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ALL RIGHT.[1. CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/MOMENT OF SILENCE]
WAS GOING ON? GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO DO WHAT I'M DOING NOW.
UH, SILENCE OR TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES, PLEASE.
SO IF WE DON'T HAVE THEM GOING OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MEETING, AND LET ME JUST BRING UP EVERYTHING HERE.
PLEASE JOIN ME FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE, ALL THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES MATTER, AND VERY REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
AND JOIN ME FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE.
[2. ROLL CALL]
DEPUTY CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE DO THE RO CALL? MAYOR BLO.[3.a. AB 2912 Discussion/possible action regarding a reallocation of 2023 CDBG funds for critical home repair funding for low-income households, including seniors and disabled individuals, to be managed by Verde Valley Habitat for Humanity]
ITEM A UNDER SPECIAL BUSINESS A B 29 12.DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING, UH, REALLOCATION, EXCUSE ME, REALLOCATION OF 2023 CDBG FUNDS FOR CRITICAL HOME REPAIR, FUNDING FOR LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, INCLUDING SENIORS AND DISABLED INDIVIDUALS, UH, TO BE MANAGED BY THE VERDE VALLEY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.
UM, SO TODAY WE ARE ASKING FOR DIRECTION, UM, ON AN ACTION FOR THE CBD REALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 23 SEDONA ALLOCATION.
SO TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO SORT OF BRING YOU THROUGH, GIVE YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CDBG, WHAT IT IS, UM, GIVE YOU A TIMELINE OF THE HISTORY OF THE FISCAL YEAR 23 FUNDING.
UM, TALK ABOUT A REAL, THE REALLOCATION PROJECT, AND THEN TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS.
SO IT SHOULD BE FAIRLY, UM, SIMPLE TO GO THROUGH.
SO, CDBG IS THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDING STREAM.
IT COMES OUT OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
AND THAT MONEY THEN GETS PASSED DOWN TO THE STATES AND IN, UH, ARIZONA, AND THEN IN ARIZONA, IT GETS PASSED OUT TO MUNICIPALITIES AND OTHER AGENCIES.
UM, THE AGENCY THAT WE WORK WITH FOR THE CDBG FUNDING IS THE NORTHERN ARIZONA COUNCIL ON GOVERNMENTS NACO.
I'M SURE YOU'VE ALL HEARD OF THEM.
AND, UM, THEN IT GETS ALLOCATED TO SEDONA, SO TO OUR MUNICIPALITY.
SO THIS FUNDING CYCLE, UM, IT IS A FOUR YEAR CYCLE, AND THE TOTAL ALLOCATION FOR THIS FUNDING CYCLE FOR SEDONA IS 4,002, 402,000 $110.
AND THE MONIES CAN BE USED FOR A MULTITUDE OF COMMUNITY PROJECTS.
UM, WE, UM, CITY COUNCIL REVIEWS, WE ASK FOR PROPOSALS FROM NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS.
UM, THEY COME BEFORE COUNCIL AND COUNCIL SELECTS THE PROJECT.
THE, THE NATIONAL OBJECTIVES MUST BE FOLLOWED, UM, IN THE CDBG FUNDING.
AND THEY ARE BASICALLY THAT 51% OF PERSONS, UM, SERVED MUST BE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME, THAT THE PROGRAM SHOULD REDUCE OR ELIMINATE SLUMS OR LIGHTING CONDITIONS, AND THAT IT SHOULD ADDRESS AN URGENCY, UH, LIKE A NATURAL DISASTER OR A HEALTH THREAT.
SO THE TIMELINE, SO BACK IN JANUARY OF 2023, UM, THERE WAS A CITY COUNCIL MEETING AND FOUR PROJECTS WERE REVIEWED AT THAT MEETING.
TWO OF THEM WERE PROPOSED BY THE CITY OF SEDONA HOUSING STAFF, AND THAT WAS, UH, FOR A SHELTER OR DAY USE FACILITY, UM, TO
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ACQUIRE A PROPERTY TO SERVE SEDONA AREA, UNSHELTERED RESIDENTS, UH, TO BE OPERATED BY A NONPROFIT PARTNER.THE HOUSING STAFF ALSO BROUGHT FORTH A STRATEGIC PLAN TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS, UM, FOR A CONSULTANT TO IDENTIFY NEEDS AND GUIDE THE CITY'S ACTIVITIES RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS.
UM, THE VERDE VALLEY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY DID COME FORWARD AT THAT TIME AS WELL FOR A CRITICAL HOME REPAIR PROGRAM FOR LOW TO MODERATE INCOME.
HOME HOMEOWNERS, INCLUDING SENIORS AND DISABLED AND STEPS TO RECOVERY HOUSING ALSO CAME FORWARD.
UM, THEY ARE A TRANSITIONAL HOUSING ORGANIZATION, AND THEY WANTED TO, UM, PURCHASE A BUILDING FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE IMPACTED BY SUBSTANCE ABUSE.
AND, UM, CITY COUNCIL DID SELECT THIS PROJECT TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO FOLLOWING ALONG IN THE TIMELINE HERE IN MAY OF 2023, SO IT'S A YEAR AGO, MAY, UH, THE DEPARTMENT AT THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING, UH, DETERMINED THAT THE PROPERTY MUST BE LOCATED WITHIN SEDONA.
AND IN JULY OF 23, THE CITY OF SEDONA RECEIVED A DEFICIENCY RESPONSE LETTER.
AND WHAT THAT SIMPLY MEANS, THAT'S VERY TYPICAL, UM, OF THE FUNDING, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S MISSING OR, UM, REQUIRED, THEY'LL SEND A LETTER.
AND SO IN THAT LETTER, THERE WAS A, UM, THEY INDICATED THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO MAKE THE ACQUISITION AND THE OVERALL PROJECT FEASIBLE, AND THAT THE CITY MUST ENSURE THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW WAS COMPLETED, AND THAT IT INCLUDES NOT ONLY THE ACQUISITION, BUT ALSO THE RE REHABILITATION PART OF THE PROPERTY.
THEN IN DECEMBER OF 2000 IN, YEAH, 2023, UM, THERE WAS ANOTHER CITY COUNCIL MEETING FOR A STATUS UPDATE.
SO STEPS TO RECOVERY HOUSING, AND THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT CAME FORWARD TO PRESENT A, AN UPDATE ON THE PROJECT OBJECT BACK IN DECEMBER OF 23.
AND DURING THAT MEETING, UM, THERE NO SUITABLE PROPERTY HAD YET BEEN IDENTIFIED.
UM, PROPERTIES WERE, UH, EXPENSIVE.
UM, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND AN APPROPRIATE PROPERTY THAT WOULD SUIT THE PROGRAM.
AND ALSO AT THAT TIME, THE PLAN FOR FILLING THE FUNDING GAP, WHICH WAS REQUIRED TO PURCHASE REAL ESTATE, HAD NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED.
UM, THEN IN THE SPRING OF THIS YEAR, UM, A GRANT WAS APPLIED FOR TO EIGHT OH, TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING, THE HOUSING TRUST FUND.
SO A PROPOSAL WAS SUBMITTED, AND THAT PROPOSAL WAS ULTIMATELY NOT CHOSEN.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T GET THE FUNDING TO HELP TO FILL THE FUNDING GAP FOR THE PROJECT.
AND FURTHER CONVERSATIONS WERE, UM, HELD WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND WITH NACO TO CLARIFY THE PROGRAM DETAILS.
IN MAY, THERE WAS A DEFINITIVE CLARIFICATION WITH, UM, FROM A O THAT WE SHARED WITH STEPS TO RECOVERY HOUSING, THAT THE PROPERTY MUST BE LOCATED IN SEDONA, UM, THAT, AND ALSO THAT THE PROPERTY MUST HAVE BE IDENTIFIED AND IN CONTRACT BY JUNE 30TH OF THIS YEAR IN ORDER TO MEET THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW REQUIREMENTS DEADLINES.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, THE PROGRAM MUST BE UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING BY SEPTEMBER 30TH OF THIS YEAR IN ORDER TO MEET THE OCTOBER 1ST START DATE FOR THE PROGRAM.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO FOLLOW THROUGH, UH, AND MEET THOSE DEADLINES.
AND SO THEREFORE, WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS.
WE CAN GIVE BACK THE FUNDING TO THE STATE, OR WE CAN PIVOT AND REALLOCATE OUR FUNDING TO ANOTHER PROJECT.
UH, ACCORDING TO THE RULES FROM
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A DO, WE CAN REALLOCATE THE FUNDS TO A PROGRAM THAT HAS ALREADY COME BEFORE COUNCIL.AND SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE BRINGING FORWARD THE VERDE VALLEY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY'S CRITICAL HOME REPAIR PROGRAM, WHICH, UM, THEY'RE READY TO GO.
UH, A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT SEDONA HOUSEHOLDS.
SO THERE ARE 3,600, GIVE OR TAKE, OWNER OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS IN SEDONA.
AND OF THOSE HOUSE HOUSING UNITS, UM, 35% OF THOSE HOUSEHOLDS, THEIR ANNUAL INCOME IS LESS THAN $50,000.
SO THIS PROGRAM WILL BENEFIT THESE LOW TO MODERATE INCOMES, WHICH ARE AT OR BELOW 80% A MI.
THE PROGRAM, OF COURSE, WILL BE MANAGED BY THE VERDE VALLEY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.
THE PROPERTIES MUST BE OWNER OCCUPIED, IT MUST BE THE PRIMARY RESIDENCE, MUST BE CURRENT WITH THEIR MORTGAGES, INSURANCE, AND PROPERTY TAXES.
AND THE MAXIMUM ASSISTANCE PER HOUSEHOLD WOULD BE $30,000 PER HOUSEHOLD.
SO WE HAVE A SHORT TIMEFRAME IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THE REALLOCATION ACTIVITIES.
UM, THERE IS, WE ARE, IF THE DIRECTION TODAY IS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH REALLOCATING THE FUNDS TO THE VERDE VALLEY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, THEN THERE WILL BE A PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 10TH, WHERE WE WILL COME BACK BEFORE YOU WITH VERDE VALLEY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY TO ASK FOR, UM, YOUR APPROVAL TO SUBMIT A NEW APPLICATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING TO APPROVE HOUSING REPAIR GUIDELINES, AND TO APPROVE A CONTRACT WITH A DO, UM, AUTHORIZING THIS PROGRAM.
UM, IF, IF AT THAT SEPTEMBER 10TH MEETING THE APPROVALS ARE GRANTED FROM CITY COUNCIL, THEN THE APPLICATION AND ALL OF THE DOCUMENTATION WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING FOR THE, IN ORDER FOR THE CONTRACT TO BE EXECUTED BY ALL THE PARTIES PRIOR TO THE SEPTEMBER 30TH DEADLINE, SO THAT WE COULD START THE PROGRAM ON OCTOBER 1ST.
UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT ARE, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
THERE'S AN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW THAT IS BEING DONE TO MEET THAT DEADLINE.
UM, THERE'S SOME PUBLIC NOTICING THAT HAS TO GO FORWARD.
UM, AND SO THAT PRETTY MUCH CONCLUDES THE EXPLANATION FOR THE C-D-D-B-G ALLOCATION AND REQUEST.
SO I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING NOW IS WILL COUNSEL APPROVE, WILL COUNSEL GIVE US DIRECTION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE REALLOCATION ACTIVITIES? AND I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, SHALL WE START ON THIS SIDE OR QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MAYOR JEANIE.
NOT TO, UH, I I, I'M SURE THIS IS FRUSTRATING FOR, I KNOW DAMIANS HERE.
I KNOW IT'S GOTTA BE FRUSTRATING FOR STEPS TO RECOVERY, UH, ET CETERA.
WHEN I LOOK AT THE TIMELINE THAT YOU SHARED WITH US, AND IT SAYS MAY, 2023, IT'S DETERMINED THAT THE PROPERTY MUST BE LOCATED WITHIN SEDONA, BUT WE LOOKED AT PROPERTIES OUTSIDE OF SEDONA, WE'VE SEEN THEM HERE IN COUNCIL.
SO WAS THERE SORT OF SOME FAINT HOPE THAT MAYBE ADA WOULD COME BACK AND SAY, OKAY, OR WERE WE JUST UNFORTUNATELY SPINNING OUR WHEELS? WELL, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
THERE WAS A LOT OF GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN, UM, NACOG AND A O TO REALLY KIND OF DETERMINE WHERE THE PROPERTY SHOULD BE LOCATED.
RIGHT? UM, SO THERE WAS CONFUSION IN THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS, UM, THROUGH NO FAULT OF STEPS TO RECOVERY HOUSING AT ALL.
UM, THERE WAS JUST, UM, GOING BACK AND FORTH.
UM, THE PEOPLE AT A DO, THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AT A DO HAD DIFFERENT, UM, TAKES ON
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IT.SO THERE'S A, THERE ARE EMAIL THREADS THAT THAT SHOW, UM, SOME THIS CONFUSION, RIGHT? UM, WHEN IT WASN'T UNTIL MAY OF THIS YEAR WHEN, UM, ANNETTE AND I BECAME INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS, THAT WE FINALLY MADE A DEFINITIVE CLARIFICATION THAT SEDONA, IT HAD TO BE THE HOST.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN PLACED OUTSIDE, UM, HAD THE FUNDING COME FROM THE YAVAPAI COUNTY CDBG STREAM, BUT IT WAS SEDONA MONEY, AND THEREFORE IT NEEDED TO BE WITHIN SEDONA.
AND THEN YOU SAID THAT THE ONLY REALLOCATION OPPORTUNITIES ARE TO THOSE THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY APPLIED.
LIKE THAT'S A HARD AND FAST RULE.
NO, IT'S NOT A HARD OR FAST RULE BASED ON THE TIMING, IT MAKES THE MOST SENSE.
UM, WE CAN AWARD IT TO A COMPLETELY NEW PROJECT, HOWEVER, WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS, RIGHT? AND SO WE'VE ALREADY HAD ONE PUBLIC MEETING IN JANUARY, SO THAT COUNTS FOR ONE.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER PUBLIC MEETING IN SEPTEMBER.
UM, I HOPE I'M MAKING SENSE THERE.
SO YOU CAN HAVE A NEW, UH, YOU CAN HAVE A NEW PROJECT, BUT BECAUSE OF THE TIME CONSTRAINTS, WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS AND THE REQUIREMENTS, WHERE IS IT? THE PROPERTY MUST BE UNDER CONTRACT BY JUNE 30TH TO MEET ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW REQUIREMENT AND THEN BE UNDER CONTRACT WITH A O BY SEPTEMBER 30TH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
SO THOSE DATES WOULD HOLD ALSO FOR ANY ALTERNATIVE PROJECT.
LIKE I, I'M ASKING, I GUESS, LIKE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE THAT WE CONSIDERED WAS A SHELTER.
SO IS THAT ALREADY OFF THE TABLE, GIVEN THIS TIMEFRAME THAT YOU'RE SHARING HERE? UNFORTUNATELY, COUNSELOR, YES, IT IS OFF THE TABLE BECAUSE WITH A PROPERTY ACQUISITION, THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW IS MUCH MORE EXTENSIVE, AND THEREFORE IT TAKES, IT TAKES LIKE 90 DAYS TO HAVE THAT COMPLETED.
SO JUST TO TAG ON A LITTLE BIT TO, UM, WHAT BRIAN WAS SAYING, JUST FOR CLARITY, NO MATTER WHICH PROGRAM WE CHOOSE, UM, THE APPLICATION, THE CONTRACT, EVERYTHING WOULD HAVE TO BE DONE BY SEPTEMBER 30TH OF THIS YEAR.
AND WE'RE ALREADY SITTING IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 10TH IS OUR NEXT COUNCIL SESSION.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING FROM WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER IS THAT THE, UM, THAT HABITAT IS READY TO GO.
SO THEY'D ALL, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM, SHOULD WE CHOOSE TO GIVE YOU DIRECTION TO PROCEED.
THEY WOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM MEETING THE SEPTEMBER 30TH AND THE ABILITY TO START ON THE 1ST OF OCTOBER.
THOSE ARE, THAT'S ALL THE CLARIFYING QUESTIONS.
I WANNA THANK YOU, MAYOR JEANNIE, I KNOW THIS WASN'T YOUR PROGRAM AND THAT YOU CAME IN AND PICK UP THE PIECES OF IT.
UH, CAN YOU GO BACK A SLIDE? I'M JUST TRYING TO GET IN TERMS OF THE TIMEFRAME, I, I FEEL, UH, RIGHT THERE.
SO IT SAYS MAY, 2023 A O DETERMINES PROPERTY MUST BE LOCATED WITHIN SEDONA, BUT THEY WEREN'T DEFINITIVE.
THIS IS THE PART I WAS A LITTLE UNCLEAR ABOUT.
SO GOING BACK TO THE EMAIL THREADS THAT I WAS ABLE TO LOOK AT RECENTLY, UM, THERE WERE, UM, EMAILS FROM PEOPLE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING WHERE THIS DISCUSSION WAS TAKING PLACE, UM, THAT INDICATED THAT THE PROPERTY SHOULD BE LOCATED WITHIN SEDONA AT YES.
AND HAD WE COMMUNICATED THAT TO STEPS OF RECOVERY HOME, I'M, BECAUSE I WASN'T INVOLVED,
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I DON'T HAVE THE CORRECT ANSWER.I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU.
I'M LOOKING AT DAMIEN, ARE YOU GONNA CALL, SHE WANT ME TO HAVE INPUT OR I, I'M, WERE YOU, I WERE YOU.
WOULD YOU COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE? YEAH.
AND JUST START WITH YOUR NAME.
EXECUTIVE, UH, CEO OF STEPS, RECOVERY HOMES.
AND I, THERE'S SOME THINGS WITH THE TIMELINE THAT I'M NOT TOTALLY IN AGREEMENT WITH.
I WANNA APOLOGIZE TO YOU, DAMIEN.
AND WE, WE ARE WHERE WE ARE, UNFORTUNATELY.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS ABOUT
I'VE, I'VE TALKED ABOUT SOME IDEAS.
I MEAN, AS FAR AS I KNEW, UM, WE COULD HAVE IT OUTSIDE OF SEDONA.
WE WERE LOOKING AT PLACES IN SEDONA.
WE ACTUALLY HAD A REALTOR, AND WE HAD, WHEN I CAME BACK TO YOU GUYS AND HAD THE MEETING IN DECEMBER, WE ACTUALLY DID IDENTIFY A PRO PROPERTY THAT WE WERE TRYING TO GET.
SO THERE WAS, THERE WAS A SUITABLE PROPERTY.
WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE FLOOD PLAINS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND THEN THE WHOLE PLAN BETWEEN SHANNON AND I WAS TO GET GRANT FUNDING.
NOW I HAD REACHED OUT TO ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I WAS TRYING TO DO SOME FUNDRAISING.
THE WHOLE PLAN WAS, SHE WANTED, SHE SAID THERE'S GRANT FUNDING AVAILABLE THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET A, A DOH WAS PART OF THAT PLAN, AND SAID TO GO FOR THE GRANT FUNDING.
AND WE GOT, I THINK WE GOT EIGHT.
ALL THE FUNDING WENT DOWN TO MARICOPA, NONE WENT TO THE RURAL, RURAL PART OF THE STATE, WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE.
BUT WE DID GO FOR THAT GRANT FUNDING.
SO THEN AFTER THAT, WE HAD TO START UP WITH, WITH ANOTHER PLAN.
AND UH, THAT'S WHEN IN JANUARY, BECAUSE THEY, THEY, THEY TOLD US THAT THE, THAT THE FUNDS WOULD BE AVAILABLE IN NOVEMBER AND THEY DID NOT HAVE THE FUNDS AVAILABLE UNTIL JANUARY NAAG.
AND I WAS TOLD IN THE BEGINNING THAT I HAD A YEAR AND A HALF TO TWO YEARS TO DO THIS.
SO I WAS KIND OF COMING UP WITH SOME PLANS ON HOW TO DO SOME FUNDRAISING.
I KNOW THAT WORKFORCE HOUSING IN SEDONA IS VERY NEEDED.
UH, I FEEL LIKE I COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY HUGE IMPACT BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH TRANSITIONAL HOUSING AND WORKFORCE HOUSING AND MAKING SURE THAT THE RIGHT PEOPLE ARE IN THERE AND THAT IT'S CLEAN AND NICE FOR EVERYBODY.
UH, AFTER THAT, IN JANUARY, WE FOUND OUT, I THINK IT WAS THE END OF JANUARY, FEBRUARY.
IT WAS, MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY, IS WHEN WE FOUND OUT THAT IT HAD TO BE IN SEDONA.
SO RIGHT ABOUT THEN, I WAS GOING THROUGH MY WHOLE FUNDRAISER THAT I HAD.
SO, UH, I HAD TALKED TO SHANNON AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, DOING SOME FUNDRAISING HERE.
WE HAD TALKED TO KAREN, THE OLD MANAGER, AND SHE WAS GONNA GET ME IN FRONT OF LIKE, THE QAS CLUB AND THE ROTARY.
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF, WE WERE GONNA GET IN FRONT OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
THERE WAS A LOT OF TALK ABOUT, HEY, LET'S GET THIS OUT TO SEDONA.
AND I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHY NONE OF THAT HAPPENED.
I THINK, UM, WHO KNOWS, YOU KNOW, UM, AFTER THAT IS SPRING, SO DECEMBER SPRING, SO IT DID GET DENIED IN JUNE IS WHEN SHANNON TOLD ME, HEY, WE NEED TO GET THIS IN BEFORE THE END OF JUNE, AND I'M GOING OUTTA TOWN.
AND I, AT THAT TIME, I HAD ALREADY GOTTEN SOME, 'CAUSE I KNEW IT WAS BEEN SEDONA, SO I HAD ALREADY GOTTEN TWO OR THREE REALTORS THAT I WAS WORKING WITH IN SEDONA, AND WE WERE TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING.
AND AT $400,000, IT'S KIND OF LIKE A DROP IN THE BUCKET, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT SOME PLACES, AND ONE OF THE THINGS WAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL, OBVIOUSLY THE ENVIRONMENTAL THING, WHICH I DON'T KNOW THAT IT TAKES THREE MONTHS.
THEY WANNA GIVE IT THREE MONTHS, BUT SOME PLACES ALREADY HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL THING.
I GOT MY ENVIRONMENTAL THING DONE IN A WEEK AT THE PLACE IN COTTONWOOD, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT CAN, IT COULD TAKE UP TO THREE MONTHS.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT THAT IS.
AND I'VE IDENTIFIED SOME PROPERTIES.
THEY ARE A LOT, THE, THE BEST ONE I'VE IDENTIFIED IS 1.2 MILLION.
UM, AND I WAS TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT TO SEE HOW WE COULD DO THAT.
'CAUSE I KNEW THAT SEPTEMBER 30TH WAS THE DEADLINE, SO I THOUGHT I HAD ENOUGH TIME TO GET THAT DONE.
BUT WITH WHAT GINA WAS TELLING ME IS THE ENVIRONMENT, THE, THE PROBLEM IS THEY DON'T WANT TO, YOU GUYS DON'T WANNA LOSE THE MONEY.
AND HOW LONG IS THAT ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN GONNA TAKE, YOU KNOW? BUT AS FAR AS I FIGURED, THERE, THERE HAS TO BE A WAY FOR EXTENSIONS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS THERE.
I MEAN, PEOPLE EXTEND PROJECTS ALL THE TIME.
I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT WOULDN'T BE, WHY THEY WOULD TAKE MONEY BACK IF IT, THE PROJECT'S TAKEN A LITTLE BIT LONGER, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S A NEEDED THING HERE IN SEDONA.
AND THE OTHER THING IS, I COULD HAVE BEEN IN CONTRACT WITH SOMEWHERE
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BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30TH, IN MY MIND.I JUST WANT, I JUST WANT ALL THE RIGHT INFORMATION BE, IF YOU GUYS WANNA MOVE A DIFFERENT DIRECTION, THAT'S TOTALLY FINE.
I'M OBVIOUSLY, IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE, BUT I JUST WANT THE RIGHT INFORMATION OUT THERE ABOUT EVERYTHING.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF EMAIL CHAINS AND, AND, AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
'CAUSE SHANNON AND I, WE DID A LOT OF WORK ON THIS.
THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF WE WORKED ON.
I DON'T KNOW IF THE OTHER COUNCILORS WANNA, UM, HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH YOU ALSO.
UH, JESSICA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO EITHER SOMETHING FOR DAMIEN OR JESSICA? QUESTION? NO, I HAVE NO QUESTIONS FOR DAMIEN.
I, WHY DON'T YOU JUST SIT DOWN WHERE YOU WERE? 'CAUSE YOU CAN POP RIGHT UP AGAIN, IF ANY OF US HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, NO, I HAVE, I ACTUALLY HAVE NO QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED.
I WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT, UM, HOW, WHY THERE ARE THERE NO EX NO EXTENSIONS POSSIBLE, UM, FOR C-D-D-C-D-B-G FUNDS.
BECAUSE I KNOW THAT OTHER, OTHER FUNDINGS THAT WE'VE HAD, THEY'VE BEEN EXTENDED AND A LOT OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED.
SO IT, WHY IS THIS DIFFERENT? HAD, DID, DID ANYBODY, DID YOU TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT WHETHER IT COULD BE EXTENDED, I GUESS WOULD BE MY QUESTION.
BUT MAYOR ANNETTE, COUNSELOR WILLIAMSON, ANNETTE ICKER, CITY MANAGER.
UM, WHEN I STEPPED INTO THE PROCESS, AND JEANNIE AND I GOT ON THE CONFERENCE CALL WITH NACOG AND ADO STAFF, I MEAN, THEY MADE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR TO ME.
THESE ARE THE RULES, THESE ARE THE DEADLINES, THESE ARE THE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS, THESE ARE FEDERAL LAWS.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE ANY FLEXIBILITY OTHER THAN IF YOU CAN GET AN APPROVED PROJECT THAT HAS MET ALL OF THE PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.
AND THE REQUIRED TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS UNDER CONTRACT BY SEPTEMBER 30TH WILL LET YOU SPEND THE MONEY AFTER OCTOBER 1ST, 2024.
SO, IN EFFECT, THAT'S KIND OF THE EXTENSION.
THE EXTENSION IS AFTER THE, AFTER THE FACT.
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SPENT BY NOW.
UM, SO THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY OFFERED UP TO US.
AND THEY MADE THE SUGGESTION THAT GIVEN THE TIGHT TIMEFRAME, UM, TO COME BACK TO YOU WHEN WE COULD TO, UM, SEE IF ANY OF THE PREVIOUSLY VETTED PROJECTS WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO YOU.
THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT WE DID TALK TO THEM ABOUT, OKAY, THIS ISN'T THE ONLY TIME CDBG IS GOING TO BE AVAILABLE TO THE CITY.
CAN WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH, UM, STEPS TO RECOVERY AND KEEP TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER A PROJECT? UM, AND THERE'S FUTURE FUNDING COMING DOWN.
HAVE THE TIME TO TALK TO THE COUNTY ABOUT THEIR ALLOCATION.
BECAUSE THEIR ADVICE TO US WAS, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THIS AS A PARTNERSHIP OR A REGIONAL THING THAT'S OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS, YOU CAN DO THAT.
BUT YOU NEED TO HAVE THE COUNTY BE THE SPONSOR, NOT THE CITY.
THE CITY COUNCIL CAN'T APPROVE A PROJECT THAT'S OUTSIDE THEIR CITY LIMITS.
UM, AND SO WE STILL INTEND TO TRY TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
UM, BUT IN ORDER TO DO IT OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, WE'LL HAVE TO INVOLVE MORE PEOPLE, UM, TO MAKE, UM, ARE YOU INTERESTED AT ALL IN PURSUING, HAVING IT IN THE CITY, WORKING WITH DAMIEN TO GET A FACILITY IN THE CITY? UM, WHICH IS, I THINK WHAT WE ALL, WHAT ORIGINALLY WANT, OR AT LEAST I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK FOR WHAT I ORIGINALLY WANTED, BECAUSE THIS COMMUNITY IS IN DESPERATE, DESPERATELY LACKS ANY OF THESE SUPPORTIVE FACILITIES.
AND AS I LEARNED, UM, THROUGH LOOKING AT THE DOCUMENTATION, AND DAMIEN AND I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO MEET YET, BUT WE WILL.
UM, HE REALLY SEARCHED HIGH AND LOW TO FIND A PARCEL OR A BUILDING OR WHATEVER IN THE CITY LIMITS FOR THIS PURPOSE.
UM, IT'S A REALLY BIG CHALLENGE.
SO IF WE FOUND A WILLING PROPERTY OWNER, AND AS HE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL DONATIONS, $400,000 IS NOT GONNA BUY ANYTHING IN SEDONA, JUST TO BE BLUNT,
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GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF EFFORT TO PACKAGE TOGETHER SOMETHING TO DO IT IN THE CITY LIMITS.DAMIEN, I DO HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU.
SO
UM, DO YOU REALISTICALLY BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN FUNDRAISE, UM, $800,000, $900,000 TO, TO MAKE A PROJECT AT THAT COST HAPPEN WITH THE RIGHT TIME AND THE RIGHT HELP? OF COURSE.
I MEAN, NO, I YOU MEAN BY THIS TIME, BY THE TIME I NO, NO.
OR YOU JUST MEAN OVERALL, I'M SAYING THAT WHAT I'M HEARING FROM THE CITY MANAGER AND WHAT SHE AND I HAVE DISCUSSED IS THAT THE CITY WOULD, WAS GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU TO TRY AND EVEN WITHOUT CDB FUNDS, CDBG FUNDS SORT OF WORK TOWARD CREATING AN ADDITIONAL FACILITY FOR YOU.
AND SO I WAS WONDERING, AND, AND I THINK ANNETTE JUST SUGGESTED THAT GIVEN THE FACT THAT IT PROPERTY IS SO EXPENSIVE HERE, IT PROBABLY DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO TRY AND FIND PROPERTY HERE.
IT MADE SENSE TO DO THIS REGIONALLY AND WORK WITH YOU TO HAVE A, A MORE RE UH, FIND A REGIONAL, A MORE REGIONAL FACILITY.
WOULD YOU, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'D BE INTERESTED IN PURSUING? OF COURSE, I'D BE INTERESTED IN PURSUING WHATEVER'S PUT IN FRONT OF MY PLATE.
TO HELP PEOPLE WITH, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY THE WORKFORCE AND THE, THE HOUSING ISSUE HERE IN SEDONA.
I MEAN, IT WOULDN'T, IT COULD BE MORE THAN JUST FOR PEOPLE YOU KNOW, THAT ARE IN RECOVERY.
BUT IT NEEDS TO BE A PLACE FOR A HANDOUT, NOT A HANDOUT AND A PLACE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE SOMEBODY THAT'S, THAT'S DOING THAT.
BUT I, IN MY MIND, YOU KNOW, UH, WE NEED, WE NEED HOUSING, RIGHT.
SO I'M WILLING TO DO WHATEVER.
PETE, I DON'T HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON THIS TOPIC, YOU KNOW, WITH RELATIVE TO STEPS.
I DO HAVE SOME ON OR OTHER PART OF THIS.
THIS IS A TIME TO ASK YOU GUYS WANTED TO, THIS IS A TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS.
SO, UH, UH, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS, UH, CRITICAL HOME REPAIR PROGRAM, JEANNIE, HAVE WE DONE THIS IN THE PAST? HOW RECENTLY? HOW DID IT GO? YEAH.
UM, SO THERE, I HAVE NOTES, BUT I CAN'T SEE MY NOTES.
BUT YES, WE HAVE DONE A MOBILE HOME REPAIR, MOBILE HOME REPLACEMENT THROUGH CDBG AND A HOME REPAIR.
AND THAT WAS ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, RIGHT, STEVE? YES, IT WAS.
AND, UM, THAT, IT, IT WORKED OUT GREAT.
UM, AND THE, UM, THE THING ABOUT THE CDBG FUNDS FOR THIS CRITICAL HOME REPAIR, WHICH IS, UH, THE GOOD THING ABOUT IT IS THAT IT TARGETS MID TO MO, LOW TO MODERATE INCOME HOME OWNERS.
AND SO, UM, AND UM, IT ALSO WOULD PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE AGING, PERHAPS AGING IN PLACE, THAT ARE PERHAPS LIVING IN A FAMILY HOME THAT IS A LARGER HOME THAT, UM, BUT, AND YET, BUT THEY'RE ON A FIXED INCOME AND SO THEY CAN'T AFFORD THE CRITICAL HARM REPAIR.
SO I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT UP AS WELL BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IN ADDITION TO THE, THE SMALLER, UM, KINDS OF HOMES, THERE ARE ALSO SENIOR CITIZENS WHO ARE LIVING HERE WHO ARE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE AS WELL.
SO IT'S BEEN A FAIR NUMBER OF YEARS THAT WE'VE DONE ANY KIND OF PROGRAM LIKE THIS HERE IN SEDONA.
AND DOES VERDE VALLEY HABITAT, ARE THEY RUNNING CRITICAL HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS, CDBG PROGRAMS IN OTHER COMMUNITIES? AND SO THIS IS JUST AN EXTENSION OF THEIR ACTIVITIES? YES.
UM, COUNSELOR, THEY'RE READY TO RUN.
THEY ACTUALLY DO HAVE A, UM, CRITICAL HOME REPAIR PROGRAM IN COTTONWOOD THAT, UM, IS OPERATING VERY WELL.
SO YES, THEY ARE READY TO JUST, YOU KNOW, BRING IN THOSE ECONOMIES OF SCALE AND KEEP IT GOING.
[00:35:01]
IS OUR NEXT OPPORTUNITY TO AWARD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS OUTSIDE OF THIS CYCLE? WHEN IS THE NEXT TIME THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO IN FOUR YEARS? UH, FROM 23.SO THE, THE FUNDING THAT YOU ARE LOOKING, 'CAUSE I, I SEE THIS AS TWO SEPARATE ISSUES.
I MEAN, THE FIRST IS OBVIOUSLY THE MISSTEPS AND MISCOMMUNICATIONS, MISUNDERSTANDINGS, WHATEVER IT IS THAT HAS UNFORTUNATELY IMPACTED STEPS TO RECOVERY.
'CAUSE THAT WAS A PROGRAM THAT WE ALL BELIEVED IN AND WANTED TO AWARD THAT MONEY TO AND HELP.
BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE UP AGAINST A CRITICAL TIME LINE HERE AND WE NEED TO AWARD THIS MONEY OR, OR, OR LOSE IT.
AND IT'S A, IT'S A CHUNK
SO DEALING WITH THE STEPS TO RECOVERY ISSUE, IT'S A LONG TIME FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW, FROM MY POINT OF VIEW ON THEIR BEHALF, TO HAVE ANOTHER SHOT AT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT MONEY.
SO THE OTHER REGIONAL FUNDS THAT WERE, THAT, THAT YOU BOTH DESCRIBED, JEANNIE AND ANNETTE, UM, ARE THOSE, ARE THOSE REALISTIC? ARE THERE REAL OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE AT THE MOMENT? UM, YES.
COUNSELOR THERE, UH, WE WERE INFORMED BY ADA THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE A NOFA OF FUNDING, UM, OPPORTUNITY COMING OUT IN THE SPRING FOR RECOVERY HOUSING AND STEPS TO RECOVERY HOUSINGS, YOU KNOW, WAS BROUGHT UP IN THAT CONVERSATION THAT IT MIGHT BE A VERY GOOD FIT.
UM, DO WE KNOW WHAT SIZE POT THAT IS ROUGHLY? NO, I'D HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
BUT WE'RE, UM, I MEAN, IT'S HARD BECAUSE WHAT IS OUR PROCESS TO COMMIT TO HELPING, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH THIS, SINCE WE ALREADY HAVE COMMITTED SUPPORT THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO NOW PROVIDE, HOW DO WE MAKE GOOD ON OUR, UM, COMMITMENT TO THIS PROGRAM THAT WE ALL VALUE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN HELP BE HELPFUL IN TRYING TO SECURE THOSE FUNDS? BECAUSE THAT'S NOT SOMETHING, THAT'S NOT THE QUESTION THAT'S IN FRONT OF US TONIGHT, BUT I, I'M TRYING TO GIVE STEPS TO RECOVERY AND THE PUBLIC WHO, YOU KNOW, KNOWS THAT WE MADE THIS COMMITMENT SOME COMFORT, THAT WE ARE NOT LEAVING THEM OUT TO DRY.
THAT WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO BE HELPFUL HERE.
SO HOW, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE MAKE THAT ASSURANCE? WELL, I'M, OR I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN MAKE THAT ASSURANCE, I GUESS IS THE QUESTION, BUT, MM-HMM.
IT'S JUST WE HAVE TO, IT'S THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM THAT THINGS FELL APART AND THERE'S A WORTHY PROGRAM THAT NOW CAN'T BE FUNDED IN THIS CYCLE.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, TO NOT LOSE THE MONEY, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE, UH, HABITAT PROGRAM AND WHAT YOU SAID BEFORE ABOUT PEOPLE LIVING IN THEIR HOMES.
UH, SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THERE, THERE ARE PEOPLE, THIS IS A TERM WE USED TO USE, YOU KNOW, BACK IN NEW YORK, WHICH WAS RENT.
POOR PEOPLE WOULD PAY SO MUCH MONEY ON THEIR HOUSING COSTS THAT THERE WASN'T MONEY LEFT OVER FOR A LOT OF OTHER THINGS.
I, I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE AWARE THAT THERE'S A SEGMENT OF SOCIETY HERE IN SEDONA THAT MAYBE BEING, LIVING IN A VALUABLE PROPERTY, BUT THE INCOME LEVEL IS NOT KEEPING UP.
AND DO WE KNOW, DO WE KNOW, HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW TO REACH THOSE PEOPLE AND WHO THOSE PEOPLE ARE.
BECAUSE IF WE AWARD THIS MONEY TO HABITAT, WHICH I THINK IS WHERE WE'RE GOING BECAUSE OF THE TIMEFRAME, IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE THAT'S SOMETHING I'M, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO BE CONSIDERING HERE.
UM, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THIS GOES TO A SEGMENT OF, OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE CAN REACH THEM, THAT IT IS HELPFUL? 'CAUSE YOU HAD A ESTIMATE OF 12 TO 22 HOUSEHOLDS THAT WOULD BE SERVED, BUT HOW DID WE REACH THAT ESTIMATE? SO THOSE NUMBERS WERE PROVIDED BY, UH, THE VERDE VALLEY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IN THEIR PROPOSAL.
UM, AND THERE IS A MARKETING PLAN, A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN THAT WILL GO ALONG WITH THIS CRITICAL HOME REPAIR PROGRAM THAT WILL REACH OUT INTO THE VARIOUS SEGMENTS OF THE COMMUNITY TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THIS IS AVAILABLE.
AND THAT WOULD BE FOR DEFINE CRITICAL HOME REPAIRS, PLEASE.
IF YOU, IF YOU, IF YOU CAN, CRITICAL HOME REPAIR COULD BE ANYTHING FROM A NEW ROOF TO A LEAKY, UM, SOME KIND OF LEAKY PLUMBING.
UM, AND I'M SORRY, IF I COULD JUMP IN REALLY QUICK, STEVE MES THE BUILDING GUY IS GONNA
IT'S, IT'S NORMALLY WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST IS, UH, WITH, UH, AND I, AND I'VE, UH, VOLUNTEERED WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.
THEY, A LOT OF THE PROGRAMS THEY HAVE ARE MORE THE AESTHETIC TYPE, CLEANING UP THE
[00:40:01]
YARDS, DOING SOME PAINTING, REPLACING A BOARD HERE, THEY'RE, THIS PROGRAM IS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INTO THE MAINTENANCE OF A HOUSE.AS JEANNIE SAID, ROOF REPAIR IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OFTENTIMES WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO HELP PEOPLE WITH.
WE CAN SUBSIDIZE FOR UP TO $30,000 NOW.
WE CAN MAYBE REPLACE A WHOLE ROOF.
MAYBE WE CAN REPLACE FLOORING THAT'S BEEN DAMAGED BY LEAKING PLUMBING FOR YEARS.
UH, SO IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S ANOTHER STEP UP INTO, UM, UH, BEING ABLE TO FIX MAYBE STRUCTURAL THINGS, UH, THAT, THAT, UH, HAVE BEEN LEFT FOR A WHILE BECAUSE THE, THE PEOPLE JUST DON'T HAVE MONEY FOR THAT THERE.
AND COUNCILOR KINSELLA, I THINK YOU ASKED A QUESTION EARLIER THAT I WAS GONNA TRY TO TOUCH ON, BUT I, I BELIEVE ALSO THIS PROGRAM CAN ASSIST PEOPLE IF THEY NEED LIKE WHEELCHAIR RAMPS BUILT TO ACCESS THE HOUSE.
UM, YOU KNOW, A DA RETROFITS, THAT TYPE OF THING AS WELL FOR PEOPLE WITH MOBILITY ISSUES.
UM, SO YOU, WE COULD HAVE A FUTURE DISCUSSION WITH YOU ABOUT A RELOOK AT YOUR BALANCE SHEET LOAN PROGRAM FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING.
UM, WE DO HAVE FUNDS THAT YOU HAVE SET ASIDE IN THE BUDGET WITH THE INTENTION OF PROVIDING, LIKE, UH, SUPPORT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORKFORCE HOUSING.
UM, AND THAT'S BY YOUR CHOICE, YOUR POLICY.
AND IF YOU WANTED TO EXAMINE THAT POLICY AND DECIDE THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA BE INTERESTED IN A LOW INTEREST LOAN FOR A TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROJECT OUT OF THAT, UM, ACCOUNT, WE COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT WE WOULD JUST NEED TO, UM, HAVE YOU GUYS TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND UPDATE IT.
WE CAN LOOK AT WHAT, UH, PROJECTS WE'VE ALREADY COMMITTED TO, THAT TYPE OF THING.
BUT THAT'S A POTENTIAL RESOURCE.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOOD ANSWER.
SO I'M GONNA FINISH UP AND THEN YOU CAN GO.
UM, I THINK, UM, UM, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S UNFORTUNATE WE ARE WHERE WE ARE.
SO I THINK ANYTHING ELSE I HAVE TO SAY IS PROBABLY IN COMMENTS, BUT THANK YOU.
SO WHAT, OH, WELL I HAVEN'T GONE YET, SO THANKS.
UM, SO I KNOW STEVE, YOU, I WAS ON ONE PROJECT WITH YOU FOR, FOR HABITAT WHERE WE DID THE CLEANUP.
AND SINCE THEN I'VE ALSO DONE, UH, DECK REPAIR AND OTHER, UH, LUMBER RELATED REPAIRS.
AND THAT WOULD BE CRITICAL 'CAUSE THE HOMEOWNER COULDN'T GET INTO THE HOME.
SO I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT WILL BE DONE.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO, TO DO ANYTHING ELSE.
SO I WOULD SUPPORT THIS, UM, CHANGE IN THE PLAN.
IT'S UNFORTUNATE, DAMIEN, UM, IT, WE ARE WHERE WE ARE AND, UH, BUT IF WE CAN LOOK, YOU KNOW, HAVE A MEETING IN THE FUTURE THAT ANNETTE, UH, REFERENCE, MAYBE YOU CAN HAVE ANOTHER DISCUSSION ON SOME OTHER FUNDS TO HELP.
I THINK ANYTHING SHOULD BE ON THE TABLE TO HELP.
SO, UH, AT LEAST FOR DISCUSSION.
SO, UH, SORRY, I DIDN'T REALIZE WE WERE SO WERE IN COMMENTS.
BUT I THOUGHT WE WERE IN QUESTIONS.
WHY DON'T WE DO FINAL, UH, COMMENTS AND THEN WE CAN DO A MOTION.
UH, AGAIN, DAMIEN, I'M SORRY THAT WE'VE GOTTEN TO WHERE WE ARE.
I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE MORE SAD MOMENTS FROM THE DAIS OF THINGS WE'VE HAD TO CONTEMPLATE.
SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY THIS COUNCIL WAS EXCITED ABOUT, UH, SEEING THE CBDG GRANT GO TO STEPS TO RECOVERY.
I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY A GOOD BIT OF INTEREST TO SEE HOW THE CITY CAN STILL WORK AND SUPPORT YOUR MISSION IN THE FUTURE.
UM, TO COUNCILOR ELLA'S COMMENT QUESTION A MOMENT AGO, UM, WE DIRECTED A GRANT TO STEPS TO RECOVERY, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THAT COMPELS US TO DO ANYTHING SPECIFIC NOW THAT WE HAVE TO REDIRECT THAT GRANT.
AGAIN, NOT THAT I DON'T WANT TO, I'M JUST SAYING I DON'T THINK THAT WE HAVE A, I DON'T THINK WE'VE MADE A COMMITMENT THAT WE NOW HAVE TO COME UP WITH, YOU KNOW, NEARLY $400,000, UH, IN A DIFFERENT SORT OF WAY.
BUT I'M INTERESTED TO SEE IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD WIND UP WANTING TO DO BECAUSE IT FITS, UH, A PIECE OF A BROADER STRATEGY.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO A QUESTION ACTUALLY AROUND THE $10,000 THAT WAS DIRECTED TOWARDS A STUDY ON HOMELESSNESS.
[00:45:01]
WHERE ARE WE ON THAT? WHEN ARE WE GOING TO HAVE A STRATEGY ABOUT HOMELESSNESS? BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH I KNOW STEPS TO RECOVERY IS NOT SPECIFICALLY ABOUT HOMELESSNESS, THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH AND COULD HAVE, UH, SOME BEARING ON OUR DECISION.SO WHERE ARE WE ON THAT? IS THAT, IS THAT FAIR TO ASK YOU? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
SO, SO WE ARE CURRENTLY, UM, CONTRACTED WITH A CONSULTANT WHO IS DOING THE HOMELESSNESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND STRATEGIC PLAN TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS.
THEY'VE BEEN HERE, UM, THEY WERE HERE IN JULY.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
AND WE WILL BE COMING BACK BEFORE COUNCIL WITH THAT PLAN BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO IN THE MEANTIME, I DO SUPPORT PROVIDING DIRECTION THAT WE WOULD REALLOCATE THE FUNDS TO, UH, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.
I DON'T THINK ANY OF US ARE HAPPY ABOUT THIS DECISION AND WHERE WE HAVE GOTTEN TO.
SO, YOU KNOW, ADD MY, UM, REGRETS THAT WE HAVE ENDED UP WHERE WE'VE ENDED UP.
HOWEVER, LAST NIGHT I HEARD THE VICE MAYOR TALKING ABOUT GOING ON A RUN WITH MEALS ON WHEELS AND HOW THE CONDITIONS OF SOME OF THE HOMES THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN WHO CAN'T AFFORD HOT MEALS, HOW ARE THEY GOING TO AFFORD TO FIX BROKEN HEATERS OR AIR CONDITIONERS OR BOILERS OR WHATEVER ELSE IS GONE AWRY IN THEIR HOMES.
AND THESE, THIS IS A SEGMENT OF OUR POPULATION.
WE ALSO SHOULD HAVE WITHIN OUR CARE, UM, AS RESIDENTS AND THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND IT JUST SEEMS THAT THIS PROGRAM WILL HELP WITH THAT QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND THAT IS ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES IN MY MIND OF A COUNCIL, IS TO LOOK AT ALL RESIDENTS, REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH MONEY THEY HAVE OR WHERE THEY LIVE, THAT WE LOOK TO SEE TO THEIR HEALTH, THEIR WELFARE, AND THEIR, UM, WELLBEING AND QUALITY OF LIFE.
SO I BELIEVE THAT THIS PROJECT WILL DO THAT, UM, AS WELL AS STEPS WOULD'VE DONE IT FOR A DIFFERENT SEGMENT OF OUR POPULATION.
AND SO I AM VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF US MOVING FORWARD AND MAKING SURE THAT THIS MONEY IS SPENT APPROPRIATELY WITHIN OUR CITY.
THANK YOU, MELISSA, VICE MAYOR.
I HAD SPOKEN TO JEANNIE ABOUT WHETHER THE, WHETHER THE PROGRAM WAS SO LIMITED IN TERMS OF ITS REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL, THAT IT WOULD ELIMINATE PEOPLE WHO WERE HOUSE POOR.
SO THERE'S 49% OF THE FUNDING THAT CAN GO TO, REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOUR INCOME IS THAT CAN BE USED.
SO THAT MADE ME FEEL REALLY, 'CAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT, WHAT FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS, YOU KNOW, WHAT WHAT THEY DETERMINED TO BE LOW INCOME, BUT, BUT, UH, THIS WILL COVER ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN SEDONA, REGARDLESS OF THEIR INCOME.
SOME DIRECTED TOWARDS LOW INCOME AND SOME NOT.
UH, ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE ALL KNOW VERDE VALLEY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IS A SOLID ORGANIZATION THEY'VE BEEN IN, IN, IN AND AROUND OUR COMMUNITY FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, AS WELL AS BEING A NATIONAL PROGRAM.
SO I KNOW IT WOULD BE SPENT PROPERLY.
AND, UH, I FEEL LIKE IT'S UNFORTUNATE.
I FEEL WE'RE FORTUNATE THAT WE HAD TWO GOOD PROJECTS.
IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT THE PROJECT THAT WE SELECTED ISN'T GONNA GET FUNDING THROUGH THIS CYCLE, BUT I DO SUPPORT THE RE REALLOCATION.
JESSICA, YOU HAVE FINAL COMMENTS? NO, PETE.
YEAH, LIKE ALL REST OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES EXPRESSING REGRETS.
DAMIEN, IT WAS AN UNFORTUNATE ROLLOUT OF EVENTS.
YOU RUN AN OPPRESSIVE PROGRAM AND I TOO SUPPORT STAFF CONTINUING TO SEEK INTERESTING IDEAS OF, AND CONTINUING TO WORK WITH DAMIEN KATHY.
AGAIN, JUST APOLOGIES FOR THIS NOT BEING ABLE TO GO FORWARD FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION.
I THINK IT'S A WORTHY PROGRAM AND SUPPORT WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND I THANK YOU AND I DO ENCOURAGE THAT WE DO KEEP WORKING WITH YOU ON A REGIONAL APPROACH AND ALSO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE FUTURE SEDONA SPECIFIC SERVICES AS WELL.
UM, BUT YES, I THINK HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IS, IS AN EXCELLENT ORGANIZATION WITH A PROVEN TRACK RECORD.
AND THIS IS A GOOD PROGRAM THAT WILL HELP, UH, A REAL SEGMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY HERE.
SO I SUPPORT THE REALLOCATION.
[00:50:01]
GOOD.CAN I HAVE A, UH, MOTION VICE MAYOR? I MOVED TO AUTHORIZE THE REALLOCATION OF 2023 CDBG TO VERDE VALLEY, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, SEDONA HOME REPAIR PROGRAM AND DIRECT STAFF TO MOVE FORWARD WITH REALLOCATION ACTIVITIES SECOND BY SECOND.
COUNCILOR WILLIAMSON FOR A SECOND.
JAMIE, YOU WANNA SAY A FEW WORDS, PLEASE? FIRST OF ALL, COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
YOU GUYS HAVE ALL BEEN VERY, VERY SUPPORTIVE AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GUYS AND, UH, JEANNIE, AND, AND THAT I KNOW YOU GUYS WERE IN A HARD, HARD, UH, SITUATION TO COME IN AT THE END.
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU PUT TOGETHER.
AND I JUST WANNA SAY I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY AND JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST KEEP IT, KEEP IT IN MIND THAT I'M AVAILABLE.
UM, I KNOW THAT HOMELESSNESS, WORKFORCE, AND ADDICTION ALL GO TOGETHER AND I CAN, I THINK I CAN HELP THE CITY.
IF YOU GUYS EVER COME UP WITH SOMETHING, I WISH THE WORKFORCE, UH, ALLOCATION IN THE BUDGET WOULD'VE BEEN BROUGHT UP SOONER.
I THINK THAT COULD HAVE HELPED.
BUT I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYBODY AND I JUST WANT YOU GUYS TO KNOW THAT I'M HERE.
IF YOU GUYS NEED ANYTHING FROM ME, I'M ALWAYS AVAILABLE.
YEAH, ALSO FOR THE VERDE VALLEY.
[3.b. AB 3076 Discussion/possible direction regarding Tourism Visitor Data and Draft Strategic Plan.]
B, AB 30 76.DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE DIRECTION REGARDING TOURISM, VISITOR, CENTER OF TOURISM, VISITOR DATA, AND DRAFT STRATEGIC PLAN.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, CITY COUNCILORS.
UM, TODAY WE'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON TWO MAJOR TOURISM PROGRAM PROJECTS.
UM, THE FIRST ONE IS THE VISITOR STUDY, LONG AWAITED.
UM, AND THE SECOND IS THE DRAFT OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO I HAVE TWO OTHERS THAT I'M HERE WITH TODAY.
FIRST I WANNA INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR NEW TOURISM MANAGER WHO IS WALKING ACROSS THE ROOM.
UH, HE COMES TO US FROM COLORADO AND HAS WORKED WITH DESTINATIONS ALL OVER THAT STATE, UM, IN HIS ROLE IN DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT WITH THE COLORADO OFFICE OF TOURISM.
SO YOU'LL HEAR, HEAR FROM HIM WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND THEN TO MY RIGHT HERE IS ANTHONY GALLO.
HE IS A TRANSPORTATION DATA SCIENTIST WITH KIMLEY HORN.
UM, AND HE HAS HELPED, UH, LEAD OUR EFFORT WITH THE VISITOR STUDY.
FEEL FREE TO ASK US QUESTIONS AS WE GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TWO DIFFERENT ONES.
WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE VISITOR STUDY, AND THEN WE'LL SWITCH OVER TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN PRESENTATION.
BUT IF WE'RE ALL GOOD WITH THAT, I'M GONNA JUST JUMP INTO THE VISITOR STUDY PORTION OF THINGS.
UM, SO WE HIRED KIMLEY HORN TO HELP US WITH, UM, A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF WHO'S COMING HERE, HOW LONG, UH, FOR HOW LONG, UH, WHERE THEY'RE GOING, WHEN THEY'RE HERE, AND TO UNDERSTAND BETTER OUR WORKER AND RESIDENT VISITATION.
UM, AND THIS WAS FOR THE YEARS OF 20 19, 20 21 AND 2022.
UH, SO WE'VE BEEN ASKING OURSELVES FOR A LONG TIME HOW MANY PEOPLE COME TO SEDONA, UH, ESPECIALLY DURING THE PAN PANDEMIC WHEN IT SEEMED LIKE WE HIT OUR HIGH WATERMARK.
UH, THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON OUR INFRASTRUCTURE WERE ON FULL DISPLAY, AS WE ALL REMEMBER.
UH, WHICH IS WHY THIS STUDY SPECIFICALLY HELPS LOOK AT, UM, OUR STRAINS TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, AT LEAST FROM THE POINT IN TIME THAT THIS DATA WAS TAKEN, UM, AT LEAST ANECDOTALLY, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THIS SPRING, UM, PERHAPS SOME OF OUR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS HAVE STARTED WORKING.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S, IT'S OBVIOUSLY STILL BUSY AND STILL CRAZY, UM, IN THE SPRING, BUT IT SEEMED LIKE THERE WERE MAYBE LESS COMPLAINTS.
UH, MAYBE YOU CAN AGREE WITH ME ON THAT.
BUT ANYWAY, UM, NOW ON THE CALCULATION OF UNIQUE VISITORS, THIS IS A MUCH HARDER NUMBER TO DISCERN, WHICH, UM, ANTHONY WILL TELL YOU ABOUT.
BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT MOST OF THE, UM, INFORMATION THAT WE'LL BE PRESENTING ON TONIGHT REFERS TO A TERM THAT WE'RE CALLING VISITS.
ANTHONY WILL GET INTO WHAT EXACTLY THAT MEANS.
BUT, UM, THE TERM, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT IT AS VISITS REALLY HELP SUPPORT OUR DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND THE, THE STRAIN ON INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, IT DOESN'T ALWAYS NECESSARILY, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE SO MANY
[00:55:01]
VISITORS, BUT IF THEY'RE ALL COMING 15 TIMES A YEAR, WELL THAT'S, THAT'S, WE WANNA UNDERSTAND THAT STRAIN ON OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.SO, UM, IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THIS, UH, DOING THIS STUDY HAS MADE IT SO THAT WE NOW HAVE A METHODOLOGY THAT WE CAN USE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND WE CAN, UH, USE THESE NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE TONIGHT AS OUR BENCHMARK.
SO NOW I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO ANTHONY.
SO AGAIN, UM, MY BACKGROUND, I WORK IN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.
WE'RE GOING STUDYING TRAVEL PATTERNS.
I SPECIALIZE IN WORKING WITH MOBILE DEVICE, CELL PHONE, AND CONNECTED VEHICLE DATA, AND USING THAT TO INFORM STUDIES AROUND HOW PLACES GET VISITED.
SO, UH, THIS WAS UP MY ALLEY, EXCITED TO BE HERE.
UM, SO WE COLLABORATED WITH MULTIPLE VENDORS ON THIS STUDY.
AND THEN WE ALSO WORKED WITH A NUMBER OF GROUND TRUTH DATA SOURCES THAT WERE EITHER AVAILABLE TO THE CITY OR PUBLICLY AVAILABLE THROUGH, THROUGH OTHER DATA SOURCES TO INFORM OUR, UH, OUR METHODOLOGY AND OUR FINDINGS.
SO I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT TODAY FIRST ON HOW WE DEFINE A VISITOR.
'CAUSE THERE'S NO TEXTBOOK DEFINITION THERE.
UH, LAUREN ALLUDED TO THAT A LITTLE BIT.
THE DATA SOURCES THAT, UH, WE WORKED WITH BOTH, UM, LARGE SCALE, BIG, BIG DATA SOURCES, IF YOU WILL, AND GROUND TRUTH, UH, REPORTED DATA SOURCES ARE METHODOLOGY FOR ESTIMATING, UH, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VISITORS PER YEAR IN SEASON.
AND THEN, UH, A LITTLE BIT INTO HOW VISITOR LENGTHS OF STAYS, UH, VARY BY DIFFERENT TYPES OF YEAR, WHERE, WHERE VISITORS ARE COMING FROM, UH, BREAKDOWNS BY CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC, UH, PIECES OF INFORMATION.
SO HOW ARE WE DEFINING A VISITOR? SO LET'S START WITH THE PERSON.
A PERSON MUST, UH, BOTH LIVE AND WORK OUTSIDE OF NOT JUST THE CITY LIMITS, BUT WE WORK WITH STAFF TO IDENTIFY, UH, THE BLACK BOUNDARY THAT YOU SEE ON THE MAP HERE, WHICH WE'RE CALLING THE GREATER SEDONA AREA.
SO YOU ARE A VISITOR IF YOU BOTH LIVE AND WORK OUTSIDE OF THAT AREA.
NOW THAT THE OUTSIDE OF THAT BLACK BOUNDARY DOES INCLUDE COMMUNITIES LIKE COTTONWOOD AND, AND CAMP VERDE.
BUT, UM, ANYONE THAT LIVES, LIVES OR WORKS INSIDE THAT BLACK BOUNDARY WOULD BE CONSTITUTED AS A LOCAL.
AND THEN THAT PERSON MUST ACTUALLY TAKE A TRIP THAT STARTS, STOPS OR PASSES THROUGH THE CITY LIMITS.
UH, LAUREN MENTIONED THE, UM, DEFINING A VISIT.
SO WITH THE DATA SETS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, LOOKING AT TRACKING MOBILE DEVICES OVER TIME, A VISITOR WHO COMES TO SEDONA MULTIPLE TIMES A YEAR, YOU KNOW, COULD BE 20, COULD BE TWO OR THREE, AND COMES ON DIFFERENT DAYS AND DOESN'T STAY OVERNIGHT, THOSE WOULD BE COUNTED AS A UNIQUE VISIT EACH TIME I'M IN TOWN FOR A COUPLE DAYS.
ME BEING IN TOWN FOR TWO NIGHTS, THAT WOULD COUNT AS ONE VISIT.
SO A A LITTLE BIT OF A, SOME SOMETHING TO WRAP YOUR BRAIN AROUND THERE.
WE'VE GOT, UM, ESTIMATES FOR VISITOR DAYS AS WELL, WHICH WILL BE VISITORS MULTIPLIED BY NUMBER OF DAYS.
UM, THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH HOW OTHER VENDORS THAT WORK IN, IN THIS SPACE REPORT THINGS.
UH, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A, A SECONDARY PROPRIETARY VENDOR THAT THE, THAT STAFF WERE WORKING WITH THAT ALSO ESTI USED, UH, THIS METHODOLOGY AND THIS DEFINITION FOR VISITORS AS WELL.
SO I'M HAPPY TO TALK ON THAT FURTHER.
AGAIN, A LOCAL THEN WOULD BE SOMEONE WHO LIVES OR WORKS INSIDE THE BLACK BOUNDARY.
YOU CAN BOTH LIVE AND WORK, LIVE INSIDE, LIVE OUTSIDE, COMMUTE IN OR LIVE INSIDE OR COMMUTE OUT.
SO THE DATA SOURCES WE WORKED WITH, WE CONTRACTED WITH TWO VENDORS THAT I WORK WITH PRETTY CLOSELY.
SO THEY'RE A PLATFORM THAT THEY, UH, ESSENTIALLY HAVE A MODEL THAT THEY CALL A, A, A SYNTHETIC POPULATION, LITERALLY MODELING SYNTHETIC PEOPLE.
IT'S A VERY, VERY DETAILED MODEL OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY THAT IS ROOTED IN MOBILE DEVICE DATA, CREDIT TRANSACTION DATA, CENSUS DATA, LAND USE DATA.
AND THIS WAS A TOOL THAT WE USED TO ESSENTIALLY GET AT WHAT VISITATION LOOKS LIKE ON JUST AN AVERAGE DAY.
AND THEN WE WORKED WITH A VENDOR CALLED STREETLIGHT DATA WHO PROVIDED US, UH, WE, WE WORKED KIND OF UNDER THE, THE HOOD WITH THEM A LITTLE BIT.
THEY TRACK, UH, MOBILE DEVICES, SO CELL PHONES, THEY SAMPLE MOBILE DEVICES.
THEY PROVIDED US WITH SOME GRANULAR BREAKDOWNS ON HOW LONG VISITORS ARE ACTUALLY STAYING, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF VISITORS ARE COMING FOR, YOU KNOW, JUST THE DAY, NOT STAYING OVERNIGHT VERSUS SEVERAL NIGHTS.
UM, AND THEY ALSO PROVIDE US WITH SOME DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON, ON THOSE VISITORS.
WITH THAT, WE ALSO WORKED WITH, UH, A NUMBER OF REPORTED OR FIELD DATA, GROUND TRUTH DATA, IF YOU WILL, TO PROVIDE US, UM, BOTH WITH UNDERSTANDING SCALING AND VARIABILITY OF HOW THINGS, THINGS FLUCTUATE A LOT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR HERE.
UH, AND ALSO AS BACK CHECKS ON OUR DATA, I WANT CALL OUT A COUPLE, ANTHONY, BEFORE YOU YEP.
WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM ADEAS.
UH, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, REPLICA, DIDN'T YOU REFERENCE THAT IN THE PACKET THAT THAT RELIES LARGELY ON, UH, CONNECTED VEHICLE DATA OR THAT'S A BIG PART OF IT.
I THINK THEY HAVE A, A SAMPLE OF, OF CONNECTED VEHICLE AND, UM, MOBILE DEVICE, LIKE
[01:00:01]
CELL PHONE DATA THAT, THAT LANDSCAPE'S CHANGING A LOT, ESPECIALLY OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.SO SAMPLE SIZES FLUCTUATE A GOOD AMOUNT EVEN FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
SO, AND SO, LIKE WITH CONNECTED VEHICLES, ARE YOU ANTICIPATING THAT IN THE FUTURE THAT THAT WILL BE BECOME PRIVACY LIMITED THE SAME WAY THAT CELL PHONE INFORMATION IS BECOMING LIMITED? THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
WE'RE SEEING, WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THAT HAPPEN.
I THINK THAT IN THE NEAR TERM, I'M, I'M NOT SEEING THAT IN THE LANDSCAPE AND WE'RE KIND OF USING IT FULL STEAM AHEAD ON A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION PLANNING APPLICATIONS.
BUT I, I DO SHARE YOUR CONCERN.
AND APOLOGIES IF I MISSED IT IN THE PACKET, BUT HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE A CONNECTED VEHICLE INTO HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE VEHICLE, INTO HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE VEHICLE? UM, SO THAT WOULD BE PART OF OUR VENDOR STREETLIGHT DATAS, OR I GUESS IN THIS CASE REPLICA'S UNDERLYING METHODOLOGY.
I THINK THEY HAVE, THEY'VE GOT SOME DOCUMENTATION ONLINE FOR HOW THEY DO THAT.
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEY'RE MAKING THAT TRANSLATION, BUT THERE IS, SO YOU'RE, THIS MODEL ASSUMES THAT ONE VEHICLE DOES NOT EQUAL ONE VISITOR REPLICA.
IT EQUALS 2.1 OR 2.2 OR SOME PERCENTAGE, WHICH REPLIC PORTIONS OF PEOPLE.
IT'S MODELING INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE, UM, WHETHER IT'S THEIR, THEIR UNDERLYING, THEY'RE, THEY'RE CREATING A MODEL AND IT IS ROOTED IN CELL PHONE DATA, MOBILE DEVICE DATA, CREDIT TRANSACTION DATA, VARIETY OF DATA SOURCES.
BUT THEY, THEY HAVE A, YOU CAN GET UNDER THE HOOD THERE AND LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL TRIPS.
I'LL GIVE YOU THE ANSWER TOO BEFORE YOU GO ON.
CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN WHAT THE TERM CONNECTED VEHICLE IS? IT'S SOMETHING NEW.
IT'S, I THINK I KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT I PLUGGED MY PHONE INTO MY CAR.
IS THAT BASICALLY WHAT IT IS? NEWER MODEL VEHICLES THAT, UH, HAVE A TON OF DATA THAT, UM, CAN GET SOLD TO THIRD PARTIES ESSENTIALLY TO PROVIDE LIKE VERY HIGH RESOLUTION LATITUDE, LONGITUDE WHERE YOU WERE BREAKING THINGS LIKE THAT.
IT DOESN'T REALLY NEED YOUR PHONE.
MY CAR'S NOT DOING ENOUGH THEN.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT CONNECTED MEANT.
NOW I DO UNDERSTAND KIND OF A LOOSE TERM.
AND EVEN FOR THE PEOPLE WATCHING, THEY MAY NOT KNOW AS WELL.
SO THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING MAYOR.
SORRY, WHILE WE'RE PAUSED, UH, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE GOT THERE YET.
JUST LOOKING AT YOUR LIST OF REPORTED FIELD DATA, THERE'S NO REFERENCE TO SORT OF THE VM DATA.
THERE'S ANOTHER VIS DATA SOURCE THAT WE'VE BEEN, AND KIMBERLY HORNS BEEN SPENT A LOT OF TIME WORKING.
SO IS, IS THAT DATA SOURCE WITH YOU AS WELL? SO, I'M SORRY, WHICH DATA SOURCE IS THAT? TRAFFIC MODELING.
SO WE ARE ALSO OH, OH, THE M THE TRAFFIC MODEL VIS, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
THAT, UM, THAT PARTICULAR DATA SET WOULDN'T BE VERY APPLICABLE HERE, TO BE HONEST.
IT'S, UM, IT, THAT IS LIKE A PEAK HOUR SIMULATION MODEL OF, UH, TRAFFIC CONDITIONS IN A VERY SPEC SPECIFIC AREA.
SO A COUPLE DATA SETS I WANNA HIGHLIGHT HERE FROM THE REPORTED AND FIELD DATA BECAUSE, UM, WE'VE GOT, THERE'S A LOT OF GRANULARITY, PARTICULARLY TO THE ARIZONA.
DOT HAS CONTINUOUS TRAFFIC COUNT STATIONS ON 1 79 SOUTH OF THE CITY, AND ON 89 A WEST OF THE CITY THAT ARE PROVIDING, I THINK EVEN BETTER THAN DAILY.
BUT WE HAVE, WE HAVE DAILY COUNTS GOING BACK TO 2018 THAT WE LOOKED AT.
SO WE CAN SEE HOW THINGS PEAK WEEK TO WEEK OR EVEN DAY TO DAY AND SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EXTREME DAYS.
UM, I'LL, I'LL LEAD A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THAT LATER.
AND THEN THE, THE CITY WASTEWATER FLOW DATA ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE DAILY LEVEL, SO THAT ALSO CAN REFLECT THAT LIKE INDIVIDUAL DAY PEAKING.
SO AS EXAMPLES, I WANNA SHOW, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF THE, THE CORRELATION OF OUR GROUND TRUTH DATA AND WHY WE HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN USING IT TO, UM, A ADJUST AND AND SCALE OUR ESTIMATES.
SO HERE'S MONTHLY LODGING DEMAND.
THIS IS COMING FROM SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH WHERE WE'VE GOT YEAR OVER YEAR, UH, LODGING DEMAND OR SAMPLED LODGING DEMAND IN TERMS OF, UH, TOTAL, TOTAL ROOMS, UH, DEMANDED PER MONTH.
AND SO YOU'VE GOT, UH, 20, 19 20 AND YOU CAN SEE THE DIP FOR COVID 21 AND 22.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL MONTHS IN WHICH THERE ARE SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT YEAR TO YEAR VARIATIONS.
I'LL POINT OUT PRETTY NOTABLY, UH, MAY, 2021 WAS 10% HIGHER THAN 2019.
NOVEMBER, 2021 WAS 12% HIGHER THAN 2019.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE, WE COMPARED A NUMBER OF THOSE DATA SOURCES THAT I SHOWED ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE AS AN EXAMPLE.
WE WERE JUST LOOKING AT CORRELATIONS AMONG THEM, UH, MONTH TO MONTH.
AND YOU CAN SEE LODGING DEMAND VERSUS TRAFFIC VOLUME HAS A VERY HIGH CORRELATION R SQUARED OF ABOUT 0.92.
STATE ROUTE 1 79 AND 89 A COMBINED.
UM, A COUPLE THINGS I DON'T HAVE ON THIS SLIDE, BUT I WANNA JUST POINT OUT STATISTICS WISE, 'CAUSE THIS, THIS'LL HELP WITH I THINK SETTING THE CONTEXT IN A FEW SLIDES WHEN I TALK ABOUT, UM, VISITATION ESTIMATES.
[01:05:01]
VOLUMES, WERE LOOKING AT THIS SAME TIMEFRAME, LIKE THINKING ABOUT THE, THIS GRAPH HERE ON THE LEFT WE'RE UP 8% IN MAY, 2021 VERSUS MAY, 2019.AND THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENCE IN 1 79 VERSUS 89 A.
BUT YOU CAN THINK TRAFFIC VOLUMES WERE UP 8% THAT SPECIFIC MONTH.
AND THEN IN NOVEMBER, 2021, THEY WERE ACTUALLY FAIRLY CONSISTENT, UM, BETWEEN 2021 AND 2019.
NOW INDIVIDUAL DAYS, I KNOW, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT STRAIN ON INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT.
INDIVIDUAL DAYS HAD SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT VARIATION, UH, PARTICULARLY IN TRAFFIC VOLUMES.
SO 1 79 AVERAGES 14,000 VEHICLES PER DAY, SLIGHTLY HIGHER ON WEEKENDS.
THE HIGHEST DAY THAT WE HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL DAY FOR 1 79 IS FROM EASTER WEEKEND IN 2021, APRIL 2ND, 2021 AT 17,000 VEHICLES.
SO THAT'S 20% GREATER THAN AVERAGE ON THAT DAY.
THERE WERE FOUR DAYS IN APRIL, 2021 ALONE, WHICH THE, THE, THE FOUR HIGHEST DAYS THAT WE HAVE IN THE COUNTS GOING BACK FIVE YEARS FOR 1 79, WERE ALL IN APRIL, 2021.
SO KEEP THAT IN MIND THAT THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL DAYS IN WHICH, IN MY BACKGROUND'S, ACTUALLY IN TRAFFIC ENGINEERING.
SO GOING 20% ABOVE YOUR DAILY VOLUME, THAT'S A, THAT'S A VERY LARGE FLUCTUATION.
SO, UM, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME EXTREME DAYS IN WHICH THINGS, UH, THERE, THERE WAS A GOOD AMOUNT OF STRAIN PUT ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO I SAY ALL THAT TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT ON THESE TOTAL VISITOR ESTIMATES.
AND I WANNA FOCUS FIRST ON THIS, UH, FIRST ROW HERE WHERE WE HAVE OUR, OUR VISITOR ESTIMATE THAT CAME OUT OF OUR, OUR METHODOLOGY THAT'S DETAILED IN OUR REPORT, AND I'M HAPPY TO SPEAK MORE TO THAT METHODOLOGY, UM, AT LENGTH IF YOU'D LIKE.
SO, 2019, WE, WE DON'T HAVE AN ESTIMATE FOR 2020, UNFORTUNATELY, WE'RE, WE'RE LACKING A GOOD AMOUNT OF DATA FROM SOME OF THE, THE VENDORS THAT WE WORK WITH.
SO 20 19, 20 21 AND 2022, I KNOW A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS WE GOT FROM STAFF WERE, OH, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS, IT WAS VERY NOTICEABLE IN 2021, HOW MUCH WORSE THINGS WERE THAN 2019, AND WE'RE SHOWING AN INCREASE OF ONLY ABOUT 4% OR 120,000 PEOPLE OVER THE COURSE OF THE WHOLE YEAR, OR 300 PEOPLE A DAY, I THINK IS HOW YOU PUT IT.
SO WHAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IN PARTICULAR IS THAT THERE WERE, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENCES MONTH TO MONTH.
SO THERE WERE SOME INDIVIDUAL MONTHS THAT HAD MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 19 AND 21.
SO MAY, 2021, WE ESTIMATE 36,000 MORE VISITORS COMPARED TO MAY 20 NINETEENS.
THAT WOULD BE A 12% INCREASE, NOVEMBER 20, 21, 40 6,000 MORE VISITORS THAN NOVEMBER, 2019.
SO THAT WOULD BE A 19% INCREASE.
ALTERNATIVELY, OR CONVERSELY, JANUARY, 2021, YOU KNOW, THINGS WERE STILL COMING OUTTA THE PANDEMIC, 19,000 FEWER VISITORS THAN 2019.
SO THE, THE START OF 2021 IN PARTICULAR IS HOW YOU, THERE WAS A DECREASE COMPARED TO 2019.
SO ON THE AGGREGATE OVER THE COURSE OF THE WHOLE YEAR, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THAT MUCH OF AN INCREASE AS A SECONDARY CHECK THERE.
JUST THINKING ABOUT, UH, TOTAL TRAFFIC VOLUMES AND LODGING DEMAND, I'LL KEEP GOING BACK TO THOSE LODGING DEMAND SHOWED A 1.5% INCREASE BETWEEN 19 AND 21, AND TRAFFIC VOLUMES ONLY SHOWED ABOUT A 1% INCREASE.
SO THAT VISITATION, THAT INCREASE IN VISITATION TO ME, DIDN'T FEEL THAT THAT, THAT BACK CHECK FELT REASONABLE TO ME.
AND THEN FINALLY, LAUREN MENTIONED, WE DID PUT TOGETHER AN ESTIMATE FOR UNIQUE VISITORS, AS IN LIKE LITERAL U UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL HUMAN BEINGS WHO, WHO VISITED THE CITY OF SEDONA.
THAT, AS LAUREN MENTIONED, IS MUCH MORE CHALLENGING TO ESTIMATE, JUST GIVEN THE LIMITATIONS AND SOME OF THE DATA SETS THAT WE HAD AVAILABLE AND THAT OUR, OUR VENDORS HAD.
WE, UH, ARE BASICALLY WORKING WITH IT.
IT'S SOMEWHAT OF AN INFERRED CALCULATION LOOKING AT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF, UH, VEHICLE TRIPS THAT WERE BEING CAPTURED FROM STREETLIGHT DATA AND THE NUMBER OF THE MOBILE DEVICES THAT THEY WERE CAPTURING.
AND THERE WAS SOME VARIATION IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, BUT WE BASICALLY SILOED THAT GEOGRAPHICALLY AND ENDED UP WITH A, UH, TRIP TO DEVICE RATIO, IF YOU WILL.
AND, UH, WE ENDED UP WITH, UH, AROUND, ENDED UP AROUND EIGHT TRIPS PER UNIQUE VISITOR IN YAVAPAI COUNTY, AND THEN A LITTLE MORE THAN, UH, ONE TRIP PER UNIQUE VISITOR FROM MARICOPA COUNTY OR OUT OF STATE.
THAT FELT PRETTY REASONABLE UNTIL WE END UP WITH THE NUMBERS YOU SEE HERE IN THIS THIRD ROW.
CAN YOU GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT BETTER IDEA OF WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT RANGE LINE? YEAH.
IS THAT A CONFIDENCE INTERVAL? IT'S, IT'S A CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, UH, PULLING A FEW DIFFERENT NUMBERS OUT OF REPLICA AND WORKING WITH THOSE TO, ESSENTIALLY, IT'S ESSENTIALLY LIKE A, YOU CAN THINK OF IT AS A CONFIDENCE INTERVAL.
SO IF THAT'S A CONFIDENCE LEVEL, IS IT REALLY FAIR TO SAY WE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 21 AND 22 BECAUSE THEY'RE NUMBERS SIT BOTH WITHIN THE RANGES, THE RANGES OF OVERLAPPING.
DO WE, YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT YOU'D SAID THERE'S A 4% DIFFERENCE, BUT IT'S REALLY WITHIN THE NOISE, ISN'T IT? SO DO WE KNOW
[01:10:01]
AND DATASET AFTER DATASET IS SHOWING THERE TO BE SOME SORT OF INCREASE FROM 19 TO 21 AND THEN A SLIGHT DECREASE FROM 21 TO 22 STATISTICS.
SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE MY CONFIDENCE CO THAT'S LIKE THE, MY GUIDE CONFIDENCE COMES IN, IF YOU WILL.
WHAT, IS THERE ANY HOPE THAT THOSE RANGES REDUCE OVER TIME OR A DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE OR A DIFFERENT DATA SOURCE OR, I CAN'T SAY FOR CERTAIN ON THAT.
UM, I, I WOULD, AGAIN, THINKING OF LIKE A 5% TO 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL OF DEFINITELY WITHIN HERE, BUT, UM, STICKING TO THE, THE, I I CAN'T SPEAK FURTHER TO WHETHER OR NOT, I THINK THAT CONFIDENCE INTERVAL GO OUT OVER TIME.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS WHILE WE HAVE A PAUSE? NO.
SO I'M GONNA DOVETAIL A LITTLE INTO A SERIES OF CHARTS, LOOKING AT HOW LONG VISITORS ARE STAYING.
SO THIS IS COMING FROM STREETLIGHT DATA.
THE, THE SECOND OFFENDER THAT WE WORKED WITH, UH, WHERE WE DID A, A CUSTOM ANALYSIS WITH THEM, UH, WHERE THEY WERE TRACKING MOBILE DEVICES OVER A NUMBER OF DAYS AND ESSENTIALLY LOGGING HOW LONG THAT DEVICE STAYED IN THE REGION, AND THEN MAKING SURE OF THE, OF THOSE DEVICES WE WERE LOOKING AT, THAT THAT WAS ACTUALLY FROM A VISITOR AND NOT A RESIDENT OR A WORKER OF SEDONA.
SO THIS CHART IS LOOKING AT THE BREAKDOWN.
THE, UH, TOP FIVE BARS ARE FROM 2019 AND THE BOTTOM FIVE FROM 2021, LOOKING AT SEASONAL VARIATION IN HOW, UH, HOW, HOW LONG VISITORS ARE STAYING.
SO ON AVERAGE, THE, IF WE LOOK AT THE ENTIRE YEAR FOR 2019 OR 2021, WE SEE THAT ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF VISITORS ARE ZERO DAY OR, OR SORRY, ONE NIGHT OR ONE DAY ZERO NIGHT STAYS.
UH, THAT NUMBER GOES UP A LITTLE BIT IN THE FALL AND THE SPRING, WHICH I THINK MAKES SENSE THAT YOU HAVE MORE SINGLE DAY NON OVERNIGHT VISITORS IN THE FALL AND THE SPRING.
WE DID SEE SOME SLIGHT UPTICK FROM 19 TO 2021, WHICH ALSO I THINK MAKES SENSE THAT YOU WOULD SEE MORE SINGLE DAY VISITORS IN 2021 BASED ON WHAT WE'VE HEARD ANECDOTALLY.
AND AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, SPRING AND FALL SHOW THE HIGHER PERCENTAGES OF SINGLE DAY VISITORS.
SO NOW LOOKING AT VISITOR LENGTHS OF STAYS VERSUS INCOME.
SO THIS GRAPH, I'M GONNA SHOW A SERIES OF GRAPHS AFTER THIS THAT BASICALLY ALL FOLLOW THE SAME FORMAT WHERE EACH BAR ON THE BOTTOM REPRESENTS A, UH, NUMBER OF NIGHTS BEING STAYED, AND THEN LOOKING AT THE STACKS ALONG THE BAR THAT'LL BREAK DOWN SOME SORT OF VARIABLE.
SO THAT IN THIS CASE, THIS IS LOOKING AT A DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME.
SO IF WE LOOK AT THE LAST TWO BARS ON THE RIGHT, THAT'S LOOKING AT THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOMES FOR ALL VISITORS WHO ARE STAYING IN SEDONA OR VISITING SEDONA.
AND THEN THE US UH, THE INCOME OF OF DISTRIBUTION OF THE US ON AVERAGE.
SO, SORRY, DID SOMEONE, SOMEONE SAY SOMETHING QUESTION? YEAH, I'VE GOT A QUESTION.
UH, SO IS THIS INCOME PER VISITOR? IS THIS HOUSEHOLD INCOME? THIS IS INCOME PER, I WOULD NEED TO CHECK ON THAT.
'CAUSE THAT, THAT QUESTION COMES UP FOR ME IN, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL BE IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT IT'S IN THE PACKET OF TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER WE'RE REALLY GETTING A VIEW AT HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF VISITORS THAT COME AS A GROUP VERSUS AN INDIVIDUAL.
'CAUSE YOU CAN HAVE SOME VERY DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS DRAWN ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT THEY HAVE WHEN THEY STAY OR WHEN THEY VISIT.
I'LL, I'LL NEED TO DOUBLE CHECK THAT WE CAN NOTE THAT IN THE REPORT.
MAYOR PETE, I, I FOUND THIS CHART FASCINATING.
I THINK WE, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SPEND A LOT OF TIME DIGGING INTO WHAT THIS MIGHT MEAN OR WHAT THIS MIGHT NOT.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY INSIGHT AS TO WHAT THIS MIGHT MEAN FOR TOURISM? I, I'M GUESSING IN PARTICULAR IS THE QUESTION AROUND THAT THERE, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TWO BARS ON THE RIGHT, THAT THE, THERE IS A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF FOLKS VISITING MAKING LESS THAN 50 K ON AVERAGE AS COMPARED TO JUST THE DISTRIBUTION IN THE US AND THAT, I DUNNO, MAYBE MY, MY GUT WAS THAT EXPECTING THE OPPOSITE.
SO A COUPLE THINGS TO THINK OF THERE.
UH, AGAIN, WE COULD BE CAPTURING SOME, THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF VISITORS, THERE ARE A LOT OF VISITS FROM YAVAPAI COUNTY, WHICH WE'LL GET TO THAT ARE NOT, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY BE TOURISTS OR THEY MAY BE FOLKS COMING IN FOR ANY NON-HOME WORK PURPOSE COMING IN FOR SHOPPING OR RESTAURANTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
ALSO RETIRED OR SENIOR CITIZENS.
WHERE DO THEY, YOU KNOW, THAT FOR INDIVIDUAL INCOME OR HOUSEHOLD INCOME, THOSE WOULD SKEW, YOU KNOW, TOWARDS THE LOWER END OF THE SPECTRUM.
THOSE, THOSE ARE OUR TWO HYPOTHESES THERE, PARTICULARLY FOR JUST, I FOUND IT REALLY FASCINATING THAT
[01:15:01]
SEVEN THE LONGEST STAYS THE LESS, YES, I THINK INCOME CATEGORY HAD, YOU KNOW, THE INCREASE THERE.IT'S JUST, IT WAS FASCINATING TO ME TO THINK.
NOW ONE THING THAT I, I DO WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT THE 5, 6, 7 PLUS NIGHT STAYS, THAT'S LIKE 3% OF THE VISITORS TOTAL.
IT'S A, IT'S A VERY LOW PER RIGHT.
WHICH YOU OBVIOUSLY CAN'T, CANNOT GET FROM THIS CHART.
BUT GOING BACK TO THE PREVIOUS ONE, YEAH.
SO JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE RETIRED MM-HMM.
SO IF YOU ARE, FOR INSTANCE, ON SOCIAL SECURITY, YOUR INCOME LEVEL WILL BE LOW, BUT YOU COULD HAVE A BILLION DOLLARS SITTING IN A PORTFOLIO SOMEWHERE.
SO, SO JUST TO BE SORT OF CLEAR HERE, MM-HMM.
AND ONE'S CAPABILITY OF PURCHASE OR WHAT KIND OF ACCOMMODATIONS THEY MIGHT BE LOOKING AT.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IF I'M CORRECT, THAT IT'S CLEAR TO SORT OF EVERYONE WHO MAY BE LISTENING, THAT ONE IS NOT NECESSARILY A TRUE CORRELATION OR CAUSALITY OF THE OTHER.
I I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT CHECK WITH STREETLIGHT DATA AND CONFIRM THAT THAT IS THE ASSUMPTION, BUT WORK, THEY'RE WORKING WITH UNDERLYING CENSUS DATA.
AND SO IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT INCOME FROM A CENSUS DATA PERSPECTIVE, IT WOULD NOT ACCOUNT FOR YOUR WEALTH.
AND, AND THIS BRINGS ME BACK AGAIN TO MY QUESTION A MOMENT AGO ABOUT INDIVIDUAL VERSUS HOUSEHOLD, BECAUSE IF YOU'VE GOT A COUPLE THAT SHOWS UP ONE HALF THE COUPLE EARNS $45,000 A YEAR, THE OTHER EARNS 80, THEY SHOW UP IN THOSE FIRST TWO BARS, BUT AS A COUPLE, THEY WOULD BE IN THE GREEN.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHO IS IT THAT'S HERE AND WHAT KIND OF BUYING BEHAVIOR DO THEY HAVE? AND, AND THIS IS CHALLENGING TO KNOW, TO TRY TO READ INTO THAT WITHOUT KNOWING WHETHER WE'RE TALKING HOW HOUSEHOLD INCOME VERSUS INDIVIDUAL IS, IS FACTORED IN HERE.
SO, YEAH, WE'LL, UH, WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT AND, AND INCLUDE THAT IN THE FINAL REPORT.
NOW LOOKING AT A BREAKDOWN BY RACE.
SO THIS IS THE SAME CHART SET UP AS THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, BUT SWAPPING OUT RACE FOR INCOME.
SO IF WE LOOK AT A BREAKDOWN BY RACE, AGAIN, I'M GONNA FOCUS ON THE TWO BARS ON THE FAR RIGHT.
SO THE, ANY LENGTH OF STAY WOULD BE ALL VISITORS.
SO THE PERCENTAGE OF VISITORS TO SEDONA SKEWS WHITE AROUND 71% COMPARED TO THE US AVERAGE OF AROUND 62%.
THE MOST NOTICEABLE RACIAL GROUP THAT IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE IN TERMS OF VISITATION TO SEDONA WOULD BE BLACK, 4% OF VISITORS AS COMPARED TO 12% OF THE US POPULATION.
AND IN GENERAL, THE LONGER THE LENGTH OF STAY, THE HIGHER THE PERCENTAGE OF WHITE PEOPLE.
THIS, THIS SLIDE'S GONNA LOOK AT THE STATE LEVEL, AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE WE'LL BREAK DOWN WITHIN ARIZONA FOR COUNTIES.
SO I WANT TO, AGAIN, LET'S START WITH THIS BAR ON THE FAR RIGHT, LOOKING AT ANY LENGTH OF STAY.
SO ALL VISITORS, SO ACROSS ANY LENGTH OF STAY, 54% OF VISITORS, SO SLIGHTLY MORE THAN HALF ARE FROM ARIZONA FOR INDIVIDUAL DAY TRIPS.
THAT SKEWS THE BAR ON THE FAR LEFT, THAT SKEWS MUCH MORE HEAVILY TOWARDS ARIZONA RESIDENTS AT 90, ABOUT 90% OF ALL VISITORS.
AND THEN FOR MULTI-DAY TRIPS, OTHER STATES ARE MUCH MORE REPRESENTED AS WE'D EXPECT, CALIFORNIA BEING THE HIGHEST WITH AROUND 13% OF ALL VISITORS ACROSS ANY LENGTH OF STAY.
AND THEN OTHER STATES THAT HAVE AT LEAST 2% OF VISITORS, COLORADO, FLORIDA, ILLINOIS, MICHIGAN, OHIO, AND TEXAS, FOR LONGER LENGTHS OF STAYS, THAT PERCENTAGE OF ARIZONA RESIDENTS INCREASES AS COMPARED TO THOSE STAYS OF SAY, ONE TO FIVE NIGHTS.
AND THIS IS KIND OF SIMILAR TO WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT WITH INCOME LEVELS, WHERE THE INCOME LEVELS WERE STARTING TO GO DOWN.
WE, UH, YES, THE INCOME LEVELS WERE STARTING TO GO DOWN.
WHEN WE LOOK AT 5, 6, 7 NIGHT STAYS.
AGAIN, THIS REPRESENTS A REALLY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF VISITORS.
THIS OUR, OUR THOUGHT HERE, WHETHER THIS IS, UH, RETIREES OR, UH, OR, OR JUST CONSTITUTING FOLKS MAKING, UH, THAT COULD BE STAYING WITH FRIENDS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S A LOW PERCENTAGE OF VISITORS, BUT WE DID FIND THAT TO BE PARTICULARLY INTERESTING.
NOW, IF WE LOOK AT A BREAKDOWN BY COUNTIES WITHIN ARIZONA, SO THIS IS THE SAME CHART AS BEFORE IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
ONLY NOW EVERYTHING OUT OF STATE IS HASHED OUT IN GRAY.
[01:20:01]
THEN THE ARIZONA COUNTIES ARE BROKEN OUT IN COLORS.AGAIN, I'M GONNA POINT YOU TO THE GRAPH ON THE, OR THE BAR ON THE FAR RIGHT AGAIN.
SO, YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN ORANGE REPRESENTS 33% OF ALL VISITS, 62% OF ALL THE VISITS FROM ARIZONA.
THIS SKEWS VERY HEAVILY TOWARDS DAY TRIPS.
SO BAR ON THE LEFT WITH 69% OF ALL SINGLE DAY VISITORS COMING FROM YAVAPAI COUNTY.
I'VE GOT A MAP ON THE NEXT SLIDE THAT SHOWS WE LOOKED AT.
OKAY, THAT'S VERY LARGE NUMBER OF VISITS FROM YAVAPAI COUNTY.
YAVAPAI COUNTY IS NOT THAT POPULATED.
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? MOST OF THOSE ARE VISITORS FROM THE COMMUNITIES SOUTHWEST OF THE CITY, OUTSIDE OF THAT GREATER SEDONA AREA.
SO AGAIN, OUTSIDE OF THAT BLACK BOUNDARY ON THAT MAP I SHOWED YOU, COTTONWOOD, CLARKDALE, VILLE, CAMP VERDE, THOSE ARE ALL HEAVILY REPRESENTED IN THE ORANGE BAR ON THE FAR LEFT, IN PARTICULAR FOR FOLKS STAYING, UH, ONE NIGHT OR MORE, MARICOPA IS THE MOST REPRESENTED.
ARIZONA COUNTY COMPRISES 17% OF ALL ONE NIGHT VISITORS, AND THEN, UH, 19% OF ALL TWO NIGHT VISITORS.
AND THAT INCLUDES OUT OF STATE.
AND THEN ACROSS ALL STAYS, MARICOPA COUNTY REPRESENTS 12%.
ONE OTHER NOTE ABOUT YAVAPAI COUNTY, AND I'LL ACTUALLY BRING UP THE MAP ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THIS IS, THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A HEAT MAP OF VISITORS FROM YAVAPAI COUNTY.
UH, THIS IS LOOKING BY CENSUS TRACK.
SO THERE'S SOME OVERLAP HERE, BUT OUTSIDE OF THE GREATER SEDONA AREA.
SO OUTSIDE OF THIS BLACK BOUNDARY, YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN, LIVE AND WORK OUTSIDE THIS BLACK BOUNDARY TO BE CONSTITU AS A VISITOR.
WHERE ARE THOSE YAVAPAI COUNTY VISITORS COMING FROM? SO, AGAIN, SKEWS VERY HEAVILY TOWARDS COTTONWOOD COVILLE, THE COMMUNITIES JUST TO THE SOUTH OF WEST OF HERE, UH, STILL IN THE VERDE VALLEY.
MOST OF THOSE VISITORS FROM YAVAPAI COUNTY, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE DATA, ARE GOING TO DESTINATIONS ON, SORRY, ON THE, THE WEST SIDE OF THE CITY.
SO THE, THE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL AREAS WEST OF UPTOWN, 75% OF THE VISITOR TRIPS FROM YAVAPAI COUNTY ARE GOING TO THAT REGION OF THE CITY.
UM, WHEREAS THE, THE, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT TRIPS FROM ELSEWHERE, THOSE, UH, THOSE DESTINATIONS ARE MUCH LESS REPRESENTED.
WE DID COORDINATE WITH STREETLIGHT DATA A LITTLE BIT MORE TO LOOK AT THOSE INDIVIDUAL TRIPS.
THEY DID CONFIRM THAT THEY WERE PICKING UP A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF TRIPS THAT THEY WERE CLASSIFYING AS VISITORS FROM YAVAPAI COUNTY, MAKING MULTIPLE TRIPS THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, NON OVERNIGHT TRIPS WITHIN, EVEN WITHIN A SINGLE MONTH.
PERHAPS THAT'S NOT A, A TOURIST OR RECREATION TRIP, BUT THOSE ARE STILL FOLKS THAT LIVE AND WORK OUTSIDE OF THE GREATER SEDONA BOUNDARY.
AGAIN, I SEE THIS AS YOU'RE FREQUENTLY OCCURRING.
NON-HOME WORK TRIPS BETWEEN ADJACENT COMMUNITIES.
SO PEOPLE VISITING FRIENDS OR FAMILY GOING TO THE MOVIES, SHOPPING, RECREATION, RESTAURANTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
IF THERE WAS PEOPLE THAT LIVED OUTSIDE OF THE BOUNDARIES OF PI COUNTY AND THEY CAME IN TO WORK OFF THE BOOKS, THEY WOULD GET COUNTED AS A VISITOR.
SO WHAT SO STREETLIGHT DATA, THE VENDOR WE WORKED WITH ON THIS, THEY ARE TRACKING WHERE A DEVICE IS REPEATEDLY SPENDING LARGE AMOUNTS OF TIME.
SO DEPENDS ON WHAT OFF THE BOOKS MEANS.
IF IT'S A COUPLE DAYS A WEEK, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE COUNTED AS A VISITOR.
IF IT'S FREQUENTLY ON MONDAYS THROUGH FRIDAYS, ESPECIALLY DURING THE DAYTIME HOURS IN SEDONA, THAT WOULD GET PICKED UP AS A COMMUTER, AS A WORKER.
ON THAT POINT, YOU SAID MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, DO YOU MEAN MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY OR DO YOU MEAN LIKE FIVE SUCCESSIVE DAYS? BECAUSE WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE AN UPTICK ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.
SO, SO I DON'T HAVE, I DON'T HAVE THE EX, I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS, DETAILS OF THEIR UNDERLYING ALGORITHM FOR HOW THEY CLASSIFY A VISITOR OTHER THAN THE PARAMETERS THAT WE GAVE THEM.
BUT THEY TOLD US THEY'RE HEAVILY SKEWING TOWARDS MONDAY TO FRIDAY.
SO YEAH, YOU, YOU MAY BE, YOU MAY BE PICKING UP SOME PART-TIME WORKERS OR NON MONDAY TO FRIDAY WORKERS GETTING CLASSIFIED AS VISITORS DONE.
SO HOW WOULD PEOPLE WHO ARE PASSING THROUGH TO GO INTO, UM, THE CANYON TO SLIDE ROCK TO GRASS UPPER POINT, HOW DO THEY SHOW UP? THOSE WOULD GET COUNTED AS VISITORS.
NOT SURE WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.
THOSE WOULD GET COUNTED AS VISITORS.
THE PASS THROUGH TRIPS ARE SOMEBODY THAT DOES NOT STOP AT ALL.
THAT CONSTITUTES ABOUT 7% OF THE TRIPS THAT WE WERE PICKING UP.
AND DOES THAT 7% TO BRIAN'S COMMENT OVER HERE, DOES THAT, UM, INCLUDE
[01:25:01]
EVERYONE WHO'S PASSING THROUGH TO GO UP TO FLAGSTAFF FOR SHOPPING, FOR DINING, FOR SCHOOL, FOR WHATEVER TO VISIT? YEAH.DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENTS,
YOU DON'T CARE WHERE THE END POINT IS, IT'S JUST THAT YOU STARTED, YOU, YOU WENT THROUGH OUR BOUNDARY AT ONE END.
AND SO YOU THEN CAME OUT THE OTHER END YEAH.
LIVE AND WORK OUTSIDE OF THE BLACK BOUNDARY, OR AT LEAST THE, THE ALGORITHM SAYS THAT YOU WORK OUTSIDE OF THE BLACK BOUNDARY AND THEN MUST PASS THROUGH OR START OR STOP A TRIP IN THE RED BOUNDARY.
SO 7% OF THE TRAFFIC THAT YOU SAW, THE VISITOR WASN'T THE, THE VISITOR TRIPS YES.
THAT WERE, THAT WERE NOT STOPPING.
THEY JUST WENT THROUGH THE CITY.
CAN I FOLLOW UP WITH THAT? IS THAT JOG? WE GOT THE VICE MAIL FIRST.
IT'S PROBABLY THE SAME QUESTION MAYBE.
SO WE KEEP HEARING 50% OF THE PEOPLE WHO COME THROUGH THE TOWN DON'T STOP, THEY JUST DRIVE THROUGH.
THIS IS QUITE A DIFFERENT HUGE VARIATION.
SO THE, THE VENDOR THAT WE WORK WITH, STREETLIGHT DATA, THEY'RE GONNA SAY THAT YOU ARE, THAT THEY'RE ANDREW, HE'S THE CULPRIT.
CAN WE HORN? OH, HE KEEPS GIVING US, THROW ME UNDER THE BUS HERE.
SO, UH, THE 50% WAS SPECIFIC TO UPTOWN.
SO WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT, WHEN WE KEPT SAYING THAT FOR THE TRAFFIC STUDY IN UPTOWN AND PARKING, WE SET UP A DESTINATION UPTOWN.
ONLY 50% OF THE TRAFFIC INTO UPTOWN WAS ACTUALLY PASSED THROUGH.
SO 50 STAYED IN UPTOWN AND 50 WENT THROUGH.
SO THE, THE BOUNDARY IS MUCH SMALLER.
SO WHEN IT'S 50 50, IT'S JUST TOO UPTOWN.
ONLY IN THIS CASE WE'RE TALKING SEDONA PROPER, WHICH WEST SEDONA.
SO MAKES SENSE THAT WE'D BE CLOSER TO 7% BECAUSE IT'S CALLED SEDONA.
SO WHAT I'M ACTUALLY HEARING THEN IS SINCE YOUR DATA INDICATES THAT MOST OF THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE STOPPING IN WEST SEDONA FOR THE ONES FROM YAVAPAI COUNTY, THE, THE FROM CORRECT.
FROM Y YBA COUNTY, AND THAT'S REALLY KIND OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YBA COUNTY, THAT, UM, 7% OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS COULD KEEP GOING IF THEY END UP IN TOWARDS THE UPTOWN AREA, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY'RE FROM.
50% OF THEM WILL PASS THROUGH WITHOUT SOPP MORE OR LESS.
IF YOU END UP IN UPTOWN, THERE'S A 50 50 CHANCE YOU'RE STAYING THERE OR PASSING THROUGH.
SO THAT CONCLUDES THE GRAPHICS THAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL.
I HAPPY TO CHAT MORE ON THIS, BUT I, I DO WANNA RECAP A FEW KEY FINDINGS AND THEN A FEW ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS AND, AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING WITH STAFF.
SO AGAIN, THE OVERALL INCREASE IN VISITATION SUPPORTED BY A LARGE NUMBER OF UNDERLYING DATA SETS FROM 19 TO 2021 THAT WAS HEAVILY CONCENTRATED IN THE SPRING AND THE FALL, AS I BELIEVE FOLKS, UH, WITNESSED ANECDOTALLY, THERE ARE NOTABLE PEAKS ON NOT JUST INDIVIDUAL MONTHS, BUT SPECIFIC DAYS THAT REALLY ADD STRAIN AND ARE VERY NOTICEABLE.
IT'S, UH, NON-LINEAR, IF YOU WILL.
ONCE YOU GET OVER THAT THRESHOLD OF OVER CAPACITY, THINGS START TO OPERATE A LOT WORSE.
VARIATIONS IN LENGTH OF STAY BY TIME OF YEAR.
WE TALK THROUGH THOSE AND DEMOGRAPHICS OF RACE INCOME, AND THEN WE TALK THROUGH HOW A LOT OF YOUR SINGLE DAY OR NON OVERNIGHT VISITORS ARE HEAVILY SKEWED BY REPEAT VISITORS FROM YAVAPAI COUNTY.
I DO WANT TO, AGAIN, EMPHASIZE THE ROBUST GROUND TRUTH DATA THAT'S AVAILABLE HERE WITH THE CITY.
I MEAN, PART IN PARTICULAR WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ONLY THREE ROADS IN AND OUT, AND TWO OF THEM WE HAVE CONTINUOUS TRAFFIC COUNTS.
THAT'S, THAT'S A VERY POWERFUL DATA SOURCE.
UH, KNOWING THAT YOU'VE GOT THIS MONTHLY AND DAILY WEEKLY FLUCTUATION, BEING ABLE TO SEE THAT AND UNDERLYING DATA IS VERY HELPFUL.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THE BIG DATA PROVIDERS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, YOU HAD ALLUDED TO THIS COUNSELOR ON, UH, THE CHANGING BIG DATA LANDSCAPE AND HOW THERE I, I I DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS THAT, YOU KNOW, A FEW YEARS AGO, CELL PHONE DATA WAS HOW YOU DID A LOT OF THIS ANALYSIS.
NOW IT'S CONNECTED VEHICLE DATA.
WHERE ARE WE GONNA BE A FEW YEARS FROM NOW? I DO, I DO HAVE MY CONCERNS THERE WITH, WITH HOW PRIVACY LAWS ARE CHANGING AND, AND DIFFERENT VENDORS ARE CHANGING.
I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE VENDORS OUT THERE THAT ARE GONNA KEEP TRYING TO GO AFTER THESE PROBLEMS AND USE WHAT DATA IS OUT THERE, BUT THAT THE LONGITUDINAL COMPARISONS ARE CHALLENGING.
AS LAUREN MENTIONED, AND, AND WE PROVIDE THIS IN THE REPORT, WE DO HAVE A METHODOLOGY TO REPLICATE ESTIMATES ANNUALLY INTO THE FUTURE.
THEY GENERALLY, THAT PUT VERY SIMPLY AS TAKING AN AVERAGE DAY OUT OF REPLICA AND THEN APPLYING SCALING FACTORS FOR WEEKDAY AND THEN MONTHLY AND THEN ANNUAL ESTIMATES.
AND THEN LAUREN, YOU, YOU NOTED THAT, UM, YOU HAD SOME THOUGHTS ON HOW THIS MAY FOR MARKETING EFFORTS IN THE FUTURE.
YEAH, I GUESS I'LL, UM, JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
UM, ESPECIALLY WITH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT WE HAD A, UM, OUR, OUR DAY
[01:30:01]
TRIPPING PROBLEM WAS FROM PHOENIX, RIGHT? THAT I'VE, I'VE HEARD THAT.UM, WELL THIS IS A, A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT LENS ON THAT.
IN FACT, COCONINO COUNTY HAS MORE DAY TRIPPERS THAN MARICOPA COUNTY DOES, UM, BASED ON HIS, UM, FINDINGS.
SO FROM A MARKETING STANDPOINT, IT REALLY KIND OF MAKES ME RETHINK AS WE START TO DO WHAT WE CALL IN-MARKET EDUCATION.
LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW IN OUR SUMMER CAMPAIGN, UH, IT'S, IT'S GOING UNTIL TOMORROW.
UM, OUR OUR IN MARKET EDUCATION PIECE WAS A 25 MILE RADI RADIUS OF SEDONA.
WELL, DO I NEED TO RETHINK THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M, I'M, I'M CAPTURING CAMP VERDE AND, AND THESE TYPES OF COMMUNITIES THAT I KNOW BASED ON THAT HEAT MAP ARE COMING HERE.
SO, UM, IT'S JUST REALLY FASCINATING FROM THAT STANDPOINT.
UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO MARKETING OF, OF WHO WE TARGET AND HOW, AND WHAT THAT MESSAGE IS.
IS IT IN MARKET? IS IT OUT OF MARKET? UM, SO ALL THAT WAS WAS REALLY INFORMATIVE FOR US AT THIS POINT.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THANKS, MAYOR.
SO YOU, YOU ANALYZED 9 20 19 VERSUS 2021 FOR THE MOST PART.
ARE YOU, ARE WE LACKING DATA ON 22 AND 23? WE COULD, UH, FEASIBLY WE COULD DO 23.
NOW WE, THIS THE STUDY, WE, WE HIT A LITTLE BIT OF A LAG, UH, EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
SO WE WERE WORKING ON IT LAST YEAR.
SO THAT'S WHY WE HAD 1921 AND 22.
I JUST WANTED TO SEE SOME TREND POST PANDEMIC TRENDING.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO 2023 NOW.
VERY SIMILAR QUESTION AS THE VICE MAYOR.
UH, SO I WAS WONDERING TOO ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO GET 23 AND MORE RECENT DATA.
SO YOU SAID YOU COULD PROBABLY GET 23 DATA NOW WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IS IT, IS THIS A ONCE A YEAR KIND OF ANALYSIS? YEAH.
IS IT ONCE A YEAR? IS IT ONCE A QUARTER? IS IT ONCE A YEAR AND RUNNING ON PROBABLY ABOUT A SIX PLUS MONTH LAG.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION WAS, WITH THIS DATA, DO YOU HAVE ANY ABILITY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE CARRYING CAPACITY IS WHEN YOU DO TIP THAT BALANCE IN THE STREETS GET CLOGGED? SO WHAT IS THE VISITATION NUMBER THAT CAUSES THE STRESS? WELL, AND I WANNA PREFACE IT WITH AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
WE'RE CHANGING EVERY IMPROVEMENT THAT WE MAKE EXACTLY.
WITH EVERY MICRO TRANSIT VEHICLE THAT WE PUT ON THE ROAD.
SO WE, WE HOPE TO SEE IT GO UP OVER TIME, BUT, YOU KNOW, DOES THIS METHODOLOGY GIVE US A WAY TO SORT OF TOUCH THAT, WHAT THAT NUMBER MIGHT BE? NOT IN REAL TIME.
YOUR, YOUR VISIM MODEL GIVES YOU THE ABILITY TO TELL YOU, TO TELL YOU WHAT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VEHICLES OR, OR PEOPLE CROSSING THE STREET, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT COMBINATION IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE CHOKE POINT IS, WHICHEVER ROUNDABOUT OR INTERSECTION IS, IS THE CHOKE POINT DOWNTOWN.
YOU CAN GET THAT FROM THAT MODEL.
I, AND I GET LAUREN THAT IT'S NOT REAL TIME, BUT WE STILL HAVE AN OVERALL GOAL OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH VISITATION.
AND SO WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT HOW FAST IT'S GROWING RELATIVE TO OUR ABILITY, OUR CARING CAPACITY IS CHANGING.
AND I WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE INTERESTING FOR US TO KIND OF KNOW THAT NUMBER.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET IT OUTTA HERE, ANGIE.
YEAH, AND JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT, WE'VE GOT BIG DATA AND THEN WE'RE OUT THERE DOING TRAFFIC COUNTS ON PEAK WEEKENDS.
THERE WAS JUST A PRESENTATION ON JULY 10TH FROM STAFF ON THE METERING SIMULATION THAT WE JUST DID.
AND WE'RE RAMPING UP TO ANOTHER ONE IN LABOR DAY SO WE CAN SEE THE PEAKS AND VALLEYS OF THE DATA THAT ANTHONY'S PULLED.
AND THEN WE CAN PULL THIS NEXT ROUND, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA PULL INCREMENTS OF FIVE MINUTES SO WE CAN SEE A ROLLING PEAK THROUGHOUT THE DAY ON A PEAK DAY.
SO WE CAN KIND OF COMPARE, ALL RIGHT, MONTHLY, WHAT DOES IT, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE HOURLY? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE DOWN TO FIVE MINUTES? SO THEN WE CAN START TO LOOK AT METERING TRAFFIC BASED ON PEAKS THROUGHOUT A DAY AND NOT JUST A MONTH.
UM, SO SOME OF THIS DATA INFORMS WHAT WE'RE DOING AND THEN VICE VERSA.
SO YEAH, AND I THINK KINDA DIFFERENT FORMS OF GATHERING THE DATA.
WE GET CAMERAS OUT THERE AND COUNT CARS BY THE MINUTE VERSUS REPLICA, WHICH IS, AND STREET LECTURE IS MORE BIG, BIG PICTURE DATA, WHICH IS PRESENTED NOW.
AND I THINK WHAT YOU WOULD BE TRYING TO DO IS FROM, FROM THE VISTA MODEL THAT SHOWS YOU, ALRIGHT, HERE'S THE POINT WHERE YOU'VE HIT YOUR CAPACITY ON YOUR STREETS, IS THEN TRYING TO BACK INTO, ALRIGHT, NOW WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THESE CARS ON THE STREET OR PEOPLE CROSSING THE STREET ARE VISITORS.
[01:35:01]
AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A DAILY NUMBER, NOT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE DAILY PEAK VISITATION NUMBER IS DIFFERENT THAN COMING UP WITH AN ANNUAL ESTIMATE.SO ONE EXAMPLE WE, WE KNEW WAS WE KNEW FROM THE WEST 50% OF THE TRAFFIC WAS COMING FROM THE WEST, 35% FROM THE SOUTH AND 15 FROM THE NORTH.
SO WE COULD SET UP OUR TEST AT THE Y TO PRIORITIZE MOVEMENT IN THE EASTBOUND DIRECTION.
SO 89 A NORTHBOUND THAT WAS INFORMED BY WHAT STREETLIGHT TOLD US IN THE SPLITS, THEN WE COULD GO AT 10 MINUTE INCREMENTS, TRY AND PRIORITIZE THAT TRAFFIC THROUGH AND RUN A TEST.
SO THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF A PEAK VISITATION OF FRIDAY FOR 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND, WHICH WE KNOW IS GOING TO BE A HUGE VOLUME OF CARS.
WE CAN TRY AND ADDRESS THAT WITH A METERING SIMULATION BASED ON THE BIG PICTURE DATA AND THEN DOWN ON THE GRANULAR LEVEL WITH THE, WITH THE COUNTS.
AND SO WE'LL APPLY THE SAME THING OVER SPRAYING AND LABOR DAY, BIG WEEKENDS OF VISITATION AND, AND, AND TRY AND BALANCE TRAFFIC AT THE ROUNDABOUTS WITH WHAT WE HAVE.
BUT THEN ALSO TO LAUREN'S POINT, WE'RE ALREADY NEW ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE'S COMING AS EVERYONE'S AWARE.
WE'VE BEEN HERE TALKING ABOUT IT FOR YEARS.
SO THAT WILL ALSO CHANGE THE DYNAMIC ONCE THE FOREST CONNECTION COMES IN AND THEN WHERE ARE VISITORS GOING AS THEY ENTER TOWN? SO WE'RE WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH THE BIG PICTURE DATA AND THEN THE, AGAIN, THE, THE MORE THE MINUTIA THAT WE'RE, WE'RE USING TO BUILD OUR, OUR VIS MODEL.
AND I KNOW MANAGING TRAFFIC, WE'RE TRYING TO DO THOSE THINGS AND PLANNING FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
BUT THE QUESTION THAT I'M ASKING I THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO STRUGGLE WITH.
WE ALL NEED TO KNOW, GENERALLY I HAVE A GENERAL SENSE OF WHAT THE CARRYING CAPACITY IN THIS TOWN IS BEFORE IT PLUGS UP.
AND WE NEED TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE AND HOW FAST IT'S GROWING AND WHAT THE CARING CAPACITY IS CHANGING IN OUR PLANS.
WE, WE NEED TO STRUGGLE WITH THIS QUESTION.
I WANT SOME CLARITY TO GET SOME CLARIFICATION.
SO THAT TIME WE STILL HAD SO MUCH TRAFFIC VOLUME HERE AND WE HAD THE TIE UP, WE HAD, UM, ISSUES AT THE Y WE HAD ISSUES ON, UH, 1 79 THAT'S WITHOUT ADVERTISING AND PROMOTING.
SO WHERE IS THAT SWEET SPOT? I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WITH PETE THAT WE WOULD KNOW MAYBE TIME OF THE YEAR, WHICH WE THINK IS JU YOU KNOW, JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST IS, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, QUIETER HERE.
BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'RE GONNA COME UP WITH THIS INFORMATION, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE, UH, ADDRESSED.
UH, I DON'T THINK I CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTION EXACTLY PERFECTLY, BUT I LOOK FOR THE POPS, UM, WHICH WAS A, ONE OF ANTHONY'S SLIDES WHERE HE SHOWED US, UM, UH, BIGGER PERCENTAGE INCREASES OVER CERTAIN MONTHS, WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN APRIL AND NOVEMBER, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND YET ON EVEN CERTAIN DAYS IT SHOWED THAT IT WAS, UH, UPWARDS OF 19%.
UM, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR, BUT IT DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING NEW.
RIGHT? WE ALWAYS KNEW THAT THAT APRIL, MARCH, APRIL, UM, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER ARE THOSE PAIN POINTS FOR US.
SO FOR ME IT MORE UNDERSCORED ANECDOTES THAT WE KNEW.
RIGHT? BUT SOMETHING YOU SAID EARLIER, UH, LAUREN WAS THAT, WELL, DAY TRIPPERS AND THE VICE MAYOR SAID, WELL, 50%, WE ALWAYS TOLD 50, 50% WERE DAY TRIPPERS.
WELL NOW MAYBE THEY'RE NOT DAY TRIPPERS, BUT DO WE CONSIDER JUST DRIVE-THROUGHS IF THEY STOP FOR A SANDWICH OR ICE CREAM IN UPTOWN AND THEY CONTINUE ON TO THE GRAND CANYON TO FLAGSTAFF, OR THEY STOP FOR THE DAY AND AND THEN LEAVE.
BUT ARE, ARE THOSE REALLY DAY TRIPPERS? ARE PEOPLE JUST DRIVING THROUGH ON THE WAY ON 17, GETTING OFF IN CAMP VERDE, UH, ON TWO 60, DRIVING THROUGH FOR THE, THE BEAUTY AND THEN, OR, OR 1 79 TO GO UP TO CANYON AND DRIVING THROUGH, WHICH I'M NOT SURE THIS STUDY SAID THAT, BUT FOR ME AT LEAST, THIS INDICATED TO ME WHERE WE MIGHT MARKET TO TRY AND SELL PEOPLE ON STAYING LONGER.
YOU KNOW, DON'T JUST DRIVE THROUGH, STOP HERE AND SPEND YOUR MONEY.
BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE TRAFFIC TOO THAT I'M WORRIED ABOUT.
IT'S JUST THERE'S SO MUCH THAT WE'RE NOT EVEN DOING AND GETTING BLAMED FOR.
IT JUST HAPPENS BECAUSE WE'RE SEDONA AND WE'RE A STOP OVER FOR LUNCH MAYBE
[01:40:01]
IF WE'RE LUCKY.UH, AND WE HAVE THAT TRAFFIC PROBLEM AND WE, WE ARE GETTING BLAMED FOR YOU'VE HEARD IT BEFORE, PROMOTING WHEN WE DIDN'T EVEN EVEN PROMOTE.
SO IT'S JUST ALL A LOT TO, TO TAKE IN.
OH, MELISSA, WELL FIRST SORT OF A TAG ON COMMENT TO WHAT THE MAYOR JUST SAID.
UM, GIVEN WHAT YOU JUST TOLD US ABOUT WHERE THESE PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM, WE DON'T NEED TO ADVERTISE.
WE'RE DOWN THE ROAD A PIECE FROM MOST OF THOSE PEOPLE.
AND SO MAYBE THAT'S A MESSAGE WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE OUT TO THE PUBLIC IS THAT A LARGE PORTION OF OUR DAY TRIPPERS LITERALLY ARE OUR NEIGHBORS.
IT JUST AN IMPORTANT THING TO GET ACROSS.
LIKE WE DON'T NEED TO ADVERTISE TO THEM.
THEY, THEY KNOW WHERE SEDONA IS AND THEY, THEY COME HERE QUITE FREQUENTLY FOR WHATEVER REASON IT IS THEY'RE COMING HERE.
SO JUST TO, TO TAG ONTO THAT, THAT THAT MIGHT BE A, A MESSAGE I'M SURE YOU'VE ALREADY THOUGHT OF, UM, THAT GOES OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY SO WE UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM.
UM, MY QUESTION PROBABLY, UH, SEGUES INTO YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION, AND IT'S NOT INTENTIONAL, BUT WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT TRAFFIC.
UM, LIKE THAT'S THE ONLY PROBLEM WE HAVE IN SEDONA IS TRAFFIC.
AND IT'S NOT THE ONLY PROBLEM WE HAVE IN SEDONA.
WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE THE FACT THAT, UH, KEEP SEDONA BEAUTIFUL IS KEPT BUSY PICKING UP OUR STREETS, UM, FROM THE TRASH.
SO EVERYBODY THINKS THERE'S NO TRASH PROBLEM IN, IN SEDONA.
UM, WE OF COURSE WE JUST BOUGHT ALL THOSE EXPENSIVE, UH, BIG BELLY COMPACT TYPE THINGS BECAUSE THERE IS POTENTIALLY A TRASH PROBLEM HERE.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER ISSUES AND IT ISN'T JUST TRAFFIC.
AND SO UNDERSTANDING THOSE NUMBERS, EVEN IF THEY'RE USING OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM, IS STILL IMPACTFUL.
UM, JUST BECAUSE THEIR CAR ISN'T ON THE ROAD DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE DIDN'T JUST DUMP FOUR MORE PEOPLE THAN WE THOUGHT WE HAD DUMPED OVER ONTO SOME TRAILHEAD.
AND SO IT JUST SEEMS TO ME WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THESE NUMBERS BEYOND JUST TRANSPORTATION, BEYOND CARS SO THAT WE HAVE SOME KIND OF UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TO, UM, OUR ENVIRONMENT.
AND, AND QUITE HONESTLY, I THINK WE'RE ALL PRETTY MUCH AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THE RED ROCK RANGER DISTRICT IS OUR ECONOMIC DRIVER CURRENTLY IN SEDONA, RIGHT? THAT'S TOURISM.
SO, UM, IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE FOR US TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE TALK ABOUT THESE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING IN AND STAYING AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING, NOT JUST IN WHERE THEY'RE SPENDING MONEY, BUT ALSO IN WHERE THEY'RE GOING AS FAR AS THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE IMPACT ON OUR LAND IS CONCERNED.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE IS WORRIED ABOUT THAT, BUT I AM.
WELL, ARE YOU DONE? YEAH, IT'S OPEN DISCUSSION FOR YOU ALL.
AND THEN WE DO HAVE A COMMENT, UH, A QUESTION QUESTION.
SO BEYOND THE CONCLUSIONS PAGE, WHAT OTHER AHAS DO YOU HAVE? WHAT SURPRISED YOU OTHERWISE? LIKE FOR ME, THE, THE, THE FACT THAT SINGLE DAY VISITORS, THE FACT THAT 80% ARE JAVA PIE AND, UH, COCONINO, THAT, THAT IS A SURPRISE, RIGHT? BUT WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE, WHAT ELSE SURPRISED YOU IN THE DATA? UM, UH, THEY'RE NOT GONNA SOUND NEW.
THE, THOSE POPS THAT I TALKED ABOUT THAT I LOOKED AT, BECAUSE WHEN I SAW THOSE NUMBERS, I THOUGHT I WAS THINKING MORE ALONG THE LINES OF PETE.
I'M LIKE, OKAY, WHERE'S MY HIGH WATERMARK? WHERE CAN WE NOT GO OVER? AND THEN I LOOKED AT ALL THE NUMBERS AND THOUGHT, MY GOODNESS, THEY'RE SO CLOSE.
HOW, HOW COULD WE EVER BE PREDICTIVE ENOUGH TO, TO TRY AND EITHER HIT THAT MARK UNDER OR OVER IF THEY'RE ALSO SO CLOSE MARGIN? UM, BUT WHEN I LOOKED AT WHERE THOSE, YOU KNOW, UH, POPS WITHIN THE POPS WERE, THAT'S WHAT SURPRISED ME.
NOT SURPRISED, BUT IT, IT HELPED ME, UM, KIND OF HAVE AN AHA MOMENT.
UM, I WAS, UM, I I GUESS THE MARICOPA COUNTY FOR ME, YOU KNOW, REALLY TRYING TO WRAP MY BRAIN AROUND, UM, IF WE, IF THE THOUGHT PROCESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN WE NEED TO GO AFTER PHOENIX, WE NEED TO GO AFTER PHOENIX.
UM, SEEING THAT INFORMATION THERE AND, AND FOR ME, I'M STILL FOCUSED ON MULTI NIGHT VISITATION FROM MARICOPA COUNTY BECAUSE IT WAS IN THERE THE SAME WITH
[01:45:01]
CALIFORNIA.THAT WAS, THAT WAS NICE TO SEE AS WELL.
UM, BUT AGAIN, I GUESS I'M, I'M THINKING OF IT FROM A, A MARKETING AND AN EDUCATION STANDPOINT.
AND IN THE PACKET PAGE 28, 29, UM, YOU REFERENCED NEIGHBORHOOD VISITATION.
DIDN'T REALLY SEE THAT IN THE, THE POWERPOINT TODAY AND WHAT'S IN THE PACKET DOESN'T REALLY PROVIDE THE DATA OF, UM, WHAT PERCENT OF VISITORS ENDED UP IN EACH NEIGHBORHOOD OR PASS THROUGH.
EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD IS A HUNDRED PERCENT BROKEN DOWN BY HOW LONG THEY STAYED, BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT I'M WANTING TO UNDERSTAND.
IT'S WHAT PERCENT OF VISITORS END UP IN EACH OR AGAIN, PASS THROUGH OR IN SOME WAY ARE CONNECTED TO EACH OF THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND, AND THEN I WONDER HOW DIFFICULT THAT IS TO GET AT, BECAUSE IF YOU'RE A PASS THROUGH AND YOU'VE COME FROM COTTONWOOD AND YOU'RE GOING UP THE CANYON, THEN YOU'RE PASSING THROUGH WEST SEDONA COMMERCIAL, YOU'RE PASSING THROUGH UPTOWN, SO YOU'RE GETTING MULTIPLE TICK MARKS, YOU KNOW, ON THIS.
BUT DID YOU AGGREGATE DATA TO SHOW VISITORS BY NEIGHBORHOOD? I MEAN, YOU, YOU HAVE THE DATA, IT'S JUST HOW YOU PRESENT IT.
WE DIDN'T DO THAT SPECIFIC ESTIMATE.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD LIKELY ADD INTO THE REPORT.
UM, I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE DOABLE.
LIKE YOU, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF COMPLEXITY THERE WITH, UH, WITH THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSIGNMENT THAT YOU'LL NEED TO TAKE THE RESULTS WITH THAT GRAIN OF SALT WHERE THE WAY THAT OUR VENDOR STREETLIGHT DATA WAS ASSIGNING A NEIGHBORHOOD WAS BASED ON, I BELIEVE IT WAS BASED ON THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE A DEVICE SPENT THE MOST TIME.
SO IF YOU, SO, SO IF YOU'RE PASSING THROUGH THE CITY, I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT WORKS OUT, BUT IF YOU'RE STOPPING IN THE CITY, IT'S PRESUMABLY GONNA BE WHERE YOU END UP STAYING.
AND WHEN YOU COUNT HOW MANY VISITS THERE WERE TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS, THEN INSTEAD OF 3.2 MILLION VISITORS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE YEAH.
5.6 MILLION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, I THINK, I THINK THAT OH, ON THE NEIGHBORHOODS, WHERE DOES SOUTH SEDONA START? I COULD NOT TELL FROM THE MAP IN THE PACKET.
SO SOMEWHERE ON 1 79, UH, SOUTH SEDONA BEGINS, I WOULD THINK BY THE CHAPEL NEIGHBORHOOD.
I THINK LOOKS LIKE, LOOKS, WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IS, IS LIKE SUNIL POCO DIABLO, ARE THEY IN SOUTH SEDONA OR OR ARE THEY NORTH OF THAT, THAT CUTOFF? POCO POCOS IN SOUTH SEDONA.
AND SO IS SUNIL WEST? THEY'RE BOTH IN SOUTH.
HOW FAR UP TO SOUTH GO TILL YOU'RE NO LONGER IN SOUTH SEDONA? I'M TRYING TO ZOOM IN ON, WELL, TO THE CITY LIMIT ON A SLIGHTLY GREEN MAP TO THE SOUTH.
NO, NO, BUT IT'S STILL GONNA GO UP TO, SO RIGHT.
SO IS IT UP TO MORGAN ROAD OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? YEAH, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT.
AH, IT'S A LITTLE BIT PAST THAT.
WE, WE DERIVED WHAT, WHAT MORGAN ROAD MAY, MAYBE THE CHURCH.
IT'S, IT'S NEAR, IT'S NEAR OUR PARK AND RIDE.
WHICH IS, IS CLOSE TO MORGAN ROAD.
PETE, DID YOU ASK ALL YOUR QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS? YEAH.
I MEAN, WHAT A, WHAT A MARVELOUS SET OF DATA THIS WAS REALLY TO LOOK THROUGH.
AND I THINK IT, YOU WANT A DATA COLLECTION, LIKE USUALLY IT LEAVES MORE QUESTIONS THAN IT DOES ANSWERS.
AND, BUT THAT'S A BEAUTIFUL DIRECTION AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE US TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT IT ANNUALLY.
UH, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT TIME IMMEMORIAL, BUT YOU KNOW, FOR AT LEAST A WHILE TILL WE REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT MIGHT BE CHANGED AND WHAT WE'RE NOT.
AND IT WAS REALLY A, A BEAUTIFUL EFFORT AND I REALLY DEEPLY APPRECIATE THAT.
KATHY, I HAVE COMMENTS, BUT BEFORE WE GO TO COMMENTS, WE HAVE A CARD.
SO MR. KEPPEL, YOU WANNA STEP UP AND TAKE THE MICROPHONE FOR THREE MINUTES, HOPEFULLY? YEP.
I'M A SEDONA RESIDENT AND ALSO A MEMBER OF THE TOURIST ADVISORY BOARD.
I WAS UP HERE ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO AS OF I'M NOT A BOARD MEMBER AND, UM, I MADE A BIG DEAL AS MANY OF US DID, ABOUT WHERE'S THE DATA TO HELP US MAKE BETTER DECISIONS FOR YOU ALL TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.
AND I JUST WANTED, THE BIG COMMENT HERE IS, YEAH, IT'S, WE'RE GETTING THE DATA AND YEAH, THERE'S MORE WORK TO BE DONE, BUT I WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU ALL
[01:50:01]
FOR PULLING TOGETHER SOME REALLY, REALLY INTERESTING STUFF THAT'S CHANGING THE PERSPECTIVES THAT WE HEARD TONIGHT.THE 50% VERSUS THE SEVEN POINT HALF PERCENT, SOME OF THE A OTHER AHAS THAT ONLY GUY GETTING THE ROOT DATA CAN GET YOU TO DO THIS.
OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO THE COUNCILMAN FOR HERMANS TO, TO KEEP HONING IT IN LOOKING AT IT.
BUT I JUST WANNA SAY GREAT GOING AND FROM SOMEBODY WHO SITS IN THE CHEAP SEATS BACK HERE, UM, THIS IS MAKING A WHOLE LOT MORE SENSE TO ME.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL OF YOU.
AND WE'RE GONNA CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, AND WE'LL GO TO, UH, FINAL COMMENTS.
WHY DON'T WE START ON THIS SLIDE? I HAVE NONE SPOKEN, SPOKEN, TREATING SEPARATE.
SEPARATE FROM YOUR OTHER SECTION.
UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT PIECE OF THE DISCUSSION HERE IN A MINUTE.
MELISSA, YOU GOOD? I MEAN, THE ONLY COMMENT IS TO, TO REPLICATE WHAT MR. KEPPEL SAID.
AND, UM, GREAT JOB ON STARTING TO PULL ALL THIS DATA TOGETHER.
I THINK THOSE OF US WHO HAVE WORKED WITH DATA IN OUR PREVIOUS LIVES CAN UNDERSTAND ALL THE STRUGGLES IT IS TO TRY AND GET THIS KIND OF DATA.
AND I KNOW WE'RE ASKING FOR THE MOON AND STARS.
UM, SO HOWEVER FAR AND GET ABOVE THE STRATOSPHERE IS, UM, REALLY APPRECIATED.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, ANYTHING? I WOULD JUST SAY THAT THIS DATA IS, THERE'S A LOT TO UNPACK HERE AND I HAVEN'T DONE IT, YOU KNOW, SUFFICIENTLY, I'M GLAD TO HAVE A CHANCE TO HAVE THIS DIALOGUE WITH YOU, BUT IT DOES POKE HOLES IN A LOT OF OUR, OUR PREVIOUS THINKING.
YOU KNOW, IT SHOWS SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYWHERE, BUT IN CERTAIN PLACES, WHICH THEN WE NEED TO PROCESS TO SEE WHAT DIRECTION WE GO IN AND IF WE CHANGE AND WHAT, AND WHAT GETS CHANGED.
I THINK THE NUMBER WE HAD FOR, UH, 20 YEARS, LAUREN, 3.5 MILLION.
HOW DID WE GET THAT INFORMATION? I HAD ALWAYS ASKED.
IS THAT WHAT IT'S CALLED? INTERCEPT SURVEY IT, YEAH.
NOW WE HAVE REAL DATA AND THIS IS WAY MORE THAN I NEED, BUT A DAYUS HAS BEEN ASKING FOR IT AND I'M, I'M THRILLED FOR THEM.
'CAUSE IT, IT HELPS ALL AROUND IT IN MULTIPLE WAYS, SO IT'S LONG TIME COMING AND I REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, HAVING GOOD DATA LIKE THIS.
SO SHALL WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SEGMENT? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU ALL.
A FIVE MINUTE BREAK IF BEFORE WE TRANSITION, UM, FIVE MINUTE BREAK.
UH, FIVE O'CLOCK WE'LL BE BACK.
DO YOU NEED THE MIC'S? FINICKY? IT'S ONE SLIDE I NEED NOTES FOR, FOR THE THINGS THAT I WASN'T HERE FOR.
IS, IS THAT A SEPARATE POWERPOINT TOO? YEAH.
SO, AS YOU KNOW, WE STARTED THIS PROCESS BECAUSE AS A NEW TOURISM PROGRAM IN DMO, UM, WE NEEDED A GUIDING LIGHT OF ACTIONS.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SOMETHING TO TAKE US OUT OF PHASE ONE AND BRING US INTO PHASE TWO.
UH, WE CHOSE TO WORK WITH A COMPANY CALLED CARIO.
UH, THEY SPECIALIZE IN THIS ONE PAGE CONCEPT.
UM, UH, THE PLAN IS AN 18 MONTH TO TWO YEAR SCOPE, UH, WHICH FOR US WAS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, THIS ALSO FOCUSES ON THE ACTIONS THAT WE HAVE CONTROL OF.
UH, THIS FELT MANAGEABLE TO US, UM, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE STILL KIND OF CONSIDER OURSELVES AS A STARTUP.
UH, WE DID TAKE THIS TO THE TAB.
IT WHEN WAS THIS? I THINK WE HAVE THREE TAB MEMBERS HERE TONIGHT.
WE DID, WE DID HAVE THREE TAB.
[01:55:01]
NO, WE DO, WE HAVE THREE TAB MEMBERS HERE TONIGHT AND TODAY HAVE TIME.THEY HAD LOTS OF, UM, GOOD FEEDBACK.
UM, AND THE DRAFT THAT YOU SEE TONIGHT IS THEIR EDITS INCORPORATED.
I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS.
UH, WHAT WE'RE HOPING FOR TONIGHT FROM YOU ALL IS, UM, TO GET INPUT, UM, FURTHER INPUT AND FURTHER REFINEMENT.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL, WE LOOK FORWARD TO PUTTING THIS IN ACTION.
SO, UH, A BIG PART OF THE SCOPE OF WHAT GIO DID, UM, WHICH WAS TO DO, UM, A LOT OF RESEARCH.
UH, WE KNEW THAT THIS HAD TO BE A REALLY BIG FOUNDATION FOR, FOR ANY PLAN THAT WE HAD.
UM, UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE WERE 19 INTERVIEWS WITH STAKEHOLDERS, UM, INCLUDING YOURSELVES.
UH, THERE WERE THREE IN-PERSON LISTENING SESSIONS, ONE WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THEN WE HAD THREE SURVEYS, UH, WHICH WAS THAT RESIDENT SENTIMENT, THE VISITOR INTERCEPT, AND THE, UM, AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION SURVEY.
SO SOME OF THE KEY FINDINGS, UM, THAT WE SAW WAS THAT, UH, TRAFFIC IS STILL AN ISSUE THAT'S NOT SURPRISING.
UH, PEOPLE WERE CLEAR ABOUT THE NEED FOR, UM, STABILIZING THE VISITATION PEAKS AND THEN DRIVING DEMAND DURING THOSE NEED TIMES, THOSE VALLEYS.
UM, IT WAS CLEAR THAT OUTREACH WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PRIORITY AS WE GO FORWARD, ESPECIALLY IN ADVANCING THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO BE A SUCCESSFUL TOURISM BUREAU.
UM, DESTINATION MARKETING WILL CONTINUE TO BE A POWERFUL TOOL THAT WE USE.
UM, REPORTING ON OUR INVESTMENTS IN TOURISM IS GOING TO BE PARAMOUNT.
UM, THAT'S NOT JUST FOR, FOR OUR INTEREST, BUT THE COMMUNITY'S INTEREST.
UM, AN EDUCATION COMPONENT TO THINGS.
UH, YEAH, WE KNOW THAT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT.
AND THEN, UM, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE CITY IS IN THE UNIQUE POSITION, UM, TO BE ABLE TO NOT ONLY, UM, MARKET THE DESTINATION, BUT ALSO MANAGE AND STEWARD THE DESTINATION.
AND WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE THE, THE, THE BEST POSITION TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, THE STRUCTURE OF THE PLAN, UH, THAT YOU ALL HAVE SEEN FROM YOUR PACKET IS THAT IT'S, UH, THE PLACE MAT LIKE CONCEPT.
UM, THIS HAS, UH, VISION, MISSION, POSITION IMPERATIVES AND INITIATIVE INITIATIVES LISTED ON THAT.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE'S A INITIATIVES TRACK TRACKER DOCUMENT THAT'S MORE INTERNAL FOR US.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT WASN'T EXACTLY THE PRETTY VERSION, UM, BUT IT DIDN'T NEED TO BE.
UM, AND THAT HAS, UH, EXACT ACTION ITEMS OF HOW WE'RE GONNA BRING THOSE INITIATIVES TO LIFE.
UH, AND THEN ALSO MEASURABLES LISTED.
UH, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE DID NOT INCLUDE, UM, A GANTT CHART YET OF WHO IS DOING WHAT AND WHEN.
BUT, UM, THAT'LL BE OUR CHARGE IN THE COMING WEEKS TO MAKE SURE AND FILL THAT OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WHAT WE ENVISION IS ACTUALLY REALISTIC, UM, FROM A TIMING PERSPECTIVE.
SO IN TERMS OF LAYOUT OF HOW WE'RE GONNA PRESENT THIS, IT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION.
UM, AND ADMITTEDLY WE KNOW THIS, BUT, UH, WE'RE GONNA TRY AND TAG TEAM THIS.
UH, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THE VISION, THE MISSION, AND THE POSITION.
UH, AND THEN ANDREW'S GONNA GO INTO THE FOUR IMPERATIVES.
UM, THEN, UH, ANDREW AND I WILL GO OVER THE INITIATIVES AND THEN WE'VE PICKED OUT ONE INITIATIVE PER IMPERATIVE THAT I KNOW, I KNOW THAT HAS ALL OF THE ACTION ITEMS LISTED, UM, SO THAT YOU COULD GET AT LEAST, UH, FOUR TIMES OVER AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW, HOW WE SEE THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
SO LET'S GET INTO THE VISION AND MISSION.
SO THIS IS THE PRETTY VERSION, THE, THE PLACE MAT, IF, IF YOU WANNA CALL IT THAT.
UM, BUT THE VISION AND MISSION, JUST SO WE CAN KEEP IT ALL STRAIGHT, THE VISION IS, IS SETTING THE PATH OF WHERE WE WANNA GO AND THE MISSION IS HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE ALONG THAT JOURNEY.
UM, AND THEN THE POSITION DEFINES WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE.
UM, SO THE VISION, UH, AS WE HAVE IT HERE IS SEDONA INSPIRES ITS VISITORS AND RESIDENTS TO DISCOVER THE WONDER OF THE DESTINATION AND PROTECT IT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
UM, SOME OF THE, THE REASONING BEHIND THAT IS THAT, UH, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT BOTH RESIDENTS AND VISITORS WERE RECOGNIZED IN THAT VISION.
AND THEN, UM, WE WANTED, UH, TO HAVE KIND OF ASPIRATIONAL THINKING, UM, TO INSPIRE THOSE AUDIENCES TO DISCOVER, UM, THIS AMAZING PLACE AND KIND OF TOUCH ON A CONSTANT THING THAT WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO, WHICH IS PROTECTING THIS PLACE FOR A LONG TIME.
[02:00:01]
MISSION IS THE CITY OF SEDONA TOURISM PROGRAM BOLSTERS THE LOCAL ECONOMY WHILE CHAMPIONING ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AND SUPPORTING A STRONG COMMUNITY FOR ALL.SO, UM, THIS IS KIND OF BOILED DOWN INTO WE'RE GONNA DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL ECONOMY, AND WE'RE GONNA DO THAT WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AND COMMUNITY AT THE HEART OF ALL OF IT.
SO OUR POSITION, I KIND OF MENTIONED THIS, BUT, UM, THIS WAS A GOOD EXERCISE FOR US BECAUSE IT, IT REALLY MADE US THINK OF WHY, WHY WE'RE IN THE BEST POSITION, WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE AS THE TOURISM BUREAU.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHY IT'S WORDED LIKE THIS.
THE, THE CITY OF SEDONA TOURISM PROGRAM IS THE ONLY ENTITY POISED TO LEAD AND MANAGE SEDONA AS A WORLD RENOWNED DESTINATION AND TOURISM ECONOMY, BALANCING THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES, AND VISITORS BUY, OWNING AND CHAMPIONING THE BRAND THAT SHAPES SEDONAS TOURISM ECONOMY.
UTILIZING THE C CITY'S WILLINGNESS AND EXPERTISE TO HOLISTICALLY MANAGE THE DESTINATION FROM MARKETING TO INFRASTRUCTURE, LEVERAGING CRITICAL DATA AND RESEARCH TO MANAGE THE DESTINATION, EMPOWER BUSINESSES AND INFORM THE COMMUNITY, UH, BEING RESPONSIVE TO RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES, PARTNERS AND VISITORS, EXECUTING TARGETED DESTINATION MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, AND THEN LEADING COLLABORATIONS AND REGIONAL PEER AGENCY COOPERATION THAT MAKES TANGIBLE PROGRESS POSSIBLE.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH THE IMPERATIVES, BUT QUICKLY JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'M SPEAKING TO CITY COUNCIL.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN THIS ROLE ROLE.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.
UM, BUT THESE ARE THE FOUR IMPERATIVES THAT OUTLINE THE PLAN.
UM, YOU COULD ALSO LOOK AT THEM AS KIND OF PILLARS, UM, THROUGH WHICH WE ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION THEY REPRESENT.
WHEN I STARTED LOOKING AT THIS, I REALLY SEE THIS AS A TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE PLUS CONCEPT WHERE MANAGE AND STEWARD THE DESTINATION REALLY FOCUSES ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL KIND OF FOCUS THERE.
UM, THE OPTIMIZED ECONOMIC IMPACT, THAT'S THE ECONOMY.
UM, ENHANCED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH TOURISM WOULD BE YOUR SOCIAL.
AND THEN, BECAUSE WE ARE A STARTUP, AS LAUREN MENTIONED, UM, THE PLUS IS WHAT I REFER TO AS KIND OF ORGANIZATION BUILDING, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE STRUCTURES IN PLACE, THE CAPACITY IN PLACE, THE RESOURCES IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE WE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL.
TO BREAK EACH OF THESE DOWN KIND OF CONCEPTUALLY.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH THE INITIATIVES THAT COMPRISE THEM, MANAGE AND STEWARD THE DESTINATION IS WHERE YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE FOCUSED ON VISITOR MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS EDUCATION.
WHETHER THAT BE FOCUSED ON IDENTIFYING WAYS TO REDUCE VEHICLE CONGESTION DURING THOSE PEAKS THAT WE JUST SAW ON THAT LAST SLIDE, OR CREATING A SMARTER VISITOR WHEN THEY ENGAGE WITH PUBLIC LANDS.
UM, THAT'S REALLY WHERE YOU'RE GONNA SEE A LOT OF THAT WHEN IT COMES TO OPTIMIZE ECONOMIC IMPACT.
THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE GONNA SEE A LOT OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT I WOULD SAY ARE MORE IN THAT KIND OF TRADITIONAL DESTINATION MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT OR KIND OF DMMO ORGANIZATIONAL CONCEPT, WHICH REALLY LOOKS AT, YOU KNOW, LEVERAGING THE POWER OF TOURISM MARKETING, BUT IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE EXECUTED WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE BROADER PLAN.
UM, IT DOES NOT SIT ALONE IN A SILO.
IT'S LOOKED AT WHAT'S THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN OPTIMIZING ECONOMIC IMPACT WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THESE OTHER IMPERATIVES, AS WELL AS FOCUSING ON SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES.
WHEN IT COMES TO ENHANCING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, YOU'RE GONNA SEE A LOT OF ACTIVITIES THAT ARE FOCUSED ON OUTREACH WITH THE COMMUNITY, ADVANCING PARTNERSHIPS, PROPPING UP OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WHEN WE CAN, AS WELL AS TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION AROUND THE WAY THAT THE CITY'S INVESTING IN TOURISM AND REPORTING ON THE, THE SUCCESS OF THOSE INVESTMENTS AND STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION IS EXACTLY WHAT WE INTEND TO DO.
UM, THIS IS FINDING WAYS TO, YOU KNOW, FILL CAPACITY GAPS THAT WE HAVE, ENGAGE IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTS, THAT WE CAN OPTIMIZE THE STAFF THAT WE DO HAVE, UM, AS WELL AS REALLY BUILD THIS, THE CITY'S REPUTATION AS THE GO-TO RESOURCE FOR ALL THINGS TOURISM WITHIN SEDONA.
AS I KIND OF MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SEEING IT IN THIS COLUMN STRUCTURE, BUT THESE IMPERATIVES REALLY EXIST AS A VENN DIAGRAM WITH BALANCE BEING THE DRIVER THAT'S AT THE CENTER.
AND YOU KNOW, I SEE THAT DOUBLE CAMEL HUMP THAT WE SEE IN EVERYTHING RELATED TO SEDONA VISITATION, UM, IN EVERYTHING THAT I'VE LOOKED AT SO FAR.
UM, AND THAT IS A GREAT WAY TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE AT, YOU KNOW, THE TOPS OF THOSE PEAKS, THERE'S A REALLY BIG FOCUS ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND MANAGING THE STEWARD OF THE DESTINATION.
THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO INCREASE THOSE INVESTMENTS TO MAKE SURE WE KEEP BALANCE AT THE CENTER.
UM, DURING THOSE OTHER PERIODS OF TIMES, THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL START TO SEE THINGS LIKE THE OPTIMIZE ECONOMIC IMPACT.
AND THAT REALLY IS CONSISTENT WITH THE WAY THAT WE'VE ALREADY BEEN ROLLING OUT OUR DESTINATION
[02:05:01]
MARKETING.SO WITH THAT CONTEXT, UH, LAUREN AND I ARE GONNA WALK THROUGH EACH IMPERATIVE AND KIND OF TELL YOU THE INITIATIVES.
AND THEN AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, AT LEAST DO ONE FOR EACH OF THE IMPERATIVES.
BUT, UM, OBVIOUSLY WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU, YOU DURING THE GROUP DISCUSSION.
SO WITHIN MANAGE AND STEWARD THE DESTINATION, UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST IS AN INITIATIVE TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND EDUCATION OF WAYS TO REDUCE VEHICLE CONGESTION.
UM, I AM INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED BY THE CITY'S TRANSIT SYSTEM AND ITS GROWING TRANSIT SYSTEM.
UM, REALLY LOOKING AT WAYS TO ELEVATE THAT AS WELL AS IDENTIFY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE THAT SMARTER VISITOR THAT KNOWS HOW TO DO THEIR PART TO REDUCE VEHICLE CONGESTION.
UM, DEFINITELY LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIZING THE MARKETING INVESTMENTS THAT WE DO MAKE DURING THOSE OFF PEAK TIMES OF THE WEEKEND YEAR.
AND REALLY WORKING WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THOSE NEED TIMES, BECAUSE IN MANY WAYS THESE ARE CATERED TOWARDS THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY REMAIN THRIVING.
UM, ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL USE OF SEDONA THROUGHOUT THE YEAR IS ONE THAT I'M TRULY PASSIONATE ABOUT.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY THE INITIATIVE THAT, UH, THE INITIATIVE THAT I PICKED.
SO I'LL WAIT TO KIND OF GO THERE ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AND THEN THE FOURTH ONE WOULD BE, UM, PARTNER WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS TO ADVANCE PROJECTS THAT BETTER MANAGE VISITATION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
WE'VE GOT A FANTASTIC GROUP OF EMPLOYEES HERE AT THE CITY THAT HAVE GREAT PROGRAMS, UM, BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF TOURISM'S IMPORTANCE TO THIS, TO, TO THIS COMMUNITY.
HOW DO WE THEN INTEGRATE THE TOURISM ECONOMY INTO THE SUCCESS OF OTHER CITY PROGRAMS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON SUSTAINABILITY, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, THE INITIATIVE I'M HERE TO BREAK DOWN, AT LEAST WITHIN THIS IMPERATIVE, IS GONNA BE ENCOURAGED, RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL USE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
SO WE'VE SEEN DIFFERENT ITERATIONS OF THIS, SO I'M NOT HERE TO TELL YOU THIS IS SOMETHING NEW, BUT I DO THINK, UM, IT'S TIME TO BRING THIS BACK IN A MORE INTENTIONAL WAY AND DEFINITELY INTEGRATED INTO THE LAUNCH OF THE DMMO FUNCTION WITHIN THE CITY.
SO, YOU KNOW, ONE WAY TO GO ABOUT THIS, THE WAY THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY THINKING WOULD BE TO HOST A FOCUS GROUP WITH LOCAL LEADERS TO VALIDATE THE PRI THE PRIORITY BEHAVIORS THAT WE WANT TO INFLUENCE AT DIFFERENT TYPES OF SITES AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF YEARS, EXACTLY WHAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER.
UM, BUT REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT ARE THOSE PRIORITY BEHAVIORS.
WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON 20.
WE'RE GONNA NEED TO, AS A COMMUNITY IDENTIFY FOCUSING ON ENOUGH THAT THE VISITORS CAN ACTUALLY RETAIN THEM.
AND I DO EXPECT THOSE TO FLUCTUATE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, I ALREADY KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM WHAT I'M SEEING, SEARCH AND RESCUE IS AT ITS HIGHEST IN THE SUMMER, WHICH IS WHEN WE'RE AT LOWEST IN VISITATION.
SO THAT JUST HELPS ME THINK OF THE MESSAGING THAT WE'D WANT TO HAVE DURING SUMMERTIME VIS-A-VIS THE MESSAGING WE'D WANT TO HAVE DURING OUR KIND OF PEAK TIMES.
BASED ON THAT, WE WANNA UNDERSTAND WHICH OF THOSE BEHAVIORS CAN WE ACTUALLY AFFECT THROUGH STRATEGIC MESSAGING, WHICH ESSENTIALLY MEANS ARE PEOPLE ENGAGING IN THESE BEHAVIORS DUE TO A LACK OF AWARENESS OF THEM BEING BAD.
UM, IF THEY DO KNOW THEY'RE DOING IT WRONG, MESSAGING'S NOT GONNA SOLVE THAT, THAT THAT REQUIRES A DIFFERENT SOLUTION.
SO THAT'S JUST THE EXERCISE THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MESSAGES RELATED TO THEM AT THAT POINT.
AS PART OF THIS KIND OF BUILD OUT PROCESS, WE ALL, WE ALSO WANT TO BE COMPILING A LIST OF LOCAL NONPROFIT GROUPS THAT ARE RELATED TO VISITOR EXPERIENCE, RED ROCK TRAILS FUND, OAK CREEK WATERSHED, UM, THAT WE CAN START TO ENCOURAGE VISITORS TO NOT ONLY SAY CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR, BUT GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
SO REALLY LOOKING AT THIS AS AN INTEGRATED EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN, WHICH THEN WOULD OFFICIALLY LAUNCH AS WHAT WE'VE BEEN CALLING AN ALWAYS ON EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN THAT INVITES VISITORS TO SEDONA TO ENGAGE IN RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL USE BEHAVIORS.
ONE CAVEAT IS THAT TO DO THIS EFFECTIVELY, YOU'VE GOTTA DISTRIBUTE MESSAGES AT THE TIME IN WHICH A DECISION IS BEING MADE.
UM, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS, UM, IN, IN A MEETING YESTERDAY WHERE IF WE'RE TELLING PEOPLE TO HAVE ENOUGH WATER AT THE TRAILHEAD AND THEY'RE SEEING THAT WHEN THEY GET TO THE TRAILHEAD, THERE'S A NEED TO ELEVATE THAT MESSAGE EARLIER, RIGHT? SO LOOKING AT IT THROUGH THAT LENS, WHERE IS THAT POOR DECISION OR SORT OF BAD BEHAVIOR BEING ENGAGED IN? AND HOW DO WE DRIVE THAT STRATEGIC MESSAGE TO INFLUENCE IT AT THAT TIME? AND IT'S NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA DO ALONE AS A CITY.
IT'S GONNA BE DONE THROUGH A DIS A DISTRIBUTION OF A TOOLKIT THAT WE CAN SEND TO ALL THE BUSINESSES.
IN MY MIND, I THINK OF HOTELS, BUT THERE'S ALSO ANY REALLY ANYBODY THAT INTERFACES WITH VISITORS SO THAT WE ARE TALKING CONSISTENTLY AROUND THIS MESSAGE.
AND AGAIN, YOU COULD HAVE A DIFFERENT MESSAGE FOR THE HOTEL THAN THERE IS ON THE SHUTTLE DUE TO WHERE THEY ARE IN THE DECISION TREE.
AND THEN FURTHER FURTHER DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT ALL THE DIFFERENT ENTITIES OR KIND OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UH, MANAGE VOLUNTEERS THAT INTERFACE WITH VISITORS.
WE KNOW WE HAVE THEM AT THE VISITOR CENTER, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE'S LIKE PARKS AND REC VOLUNTEERS, THERE'S RED ROCK RANGER DISTRICT, MAKING SURE THAT THOSE FOLKS ALSO HAVE THESE
[02:10:01]
MESSAGES, UM, SO THAT WE CAN AGREE AS A COM AS A COMMUNITY, WHAT ARE THOSE FIVE EACH SEASON? AND FIVE IS AN ARBITRARY NUMBER, BUT WHAT ARE THOSE FIVE EACH SEASON? AND THEN MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN KIND OF BANG THAT DRUM ON AWARENESS BUILDING SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE ENGAGING IN THINGS THAT AFTER THE FACT THEY REALIZE THEY WISH THEY HAD KNOWN BETTER.ANDREW, BEFORE YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I'D JUST LIKE TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE CLARIFICATION ON HOST A FOCUS GROUP WITH LOCAL LEADERS.
WHAT IS YOUR VISION WITH THAT? WHO ARE THESE LOCAL LEADERS? BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE MORE RESIDENTS INVOLVED, AS WELL AS THE BUSINESS OWNERS.
SO EXACTLY WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO FIND THESE PEOPLE AND HOW, UH, WOULD THAT LAUREN, WOULD THIS BE THROUGH ASSISTANCE, ENGAGEMENT AND IN THAT PROGRAM? YEAH, IT COULD, IT COULD EASILY BE THROUGH THAT.
I, I THINK ANDREW WAS THINKING, UM, PARTNERS LIKE THE FOREST SERVICE AND, RIGHT, YEAH.
I'VE GOT SORT OF A WISHLIST THAT I'VE BEEN SLOWLY COMPILING, BUT I I WELCOME INPUT ON IT.
IT'S CERTAINLY, LAND MANAGERS TO ME ARE KEY.
SEARCH AND RESCUE TO ME IS KEY.
THEY'RE THE ONES THAT DEAL WITH SOME OF THESE KIND OF AT THE EXTREME END OF BEHAVIORS, RIGHT? I THINK EVEN SEDONA RESIDENTS UNITED COULD BE AN, AN EXAMPLE OF A, OF AN ENTITY.
SO I'VE GOT PROBABLY 15 OR 20 FOLKS.
UM, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THEM WHETHER OR NOT THEY'D WANNA MEET WITH ME, BUT, UM, I'D LOVE FOR IF THE COUNCIL HAD ANY INPUT, UM, I'D WELCOME TO RECEIVE IT.
WELL, WE COULD DO THAT THROUGH THAT, YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK AS LONG AS WE HAVE SOME RESIDENTS INCLUDED AND THAT'S IN.
BUT OTHERWISE, I DON'T KNOW THE LAST TIME WE ENGAGED WITH, UH, SEARCH AND RESCUE.
THAT'S A GREAT ASSET FOR INFORMATION.
YOU'VE BEEN MEETING WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE.
THAT'S A FIRST I'M HEARING, SO THAT'S REALLY GOOD.
UM, ALONG THE SAME LINES ON YOUR LIST, YOU HAVE THE COMPILED LIST OF LOCAL NONPROFIT ENTITIES THAT VISITORS CAN DONATE THEIR TIME OR MONEY TO PROJECTS THAT BENEFIT VISITOR EXPERIENCE IN SEDONA.
WE HAVE A VOLUNTEER WHO'S BEEN WORKING ON THAT.
ARE, ARE YOU GUYS WORKING TOGETHER? 'CAUSE I'M JUST WANNA MAKE SURE HOW DO WE MAKE IT MORE ROBUST, ELIMINATE REDUNDANCIES, BUT YET MAKE IT MORE ROBUST? BECAUSE IF WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING ON THESE THINGS, SAME THING.
UM, WE HAVEN'T FORMALLY PUBLISHED THE PLAN YET, SO I'M A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
BUT WE'RE AWARE THAT THIS, I MEAN, 'CAUSE I THINK THEY'VE BEEN WORKING WITH YOU, KEEGAN, RIGHT? SHE CAME SO WE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE CONNECTING THE DOTS AND WE'RE NOT YES.
THAT UM, THE PERSON WHO RUNS THAT CAME TO THE LAST TAB MEETING AND MADE THE INTRODUCTION WITH US.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING WITH HER, WAS THAT SPRING? THANK YOU.
SO I HAVE THE OPTIMIZED ECONOMIC IMPACT IMPERATIVE.
UM, SO FIRST, UM, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, INTEGRATE THE NEW SEDONA TOURISM BRAND THROUGHOUT THE CITY'S TOURISM ACTIVITIES, MATERIALS AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
SO THIS IS THE BRANDING EXERCISE THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH.
UM, WE'RE IN THE VERY, UH, BEGINNING STAGES OF THAT.
UM, WE WERE HOPING THAT IT WOULD COME FASTER, BUT, UH, CAN'T ALWAYS RUSH CREATIVITY.
SO, UM, I'M HAVING TO BE PATIENT, UH, BUT JUST KNOW THAT THAT IS IN THE WORKS.
UM, WE WANNA BOLSTER DIGITAL MARKETING CONTENT TO INCREASE WEBSITE TRAFFIC AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT.
WE WANNA LEVERAGE EARNED MEDIA AND TRAVEL TRADE TO ENHANCE SEDONAS REPUTATION AS A LEADING NATIONAL DESTINATION.
WE'VE, YOU KNOW, STARTED THAT WITH HEATHER, UM, HEATHER HERMAN, AND WE'LL BE KIND OF PICKING UP THAT BATON, UM, AS HER CONTRACT ENDS AT THE END OF AUGUST AT, WE'LL BE BUILDING UP AN ASSET INVENTORY, UM, AND OFFERING LOCAL MARKETING CO-OPS.
UM, ANDREW, DO, DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT YOUR CO-OP IDEA? YEAH, SURE.
SO I THINK ONE EXAMPLE THAT THIS COULD PLAY OUT WOULD BE, UM, WHEN WE DO A CAMPAIGN LIKE WE ARE ABOUT TO END TOMORROW, UM, WE WOULD HAVE, UM, A ROBUST KIND OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLKIT THAT WE COULD GIVE TO THE HOTELIERS TO HELP KIND OF CASCADE OUR MESSAGING OUT UNDERNEATH US.
AND WE COULD HAVE A, YOU KNOW, $500 APPLICATION THAT YOU COULD THEN SUBMIT TO THEN, YOU KNOW, CO-FUND A SOCIAL MEDIA BOOST OF, OF THAT CONTENT, UM, TO HELP DRIVE, UM, FURTHER DEMAND WITH THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE.
UM, OTHER ONES COULD BE LIKE A PHOTOGRAPHY CO-OP.
IF WE HAD A PHOTOGRAPHER COME TO THE AREA, YOU COULD KIND OF BUY INTO SOME ADDITIONAL TIME TO GET BUSINESS RELATED PHOTOGRAPHY TO HELP WITH YOUR OWN DIGITAL PRESENCE OUTSIDE OF WHAT THE CITY'S DOING.
AND THEN, UM, TO BE A SUPPORTIVE PARTNER TO TOURISM RELATED BUSINESSES IN SEDONA.
SO THE, UH, EXAMPLE INITIATIVE THAT I PICKED WAS, UM, INTEGRATE THE NEW SEDONA TOURISM BRAND THROUGHOUT THE CITY'S TOURISM ACTIVITIES, MATERIALS AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
SO THE ACTION ITEMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE WITH THAT ARE TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE BRANDING INITIATIVE,
[02:15:01]
UM, THAT'S GONNA VALIDATE THE NAME, LOGO AND LOGO AND BRAND GUIDANCE FOR THE CITY'S PROGRAM.UH, THEN NEXT WE'LL BE AUDITING THE CURRENT BRAND EXECUTION AND UPDATING UTILIZATION TO THE NEW BRAND.
UM, AND THEN INTEGRATING THE NEW BRAND AND RELATED GUIDELINES INTO ALL OF OUR TOURISM ACTIVITIES.
SO HERE WE HAVE ENHANCED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH TOURISM, WHICH LOOKS LIKE ADVANCING PARTNERSHIPS WITH TOURISM RELATED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFITS CREATE AND EXECUTE A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN THAT BUILDS AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF THE CITY'S INVESTMENTS IN TOURISM AND THE CITY'S COMMITMENT TO QUALITY OF LIFE.
CREATE A STATE OF SEDONA TOURISM TRANSPARENCY HUB ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE THAT TRACKS THE PROGRESS OF THIS PLAN.
REGULARLY MONITOR COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS OF TIMELY TOURISM CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, SO THE ONE I'LL BREAK DOWN WOULD BE THIS STATE OF SEDONA TOURISM TRANSPARENCY HUB ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE THAT TRACKS THE PROGRESS OF THIS PLAN.
UH, I'LL SAY THIS IS ONE OF THE DRIVING THINGS THAT I WAS HOPING I WAS GONNA DO WHEN I TOOK THIS ROLE.
SO I WAS REALLY GLAD TO KNOW THAT THIS WAS ALREADY KIND OF IN THE WORKS WITH, WITH THE CITY.
I THINK IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT TOURISM PROGRAMS LIKE OURS ENGAGE IN THIS PROCESS.
AND I'VE GOT A LIST OF DE DESTINATIONS THAT I'VE ADMIRED THAT DO THIS.
SO I'M LOOKING TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LEARN FROM THEM AND REPLICATE THEIR PROCESSES.
BUT, UM, THE MAJOR GOAL HERE WOULD BE THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE THE PLAN IS PUBLISHED, UM, THERE'LL BE A SECTION THAT WILL COMMUNICATE HOW THE CITY'S GONNA BE INVESTING, UM, THE DOLLARS THAT ARE ALLOCATED TO THE TOURISM PROGRAM, ALONG WITH SOME, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THOSE INVESTMENTS ARE BEING MADE AND WHAT THEIR PROGRESS IS.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, UM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO DEVELOP THE WIRE FRAME FOR PRESENTING THE TRANSPARENCY HUB THAT'LL LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FOR PRESENTING UPDATES ON OUR EFFORTS TO ADOPT THE PLAN, BUT ALSO TO REGULARLY COMPILE DATA AND INFORMATION THAT CAN BE USED TO UPDATE THE TRANSPARENCY HUB.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY YOU'VE SEEN A LOT OF THE TOURISM DATA THAT WE'VE BEEN SHARING WITH THE COMMUNITY RELATED TO LODGING PERFORMANCE, CREDIT CARD SPEND, UM, ALL THOSE THINGS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN COMPILING THEM INTO A CENTRAL PLACE.
I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THOSE RESEARCH PROVIDERS ON THE FEEDS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO KIND OF SOLICIT IMPACT ON WHAT PEOPLE ARE MOST INTERESTED AND COMPARE THAT TO WHAT WE HAVE.
I KNOW WE ALWAYS SHOOT FOR THE STARS, I THINK WAS A TERM THAT I HEARD, BUT I'LL TRY TO GET US OUTTA THE STRATOSPHERE.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE GOAL THERE WOULD BE TO, UM, ULTIMATELY PUBLISH AND PROMOTE THIS TRANSPARENCY HUB WITHIN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY SO THAT WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.
AND I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING TO THAT THAT WE CAN UTILIZE.
AND IT COMES BACK TO, I THINK, PETE, YOUR COMMENTS EARLIER ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT US TO BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY, YOU KNOW, A PEAK IN VISITATION.
UM, WE'VE SEEN THE TRENDS YEAR OVER YEAR, AND HOW DO WE BUILD AWARENESS OF THEM AND USE THAT AS A POINT OF COLLABORATION ON THE TYPES OF STRATEGIES THAT WE CAN UTILIZE TO HELP US MANAGE WHAT THOSE FEEL LIKE.
ANDREW, BEFORE YOU MOVE ON TO VICE HAS A QUESTION.
I DO, UH, THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE TRANSPARENCY.
ARE YOU INTENDING TO PUSH THE INFORMATION OUT? BECAUSE A LOT OF OUR RESIDENTS DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S THERE AND THEY'RE NOT COMFORTABLE.
WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, AN OLDER POPULATION, THEY'RE NOT COMFORTABLE TRYING TO FIND THINGS ON OUR WEBSITE.
YEAH, I MEAN, A LOT OF THIS IS INTERCONNECTED.
UM, SO I WENT INTO THE TRANSPARENCY HUB, BUT THIS NUMBER TWO HERE, CREATE AND EXECUTE A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN THAT BUILDS AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF THE CITY'S INVESTMENTS.
UM, THERE'S KIND OF A FUNNY AHA THAT I HAD MANY, MANY YEARS AGO WHERE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU TALK TO A STANDARD TOURISM MARKETER, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT THEY DO AND THEY'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, PSYCHOGRAPHICS ON PSYCHOGRAPHICS OF, YOU KNOW, TARGET AUDIENCES.
THEY KNOW THE CHANNELS TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM, THEY KNOW THE BRAND GUIDANCE, THEY KNOW THE MESSAGING, BUT HISTORICALLY IT'S BEEN, THERE'S ONE RESIDENT, IT'S ONE MONOLITHIC RESIDENT TYPE, AND WE ALL KNOW THAT THAT'S NOT TRUE.
YOU JUST, YOU JUST ACKNOWLEDGED IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, WORKING TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO REACH OUR COMMUNITY, UM, AND UNDERSTAND WHAT CHANNELS I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT NEXTDOOR.
I PERSONALLY HAVE NOT BEEN ON IT YET, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT TO ME WOULD BE AN AVENUE, OKAY,
BUT THAT WOULD BE, THAT THAT WOULD BE AN AVENUE TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE.
AND I'M SURE THERE ARE MORE, RIGHT? THERE'S, THERE'S COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT I CAN ATTEND, THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR ME TO GET THIS INFORMATION OUT BEYOND THE TRANSPARENCY HUB, BUT THAT WOULD BE THE CENTRAL SOURCE.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT IT IS TIED TO OUR COMMUNICATION ON HOW WE'RE MAKING THE INVESTMENTS.
AND, UM, IT'S WHY WE HAVE A LOT OF THE OTHER TEAM MEMBERS IN THE BACK, YOU KNOW, UM, KEEGAN'S GOING TO BE AN AMPLIFIER ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ROB IS GOING TO BE AN AMPLIFIER THROUGH NEWSLETTERS.
SO, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THIS FEEDS INTO THAT TRANSPARENCY HUB, AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE FEATURED EVERY, YOU KNOW, EVERY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SHOULD HAVE A LINK TO THE TRANSPARENCY HUB SO THAT YOU CAN CHECK BACK ON IT.
I KNOW IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE AN OLDER PERSON, MAYBE YOU DON'T EVEN WANT AN EMAIL.
UM, SO WE'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET OVER THOSE BARRIERS.
[02:20:01]
UM, MAYBE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IN PERSON, UM, PRESENTATIONS TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.BUT, UM, JUST KNOW THAT IT'S, THERE'S TENTACLES THAT GO OUT IN MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
SO, UM, I HAVE THE STRENGTH STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION IMPERATIVE.
UM, AND LET'S SEE, OUR, LET'S SEE, INITIATIVES, I HAVE TO MAKE SURE I GET THE RIGHT WORD.
INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING ARE, UM, TO ENHANCE THE CITY'S TOURISM RELATED DATA PORTFOLIO TO MAKE MORE INFORMED DECISIONS AND MEASURE RESULTS.
WE'RE GONNA INCREASE THE CITY'S CAPACITY TO DEVELOP, MANAGE, AND PROMOTE TOURISM.
AND WE'RE GONNA, UH, PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL TOURISM CONFERENCES AND EVENTS, WHICH, UM, IRONICALLY RIGHT NOW IS THE CHAMBER'S ANNUAL EVENT, UH, THAT WE'LL BE GOING TO AFTER THIS MEETING.
SO, UM, THE EXAMPLE INITIATIVE THAT I PULLED OUT WAS, UM, TO INCREASE THE CITY'S CAPACITY TO DEVELOP, MANAGE, AND PROMOTE TOURISM.
UH, THIS IS A, A BIG ONE FOR ME.
AS YOU KNOW, WE STARTED AS A DEPARTMENT OF WHATEVER WE WERE ONE AND A HALF AND WE'VE GROWN.
UM, SO FIRST AND FOREMOST WE WANNA ONBOARD THE NEW TOURISM MANAGER, UH, WHICH IS, UH, THIS IS PROBABLY ACTIVELY HAPPENING IN OUR MIDST RIGHT NOW.
UH, THEN TO ASSESS STAFF CAPACITY GAPS WITHIN THE PROGRAM, DEVELOP AN APPROPRIATE JOB DESCRIPTION FOR A TOURISM COORDINATOR BECAUSE WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL, UM, HIRE THIS YEAR.
AND THEN HIRE, UM, AN APPROPRIATE CANDIDATE FOR THE POSITION.
UH, WE'LL ACTUALLY BE DOING THE SAME WITH, UH, HEATHER HERMAN'S POSITION.
YOU ALL KNOW FROM THE DECISION PACKAGE BACK IN THE, IN THE BUDGET PROCESS THAT WE ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UM, HAVE ONE, UH, CONTRACTOR ON BOARD AS WELL.
SO, UM, WE'RE ACTIVELY DOING THAT.
'CAUSE UM, UH, IT HAPPENED QUICKLY.
UM, WE DID A LOT OF ANALYSIS OF THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN AND HOW DID SOME OF THOSE, UM, PILLARS AND ACTION ITEMS FEED INTO OUR PLAN.
UH, AT THE END OF THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO, TO KIND OF TAKE A LOOK AT, OKAY, DO WE FEEL LIKE A DEDICATED SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN IS NEEDED, UM, IN 18 MONTHS TO TWO YEARS? OR DO WE FEEL LIKE WE KNOW THAT WE NEED ANOTHER ITERATION OF WHAT THIS STRATEGIC PLAN IS? UM, AND THEN TO, UM, ENCOURAGE TEAM BUILDING AND POSITIVE INTERNAL CULTURE, UM, WITH MONTHLY TEAM MEETINGS AND OUTINGS.
I NEED TO BE TOLD TO DO THAT OR ELSE, UM, I JUST PUT MY HEAD DOWN.
AH, AND THAT IS OUR PRESENTATION.
UH, WE WOULD LOVE ANY FEEDBACK, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, UM, AS WE, UH, PUT, PUT THE FINAL TOUCHES ON THIS PLAN.
AND THEN WE'RE JUST EXCITED TO IMPLEMENT IT, QUITE HONESTLY.
VICE MAYOR, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS REGARDING THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES, BECAUSE THAT'S ONE, ONE WAY IN WHICH WE USED HEATHER VERY EFFECTIVELY.
WE DID, AND WE GOT A LOT OF BANG FOR THE BUCK BECAUSE SHE REPRESENTED OTHER COMMUNITIES IN THE VERDE VALLEY.
SO WE PAID OUR PROPORTIONATE SHARE OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL, AND THAT IS KIND OF A SPECIALTY.
DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN THAT, ANDREW, OR YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT ABSOLUTELY.
I MEAN, A LOT OF THAT WORK IS TYPICALLY ORGANIZED BY THE STATE TOURISM OFFICE WITH THE DESTINATION THAT IT'S IN.
SO A OT FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORK IS DONE BY A OT.
AND I'VE WORKED FOR TRAVEL OREGON, I'VE WORKED FOR COLORADO TOURISM OFFICE, SO THIS IS DEFINITELY WITHIN MY WHEELHOUSE.
UM, WE DID MEET THE APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR THE A OT RURAL CO-OP THIS FISCAL YEAR, AND THAT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO MATCH $50,000 WITH $50,000 OF A OT MONEY THROUGH A LIST OF PRE PREVAL OR PRE-VETTED INVESTMENTS.
SO AT LEAST FROM A CONFERENCES AND TRADE SHOWS STANDPOINT OF WHAT WE APPLIED FOR, AND I'LL, WE'LL, WE WILL HEAR BACK BY THE END OF THE MONTH, UM, THERE WOULD BE A NATIONAL TRAVEL ASSOCIATION EXCHANGE, WHICH IS FOR KIND OF DOMESTIC GROUP TRAVEL.
UM, THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN NOVEMBER.
THERE'S THE TRAVEL CLASSICS EVENT, WHICH IS A MEDIA SHOW.
IT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN SCOTTSDALE ALSO IN NOVEMBER.
UM, THERE'S THE GO WEST SUMMIT, WHICH IS AGAIN, MORE OF A TRAVEL TRADE SHOW, GROUP TRAVEL SHOW THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN JANUARY.
UM, THEN THERE IS A FRANCE AND UK MEDIA AND SALES MISSION HAPPENING IN MARCH.
AND THEN THERE'S THE IPW CONFERENCE THAT HAPPENS IN JUNE.
SO FINGERS CROSSED THAT THEY APPROVE THOSE.
BUT, UM, WHAT I'VE BEEN JUST THROWING OUT THERE TO LAUREN AS
[02:25:01]
WE'VE BEEN PLANNING IS THAT I AM VERY COMFORTABLE DOING ONE OUT OF STATE SHOW TRADE SHOW A QUARTER.UM, AND THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE'VE PLANNED OUT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
I THINK WHAT WE WILL BE DETERMINING IS, UM, IS THERE, IS THERE APPETITE AND KIND OF NEED FOR MORE? UM, I THINK THAT'S WHERE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS ADDITIONAL CONSULTANT THAT WE WOULD BRING ON IS KIND OF LEVERAGING, LEVERAGING THAT.
AND, UM, I'VE BEEN GATHERING ESTIMATES KIND OF KNOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, HEATHER IS MOVING ON.
SO WE WE ARE DOING SOME FOUNDATIONAL WORK TO IDENTIFY HOW TO FILL THOSE GAPS AS THEY ARISE.
WELL, FORTUNATELY, I GUESS THOSE CONFERENCES ARE LATER IN THE YEAR.
YEAH, AND I ALSO THINK IT, IT WAS TIME FOR, YOU KNOW, HEATHER WAS REALLY, REALLY VALUABLE AT, UM, YOU KNOW, ZERO TRAINING AND BEING ABLE TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.
I THINK IT'S TIME THAT WE, THAT WE TAKE IT IN-HOUSE AND THAT OUR REPRESENTATIVE, UM, IS IN-HOUSE INSTEAD OF OUT OF HOUSE.
AND SO WE TRIED TO, THAT'S WHAT ANDREW'S TALKING ABOUT.
WE TRIED TO BE REALISTIC WITH WHAT A TRAVEL SCHEDULE LOOKED LIKE, KNOWING THAT IN THIS INDUSTRY YOU COULD GO TO A CONFERENCE EVERY WEEK IF YOU WANTED TO.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WERE THE ONES THAT WE THOUGHT WERE REALLY IMPORTANT AND REALLY STRATEGIC FOR US TO BE THERE? AND THAT'S WHAT WE TRIED TO COMMIT TO FOR THIS YEAR.
AND TOURISM IS AN INCREDIBLY RELATIONAL INDUSTRY WHEN YOU LOOK AT KIND OF THAT SIDE OF IT.
SO IT COMES BACK TO, AGAIN, THE, THE INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN ALL THESE DIFFERENT POINTS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE GOALS IS TO REALLY ESTABLISH THE CITY AS THE GO-TO RESOURCE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT TOURISM IN SEDONA.
UM, SO HAVING, YOU KNOW, A CITY EMPLOYEE, BE THE REPRESENTATIVE THERE HELPS REINFORCE THAT, UM, MORE THAN MORE THAN OTHER OPTIONS.
UH, BRIAN, JUST A REALLY QUICK QUESTION SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A OT, UM, HOW ARE YOU GUYS ENGAGING IN THE APPRECIATE AZ CAMPAIGN THAT THEY'RE, THAT THEY'RE SPINNING UP? UM, ARE WE INVOLVED IN THAT? UM, I KNOW THEY'VE BEEN OUT SHOOTING LITTLE MOVIES WITH FOREST SERVICE AND ALL THAT SORT OF STUFF.
HOW ARE WE ENGAGING IF WE ARE ENGAGING? YEAH, SO THOSE, THOSE TYPICALLY HAPPEN AT KIND OF DIFFERENT LAYERS OF THE DECISION TREE, RIGHT? UM, WHERE APPRECIATE AZ CAMPAIGNS.
WE HAD IN CARE FOR COLORADO AND COLORADO, WE HAD TAKE CARE OUT THERE IN, IN OREGON.
THEY'RE DESIGNED TO SORT OF SET A STANDARD OF, THERE'S AN EXPECTATION OF YOU WHEN YOU BEHAVE IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA, BUT IT'S MORE KIND OF BLANKETED ACROSS THAN IT IS WHAT I WOULD CALL TARGETED.
UM, SO THE IDEA IS THAT, YOU KNOW, APPRECIATE AZ WOULD BRING PEOPLE DOWN INTO THE FUNNEL OF THE SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS FOR SEDONA.
UM, SO I DO THINK THERE'S AN INTERSECTION.
I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING ELSE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE GOT ANY OTHER COMMENTS.
BUT, UM, ANDREW IS ATTENDING THE GCO CONFERENCE NEXT WEEK.
YEAH, NEXT WEEK I'LL BE AT G COD AND I WILL BE SPEAKING ON THIS SUSTAINABILITY PANEL.
SO ANOTHER WAY TO BUILD OUR REPUTATION.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS? IT'S THE, UM, ANNUAL GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM THAT'S HOSTED BY THE STATE TOURISM OFFICE, IN THIS CASE THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM.
SO IT'S A EVENT THAT BRINGS TOGETHER DESTINATIONS FROM ACROSS THE STATE AS WELL AS, UM, KIND OF MORE KIND OF FLAGSHIP SIGNATURE PRIVATE SECTOR BUSINESSES AS WELL AS VENDORS.
SO IT'S A CHANCE TO LEARN TOURISM TRENDS, LEARN, SEE TWO, SEE NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND NETWORK WITH MY PEERS.
BRIAN, DID YOU HAVE QUESTION TO THAT? TO THAT, TO THAT, DO, ARE THERE ANY OTHER REGIONAL SPEAKERS ON PANELS AT THAT CONFERENCE THAT YOU KNOW OF? ANYBODY ELSE FROM OUR REGION? UM, NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF YET.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT I'M SPEAKING WITH A OT AND A SU ON, ON, ON ON THE PANEL THAT I'M ON.
SO ARE WE DOING USUAL QUESTIONS AND THEN COMMENTS LATER? SURE.
KIND OF HARD TO SEPARATE SOME OF THEN JUST JUST GO FOR IT.
BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY GETTING CLOSE TO SIX AND WE'RE GONNA PROBABLY GO OVER, SO I'LL TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT.
UM, LAUREN, WHAT'S THE, WHEN, WHEN DO WE EXPECT WE'RE GONNA SEE AN UPDATE ON THE BRAND? UM, SO IT IS, IT IS COMMINGLED WITH A MARKETING PLAN.
SO WE MEET WITH THEM TOMORROW, ANDREW AND I DO, UM, TO HELP THEM DIAL IN SOME MORE SPECIFICS ON THE MARKETING PLAN.
THEY PRESENTED US WITH A FIRST, WITH A FIRST SHOW OF MARKETING OR OF BRANDING IDEAS.
UM, AND THAT WENT THROUGH A, A PRETTY EXTENSIVE REFINEMENT ON OUR PART.
UM, I HOPE IN THE NEXT MONTH I HAVE SOMETHING THAT I FEEL, FEEL GOOD ENOUGH ABOUT BRINGING, UM, BUT I JUST KNOW HOW MUCH, UM, ANTICIPATION IS AROUND THIS AND IF IT'S NOT
[02:30:01]
RIGHT OR IF IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH, I'M NOT GONNA RUSH IT.SO, UM, JUST KNOW THAT IF IT'S LONGER THAN THAT, IT'S BECAUSE IT JUST WASN'T WHERE IT NEEDED TO BE YET.
WHAT ARE WE EXPECTING AS COUNSEL TO SEE THE NEXT TIME WE SEE IT? IS IT A BRAND OR IS IT WE'RE DOWN TO TWO OR? GOOD QUESTION.
SO MY, MY SUGGESTION TO THEM WAS TO BRING TWO.
SO I'LL BRING MY PLAN, AT LEAST RIGHT NOW COULD CHANGE, BUT MY PLAN RIGHT NOW IS TO BRING TWO.
WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT, UH, THE VISITOR'S CENTER? AND IT'S COPIOUSLY NOT IN, UH, THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE TALKED ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT OUR PLAN FOR MANAGING IN-MARKET VISITORS NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
I BELIEVE THAT I'M NOT ALONE UP HERE IN SAYING WE NEED A PLAN FOR WHAT WE WANT TO DO OR NOT DO WITH THE CURRENT VISITOR CENTER.
AND WE DO NOT WANT TO BE IN A POSITION WHERE IT'S NEXT MARCH, APRIL, AND WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOT A GUN TO OUR HEAD AGAIN ABOUT WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THIS THING.
SO THAT FEELS LIKE THAT'S MISSING FROM THIS, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE TAB SHOULD BE DIVING DEEP ON THIS AND, UH, HELPING PROVIDE BEST PRACTICES, UH, AND IDEAS THAT PERCOLATE THROUGH YOU ALL ON, UH, HOW WE SHOULD BE MANAGING IN MARKET VISITORS.
UM, I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO ADD THE VISITOR CENTER TO ONE OF THE INITIATIVES, UM, IN THE PLAN.
THE REASON IT WASN'T IN THERE IS BECAUSE IT FELT SO, UM, UNSURE THAT, THAT I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO WORD THE LANGUAGE AND IT'LL PROBABLY BE SOMETHING LIKE FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE VISITOR CENTER IN A, IN A BETTER WAY TO SAY THAT.
UM, BUT THE UPDATE ON THE VISITOR CENTER IS THAT IT DID GO, UM, TO THE TAB AT THE LAST MEETING.
UM, THEY WERE PRETTY UNANIMOUS IN SUPPORTING SOME FORM OF A BRICK AND MORTAR VISITOR CENTER.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, MY, MY QUESTION TO COUNCIL, UM, IS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO EVALUATE IS, OKAY, SO HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE ADD BETTER VALUE FOR OUR VISITORS IF IT'S WHETHER THAT'S AN, UM, A PHYSICAL TYPE OF UPGRADE TO THE VISITOR CENTER, WHETHER THAT'S, UM, TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE, WHETHER THAT'S, UM, ROAMING KIOSKS, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION KIOSK TAPPING INTO THE VISITORS, OR I'M SORRY, THE VOLUNTEERS, LIKE ANDREW WAS SAYING, IF WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION CENTERS AT THE TRAIL HEADS, UM, AT OUR PARKING RIDES, YOU KNOW, THESE TYPES OF THINGS.
UM, SO I, I THINK I UNDERSTAND CLEARLY THAT COUNSEL IS SUPPORTIVE OF, OF AT LEAST HEARING OUT ALL OPTIONS.
UM, BUT BEFORE I HAD THE TAB GO DOWN, UM, THAT VERY LONG RABBIT HOLE, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT COUNSEL ALSO SUPPORTED THAT, WHICH I BELIEVE THAT I HAVE SUPPORT FROM COUNSEL THAT THEY, THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HEAR OPTIONS AT LEAST.
UM, RECOGNIZING THAT OPTIONS ALSO USUALLY EQUATE TO NUMBERS.
AND MY FEEDBACK IS, IS THAT I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD START WITH TAKE THE VISITOR CENTER WE HAVE AND NOW ADD ON TO IT OR AUGMENT IT.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO SUPPORT IN MARKET VISITORS AND ASSUME WE HAVE NO ASSETS.
WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST THING WE CAN DO? I, I THINK IF WE START WITH, WE'VE GOT A VISITOR CENTER, SO NOW HOW DO WE MAKE ALTERATIONS TO THAT? I THINK WE'RE MISSING THE STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY.
UM, MY NEXT COMMENT QUESTION WOULD BE, I, YOU KNOW, I SEE I I I FEEL LIKE IN THE, IN THE EXCEL FILE, SOME OF THE MORE DESCRIPTIVE ACTIONS TO TAKE, REFLECT A POTENTIAL OVERLAP WITH THE CHAMBER AND ITS CURRENT ACTIVITIES IN THE, THE ONE PAGER ITSELF.
YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, BUILD UP AND ASSET INVENTORY AND OFFER LOCAL MARKETING CO-OPS.
THAT'S WHAT THE BID IS THAT THE CHAMBER'S DOING.
RIGHT? IT'S A CO-OP RIGHT NOW.
SO WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT ARE, ARE WE GONNA LITERALLY OFFER COMPETING CO-OPS WITH THE CHAMBER AND I, AND I KNOW YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THEIR FUTURE IS AND YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S REALLY ANYBODY HERE THAT CAN SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE CHAMBER TODAY, BUT IT JUST, I CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH THIS IDEA THAT WE HAVE CONFLICTING OVERLAP WITH THE CHAMBER.
THEY ARE NOT, THEY CAN CALL THEMSELVES
[02:35:01]
A VISITORS BUREAU ALL DAY LONG AND ENSURE THEY'RE MANAGING THE, THE VISITORS CENTER.SO I GUESS IN THAT SENSE, OKAY, FINE, BUT FOR NOT A VISITOR'S BUREAU ANYMORE.
SO WHEN ARE WE GONNA RATIONALIZE THAT CONFLICT? 'CAUSE I SENSE IT, AND I'M NOT A FAN OF IT, I THINK AT LEAST WITH THE OVERLAP THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED WITH THE ASSET INVENTORY AND THE MARKETING CO-OPS, JUST TO CLARIFY THAT ONE, WE HAVE VERY FEW CREATIVE ASSETS FOR A DESTINATION MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION REPRESENTING THE CITY OF SEDONA.
SO TO ME THAT'S A REALLY FOUNDATIONAL ASPECT OF A WAY TO STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION.
SO, UM, AS MUCH AS THE CHAMBER HAS PHOTOGRAPHY, WE CAN'T USE IT.
SO THERE'S A DEFINITE NEED FOR US TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT.
AND THEN, UH, I DID DESCRIBE SOME OF THE CO-OPS, UM, A LITTLE BIT, WHICH WOULD BE A WAY TO EXTEND OUR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
SO, UM, I THINK RIGHT NOW WE ARE LIVING IN A REALITY WHERE THERE ARE A COLLECTION OF HOTELS THAT ARE COLLECTING A BID AND WE HAVE NO OVERSIGHT OVER THAT.
BUT, UM, WE'RE STILL GONNA TRY TO DO THE BEST OPERATION THAT WE CAN WITH THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AND TO BRING OUR COMMUNITY ALONG WITH US.
AND I CAN, I CAN SEE YOU, YOU GRUMBLING, UM,
UM, WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH, UM, BOTH THE LODGING COUNCIL AND MICHELLE NOW I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, SHE'S NOT GOING TO BE THERE FOR MUCH LONGER, BUT MY INTENTION IS TO KEEP THAT RELATIONSHIP ALIVE AND WELL, AND THEN, AND THEN USE THAT TO FIGURE OUT, OKAY, WE, WE, WE BOTH DID THINGS THIS SUMMER, HOW CAN WE NOT DO THAT AGAIN? UM, AND I THINK THEY'RE SEEING IT TOO, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY'RE, THEY CAN SEE THAT, OKAY, WE BOTH HAD PHOTOGRAPHERS HERE AND WE BOTH DID CAMPAIGNS AND, AND IS THERE ANY WAY TO, TO REDUCE OVERLAP? SO JUST KNOW THAT THAT'S IN MY MIND.
UM, THERE HAS TO BE BE TWO TO TANGO IN ORDER TO DO THAT.
I'M A WILLING PARTNER IN THAT.
AND, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE THAT ON THE OTHER SIDE.
UM, AND, AND IT'S HARD BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO BE AROUND IN SIX MONTHS IN A YEAR.
SO KIND OF WHAT I SAID IN THE BEGINNING OF, I TRIED TO, WE, WE ALL TRIED TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THIS PLAN OF, OKAY, WHAT'S IN OUR CONTROL? WHAT CAN WE DO? UM, AND, AND WE JUST FELT LIKE THAT WAS, THAT WAS A FAIR COMMITMENT, UM, FOR US TO THROW OUT THERE.
HOPEFULLY, UM, HOPEFULLY THE CHAMBER AND THE BID WILL, WILL WANNA WORK MORE MORE CLOSELY WITH US.
SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S OUT THERE.
ARE WE CROSS-LINKED WITH, UM, VISIT SEDONA.COM WITH SCENIC SEDONA.COM? IS THERE, DO WE LINK TO EACH OTHER'S PAGES AT ALL? I DON'T THINK SO.
I KNOW
THEY OFFER THAT ON VISIT SEDONA ALREADY.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE POTENTIALLY, AND I THINK THEY TRY, THEY, I THINK THE CHAMBER MAKES MONEY OFF OF THAT, RIGHT? AT LEAST AT SOME POINT IN TIME THEY DID.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY STILL DO, BUT CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND BOOK DIRECT IS NOT A BOOKING ENGINE, IT'S MORE OF A WAY FOR US TO GATHER DATA.
YEAH, I MEAN THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS TO THIS.
I THINK WE ARE GONNA BE ENGAGING IN OUR MARKETING ACTIVITIES, TYPICALLY DIGITAL MARKETING, UM, THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING AND THAT'S GONNA DRIVE PEOPLE TO OUR WEBSITE, UM, IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE CHAMBER IS DRIVING PEOPLE TO THEIR WEBSITE.
SO THEY ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PATHS TO GET THERE.
UM, AND THEN THE GOAL WOULD BE THAT REGARDLESS OF WHO'S DRIVING THEM TO WHAT OF THE TWO WEBSITES, IT'S TO GET THEM TO COMMIT TO MAKING AN OVERNIGHT STAY WITHIN SEDONA.
SO, UM, IT'S BEEN A NEW ADVENT IN KIND OF THE DMO WORLD WHERE, YOU KNOW, OLD DMO WEBSITES, I USED TO KIND OF HAVE THIS CONCEPT WHERE IT WAS SORT OF MORE LIKE A CASINO WHERE YOU'D WANT TO BRING PEOPLE INTO THE CASINO AND THEN YOU'D WANT TO GET THEM MOVING AROUND AND LEARNING SO THAT THEY WOULD LEAVE GOING, I WANT SEDONA TO BE MY NEXT DESTINATION.
BUT THERE WAS NEVER A CONVERSION THAT, THAT OCCURRED.
UM, THE ADVENT OF SOMETHING LIKE A BOOK DIRECT ELEVATES HOTEL
[02:40:01]
LISTINGS, WHEN FOLKS ARE READY TO HAVE A CONVERSION, IT KIND OF ENTERS THE CONCEPT OF A CONVERSION TO A DMO WEBSITE.AND BECAUSE IT'S TIED TO APIS, YOU'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT HOTEL PRICING.
SO, UM, I THINK IT'S A NATURAL BYPRODUCT OF US HAVING TWO WEBSITES RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT REALLY JUST LOOKS AT THE WEBSITE DESIGN SCIENCE OF WHAT THE GOALS OF THE WAY THAT WE ENGAGE IN MARKETING ARE.
HOW DO YOU, LIKE, THIS IS REALLY FOR YOU ANDREW.
HOW DO YOU LIKE THE FACT THAT THERE'S VISITS SEDONA AND SCENIC? SEDONA? UM, I KNEW THAT GOING INTO THIS AND I THINK TO LAUREN'S POINT, UH, IT MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE BIT, BUT I KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA GET ON THE RIGHT SIDE AT SOME POINT.
WHAT'S, UH, YEAH, THEY'RE STILL CALLING THEMSELVES THE, THE OFFICIAL.
YEAH, THEY'RE ROB IF YOU WANT TO CHOP IN ANYWHERE,
UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, UH, COUNSEL, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, UM, COUNCILMAN ON OUR CONTACTS PAGE, WE DO HAVE DIRECT, UM, WE HAVE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE VISITOR CENTER AND ON OUR EVENTS PAGE.
WE HAD MADE THE DECISION WHEN WE WERE DEVELOPING THIS SITE NOT TO PROVIDE, UM, A FULL EVENTS CALENDAR BECAUSE ALL OF THE EXAMPLES THAT WE COULD FIND OUT IN THE WORLD WERE, UM, THEY JUST LOOKED MESSY.
THEY WERE REALLY HARD TO LIKE DRILL DOWN TO FIND SOMETHING THAT YOU WANTED TO DO.
SO WE HAVE A LIST OF ANNUAL EVENTS AND THERE IS A LINK TO THE, TO A FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS ON VISIT SEDONA.COM.
BUT WE DON'T SPECIFICALLY CALL OUT CHECKOUT, VISIT SEDONA.COM FOR ET CETERA, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO NOT A, NOT A DIRECT, BUT YES, IT IS CROSS-LINKED.
UM, WHEN IT GETS TO THE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY, UH, KUDOS.
I LIKE THE, UH, BROUGHT TO YOU BY, I THINK THAT THAT HAS A PLACE.
AND UH, ALSO LIKE THE, THE TOWN HALLS ASPECT FOR GETTING ENGAGEMENT, I THINK WE NEED TO GET THE COMMUNITY MORE ENGAGED IN THIS.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, OVERALL, UM, LAUREN, I APPRECIATE YOUR RESPONSE ABOUT THE, THE CONFLICT OF ASSETS AND EFFORT WITH THE CHAMBER.
UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T LIKE THAT THERE IS THAT DUPLICATION IN MANY RESPECTS.
I DON'T LIKE THAT THERE'S TWO WEBSITES, ET CETERA, BUT YOUR ARGUMENT OF, HEY LOOK, WE ONLY CAN CONTROL WHAT WE CAN CONTROL AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THEIR FUTURE IS.
OKAY, LET'S TRY DOWN THIS SIDE.
UH, JESSICA, DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AND OR, YEAH, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I'M JUST KIND OF AMAZED AT, UH, AT HOW PROFESSIONAL EVERYTHING IS NOW AFTER VIRTUALLY NO TIME AT ALL.
SO,
AND I LIKE THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE, YOU'VE CHOSEN TO SORT OF HIGHLIGHT.
NONE OF IT IS EARTH SHATTERING
YOU KNOW, THIS IS JUST SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE DO AND YOU OBVIOUSLY ANDREW, HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE DOING IT.
UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE, YOUR DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE, AND I'M THANKFUL THAT YOU ACCEPTED THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND CREATE SOMETHING FROM NOTHING.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TOURISM.
UM, AND FRANKLY IT'S NOT HIGH ON MY LIST OF THINGS.
UM, AND I'M GLAD EVERYBODY ELSE CARES ABOUT THE DETAILS AND ABOUT KIND OF HAVING A LOT OF COMMENTS.
I THINK WHAT YOU'VE PRESENTED SPEAKS VERY WELL FOR TO SEDONA TO THE ABILITY AND TO THE STAFF COMPETENCE AND KIND OF CLARITY.
AND I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT, EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT, DON'T HAVE A LOT OF INSIGHTFUL QUESTIONS.
IN FACT, I HAVE NO INSIGHTFUL QUESTIONS WHATSOEVER.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU JUSTICE PETE.
SO I START THIS KIND OF RECOGNIZING THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY ALL SITTING A LITTLE BIT ON YOUR CHAIRS NOW, WONDERING WHAT KRABBY FURMAN'S GONNA SAY ABOUT TOURISM AT THIS POINT? UM, 'CAUSE I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT IT AND, UH,
[02:45:01]
SHARING SOME OF MY VIEWS.UH, AND I, SO I WANNA START OFF BY JUST SAYING THAT I'M NOT UNHAPPY.
SO WHAT I'VE SEEN, UH, IS A, IS A GOOD START AND I'M, I'M, I'M VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS REALLY HAPPY ABOUT WAS THE, WHAT DID YOU CALL IT, LAUREN, THE TABLE PLACE, PLACE MAT, PLACE MAT VIEW.
I, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT THAT WAS GREAT.
INSTEAD OF WADING THROUGH A MULTI-PAGE DOCUMENT, I THOUGHT THAT WAS A A, A REALLY NICE VISUAL, UH, NICE SUMMARY.
UM, BUT I DO WANNA TALK ABOUT KIND OF FOUR THINGS, AREAS THAT KIND OF JUST CAUGHT MY ATTENTION AND I THINK ARE WORTHY OF, OF FURTHER CONVERSATION OVER TIME.
AND IT'S NOT DISSIMILAR, MELISSA, FROM WHERE YOU WERE AT AT THE LAST SECTION, CERTAINLY MY CONCERNS HERE GO WELL BEYOND, UH, TRAFFIC AND, UH, MARKETING AND THINKING ABOUT TOURISM MORE HOLISTICALLY.
AND ANDREW, I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO CONVERSATIONS, UH, WITH YOU BECAUSE I, NOT SURE ANY OF MY FELLOW COUNSELORS WANTED TO JOIN ME IN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF TOURISM MANAGEMENT FROM TOURISM BUREAUS TO DMO TO DMO TO DM MOS 2.0 TO WHAT COMES IN THE FUTURE, WHICH IS REALLY ALL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IS IT JUST A MARKETING PROMOTIONAL EFFORT AND WHAT'S YOUR MARKET LIKE? ARE YOU JUST TRYING TO GROW BECAUSE BUSINESS IS GREAT OR HAVE YOU REACHED, UH, CIRCUMSTANCES LIKE WE HAVE HERE AND MANY OTHER TOURISM TOWNS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CERTAINLY ACROSS THE WORLD HAVE WHERE IT'S MUCH MORE CONVERSATION ABOUT BALANCE NOW AND THEN IT'S EVEN GOING BEYOND THAT, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT BARCELONAS THAT EXIST IN THIS WORLD.
UH, I'M FORTUNATE THAT WE DON'T HAVE A A, A HIGH, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL EVER SAY THIS.
UM, IT'S FORTUNATE WE DON'T HAVE A, A HIGHER POPULATION OF YOUNGER PEOPLE IN THIS TOWN THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY TAKE SQUI GUNS TO OUR TOURISTS.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK WE'RE ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THAT, BUT THAT'S A DIRECTION THAT WE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE IT, IT'S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD AND, AND, AND THESE TOURISM MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS ARE TRYING TO EVOLVE INTO NOT JUST BALANCE, BUT BEYOND BALANCE OF REALLY THINKING ABOUT THE PLUSES AND MINUSES AND, AND THE DEMANDS THAT ARE PUT ON STUFF.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU BECAUSE I THINK THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY, UH, FASCINATING AND IT, IT, UH, TOUCHES ALSO, UH, BRIAN MENTIONED THE VISITOR CENTER AND TO ME IT'S ALSO, THAT'S A PARTICULAR OPPORTUNITY THAT IS A, THIS OUGHT TO BE A CLEAN SHEET OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO THINK ABOUT WHAT WE DO AS, AS BRIAN SAID, TO MANAGE PEOPLE WHEN THEY'RE IN TOWN AND NOT JUST RELY ON THE OLD MODELS.
AND MAYBE IT'S THE RIGHT ANSWER, BUT THE THINKING SHOULD BE CLEAN SHEET.
WE, WE TALK ABOUT ZERO BASED BUDGETING SOMETIMES I THINK THIS IS ONE PARTICULAR AREA THAT IS WORTH DOING THAT.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE FIRST AREA I WANTED TO MENTION.
SECOND, AND I THINK WE'RE A LITTLE BIT LIGHT ON THIS 'CAUSE YOU DO MENTION ENHANCED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND REGULARLY MONITOR PERCEPTIONS.
AND NOW I WILL FULLY RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S HOURS OF CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU GUYS HAD AND INTENTION BEHIND THE DOCUMENTS THAT YOU JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T SERVICE WITHOUT GIVING ME THAT A HUNDRED PAGE THING, WHICH I WOULD'VE READ, BUT
UM, AND SO I, I MIGHT BE OFF BASE HERE A LITTLE BIT, BUT WHAT I'M WORRIED ABOUT IS THAT IN THE PAST RECENT WORK THAT WE'VE DONE THIS, AND I'VE MENTIONED IT BEFORE, THE RESIDENT SENTIMENT SURVEY THAT SAID IN SEDONA WE WERE THE HIGHEST NEGATIVE SENTIMENT OF ANY PLACE THAT THEY'VE STUDIED.
AND I THINK THIS IS A REAL THING AND IT'S NOT JUST THE 40 PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK OR NEXT DOOR THAT ARE DRIVING LOTS OF THE CONVERSATION.
I, AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF ANY OF THOSE VOICES GOT HIT IN THAT SURVEY ABOUT RESIDENT NEGATIVE SENTIMENT TOWARDS TOURISM.
AND I THINK THIS IS A REAL ISSUE THAT WE NEED TO STRUGGLE WITH.
AND WHEN I JUST READ WORDS ABOUT REGULARLY MONITORING PERCEPTIONS, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT GOES DEEP ENOUGH FOR ME THAT THIS IS A, A CONVERSATION THAT WE NEED TO DEEPLY ENGAGE OUR RESIDENTS IN A CONVERSATION.
AND IT'S NOT JUST TRYING TO LECTURE THEM ABOUT IT'S BETTER THAN YOU THINK, RIGHT? THAT'S NOT THE DIRECTION WE HAVE TO ENGAGE THE CONVERSATION, FIND THE ISSUES, AND JOINTLY FIGURE OUT WHAT THE BEST SOLUTION HERE IN SEDONA IS FOR VERMONT.
SO YOU LOOK LIKE YOU WANNA REACT TO THAT ONE.
SO YES, I, I WILL SAY THAT I, I DID 33 RESIDENT SENTIMENT SURVEYS IN COLORADO AFTER COVID, UM, WITH THE COLORADO TOURISM OFFICE.
AND I WILL SAY THAT THIS LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO STEAMBOAT SPRINGS.
SO I WILL SAY THAT I DO HAVE ANOTHER COMMUNITY THAT LOOKS SIMILAR.
SO GREAT, JUST KIND OF TO BRING THAT CONTEXT IN.
[02:50:01]
YEAH, I THINK WE PUT REGULARLY MONITOR BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE STILL FIGURING OUT THE RIGHT PATH FORWARD TO DO THAT.UM, WE'VE GOT THE EXAMPLE OF A RESIDENT SENTIMENT SURVEY.
YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT THE RESULTS FROM, I THINK IT WAS 2017 OR 2018 AS PART OF THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN.
WE'VE GOT THE RESULTS FROM RRC ASSOCIATES THAT WE COMMISSIONED FOR THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IDEALLY WE WOULD DO THAT AGAIN.
THAT'S CERTAINLY ONE WAY TO DO THIS.
I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF CITY SURVEYS, I THINK THAT'S MAYBE LISTED AS AN ACTION IN THERE, KIND OF HAVING SOME PULSE LEVEL INFORMATION.
UM, I'M FAMILIAR WITH SOME FOLKS BACK IN OREGON.
THERE'S A GENTLEMAN, UH, THAT WORKS AT OSU THAT'S BEEN DOING THESE SORT OF PANEL STYLE ENGAGEMENTS WITH RESIDENTS TO GATHER A DIFFERENT TYPE OF INPUT.
SO A WAY TO KIND OF GO BACK AND DO MORE THAN JUST ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS.
SO I DEFINITELY THINK THERE'S A WAY TO ENHANCE THIS.
I JUST THINK WE'RE IN THAT STAGE OF INFORMATION GATHERING TO KNOW HOW BEST TO DO IT.
I WILL SAY THAT WITH THE RRC ASSOCIATES SURVEY, THERE WAS A COMPONENT THAT WAS MAIL-IN THAT WAS REALLY TARGETED TOWARDS THE AUDIENCE THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU DIDN'T THINK WOULD RESPOND.
I THINK WE SAW A LOT OF RESPONSES FROM FOLKS THAT WERE 70 AND OLDER.
SO I DO THINK THE MAIL-IN SIDE OF IT DID, DID ADDRESS THAT.
AND THEN THERE WAS A SORT OF OPTIONAL LIKE SURVEY COMPONENT THAT WAS MORE DIGITAL.
I MEAN THAT, THAT'S AN DEFINITE EXAMPLE OF WHAT, I ASSUME THAT THERE'S WAY MORE INFORMATION HERE THAT WAS JUST UNABLE TO BE CONVEYED.
AND I'M LOVE, I'D LOVE TO HEAR THAT YOU HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE IN STEAMBOAT.
'CAUSE THAT IS ALSO ONE OF THE PLACES THAT I'VE FOLLOWED AND I'VE WATCHED SORT OF THE, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING THERE.
THE THIRD THING I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT REALLY IS SUMMED UP BY THE WORD GOALS
AND I THINK THAT LOTS OF THE HISTORY OF TOURISM MANAGEMENT IN OTHER DESTINATIONS AS TOURISM BECAME A GROWTH INDUSTRY.
UH, NOBODY RIGHTLY SO, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, IN PRIVATE SECTOR YOU DON'T DO THIS EITHER.
YOU, YOU DON'T PLAN FOR THIS WILDLY SUCCESSFUL SUCCESS.
YOU JUST DON'T SET A LIMIT ON WHERE YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE.
SO MORE IS BETTER, MORE PROFIT IS BETTER, MORE, YOU KNOW, MORE GROWTH IS BETTER.
BUT WE'RE NOT IN A COMMUNITY THAT'S LOOKING TO JUST DRIVE BUSINESS TAX REVENUE AND ALL THE REST.
WE'RE A COMMUNITY THAT'S STRUGGLING WITH THIS BALANCE AND, AND WE NEED TO SET GOALS ABOUT VISITATION.
AND WE, AND IT BLEEDS OVER INTO THIS CONCEPT THAT I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FLATTENING THE, THE PEAKS IN THE VALLEYS AND FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE, I GET IT.
YOU WANNA DO THAT, I UNDERSTAND THAT.
BUT FROM A RESIDENT PERSPECTIVE, THERE'S AN IMPLICIT ASSUMPTION, A BELIEF FOR THE RESIDENTS IN A TOWN THAT THERE'S PEAKS AND VALLEYS AND THE PEAK VISITATION PERIODS ARE NOT FOR US, BUT THE REST OF THE YEAR IS.
AND SO I, I GET YOU WANNA BRING IT UP, BUT I THINK ESPECIALLY THERE, WE WANT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW MUCH WE WANNA BRING IT UP.
BECAUSE IF WE WILD ARE WILDLY SUCCESSFUL AND WE FLATTEN THE CURVE AND WE GET THE SAME NUMBER OF VISITORS AND IT'S RIGHT AT THE EDGE OF OUR CARRYING CAPACITY RELATED TO THE CONVERSATION WE JUST HAD, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF UNHAPPY PEOPLE AND THE PITCHFORKS ARE GONNA COME OUT.
AND SO WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE CONVERSATION ABOUT SUCCESS.
AGAIN, YOU'RE SETTING UP, I THINK THAT'S WHY WE USE THE WORD STABILIZE.
I THINK IF WE'RE NOT ACTIVELY MONITORING THOSE, WE MIGHT LOSE CONTROL OF THEM.
AND WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS IS WE MIGHT LOSE CONTROL OF THAT VALLEY.
AND I THINK FOR ME, THAT'S WHAT I THINK WE HAVE THE MOST ABILITY TO, TO IMPACT CHANGE WITHIN.
UM, I DON'T EVER FORESEE A FUTURE WHERE THERE'S A FLAT LINE
IT'S A ONGOING COMPONENT OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IS BALANCED.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LINE OF BALANCE CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AS WELL.
IT'S AN INCREDIBLY DYNAMIC CONVERSATION TO HAVE.
UM, SO I DEFINITELY LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED CONVERSATION 'CAUSE I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT'S WHY I LOVE THE WORK THAT WE DID IN THE FIRST PART OF THIS IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT WAYS TO MEASURE THE LOAD AND THAT'S IMPORTANT PART OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'RE GONNA USE ABOUT WHAT LEVELS WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
BUT I THINK WE DO NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT LEVELS, THE NUMBERS WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU MIGHT NOT GET THERE, YOU MIGHT GO OVER A LITTLE BIT, BUT GONE ARE THE DAYS OF NOT TALKING ABOUT IT AND JUST, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY HOPING THAT IT'S WILDLY SUCCESSFUL AND OTHER PEOPLE HOPING THAT IT CRASHES.
WE NEED TO HAVE A MORE DELIBERATE CONVERSATION.
SO THEN THE FOURTH AREA IS REALLY ONE OF FRAMING, AND I THINK THIS GETS BACK TO DMO 2 3, 3 0.0, 3.0 PLUS, OR HOWEVER YOU WANNA SAY IT, THAT THERE'S A FRAMING ISSUE THAT I THINK WE COULD EXPERIMENT WITH.
AND I KNOW OTHER PLACES HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT, AND I DON'T KNOW
[02:55:01]
THE CURRENT STATUS ABOUT IT, BUT INSTEAD OF KIND OF MANAGING TOURISM, THE FRAMING THAT YOU PUT OUT THERE IS YOU JUST WANNA MAKE SEDONA THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE, TO WORK AND TO RAISE A FAMILY.AND IF WE DID THAT, EVERYONE WOULD COME TO VISIT AND TOURISM WOULD BE AMAZING, RIGHT? BUT WE DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT TOURISM VERSUS RESIDENCE.
WE JUST FOCUS ON MAKING THIS THE BEST PLACE.
A YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S A, THAT'S A DEEP ISSUE ABOUT HOW YOU GET FROM HERE TO THERE.
AND I KNOW THAT'S WHAT THE EVOLUTION OF TOURISM MANAGEMENT IS FUNDAMENTALLY, THAT'S WHERE IT'S BEEN HEADED FOR A FEW YEARS AND, AND IT WOULD BE AMAZING FOR US TO BE AMONGST THOSE LEADERS THAT REALLY TALK ABOUT THAT KIND OF FRAMING.
SO THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS, MAYOR.
UM, I, I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION SO MUCH.
THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION TO CHASE IN ORDER TO ORGANIZE THE STRATEGY AND I, I SEE A LOT OF REALLY GOOD FOUNDATIONAL WORK IN HOW YOU'RE LAYING OUT THE INFORMATION, HOW YOU'RE CAPTURING WHAT THE QUESTIONS AND ISSUES ARE, AND SO THAT YOU CAN BREAK THEM DOWN INTO A WAY TO, YOU KNOW, ATTACK IN A ORGANIZED FASHION.
SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT THAT WORK.
UM, JUST A COUPLE OF VERY DISJOINTED IDEAS, YOU KNOW, RESPONSES TO THE VARIOUS THINGS THAT WERE THROWN OUT.
UH, I'LL START WITH, WITH THE VISITOR CENTER BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS THE BIG SORT OF ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, RIGHT? UM, I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT WE NEED A WAY A A A PERSONAL TOUCH WITH THE PEOPLE THAT COME, THAT WE NEED TO FOCUS A LOT OF THE ATTENTION BEFOREHAND BEFORE THEY GET HERE IN TERMS OF THE MESSAGING AND EVERYTHING.
BUT WE DO NEED A PERSONAL TOUCH.
BUT WHAT IS THAT PERSONAL TOUCH? IS IT THE EXISTING VISITOR CENTER? IS IT A NEW VISITOR CENTER? IS IT LITTLE KIOSKS? IS IT A PERSONAL TOUCH THAT'S VIA SOMEBODY'S HANDHELD DEVICE, BUT IT'S A PERSONAL TOUCH.
THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO LOOK AT THIS AND I THINK WE'VE BEEN STUCK OVER TIME IN A MODEL THAT EXISTED AND NOT LOOKING AT IT IN A MORE BROAD WAY ABOUT WHAT IS THE NEED AND LET'S DEFINE IT AND THEN FIGURE OUT THE RIGHT WAY TO, TO MEET THAT NEED.
SO I THANK YOU FOR BROADENING THE CONVERSATION.
I THINK THERE ARE GREAT RESOURCES THERE IN TERMS OF THE VOLUNTEERS AT THE VISITOR CENTER THAT WE ALL KNOW, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT AT INFINITUM UP HERE.
EVERY TIME IT'S COME UP ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE THE INFORMATION AND, AND THEN CAN CONVEY IT ON SUCH A PERSONAL LEVEL, I DON'T WANNA LOSE THAT ABILITY, THAT VALUED RESOURCE.
UM, AND, AND BEING ABLE TO TAP INTO THAT.
BUT I DO THINK WE NEED TO THINK OF THE WAYS TO UTILIZE IT, UM, BETTER.
UM, IT CONCERNS ME JUST WHEN I HEAR, UH, THINGS LIKE, YEAH, WE, UM, THERE'S PHOTOGRAPHY OUT THERE THAT NOW WE DON'T HAVE, THAT WE HAVE TO DUPLICATE THIS DUPLICATION OF THINGS THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE PAID FOR OVER THE YEARS IN OUR CONTRACT FOR THINGS TO SERVE US BUT ARE ARE NOT AVAILABLE.
THAT'S A CONCERN, YOU KNOW, TO ME.
BUT THAT'S GOING DOWN AN OLD PATH, SO I JUST HAVE TO VOICE IT THAT IT IS A CONCERN.
BUT, UM, REDUNDANCIES, I TALKED ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT BEFORE.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE PLUG IN WHERE WE HAVE LIKE, I, I REALLY WANNA APPLAUD SPRING GRAPH AND, AND THE WORK THAT SHE'S DONE, YOU KNOW, AND KEGAN THANK YOU FOR HELPING OUT LAUREN WITH, WITH, WITH THAT AND ORGANIZING IT.
BUT THERE'S A LOT OF, THERE ARE A LOT, AND THIS GOES BACK TO THE VISITOR CENTER TOO.
HOW DO WE TAP INTO THEM THAT THEY BECOME THE CITY'S RESOURCES TO PUT OUT THERE THAT ACTUALLY TRANSLATE INTO THAT PERSONAL TOUCH I'M TALKING ABOUT? SO A LOT OF THIS, AS I SAID, PREFACE THIS BY SAYING IT'S VERY DISJOINTED THOUGHTS, JUST REACTIONS YOU PUT THIS OUT HERE FOR REACTIONS.
SO THESE ARE SORT OF, UM, JUST MY REACTIONS TO THAT.
BUT THE BIGGEST REACTION AGAIN IS I LIKE THE ORGANIZATION THAT YOU'RE BRINGING TO THE QUESTIONS TO FORM THE STRATEGIES.
SO I, I THANK YOU FOR THAT AND UM, A LOT ELSE HAS BEEN SAID AND I DON'T HAVE A LOT MORE TO ADD ON IT, SO THANK YOU.
I WANNA TOUCH ON, AND I'M GONNA BE BRIEF 'CAUSE WE GET ARE YOU GONNA GO DOWN HERE? OH, I DID FORGET.
THE ONE I GO TO YOU NOW BEFORE I GO.
I'M ON THE SCENIC SEDONA WEBSITE AND I'M ON THE MESA GRILL AND I'M GETTING REALLY HUNGRY.
I HOW ARE YOU? MAYBE THIS IS ROB QUESTION.
HOW ARE YOU? UH, AND, AND, AND BY THE WAY, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW I COULD MAKE A RESERVATION.
I SEE THEIR PHONE NUMBER AND THEIR ADDRESS AND THEIR MAP, BUT I OPEN TABLE WOULD LIKE
[03:00:01]
TO MAKE A RESERVATION RIGHT NOW.UM, HOW ARE YOU DETERMINING, 'CAUSE I'M LOOKING AT STAY, EAT, PLAY AND SHOP AND NOT EVERYBODY'S REPRESENTED AND WE HAVE A LOT OF BUSINESSES.
HOW DO YOU, HOW ARE YOU MAKING THE DECISION AS TO WHO TO FEATURE AND ARE YOU GOING TO BE ROTATING DIFFERENT GROUPS? I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO GET ON THE SAME, SAME EXACT PAGE SO THAT I CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SEEING.
BUT, UM, WELL, NOT EVERY, NOT EVERY, UH, HOTEL IS ON THIS WEBSITE AS AN EXAMPLE.
NOT EVERY RESTAURANT IS ON THE WEBSITE, SO IT SHOULD BE YEAH, THEY SHOULD BE.
SO IF THERE ARE PEOPLE MISSING, THEN BY ALL MEANS LET US KNOW.
WE'VE HAD THAT OPEN CALL FOR OVER A YEAR NOW, AND JAMES WENT THROUGH, UM, OUR BUSINESS LICENSES COMBED THROUGH FOR IF, IF WE EVEN THOUGHT THEY TOUCHED TOURISM.
LIKE, UM, I THINK WE, I DON'T KNOW.
I REMEMBER HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT BITTLES, YOU KNOW, WE WERE LIKE, DID THEY, WOULD, WOULD A TOURIST BUY SOMETHING THERE? RIGHT.
AND IF THE ANSWER WAS EVEN SLIGHTLY YES, THEY GOT PUT ON THE WEBSITE.
UM, SO IF THERE'S SOMEBODY THAT'S NOT ON IT, THEN LET ME KNOW.
UH, MAYBE I AM MISSING IT, BUT I, I DON'T SEE A ROYAL ROBLE ON HERE AS JUST ONE EXAMPLE SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE.
MAYBE IT IS, I JUST HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET.
I, I, I REALLY LIKE THE WEBSITE, SO GOOD JOB ON THAT.
I, TO GO BACK TO THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN SAID, I JUST WANNA REINFORCE THAT I WOULD LIKE THE TAB TO PROVIDE TO US AND FIGURE OUT HOW THAT IS MOST SUCCESSFULLY TO BE DONE INPUT TO US.
I MEAN, I'D LIKE TO THE TAP TO PRESENT TO US SOME IDEAS.
I'D LIKE THEM TO BE TASKED WITH SOME TASKS.
AND THE VISITOR CENTER IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES IN MEETING VISITOR NEEDS.
AND IT MAYBE BE, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN A PHYSICAL VI VISITOR CENTER.
AND WE BROUGHT TAB MEMBERS ON BECAUSE OF THEIR EXPERTISE.
AND SO ARE WE EFFECTIVELY UTILIZING THE TAB TO GET THE BEST EXPERTISE TO US WITH THEIR IDEAS? YEP.
SO I KNOW THEY'RE NEW, BUT THAT'S JUST SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN.
SO WHEN IT COMES TO THE VISITOR CENTER, UM, WE GET 12 TAB MEETINGS A YEAR, AND A QUARTER OF THEM ARE GONNA BE FOCUSED ON THE VISITOR CENTER
SO WE, SO WE DID OUR FIRST ONE IN, IN AUGUST, AND THE TENTATIVE PLAN IS TO RECONVENE THEM IN OCTOBER AND THEN DECEMBER.
SO, SO MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE VISIT, ABOUT THE TAB WAS THAT THEY WEREN'T GONNA REACT TO US.
THEY WERE GOING TO PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A SORT OF SLIGHT DIFFERENCE RIGHT NOW.
I FEEL LIKE THEY'RE REACTING TO WHAT WE PRESENT.
I WOULD LIKE THEM TO ACTUALLY BRING US IDEAS, NOT JUST BE REACTIONARY.
IS THAT YOUR GOAL TOO? YEAH, THAT'S THE GOAL.
WE SPENT THE FIRST MEETING THAT WE DID THIS MONTH, JUST MAKING SURE WE WERE ALL WORKING FROM THE SAME PLAYBOOK.
SO LIKE, LIKE OUR PLAN, THIS IS A BIG CONVERSATION.
SO, UH, WE SAT RIGHT HERE WITH MICHELLE AND CHERYL, UM, WITH THE LODGING COUNCIL AS WELL AS HEATHER, UM, FROM FRONT BURNER.
AND JUST THE OUTCOME OF THAT WAS SETTING A BASELINE, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE HISTORY OF THIS, HERE'S HOW WE COMPARE TO OTHER DESTINATIONS IN ARIZONA, AS WELL AS ADJACENT STATES THAT OFFER VISITOR CENTERS.
HERE ARE SOME INNOVATIVE IDEAS THAT WE MIGHT WANNA COME TO THE TABLE WITH.
AND THEN SORT OF INITIAL DISCUSSIONS AROUND WHAT'S RESONATING.
UM, DURING THE SEPTEMBER MEETING, WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN OPEN COMMENT SECTION FOR, HEY, WE TALKED A LOT LAST TIME, ANYTHING THAT YOU'VE THOUGHT ABOUT OVER THE LAST MONTH, BUT THERE WON'T BE KIND OF A DEDICATED DISCUSSION.
AND THEN IN OCTOBER, THE IDEA IS TO START TALKING ABOUT BUDGET AND, YOU KNOW, THE IDEAS THAT REALLY RESONATE WITH PEOPLE.
'CAUSE WE DON'T WANNA GO DEEP, DEEP, DEEP INTO THE, INTO THE STARS.
WE WANNA STAY IN THAT, YOU KNOW, REALISTIC SENSE.
AND THEN THE HOPE WOULD BE THAT AT THE END OF DECEMBER, WE'D BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE SEMBLANCE OR THE ENTIRE PACKAGE OF A LEVEL OF RECOMMENDATION.
AND SO I JUST WANNA CLARIFY, ROYAL ROBLE IS ON THE WEBSITE, IT'S CALLED BEST WESTERN PLUS A ROYAL ROBLE HOTEL AND CREEKSIDE VILLA.
NOW YOU JUST, I LOST MY TRAIN OF
[03:05:01]
THOUGHT.THAT'S, I JUST WANTED HIM TO KNOW THAT HE'S, HE IS REPRESENTING
I DON'T WANNA MISS YOU, UH, AS WELL.
THIS IS, UM, SETTING UP ANY KIND OF STRATEGIC PLAN THAT HAS, UM, A ROADMAP AROUND TACTICS, UM, IS COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT AND AS, YOU KNOW, SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS YOU MOVE ALONG THAT ROADMAP.
I THINK YOU'VE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB, UM, CONSIDERING WHERE YOU STARTED AND HOW LONG AGO YOU STARTED.
I HOPE YOU GET YOUR, UH, WISH OF HAVING JAVELINAS COME AND TEAR UP YOUR CACTUS.
UM, SOON, SOON YOU CAN HAVE MINE.
UM, HOWEVER, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
UM, WELL, IT'S ONE QUESTION AND THEN, UH, RANDOM COMMENTS AS I USUALLY DO.
SO, UH, THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN, WE KNOW IT ENDS TOMORROW, RIGHT? UH, WHEN DO YOU THINK WE MIGHT HEAR WHETHER IT WAS SUCCESSFUL? DO YOU REALLY PLANNED ON PEOPLE SHOWING UP DURING THE SUMMER? WAS IT REALLY AIMED FOR FALL AND WINTER? AND WHEN DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THAT CAMPAIGN? JUST SORT OF GENERALLY, WHEN WILL WE SORT OF GET THAT KIND OF INFORMATION AROUND IT? SO I DON'T HAVE A, UM, I DON'T HAVE A NEXT COUNCIL MEETING AGENDIZED IN MY HEAD.
UM, BUT JUST FROM WHEN WE'LL GET IT, UH, THERE'S A THREE WEEK LAG ON THE DATA.
UM, AND IT USUALLY, LAST TIME IT TOOK AN ADDITIONAL ONE TO TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT TO FINALLY GIVE ME THE FINAL WRAP UP.
THEY HAD KIND OF A, A FIRST DRAFT, BUT, UH, SO I WOULD IMAGINE IN FIVE WEEKS TIME, I'LL HAVE A REALLY GOOD IDEA OF EXACTLY WHAT THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT WAS ON THAT.
UM, JUST GENERALLY TALKING ABOUT, UH, WHAT COUNSELOR FURMAN SAID, UM, I DISAGREE.
I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF US WHO REALLY CARE A LOT ABOUT DM MOS AND WHAT THE FUTURE OF THEM ARE JUST SAYING.
SO, UM, THE FLAT LINE COMMENT IS ACTUALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE IT, IT IS, AND I THINK THIS IS WHERE YOU WERE GOING, IS IT ISN'T ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE CURVES.
IT'S NOT ABOUT WHETHER WE HAVE PEAKS AND VALLEYS.
IT'S NOT ABOUT WHETHER WE HAVE A FLAT LINE.
IT'S LIKE, WHAT'S THE NUMBER AT THE TOP, RIGHT? SO A FLAT LINE COULD BE GOOD IF WE HAVE THIS, A LOWER NUMBER THAN PEOPLE ARE ANTICIPATING WILL HURT OUR RESOURCES, OUR QUALITY OF LIFE, WHATEVER IT IS, OUR CAPACITY, UM, FLAT LINE COULD BE GOOD.
UH, BUT NOT IF THE FLAT LINE IS AT THE SAME LEVEL AS OUR BIGGEST PEAK, RIGHT? SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE YOU WERE, YOU WERE HEADED AND, UM, WHATEVER DATA YOU HAVE IS THE DATA THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE.
AND SO, UM, JUST WE NEED FOR YOU TO COME BACK AND, AND LET US AS A COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY TRYING TO DO.
WHEN YOU SAY BALANCE, RIGHT, WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO WHEN YOU SAY WE'RE GONNA TAKE THOSE VALLEYS AND DO SOMETHING WITH THEM, ARE YOU JUST MAKE CREATING NEW PEAKS.
SO THAT'S UP TO YOU AND, AND WHERE YOU'RE PLANNING ON GOING WITH THAT.
SO I'M JUST SORT OF THROWING THAT OUT THERE.
I DON'T REALLY EXPECT YOU TO HAVE AN ANSWER.
UM, I MEAN, ANDREW AND I HAVE EVEN TALKED ABOUT THE, THE, UM, UNREALISTICNESS OF, IT'S NOT ABOUT TRADING SOMEBODY IN SPRING AND GETTING THEM TO COME IN THE SUMMER BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T THINK THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
UM, BUT WE DID HEAR PRETTY LOUD AND CLEAR FROM OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY THIS SUMMER THAT THEY ARE SUFFERING, UM, MM-HMM.
UM, AND IT'S, UH, UP AND IT LOOKS LIKE OCTOBER, AT LEAST IN BOOKING PACE IS FLAT FROM LAST YEAR, BUT AT LEAST NOT DOWN.
UM, SO I THINK, I THINK FOR US IT'S ABOUT THINKING ABOUT, UH, ESPECIALLY DURING SUMMER, HOW DO WE, UM, ANDREW HAD AN INTERESTING CONCEPT OF, I'M PROBABLY GONNA BUTCHER IT, BUT SOMETHING LIKE MINI POPS WHERE YOU, YOU IDENTIFY EVEN, UM, CERTAIN WEEKENDS WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO TARGET PEOPLE TO COME HERE.
DO YOU WANNA TALK ANYTHING ABOUT THAT? YEAH, SURE.
I MEAN, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE DESTINATIONS I PREVIOUSLY WORKED IN ARE LIKE AN INVERSE TO SEDONA, WHICH HAS BEEN REALLY FUN FOR ME.
THEY REALLY FALL THE TYPICAL LINE OF WINTER, SUMMER AS THE PEAKS AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THE FALL, SPRING BEING THE SHOULDER SEASONS, RIGHT? UM, YOU KNOW, I SPENT THE LAST THREE YEARS WORKING WITH LAKE CITY
[03:10:01]
COLORADO, UM, AN AREA THAT'S KNOWN FOR A LOT OF ITS SUMMER VISITATION, BUT THERE'S A PERCEPTION THAT THEY'RE CLOSED IN WINTER.UM, SO THE CHALLENGE THAT THEY WERE UP AGAINST THAT WE'RE NOT IS THAT TRULY A LOT OF THE BUSINESSES CLOSE DURING WINTERTIME, BUT WE WERE LOOKING AT THIS PUZZLE AND SAYING, OKAY, WE NEED TO MAKE PROGRESS TOWARDS CREATING A MORE YEAR ROUND TOURISM ECONOMY BECAUSE WE REALLY ARE BUSINESSES CAN'T SURVIVE.
THE YEAR IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT THE, WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS, OR MANY BUSINESSES ARE STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE THE YEAR.
UM, SO WE LOOKED AT A LOT OF THE KIND OF FIVE DAY AVERAGES OF VISITATIONS STARTED TO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, AT A MACRO LEVEL YOU'LL SEE A DOWN, BUT, YOU KNOW, DURING HOLIDAYS YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE A A LITTLE INCREASE THERE, A LITTLE INCREASE THERE.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE DURING PRESIDENT'S DAY WE'LL SEE A LITTLE INCREASE, MAYBE MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY AROUND A HOLIDAY, RIGHT? WE CAN SEE WHERE THERE'S POTENTIAL, WE'RE SEEING FOLKS COMING IN, YOU KNOW, WORKING AND SAYING, OKAY, MAYBE WE CAN TURN THAT INTO A FIVE DAY BLIP, DRIVE SOME MORE REVENUE TO THE BUSINESSES.
I'M NOT SAYING WE'RE GONNA FILL THAT VALLEY.
I, I TRULY DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S REALISTIC, BUT WE CAN DO TARGETED INVESTMENTS IN STRATEGIC TIMES OF YEAR DURING THOSE VALLEYS TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE A BOOST TO OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY DURING YEARS THAT WE KNOW THAT THEY NEED IT.
WELL, I ALSO WOULD JUST SAY LOOKING AT THE, THE DATA OR THINKING BACK ON THE DATA THAT YOU JUST PRESENTED US, GIVEN THAT BASICALLY NEIGHBORS ARE, ARE COMING TO SEDONA IN DROVES, IT'S, WOW, I HOPE YOU GUYS FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET THEM TO NOT COME UP HERE, TAKE A COUPLE HIKES, COOL OFF A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN GO HOME.
BUT CAN WE GET THEM TO STOP HERE AND HAVE LUNCH YEP.
OR DO SOMETHING THAT HELPS ONE OR MORE LOCAL BUSINESSES SORT OF GET THAT LITTLE BIT OF A POP JUST FROM THAT VISITATION THAT IS MORE OR LESS LOCAL, RIGHT.
AND PLEASE DON'T JUST BUY IT FROM WHOLE FOODS.
THIS IS WHAT I MEAN ON, ON RETHINKING MARKETING.
ARE WE GOING TO MARKET VERDE VALLEY COMMUNITIES TO GO TO LUNCH HERE WHEN THEY COME HERE? I MEAN, THAT'S THE TYPE OF THINKING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO START DOING THAT WE'VE NEVER REALLY DONE THOROUGHLY.
AND, AND THAT'S FASCINATING AND GOOD LUCK.
UM, SO JUST GOING ON, UH, I, I WANT TO SAY THAT I REALIZE THIS IS MY BACKGROUND AS A SOCIOLOGIST, BUT TOURISM TO ME IS A PEOPLE PROBLEM, RIGHT? THIS ISN'T ABOUT BUILDING BETTER ROADS OR, UM, BRIDGES ACROSS, YOU KNOW, CREEKS NOBODY WANTS OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
TOURISTS ARE PEOPLE, RESIDENTS ARE PEOPLE, BUSINESS OWNERS ARE PEOPLE, YOUR VISITORS, UM, WHICH YOU'RE NOT CLASSIFYING AS TOURISTS OR PEOPLE.
UM, AND THOSE ARE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO RESOLVE.
AND CHANGING BEHAVIOR IS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS THAT YOU CAN, YOU CAN ASK PEOPLE TO DO, ESPECIALLY FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME IN THEIR LIVES.
AND SO I GIVE YOU KUDOS FOR THE FACT THAT YOU'RE IN MY MIND, DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB OF TRYING TO TACKLE THIS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, UH, PROBLEM, WHICH IS ABOUT PEOPLE.
UM, MY LAST COMMENT IS TO SAY, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION AROUND VISITOR CENTERS, UM, AND, UH, WHAT YOU THINK THOSE MODELS WILL BE WHEN YOU'RE READY TO DO IT.
AND IF YOU WANT TO GO, OKAY, SO I GOT IT.
UH, ONE IDEA THAT I'VE BEEN NOODLING ABOUT IS HOW WE CREATE EVENTS TO BRING PEOPLE, RIGHT.
ESPECIALLY IN OUR SLOW SEASONS.
AND I KNOW THAT, UH, PHOENIX, AS AN EXAMPLE, DOES A LOT OF STAYCATION ADVERTISING FOR THE SUMMER AND THE HOTELS DROP THEIR PRICES A LOT AND TRY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO FILL THEM UP.
THEY'RE ABOUT TO DO RESTAURANT WEEK AGAIN.
AND WE USED TO HAVE THAT HERE AND WE USED TO HAVE EVENTS THAT, THAT WERE IN THE OFF SEASON.
WE'VE BUILT UP FEBRUARY, BUT WE HAVEN'T REALLY BUILT UP THE SUMMER TOO MUCH.
SO I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT HOW POTENTIALLY WE INCREASE THE BUDGET FOR, FOR TOURISM WITH SOME OF THE EVENTS THAT WE, THAT ARE IN THE SMALL GRANTS BUDGET, BUT THEN WE PROMOTE THEM IN A DIFFERENT
[03:15:01]
WAY AND, AND SWITCH THEM OVER AND, AND CREATE SOME, SOME ADDITIONAL ONES.AND THAT WAY WE GIVE PEOPLE A REASON TO COME.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I WAS REALLY EXCITED TO KNOW THAT WE DID RESTAURANT WEEK DURING THE SUMMER.
TO ME, THAT'S A WAY TO SORT OF LIKE ACTIVATE THE CAMPAIGN, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, AS WE GET INTO OUR KIND OF WINTER AND SUMMER MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, IT'S LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, GREAT WE'RE DOING DIGITAL MARKETING, BUT HOW ARE WE LIKE ACTIVATING THIS CONCEPT RIGHT WITHIN THE COMMUNITY? AND TO BUILD ON YOUR POINT FOR DMMO TIMES THREE SQUARED
SO WE DON'T LOOK AT THEM AS A RESIDENTIAL OR, OR KIND OF A VISITOR EVENT.
AND PERSONAL ANECDOTE WOULD BE ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OFF SEASON EVENTS I'VE EVER HEARD OF IS IN ASTORIA, OREGON IN THE DEAD OF WINTER WHERE IT'S HORIZONTAL RAIN, THEY LAUNCHED FESTIVAL OF THE DARK ARTS, WHICH IS A DARK BEER FESTIVAL AND IT'S BECOME LIKE ONE OF THE BUSIEST WEEKENDS IN ASTORIA DURING WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY THE LOWEST TIME OF YEAR.
I'M NOT SAYING WE WANT TO DO THAT, THAT WOULD BE KIND OF COUNTERINTUITIVE, BUT YOU KNOW, A WAY TO CREATE AN EVENT THAT WAS FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS THAT WAS TIED TO A DOWNTIME AND REALLY, REALLY STRATEGIC.
IS THERE, WELL WE USED TO ALSO HAVE, UH, LOCAL, THEY USED TO DO LOCAL NIGHT OUT MM-HMM.
AND THAT ALSO WAS STOPPED FOR WHATEVER REASON.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD, LOCALS WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT, THAT WOULD ATTENTION WOULD BE PAID, RESTAURANTS WOULD FILL UP THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES.
I THINK IT WAS LOW PARTICIPATION IS WHY THAT WAS CANCELED.
BUT, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO GET CONSENSUS FROM COUNCIL ON THAT EVENTS TOPIC BECAUSE IF I, IF I NEED TO START THINKING ABOUT THAT WITH MY BUDGET, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.
UM, AND MAINLY BECAUSE THAT'S A, THAT'S A HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARD TYPE OF THING.
UM, I JUST THOUGHT ABOUT THE LAST HOT EVENT I WENT TO IN SEDONA AND IT WAS WATER FEST.
AND UM, NEIGHBORS COMPLAINED THAT IT WAS TOO LOUD, IT WAS TOO LATE.
IT WAS TOO, TOO FILL IN THE BLANK.
RIGHT? SO EVERYTHING, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S AGREED UPON BY THE MAJORITY THAT WE START THINKING ABOUT THAT BECAUSE IT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU TAKE A LOT OF HEAT FOR EVENTS.
WELL, I WAS THINKING ABOUT WE DO THIS ART AND WE FUND IT COMPLETELY.
THEY WOULDN'T EVER BE ABLE TO DO IT WITHOUT OUR MONEY.
THEY GAVE, WE GAVE 'EM $11,000 THIS YEAR, WHICH IS THAT OCTOBER EVENT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH IS OVER A WEEKEND.
SO OUR FESTIVAL, THEY PUB THEY PUBLICIZE IT.
DO THEY PUBLICIZE IT WELL ENOUGH? DO THEY GET, THEY MAXIMIZE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY HERE.
THAT IS NOT A LOCALS EVENT, THAT IS A TOURIST EVENT.
NOW LOCALS GO, BUT IT'S NOT DESIGNED FOR LOCALS.
I DON'T KNOW THAT, I MEAN, THAT'S ONE WHERE WE'RE ALREADY FUNDING IT OR WE MAXIMIZING IT.
YOU KNOW, IT, I, I HAD HEARD THAT THEY GOT, OF COURSE THERE'S COVID BUT LESS PEOPLE EACH YEAR.
'CAUSE AGAIN, 'CAUSE IT'S NOT, EVEN THOUGH WE PAY FOR IT, IT'S NOT OUR EVENT WHERE WE'RE GETTING ALL THE METRICS FROM IT.
BUT IF WE, SO THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY HAPPENING THAT PERHAPS ARE NOT UTILIZED TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY TO USE THEM.
SO THAT, THAT WAS JUST, WE'RE, WE'RE ALREADY DOING IT.
AND WE DON'T, AND THERE AREN'T A LOT OF COMPLAINTS AROUND THAT AS AN EXAMPLE.
BUT I DID FIND RANDY, I DID FIND IT ON THE, THE WEBSITE
ANYWAY, THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF MY COMMENTS.
I THINK WE COULD JUST DO A LOT OF, UH, BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER AND GET MORE SUPPORT FOR OUR ACTIVITIES IF THE LOCALS WERE MORE INVOLVED IN ACTUALLY WANTING TO DO THESE THINGS.
'CAUSE BECAUSE YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, SOMETIMES PEOPLE COMPLAIN THAT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH GOING ON AROUND HERE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.
UM, SO, UH, I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND, ANDREW, YOU SAID BEFORE THAT YOU BRING IN A CONTRACTED PERSON TO DO MARKETING OFFSITE, UH, AT, AT THE CONVENTIONS IS THAT I JUST, AND YOU WON'T KNOW THE PERSON, BUT LAUREN WOULD, IS THAT BASICALLY WHAT HEATHER
[03:20:01]
AND THEN ASHI DID FOR THE CHAMBER? AND I KNOW HEATHER DID DO THAT BECAUSE SHE GAVE AN EXAMPLE OF SHE WOULD GO TRAVEL BASICALLY AROUND THE WORLD AND SHE WOULD PROMOTE WILLIAMS COTTONWOOD AND SEDONA.SHE, SHE WAS MORE OF A HYBRID.
UM, SHE WAS, BECAUSE SHE DID, UH, SHE DID MEDIA RELATIONS AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, SHE WORKED ON WHAT SHE DID, MEDIA RELATIONS WITH ALL OF THAT EARNED MEDIA.
UM, SO, SO I WOULDN'T NECESSARILY CALL IT A ONE-TO-ONE, BUT WILL SOMEBODY BE DOING THAT? BECAUSE SASHA HERSELF WAS GOING OUT AND DOING AND SHE WOULD DO THE ASIAN COUNTRIES WHEREVER SHE WOULD GO AND WAS A WORKHORSE AND WAS SUCCESSFUL.
ARE WE GOING TO NOW TAKE OVER, BECAUSE ORIGINALLY THERE WAS TALK ABOUT GOING TO GERMANY FROM HEATHER.
AND THEN THIS YEAR I'M PLANNING ON GOING TO FRANCE AND THE UK AND THAT WAS INTENTIONAL TO TO YEAH.
NOT GO TO THE SAME COUNTRY EVERY YEAR OF COURSE.
TO KIND OF, OF ALTERNATE WHICH EUROPEAN COUNTRY WE WOULD GO TO THAT YEAR.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN HEATHER'S FUNCTION FOR US, UM, I, FROM LIKE AN ORGANIZATIONAL CHART PERSPECTIVE, IF, IF YOU WILL, RIGHT.
I THINK JAMES AND OUR TEAM DOES A FANTASTIC JOB WITH KIND OF MEETING SALES AND GROUPS.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, THAT'S COVERED RIGHT NOW WITH STAFF CAPACITY AND OUR CURRENT STRUCTURE.
UM, WHAT'S BEEN CONTRACTED OUT IS THE KIND OF MEDIA SIDE OF THINGS.
PRIMARILY EARNED MEDIA AS WELL AS TRAVEL TRADE.
UM, PRIOR TO, PRIOR TO ME JOINING AND NOW WE'RE LOSING HEATHER.
SO THE GAP THAT I'M LOOKING AT THAT I CAN DEFINITELY LEND A HAND IN IS A OT IS DRIVING REFERRALS TO US FROM EARNED MEDIA AND TRAVEL TRADE.
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO RESPOND TO THOSE.
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO ORGANIZE THOSE TRIPS.
SOMEBODY NEEDS TO GREET THOSE FOLKS IN MARKET, SOMEBODY NEEDS TO REPORT ON IT.
UM, THAT'S AN ADDITION TO ATTENDING THE SHOWS.
SO, UM, I'M ON HAND RIGHT NOW TO ATTEND THE SHOWS THAT WE'VE COMMITTED TO OR AT LEAST PROPOSE COMMITTING TO WITH, WITH A OT.
BUT HEATHER'S ROLE IS EXTENDED BEYOND JUST ATTENDING SHOWS.
SO, UM, I'M CURRENTLY LOOKING AT HOW BEST TO DO THAT AND I'M GONNA BE JUGGLING A FEW PLATES UNTIL WE FIGURE THAT OUT.
THAT'S MY QUESTION AND COMMENTS.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? THIS IS SLATED FOR JUST INFORMATIONAL YEAH.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE, JESSICA? SHORT,
ABOUT THE THING ABOUT, UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BEFORE WE START THESE NEIGHBORHOOD, NEIGHBORHOOD OR RESIDENT THINGS TO SORT OF LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST TO WHETHER THEY'VE WORKED OR NOT.
I KNOW THAT THERE USED TO BE AN AWFUL LOT OF, THEY HAVE MIDNIGHT MADNESS UPTOWN AND OF COURSE IT'S NOT MIDNIGHT 'CAUSE IT'S SEDONA AND SO
BUT YOU KNOW, IT, IT DIDN'T WORK 'CAUSE PEOPLE DIDN'T WANNA DO IT.
UM, AND SO I I I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT SORT OF, I THINK MY GOAL IS TO SORT OF DO THINGS THAT PEOPLE WANT TO DO, NOT CREATE THINGS AND THEN TRY AND FORCE PEOPLE TO BE INTERESTED IN DOING THEM.
I, I, YOU KNOW, I IT, AND I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, THE, WHAT PEOPLE REALLY WANT IS THEY WANT 10% OFF FROM ALL LOCAL RESTAURANTS AS A RESIDENT, THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE REALLY WANT.
AND SO I THINK THAT THE LOCALS DINING OUT, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF PARTICIPATION.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S 'CAUSE IT WAS BADLY PROMOTED OR JUST BECAUSE THERE'S A LACK OF INTEREST.
SO IN ANSWER QUESTION IS DO YOU ASK, YOU'D LIKE COUNCIL'S FEEDBACK ON THAT.
FOOD TRUCK IS VERY, VERY POPULAR WITH RESIDENTS.
SO I THINK MAYBE NOT TRYING TO REPLICATE THINGS THAT HAPPENED THAT DIDN'T WORK, BUT YOU, THE FOOD TRUCK PEOPLE LOVED IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE NEED TO TRY A LOT OF DIFFERENT STUFF AND SEE WHAT WORKS.
BUT LAUREN OF COURSE IS RIGHT THAT FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU PROMOTE, THERE'S GOING TO BE PEOPLE WHO, RESIDENTS WHO DON'T LIKE IT, IT'S BROCCOLI AND THEY AIN'T GONNA HAVE IT.
SO, UM, I THINK THERE HAS TO BE BE, YOU KNOW, SOME KIND OF REASONABLE APPROACH TO THIS.
YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING AT ONCE.
UM, AND BRINGING IT BACK TO YOUR POINT, PETE NO, I DO TOO.
IT'S SOMETHING I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME OF WHICH IS WHAT IF YOU JUST CREATE THINGS FOR LOCALS, THAT'S WHERE THE TOURISTS WANNA BE.
THAT'S WHERE I WANNA BE WHEN I TRAVEL.
[03:25:01]
MM-HMM.I WANNA FIGURE OUT WHERE THE LOCALS ARE GOING.
SO
ANYTHING, ANY OTHER LAST COMMENTS? OKAY.
I'VE BEEN GETTING A LOT OF FEEDBACK ABOUT ANDREW GOING OUT LEAVING CITY HALL AND, AND MEETING AND GREETING A LOT OF BUSINESS OWNERS HOTELS.
AND THAT'S JUST A, A GREAT WAY TO, TO THINK AND I APPRECIATE THAT GOING OUT THERE AND BRINGING, BRIDGING THAT GAP AND MAKING THOSE CONNECTIONS.
AND I'VE BEEN HEARING SOME REALLY GOOD THINGS FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND TOWN.
SO THANK YOU ANDREW, FOR HAVING THE OPEN MIND TO WANNA DO THAT.
ITEM C, DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING I IDEAS OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND OR MEETINGS.
ANYTHING WE DID THAT LAST NIGHT.
[5. ADJOURNMENT]
MEANS ADJOURNED.