE BUSINESS REPRESENTATION AND EVERYONE GETS A CHANCE TO, TO SPEAK AROUND THE ROOM.
IN WILLIAMS, WE ONLY HAVE SEVEN.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE AT THIS TIME, MAYOR.
UH, I'M CURIOUS OF SORT OF A CHICKEN AND EGG.
UH, DO WE, IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION THAT WE START THE PROCESS FOR APPROVING A BOARD AND AT THE SAME TIME WE, WE AS THE CITY STAFF, WE AS THE COUNCIL, I'M NOT SURE WHO WE IS, UH, OR ALL OF THE ABOVE, DEVELOP A MISSION? WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A, IF WE ADOPT THIS CONCEPT, THEN SOMEBODY HAS TO PUT TOGETHER THE MISSION STATEMENT, THE VISION.
DO THEY DO THAT THEMSELVES OR DO WE DO IT AND PRESENT IT TO THEM? SO, AND DOES IT HAPPEN ON A PARALLEL TRACK? I ACTUALLY WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU WOULD HAVE THAT AS
[00:30:01]
A SERVICE.THAT WOULD BE DONE FOR, FOR THE, THE TAB THAT IT WOULD BE A, A WORK SESSION.
I CAN TELL YOU AS AN EXAMPLE, IN PRESCOTT IN 2023, WE HIRED A FIRM WHO DOES THAT.
AND SPECIFICALLY FOR DESTINATIONS.
THEY'VE WORKED WITH STATE OF ARIZONA, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES.
AND THAT ALSO, I WOULD ATTRIBUTE, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IT'S SUCH A SUCCESS IN PRESCOTT IS BECAUSE OF THAT EXPERIENCE IN ITSELF.
IT WAS A FOUR DAY PERIOD, FOUR HALF DAYS, AND WE BROUGHT EVERYONE INTO THE ROOM.
IT WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC OF COURSE AS WELL.
AND THAT PROCESS OF SETTING A VISION, MISSION, GUIDING PRINCIPLES, AREAS OF FOCUS, ALL OF THAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED.
BUT BEFORE THAT, WHAT THIS FIRM HELPED US DO IS COMMUNITY OUTREACH WITH A VERY EXTENSIVE SURVEY BASED AROUND WHAT THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY WERE AND WHERE WE FELT WE NEEDED TO GO IN THE NEXT THREE, FIVE, AND 10 YEARS.
AND ALL OF THAT DATA AND INFORMATION IS TABULATED BY THIS FIRM AND THEN USED AS EVERYTHING IS PRESENTED AND MOVED FORWARD.
SO I WOULDN'T ESTABLISH ANY OF THAT UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR TAB AND YOU LET THEM BE INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS.
BECAUSE IF ANYTHING, WHAT IT DOES IS IT CREATES THIS COHESIVE UNIT TO BE ABLE TO SAY, WOW, LOOK AT WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED, BUT ALSO LOOK AT WHAT OUR VISION IS FOR THE FUTURE.
AND WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
AND WE KNOW CLEARLY NOW BASED ON COMMUNITY INPUT, STAKEHOLDER INPUT, WHERE WE WANNA GO AND WHERE WE WANNA SEE OUR DESTINATION FOR THE NEXT THREE, FIVE, AND 10 YEARS.
AND I'VE, AND I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE SEEN STRATEGIC PLANS THAT ARE 50, 100 PAGES LONG.
THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
YOU COME AWAY WITH A ONE PAGE DOCUMENT THAT IS THE MOST USER-FRIENDLY, EASY TO UNDERSTAND, CLEAR FOR EVERYONE, AND IT PROVIDES THE BEST DIRECTION, NOT JUST FOR YOUR VOLUNTEERS AND YOUR COUNCIL, BUT YOUR STAFF MEMBERS WHO WILL EVENTUALLY BE LEADING THIS WHOLE CHARGE.
TALK ABOUT HAVING A ROADMAP FOR THEM TO FOLLOW FOR THE FUTURE.
IT'S, I, I CAN'T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH.
SO HOW LONG DID THAT PROCESS TAKE FOR THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH? LET'S SAY WE WERE, I, I LIKE THIS IDEA THAT YOU'RE PRESENTING.
SO LET'S SAY WE, WE WOULD GO ALONG WITH THAT.
SO WE STARTED WITH THEM DOING OUTREACH IN THE COMMUNITY IN DECEMBER OF 2022.
AND THEN THEY TABULATE EVERYTHING.
AND, AND THAT TAKES TIME, YOU KNOW, DOING THAT COMMUNITY OUTREACH, GETTING PEOPLE TO RESPOND TO SURVEYS.
IT'S NOT THEIR FAVORITE THING.
AND THEN THE IN-PERSON, BY THE TIME WE HAD ALL THAT DATA, OUR IN-PERSON MEETINGS WHERE WE ACTUALLY DID THE GRUNT WORK FOR FOUR DAYS, THAT WAS IN MARCH.
OH, SO THIS MARCH IT MARCH, NO, MARCH OF 2023.
SO FROM DECEMBER, NO, I'M SORRY, I, THIS IS 23, 21, 22.
WE DID THIS PROCESS LAST YEAR.
SO FROM DECEMBER TO MARCH WE HAD ALL THAT DATA TABULATED.
WE WERE READY TO, TO SIT DOWN JUST THOSE THREE MONTHS LATER.
AND THEN WE HAD OUR ONE PAGE DOCUMENT THAT WAS READY TO PRESENT TO COUNCIL IN MAY.
AND YOU ALREADY HAD THE GROUP.
AND WHAT HAD THEY DONE BEFORE THAT? I MEAN, WERE THEY OPERATING UNDER A STRATEGIC PLAN? WAS THIS A NO NO.
SO WHAT TYPE OF MODEL DID THEY OPERATE UNDER UNTIL YOU CREATED THE RIGHT THEY, WE OPERATED UNDER THE MODEL OF THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO.
AND, UH,
IT WAS JUST KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, WE THREW IT TOGETHER AND THIS IS WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING, SO LET'S DO THE SAME THING AND YEAH, WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND THEN WITH ENOUGH BARKING UP THAT TREE, AND I'LL BACKTRACK A LITTLE BIT.
FROM THE MOMENT I HAD STARTED, I WAS LIKE, WHAT'S OUR PLAN? WHERE ARE WE GOING? WHAT ARE WE DOING? AND LEADERSHIP CHANGED.
WE GOT A NEW LEADER AND THEN COVID HIT AND WE HAD THIS REALLY INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM TO GO THROUGH STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR A CRISIS.
AND ALL RURAL DESTINATIONS WERE ALLOWED TO SIGN UP FOR THAT.
SO WE SIGNED UP AND WE PARTICIPATED IN THESE REALLY AMAZING ZOOM SESSIONS WITH PARTNERS FROM ALL OVER THE STATE OF ARIZONA, ALONG WITH THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM.
[00:35:01]
COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR A CRISIS, A PANDEMIC AND EPIDEMIC.AND WE DID IT FOR COTTONWOOD, WE DID IT FOR WILLIAMS, WE DID IT FOR PRESCOTT.
AND IT GAVE US A ROADMAP FOR WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING DURING THAT TIME.
AND WHEN WE WENT THROUGH THAT, WE ALL LOVED IT SO MUCH IN PRESCOTT THAT WE WERE LIKE, WHY DON'T WE DO THE REAL THING? AND WE HAD MONEY IN OUR BUDGET TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
SO WE BIT THE BULLET AND IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS WE'VE EVER DONE.
HOW MANY, UH, CITIES PARTICIPATED IN THE CRISIS PLANNING? I'M JUST CURIOUS.
UM, YOU KNOW, MOSTLY NORTHERN ARIZONA.
LET'S SEE, WE HAD LIKE LAKE HAVASU, I THINK WILCOX WAS THERE.
KINGMAN, YEAH, COTTONWOOD PRESCOTT.
I THINK WE HAD A, WE HAD, UM, A COUPLE MAYBE FROM LIKE SOUTHERN ARIZONA, LIKE BISBEE, I WANNA SAY.
BUT IT WAS, IT WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE CUZ IT NOT ONLY HELPED US CREATE A PLAN, BUT IT ALSO BONDED, YOU KNOW, SO MANY DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO EACH OTHER AND SAY, HEY, I'VE GOT A QUESTION, OR WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS AND HAVE YOU EVER DONE THIS? AND, YOU KNOW, TO CREATE REAL PARTNERSHIPS, DOES THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM HAVE PROGRAMS THAT ARE, UH, THAT INVOLVE MULTIPLE CITIES ON A REGULAR BASIS SO WE COULD, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COULD BE LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF, THEY DID A LOT DURING COVID.
THAT WAS DEFINITELY BECAUSE THEY WERE LEARNING ALSO AND THEY WERE GOING THROUGH THEIR OWN STRATEGIC PLAN AT THE TIME, WHICH WHEN THEY DID THEIR STRATEGIC PLAN, THEY ALSO DID OUTREACH WITH, WITH PARTICIPANTS AROUND THE STATE.
I WAS ONE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA.
AND, AND THAT WAS WHEN THEY REALIZED THAT THEY COULD OFFER THESE EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS, I WOULD SAY AT THE GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM IN JULY, WHEN THIS YEAR IT'LL BE HELD DOWN IN TUCSON.
THEY OFFER A LOT OF RESOURCES AND TOOLS, BUT IT'S ALSO THE CHANCE TO GET IN FRONT OF THEM, FACE TO FACE TO BE ABLE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, HERE I, I NEED SOME MORE DATA.
OR WHAT I COULD REALLY USE FOR MY DESTINATION WOULD BE MORE RESEARCH OR, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE THAT LINE, THAT DIRECT LINE OF COMMUNICATION TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE.
BUT THEY'RE ALSO THERE TO LISTEN.
AND I'VE WORKED WITH THEM FOR OVER 15 YEARS AND I FIND THEM TO BE, THEY'RE ONE OF MY BIGGEST RESOURCES AND TOOLS THAT I USE ON A DAILY BASIS.
UM, JESSICA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO, UH, SPEAK NOW BECAUSE IT, I SEE YOUR SEAT THERE AND YOU'RE NOT THERE.
I, I HAVE A COUPLE OF OF QUESTIONS.
UM, KAREN, WE'RE PLANNING ON, HI.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR SOMEBODY TO MANAGE THIS EFFORT FROM THE CITY, FOR THE CITY COUNSELOR? AT THIS POINT? I AM TAKING THE LEAD ON THIS, UM, UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS WILL REQUIRE SOME ADDITIONAL STAFF TIME AND CAPACITY THAT I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GIVE IT.
SO I'M HOPING TO WORK CLOSELY WITH HEATHER AND GET SOMETHING LAUNCHED.
WE HAVE ALSO, UM, REASSIGNED KEEGAN MOCR FROM OUR COMMUNICATIONS AREA TO, TO BE ABLE TO FREE HER UP TO INVEST SOME TIME IN THIS EFFORT.
SO RIGHT NOW, BETWEEN THE TWO OF US AND, AND HEATHER, WE'RE GOING TO WORK TOWARDS DEVELOPING A PLAN FOR WHAT KIND OF STAFFING, AT WHAT LEVELS, WHAT TYPES OF POSITIONS AND A PHASED APPROACH TO, TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE GET, UM, THIS PROGRAM BUILT.
BUT THERE WILL BE EITHER THROUGH OUR BUDGET DISCUSSIONS OR A MID-YEAR ASK COMING INTO FISCAL YEAR 2024, SOME REQUESTS FROM COUNCIL TO ALLOCATE SOME RESOURCES TOWARDS MORE PERMANENT STAFF, UH, TO, TO, TO DO ALL OF THIS.
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY AS YOU SAID, THIS IS NOT, THIS, WHAT YOU'RE DOING NOW IS NOT SUSTAINABLE.
UM, IS YOUR, YOU DON'T HAVE A SENSE IS MY SENSE, I MEAN, I'M SORT OF GOING BACK TO, TO THE IDEA OF I OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE TAC.
UM, WOULD IT BE YOUR SENSE PRELIMINARILY NOW, OR IF YOU HAVE A SENSE, THAT'D BE GREAT IF YOU DON'T, THAT'S FINE.
OF WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE A, A HIGH LEVEL STAFF PERSON WHO'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE CONTROL OF, OF MOST OF THIS.
I MEAN, CUZ YOU'RE A PRETTY HIGH LEVEL STAFF PERSON,
[00:40:01]
STILL WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT LEVEL THAT MIGHT END UP BEING? I THINK IT IS LIKELY TO BE A MID-MANAGEMENT LEVEL POSITION WHO WOULD BE THE PRIMARY LIAISON MINIMALLY TO, TO THIS BODY.UM, AND WHAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR TIMEFRAME IS FOR MAKING THAT DECISION ABOUT, ABOUT HIRING, UM, STAFF FOR THIS? DOES IT HAVE TO WAIT TILL AFTER THE, THE WHOLE PROCESS THAT HEATHER OUTLINED IS DONE OR? NO? I, I DON'T THINK IT HAS TO WAIT FOR THAT, BUT I THINK THAT AT THIS POINT I AM NOT PREPARED TO, TO MAKE THE DECISION AROUND SURE.
WHICH, WHICH POSITION AND OR POSITIONS ARE NEEDED TO SUPPORT, NOT JUST THE, THIS ADVISORY GROUP, BUT ALL OF THE WORK THAT WILL, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS ENTIRE PROGRAM WILL ENTAIL.
AND I THINK AS WE WORK THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, I THINK WE'LL HAVE A MUCH BETTER, CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC THINGS.
CUZ WE'RE NOT GONNA BE A FULL BLOWN SOUP TO NUTS DMM O IN SIX MONTHS.
WE'RE GOING TO IDENTIFY THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES FOR THE THINGS THAT NEED TO MOVE FORWARD INITIALLY, AND WE'RE LIKELY TO BUILD UPON THEM IN, IN THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS.
UM, AND, AND SO I'M NOT SURE I CAN NO, I, I UNDERSTAND.
UM, THIS, I GUESS, IS FOR YOU AND HEATHER.
UM, UH, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE PARTICIPATION ON THE T BY CITY STAFF? WHERE DO YOU SEE THAT THE T WILL BE NON-CITY STAFF AND, UH, CITY STAFF WILL BE LIKE DIRECTING IT? OR WHAT WILL CITY STAFF RELATIONSHIP TO TACT DELIBERATIONS BE? DO YOU SEE? SO I, I'LL LET HEATHER TALK ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE AND MY, MY CONCEPT FOR KIND OF WHAT'S PROPOSED IN THE PACKET AND HOW I SEE THIS PLAYING OUT IS GOING TO BE EXTREMELY SIMILAR AND CONSISTENT WITH THE OTHER STANDING BODIES WE HAVE.
SO WE HAVE TWO COMMISSIONS THAT THEIR, THEIR WORK PROGRAM, THEIR AGENDAS, THE INFORMATION THAT THEY RECEIVE AND RESPOND TO ARE ALL PROVIDED BY STAFF, RIGHT? SO THEIR, THEIR EXISTENCE, THEIR WORK IS ALL FACILITATED BY A STAFF PERSON.
SAME THING WITH OUR TRANSIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, OUR CITIZEN BUDGET WORK GROUP, OUR COMMUNITY PLAN WORK GROUP, ALL OF THOSE GROUPS ARE MADE UP OF PARTICIPANTS AND NOT STAFF.
SO STAFF DOESN'T SIT ON OR HA YOU KNOW, HAVE A SEAT, HAVE A, HAVE A VOTE ON ANY OF THIS.
BUT THEY WILL BE THE FACILITATORS, THEY WILL BE THE PRESENTERS AND THEY WILL TO SOME EXTENT MANAGE THE WORK AND MANAGE THE GROUP.
HOW DO YOU SEE, UM, WHEN HEATHER WAS TALKING, THERE SEEMED TO BE SOME KIND OF STRATEGIC PLAN, VISION AND MISSION.
HOW DO YOU SEE THAT RELATING TO THE COMMUNITY PLAN, WHICH WE'RE JUST DOING NOW? I THINK THAT ONE IS GOING TO INFORM THE OTHER AND GIVEN THE FACT THAT THE COMMUNITY PLAN WORK GROUP HAS DONE QUITE A BIT OF OUTREACH AND, UM, AND WORK IN THIS AREA, WE HAVE QUITE A BIT THAT WILL FEED INTO, SO HEATHER TALKED ABOUT AN EFFORT TO SURVEY AND, AND GATHER A BUNCH OF INFORMATION AND DATA TO THEN USE AS THEY NARROWED DOWN OR, OR DRILLED DOWN INTO WHAT THE SPECIFIC MISSION OF THE, THE TAC AND THE WORK AND THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT THEY'RE GONNA DO.
WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF THAT ALREADY AS A RESULT OF THE COMMUNITY PLAN.
AND I THINK THAT THAT IS GOING TO DEFINITELY, UM, BE HELPFUL AND USEFUL IN INFORMING THE WORK OF THIS GROUP.
I HAVE ONE FINAL QUESTION, KAREN.
UM, DO YOU SEE THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AS HAVING REPRESENTATION ON THIS GROUP? SO I THINK THAT COUNCIL WILL ULTIMATELY MAKE THE DECISIONS ABOUT THOSE 11 INDIVIDUALS AND TRYING TO CREATE THAT SENSE OF BALANCE AND REPRESENTATION.
I DON'T KNOW THAT IT NEEDS TO BE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE ORGANIZATION IN ORDER TO GET THE BROAD REPRESENTATION
[00:45:01]
FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY ON THIS GROUP.WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, INTEREST AREAS, BUSINESS AREAS SUCH AS LODGING, SUCH AS RESTAURANTS SUCH AS WELLNESS AND METAPHYSICAL AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT AREAS.
YOU COULD VERY WELL HAVE A APPOINTEES THAT REPRESENT ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND MORE OR LESS YOU'VE GOT A WELL-BALANCED BUSINESS, UM, PRESENCE ON THIS GROUP WITHOUT IT BEING A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEMBER PER SE, OR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ORGANIZATION REPRESENTATIVE PER SE.
OKAY, PETE, THANK YOU MAYOR HEATHER, WE HAVE NOT MET BEFORE.
I, UH, LITTLE SAD THAT WE HAVEN'T GET A CHANCE TO TALK BEFORE TODAY, BUT WE'LL MAKE THE BEST OF IT.
I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING TO KNOW YOU MORE AS, UH, WE GO ALONG.
FEW QUESTIONS I HAVE, WE KIND OF TOUCHED ON 'EM A LITTLE BIT.
11 MEMBER, WHEN, WHEN, FIRST, FIRST QUESTION IS REALLY, WHEN'S THE LAST TIME THIS COUNCIL ESTABLISHED A NEW COMMISSIONER OR BOARD, UH, YOU KNOW, APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL? AND WHAT WAS, I'M CURIOUS WHAT THE PROCESS WAS TO GET THERE.
AND I THINK I WOULD EXEMPT THE COMMUNITY PLAN WORK GROUP BECAUSE THAT'S A RINSE AND REPEAT KIND OF ONE.
I KNOW THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY NEW STANDING COMMISSIONS CREATED IN AT LEAST THE LAST 12 YEARS.
SO IT WOULD'VE PROCEEDED ME AND MOST OF OUR STAFF AND IN FACT,
AND THERE WERE MANY REASONS FOR, FOR THAT AT THE TIME.
AND OUR PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION WAS ACTUALLY GOVERNED BY STATE LAW.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF A EASY ONE TO STRUCTURE AND PUT TOGETHER.
HISTORIC BUILDINGS IS FAIRLY NARROW.
THIS IS REALLY A DIFFERENT ANIMAL.
ASKED AND, AND HEATHER, THIS IS REALLY PERHAPS A QUESTION FOR BOTH OF YOU, BUT I'M, I'M CURIOUS WHETHER YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH THAT YOU'VE DONE ABOUT WHAT THE BEST PRACTICES ARE REALLY ABOUT TOURISM AND DESTINATION MANAGEMENT AND SPECIFICALLY AROUND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES.
HAVE YOU, HAVE YOU READ THE, THE, THE NEW LITERATURE? HAVE YOU, YOU KNOW, WHO YOU TRACKING, WHO'S YOUR INFORMATIONAL SOURCES TO SORT OF KEEP YOU UP TO SPEED ON WHAT THESE BEST PRACTICES FOR STRUCTURE IS? WELL, I WOULD SAY THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM FOR SURE.
BUT THEN ALSO FOLLOWING TRENDS FROM BRAND USA, FROM THE US TRAVEL ASSOCIATION, FROM LISTENING TO THE DESTINATIONS THAT I WORK WITH AS WELL AS THE OTHER DESTINATIONS WHO CALL AND ASK QUESTIONS AND TALK ABOUT THEIR CURRENT TRENDS AND WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT I JUST PERSONALLY LIKE, SO I LIKE TO KEEP UP WITH DESTINATIONS AND FIND OUT WHAT'S TRENDING AND WHAT'S DIFFERENT AND WHAT'S SHIFTING IN THE MARKET.
HAVE YOU READ THE WORLD BANK DESTINATION MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK THAT CONS OR PUG RECENTLY SENT OUT TO ALL OF US, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS AN INTERESTING SOURCE.
I THINK IT'S VERY INTERESTING.
I LIKE THE CASE STUDIES IN IT.
I THINK THERE'S SOME REALLY GREAT CASE STUDIES THAT ARE APPLICABLE HERE.
AND I THINK THERE ARE THINGS THAT COULD BE MIRRORED OR SHADOWED AND I THINK IT'S EXCITING.
I THINK THERE'S SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES IN IT.
THE UN WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION, YOU TRACK WHAT THEY PUT OUT AS WELL.
I FOUND SOME REALLY INTERESTING STUFF.
I THINK IT'S A EXCITING, FROM A GLOBAL, GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE, IT'S, YEAH.
YEAH, IT IS A VERY EXCITING TIME.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UH, CORNELL MM-HMM.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH AND HAVE WORKED WITH? OH, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY.
AND I'VE WORKED A LITTLE BIT WITH THE TOURISM DEPARTMENT AT N AU AS WELL, BUT JUST LOCALLY IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA.
SO, KIND OF RELATED TO THAT QUESTION ABOUT HOW YOU START THESE NEW BOARDS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE REALLY FEEL THE BEST PRACTICE IS TO ESTABLISH A BOARD PRIOR TO ITS MISSION? ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES BEING KNOWN.
THIS REALLY, SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE THIS IS, UH, EVEN MORE COMPLEX THAN
[00:50:02]
BUILDING AN AIRPLANE WHILE YOU'RE FLYING IT.THIS REALLY LOOKS DIFFERENT TO ME AND MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE IT'S WHAT I DO IN THE INDUSTRY THAT I WORK IN, COUNCILMAN FURMAN.
BUT IT, IT, TO ME, IT FEELS COMFORTABLE AND IT FEELS LIKE THE RIGHT STEP BECAUSE YOU GET YOUR TEAM IN PLACE AND YOU GET YOUR STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH.
AND I WOULD MUCH RATHER, WHEN IT COMES TO WORKING WITH AN ORGANIZATION OR STARTING A DMO, I WOULD MUCH RATHER BE IN AND PARTICIPATING AT THE GROUND LEVEL THAN HAVING THAT INFORMATION CREATED FOR ME.
AND THEN COMING IN AFTER THE FACT.
TO ME, THAT WOULD FEEL LIKE, WELL, DO THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT I THINK OR SAY? BUT WHEN YOU HAVE THEM A PART OF THE PROCESS, NOT ONLY IS IT A BONDING EXPERIENCE, AND IT'S A WAY TO CREATE SOME UNITY AND SOME COHESIVENESS, BUT IT GETS EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE.
AND YOU ALSO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE AND EDUCATE ABOUT WHAT'S BEING DONE AND WHAT THE PURPOSE IS AND TO SEE THE BIG PICTURE.
BECAUSE YOU AND I BOTH KNOW, SOMETIMES PEOPLE CAN SEE A THROUGH THE LENS THAT IS VERY NARROW AND IT CAN BE FOCUSED ON JUST WHAT THEY WANT OR HAVE THEIR OWN AGENDA.
BUT WHEN YOU'RE PUT IN AN ENVIRONMENT LIKE THIS, YOU HAVE TO SET YOUR OWN AGENDA ASIDE AND BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE ENTIRE THING TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD AND MAKE PROGRESS.
HAVE, HAVE YOU GIVEN THOUGHT TO AND HAS ANY OTHER PLACE IN YOUR KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, PUT TOGETHER A COMMITTEE TO OUTLINE WHAT A DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN LOOKS LIKE, GET THAT APPROVED, AND THEN APPOINT THE POLICY BODY THAT WOULD GOVERN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF IT.
SO I'M, I'M, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS ASKED SOME QUESTIONS.
I THINK IT WAS COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS. IT'S KIND OF THE, THE CARTON HORSE QUESTION.
WELL, IF YOU LOOK AT COTTONWOOD, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN COTTONWOOD HAD BEEN SUPPLYING MORE FUNDING TO THE COTTONWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THERE WAS JUST AN AGREEMENT, IT WAS AN ANNUAL AGREEMENT.
THERE WERE EXPECTATIONS THAT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WOULD DO THIS IN RETURN FOR THIS MUCH MONEY.
AND THEN WHEN THE CITY SAID, THIS ISN'T WORKING, LET'S SHIFT THAT, YOU'LL GET THIS MUCH MONEY AND THEN THE CITY WILL CREATE THIS PURPOSE.
THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT COTTONWOOD DID, IS THEY HIRED A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AND TOURISM PLAN AND PUT THE PEOPLE IN PLACE, THEIR, THEIR TEAM IN PLACE AND SAID, HERE'S WHAT WE'RE DOING.
THIS IS OUR PURPOSE, THIS IS OUR STRUCTURE, THIS IS HOW WE'RE DOING IT.
AND THEN WE'LL CREATE A TACK AND OPEN IT UP TO ANYONE TO PARTICIPATE IN IT.
SO IT'S MUCH MORE OF A, YOU KNOW, IT JUST KIND OF EBBS AND FLOWS.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK, I THINK THERE'S JUST SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR HAVING INVOLVEMENT AND A, AN ADVISORY GROUP FORMED FROM THE GROUND UP.
I THINK IT'S A FOUNDATION THING AND I, I, I JUST, I CAN'T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH.
I THINK THAT IT WILL BE A VERY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE.
AND YOU KNOW, AS I READ THE LITERATURE ON THE EVOLVING STRUCTURES OF DESTINATION MANAGEMENT, WHICH AS I THINK WE PROBABLY ALL HAVE DONE SOME, I KNOW I'VE DONE A LOT
I'M REALLY STRUCK BY THE EVOLUTION AS I'VE SEEN IT AS DESTINATION MARKETING WAS THE FIRST TO ARISE AS A MORE SOPHISTICATED VERSION OF MARKETING TOURS FOR TOURISM DESTINATIONS AND THEN THE TERM DESTINATION DMM O AROSE, WHICH IS MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT.
AND, AND I THINK THAT AT LEAST I CONCLUDE THAT THAT WAS EVEN JUST KIND OF A INCREMENTAL EVOLUTION.
IT'S EVEN MORE SOPHISTICATED MARKETING THAN WHAT THE DMO DID.
AND, AND NOW THE CONVERSATION IS ABOUT DESTINATION MANAGEMENT.
AND, AND TO ME, MARKETING IS JUST ONE OF THE THINGS THAT FITS IN DESTINATION MANAGEMENT.
SO YOU, YOU'RE SHAKING YOUR HEAD.
YOU WOULD I WOULD COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THAT, YES.
[00:55:01]
AT OUR, UH, RESOLUTION AND THE SECOND, WHEREAS SAYS, PROVIDE ADVICE TO COUNCIL ON TOURISM MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING.AND I, TO ME, THIS BEGS THE OLD STYLE METHOD OF IMPLEMENTING DESTINATION MANAGEMENT.
WHY WE, WHY WOULD WE CALL OUT MARKETING SEPARATE FROM MANAGEMENT? MARKETING IS PART OF THE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT.
IT'S REALLY SHOULD ALL BE ABOUT DESTINATION MANAGEMENT.
AND WHEN WE GET STUCK IN SOME OF THE OLDER MODELS OF THIS THING, I THINK IT CONSTRAINS OUR THINKING ABOUT WHAT IT CAN AND, AND SHOULD BE.
AND, AND THE RECENT, YOU KNOW, RESEARCH WORLDWIDE IS, IS REALLY INTERESTING ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF TOURISM OVER TOURISM WORLDWIDE.
AND IT REALLY, I THINK, REQUIRES A FRESH APPROACH.
AND I SEE YOU SHAKING YOUR, YOUR HEAD ABOUT THAT TOO.
I THINK THAT'S MY QUESTIONS FOR NOW.
I HAVE MY OWN QUESTIONS, BUT I HAVE A FOLLOW UP ON THIS NOW CUZ I, I IS THE DESTINATION MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT IS A TERM OF ART? IS IT, IS IT NOT? DO I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY OR IS IT SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD CREATE A NEW NAME FOR, WHICH I THINK IS WHAT I'M HEARING IN YOUR SUGGESTION, STAY AWAY FROM OLD LANGUAGE SO THAT YOU STAY AWAY FROM OLD MODELING.
BUT I'M CURIOUS THAT, TO ME, I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS A TERM OF ART THAT, YOU KNOW, WAS NOT GONNA HAVE AN IMPACT ON WHAT IT ACTUALLY, WHAT WE WE'RE GOING TO ULTIMATELY AGREE ON AND MOVE TOWARD IT DOING.
IS THAT, KAREN, MAYBE YOU COULD, COULD YOU TAKE THAT ONE OR, YEAH.
I, I THINK WHEN, FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS WHEN PEOPLE SAID DMO, IT WAS DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION, WE NOW ARE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN THIS TRANSITION PHASE IN MANY, MANY PLACES AND DESTINATIONS.
BUT THAT, THAT HAS BEEN THE NOMENCLATURE FOR A LONG TIME.
WE INTENTIONALLY SAID TOURISM MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING AND PUT THE MANAGEMENT BEFORE THE MARKETING.
RIGHT? BUT IF COUNCIL TAKES EXCEPTION TO ANY OF THE LANGUAGE AND THE RESOLUTION, NONE OF IT IS SAN CRO SECT.
AND YOU CAN CERTAINLY EDIT IT.
BUT THE REALITY IS MARKETING, BRANDING, COMMUNICATION IS STILL A VERY SIGNIFICANT PART OF THIS WORK.
IT, IT JUST, IT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DECIDE AS A DESTINATION FOR 24 MONTHS TO TAKE A, A PAUSE TO TRY TO CATCH UP WITH INFRASTRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT.
AND, BUT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, TALKING ABOUT DEFINING THE BRAND, COMMUNICATING THE BRAND, IDENTIFYING THOSE THINGS THAT THE DESTINATION WANTS TO ACHIEVE THROUGH COMMUNICATION OR MARKETING IS, IS PART OF THIS.
YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY CUZ TO ME MATTER USING THAT, UM, TERM WA WASN'T GOING TO AFFECT OR DICTATE ANYTHING THAT WE DECIDE TO DO OR NOT DO.
SO I WANTED TO GET THAT CLARIFIED.
THANK YOU FOR, UM, SHARING THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE.
I THINK IT'S REALLY APPLICABLE BACKGROUND THAT YOU HAVE.
UH, TIMING IS EVERYTHING RIGHT WITH THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE AND YOU HAVING A LOT OF THAT EXPERTISE.
SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT WITH US AND WELCOME AGAIN, UM, MY, A LOT OF MY QUESTIONS HAVE TO DO WITH THE MAKEUP OF THE, THE TAB.
UM, IN THE BULLET LIST, THERE ARE EXAMPLES OF STAKEHOLDER TYPE GROUPS, INDUSTRIES SUCH AS LODGING, RESTAURANTS, AMUSEMENTS TRAILS, UH, ARTS ENVIRONMENTAL 11 IS A BIG NUMBER, BUT I DON'T SEE HOW IT COULD BE ANY SMALLER BECAUSE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO REPRESENT AS MANY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AS POSSIBLE, BUT IT ALSO SHOULDN'T BE UNWIELDY.
SO I I I THINK THE 11 NUMBER SOUNDS RIGHT TO ME PENDING FURTHER DISCUSSION.
BUT THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS WHAT ABOUT CERTAIN GROUPS THAT AREN'T ON THE LIST? I JUST THOUGHT OF A FEW OFF THE HA OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
LIKE REAL ESTATE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD MAYBE, YOU KNOW, BE CONSIDERED OR NOT? UM, NONPROFITS, SHOULD THAT BE CONSIDERED OR NOT? UH, YOU MENTIONED WELLNESS AND METAPHYSICAL, IT WASN'T ON THE LIST, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE.
SO IT'S THE, THE ELEVEN'S GOING TO BE HARD, WHICH IS REALLY MY, MY MAIN QUESTION I'M LEADING UP TO NOW.
[01:00:01]
REPRESENT, ARE WE SAYING BY ESTABLISHING THIS AND HAVING A LAUNDRY LIST OF, OF STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT WE WANT REPRESENTED? ARE WE SAYING THAT THERE HAS TO BE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM EACH GROUP? OR ARE WE SAYING THAT MAYBE TWO MIGHT COME FROM STAKEHOLDER GROUP A AND THERE MIGHT BE NOT BE ANY REPRESENTATIVE IN STAKEHOLDER GROUP B? AND IS IT POSSIBLE THAT ONE PERSON CAN REPRESENT MORE THAN ONE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS? I KNOW SOMEBODY OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD WHO'S A RESIDENT OF SEDONA, WHO IS A BUSINESS OWNER OF TWO VERY DIFFERENT TYPES OF BUSINESSES.ONE IS PURELY TOURISM RELATED AND THE OTHER IS MORE SERVICE RETAIL, UH, WHICH SERVES PROBABLY MORE RESIDENTS THAN, THAN VISITORS, BUT ALSO WOULD SERVE VISITORS.
SO I JUST WANTED BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, OF HOW WE SEE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, FITTING INTO THESE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.
SO COUNSELOR, THIS THE LIST THAT YOU HAVE SPECIFICALLY SAYS INTEREST AREAS SUCH AS, AND IT WAS NOT MEANT TO BE AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF EVERY TYPE OF INDIVIDUAL OR REPRESENTATION THAT, THAT YOU ALL MIGHT WANT.
I THINK THAT IF YOU, DURING THIS DISCUSSION WANTED TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL AREAS THAT YOU THINK COULD BE USEFUL.
YOU JUST MENTIONED A COUPLE THAT AT LEAST WILL GIVE POTENTIAL APPLICANTS AN IDEA OF THE KINDS OF REPRESENT REPRESENTATIVES THAT YOU ALL WILL BE LOOKING FOR WHEN YOU DO A FINAL REVIEW.
BUT THIS IS NOT SET UP TO CHECK A BOX FOR ONE OF THESE, ONE OF THESE, ONE OF THESE AND ONE OF THESE.
IT'S REALLY GOING TO ALSO, I THINK, DEPEND ON THE TYPES OF APPLICATIONS THAT APPLICANTS YOU GET, THE QUALITY OF THE APPLICANTS.
UM, IF YOU'VE GOT SOMEONE WHO HAPPENS TO REPRESENT MULTIPLE THINGS, FANTASTIC.
RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT EVEN 11 IS, IT'S GONNA BE HARD TO GET REPRESENTATION FROM ALL THOSE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT ARE GOING TO BE IMPORTANT TO SOLICIT INPUT FROM.
YEAH, I, AGAIN, I JUST WANT CLARIFICATION OF THAT FOR EVERYBODY.
THE, THE BODY THAT WE WOULD BE CREATING AND WHEN WE'RE CONSIDERING THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS, I MEAN, THIS IS, FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS GREAT TO BE HAVING.
I'M VERY EXCITED BY THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE THIS IS, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT SHOULD HAPPEN FROM THE GROUND UP, RIGHT? SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING AHEAD OF IT, WE'RE BEING PROACTIVE.
WE'RE TRYING TO BRING ALL OF THIS INTO CONSIDERATION INSTEAD OF JUST SORT OF GOING ALONG BY DEFAULT THINGS START HAPPENING, TAKE A LIFE OF THEIR OWN, AND THEN YOU'RE PLAYING CATCH UP.
SO THIS, THIS IS GREAT, BUT, SO IT'S, SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS CANNOT BE ANSWERED YET BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE BENEFIT OF THAT DISCUSSION OR THAT GROUP.
BUT I THINK THE QUESTIONS ARE OUT THERE, AT LEAST THEY'RE LOOMING IN MY MIND TO AT LEAST GET 'EM ON THE TABLE.
SUCH AS, WOULD THE TAB BE RE RECOMMENDING A BUDGET FOR TOURISM, SUCH AS WE HAVE A GROUP THAT LOOKS AT OUR SERVICE CONTRACTS AND RECOMMEND AND MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS TO US.
SO WE'RE NOT CONSIDERING THAT FROM SCRATCH.
WE HAVE A GROUP THAT'S LOOKED AT IT MORE IN DEPTH AND IS SAYING, YEAH, WE THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS TAKES THAT LINE ITEM, THIS TAKES THIS MUCH, AND YOU KNOW, WE THINK THAT YOU SHOULD FUND THIS ORGANIZATION AT THAT.
SO DO WE THINK THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT BUDGET ISSUES, YOU KNOW, FOR WHAT WE SHOULD BE FUNDING? DO WE THINK ALONG THE SAME LINES OF, OF THAT, AGAIN, GIMME A BIG QUESTIONS, MULTI-PART.
UM, THE TAB, WOULD THAT BE MAKING A LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF WHAT TYPES OF SERVICES WE NEED, SUCH AS WE KNOW WHAT WE'VE BEEN USING ARE THINGS LIKE A VISITOR CENTER, THINGS LIKE A CONCIERGE GROUP, THINGS LIKE A GUIDE, UM, THESE THINGS, ARE WE LOOKING AT RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT SHOULD CONTINUE AND WHAT SHOULD NOT? AND THEN IF SO, WOULD THERE ALSO THEN BE A RECOMMENDATION COMING FOR WHAT TYPE OF ENTITY WOULD BE BEST TO PROVIDE IN THOSE IDENTIFIED SERVICE AREAS? I'LL STOP THERE BEFORE THE QUESTION GROWS FURTHER.
SO YOUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE GOING TO ULTIMATELY BE LETTING THE ADVISORY GROUP KNOW THIS IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH BECAUSE THE ADVISORY GROUP ISN'T PRIVY TO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IN THE BUDGET THAT LIKE TRYING TO MANAGE EVERYTHING AND HOW MUCH MONEY IS AVAILABLE.
THERE'S GONNA HAVE TO BE A STARTING POINT.
THERE'S GONNA HAVE TO BE A, A POINT WHERE THE STAFF COMES IN AND SAYS, THESE ARE THE FUNDS
[01:05:01]
WE HAVE AVAILABLE.AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
AND, AND THE OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT WE, THAT I WORK WITH IS THE CITY SAYS, HERE'S HOW MUCH IS AVAILABLE, AND THEN YOU BUILD IT FROM THERE.
WE GET T MEMBERS WHO COME TO US AND SAY, THAT'S NOT ENOUGH.
AND THEN WE SAY, SIT DOWN AND SHOW US WHERE THAT'S COMING FROM.
HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THAT? IT GOES AS FAR AS WE'RE HAVING A SIT DOWN WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND THE CITY MANAGER PULLS OUT THE BUDGET AND SAYS, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT.
THIS IS HOW MUCH IS AVAILABLE.
AND THAT'S WHERE YOUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE GOING TO COME IN TO BE ABLE TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE'VE GOT AND THEN THIS IS HOW WE BUILD IT FROM THERE.
BUT I, I DO THINK THOUGH, AND, AND I, I AGREE WITH THAT, UM, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LIKELY BE HAVING BUDGET APPROPRIATION AUTHORITY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT I DO THINK THAT THEY CAN BE VALUABLE, ESPECIALLY AS YOU'RE DEVELOPING A NEW PROGRAM AND PROGRAMS IN HELPING TO IDENTIFY THE MOST EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE INVESTMENT HAPPEN AMONGST A MENU OF POTENTIAL OPTIONS.
SO WHEN WE PUT A DECISION PACKAGE TOGETHER TO PROPOSE A BUDGET, UH, ADDITION FOR A NEW PROGRAM OR SERVICE AREA OR PROJECT OR INITIATIVE, THOSE COULD BE VETTED THROUGH THIS GROUP AND THEY COULD PROVIDE VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO HOW BEST TO DO IT, WHICH THINGS ARE FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE PRIORITIES.
AND THEN THAT CAN INFORM WHAT STAFF BRINGS FORWARD AND ULTIMATELY YOUR DECISIONS ON HOW TO SPEND THINGS.
UM, AGAIN, TALKING ABOUT THE MAKEUP OF THE GROUP AND JUST RUN US THROUGH IT AGAIN, HOW YOU SEE, YOU SAID A SUBSET OF, OF COUNSEL FOR, TO BASICALLY DO A SCREENING PROCESS TO COME TO THE FULL BODY FOR APPOINTMENTS.
I JUST WANNA GET INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN I THINK WE SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE QUESTIONS ON THE APP, BUT I'LL WAIT FOR THAT AS A SEPARATE DISCUSSION.
IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED, MAYOR? YES, THANK YOU.
THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT, BUT I DIDN'T WANNA ASSUME.
SO, SO I BASICALLY LAID OUT TWO OPTIONS.
ONE IS THAT THE ENTIRE BODY, ALL SEVEN OF YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE REVIEW.
SO IF, IF YOU GIVE THE GREEN LIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND WE'RE GONNA POST, WE'RE GONNA START ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME.
ONCE THOSE APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED, WE COULD DO ONE OF TWO THINGS, HAVE ALL SEVEN OF YOU MEET AND DO THE REVIEW, AND DO THE VETTING, AND DO THE NARROWING DOWN TO CREATE A POOL OF PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO INTERVIEW, AND THEN MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE INTERVIEWS AND ULTIMATELY SELECTION.
AND THAT WOULD ALL BE DONE IN AN OPEN PROCESS.
OBVIOUSLY, SINCE THIS MEETING OF THE FULL COUNCIL, THEY'RE ARE, ARE, AND I, KURT CAN WEIGH IN ON, BECAUSE THIS IS TO, THEY ARE PERSONNEL RELATED, UM, DECISIONS.
SO I THINK SOME OF THIS, THE REVIEW AND DISCUSSION COULD HAPPEN IN AN EXECUTIVE SESSION IF THE COUNCIL'S SO DESIRED.
CERTAINLY YOU COULD ALSO DO IT IN AN OPEN PUBLIC MEETING AS WELL.
AND THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DECIDE, UH, LATER.
THE OTHER OPTION IS TO HAVE EITHER THE EXISTING TOURISM, UH, WORK GROUP OF COUNCIL, WHICH IS COUNSELORS FAULT, PLU, AND, AND YOURSELF, UM, COUNSELOR KINSELLA, DO THAT INITIAL REVIEW, BRING FORWARD SO MANY APPLICA APPLICATIONS, AND YOU COULD DECIDE, DO YOU WANNA DO THREE FOR ONE C OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT, HOW MANY, OR THAT CAN BE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE AND THEN BRING THOSE BACK AND DO THE F THE FINAL INTERVIEWS WITH THE FULL COUNCIL.
AND THAT'S JUST REALLY UP TO, TO THE GROUP AS TO WHICH WAY YOU'D LIKE TO DO IT.
MAYOR AND COUNSELORS, EDDIE LIMITS, AND OF COURSE, WE'RE KNOWN AS THE GATEWAY TO THE GRAND CANYON, SO WE DO NEED TO PROMOTE THE GRAND CANYON.
AND THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMING, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
THEY'RE COMING TO WILLIAMS BECAUSE THEY'RE MOST LIKELY ON THEIR WAY TO OR FROM THE GRAND CANYON, BUT WE, WE DON'T HAVE ROOM THERE TO REPRESENT EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS.
BUT WHAT WE DO HAVE IS A LISTING OF EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS, RETAIL, RESTAURANTS, LODGING, ALL OF THAT.
AND THE STAFF THERE IS INCREDIBLE WITH MAKING SURE THAT THEY RECOMMEND EVERYONE FAIRLY.
DID YOU SAY, I WAS LOOKING FOR HOW MANY PEOPLE VISIT WILLIAMS AND HOW MANY PEOPLE VISIT THE VISITORS CENTER, WHAT THAT PERCENTAGE IS? SO THE VISITORS CENTER, WE AVERAGE BETWEEN 90,000 AND A HUNDRED THOUSAND WE'RE,
[01:10:01]
WE ARE STILL WAITING TO GET OUR YEAR WHERE WE ACTUALLY HIT THE 100,000 MARK.WE'VE HIT NINE 99,998 BEFORE, BUT COULDN'T GET THOSE LAST TWO PEOPLE.
AND I DIDN'T COUNT AS ONE OF THEM WHEN I WENT THE DOOR SHOULD'VE DONE TWICE.
BUT, UH, WE SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE FOR, YOU KNOW, A REALLY SMALL COMMUNITY OF ONLY 3000 PEOPLE, BUT WE HAVE TWO OF THE LARGEST ATTRACTIONS IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA, I THINK.
RIGHT THERE IN OUR CITY LIMITS.
SO WITHOUT PUTTING UP A TURNSTILE LIKE DISNEYLAND AND KNOWING EXACTLY HOW MANY PEOPLE WALK INTO THE COMMUNITY, WE ESTIMATE THAT WE'RE BETWEEN TWO AND 2.3 MILLION VISITORS PER YEAR.
AND WE CAN JUSTIFY THAT BASED ON THE NUMBERS THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE GRAND CANYON RAILWAY AS WELL AS BAR ARIZONA.
JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, ANECDOTALLY BAR ARIZONA, DURING THE PANDEMIC, THEY HAD EPIC NUMBERS, WHICH MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU'RE IN THE SAFETY OF YOUR OWN CAR, YOU CAN GO AND SEE THIS AREA IN YOUR OWN CAR, YOUR OWN BUBBLE.
BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, THEY WERE AVERAGING ABOUT 500,000 VISITORS PER YEAR TO THE WILDLIFE PARK, AND THEIR RECORD DAY WAS ON LABOR DAY, AND THEY WOULD SEE ABOUT 1700 CARS COME THROUGH THAT DAY.
THEY WERE SEEING 1700 CARS EVERY DAY.
SO THINK ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE IN THOSE CARS, DO THE MATH, CLOSE TO A MILLION VISITORS JUST TO BEAR ARIZONA.
STAYING WITH, UH, WILLIAMS, YOU SAID SOMETHING IN THE BEGINNING OF YOUR PRESENTATION THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO, UH, SEE, YOU WERE, YOU WERE PROMOTING, AND THEN WHEN THEY SAW TRAFFIC WAS GETTING TOO MUCH, THEY WERE ABLE TO DIAL IT DOWN.
I'M TOLD THAT THAT TAKES ALMOST A YEAR TO SEE THAT.
IS THAT REDUCTION IN, IN, UH, TRAFFIC, UH, OR RAMPING UP TO, IT TAKES ABOUT A YEAR TO SEE BY THE TIME YOU PROMOTE AND YOU DON'T PROMOTE TO SEE, EXCUSE ME, ANY OF THE FRUITS FROM THAT, UH, THAT WORK? IS THAT ACCURATE? SO YEAH.
UH, I'LL GO BACK TO, I'LL BACK TO C O V I D WILLIAMS DURING COVID, WHEN WE KNEW IT WAS HITTING, AND WE KNEW IT WAS ABOUT TO COME TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND WHAT WE DID WAS WE SHIFTED OUR MARKETING, WE SHIFTED THE DOLLARS THAT WE WERE ABOUT TO SPEND, AND DURING THAT TIME, DURING COVID, YOU KNOW, THE, THE VENDORS LIKE YOUR, YOUR PRINT MAGAZINES AND YOUR DIGITAL PLACEMENTS WERE PUTTING EVERYTHING ON HALT, ON HALT.
AND THEY WOULD SAY, OKAY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THIS INVOICE BECAUSE WE KNOW EVERYBODY'S SUFFERING.
WE SHIFTED EVERYTHING IN WILLIAMS. INSTEAD OF SAYING, WE'RE STOPPING, WE'RE TURNING THE FAUCET OFF.
WE SHIFTED OUR MARKET AND WENT AFTER OUR DRIVE MARKET.
WE PULLED EVERYTHING THAT WE WERE DOING INTERNATIONALLY AND SAID, WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T BECAUSE NO ONE CAN FLY HERE.
SO WE SHIFTED OUR MONEY AND PUT IT ALL INTO PHOENIX, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, LAUGHLIN, NEVADA.
LIKE WE, WE SHIFTED ALL THESE AREAS AND WE CAN SAY THAT WE HAD A VERY SHORT WINDOW OF A DECLINE.
AND SINCE THEN, OUR NUMBERS HAVE BEEN UP.
WE HAD ONE MONTH LAST YEAR WHERE WE WERE 4% DOWN, AND THAT WAS IN AUGUST BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, EVEN DURING THE SNOWSTORMS THIS YEAR, WE SHIFTED OUR MARKETING AND WE HEAVILY WENT AFTER THE WINTER MARKETING IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY BECAUSE WE HAVE A NEW ATTRACTION UP THERE CALLED THE CANYON COASTER ADVENTURE PARK WITH DOWNHILL TUBING IN THE WINTER.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO SHIFT TO OUR SHOULDER SEASON AND KEEP OUR BUSINESSES THRIVING IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.
SO IT'S, IT'S A MATTER OF SHIFTING YOUR FOCUS AND BEING ABLE TO BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR SPINS AND YOUR BUYS AND YOUR CONCEPTS.
SO THE, WHEN THE, WHEN THE CITY SHIFTED THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN COTTONWOOD, THEY MADE IT CLEAR TO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE, THEY WERE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND THAT THE CITY WOULD BE HANDLING THE DESTINATION MARKETING.
AND THEY FUND THIS, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, APPROXIMATELY $70,000 A YEAR TO HELP THEM MANAGE THEIR VISITOR CENTER.
SO THEY HAVE A VISITOR CENTER ON COVE PARKWAY, AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE A LITTLE ONE IN OLD TOWN COTTONWOOD, WHICH HAS, IS BEING USED, UM, FROM THE CITY.
THAT'S, THAT'S A SMALL CITY BUILDING.
SO THEY SAID, WHY DON'T YOU PUT A VISITOR CENTER RIGHT THERE, FRONT AND CENTER IN THE MIDDLE OF OLD TOWN? IT'S A GREAT LOCATION.
[01:15:01]
WITH THEM, THEY KEEP NUMBERS, THEY SHOW US VISITATION NUMBERS.THEY REPORT TO THE CITY ON A MONTHLY BASIS LETTING THEM KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING.
THEY COME TO OUR TAC MEETING AND GIVE US A REPORT, AN UPDATE, AND SHARE WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE VISITOR CENTER, AND THEN ALSO WHAT'S HAPPENING ON BEHALF OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND HELPING STIR THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
WELL, THAT'S COMFORTING TO HEAR THAT THEY DO WORK WELL TOGETHER.
THAT'S THE LAST OF MY QUESTIONS.
UH, YES, THAT'S THE LAST OF MY QUESTIONS.
SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO, ARE THERE ANY FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS ON WHAT WE'VE DONE? NOT TO DEAL WITH THE QUESTIONS OR THE, THE APPOINTMENTS.
WHEN YOU, THIS HAS TO DO WITH INTERNATIONAL, SO THE, IS THAT AN A O T TRIP THAT YOU GO WITH THEM? DO, ARE THEY IN THE LEAD THERE AND THEY PUT TOGETHER AN OPPORTUNITY? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
SO THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM, THEY RELEASE THEIR PROGRAM OF WORK, AND IT HAS IN THERE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT THEY WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN.
AND THEIR FISCAL YEAR PLAN FOR 2324 IS UP ON THEIR WEBSITE RIGHT NOW.
ANYONE CAN GO TO IT, IT'S TOURISM.AZ.GOV, AND I BELIEVE IT'S ON THE VERY FAR RIGHT WAYS TO PARTICIPATE.
AND IT'LL HAVE THEIR, THEIR PROGRAM OF WORK IN THERE FOR TRADE AND MEDIA.
IT'LL OUTLINE ALL OF THE TRAVEL SHOWS THAT THEY'RE ATTENDING, ALL OF THE MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES, TRAVEL, TRADE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THEN IT'LL ALSO TALK ABOUT THEIR PRESS OR FAM FAMILIARIZATION TOURS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE BRINGING AROUND THE STATE OF ARIZONA AS WELL.
AND, AND SO DO THEY LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CITIES THAT CAN PARTICIPATE, LIKE FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE? TYPICALLY THEY DO.
AND AS AN EXAMPLE IN, UM, WHEN WE WENT TO PARIS AND LONDON, I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK OF HOW MANY, THEY LIMITED IT TO FIVE PARTICIPANTS, BECAUSE OTHERWISE IT CAN BE REALLY OVERWHELMING.
WHEN YOU'RE HAVING SIT DOWN MEETINGS WITH JOURNALISTS AND THEY, THEY SHOW UP AND YOU'VE GOT THIS, IT WOULD BE LIKE A JOURNALIST COMING IN RIGHT NOW, AND YOU'VE GOT THIS GIANT THING AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH MY GOSH, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER THIS? AND WRITE THIS ALL DOWN BECOMES REALLY OVERWHELMING.
SO THO THOSE MEETINGS, THEY, THEY SET THEM UP, RIGHT? THEY DO ALL THE OUTREACH.
THEY HAVE INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION, AND AT THEIR CONFERENCE THIS SUMMER, THEY WILL HAVE ALL OF THEIR TRADE AND MEDIA REPS FROM ALL OF THEIR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES IN PERSON AT THE GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE.
BUT THEY, THEY HAVE THEIR REPRESENTATIVES IN THE UK, FRANCE, GERMANY, CANADA, MEXICO.
THEY USED TO HAVE 'EM IN CHINA, BUT THEY'RE STILL KIND OF MANAGING THAT FROM A DISTANCE.
AND, UH, DO YOU, DO ANY OF THE CITIES THAT YOU REPRESENT, DO THEY ATTEND OR DO YOU ATTEND ON THEIR BEHALF TRAVEL, TRADE INDUSTRY MEETINGS IN THE US THAT ARE, THAT, THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY PARTICIPATES IN? YES.
THEY, THEY DO HAVE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL.
I P W YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF THAT ONE.
AND I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT NEXT YEAR IT'LL BE LIMITED TO PROBABLY FIVE OR LESS, JUST BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF WORK AND THE AMOUNT OF MEETINGS AND APPOINTMENTS INVOLVED.
IT'S A VERY TAXING SHOW TO ATTEND.
IT'S A LOT OF TALKING, IT'S A LOT OF MEETINGS.
AND SO WHEN YOU REPRESENT THE THREE COMMUNITIES, DOES THAT COUNT AS ONE OR THREE
SO I'M ALWAYS UPFRONT WITH THEM AND SAY, OKAY, LOOK, WHO ARE YOU GONNA LET ME TALK ABOUT? ARE YOU GONNA LET ME TALK ABOUT ALL THREE? OR DO WE HAVE TO LIMIT IT TO JUST ONE OR TWO? AND NOT ALL OF, NOT ALL OF THE DESTINATIONS I WORK WITH ARE INTERESTED IN THE SAME MARKETS EITHER, YOU KNOW, UM, PRESCOTT, FOR EXAMPLE, WASN'T AS INTERESTED IN THE CHINESE MARKET, SO, BUT WILLIAMS WAS, WHICH MAKES SENSE.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE DIFFERENT AREAS.
UM, BUT THE, THE EUROPEAN ONES, ABSOLUTELY ALL THREE LOCATIONS CAN BENEFIT FROM THAT.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO GET THE CARDS AND, AND HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC BEFORE WE, UH, GO WITH THE OTHER.
AND THEN IF, WELL ACTUALLY, IF YOU WANT, THANK YOU.
IF YOU WANNA DO COMMENTS ON WHAT WE'VE DONE AND THEN DO, WE'RE JUST GONNA DO THE OKAY.
I'M, WE'RE GONNA DO THE PUBLIC NOW.
UH, CASSANDRA WRIGHT IS NUMBER ONE, AND YOU'LL BE FOLLOWED BY STUART ZIMMERMAN.
I, SO CASSANDRA, JUST HAVE YOU DONE THIS BEFORE? NO.
YOU DON'T TURN THE SPOTLIGHT ON UNTIL LATER ON.
[01:20:01]
UH, YOU, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.THERE'S A LIGHT ON THE, THE, UH, THE, UH, THE SHELF OVER THERE BY THE DESK, UH, AND THE JURY BOX.
AND IT'S GONNA GO FROM GREEN TO WHITE TO YELLOW.
AND, UH, YOU HAVE TO START WITH YOUR NAME AND CITY OF RESIDENCE.
UM, THANKS FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT THE CITY HAS AN ABILITY TO BE MORE INVOLVED WITH WHERE OUR MARKETING'S GOING AND WHO'S COMING HERE AND WHY.
UM, SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO MAYBE JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT WE LIVE IN A VERY DELICATE PLACE HERE IN SEDONA.
THE SANDSTONE IS ACTUALLY, YOU JUST STEP ON IT AND IT FLAKES OFF, AND PEOPLE COME HERE TO SEE THESE ROCKS.
AND THEN ON THE OTHER HAND, WE HAVE ACTUALLY THIS INCREDIBLE THING CALLED, UM, CRYPTOBIOTIC SOIL.
AND YOU CAN LOOK IT UP ONLINE, OR YOU CAN GO CHECK IT OUT WHEN YOU'RE ON YOUR NEXT HIKE, BUT IT LITERALLY TAKES A CENTURY TO BUILD ITSELF UP.
AND THAT'S WHAT ALLOWS US TO HAVE A LOT OF GREEN PLANTS AND, UM, MOISTURE STILL HERE.
UM, AND LITERALLY ONE FOOTSTEP OR AN ATV CAN JUST LIKE SMASH IT.
SO ESSENTIALLY WE'RE LIVING IN A NATIONAL PARK, UM, AND IT'S A HUGE PRIVILEGE.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US, UM, MAYBE MARKETING MORE TOWARDS OUR SPIRITUAL, SPIRITUAL SIDE, OR, UM, AGRICULTURE.
UM, AS YOU MIGHT KNOW, WE HAVE SOME REALLY AMAZING INITIATIVES, UM, RUN BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, WHICH IS KIND OF INCREDIBLE.
WE'RE GROWING FOOD IN THE DESERT, AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO A LOT OF FAMILIES WHO ARE COMING HERE TO GET INVOLVED AND TO SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING TO BE MORE SUSTAINABLE.
UM, AND THEN, YEAH, I WOULD LOVE TO ALSO SEE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE MORE REPRESENTED IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY HERE.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY HERE, AND MAYBE THEY WOULD LIKE TO BENEFIT FROM THAT TOO.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE FUNDING ALLOCATED TO THEM TO BRING THEIR CEREMONIES AND, UM, THEIR NATIVE TRADITIONS.
UM, I DID HAVE ONE CONCERN ABOUT THE WORLD BANK GROUP, UM, INFORMATION THAT YOU ALL RECEIVED.
UM, TO ME THAT SEEMS A LITTLE BIT INTERESTING.
UM, I CAN SPEAK FOR MANY, I BELIEVE WHEN I SAY, UM, GLOBALIST BANKERS IN LIKE SEDONA, ARIZONA, THIS SWEET LITTLE TOWN WHERE WE LIVE, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US RESOURCING OUR RESIDENTS AND, UM, JUST LIKE LOOKING, LOOKING DOWN RATHER THAN LOOKING OUT.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY CREATIVE PEOPLE HERE AND AMAZING TALENT.
UM, AND THAT ORGANIZATION ACTUALLY HAS BEEN HIGHLY CRITICIZED FOR HAVING GREAT SOUNDING PLANTS AND OBJECTIVES THAT WE WOULD PROBABLY ALL REALLY RESONATE WITH.
YET IN PRACTICE, THEY ACTUALLY ARE DESTABILIZING AND HAR ACTUALLY HARMFUL.
UM, THERE'S BEEN LIKE, PROTESTS AROUND THE WORLD AGAINST THEM.
UM, SO YEAH, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UM, JUST LIKE MORE COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND THE TAC BOARD OR THE TAB BOARD.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT BEING, UM, VERY DIVERSE, UM, AS FAR AS, UM, MAYBE EVEN RANDOMLY SELECTED BASED ON THE APPLICANTS, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT, UM, LIKE A MONOPOLIZED GROUP OR MONOPOLIZED INDUSTRY.
STEWART WILL BE FOLLOWED BY LAURA MARCOS.
YOU READY? ARE WE GOOD, MARCY ALL? TAKE IT FROM THE TOP.
YEAH, WHAT'S YOUR NAME? MY NAME IS STUART ZIMMERMAN.
I RUN A, UH, A MEDIA AND LIFESTYLE COMPANY.
FRANKLY, I COULD BE DOING IT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, AND I CHOOSE TO DO IT HERE BECAUSE I LOVE SEDONA.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE ALL HAVE IN COMMON HERE.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR LOVING SEDONA AS MUCH AS YOU DO.
AND, UH, HEATHER, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE FOR PRO, UH, FOR PROVIDING SOME GUIDANCE AND EXPERTISE IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN MANAGE THIS, UH, NEW WORLD OF POSSIBILITY THAT WE'RE INVITING IN FOR SEDONA.
AND I WAS REALLY TAKEN BY A COUPLE OF WORDS HERE.
WHETHER IT'S BALANCE OF THE INTERESTS OF BUSINESS WITH THE INTERESTS OF THE COMMUNITY, WHETHER IT'S BALANCE ON HOW THAT'S REFLECTED IN THE BOARD, UH, THE T A B, UH, YOU KNOW, COMPOSITION AND EVEN HOW WE COULD POSSIBLY EVEN LOOK AT BALANCING THE INFLOW OF TOURISTS HERE.
SO THEY DON'T ALL PILE IN, IN CERTAIN SEASONS LIKE SPRING AND FALL, AND THEN SUMMER AND WINTER.
YOU KNOW, THEY, WE HAVE THAT FALL OFF.
UM, AND THE ONE THING YOU MENTIONED THAT I WAS GOING TO MENTION, BUT I'LL GIVE YOU CREDIT
[01:25:01]
FOR IT, CAUSE YOU SAID IT FIRST, WAS THE FOCUS ON THAT ONE PAGER OF MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES.AND I JUST WANNA UNDERSCORE THAT WE'RE NOT BOUND BY THE PAST, AND THANK GOD WE'RE HERE NOW.
AND WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY NOT ONLY TO SEE WHAT WE WANT TO CREATE TODAY, BUT WHAT WE WANT SEDONA TO BECOME AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND THAT MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES WILL BE OUR COMPASS.
IT'S GONNA BE OUR, OUR FILTER THROUGH WHICH WE DO OUR MESSAGING, THROUGH WHICH WE DO OUR TARGET MARKETING.
AND I REALLY INVITE IN THAT PROCESS TO BE, UH, HIGHLY CREATIVE AND REALLY BASED ON REALLY WHAT BRINGS ALL OF US TO SEDONA ULTIMATELY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
IT IS AN EXCITING TIME FOR ALL OF US.
THANK YOU, HEATHER, ALSO FOR COMING AND SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
UH, I'M MOSTLY CONCERNED IN THIS PROCESS ABOUT MAINTAINING THE RESIDENT VOICE, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL SUPPORTING A RESIDENT ADVI, UH, ADVISORY BOARD, AND ALSO TRANSPARENCY IN THE PROCESS.
UH, I HAVE HAD THE BLESSING AND PRIVILEGE OF LIVING IN SEDONA FOR THE LAST FOUR AND A HALF YEARS.
AND, UH, I WANNA BRING TO THE HIGHEST, UM, PLACE IN OUR MINDS WHAT IS ACTUALLY IN THE HIGHEST GOOD FOR EVERYONE, BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS ALIKE.
AND ALSO THIS QUESTION, WHAT DO TOURISTS REMEMBER WHEN THEY, THEY VISIT? UM, I HAVE PERSONALLY HOSTED IN MY HOME, NEARLY 15 PEOPLE THAT HAVE MOVED HERE AND OVER A THOUSAND TOURISTS, UM, IN THE LAST FOUR AND A HALF YEARS, MANY OF WHICH RETURN AGAIN AND AGAIN.
AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT THIS PLACE IS A HUB FOR SOME OF THE MOST TALENTED, CREATIVE, INTELLIGENT, FRIENDLY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.
PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMUNITY ORIENTED, LOVE, NATURE, HEALTHY LIVING, AND SPIRITUAL INTERCONNECTEDNESS.
WE HAVE SO MANY ARTISTS, ARCHITECTS, HANDYMAN, ENTREPRENEURS, HOMESCHOOLERS, YOUNG GROWING FAMILIES.
WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS DIVER, THIS LEVEL OF DIVERSITY ALSO REPRESENTED IN THE ADVISORY BOARD BECAUSE WE ARE PART OF THE ATTRACTION HERE.
WE'RE THE ONES THAT SMILE BEHIND THE COUNTERS.
WE'RE THE ONES THAT HELP TUR WHEN THEY'RE LOST.
UH, WE'RE THE ONES THAT TELL THEM ALL THE WONDERFUL PLACES TO GO AND TO DANCE BAREFOOT SOMETIMES ON THE MOUNTAINS, AND THEY'LL NEVER FORGET THESE KIND OF EXPERIENCES.
SO, UM, I ALSO WANNA MENTION IN REGARDS TO MARKETING, UH, MAYBE THIS IS EARLY TO DO THIS, BUT WE ARE ABSOLUTELY THE CITY OF SERENDIPITY, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S SO UNIQUE TO US.
PERHAPS IT'S THE VORTEX IS, UH, BUT I CALL THIS, THIS IS A PHENOMENON.
UH, RECENTLY I WANTED A GARDEN CONSULTATION AND A HELP OF TAKING DOWN A TREE IN MY BACKYARD.
AND I'VE BEEN WANTING THIS FOR WEEKS.
AND YESTERDAY I WENT TO GET MY WINDSHIELD REPLACED.
AND AT THE SAME EXACT TIME, ANOTHER GUY WALKS IN TO HAVE HIS WINDSHIELD REPLACED, AND HE ENDS UP DOING GARDEN CONSULTATIONS AND, UH, REMOVING TREES.
SO WHAT OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD CAN YOU EXPERIENCE THAT LEVEL OF SPONTANEOUSLY, EFFORTLESSLY, CONSTANTLY.
THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE.
SO WE ARE THE CITY OF SERENDIPITY, THE CITY OF LIGHT HEALING, PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION, SPIRITUAL TECHNOLOGIES, COMPLIMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE ME MEDICINES, WHICH ACCORDING TO BUSINESS WIRE REPRESENT A $200 BILLION INDUSTRY.
WE ALSO HAVE SOME OF THE MOST TALENTED MUSICIANS I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.
MY FAVORITE MUSICIANS LIVE HERE.
SO HOW COME WE'RE NOT KNOWN FOR THAT? HOW COME WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DON'T ACTUALLY MARKET.
WOW, THIS IS A, AN AMAZING PLACE TO COME AND BUILD ART, YOU KNOW, CREATE ART, CREATE SCULPTURES.
WE DON'T MARKET THAT VERY MUCH.
I, AT LEAST THAT, THAT I HAVE SEEN.
AND JUST TO ALSO DROP THIS SEED, UM, ONE OF MY GUESTS RECENTLY WAS SAYING HE WANTED TO RENT AN ATV.
AND UNDER A MINUTE, I LET HIM KNOW THE DAMAGE THAT IT DID TO THE LAND.
THERE'S SO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT WE COULD DO.
SO I LOVE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT TILAK PAKA WAS BUILT AROUND THE SYCAMORE TREES.
LET'S BE THE TOWN THAT, UH, SAYS, SAYS, WE WANNA SAY YES TO, UH, TO THE PEOPLE AND NOT SO MUCH TO PRIVATE INTERESTS.
LET'S BRAND WHAT WE ALREADY ARE, MARKET THE TRUTH.
AND I ALSO, UH, OKAY, YOU HAVE TO END.
COULD YOU STATE AND COINCIDE WITH, UH, CASSIE'S COMMENTS AS WELL? THAT'S OKAY.
ABOUT THE CONCERNS WITH SOME OF THESE MODELS THAT WE, COULD YOU STATE YOUR NAME AGAIN FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE? YES.
MY NAME IS LAURA MARCOS FROM WEST SEDONA.
THANK YOU LAURA, FOR YOUR, IT'S ALL YOU RAN OUT OF TIME, BUT WE DO HAVE A LONG MEETING TO GO.
YOU DON'T WANNA EXPLAIN THE LIGHT SYSTEM TO ME? NO, I THINK YOU'VE GOT IT DOWN TO A SCIENCE
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR AND COUNSELORS.
I SENT YOU AN EMAIL, I'M NOT GOING TO READ IT TO YOU, BUT I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW WHERE I GOT THE INFORMATION FROM TO PUT IN
[01:30:01]
THAT EMAIL.I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH MARGO CHRISTENSEN, THE CHAIR OF THE PRESCOTT TOURISM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND SHE WENT DOWN THE LINE, SHE WAS DRIVING TO PHOENIX, BUT SHE SAID, YEAH, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING THE TOURISM STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE MANAGE THE BED TAX BUDGET AND PROPOSED FUNDING FOR EVENTS.
WE MANAGE A CITY GRANT PROGRAM FOR TOURISM EVENTS.
WE STEWARD THE TOURISM STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND I JUST GOT SO EXCITED ABOUT HOW STRONG THAT GROUP SOUNDED.
THEN I COME HERE AND I HEAR, WELL, THERE'S REALLY THE STAFF AND THE STAFF PUTS IT ALL TOGETHER AND THEY GIVE ALL THE PRESENTATIONS AND THEY VET IT WITH THE, THE BOARD.
AND I KIND OF LIKE, WELL, THAT SOUNDS ABOUT AS EXCITING AS, YOU KNOW, CHIP BEEF ON TOAST.
SO I'M, I'M PERPLEXED, AND I KNOW I'M NOT ALLOWED TO ASK QUESTIONS, BUT DID MARGOT LIE TO ME? OR WHERE IS, WHERE'S THE DYNAMIC TRUTH BETWEEN WHAT SHE SAID AND WHAT I FEEL WHEN I HEAR ABOUT THE, THE ROUTE WE'RE TAKING? THANK YOU.
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA CLOSE THE PUBLIC SESSION AND BRING IT BACK TO, UH, COUNSEL.
UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADDRESS ANYTHING FIRST? UH, WELL, I'D LIKE TO HEAR THE, WELL I, HEATHER, TO ASK YOU.
WE'RE GONNA ASK HEATHER THE QUESTION.
I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANTED TO ASK.
SO, HEATHER, CAN YOU ADDRESS THAT QUESTION, PLEASE? ABSOLUTELY.
I'VE KNOWN MARGOT FOR OVER A DECADE, AND I SAW THE INFORMATION THAT WAS SHARED WITH ME, AND I SPOKE WITH THE STAFF IN PRESCOTT TODAY WHILE I WAS OVER THERE FOR THE TOURISM ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING.
UNFORTUNATELY, MARGOT WAS OUT OF TOWN, SO I COULDN'T SPEAK WITH HER.
BUT THE, THE TAC DOES NOT MANAGE THE BUDGET.
THE TAC OVERSEES WHAT THE STAFF DOES WITH THE BUDGET, AND THEY DO INTERVIEW AND GO THROUGH THE APPLICATIONS FOR THE GRANTS.
UM, THE GRANT PROCESS OVER THERE IS FOCUSED ON EVENTS THAT ARE BRINGING IN VISITORS AND THEIR MARKETING EFFORTS.
SO THE, THE T GRANTS ARE MAXIMUM $5,000 PER GRANT.
AND THIS YEAR, I BELIEVE THEY HAD TODAY THEY TOLD US THAT THEY HAD 24 APPLICANTS WHO WILL ALL RECEIVE FUNDING BETWEEN 5,000 AND HOWEVER MANY DOLLARS THEY HAD ASKED FOR.
UM, I I, I HAVE NO PROBLEM RELEASING THE NAME OF THE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR IN PRESCOTT SO THAT PEOPLE CAN TALK TO HIM DIRECTLY.
HE HAS SAID THAT IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS AND WANTS TO KNOW HOW THE TAC OPERATES, I CAN, I CAN GIVE HIS INFORMATION OUT.
UM, MARGOT IS THE CHAIR OF THE GROUP, BUT I ASSURE YOU HAVING BEEN A PART OF THAT FOR ALMOST A DECADE, THERE'S NEVER A TIME WHEN WE'RE ALL SITTING DOWN AND THEY HAVE THE BUDGET IN FRONT OF THEM AND ARE SAYING, HERE'S WHAT THE BUDGET IS AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE ALLOCATING IT FOR.
AND THIS IS HOW IT'S ALL SPENT.
THE STAFF IS THE ONE, ARE THE ONES WHO OVERSEE THE DIRECTION OF THE TOURISM OFFICE, THE DMO, AND THEN IT'S REPORTED OPENLY TO THE TAC.
AND THEN THEY, WE, WE ALL DISCUSS IT AS A GROUP.
THEY ASK QUESTIONS, THEY SAY, WHY ARE WE SPENDING MONEY HERE? WHY ARE WE SPENDING MONEY THERE? WHAT'S THE PURPOSE IN THIS? WHAT ARE THE RESULTS? WHAT ARE THE MEASUREMENTS? YES, THEY DID HELP CRAFT THE ENTIRE STRATEGIC PLAN.
THEY WERE ALL PART OF THAT AS WELL AS MYSELF AND ALL THE STAFF MEMBERS AND OUR COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE.
SO THEY WERE DEFINITELY A PART OF THAT.
THEY'RE NOT SINGLE-HANDEDLY CARRYING OUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
THAT'S WHAT WE ARE PAID TO DO, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE THINGS ARE CARRIED OUT.
ME AS A CONSULTANT, THE FOUR STAFF MEMBERS, THEY'RE IN PRESCOTT AND WE REPORT TO THEM.
THEY'RE THE, THE GOVERNING BODY THAT WE REPORT TO.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY WE REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL.
AND I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT, UH, JESSICA, IS YOUR MIC ON JESSICA? WHAT IS YOUR MIC ON? CAN YOU YEAH, CAN YOU TURN YOUR MIC OFF MUTE BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING, WE ARE GETTING, UH, SOUND BACK, BACK, UH, BACKGROUND SOUND FROM YOU.
UH, QUESTION ON THE PRESCOTT GRANTS.
WHAT GRANTS? IS THAT SOMETHING I'M NOT, I THINK I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE, THE CHAMBER OR THE DESTINATION MARKETING WOULD GIVE OUT GRANTS TO BUSINESSES, RIGHT? IT'S TOURISM GRANTS AND THEY GIVE THEM OUT TO NONPROFITS.
AND ALL THAT INFORMATION IS ON THE EXPERIENCE PRESCOTT WEBSITE, THE
[01:35:01]
UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER TOURISM OFFICE CLICK ON IT AND IT'S GOT ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE GRANTS ARE FOR, THEREFORE NONPROFITS WHO ARE PUTTING ON EVENTS AND IT HELPS THEM WITH THEIR MARKETING.UH, AS AN EXAMPLE, WE HAVE A, A CLASSIC CORVETTE CAR SHOW THAT COMES TO WHISKEY ROW AND THEY APPLY EACH YEAR FOR THIS GRANT.
AND, AND THEN THEY OUTLINE IN THEIR APPLICATION HOW THEY'RE SPENDING THE FUNDS THAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR TO MARKET AND PROMOTE SO THAT THEIR EVENT CAN BE MORE SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE THEY HAVE A FUNDRAISING PIECE TO IT WHERE THEY HELP LOCAL GROUPS, THEY RAISE MONEY TO HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S WHAT THOSE, IT'S, IT'S NOT THE GRANTS, LIKE TO A LIBRARY OR TO, I JUST DIDN'T NOTICE FOOD BANK OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
IT'S, IT'S FOCUSED ON EVENT-DRIVEN.
DID YOU SAY THEY'RE LIMITED TO $5,000 PER HEAR THAT RIGHT.
CAN ONE APPLICANT PUT IN MORE THAN ONE? CAN ONE BODY PUT IN MORE THAN ONE APPLICATION PER YEAR? THANK YOU.
SO NEXT, CAN YOU TAKE A QUICK BREAK BEFORE OR NO? UM, YEAH.
CAUSE WE ARE NOT GONNA MAKE BY FIVE O'CLOCK, SO WE MIGHT JUST MIGHT AS A SEVEN MINUTE BREAK.
WOULD THAT BE GOOD FOR BREAK, RUN? YES.
UH, MARCY, WE'RE GONNA DO SEVEN MINUTES.
JESSICA, ARE YOU STILL WITH US? GUYS ARE MEETING? I DON'T THINK SHE IS ACTUALLY.
OH YEAH, SHE JUST WALKED AWAY FROM THE, OKAY.
WE, WE ARE BACK FROM A QUICK BREAK.
AND SO THERE WAS DISCUSSION WE WANT TO ISOLATE OUT AND DISCUSS SEPARATELY THE APPLICATION AND THE QUESTIONS.
WHAT DID YOU WANT TO, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE COUNCIL, EXACTLY WHAT WE WANNA LOOK AT NOW.
I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE QUALIFICATIONS AND THE, THE OF MEMBERSHIP OR THE AREAS AND JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE DO, I THINK IT WAS ACTUALLY, NO, NEVERMIND.
LET'S GO OVER THE QUESTIONS OR SOMETHING.
I'D LIKE TO INTO THE MIC KATHY SPEAK.
WE SEE YOU
SO YOU WANNA GO OVER THE, LET'S GO OVER THE QUESTIONS FIRST.
AND I, AND I DON'T WANT TO BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY FIVE O'CLOCK, I FIGURE WE'LL GO TO SIX.
SO LET'S NOT DIAL DOWN TOO DEEP INTO EVERY MINUTIAE OF EVERY QUESTION.
SO LET'S JUST TRY TO KEEP HIGHER LEVEL SO WE JUST GET THE QUESTIONS THAT WE CAN MOVE THROUGH.
THERE'S A LOT OF 'EM HERE, AND I MIGHT ADD THAT THIS IS MORE QUESTIONS THAN THE OTHER COMMISSIONS THAT WE INTERVIEW FOR.
SO THIS, THIS IS REALLY GOOD, ASKING SOME GOOD QUESTIONS.
UH, YOU WANNA START, KATHY? SURE, SURE.
UH, SO I'VE BEEN ON SOME OF THESE GROUPS WHERE WE'VE GONE THROUGH APPLICANTS FOR VARIOUS THINGS, AND, UM, THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE ON HERE OFTEN LEAD TO FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS THAT CAN BE ASKED.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING THAT EVERYBODY HAS, THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SPECIFICALLY ENUMERATED IN ORDER TO BE ASKED IN AN INTERVIEW PROCESS.
IS THAT CORRECT? LET ME CLARIFY WHAT THIS IS AND WHAT THIS ISN'T.
THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED TO BE ASKED AS PART OF THE APPLICATION.
THESE WOULD BE WRITTEN RESPONSES, AND THEN ALL OF YOU WOULD HAVE THE, THE TASK WHEN YOU GET TO THAT POINT TO DEVELOP THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS, WHICH THE CANDIDATES WOULD NOT HAVE IN ADVANCE.
UM, I'M GONNA WAIT TO SEE WHAT SOME OTHER COMMENTS ARE MADE.
OKAY, PETE, MY STAY ON THE SIDE OF, OF THE DA.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO, UH, LAY IN? THANK YOU, MAYOR.
I AM GONNA TRUST THAT MY COLLEAGUES ARE GONNA ANSWER ALL THE APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS THAT THEY WANT TO ASK.
JESSICA, BEING YOUR CHAIR IS EMPTY THERE.
I'M GONNA TURN TO YOU ON THE, UH, THE MONITOR.
YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE QUESTIONS? WHAT TIME? PASS PASS DOWN.
NO COMMENTS ON THE QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
I APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION.
VICE MAYOR, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO? I, I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS EITHER.
SO YOU'RE GOOD WITH NO QUESTIONS ON THE QUESTIONS, RIGHT? SO YOU'RE GOOD WITH ALL THE, YOU'RE GOOD WITH THE WAY THE QUESTIONS ARE.
[01:40:01]
SO MY ONLY QUESTION IS, THESE QUESTIONS ARE, UM, THESE QUESTIONS ARE COMPLICATED TO ANSWER IF YOU'RE AN INDIVIDUAL.UM, ARE WE EXPECTING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO LIKE, SEND US A RESUME, BASICALLY ATTACHED THAT ANSWERS THIS.
I CAN'T SEE SOMEBODY ANSWERING THIS IN A SMALL AMOUNT OF SPACE THAT WE'VE POTENTIALLY GIVEN THEM, BECAUSE THESE SHOULD BE THOUGHT PROVOKING FOR THESE, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DOING THIS.
AND I EXPECT THEM TO GIVE ME THOUGHTFUL ANSWERS BACK
ANOTHER CLARIFICATION COUNSELOR.
IT ACTUALLY, IN THE APPLICATION ITSELF, YOU CAN SEE IN THE DRAFT SAYS, PLEASE ATTACH A SEPARATE P SHEET OF PAPER CONTAINING THE QUESTIONS AND YOUR RESPONSES, UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU COULD NOT POSSIBLY ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS IN THESE, IN, IN THE SPACE.
BASICALLY WHAT YOU HAVE IS A LIST OF QUESTIONS.
AND THIS IS MEANT FOR YOU ALL BECAUSE WE DO EXPECT THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A COVETED SEATS, UH, A SOMEWHAT COMPETITIVE PROCESS, A LOT OF DELIBERATION ON YOUR PART AROUND, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE THE, BE THE BEST CANDIDATES TO START THIS ENDEAVOR.
THESE ARE THOUGHT-PROVOKING AND INTENDED TO BE THAT WAY.
AND TO ALSO DEMONSTRATE COMMITMENT AND INTENT TO, FOR, FOR THIS, THIS TWO OR FOUR YEAR SEAT, DEPENDING.
UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO ASK ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS.
WE COULD ASK SOME PORTION OF THEM, AND THAT'S REALLY UP TO COUNSEL, BUT, BUT THAT'S WHAT THIS IS INTENDED TO DO.
BRIAN, NO QUESTIONS ON THE QUESTIONS, MAYOR.
SOMEHOW I KNOW YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN.
UM, HOW CLOSELY DOES THIS REPRESENT THE PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH FOR OUR PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION FOR THE PS P S FOR THE COMMUNITY, UH, PLAN WORK GROUP? UM, I JUST WANNA KNOW IF THIS IS FAIRLY REPRESENTATIVE STANDARD.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE TAILORED TO THIS SPECIFICALLY, BUT I JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT WE ARE, HAVE SORT OF EQUALITY IN HOW WE TREAT AN APPLICATION PROCESS FOR OUR COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS.
THANK YOU FOR SOME OF OUR OTHER LESS FORMAL WORK GROUPS.
WE HAVE SELECTED MEMBERS IN, IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND THEN, UM, OF THIS PROCESS, ARE THERE ANYTHING EL OTHER PARTS THAT YOU WANT TO QUESTION? UH, THE PROCESS ITSELF OR THE INTERVIEW? WHO WILL BE THE COMMITTEE THAT'S GOING TO ACTUALLY, UH, EITHER, KAREN, YOU SHOULD READ THAT.
WELL GET A, YOU WANT A GROUP OF THREE TO WHIT IT, TO TAKE NO, THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO ASK.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? I, I PERSONALLY THINK THE ENTIRE COUNCIL SHOULD DO IT.
UH, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND I THINK THAT WE SHOULD COMMIT THE TIME THAT WE EXPECT THE APPLICANTS TO COMMIT TO US.
SO THAT'S WHAT I WOULD PROPOSE.
I JUST WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF US.
SO I KNOW THERE'S ALL THESE OPTIONS, BUT RATHER THAN GOING THROUGH ALL THE OPTIONS IN VOTING ON EACH OPTION, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT COUNCIL THINKS ABOUT THE ENTIRE BODY BEING INVOLVED.
AND I ALSO WOULD, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE TO, IF WE WANNA PUT THAT IN THE, IN THE RESOLUTION, WE, WE CAN DO THAT.
UH, BUT BECAUSE IT'S PERSONNEL, UH, I WOULD PROPOSE THAT WE REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS IN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND WE DO THE INTERVIEWS IN OPEN SESSION.
SO I'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT OTHER COUNSELORS THINK ABOUT THAT TOO.
I BELIEVE IT WAS, I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH COUNCIL SEAT WAS VACANT.
AND I THINK, KAREN, DO YOU REMEMBER, DID WE ADDRESS, BECAUSE WE DID IT IN OPEN SESSION, WE GAVE A LETTER OR A NUMBER INSTEAD OF SAYING THE NAME.
WHAT WOULD'VE BEEN BEFORE YOU WERE, OH, WELL WE, WE JUST, IN THE LAST COUNCIL SEAT, WE JUST FILLED YEAH, WE DID THIS.
WE VETTED THE APPLICATIONS AND EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AND THEN WE HELD THE INTERVIEWS OF THE SELECTED PEOPLE.
BUT WHAT WE'RE, WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING NOW, VICE MAYOR IS THE OPPOSITE.
SO THAT WE WOULD DO THE NO, NO, IT'S THE SAME.
THE VETTING AND EXECUTIVE SESSION.
YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I JUST SAID.
VETTING AND EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THIS PROCESS.
AND INTERVIEWS IN OPEN SESSION.
NOW LET ME ASK YOU THIS VACATION, I WASN'T DONE.
OKAY, WE'LL GET, I'LL GET BACK TO YOU.
WHAT WAS THAT? WE DIDN'T HEAR YOU.
I HAVE A POINT OF, I'D LIKE TO ASK HOLLY ONE QUESTION ABOUT WHAT SHE'S PROPOSING.
I UNDERSTAND THAT WE WOULD VET IN EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW IN PUBLIC
[01:45:01]
AND THEN FINAL DECISION IN EXECUTIVE AND THEN ANNOUNCED IN PUBLIC.IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE THINKING? NO, I'M THINKING PUBLIC.
SO YOU WOULD HAVE, SO THAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT THE VETTING BE BE LIMITED TO THE 11 SEATS THAT WE WOULD INTERVIEW 11 PEOPLE? NO, WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT WE WOULD VET THE APPLICATIONS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY APPLICATIONS WE'RE GONNA GET IN EXECUTIVE LOT.
SO WE'LL HAVE TO DECIDE HOW MANY, AND I DON'T HAVE, I DON'T HAVE A VIEW OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
CAUSE TO ME IT'S DEPENDS ON HOW MANY YOU RECEIVE.
IS THAT 22, IS THAT 33? RIGHT? I, I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO RECEIVE IN, IN THE WAY OF APPLICATIONS, BUT I THINK WE COULD DO THAT WHEN WE REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS.
WELL, I THINK SO THEN, SO THEN YOU WOULD BE, I'M SORRY, I REALLY WANNA UNDERSTAND THIS.
I'M SORRY IF I'M NOT, OH, GO AHEAD.
IF I'M BEING DENSE HERE, UM, IF WE SAY FOR EXAMPLE, DECIDE TO INTERVIEW 22 PEOPLE MM-HMM.
I WAS PROPOSING PUBLIC, BUT I'M TOTALLY OPEN TO WHAT ANYBODY ELSE FEELS ABOUT THIS.
SO THAT WOULD, OTHERWISE I'M TOTALLY IN AGREEMENT.
ANYBODY KEEPING TRACK OF, OF THE, THE OPTIONS HERE? ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY IF WE, WE GET A HUNDRED APPLICATIONS, WE'RE NOT GOING TO PUBLICLY INTERVIEW A HUNDRED PEOPLE, SO NO, NO.
IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE WOULD WHITTLE IT DOWN, BUT I THINK THE PUBLIC DESERVES AN EXPECTATION OF WHAT THAT NUMBER IS BEFORE WE GO INTO THAT.
SO I LIKE, IS IT 22 THAT WE'RE GOING TO INTERVIEW PUBLICLY? UH, I DON'T THINK YOU COULD KNOW THAT YET.
NO, I, I'M ASKING, SO MAY MAYOR COUNSEL, IF I MIGHT, THE, THERE, THERE'S, THE ONLY THING THAT I THINK THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE DECIDED TODAY IS THAT THE DECISION IS THAT COUNSEL AS A WHOLE WANTS TO APPOINT AT LEAST THE INITIAL BOARD MEMBERS, MAYBE EVERY BOARD MEMBER IN THE FUTURE, BUT THE INITIAL BOARD MEMBERS.
AND SO THAT'S ALL THE MOTION WE NEED TO HAVE TODAY.
THE EXACT DETAILS OF ALL THAT CAN BE DETERMINED MAYBE BY THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS AND CAN BE CITED AT THAT AT THE TIME WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU'RE GONNA REVIEW THE MEETING.
THOSE COULD BE DETERMINED THEN.
I THINK THAT THAT'S A GOOD POINT.
I, I, I WANT THIS TO BE AS PUBLIC A PROCESS AS POSSIBLE, BUT I ALSO WANT TO PRESERVE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE'S RIGHT PRIVACY.
WELL, THAT'S WHAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT.
WELL, IF, IF THERE ARE A HUNDRED APPLICANTS AND THEN WE VET OR 50 APPLICANTS, PROBABLY MORE LIKELY RIGHT.
THAN WE, AND WE VET THIS DOWN IN EXEC BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE HAVE TO DO A PUBLIC PROCESS OF NO, WE DON'T THINK PERSON A SHOULD ADVANCE TO AN APPLICATION PERIOD.
I, I THINK THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN PUBLIC.
IT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN PUBLIC IS THE DISCUSSION OF WHO'S GOING TO ACTUALLY BE APPOINTED.
SO I'M, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF, OF WHAT THE VICE MAYOR OUTLINED, WHICH IS A, AN, UH, THE ENTIRE COUNCIL.
I DO THINK IT SHOULD BE THE ENTIRE COUNCIL THAT GOES THROUGH THE VETTING AND, AND MAKES THE, HAS THE DISCUSSION IN WHATEVER FORMAT WE DECIDE TO COME UP WITH THE APPOINTMENTS.
UM, I THINK WE ALL ARE, HAVE VERY STRONG INTEREST IN THIS AREA.
UM, AND IT'S A WAY THAT GIVES US ALL EQUAL VOICE.
SO I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO DO THAT.
UH, AND AGAIN, AS I SAID, I JUST WANT, IN THAT INITIAL PART, I JUST WANNA PROTECT PEOPLE'S PRIVACY AS SOME OF THAT IS DISGUSTED, DIS DISGUSTED
UM, SO I THINK, I THINK MY MADE THAT CLEAR WHAT I'M SUPPORTING, RIGHT? YES.
AND IT'S UP TO THE, THE, THE LEGAL ADVISOR OVER THERE TO STEVE TAKING NOTES.
I'M UNCLEAR ON COUNSELOR KINS SELL'S, UH, POSITION AS IT RELATES TO THE FINAL DELIBERATION OF WHO BECOME THE 11 APPOINTEES.
IS THAT PUBLIC OR IN EXECUTIVE SESSION? I THINK THAT THE INTERVIEWS IN MY MIND COULD BE DONE IN A PUBLIC WAY AND THEN MAYBE GOING TO AN EXECUTIVE, UH, SESSION FOR A DISCUSSION AND THEN YOU COME BACK OUT WITH A RECOMMENDATION IN A PUBLIC SESSION TO BE VOTED UPON.
WAIT, I JUST WANT TO GET A LITTLE BIT TIGHTER INTO THAT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO A HUNDRED APPLICATIONS AND I'M SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE REALLY INTERESTED, I HOPE ANYWAY.
AND WE'RE GOING TO DO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO WHITTLE THAT DOWN TO A NUMBER THAT WILL BE DETERMINED LATER, RIGHT? DEPENDING ON HOW MANY, RIGHT.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO COME OUT AND TAKE THAT NUMBER, WHATEVER IT IS, 2233 TO GET TO THE 11.
THOSE INTERVIEWS IN PUBLIC, THE INTERVIEWS? YES.
THE INTERVIEWS IN PUBLIC AND THEN THE DELIBERATION
[01:50:01]
ABOUT RE RESULTING FROM THE INTERVIEWS WOULD HAPPEN BACK IN EXEC.I THINK THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE CASE MAY WAS SAYING.
IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, IT IS CORRECT.
SO THAT WOULD, IT'S GONNA NECESSARILY ENTAIL TWO SEPARATE MEETINGS.
CAUSE YOU HAVE TO SET UP THE INTERVIEWS WITH ALL THE APPLICANTS, RIGHT? SO THEY'LL BE TIME TO FLESH OUT THE DETAILS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I JUST WANT TO BE LIKE, WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE HERE.
SO CAUSE I WAS A LITTLE CONFUSED LIKE BRIAN WAS SO, WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHY WE DON'T GO AHEAD AND JUST LOCK DOWN RIGHT NOW WHAT OUR PROCESS IS.
I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE TRYING TO GET THIS NO, YOU, YOU CAN GET THING MOVING AND IT'S LIKE, WE'RE, I THINK HOPEFULLY WE'RE THIS CLOSE TO NAILING IT.
WELL, HAVEN'T HEARD FROM COUNCILOR FURMAN YET.
NO, I, I UNDERSTAND IS I'M NOT MAKING A DECISION WITHOUT HIM.
SO, BUT I WOULD I AGREE WITH YOU.
I, THAT'S WHY I SAID 22 OR 33.
WE NEED TO COME DOWN TO THAT NUMBER.
UH, PETE MAYOR, WITH ALL THANK YOU, MAYOR, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, I, I'M NOT GONNA WEIGH IN ON THIS.
UH, I HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE IDEA THAT I'M GONNA PUT FORTH FOR THIS BODY TO CONSIDER.
UH, I THINK YOU'LL MAKE A, A GOOD DECISION.
I DON'T HAVE AN OPINION AS TO THE, THE STRUCTURE OF THIS PARTICULAR PANEL.
YOU WHEN DO YOU WANNA MAKE THAT, UH, RECOMMENDATION WHEN WE GO TO COMMENTS? OKAY.
AREN'T WE IN COMMENTS? UH, WE SORT OF ARE, BUT WE WANT TO DO THIS FIRST BECAUSE, UH, SOME OF US SAID LET'S TOUCH ON THESE, UH, THIS, THESE POINTS ABOUT THE, THE APPLICATION.
SO ALONG THAT VEIN, MAYOR, UM, KURT, SO I I JUST, WHERE IN THE RESOLUTION WOULD WE SPECIFICALLY PUT LANGUAGE THAT PRESERVES THAT IT WOULD BE A FULL BODY APPOINT VETTING AN APPOINTMENT.
AND MY, MY QUESTION FOR, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL BEFORE THAT, SO COUNSELOR KINSELLA WOULD BE, DO, DO WE ALWAYS WANT IT TO BE A FULL BODY VETTING? SO EVERY TIME THERE'S A VACANCY ON THIS BOARD, DOES IT, DOES IT NEED TO COME BACK TO ALL CITY COUNCIL OR THE TYPICAL PROCESS WILL BE MAYOR, VICE MAYOR AND THE, UM, THE, THE BOARD PRESIDENTS.
SO LIKE, IT IS FOR P AND Z HPC.
UH, CUZ IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN WE WANT TO PROBABLY JUST, I'LL WRITE IT INTO THE RESOLUTION.
WE CAN PULL IT UP, UM, AND IT CAN BE, BE RIGHT IN THERE.
UM, OTHERWISE IF THIS IS JUST AN INITIAL THING, IT CAN JUST BE IN THE MOTION.
UM, YOU, THE MO THIS THE MOTION THERE WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT ALL WILL TAKE, I'LL, I'LL HAVE COUNSEL WILL APPROVE THE INITIAL 11 MEMBERS OF THE TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD.
I THINK THEN IN ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION, UM, I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A FULL BODY.
AS I SAID, I THINK THAT THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
I THINK EVERYBODY UP HERE HAS A VERY STRONG INTEREST IN THIS.
UM, I KNOW GIVE A SEPARATE IDEA, BUT I THINK YOUR INTEREST IS STILL THERE WHEN THIS HAPPENS.
IF IT DOES, YOU'RE GONNA WANNA BE A PART OF IT.
SO I THINK THAT, UM, I WOULD LIKE THIS TO STAY AS A FULL BODY EACH TIME.
THEREFORE, THEREFORE I WOULD, I WOULD, IF WHEN WE GET TO A MOTION, I WOULD PUT IT IN AS PART OF THE MOTION.
I MEAN, PLANNING AND ZONING, WE ALL HAVE AN IN INHERENT IN INTEREST IN THAT AND WE'RE ALL COMMITTED TO THAT.
AND YET WE ONLY HAVE A SMALLER PORTION AND WE MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE WHOLE COUNCIL.
AND I'VE NEVER AGREED WITH THAT PROCESS.
UH, BUT THE SAME AND THE SAME THING FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
AND I'VE NEVER AGREED WITH THAT PROCESS AND PS P R S AND I'VE NEVER AGREED WITH THAT PROCESS.
SO JUST TO BE CLEAR THAT, SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR, WELL, YOU KNOW, PETE'S GONNA GIVE US SOMETHING ELSE.
MAYBE WE SHOULD HEAR WHAT PETE'S GONNA SAY BEFORE WE EVEN, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU, YOU THINK WOULD BE BEST TO, WOULD IT MAY CHANGE OUR OPINION ON THIS PARTICULAR VOTE? IT, IT, IT MAY MAYOR AND IF YOU'D LIKE ME TO, I'D BE HAPPY TO.
WELL, I'D LIKE, I THINK IT'S TO BE FAIR, CUZ I DON'T WANNA VOTE FOR SOMETHING BE LOCKED IN.
OH, I WAS NOT GONNA ALLOW A VOTE TO HAPPEN BEFORE CHAR IN.
WELL, THAT'S WHY I WELL, RIGHT.
BUT I'M HAPPY FOR YOU TO HAMMER OUT THIS IDEA BEFORE IT GETS STALE, BUT BEFORE I, SO WHY WE DO THAT BEF AND WE WILL NOT VOTE BEFORE WE HEAR FROM YOU.
SO ON THIS SIDE OF THE DAIS, UM, DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE OF, I WOULD LIKE, I THINK THAT EACH, YOU KNOW, IN THE FUTURE THAT THE, UH, WE SHOULD REVERT TO THE WAY THE COUNCIL DOES IT, UH, LIKE P AND Z, HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
UH, I'D LIKE TO GET YOUR YOUR OPINION ABOUT THAT.
THE WAY WE HAVE THE MAYOR, VICE MAYOR AND THE GROUPS CHAIRMAN, UH, PARTICIPATE IN MOVING FORWARD INTERVIEWS.
DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE OR DO YOU WANT ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE? MAYOR, MY COMMENT, I, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WOULD BE FOR THE SAME REASONS AS COUNSELOR KINSELLA, BUT I'M NOT OVERLY ENTHUSED AT HOW COUNCIL APPOINTS TO P
[01:55:01]
AND Z AS IF, FOR INSTANCE, NOW BECAUSE HAVING WATCHED TWO CYCLES OF IT HAPPEN, UM, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE REST OF THE COUNCIL IS EXPECTED TO BASICALLY RUBBER STAMP WHAT TWO MEMBERS PLUS THE CHAIRMAN HAVE DECIDED.AND THERE'S, UNLESS THERE IS SOME EXEC SESSION THAT I WASN'T AWARE OF WHERE YOU ALL BRIEFED THE REST OF THE COUNCIL, THE, THE OTHER FIVE MEMBERS OF THE DAIS HAVE NOTHING TO GO OFF OF TO SAY, YOU KNOW, YAY OR NAY OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, DO I TRUST THE MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR OR NOT COUNCILOR FOLKS? THOSE ARE EXACTLY MY REASONS.
I'M NO, I'M JUST, I'M ANSWERING HE YES, I I KNEW WHAT YOU, OKAY, BUT NO, NOT ANYBODY ELSE WOULD KNOW MIKE, WHAT YOUR ANSWER WOULD BE.
UH, MELISSA, DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION? I ALWAYS HAVE AN OPINION.
UM, I WOULD SAY THAT EVERYTHING THAT IMPACTS SEDONA IS IMPORTANT.
AND I BELIEVE THAT WE AS ELECTED OFFICIALS, UM, REPRESENT THE PEOPLE OF SEDONA.
AND THEREFORE WE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN UNDERSTANDING WHO IS BEING PUT IN CHARGE OF VERY SPECIFIC AND IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I WOULD SAY WE SHOULD ALL, WHETHER IT'S US OR IT'S THE NEXT ELECTED SET OF OFFICIALS THAT THIS COUNCIL NEEDS TO BE ENGAGED IN, IN FULL ARRAY FOR VETTING.
VICE MAYOR? UH, I'M THERE WITH MY COLLEAGUES.
I I DON'T FEEL LIKE I, I'M RUBBER STAMPING SOMETHING.
I I DON'T FEEL LIKE THAT'S FINE.
I DON'T LIKE TO BE A RUBBER STAMP AND I THINK WE SHOULD AND MARY, FOR ALL SCENE, IF I MAY, MAYOR, I, I JOINED MY COLLEAGUES AT JUST I FIGURED YOU WOULD THAT.
SO, SO, UM, SO IT'S, THAT'S OUR ANSWER, RIGHT? FOR THAT PORTION.
NOW I WANNA GIVE, UH, COUNCIL FURMAN THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE AN ALTE A DIFFERENT, UH, OPINION ON THE COMMITTEE.
WHAT AN APPOINTMENT TO THE COMMITTEE.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LAST MET TO TALK ABOUT THIS TOPIC, APRIL 12TH, I HAD MENTIONED THAT I FELT THE CHAMBER WAS MOVING TOO FAST IN STARTING A PROCESS THAT THEY MIGHT COME TO REGRET THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE COME TRUE.
I ALSO CAUTIONED THAT THIS COUNCIL NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE.
SO AGAIN, I APPEALED TO MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT RUSHING FORWARD WITHOUT DUE DELIBERATION.
YOU KNOW, LITTLE DAMAGE WILL BE DONE BY US NOT MAKING THESE DECISIONS YET TODAY.
YOU KNOW, WE, I'LL FORGO I'M, I'M EDITING THIS IS AS I, AS I GO MAYOR.
I THINK THAT AS EVIDENCED BY MANY OF THE QUESTIONS, WE REALLY JUST DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO PRODUCE A GREAT STAFF RECOMMENDATION MOVING FORWARD THAT COULD HAVE ANSWERED AND ADDRESSED IN A THOUGHTFUL WAY MANY, MANY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ALL HAVE HERE TODAY.
THIS IS A POLICY MAKING BODY AND WE DELVE TONIGHT, UH, DOWN WAY INTO SOME OF THE DETAILS HERE, THAT WITH GOOD WORK AND THOUGHTFUL PEOPLE, A PRESENTATION BEFORE US COULD HAVE GONE A LOT FURTHER.
AND WITH TIME, I'M SURE IT WOULD, BUT WE DIDN'T GIVE IT THE TIME THAT IT NEEDED.
AND WE'RE HERE TODAY, EVERYONE KNOWS THE METAPHOR ABOUT THE HORSE AND THE CART.
AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE'RE ASKING THE HORSE TO DESIGN THE CART.
AND YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA KNOW, WHEN YOU ASK A HORSE TO DESIGN THE CART, THEY'RE GONNA DESIGN A CART THAT'S MEANT TO BE PULLED BY ANYTHING OTHER THAN HORSES.
SO WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT WE USE TO THINK ABOUT THIS CRITICAL ISSUE TO SEDONA.
AND SEDONA JUST ISN'T ANOTHER DES UH, ANOTHER TOWN DESTINATION IN ARIZONA THAT'S WANTING TO GROW ITS TOURISM.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE KNOW THE IMPACTS.
AND THERE'S A HANDFUL OF COMMUNITIES AROUND THE UNITED STATES MORE OVERSEAS THAT HAVE EVOLVED THEIR THINKING BEYOND THE STANDARD D M O DM O PROCESS.
THAT'S THE DIRECTION THAT WE'RE HEADED HERE WITH THE STRUCTURE THAT WE'RE SETTING UP TONIGHT.
AND I THINK THAT WE NEED MUCH MORE TIME AND THOUGHT, UH, ABOUT THE STRUCTURE, THE MISSION, THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY BEFORE WE GO A APPOINTING AN 11, A PERMANENT 11 MEMBER BOARD WITH FOUR YEAR TERMS AND
[02:00:01]
START ON THE PATH OF CREATING ONE OF THE LARGEST BUREAUCRACIES THAT WE'LL HAVE IN THE CITY.THERE ARE INNOVATIVE OTHER MODELS FOR US TO THINK ABOUT OUT IN THE WORLD.
RESOURCES EXIST AND SHOULD, UH, WE SHOULD HAVE THE BENEFIT OF THAT CONVERSATION BEFORE HAVING TO MAKE SOME OF THE DECISIONS THAT WERE BEING CALLED TO ASK ON TONIGHT.
SO TO TRY AND SUMMARIZE AT A HIGHER LEVEL, I SUGGEST THAT WE MOVE FORWARD BY ESTABLISHING A PERHAPS FIVE PERSON WORK GROUP THAT CONSIDERS AT HIGHER LEVEL WHAT DESTINATION MANAGEMENT MEANS, WHAT STRATEGY AND IDEAS EXIST, AND INFORM US ABOUT THE DECISIONS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE MOVING FORWARD, INCLUDING THE STRUCTURE OF THE ADVISORY BOARDS AND THE DECISION MAKING STRUCTURE IN ITSELF IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH INDEPENDENCE IT DOES OR DOESN'T HAVE, AND HOW DETAILED WE'RE GONNA EXPECT COUNCIL TO MAKE DECISIONS IF IT'S AN ADVISORY BOARD.
AND COUNCIL IS THE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKERS.
WE'RE GONNA SIT HERE IN YEARS IN THE FUTURE TALKING ABOUT LOGOS AND COLORS AND DESIGNS OF GRAPHIC STUFF THAT'S NOT POLICY MAKING AND WE SHOULDN'T HEAD IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO I THINK WE COULD PUT TOGETHER A FIVE PERSON WORK GROUP THAT CONSISTS OF OUR CITY MANAGER DESIGNEE, A COUNCIL MEMBER, A MEMBER FROM THE COMMUNITY PLAN WORK GROUP, BECAUSE THEY ALSO ARE INTIMATELY CONCERNED AND INVOLVED IN THIS CONVERSATION.
A RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE AND REPRESENTATIVE FROM OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
I AGREE THAT THIS GROUP SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH THE SAME ARIZONA OPPA MEETING RULES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR THIS ORGANIZATION.
FURTHER, I THINK IT SHOULD BROADCAST ITS DELIBERATIONS, THE WAY THAT WE DO COUNCIL AND PLANNING AND ZONING MEETINGS, AND EVEN REPORT TO COUNCIL PERHAPS ONCE A MONTH AND PREPARE A FINAL REPORT FOR US IN SIX MONTHS, NINE MONTHS, 12 MONTHS.
YOU DECIDE THIS IS A BIG, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL DECISIONS THAT THIS CITY WILL MAKE FOR OUR FUTURE.
YOU KNOW, IN, IN MY TERM OF OFFICE, I BELIEVE THIS IS THAT CRUCIAL.
THE MISSION OF THIS GROUP IS TO CONSIDER, ANALYZE AND RECOMMEND THE BEST PRACTICES FOR DESTINATION MANAGEMENT, STRUCTURE OF ADVISORY BOARDS, DECISION MAKING STRUCTURES, JUST STRATEGY IN GENERAL AND IDEAS.
IT SHOULD BE TASKED TO REVIEW SPECIFIC RESOURCES FROM THE UN WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION.
AND I'M SENSITIVE TO, UH, UH, A, UH, UH, ONE OF OUR, UH, OPEN FORUM COMMENTS OR PUBLIC COMMENTS ABOUT THAT.
THE IDEAS CAN BE GREAT FROM THE UN WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION OR THE WORLD BANK.
I THINK PERHAPS WAS THE, WAS THE QUESTION.
IF YOU'VE READ THESE PLANS THAT ARE OUT THERE, YOU WOULD BE IMPRESSED AS WELL.
WE DON'T HAVE TO, UH, GIVE UP OUR AUTHORITY TO THE WORLD BANK OR THE, UH, THE WORLD TRADE COUNCIL TO DO THINGS.
THESE WILL BE OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF VERY GOOD IDEAS.
SO THIS GROUP SHOULD REVIEW RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO IT THAT EXIST FROM THE UN WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION, THE WORLD BANK DESTINATION MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK THAT WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, UH, THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AT CORNELL.
AND MEGAN EBLER WOOD, WHO I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH, AND I THINK HER IDEAS ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THINKING ABOUT WHAT BALANCING TOURISM AND THE ECONOMY AND THE RESIDENT NEEDS ARE.
IT'S AMAZING THE WORK THAT'S GOING OUT THERE.
THE ASU CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, UH, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, THEY SHOULD CONSULT WITH THE A O T AND MS. HERMAN COULD HAVE A ROLE IN TALKING ABOUT WHAT THIS STRUCTURE OF THE PLAN IT IS MOVING FORWARD AND OTHER RESOURCES THAT DEEM APPROPRIATE.
IT SHOULD REVIEW THIS, THE SEDONA SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN, THIS DOCUMENT IN ITS, AND IT'S NOT THAT OLD, BUT IT WAS INNOVATIVE IN ITS DAY.
AND DESTINATIONS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES REFER TO THIS AS ONE OF THE FOUNDING DOCUMENTS THAT THEY'VE LOOKED AT OVER TIME, BUT THEY'VE TAKEN IT TO THE NEXT STEP.
THIS DOCUMENT WAS INTERESTING IN THAT IT WAS ITSELF PRODUCED BY AN ADVISORY COUNCIL OF PEOPLE.
THEY PRODUCED A DOCUMENT IN, IT WAS A RECOMMENDATION THAT A DIFFERENT COULD BE THE SAME MEMBERS.
THEY DIDN'T COMMENT ON THAT, BUT A PERMANENT ADVISORY COUNCIL BE SUPPLIED.
THAT'S AN INTERESTING CONCLUSION.
[02:05:01]
JUMPING RIGHT TO THE END OF THAT PROCESS WITHOUT CREATING, RECREATING THIS DOCUMENT IN A MODERN STANDARD.THE JACKSON HOLE, TETON COUNTY SUSTAINABLE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN, I THINK IS ONE OF THE NEWEST ONE OF THESE PLANS THAT EXISTS IN THE WORLD TODAY.
THEY CALL OUT IN THE DOCUMENT THAT THEY STARTED WITH THE SEDONA PLAN AND TOOK IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
THE RESOURCES HERE THAT WE SHOULD HAVE AVAILABLE TO US AND, AND GREAT STAFF WORK TO BRING TO COUNCIL ANSWERS TO SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE THAT WE DON'T NEED TO SIT HERE ON THIS DIAS AND ANSWER THIS GROUP WOULD MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL THEN ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, THE SHELL OF THE, OF THE PLAN, THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND CREATE A ROADMAP FOR US TO CREATE OR ADOPT SUCH A PLAN.
I THINK THE COUNCIL SHOULD SELECT THAT.
THE, I'M SORRY, LET ME THINK ABOUT HOW THAT IS WORDED.
SO THE, THE COUNCIL SHOULD APPROVE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THIS PLAN, BUT AFTER CITY STAFF, UH, GIVES IT SOME THOUGHT AS TO A COUNCIL MEMBER REPRESENTATION, A REPRESENTATIVE, A STAFF REPRESENTATION, AND ACTUALLY CONSULT WITH THE COMMUNITY PLAN WORK GROUP ON THIS IDEA AND BRING TOGETHER FORTH THOSE THREE MEMBERS FOR, FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL.
AND THEN AFTER THOSE MEMBERS ARE ESTABLISHED, THEY DECIDE ON A PROCESS TO SELECT THE RESIDENT AND THE BUSINESS MEMBER IMPLEMENT THE PROCESS, INTERVIEW PEOPLE TENTATIVELY SELECT THE FINAL TWO MEMBERS AND BRING THAT RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL.
SO THAT'S HOW I THINK IN A THOUGHTFUL WAY, THIS COUNCIL COULD GET THE INFORMATION IT NEEDS TO START AT THE STARTING PLACE, WHICH IS THINKING ABOUT STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND THE BALANCING OF MARKETING TOURISM MITIGATION EDUCATION, ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OVER TIME, BUT WE'RE RUSSIAN WAY TOO FAST TO CREATE A STRUCTURE THAT WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT TO ALTER IF WE DECIDE A DIFFERENT STRUCTURE IS NEEDED.
I THINK THAT THE HISTORY IN SEDONA ARE VERY, UH, DIFFICULT DECISIONS WERE MADE IN YEARS PAST ABOUT DISBANDING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, AND WE SHOULD BE THERE VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THAT BEFORE STARTING ANOTHER ONE.
THIS COUNCIL DESERVES TO HAVE MUCH BETTER INFORMATION ABOUT A STRATEGIC DIRECTION BEFORE WE MAKE DECISIONS LIKE WE'RE MAKING TONIGHT.
SO, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO, UM, IS, WITHOUT GETTING TOO WORDY, IS IF THAT YOU'RE IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT.
IF WE COULD SAY, IF WE AGREE WITH COUNCIL FURMAN, IF WE DON'T AGREE WITH COUNCIL FURMAN AND YOU WANNA MOVE FORWARD, UH, IF YOU AGREE WITH COUNCIL FERMAN, WE HAVE TO GO AND TRY TO WHITTLE IT DOWN TO A TOTALLY DIFFERENT MODEL.
THE FIRST WAVE COUNCIL, KINSELLA, I DON'T AGREE, BUT THERE ARE PIECES IN THERE.
I, I CAN'T DO THIS AS JUST A UP OR DOWN.
I NEED TO, I'VE BEEN RECOGNIZED AND I NEED TO TAKE THE TIME TO EXPRESS MYSELF FULLY IN RESPONSE TO A LOT OF WHAT'S BEEN PUT ON THERE.
UM, SO I, I I, I GENERALLY DO NOT AGREE WITH THE MODEL THAT HAS BEEN PUT FORWARD.
UM, I THINK THAT THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE BY NOT MOVING FORWARD AND ESTABLISHING A TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD.
UM, I THINK IT, IT ALLOWS THINGS, IF WE DON'T DO IT, IT ALLOWS THINGS TO START DEVELOPING IN A WAY THAT GOES OFF AND RUNNING ON ITS OWN WITHOUT IT BEING THE BENEFIT OF IT BEING MANAGED FROM THE BEGINNING.
UM, I DON'T WANNA SEE, IT'S SO MUCH EASIER IF WE HAVE THE INPUT AT THE INTRODUCTORY LEVEL AND WE UNDERSTAND WHAT PEOPLE ARE THINKING THAN TO BACKTRACK AND TRY TO ADDRESS THINGS THAT COME UP.
A LOT OF THE DETAILS ARE TO EMERGE OF HOW THIS BOARD WILL FUNCTION, WHAT ITS RELATIONSHIP WILL BE.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT, BUT WE ALSO WERE VERY CLEAR IN OUR DISCUSSION TONIGHT OF IT NOT BEING A FINAL MODEL.
WE KNOW HOW WE WANNA GO ABOUT IT.
[02:10:01]
DON'T THINK WE CAN GO THE STEP FURTHER OF SAYING EXACTLY THE PATHS THAT WE NEED TO GO DOWN.UM, MOVING FORWARD ALLOWS US THE BENEFIT OF THAT COMMUNITY INPUT.
UM, NOT MOVING FORWARD SENDS, I THINK, AS THE POTENTIAL OF SENDING A MESSAGE.
THE COMMUNITY INPUT IS NOT ENCOURAGED, AND THAT IS NOT THE MESSAGE THAT I WANT TO PUT FORTH.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED TO BE A PART OF THIS PROCESS.
TOURISM IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM HERE IN SEDONA THAT HAS COME WITH IMPACT ON RESIDENTS.
THERE HAVEN'T BEEN VOICES AT THE TABLE TO REALLY BE ABLE TO VET THESE THINGS BASED ON THE FORMER MODEL THAT WE'VE HAD.
WE'VE ALREADY COME TO AGREEMENT THAT THAT MODEL IS NOT WHAT WE WANT AND WE'RE TRYING TO FORGE A NEW MODEL.
HOW DO WE FORGE A NEW MODEL THAT'S RESPONSIVE TO SOME OF THE CONCERNS IF WE DON'T GET TO HEAR WHAT THE CONCERNS ARE FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, SPECIFIC SEGMENTS OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THE RESIDENTS WHO ARE AFFECTED BY ALL THIS.
THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN INCLUSIVE, UM, AND TO BE ENGAGING.
AND THIS IS THE TIME FROM THE GROUND UP, NOT AFTERWARDS IN A REACTIONARY MODE, BUT FROM THE GROUND UP TO GET THAT KIND OF INPUT.
ALSO ABOUT THE NUMBER, UM, THERE WAS A, AN ALTERNATE NUMBER OF, I THINK FIVE THAT WAS PUT OUT THERE THAT DOES NOT SOUND RIGHT TO ME.
UH, 11 FEELS MORE RIGHT TO ME.
I WOULD ACTUALLY GO GREATER TO HAVE MORE REPRESENTATION, EXCEPT THAT THAT WOULD BE UNWIELDING AND NOT ABLE TO BE EFFICIENTLY ABLE TO COMMUNICATE.
11 FEELS RIGHT, THE RIGHT NUMBER TO ME.
THERE WAS THOUGHT THAT WENT INTO THAT AND THE RECOMMENDATION FROM STAFF.
I WANT THE, UM, THE, NO, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I DON'T REPEAT MYSELF, BUT I WANNA GET EVERYTHING IN HERE.
WE ALREADY HAD THE DISCUSSION IN THE COURSE OF, OF THIS, UH, AND WE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE WANTED TO ESTABLISH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THAT WE WANTED TO DO IT AS A BODY OF THE WHOLE.
THAT IS BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE SOMEBODY LEFT OUT.
WE DON'T WANT TO BE RUBBER STAMPS.
IF THIS IS A BODY OF FIVE WITH ONE COUNSELOR THAT'S APPOINTED TO A BODY, EVERYBODY ELSE IS LEFT OUT OF DISCUSSION.
EITHER WE BECOME A RUBBER STAMP BODY AGAIN, OR NUMBER TWO.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY.
WE'RE VETTING, WE ARE RECREATING THE WHEEL EVERY TIME IT COMES TO COUNCIL.
AND WE GO THROUGH THINGS BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD THE BENEFIT OF BEING, YOU KNOW, IN THE CONVERSATION AT THE BEGINNING ABOUT WHAT THIS SHOULD LOOK LIKE, WHO'S REPRESENTING ON THAT BOARD.
SO I REALLY THINK THAT THAT FIVE NUMBER AND THE SPECIFIC MAKEUP THAT WAS PROPOSED, I DO NOT AGREE WITH THAT AT ALL.
UM, I DO AGREE THAT THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN, IT, IT'S GOOD THAT YOU POINTED THAT OUT, THAT IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE BODY IS FAMILIAR WITH.
I'LL GO BEYOND THAT AND SAY AS WELL AS, SO SHOULD THE COMMUNITY PLAN.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE SUGGESTION I'D LIKE TO MAKE RIGHT NOW OF ACTUALLY ADDING ONE MORE QUESTION TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE THAT WOULD SAY, HAVE YOU READ THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN? HAVE YOU READ THE COMMUNITY PLAN? THAT THAT SHOULD BE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE UP FRONT TO KNOW IF THE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THOSE DOCUMENTS ARE AND HAVE READ IT.
I KNOW THAT THAT'S IN THE, UM, UH, PZ APPLICATION IS HAVE YOU READ THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE? SO I, I DO THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT PUTTING, ADDING ON AS A QUESTION HERE.
I SEE THIS MOVING FORWARD, A TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD AS A TRULY COLLABORATIVE EFFORT WITH VOICES AT THE TABLE.
YOU CAN ONLY BE COLLABORATIVE IF THE VOICES ARE THERE FROM THE BEGINNING.
THIS IS NOT SAYING THAT IT'S THE END ALL, IT'S GOING, THE MISSION NEEDS TO DEVELOP AND IT NEEDS TO DEVELOP AS A RESULT OF THE DISCUSSIONS, THE PRELIMINARY DISCUSSIONS THAT THAT GROUP, ONCE THEY'RE APPOINTED HAVE, SO THAT WE CAN HONE DOWN A MISSION.
UM, BUT WE'RE NOT, IF WE DON'T HAVE THEIR VOICES AT THE TABLE AT THE BEGINNING TO ESTABLISH THE MISSION, THEN I DON'T THINK THE MISSION WILL BE REPRESENTATIVE.
SO I DON'T SUPPORT, OTHER THAN THE, AS I SAID, UH, TRYING TO INCLUDE THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN AND ALSO THE COMMUNITY PLAN.
UM, I DON'T AGREE WITH THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS MADE.
I LIKE THE MODEL THAT'S PUT FORWARD.
VICE MAYOR, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO FIRST? SURE.
UH, I, I LIKE, UH, WHAT YOU SAID, PETE, ABOUT NEW MODELS, ABOUT REACHING OUT TO ALL THESE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND BODIES WHO HAVE BEEN STUDYING THIS, THIS ISSUE FOR A WHILE, AND WHO, CAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US BE VERY PROGRESSIVE AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US HAVE THE, SINCE WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO START FROM GROUND ZERO, NOT TO BE BOUND BY THE PAST, NOT TO BE BOUND BY WHAT EVERYBODY
[02:15:01]
ELSE DOES, BUT TO FORM OUR OWN.I GUESS WHERE I DIFFER IS, UH, AND WHERE I AGREE WITH, WITH, UH, COUNSELOR KINSELLA, IS THAT I THINK A FIVE PERSON ORGANIZATION LEAVES PEOPLE OUT.
AND I THINK THIS IS A, AN IDEAL MISSION FOR THE BOARD.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S WHAT THEY SHOULD DO.
I THINK THEY SHOULD LOOK AT STRUCTURE AS THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THEIR STRATEGIC PLANNING EXERCISE.
I, IT FEELS TO ME LIKE IT WOULD BE, YOU SAID SIX MONTHS, NINE MONTHS, A YEAR.
WE WOULD BE FROZEN AND NOT BE DOING ANYTHING FOR THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
TO ME, THAT GIVES A REALLY BAD MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE WANNA, WE, WE ALL SAT HERE AND SAID, WE SUPPORT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
SO I DON'T WANNA WAIT FOR A YEAR OR LONGER TO BE ABLE TO REACT TO HELP THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN DO THAT AND TO PROMOTE OUR, OUR, UM, OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND, AND PROMOTE, UH, THE, THE DIFFERENT SEGMENTS OF THE BUSINESS.
SO, I, I JUST DON'T, IT FEELS BUREAUCRATIC AND IT FEELS LIKE THAT'S MORE BUREAUCRACY OF HAVING A SMALL GROUP THAT RECOMMENDS A LARGER GROUP AND TAKES A YEAR TO ACCOMPLISH THAT.
BUT I REALLY DO W WANT US TO TASK THE GROUP WITH THINKING REALLY BROADLY.
AND I, AND I THINK THERE'S LOTS THAT WE CAN LEARN AND LOTS THAT THEY CAN LEARN AS WE GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
SO I WOULD STICK WITH OUR MODEL AS PROPOSED.
SO I SAID THIS ON APRIL 12TH, SO I'M REPEATING MYSELF AND APOLOGIES TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE LISTENING.
UM, PROBABLY DIDN'T PHRASE IT THIS WAY, BUT THIS IS OUR THELMA AND LOUISE MOMENT, RIGHT? AS A COMMUNITY, WE NEED TO JOIN HANDS AND LEAP AND JUST HOPE THERE'S SOMETHING GOOD AT THE BOTTOM.
AND IF WE WAIT SIX MONTHS A YEAR, IF WE HAVE ANOTHER BODY THAT HAS TO GO OUT AND STUDY TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED ANOTHER BODY, THEN UM, WE'RE SORT OF HELD IN THAT MID LEAP FOR A VERY LONG TIME WITHOUT US MAKING ANY FORWARD PROGRESS.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE FORWARD PROGRESS AND WE'LL BE WRONG.
WE'LL MAKE MISTAKES AND WE'LL LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES BECAUSE WE NEVER LEARN FROM SUCCESSES.
WE LEARN BECAUSE WE MAKE MISTAKES AND THEN WE MOVE FORWARD AND WE, WE SHOULD BE MOVING FORWARD AS A COMMUNITY, NOT MOVING FORWARD AS A FIVE PERSON GROUP THAT'S DONE A BUNCH OF READING.
SO I WOULD TAKE WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY UNDER ADVISEMENT TO SAY, IF, FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE TO ENLIST HEATHER'S PLAN AROUND, UM, THERE'S ANOTHER GROUP AND THEY'RE GONNA COME IN AND THEY'RE GOING TO SORT OF HELP US FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR MISSION IS, WHAT OUR STRATEGY SHOULD BE, WHATEVER.
ARE THEY UP TO DATE, RIGHT? I MEAN, THAT SHOULD BE THE QUESTION.
DO HAVE THEY ACTUALLY, AND YOU ACTUALLY ASKED THIS OF HER, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THESE PEOPLE AND WITH THIS, THESE WRITINGS? AND I THINK THAT'S A FAIR QUESTION BECAUSE I AGREE WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD, BUT I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT THAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING, UM, TOUTED AS BEING INNOVATIVE BY YOU STARTED WITH OUR PLAN.
THEY STARTED WITH SOMETHING THAT WAS ALREADY DONE.
THEY WEREN'T TRYING TO START FROM THE GROUND UP.
BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE TRY TO REINVENT THE WHEEL, IT TAKES US TIME TO DO SOMETHING THAT SOMEBODY ELSE HAS ALREADY DONE.
SO I AGREE IF THERE ARE GREAT PIECES OF LITERATURE OUT THERE, I DON'T CARE IF IT'S THE U N W T O, I DON'T CARE IF IT'S THE IF, OH, I DON'T CARE IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY FROM SOME UNIVERSITY.
I CERTAINLY DON'T KNOW ALL THE RESEARCH.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE WELL AHEAD OF ME.
BUT I WOULD PASS THAT ALONG TO STAFF AND I WOULD SAY THESE ARE FOUNDATIONAL PIECES THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE START WITH.
BUT I DON'T THINK STARTING WITH ANOTHER BODY TO LEARN ABOUT HOW TO CREATE ANOTHER BODY IS THE RIGHT THING FOR US TO DO.
I THINK WE NEED TO JUST GRAB HANDS AND LEAP AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT.
BRIAN AND I HAVEN'T FORGOT ABOUT YOU, JESSICA.
DUN, THE THELMA LOUISE THING SCARES THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME THINKING ABOUT MOUNTAIN BIKING.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE NOTHING GOOD.
IT COMES FROM JUMPING THREE FIVE FOOT ROCKS.
I GOT SOMETHING COMPLETELY ELSE OUTTA THAT MOVIE
SO, UM, SO, SO COUNCIL REPEAT.
UM, YOU KNOW WHAT I HEARD REPEATEDLY DURING
[02:20:01]
YOUR DISCUSSION COMMENTS WERE WE NEED TO DO MORE THAN JUST SOMETHING INCREMENTAL.AND, YOU KNOW, NO OFFENSE INTENDED HEATHER, BUT TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HEY, WE CAN SEND OUT A SURVEY, GET RESULTS BACK IN A MONTH, AND THEN SPEND THREE MONTHS AND THEN, YOU KNOW, HAVE A FOUR DAY SESSION AND BOOM, THERE WE GO.
UM, THAT'S NOT IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS WHAT YOU'RE ENVISIONING AND WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT.
SO FOR ME, I'M MOTIVATED TO SEE THAT WE DO BRING IN THE BEST IDEAS A AAH WHAT I THINK THREE OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALL CONCURRED ON SINCE YOU SHARED YOUR THOUGHTS.
SO, UM, FOR ME, I WOULD MOVE FORWARD WITH 11, 11 MEMBER BOARD TODAY, AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR THE LAST FEW HOURS.
AND AS PER, SORRY, I THINK MOST, I THINK IT WAS YOU THAT WAS JUST SAYING, HEY, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT STAFF HAS THE DIRECTION FROM US, THAT WE ARE EXPECTING THE BEST IDEAS OUT THERE TO BE OUR STARTING POINT AND, UH, AND NOT RECREATE THE WHEEL, BUT CERTAINLY NOT JUST LOOK TO BE INCREMENTAL FROM WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
JESSICA, AND THEN I THANK YOU.
I, I SAID I DIDN'T FORGET MY YEAH, JESSICA, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I HEARD TONIGHT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE DOING, IT SOUNDED TO ME LIKE WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM THE CHAMBER FOREVER, WHICH IS GETTING PEOPLE TO COME AT THE SHOULDER SEASONS, GETTING HIGH END TOURISTS DOING FOREIGN OUTREACH.
AND WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT IN, IN ONE WAY WILL BE ONE OF THE COMPONENTS OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, I HAVEN'T HEARD A WHOLE BUNCH ABOUT THE OTHER END, WHICH IS NON-ESTATE, NON-MARKETING SUSTAINABILITY.
AND SO I VERY, VERY MUCH GO BACK TO WHAT WAS SAID IN THE BEGINNING, THAT THAT'S ONE OF, THERE ARE OTHER THINGS INVOLVED IN, IN THIS WHOLE TOURISM EFFORT THAT IS NOT MARKETING.
UM, WHILE I THINK MARKETING'S IMPORTANT, I THINK THAT WE ALL KNOW, OR I ASSUME WE ALL KNOW, THAT THE MORE SUSTAINABLE, UM, EFFORTS ARE NOT, ARE NOT TO BE DISMISSED LIGHTLY HERE.
UM, I REALLY WANT THE CITY TO BE VERY STRONGLY INVOLVED IN MANAGING THE TOURISM PROGRAM.
UM, AND I DON'T WANT THE COUNCIL TO MANAGE IT, TO MANAGE IT FROM THE DAES.
I, UM, I, I UNDERSTAND WHERE COUNCILMAN FERMANS COMING FROM, AND I HAVE A LOT OF INCLINATIONS IN THAT REGARD AS WELL.
UM, THE THUMB AND LOUISE ANALOGY, I FIND IT EXTRA HOLD HANDS AND DRIVE YOUR CADILLAC OFF A CLIFF DOESN'T SOUND TO ME LIKE THE EXACT IMAGE THAT I WOULD, WOULD BE HOPING THAT YOU USING WHEN WE, BECAUSE THEN YOU'RE JUST DIVIDING, UM, A LOT OF STUFF THAT MAYBE ISN'T, ISN'T WHAT WE WANT.
BUT I WAS PERSUADED, UM, WHEN I LISTENED TO HEATHER HERMANN, THAT, THAT THE GROUP IS ONE THAT THAT SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE BEGINNING BECAUSE WITHOUT THE BUY-IN OF THE GROUP AND THE SORT OF COHESIVENESS OF THE INITIAL EFFORT, THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY DIFFICULT LIFT.
UM, AND A VERY DIFFICULT THING TO BRING TOGETHER.
I THINK THAT THE GROUP CAN BE TASKED WITH DOING THE RESEARCH THAT PETE TALKED ABOUT.
THERE'S GOING TO BE A, A LAG BETWEEN WHEN THEY'RE ESTABLISHED AND WHEN, UM, ALL THIS OTHER STUFF HAPPENS.
SO I'M VERY INTERESTED IN BEING PROGRESSIVE AND THE, THE, THE BEST THINGS I DON'T WANNA GO BACK TO, TO WHAT WE'VE JUST BEEN HEARING FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS ABOUT MARKETING.
UM, AND I THINK THERE ARE SOME REALLY GREAT IDEAS OUT THERE.
SO I SUPPORT, UM, CREATING THE 11 PERSON GROUP NOW.
I WANT, I WANT THE CITY TO HAVE A STRONG HAND IN THIS.
I DON'T WANT, I, I DON'T WANT IT TO, TO SORT OF BECOME A THING IN ITSELF.
I KNOW THAT SOME OF THE COMMITTEES THAT WE HAVE CREATED HAVE COME BACK KIND OF WITH WILD CARD RECOMMENDATIONS, AND I WOULD LIKE TO,
[02:25:01]
TO NOT GO DOWN THAT ROUTE IF WE POSSIBLY CAN.SO RIGHT NOW, I'M WILLING TO MOVE AHEAD WITH THE 11 MEMBER GROUP.
UM, AND I, I THINK THAT WHILE WE WILL MAKE MISTAKES, I THINK IF IT'S NOT WORKING OUT, IF IT'S THE WRONG THING TO DO, WE WILL FIND THAT OUT AND WE'LL TAKE APPROPRIATE STEPS.
I DON'T THINK IT'S THE WRONG THING TO DO.
I I SEE THAT OTHER, OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE DONE SIMILAR THINGS AND IT WORKS OUT.
YOU, YOU, YOU HAVE TO SORT OF ADJUST OVER TIME TO WORK OUT FOR YOUR COMMUNITY.
SO RIGHT NOW, I, I WOULD BE WILLING TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO MAYOR, IF I MAY, I JUST TO RESPOND TO SOME, JUST A SEC, YOU HAVEN'T SPOKEN YET.
NO, I HAVE NOT SPOKEN YET, SO I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, I WANT TO ASK, UH, HEATHER A QUESTION.
IF SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE ASKED THE CHAMBER TO DO FOR A WHILE, AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ISSUES ABOUT MEASUREMENTS OF EACH PROMOTION, I FORGOT TO ASK YOU THAT BEFORE.
OF THE PROMOTIONS THAT YOU DO, WILL THERE BE WAYS OF MEASURING WHETHER THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL OR NOT? WELL, CERTAINLY THAT EXIST.
YEAH, CERTAINLY THERE ARE WAYS TO MEASURE AND THERE ARE TOOLS OUT THERE TO BE ABLE TO GAUGE TRAFFIC, TO BE ABLE TO TELL YOU HOUSEHOLD INCOME.
UM, I'VE SHARED SOME INFORMATION WITH THE, UM, TOURISM GROUP ON COUNCIL, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE.
THERE'S A PLATFORM THAT YOU CAN GET TO BE ABLE TO PUT HEAT MAPS IN YOUR CITY DURING TIMEFRAMES.
SO AS AN EXAMPLE, I RAN ONE JUST AS A, AS A SAMPLE WITH THE SOFTWARE THAT I USE FOR THE SPRING BREAK PERIOD THROUGH MARCH, UH, MARCH THROUGH APRIL, AND JUST PULLED UP ONE SPECIFIC SHOPPING AREA TO LOCK PAKE OVER THIS, THIS TIMEFRAME AND PULLED IN THE AGE DEMOGRAPHICS, THE HOUSEHOLD INCOME, THE, UH, WHERE THEY'RE FROM, THE ZIP CODES, THE AVERAGE AGE EDUCATION, ALL OF THAT.
THERE ARE TOOLS OUT THERE TO BE USED IN ANY DESTINATION.
AND THAT CAN ALL BE PART OF YOUR MARKETING BUDGET TO BE ABLE TO START GAUGING WHERE SOME OF THIS TRAFFIC IS COMING FROM AND TO BE ABLE TO TAILOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING BASED ON THE RESEARCH AND THE DATA THAT YOU'RE GETTING IN.
AND ALSO ANYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM IN THE CO-OP.
SO SAY THERE IS A, A DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN THAT YOU PURCHASED THROUGH THE CO-OP, THERE SHOULD BE REPORTS FOR WHAT YOU'RE GETTING.
THERE SHOULD BE ANALYTICS ON ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT YOU'RE BUYING INTO.
UH, WHETHER IT BE A MONTHLY REPORT OR A QUARTERLY REPORT, JUST DEPENDS ON THE, ON WHAT YOU'VE PICKED.
BUT IT'S JUST A MATTER OF FOLLOWING, FOLLOWING UP WITH THEM AND SAYING, LOOK, I NEED THE METRICS.
THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS, WHETHER IT BE EMAIL, LEAD DISTRIBUTION, YOU KNOW, I, THAT, THAT'S A BIG THING WITH, FOR THE COMMUNITIES THAT I WORK IN.
THEY WANT THEIR EMAIL DATABASE TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND BE ABLE TO PITCH AND TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE DESTINATION.
SO TO BE ABLE TO INCREASE YOUR DATABASE BY THOUSANDS EVERY QUARTER OR EVERY YEAR, THOSE ARE OPTIONS TOO IN THAT CO-OP.
SO YEAH, YOU'LL GET METRICS ON ALL OF THAT.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I WASN'T, THAT WAS SOMETHING I WANTED TO ASK AND I FORGOT.
UH, AS PART OF MY COMMENTS, SO, UH, TO ADDRESS, UH, COUNSEL FURMAN'S DISCUSSION OF NOT HAVING A REP, A REPETITION OF THE, UH, COMMISSIONS AND THE PROBLEMS OF WHY THEY WERE DISBANDED.
I KNOW EXACTLY THE REASONS WHY THEY WERE DISBANDED, AND I AM 1000% CONFIDENT THAT THOSE ISSUES WILL NOT BE, UH, REPEATED EXTREMELY CONFIDENT THAT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON THEN THE PEOPLE, THE STAFF, THAT THEY'RE NO LONGER HERE.
THERE'S MUCH MORE ACCOUNTABILITY NOW.
UM, IT WAS SAID EARLIER THAT, UH, WE'RE MOVING TOO FAST WITH THIS.
THE, UH, THE BOARD, UH, NO, I DON'T THINK WE'RE MOVING TOO FAST AT ALL.
WE MADE A COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY, FIRST OF ALL TO BE TRANSPARENT.
AND WE, IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE DOING THAT.
THE BUSINESSES HAVE NOT BEEN PROMOTED BY US IN YEARS.
I'VE HEARD THIS PAST YEAR THAT MANY OF THE BUSINESSES ARE HURTING TO WHAT DEGREE I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO, BUT THEY'RE HURTING.
THEY KNOW THAT THE CHAMBER AND, UH, AND, UH, THE COUNCIL ARE DIVORCED.
THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD.
I THINK TAKING MONTHS, UH, TO GET UP TO SPEED WITH A FIVE PERSON BOARD, THAT'S NOT GIVING THEM
[02:30:01]
CONFIDENCE.WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AS WITH THIS PLAN.
UM, I DON'T THINK, YEAH, I, I TALKED ABOUT NOT JUMPING THE GUN.
UM, THE INFORMATION COUNCIL HERMAN, THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR.
I FEEL WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION WITH HEATHER HERMAN.
I AM EXTREMELY CONFIDENT OF HER CAPABILITIES TO DO THAT, BUT I AGREE WITH COUNCILOR KINSELLA ON THESE OTHER ITEMS. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, INGRAINED IN US, THE COMMU THE, UH, COMMUNITY PLAN AND THE UH, MARKETING PLAN.
I DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT AND I APPRECIATE I NOW YOU BROUGHT IT UP AND YOU BROUGHT IT UP AND I THINK IT CERTAINLY SHOULD BE PART OF IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S FUNNY YOU SUGGESTED A FIVE PERSON BOARD TO MOVE FORWARD, BUT YET WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT FUTURE APPOINTMENTS AND THAT THREE OF US WERE GOING TO, AS WE USE NOW FOR THOSE BIG BAD C UH, COMMISSIONS, WHICH, AND I GET THAT YOU DIDN'T LIKE THAT, BUT YOU WANT THE FIVE PERSON BOARD, WHICH ELIMINATES TWO OF US, OR MAYBE EVEN MORE OF US.
IT DEPENDS ON WHO'S ON THAT FIVE PERSON BOARD.
I SUP I LIKE THE IDEA OF THE COUNCIL DOING THE INTERVIEW.
MAYBE WE CAN CHANGE THE OTHER THINGS LATER, BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS.
I WANT THE, OUR COMMUNITY TO KNOW THAT WE ARE COMMITTED AND WE BOUGHT INTO THIS PROCESS 100%.
SO I WOULD NOT SUPPORT A FIVE PERSON BOARD.
I THINK IT WOULD BY, IT WOULD SLOW US DOWN MEASURABLY.
SO I SUPPORT THE PLAN AS, UH, UH, PROVIDED BY STAFF, THE 11 PERSON BOARD.
UH, AND IT SHOULD BE REVIEWED BY COUNSEL AS WE DISCUSSED WITH THOSE TWO ADDITIONS.
UH, PETE, I'M GONNA LET YOU ADDRESS THE COMMENTS.
I'LL BE, I'LL BE BRIEF CUZ THERE ISN'T MUCH I, I REALLY WANNA, UH, BRING UP.
BUT THERE ARE, IT DOES SEEM CLEAR TO ME THAT I HAVEN'T EXPRESSED MYSELF ONCE AGAIN FULLY ABOUT WHAT MY IDEA IS.
A NEW WAY IS JUST OCCURRING TO ME TO EXPRESS IT.
WHAT I'M SEEKING TO DO IS TO GIVE US THE BEST STAFF WORK ON THIS ITEM AS WE CAN.
I'M NOT SUGGESTING A FIVE PERSON BOARD IN THE WAY YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT A BOARD.
I'M SUGGESTING A FIVE PERSON STAFF GROUP THAT BRIEFS THIS OR THIS GROUP MONTHLY.
IF WE WANT IN PUBLIC TO HAVE ELEMENTS OF THIS DISCUSSION GO ON SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALL IN ONE NIGHT.
IT'S A PUBLIC PROCESS MORE OPEN THAN ANY OF YOU HAVE INDICATED.
MY INTENTION WAS THAT'S NOT MY INTENTION.
MY INTENTION IS TO GET US THE BEST STAFF WORK TO MAKE THESE CRITICAL DECISIONS AND TO SET UP A MECHANISM THAT'S NOT SELF-INTERESTED IN ITS FUTURE.
I WANT, I THINK VERY, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE, THE GROUP THAT DOES THIS STAFF WORK DOESN'T HAVE AN INTEREST IN ITS FUTURE REPRESENTATION.
IF IT CONT OF CONTINUING ITS REPRESENTATION, IT, IT COULD MAKE THE SAME RECOMMENDATION OF 11 MEMBER COUNCIL.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GONNA DO, BUT THE TIME TO MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION IS AFTER WE'VE HAD THE THOUGHT, THE THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.
AND ANY GROUP THAT'S BEEN SO EMPOWERED TO MEET AND ESTABLISH ITSELF AS AN OFFICIAL GROUP IS JUST GONNA WANNA CONTINUE ITS EXISTENCE AND IT WILL LIMIT THE POTENTIAL OF IDEAS THAT COME IN.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'M STRIVING TO HAVE YOU UNDERSTAND IS THAT THIS IS REALLY A, TO GIVE US ALL BETTER STAFF WORK TO MAKE NOT BETTER STAFF WORK.
IT'S JUST ENOUGH TIME TO DO THE STAFF WORK AND, AND OUR STAFF DOESN'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS CUZ WE DON'T HAVE THE EXPERIENCE.
SO WE NEED TO PULL IN A FEW OTHER PEOPLE AND THEN GET THAT WORK DONE AND GET IT TO US SO WE CAN MAKE SOME DECISIONS.
WELL, AND THELMAN LOUISE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO DO THELMAN LOUISE, BUT WE AS A BODY ARE TASKED BY THE PUBLIC TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND FINANCIALLY WISE AND TO HAVE US ALL JUMP OFF A CLIFF TOGETHER IS SUPER
[02:35:01]
BAD ADVICE.I MEAN, EVEN I THINK IT WAS TONGUE IN CHEEK.
SO IT WAS, IT WAS TONGUE IN CHEEK AND BOY, BUT THAT'S, I CALL A DIFFERENT MOVIE THAN YOU GUYS DID, BUT THAT'S WHAT COMES UP.
I WILL REMIND THAT IF YOU GO BACK AND PLAY THE TAPE, WE'VE TALKED MORE ABOUT MARKETING IN THIS CONVERSATION AND MARKETING IS THE SMALLEST PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
SO, BUT THAT'S THE DRAW OF WHEN YOU PUT TOGETHER A BOARD AND YOU THROW MARKETING IN FRONT OF THEM, IT'S FUN, IT'S SEXY, AND THEY'RE JUST GONNA GO BE GRAVITATED TO THAT.
AND I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO HAVE A, A, A BROADER CONVERSATION AND I THINK THAT CONVERSATION COULD BE HAD AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING NEW AND ENLIGHTENING? OKAY.
NO, BUT I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION.
KIRK, DID YOU, DO YOU, WHAT DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD DO? SHOULD WE MEND THE RESOLUTION OR SO SO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, THERE'S ONE OPTION ON THE BOARD AMENDED.
IT JUST STATES THAT THE 11 MEMBERS, THE NO MORE THAN 11 MEMBERS INTERVIEWED AND APPOINTED BY CITY COUNCIL.
WHEREAS HOW IT WORKS FOR P AND Z AND HPC AND OTHERS, THEY ARE INTERVIEWED BY MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR AND THEN APPOINTED BY COUNSEL.
SO THIS WOULD REQUIRE ALL, ALL THE MEMBERS TO BE INTERVIEWED BY COUNSEL GOING FORWARD.
I I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR ON WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
YOU SAID ONLY 11 WOULD BE INTERVIEWED? NO, ALL, ALL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
THE BEGINNING 11, BUT NO, THAT'S NOT MY QUE MY YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE VETTING PROCESS WOULD WHITTLE IT DOWN TO ONLY 11 INTERVIEWS? NO, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S CLEAR.
IT DOESN'T CONTROL THAT AT ALL.
IT'S JUST THAT ANY MEMBER, UH, TO BE A MEMBER OF THE TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD, YOU IT HAS TO YOU, THEY WOULD BE INTERVIEWED BY CITY COUNCIL, NOT A REDUCED GROUP.
ARE YOU GOOD WITH THAT, KATHY? I AM.
SO, UH, I MOVE TO APPROVE RESOLUTION NUMBER 20 23 15 15.
MARCY ESTABLISHING AN 11 MEMBER TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD AND THEN THE RESOLUTION AS AMENDED.
ANY DIS DISCUSSION? I, I'D LIKE TO MAKE, TRY TO MAKE A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT THAT THE MEETINGS OF THIS BOARD ONCE ESTABLISHED, BE ACTUALLY BROADCAST IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE COUNCIL, I THINK THAT'S AUTOMATIC.
ALL SOME OF THE, THE TO THE OURT, OUR TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL IS NOT A BROADCAST BEING THE HISTORIC BOARD IS NOT BROADCAST AND THOSE ARE NOT APPOINTED BY THE COUNCIL.
THIS, THIS IS A DISTINCT DIFFERENCE WONDERFUL.
AND THIS WILL BE A FULLY TRANSPARENT, WONDERFUL THANK VIDEOED ON TV.
PEOPLE CAN WATCH IT AND GO TO SLEEP AT NIGHT, WHATEVER THEY WANNA DO.
IS, IS THAT, IS THAT TRUE, KAREN, THAT IT WOULD BE CAPTURED ON TAPE? YES.
YEAH, I'LL DISCUSS WHY WIDELY.
NO, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
I DON'T WANNA MAKE THAT, THAT MISTAKE AGAIN,
UH, DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION ON FUTURE MEETING AGENDA ITEMS? ANY, ANYONE? OKAY.
[5. ADJOURNMENT]
NONE.