[00:00:03]
UH, IT'S CALLED THE ORDER PLEDGE
[1. CALL TO ORDER, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, ROLL CALL]
OF ALLEGIANCE.FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES, AMERICA.
FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION.
NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY.
SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE LATE?
YOU SIT AT THE LITTLE KID'S TABLE.
YOU GOOD? CAN YOU CALL DANIELLE SON? DANIELLE.
[2. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF]
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS OR STAFF? ANY MEETINGS OR THINGS THIS LAST MONTH SINCE WE LAST MET? I WANTED TO ASK IF YOU HAD ANY UPDATE ON THE ADDITIONAL MEMBER OF THE BOARD.OUR CLERK'S OFFICE SENT OUT AN EMAIL, UM, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO THAT SAID THAT THEY HAD PUSHED IT OUT TO JANUARY.
SOME OF THE RESUMES ARE COMING IN AND THEN THEY WE'RE IN THE APPLICATIONS AND IN JANUARY THEY'RE GONNA TRY TO SCHEDULE MEETINGS.
ARE SOME OF US TERMING OUT? 'CAUSE THEN WE DO ONE AND TWO YEAR TERMS. TWO AND FOUR.
SEE, I REMEMBER PERFECTLY
SO JUST AS A HEADS UP, WE DID RESCHEDULE THE JANUARY TAB MEETING FOR JANUARY 8TH.
AGAIN, THAT IS CONTINGENT ON IF WE ARE NOT ABLE TO COME DO A FINAL RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL FOR VISITOR SERVICES DURING THIS MEETING.
I WILL NOTE THAT I WILL BE OUT OF TOWN ON THE EIGHTH.
NOT THAT THESE MEETINGS ARE CONTINGENT ON ME, BUT YES, THEY ARE
BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IT'S STRATEGIC FOR OUR TEAM.
IF WE CAN DEFINITELY MAKE THE MOST OF OUR TIME TODAY WITH THE CONVERSATION WE'RE GONNA HAVE AROUND THE RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE 11TH TAB MEMBER.
I'VE GOT, UM, A NEXTDOOR POST THAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL.
UM, IF YOU'RE FREQUENT FLYERS ON NEXTDOOR, YOU KNOW THAT, UM, MOST OF THE COMMENTS ARE NOT POSITIVE WHEN IT HAS REALLY ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CITY
UH, SO, UM, THIS WAS AN AD, THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE THAT THE CHAMBER DID IN ITS LAST YEAR, UM, OF MARKETING.
AND, UH, WHEN WE WERE DOING A, YOU KNOW, QUICK STANDUP OF A TOURISM BUREAU, I REACHED OUT TO MICHELLE AND SAID, HEY, WE NEED TO DO AN AD IN, UM, A OT IN THEIR, UM, UH, STATE GUIDE THAT THEY DO.
CAN WE JUST USE THE ONE THAT YOU HAD LAST YEAR AND PUT OUR LOGO ON IT? DO YOU HAVE, DO WE HAVE PERMISSION TO DO THAT? AND SHE SAID, YEAH, OF COURSE.
UM, AND SO, UH, SOMEONE POSTED THAT, UM, THEY HAD SEEN IT ON VACATION IN UTAH.
UM, SOMEBODY SAID, GREAT TO SEE THIS.
NOW IF VISITORS WOULD ONLY CARE FOR A HOME AS MUCH AS WE DID, UH, SEDONA IS TURNING A CORNER IN MARKETING TO VISITORS.
SO JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT, THAT THAT IS RESONATING WITH LOCALS, THAT TYPE OF MESSAGE.
UH, WE HAD ONE COUNCIL MEMBER WHO DID NOT LIKE THE LOGO, BUT THE OTHER SIX DID.
UH, SO I DID A LITTLE BIT OF REVISION, UM, IF YOU REMEMBER FROM WHAT YOU SAW, THE LINE WAS A BIT MORE EXACT.
UM, AND SQUIGGLY, WE INCREASED THE LINE WEIGHT, UM, KIND OF STRETCHED OUT SOME OF THE FEATURES, BUT YOU CAN STILL SEE THAT THAT'S THUNDER MOUNTAIN.
[00:05:01]
UH, ADDED A COUPLE COLOR LOGOS.THE ONE ON THE LEFT IS THE MOST COLORFUL, BUT IT ALSO IS THE COLOR PALETTE, UM, THAT WE CHOSE TO.
SO JUST WANTED YOU TO SEE THAT ALL.
AND IT'S GOT THE DARK SKY ESSENCE AT THE TOP.
YEAH, I KNOW YOU, I KNOW YOU SAID ONLY ONE COUNCIL PERSON WAS NOT IN AGREEMENT, BUT WHAT DID THAT PERSON, WHAT, WHAT WAS THE CONCERN? HE, I THINK HE WANTED SOMETHING MORE, UM, LIGHT AND ARTISTIC.
UM, AND WE, WE HAD ONE VERSION THAT WAS GOING IN THAT DIRECTION, UM, BUT DIDN'T REALLY HIT THE MARK.
I THINK ALL OF US AGREED ON THAT.
SO I THINK HE WANTED MORE OF AN ARTISTIC LOGO, WHEREAS THIS IS, UM, MAYBE THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF THAT.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS GRAPHIC, THIS IS BOLD, THIS GETS YOUR ATTENTION.
AND HE WANTED MAYBE SOMETHING MORE LIGHTER AND ARTSY.
AND THEN I THINK, UH, LAST TIME WE SAW YOU, I WAS JUST GETTING READY TO GO TO TWO CONFERENCES AT TRADE SHOWS.
SO QUICK UPDATE, UM, NTA TRAVEL EXCHANGE WAS A SUCCESS.
WE HAD 27 APPOINTMENTS WITH DIFFERENT MOTOR COACH OPERATORS, AS WELL AS A COUPLE KIND OF FIT WHOLESALERS.
AND THEN WE DID 1D MO SALES MISSION, WHICH WAS A JOINT PRESENTATION BY DIFFERENT ARIZONA DESTINATIONS.
UM, SO WE WERE ABLE TO SHOWCASE THAT KIND OF UNIFIED MULTI, MULTI DESTINATION FRONT.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO MET WITH 10 DIFFERENT MEDIA JOURNALISTS, UH, TRAVEL CLASSICS WEST IN SCOTTSDALE THAT SAME WEEK.
UM, ALL THE FOLLOWUP'S BEEN DONE.
WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN A FEW RESPONSES.
I DID HEAR, WHICH IS KIND OF GOOD NEWS I'LL KINDA SHARE, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME MOTOR COACH TOURS THAT STAY OUTSIDE OF THE CITY AND COME IN HERE FOR THE DAY.
UM, THERE ARE SOME MOTOR COACH TOURS THAT INCLUDE A NIGHT OF SEDONA AS PART OF A LONGER TRIP TYPICALLY TO KIND OF NATIONAL PARKS AND MAYBE IN OTHER STATES.
BUT THERE'S INCREASINGLY, I'M HEARING INTEREST IN DOING A HUB AND SPOKE FOR NIGHT STAY WITHIN, WITHIN SEDONA, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY THE MOST DESIRABLE.
UM, BUT ONE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE JUST UNSURE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS OF INTEREST JUST DUE TO POTENTIAL COSTS AND WHATNOT.
BUT I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT YOU KNOW, ABOUT ONE OF THE, ONE, ONE THIRD OF THE FOLKS I MET WITH ARE INTRIGUED IN THAT, IN, IN THAT OPPORTUNITY AND WAS JUST CHATTING WITH THE MOTOR COACH OPERATOR THAT'S PLANNING A FORTNIGHT TRIP IN SEPTEMBER.
SO WE'RE KIND OF ORGANIZING THEIR TOUR FOR THEM.
SO SOME JUST IMMEDIATE, IMMEDIATE, UM, SUCCESSES FROM THAT, THAT ONE.
AND THEN I AM LEAVING THE FIRST WEEK IN JANUARY TO GO TO GO WEST SUMMIT, UM, WHICH IS, UM, LESS MOTOR COACH, MORE OF YOUR LIKE FREE INDEPENDENT TRAVELER.
UM, I'VE ALREADY GOT 45 APPOINTMENTS SCHEDULED FOR THAT ONE, SO THOSE CLOSE TOMORROW, UH, FRIDAY.
SO I'M EXCITED TO KINDA GIVE THE UPDATE.
UM, AND AS A REMINDER, I'M GONNA BE AT IPW IN JUNE.
UM, EACH ONE OF THESE IS INCREASING IN ITS KIND OF PRIORITY FOR US.
SO NTA WAS, YOU KNOW, STILL A PRIORITY, BUT MAYBE NOT AS MUCH SO AS GO WEST, WHICH IS THEN STILL A PRIORITY, BUT MAYBE NOT SO MUCH AS IPW.
AND THEN, UM, FAMS REMAIN, UM, A BIG PIECE OF OUR WORKLOAD RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS ALWAYS EXCITING TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW OFF OUR DESTINATION TO TRAVEL INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS.
SO WE DID HAVE ANOTHER CANADIAN JOURNALIST COME THROUGH AT THE START OF THIS MONTH, UH, IN AN RV.
SO WE HAD THEM AT RANCHO SEDONA RV PARK, WHICH WAS DEFINITELY ONE OF THOSE FUN, FUN REQUESTS.
I HAD A NICE DINNER WITH THEM AND GOTTA HEAR ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE.
UM, WE'VE GOT A PRETTY PACKED JANUARY WITH, UM, A WOMAN FROM AUSTIN TRAVELS MAGAZINE THAT'S GONNA BE HERE, BE HERE WITH HER FAMILY, UM, WHICH WILL RESULT IN RESULT IN AN ARTICLE ON THEIR OUTLET, BUT ALSO SIGN UP A LIFESTYLE PIECE ON A LOCAL NEWS STATION IN, IN AUSTIN.
AND THEN, BECAUSE GO WEST IS HAPPENING, WE'VE GOT SOME OPERATORS FROM C FUND COMING IN.
UM, THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING SOME, UM, SORRY, CANOE IS THE ONE THAT'S GONNA BE DOING FLY FISHING
SO I'M EXCITED TO KIND OF CONTINUE TO SPREAD THE LOVE OUT WITH THE TYPES OF EXPERIENCES THAT WE SHOW.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT A GROUP OF FRENCH TRAVEL AGENTS COMING IN WITH A OT AND THEN WE'VE GOT A GROUP OF AUSTRALIAN NEW ZEALAND AGENTS COMING IN WITH BRAND USA IN MARCH.
AND THEN WE'RE ORGANIZING SOME PRE FAMS FOR ATTENDEES AT THE TRAVEL CON CONFERENCE IN TUCSON IN MARCH.
SO, UH, WE'LL I'LL JUST CONTINUE TO GIVE YOU ALL KIND OF THREE MONTH UPDATES AT A TIME ON HOW THE FANS ARE GOING, BUT CONTINUE JUST TO BE EXCITED THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW THIS PLACE OFF.
[3. CONSENT ITEMS]
UM, MINUTES.UH, MINUTES APPROVAL FROM LAST MEETING.
HOW'S EVERYBODY? LOOKS GOOD TO ME.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY TO APPROVE? I'LL SECOND.
[4. PUBLIC FORUM]
GOT A BUNCH OF CARDS.[00:10:01]
AL, NATE, AND THEN VICTORIA.CAN I GET THREE AND A HALF MINUTES,
UH, DO I HAVE TO SAY WHO I AM AND ALL THAT? OKAY.
HELLO, MY NAME IS CHERYL BARON.
I AM A RESIDENT OF THE CITY OF SEDONA AND I HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS IN UPTOWN.
I'M ALSO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SEDONA LODGING COUNCIL AND I'M ON THE CHAIR.
I'M ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
SO TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT THE LAST TAB MEETING HELD IN NOVEMBER, AND TO CLARIFY SOME POINTS REGARDING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE DIGITAL KIOSKS.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT THE INTENT BEHIND INTRODUCING DIGITAL KIOSKS IS NOT TO REPLACE THE VISITOR CENTER, BUT RATHER TO ENHANCE THE VISITOR SERVICES THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY OFFERED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THERE ARE CURRENTLY TWO VISITOR CENTERS IN THE STATE THAT HAVE KIOSKS, AND THEY ARE COMBINED WITH FACE-TO-FACE SERVICES.
WE BELIEVE THESE KIOSKS WILL BE, WILL COMPLIMENT THE EXISTING RESOURCES AND MAKE THE EXPERIENCE FOR VISITORS EVEN MORE ENJOYABLE.
AS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED, MANY TIMES CITIES MARKETING AND TOURISM FUNDING COMES ENTIRELY FROM HOTELS THROUGH A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT BED TAX.
NOW, REVISITING THESE DISCUSSIONS FOR WHAT SEEMS LIKE THE 10TH TIME, PARTICULARLY TO ENSURE THAT TAXPAYER DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT WISELY, IS QUITE FRANKLY UNNECESSARY.
AND IT'S INCORRECT, IT'S VITAL TO HIGHLIGHT THAT RESIDENTS DO NOT BEAR THE COST OF THESE SERVICES.
THEY ARE FUNDED ENTIRELY BY THE HOTEL BED TAX.
UM, OUT OF THE 3.5% BED TAX, A HALF A PERCENT BED TAX APPROVED IN 2014 EQUATES TO APPROXIMATELY $1.4 MILLION.
AND THAT HALF A PERCENT IS MANDATED FOR TOURISM, MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT.
HISTORICALLY, THE VISITOR CENTER HAS BEEN FULLY FUNDED BY THE BED TAX MANAGED BY THE CITY.
HOWEVER, FOLLOWING THE SEPARATION OF THE, UH, CHAMBER AND CITY 18 MONTHS AGO, FUNDING DYNAMICS HAVE CHANGED.
I WANT TO CLARIFY THAT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NO LONGER OPERATES AS A TOURISM BUREAU.
THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAINTAINING A VISITOR CENTER NOW RESTS WITH THE DMMO, WHICH THE CITY HAS TAKEN ON POST SPLIT.
IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT WE ALL UNDERSTAND THIS SHIFT IN RESPONSIBILITY.
THE CITY HAS THE CAPACITY AND THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT TOURISM RELATED ACTIVITIES AND IS WELL EQUIPPED TO DO SO.
AFTER MUCH RESEARCH FROM MYSELF AND HEATHER HERMAN, THERE WAS A CONSENSUS REACHED IN PREVIOUS CITY MEETINGS THAT A WELL-FUNCTIONING VISITOR CENTER IS NOT ONLY VIABLE, BUT ALSO ESSENTIAL FOR ENHANCING OUR VISITOR PROGRAM.
REGARDING CONCERNS ABOUT THE ASSUMPTION IN THE VISITOR CENTER BUDGET, I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT THIS BUDGET HAS UNDERGONE RIGOROUS SCRUTINY MULTIPLE TIMES, INCLUDING REVIEWS FROM CITY COUNCIL.
OUR PRIMARY FOCUS SHOULD BE ON THE POSITIVE IMPACT THIS FUNDING WILL HAVE ON OUR COMMUNITY AND THE EXPERIENCES WE PROVIDE FOR OUR VISITORS.
IT IS NOT YOUR ROLE TO DISSECT THE CHAMBER BUDGET.
SEE, I NEEDED THE OTHER HALF A PERCENT.
CAN I KEEP GOING? OKAY, GO AHEAD.
UM, IT IS NOT YOUR ROLE TO DISSECT THE CHAMBER BUDGET, WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN THOROUGHLY VETTED BY THE CHAMBER BOARD CITY COUNCIL, ANDREW AND LAUREN.
UM, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO RECOMMEND WHAT BENEFIT THE COMMU THE BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY LEAVING THE FINANCIAL DETAILS TO THE CITY MANAGER ADOPTING ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN 80 20 FUNDING MODEL WOULD UNDERMINE THE VISITOR CENTER, A VITAL ORGANIZATION THAT HAS SERVED OUR COMMUNITY FOR OVER 68 YEARS.
I URGE YOU TO CONSIDER THE IMPLICATIONS CAREFULLY.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE MAY BE HESITATIONS AMONGST THE TAB COMMITTEE ABOUT VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE CHAMBER BUDGET AND OPERATIONS.
HOWEVER, I AM CONFIDENT THAT WE HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO ADDRESS THE VARIOUS BUBBLES THAT ANDREW OUTLINED IN THE LAST TAB MEETING, ENSURING THAT OUR INITIATIVES COME TOGETHER EFFECTIVELY AND IN THE MOST RESPONSIBLE WAY.
I APPRECIATE ALL YOU DO ON THE DAAS, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
AL CILLO, RESIDENT OF SEDONA FOR THE LAST 26 YEARS.
UM, AS A RESIDENT OF THESE 26 YEARS, I'VE BEEN SORT OF A STUDENT OF THE SEDONA, UM, GOVERNMENT AND HISTORY AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AND THE COMINGS AND GOINGS OF DIFFERENT CITY COUNCILS AND DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF STAFF.
AND THE ONE THING THAT I'VE ALWAYS STAYED CONNECTED TO IS HOW DOES THE TOURISM, UH, WORLD OF SEDONA FUNCTION AND THE VISITOR CENTER, WHICH HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE SINCE THE 1950S, HAS ALWAYS BEEN PART AND PARCEL OF IT.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, IT'S OUR WELCOME MAT TO THE
[00:15:01]
RESIDENT, I MEAN TO THE VISITOR WHO IS THE PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE FOR THE CITY OF SEDONA.SO I'M A STRONG ADVOCATE, NOT ONLY FOR KEEPING THE VISITOR CENTER, BUT TO STAY, UH, TRUE TO THE IDEA THAT IT IS A RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT POSITIVE TOURISM SERVICES.
AND, UM, JUST TO REMIND YOU, THE CITY HAS, BEFORE THE BED TAX WAS INCREASED IN 2014, THE CITY HAD BEEN FUNDING THE VISITOR CENTER OUT OF THE 3% AT THE TIME, WHICH WAS THE GENERAL FUND, UM, FOR, UH, WELL OVER A DECADE OR MORE PRIOR TO THAT.
AND IT WAS AT A HUNDRED PERCENT BY THE WAY.
I LIVE IN YAVAPAI COUNTY OUTSIDE CITY LIMITS.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE SEDONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND SEDONA HERITAGE MUSEUM.
UM, I'D JUST LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU A FEW NUMBERS WHICH REVEAL THE INCREDIBLE VALUE THAT THE VISITOR CENTER PROVIDES TO THE SEDONA HERITAGE MUSEUM AND BY EXTENSION TO THE COMMUNITY.
FIRST, IT'S INSTRUCTIVE TO NOTE THAT OVER 95% OF THE MUSEUM'S ANNUAL VISITATION IS FROM TOURISTS.
THROUGH NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR, WE'VE SEEN ROUGHLY 12,000 GUESTS.
THAT MEANS THE MUSEUM IS SEEN ABOUT 11,400 OUT OF TOWNERS COME THROUGH TO DATE.
EVERY VISITOR WHO COMES THROUGH OUR DOOR IS ASKED TO SIGN A GUEST BOOK, SHARE WITH US WHERE THEY'RE FROM AND HOW THEY HEARD ABOUT US.
I HAVE 10 MONTHS OF DATA FROM THE GUEST BOOK FOR 2024 TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY.
AND IN THOSE 10 MONTHS, 1,175 GUESTS LET US KNOW THAT THEY VISITED AS A RESULT OF A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE VISITOR CENTER.
THAT'S AN ASTOUNDING 10% OF THE TOURISTS WHO MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE MUSEUM TO PUT A MONETARY VALUE ON THAT IMPACT.
THE MUSEUM'S ADMISSION IS $10 PER PERSON, MULTIPLY THAT BY THE 1,175 PEOPLE WHO WERE RECOMMENDED BY THE VISITOR CENTER.
AND THAT'S $11,750 IN DIRECT REVENUE.
THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE GIFT SHOP REVENUE.
IF WE WERE GONNA INCLUDE THAT, EACH GUEST TO THE MUSEUM SPENDS JUST OVER $9 ON AVERAGE IN OUR MUSEUM STORE.
THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL $10,575 IN REVENUE FROM THOSE GUESTS DIRECTED FROM THE VISITOR CENTER FOR A TOTAL OF MORE THAN $22,000.
IN SHORT, THE VISITOR CENTER IS A VITAL ASSET FOR US AT THE SEDONA HERITAGE MUSEUM, AND WE FULLY SUPPORT THE CONTINUATION OF FUNDING FOR IT.
UM, MY NAME IS VICTORIA LATSKY.
I'M DIRECTOR OF THE VISITOR SERVICES FOR THE SEDONA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
I MANAGE THE VISITOR CENTER IN UPTOWN.
UM, JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GUIDANCE AND YOUR SUPPORT.
UM, JUST HAVE A FEW REMARKS REALLY.
UM, I FEEL LIKE THE VISITOR CENTER IS MORE ABOUT MANAGING TOURISM THAN MARKETING TOURISM.
UM, WE REALLY JUST WANT VISITORS TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS ONCE THEY ARE HERE.
WHETHER IT'S REGARDING FIRE RESTRICTIONS, UH, CAMPING, UH, WHERE THEY SHOULD BE CAMPING, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, UH, WE'RE ALSO A REGISTERED MEMBER OF THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISMS, UM, AS WE'RE AS ONE OF THE ARIZONA VISITORS, UH, INFORMATION CENTERS.
SO WE'RE VERY HELPFUL AT A STATE LEVEL.
WE REPORT MONTHLY STATISTICS ON OUR VISITORS.
UH, WE SEE THAT APPROXIMATELY 20% OF OUR VISITORS ARE INTERNATIONAL ONES AND WE HAPPILY CATER TO AND CURATE THEIR VISIT.
UM, I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO HEAR TODAY OUR LATEST QUARTERLY REPORT THAT WAS SENT TO ANNETTE YESTERDAY.
UM, WE INCLUDED A VISITOR CENTER SURVEY, UH, THAT WE PUT IN OUR CONSUMER E-NEWS.
UM, WE HAD A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF PARTICIPANTS THIS TIME.
UM, BASICALLY IT SHOWED THAT OUT OF 47 VISITORS, 89% OF THEM SAID THEY WOULD PLAN TO RETURN TO THE VISITOR CENTER AGAIN.
SO WE'LL HAVE PEOPLE RETURN ON THEIR, ON THE SAME VISIT ONE OR TWO DAYS IN A ROW BECAUSE THEY'RE SO PLEASED WITH, UH, THE REFERRALS.
UM, THE LIVELY ENERGY, UH, JUST MEETING LOCALS.
HAVING THAT LOCAL EXPERIENCE I THINK IS SO IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US.
UH, WHEN WE TRAVEL, WE WANNA MEET LOCALS.
UM, WE WANNA GET TO KNOW THE CULTURE AND THE FLAVOR OF THE PLACE WE GO TO.
UM, SO THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, WE LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT WINE TASTINGS OF VINO DE SEDONA ON A SATURDAY, AND SOMETIMES WE'LL SEE PEOPLE THERE, CERTAINLY AT THE SEDONA WINE FESTIVAL.
UM, I DO PRODUCE A FRONTLINER E-NEWSLETTER WEEKLY, AND WE DO PROMOTE CITY PROGRAMS AND EVENTS, UM, LIKE THE SEDONA SHUTTLE, UH, VERDE SHUTTLE, UM, PARKS AND ROCKS EVENTS.
UM, AND WE CERTAINLY EDUCATE PEOPLE ON THE SEDONA CITY
[00:20:01]
OF SEDONA PROGRAMS LIKE THE SEDONA SHUTTLE AND THE MICRO TRANSIT.WE'VE HAD ALL GOOD FEEDBACK ON THAT, SO THAT'S REALLY NICE.
THAT NEWSLETTER I MENTIONED DOES GO OUT TO 160 SUBSCRIBERS.
AND THOSE ARE HOTEL GMS CONCIERGE, UM, AIRBNB OWNERS.
UM, SO THAT'S A REALLY GOOD WAY TO REACH, UM, THE VISITORS AS WELL.
UM, AND LIKE I SAID, WE MANAGE TOURISM MORE THAN MARKET IT AT THE VISITOR'S CENTER.
UH, WE ATTRACT, UH, VISITORS, UM, AND WE HELP THEM TO MAKE SMART DECISIONS.
AND I BELIEVE, UH, CHRISTOPHER FOX GRAHAM FROM THE RED ROCK NEWS DID WRITE AN ARTICLE ON THAT AS WELL NOT LONG AGO.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I ASK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.
MIKE WEISS, LONG TERM PRESIDENT OF SEDONA, UH, OFF AND ON SINCE 1955.
MOST OF YOU WERE NEVER BORN THEN.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY BY SERVING ON THIS TAB COMMITTEE.
I THINK THAT YOUR SELFLESSNESS AND THE TIME THAT YOU GIVE TO IT, UH, IS VERY MEANINGFUL.
AND IT'S PEOPLE LIKE YOU, LIKE YOU INDIVIDUALS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO SUPPORT THE VISITOR CENTER AS IT EXISTS TODAY.
UH, MY OPINION IS THAT THERE ARE QUALITATIVE DIF DIFFERENCE IN THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE WHEN A VISITOR STANDS IN FRONT OF A VOLUNTEER.
WHO KNOWS THE COMMUNITY, THE HIKING TRAILS AND ON, UH, MANY ARE CHALLENGED WITH, UH, HANDICAP, UH, THE VISITOR CENTER.
UH, VOLUNTEERS CAN HELP GIVE THEM DIRECTION AS TO, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY MIGHT, UH, THE TRAILS THAT MIGHT BE ADAPTED FOR THEM.
UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO ENCOURAGE COUNSEL TO SUPPORT IT AT THE CURRENT 80 20 SPLIT.
ANYTHING LESS FROM THE CITY AT THAT THE CHAMBER CANNOT AFFORD.
SO, UH, JUST WANNA PASS THAT ON.
I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY ONCE AGAIN.
ANY MORE CARDS? ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM ANYBODY? ALL RIGHT, I GUESS WE'RE GOING ON TO, OH, I, I, WE JUST REMIND EVERYBODY THAT WE DID RECEIVE A COUPLE OF EMAILS AS WELL TO THE GROUP THAT HAD, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR SENTIMENTS JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY DOES READ THOSE.
[5.a. Finalizing a Visitor Services recommendation for Sedona City Council]
BUSINESS HAPPENS TO BE THE VISITOR CENTER HAPPENS TO BE THE VISITOR CENTER HOT TOPIC TODAY.SO OUR TIME HAS COME, WE'VE WORKED MANY MONTHS UP TO THIS POINT ON VISITOR SERVICES, UM, THINKING ABOUT IT BROADLY, DOING OUR RESEARCH, TAKING DEEP DIVES WHERE WE NEEDED TO.
UH, AND SO TODAY WHAT I'M HOPING FOR IS THAT WE CAN, UM, GET A MAJORITY CONSENSUS FROM THIS GROUP ON WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL WILL BE.
UM, YOU SAW IN YOUR PACKET, UM, IN THE STAFF REPORT THAT, UH, I HAD A FEW THINGS LAID OUT.
WE'LL WALK THROUGH THOSE TONIGHT.
UM, BUT I WOULD LIKE ANDREW TO START THE CONVERSATION BECAUSE THE RECOMMENDATION INCLUDES WHATEVER COMES FIRST FROM YOU ALL ON A TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE.
I FIGURED, UH, PERHAPS WE COULD START WITH THE TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE AND THEN WE CAN MOVE INTO THE RECOMMENDATION.
SO I KNOW I SPENT A LOT OF TIME KIND OF WALKING THROUGH THE TECHNOLOGY LAST TIME.
THAT IS NOT WHAT I WILL BE DOING TODAY.
UM, REALLY THE TWO PIECES OF MY SECTION OF THIS ARE GONNA BE SOME GOOD QUESTIONS WERE ASKED LAST TIME AND I SPENT TIME WITH EACH OF THE VENDORS MAKING SURE I COULD GET YOU RESPONSES TO THOSE.
SO I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH THOSE QUESTIONS AND THEN OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE WERE KIND OF THROWING OUT ESTIMATED NUMBERS LAST TIME.
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GOT TODAY WITH MORE CLARITY ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD THE POTENTIAL, YOU KNOW, FINANCIAL REQUESTS BE AS IT RELATES TO HOW WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT REALLY HELPS US UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT HOW TO CRAFT THIS RECOMMENDATION IF WE CAN GET, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT MORE FOCUSED ON WHAT THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS MIGHT BE.
UM, BUT JUST AS A QUICK REFRESHER, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN, UM, IN COMMUNICATION WITH THREE DIFFERENT VENDORS.
UH, TRUE OMNI HOOT BOARD, ROB IQ, UM, BECAUSE I REALLY BELIEVE IN PROPRIETARY PROPOSALS.
UM, YOU, I DID CALL THEM VENDOR A, B, AND C AND IT'S NOT IN THE ORDER THEY'RE PRESENTED HERE.
UM, SO YOU JUST KNOW THAT KIND OF, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALWAYS LIKE ADDRESS AT A LATER TIME.
BUT WHILE WE'RE IN THIS PROCESS AND JUST GETTING US THE NUMBERS, JUST KINDA KNOW THAT THAT'S SCRUBBED.
UM, BUT UM, WE'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH THESE QUESTIONS.
SO, UH, THE FIRST QUESTION THAT CAME UP
[00:25:01]
WAS JUST MORE ABOUT THE CLIMATE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY ON THE KIOSKS, KNOWING THAT OUR WINTERS MIGHT BE COLD HERE.THEY ARE COLDER IN OTHER PLACES THAT HAVE KIOSKS.
SO I'M, I WAS LESS CONCERNED ABOUT HOW COLD IT GETS.
I WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT HOW HOT IT GETS.
SO, UM, WENT BACK TO THE VENDORS.
THE, THE, I'VE HEARD 1 22 TO ONE 30, UM, IS KIND OF THE RANGE THERE, BUT NOBODY FELT LIKE THERE WAS AN ISSUE.
BUT THE PRICES HAVE GONE UP BECAUSE THE KIOSKS AND THE UPDATED PROPOSALS NOW ALL HAVE CLIMATE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY TO WITHSTAND THE HIGHER HEAT HERE WOULD BE THE TAKEAWAY FROM THAT, THAT QUESTION.
UM, WE KNOW THAT INTERNET CAN CAUSE A CONCERN FOR US.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T DECIDED ON HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THIS YET, BUT, UM, IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT EACH OF THE KIOSK PROVIDERS, UM, CAN INCLUDE BASICALLY LIKE A SIM CARD PACKAGE.
WE WOULD BE PAYING FOR THAT FROM A DIFFERENT VENDOR, THOUGH I WOULD BE, I I BELIEVE LIKE WE HAVE VERIZON HERE, SO I'M ASSUMING I WOULD BE ABLE TO KIND OF WORK, WORK WITH THAT IF WE WERE TO MOVE THAT FORWARD.
BUT EACH OF THE KIOSK PROVIDERS CAN, CAN OFFER A SIM OPTION THAT'S NOW REFLECTED IN THE PROPOSALS EQUALLY.
SO THAT'S KIND OF ANOTHER, ANOTHER, ANOTHER OUTPUT.
UM, ANOTHER QUESTION WE HAD, 'CAUSE THERE WAS KIND OF A RANGE.
THERE WAS MORE ABOUT, UH, WHAT'S THE WARRANTY? AND I THINK THAT I REALLY APPRECIATED THE CONVERSATION LAST TIME 'CAUSE IT'S MORE, YOU KNOW, THERE IS THIS ONE TIME ASK TO INSTALL THE KIOSK, BUT YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE IS AN ANNUAL FEE.
BUT THEN THE QUESTION WAS, OH, BUT WHEN ARE YOU GONNA HAVE TO HAVE ANOTHER ONE TIME ASK, RIGHT? SO, UM, THE NICE THING IS EVERY PROPOSAL IN, IN, IN THIS PRESENTATION ALL HAS A FIVE YEAR WARRANTY, WHICH AGAIN PUSHED SOME OF THE OLD ESTIMATES UP HIGHER.
SO NOW A LOT OF THEM ARE KIND OF COMING TO BE SIMILAR.
UM, WHERE THERE WAS SOME VARIATION.
AND AGAIN, IT'S MORE, THIS IS MORE OF A SUBJECTIVE QUESTION, THAT'S WHY I KIND OF PUT ALL THE RESPONSES UP HERE.
IT WAS MORE THIS CONVERSATION AROUND, YOU KNOW, DO WE CREATE ANOTHER PROBLEM IF WE HAVE A KIOSK THAT THEN PEOPLE ARE HOGGING AND THEN THERE'S A BIG LINE AND THAT, YOU KNOW, AND JUST WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE POINT OF VIEW FROM THE VENDORS ON THE QUESTION AROUND KIND OF LINES AT THE, AT THE KIOSK.
SO, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY, UM, ONE NICE THING, AND I'LL MENTION THIS ON THE NEXT SLIDE, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERY PROPOSAL NOW HAS A MOBILE APP SOLUTION.
UM, THAT'S NOT JUST THE WAY I WAS DESCRIBING IT BEFORE WITH KIND OF ACCESSING THE KIOSK INTERFACE.
THERE'S ALL LIKE A MOBILE DESIGNED VERSION OF THE KIOSK THERE.
SO WHAT ESSENTIALLY THAT MEANS IS THAT EACH OF THESE PROVIDERS HAS A KIOSK TO MOBILE ABILITY.
SO WE CAN ESSENTIALLY KIND OF SET A TIME LIMIT THAT KICKS 'EM OFF.
UM, WE COULD SAY, PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE OF YOUR NEIGHBORS AND KIND OF PUSH TO MOBILE.
UM, BUT ESSENTIALLY NO ONE SAID IT'S BEEN AN ISSUE.
THEY DO SAY THAT TWO-SIDED KIOSKS ARE BETTER THAN ONE SIDED KIOSKS WHEN IT COMES TO THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, 3.2 AVERAGE SESSION TIME.
PEOPLE TALK ABOUT FOUR TO FIVE TOUCHES.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S KIND OF A VARYING RANGE THERE, BUT, UM, THEY EACH PROVIDED SOLUTIONS TO AVOID A MASSIVE LINE WOULD BE, WOULD BE MY KIND OF TAKEAWAY.
UM, AND THEN JUST SOME OTHER NOTES IS THAT, UM, AGAIN, EACH PROVIDER NOW HAS AN, UM, A MOBILE APP VERSION OF THE KIOSK, WHICH IS INTENDED TO EXTEND THE KIOSK EXPERIENCE TO A MOBILE PHONE, WHICH GIVEN THE LAST SLIDE, GETS THEM AWAY FROM THE INTERFACE OF THE KIOSK, BUT ALSO GIVES US A MOBILE APP SOLUTION OF THE KIOSK.
UM, EACH PROPOSAL RIGHT NOW INCLUDES TWO ONE-SIDED OUTDOOR KIOSKS AND ONE TWO-SIDED OUTDOOR KIOSK.
THE IDEA IS THAT WE CAN DO MATH, WE CAN KIND OF PICK AND CHOOSE IF WE WANTED TO, BUT AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THOSE NUMBERS THERE FOR OURSELVES.
AND THEN, UM, AS I MENTIONED, COSTS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED HERE ARE SIM CARD DATA PLAN, WHICH WOULD BE WITH A DIFFERENT VENDOR, WHICH IS A NOTE HERE.
UM, SHIPPING COSTS, WHICH WOULD BE WITH THE SAME VENDOR, BUT UM, NOT IN THESE CURRENT PROPOSALS.
AND THEN INSTALLATION COSTS, WHICH WOULD BE FRANKLY UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.
UM, IT'S REALLY RELATED TO WHERE WE WANNA CITE THESE, BUT IT WOULD TIE INTO KNOWING WHAT THE COST WOULD BE FOR WHERE WE WANNA CITE THESE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE BEST TO PUT THEM.
BUT THAT WOULD BE, AGAIN, WITH A DIFFERENT VENDOR.
UM, JUST TO GIVE US A REMINDER.
AND LAUREN'S GOT IT MENTIONED IN THE RECOMMENDATION AS WELL, BUT THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TO DATE, WHICH SHOWS YOU THE DIFFERENT MODULES THAT ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION.
YOU ALL HAD INPUT ON THIS, SO JUST WANTED TO KIND OF REFRESH THAT.
AND THEN, UM, AGAIN, WE DID GO THROUGH THE EXERCISE LAST TIME TO JUST GATHER YOUR INPUT ON POTENTIAL LOCATIONS FOR THESE.
THIS IS JUST MORE WHAT, WHAT KIND OF WE'RE TAKING AWAY ON OUR END.
WE WOULD NEED TO DO AN INVESTIGATION ON HOW FEASIBLE WE LOCATIONS ARE.
AS I MENTIONED THAT, I THINK ABOUT IT BACK IN MY OLD DAYS WHEN I WAS DOING ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION WORK, WHERE SOMETIMES YOU'RE LIKE, THAT'S NOT A GREAT PLACE TO PUT IT.
BUT THAT'S, THAT WOULD ALL BE PART OF THAT KIND OF SITE IDENTIFICATION.
SO HERE ARE THE THREE KIND OF VENDOR AGNOSTIC, AT LEAST IN TERMS OF NAME, UM, PROPOSALS.
UM, THE QUICK RUNDOWN IS, YOU KNOW, VENDOR A IS DEFINITELY ON THE HIGH SIDE.
[00:30:01]
B, THE SETUP FEES ARE LOWER BECAUSE THEY'RE PUTTING ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES INTO THE HARDWARE UPFRONT.UM, VENDORS C THE SETUP FEES ARE HIGHER BECAUSE WE'RE ADDING BELLS AND WHISTLES TO MAKE THEM ON PAR WITH EVERYTHING ELSE WE TALKED ABOUT.
UM, SO THE INDIVIDUAL KIOSKS ARE THEN LESS EXPENSIVE, BUT THAT'S KIND OF WHERE, WHERE THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THOSE, IN THOSE PROPOSALS.
AND THEN, UM, BOTH VENDOR B AND C HAVE THE SAME ANNUAL FEES.
SO I DON'T THINK WE'RE HERE TODAY TO DECIDE WHICH VENDOR.
UM, MY GOAL IS THAT WE'RE HERE TODAY TO JUST UNDERSTAND WHAT WOULD BE A FEASIBLE COST.
UM, FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE, IT'S VERY STRATEGIC FOR US TO KEEP OUR COST TO THIS VENDOR UNDER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS BECAUSE THE PROCESS I WENT THROUGH TO GATHER BIDS WOULD ALLOW US TO IDENTIFY A VENDOR AND GO UNDER CONTRACT.
IF IT WAS TO GO OVER OVER A HUNDRED K, WE WOULD'VE TO DO A FORMAL RFP, WHICH DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T DO THAT, BUT THAT JUST IS A DIFFERENCE IN KIND OF OUR, OUR PROCUREMENT CODE.
UM, I'LL ALSO SAY THAT VENDOR C AT LEAST HAS INFORMED ME THAT THEIR PRICES WILL GO UP, UM, BY ABOUT 10% STARTING NEXT YEAR.
SO, UM, IF WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN UNTIL NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S WHY WE'RE NOT CHOOSING A VENDOR TODAY.
WE'RE SORT OF LOOKING AT THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE COULD DROP A KIOSK AND MAKE SURE WE'RE UNDER A HUNDRED K.
WE, THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO THIS, BUT, UM, THAT'S NOT WHY WE'RE HERE.
I THINK MY HOPE WAS THAT WE COULD JUST ALL AGREE ON WHAT THE POTENTIAL COSTS WOULD BE.
AND I THINK IT'S AROUND A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, GIVE OR TAKE, INSTALLATION.
ANY IDEA WHAT THE INSTALLATION COSTS LOOK LIKE.
I FEEL LIKE THAT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT'S INCLUDED IN THESE BIDS.
THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE THING.
SO THAT WOULDN'T BE INCLUDED IN THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS LIMIT.
IT'S ONLY FOR THE ACTUAL CONTRACT AMOUNT.
THEN HOW MUCH IS THE ANNUAL, OH, THE ANNUAL FEES IS THIS OKAY.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE ADDITIONAL MOBILE APP YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT, EACH ONE OF THOSE SEEM TO SAY, YEAH, WE'RE ABLE TO DO A MOBILE APP THAT WOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH THE APPLICATION SET OR MODULES.
UM, WOULD THAT PRECLUDE HAVING AN ACTUAL PHYSICAL KIOSK? SAY YOU DOWNLOAD THE APP AND WALK AROUND TOWN AND YOU DON'T NEED A PHYSICAL KIOSK AND JUST USE YOUR PHONE.
WOULD THAT LIMIT? YOU COULD ALSO SERVE THEM UP THAT, SO, SO WE HAVE A MAP OF FIVE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS WE TALKED ABOUT.
SO TECHNICALLY YOU COULD HAVE A PIECE OF PAPER THAT HAS A QR CODE.
SO IF YOU WANNA DO THE QOS QOS DOWNLOAD THE APP HERE AND YOU GET THE KIOSK WITHOUT HAVING A PHYSICAL PROBLEM OF INSTALLATION OR ANYTHING ELSE, THAT'S TECHNICALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
AND WOULD THAT, WOULD THAT ONLY BE AVAILABLE TO US THOUGH IF WE HAD A KIOSK, AT LEAST ONE KIOSK FROM THAT PARTICULAR VENDOR? YES.
AND WOULD, I'M TRYING TO PICTURE, SO WOULD YOU WOULD GET THE MOBILE APP VERSION OF THIS VIA QR CODE IS WHAT I'M ASSUMING? I I THOUGHT THEY WOULD JUST HAVE ONE MAYBE ON THE SIDE OF THE KIOSK.
SO IF THERE'S A LINE YOU JUST SAY, JUST GET THIS AND THEN YOU HAVE THE EXACT SAME THING OR SURE.
I MEAN THE EXPERIENCE IS, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU PORT FROM THE HARD, THE EXPERIENCE IS BETTER ON THE KIOSK OR AT LEAST THAT'S THE IDEA, RIGHT? UM, BUT YOU WOULD BASICALLY SAY LIKE, YOU TYPE IN YOUR CELL PHONE AND IT WOULD SEND YOU LIKE YOUR FIVE MINUTES IS UP, THE OSCAR MUSIC IS ON, THERE'S A PERSON BEHIND YOU.
IT WOULD KICK YOU OUT TO A, TO A MOBILE EXPERIENCE OR YOU COULD SERVE UP A MOBILE EXPERIENCE FROM THE BEGINNING.
DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA WHY VENDOR A IS SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE? IS IT SO MUCH MORE FABULOUS? I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THEM.
I, AND I, I READ THROUGH THE MATERIAL, BUT I'VE MISSED THE LAST, SO WAS THERE A CONSENSUS ABOUT WHAT WAS THE BEST, UM, OF THE THREE THAT WERE LOOKED AT? YEAH, I DIDN'T WALK US THROUGH THAT EXERCISE.
NOT THE HARP ON THE INSTALLATION, BUT THEY CAN BE RATHER EXPENSIVE.
IS THIS SOMEBODY WHO THEY WOULD BE HIRING TO DO THE INSTALL OR WE WOULD BE HIRING TO DO THE INSTALL AND WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL? ARE WE DRILLING CONCRETE? ARE WE RUNNING ELECTRICAL? WHAT DOES THAT INCLUDE? IT COULD, UM, MY NEXT STEP AFTER I HEAR FROM YOU ALL TONIGHT WOULD BE TO GO WORK WITH OUR PUBLIC WORK STAFF.
UM, UNDERSTAND WHERE THERE'S UTILITIES, UM, IN UPTOWN AT TILLOCK.
SEE IF IT'S WHERE'S CONVENIENT, WHERE, WHAT WORKS.
HECK, MAYBE A BUSINESS IS LIKE PLUG IT INTO MY OUTLET.
I WANT THE TRAFFIC RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY BUSINESS.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS I COULD SLICE IT.
SO I DON'T HAVE EXACT NUMBERS 'CAUSE I HAVEN'T GONE DOWN THAT RABBIT HOLE.
[00:35:01]
TO HEAR FIRST FROM YOU ALL IF, IF YOU WERE EVEN INTERESTED, BUT UM, YEAH, IT COULD BE EVERYTHING FROM TEARING UP CONCRETE TO FIND ELECTRICITY TO UM, ROLLING IT UP AND PLUGGING IT IN, YOU KNOW.BUT AGAIN, THAT, THAT COMES INTO, THAT'S WHY I KEEP THINKING ABOUT IT LIKE A CHARGING STATION.
HEY, WE WANT A CHARGING STATION THAT SITE'S TOO MUCH GROUND WIRE.
WE GOTTA FIND A DIFFERENT SITE.
AND YOU KIND OF MOVE AROUND THEN.
BUT THE IDEA WOULD BE TO FIND A COST EFFECTIVE SITE.
AND LAUREN, YOU SAID SOMETHING, AS YOU SAID, WE COULD JUST CART IT AROUND ONE AT ONE POINT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT KIOSK THAT COULD BE ACTUALLY PORTABLE.
SO FOR A SPECIAL EVENT YOU MIGHT HAVE IT OUT.
IS THAT IN CONSIDERATION OR THESE ARE ALL BOLTED TO THE GROUND? WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IT.
I THINK WE'VE HAVE FOUND OURSELVES WITH VERY FEW USE CASES FOR A MOBILE, A MOBILE ONE.
BUT YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MORE USE CASES FOR AN INSTALLED ONE.
AND I THINK JUST TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON KIND OF THINGS I TOOK AWAY FROM THE LAST MEETING WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THIS IS THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'D LIKE FRAMING IT UP AS AN EXPLORATION IN THE TECHNOLOGY.
UM, AND THAT WOULD MEAN THAT WE HAVE ONE THAT WE CAN RELY ON THAT'S IN THE SAME PLACE RATHER THAN KIND OF MOVING IT AROUND RIGHT NOW.
IT COULD BE THAT SHOULD IT BE SUCCESSFUL AND A SECOND WAVE IS, IS IS UNDER CONSIDERATION, I THINK THAT'S WHERE LOOKING AT THAT TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE.
DO UM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO ACQUIRE ANY INFORMATION FROM PHOENIX AND TUCSON ABOUT THEIR KIOSK USAGE AND ANY SORT OF DATA EXTRAPOLATION THEY WERE GETTING FROM THAT THAT MAY BE BENEFICIAL TO ENCOURAGING UM, COUNCIL TO, TO FIND THIS AS A, A GOOD DATA COLLECTION POINT? YEP.
WE CHATTED WITH PARK CITY ALREADY, RIGHT.
UM, AND GOT KIND OF THEIR, THEIR INPUT.
IT'S ACTUALLY WITH ONE OF ONE OF THE PROVIDERS SPECIFICALLY.
SO, UM, THERE WAS VALUE THEY DIDN'T HAVE.
AND THE, THE QUESTION WAS MORE ABOUT LIKE, OKAY, THE VENDORS CAN TELL US WHAT THEY WANT TO TELL US.
WHAT'S YOUR EXPERIENCE? KIND OF DOWNTIMES AND MAINTENANCE? 'CAUSE WE WANT TO KIND OF VALIDATE THAT.
AND THEY VALIDATED THAT DOWNTIME AND MAINTENANCE WAS NOT AN NOT AN ISSUE AND THAT, AND THAT FOLKS WERE RESPONSIVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE CHERYL'S RESEARCH THAT SHE DID TO KNOW THAT THOSE TWO LOCATIONS HAVE THEM.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS WE GET READY TO GO TO COUNCIL, IT'S WORTH, THAT'S WORTHWHILE.
JUST KNOWING MORE ABOUT AND ENGAGEMENT AND DATA COLLECTION.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS? I'M SORRY, I JUST HAD ONE OTHER QUESTION.
SO ARE WE LOOKING AT THIS AS A RECOMMENDATION IN THE ABSTRACT OR IT'S LIKE, OH, WE GOT ABOUT A $2.3 MILLION BUDGET.
DO WE WANNA SPEND A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OF OF IT ON THIS? IS THAT, UM, WE HAVE A $2 MILLION BUDGET AND DO WE WANNA INCREASE OUR ASK TO CITY COUNCIL? THAT'S WHAT I WANT BY ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE.
SO I GUESS I HAVE, WELL NOW I HAVE ONE QUESTION, BUT I HAD ANOTHER ONE, ALTHOUGH I FORGOT IT.
UM, SO THIS IS NOT A ZERO SUM CONVERSATION RIGHT? TO, TO UH, ACKNOWLEDGE THE, UH, PEOPLE WHO CAME TO SPEAK WITH US TODAY.
WE'LL GET THERE LATER ON AND YOU ALL CAN TELL ME IF IT'S A ZERO SUM CONVERSATION.
UH, THE WAY I'M NOT TRYING TO PUT WORDS IN PEOPLE'S MOUTH.
SO, AND IF YOU ALL WANNA NOD ALONG WITH THIS, THEN GREAT.
UM, WHAT I HEARD IN THE LAST FEW MEETINGS WAS A PRIMARY RECOMMENDATION IS A TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE.
IN THIS MEETING IN A FEW MINUTES, I WANNA HAVE THE CONVERSATION OF, IF COUNSEL SAYS NO TO THE FUNDING REQUEST, DO YOU ALL WANNA HAVE A SECONDARY RECOMMENDATION IN OUR BACK POCKET ON WHAT TO DO IF THEY SAY NO? AND MAYBE THE ANSWER IS NO.
IF THEY DON'T FUND IT, THEY DON'T FUND IT.
BUT I'VE LAID OUT A FEW OPTIONS OF IF THEY DON'T FUND IT, DO WE WANNA THINK ABOUT SOME OTHER THINGS? SO I'M A, YOU KNOW, I ALSO STUDY TOURISM AND I ALSO, WE ALL TRAVEL, RIGHT? AND I'M A STRONG BELIEVER THAT THE MORE INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION YOU GIVE PEOPLE, THE BETTER.
AND PEOPLE DO WHAT YOU TELL THEM TO DO GENERALLY.
UM, SO I THINK THE IDEA IS GREAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M WONDERING ABOUT NUMBERS AND IF A PLAN B COULD BE STARTING WITH FEWER KEY.
I MEAN, ARE THESE MINIMUMS THAT YOU, WE HAVE TO HAVE? IF WE HAVE, I MEAN WE COULD HAVE FEWER IN TOWN CLUSTERED.
LIKE WE COULD HAVE TWO VERSUS FOUR AS A, AS A PLAN B, I DON'T KNOW.
YEAH, I, SO THIS IS FOR TWO ONE-SIDED
[00:40:01]
KIOSKS AND ONE TWO-SIDED.THAT IS AN ARBITRARY NUMBER, BUT IT'S KIND OF WHERE WE LANDED AS SAYING THREE WOULD BE A INITIAL ROLLOUT, AT LEAST FOR ME TO GO BACK AND GET UPDATED PROPOSALS.
UM, YOU CAN SEE WE'RE GETTING PRETTY CLOSE TO A HUNDRED K ON THOSE.
UM, UM, THAT'S UP FOR US TO KIND OF NEGOTIATE WITH THEM.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, IF YOU WERE TO DROP IT DOWN TO TWO, TWO-SIDED KIOSKS, I DID SOME BACK OF THE NAPKIN MATH WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, VENDOR B GOES DOWN TO I THINK LIKE 82, 80 3000 AND VENDOR C GOES DOWN TO LIKE 77, 70 8,000.
SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT THE RECOMMENDATION.
THIS IS MORE JUST ME SHOWING YOU NUMBERS.
AND AGAIN, THESE AREN'T APPROVED PROPOSALS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD ACCURATE NUMBERS IN FRONT OF US FOR THIS DISCUSSION.
SO THIS DOESN'T NECESSARILY REFLECT THE MAP.
THIS IS FEWER THAN THE MAP SHOWS.
AT THE LAST MEETING WE JUST GATHERED INPUT ON POSSIBLE SITES, POSSIBLE SCENARIOS, UM, THAT WE HAVE NO IDEA THE COST OF INSTALLATION THERE.
AND YOU KNOW, BUT MORE JUST WHILE WE WERE HERE, WE WANTED TO GET INPUT FROM YOU.
AND MAYBE WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL IS IF THE GROUP HAD CONSENSUS THAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS SOMETHING UNDER A HUNDRED THOUSAND FOR A TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE, ANDREW AND I COULD RUN WITH THAT.
THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WE COULD USE.
UM, OR MAYBE YOU ALL FEEL THAT A HUNDRED IS TOO EXPENSIVE AND YOU LIKE A DIFFERENT NUMBER, THAT'S FINE TOO.
UM, BUT AT LEAST OUR STAFF, UM, INPUT IS THAT FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE, HAVING TO GO OUT FOR AN RFP IS UH, A LOT OF WORK.
IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE A A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
AND THEN DETERMINING WHAT, UM, FITS INTO THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE BEST DECIDED BY STAFF.
UM, FOR ME, I THINK TWO, TWO-SIDED.
I MEAN, THAT'S JUST A PERSONAL THING.
I THINK ONE OUTSIDE THE VISITOR CENTER AND ONE IN ALCAPA WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT OTHER LOCATIONS IN UPTOWN LAST TIME, I KIND OF FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THAT FAR TO WALK 200 FEET TO ANOTHER ONE.
SO WHY ASK FOR AN ADDITIONAL $15,000 THAT MIGHT PUSH COUNCIL OVER THE TIPPING POINT, UM, AND MIGHT NOT GET THE, THE USAGE THAT YOU WANT.
PERHAPS IT IS JUST A, AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT THE ADDITIONAL QR CODES AROUND.
BUT SO PERSONALLY, UM, I I WOULD, YOU KNOW, IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE SPECIFICALLY WOULD SAY TWO, TWO SIDED THOSE TWO LOCATIONS, UM, AND FEEL STRONGLY THAT NOT HAVING TO TO SEEK OUT AN RFP WOULD BE, UM, A HIGHLY, UH, PREFERRED OPTION.
THE, THE ONLY THING ABOUT GOING WITH THE REC OR JUST THIS PARTICULAR OUTLINE OF KIOSK, YOU CAN HEAR ON THE COST REDUCTION, THE INCREMENTAL COST IS LIKE, YES, THERE'S A LOT OF BASE COSTS BUILT IN A LOT OF WORK TO DO IT.
AND SO THAT THIRD KIOSKS IS MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE THAN THE FIRST TWO.
BUT I DEFINITELY WOULD NOT, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN CITY RFPS, YOU DON'T WANT DO THAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
AND WELL, AND I THINK TO YOUR POINT, RIGHT, TWO KIOSKS AND ONE LAST INSTALLATION.
SO ONE, ONE POINT ABOUT, UM, THE ONE SIDED THOUGH IS THERE MAY BE SITUATIONS WHERE THAT'S THE APPROPRIATE THING 'CAUSE IT'S AGAINST A BUSINESS WALL, RIGHT? RIGHT.
BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF LEEWAY ON WHERE THEY'RE GONNA GO, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF SPACE AND OUTSIDE THE VISITOR'S CENTER YOU COULD CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, JUST POSITION IT IN A WAY THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO HAVE THE TWO-SIDED.
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE FROM THE FEEDBACK FROM ALL THREE COMPANIES, A TWO-SIDED ONE IS MORE, UM, SOUGHT AFTER IN TERMS OF GETTING THE MOST PEOPLE TO UTILIZE IT AND HAVE THE BEST USER EXPERIENCE WITH LIMITED WAIT TIME.
COULDN'T WE ALSO START WITH TWO AND THEN IF WE LOVE IT, I MEAN WE DON'T HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS HERE, FIVE YEARS AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
NO, I THINK THE ORIGINAL THOUGHT PROCESS PROCESSES IS, OKAY, LET'S, THIS IS A TEST, RIGHT? SEE HOW IT WORKS, HOW DOES IT, HOW DOES IT GET US TO THE NEXT STEP OF THE FUTURE? AND THAT'S WHERE THE TECHNOLOGY PIECE CAME OUT WAS IT WASN'T ANYTHING ABOUT LOSING A VISITOR CENTER OR ANYTHING ELSE, BUT HOW DOES THIS INTERPLAY WITH OUR MESSAGING OF THE, UM, WHAT WE WANT TO HAVE THE PEOPLE TO BEHAVE AND DIFFERENT PLACES TO BE ABLE TO DO THINGS.
SO THE WHOLE THING FOR THE KIOSK WAS THIS IS A TEST TO SEE HOW IT WORKS BECAUSE I AGREE WITH STATE KEEPING IT BELOW A HUNDRED THOUSAND, I MEAN, THERE'S NO SENSE IN GOING THAT WE CAN PULL ALL THESE NUMBERS DOWN ON TAKE ONE KIOSK OFF OR NOT.
WE, AGAIN, ONCE WE FINALIZE THAT PIECE, I, THIS ONE, BUT I THINK DEFINITELY KEEPING BELOW THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE RFP PROCESS.
AND I THINK THAT THE, THE THING THAT CAME UP LAST TIME AT THE LAST MEETING WAS WE HAVE $2 MILLION BUDGET IF IS THE CITY WILLING TO FUND AN EXTRA, AT THAT TIME, WE
[00:45:01]
DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS WHEN WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION WAS IS IF IT'S A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, IS THE CITY COUNCIL WILLING TO TAKE, GIVE US THE EXTRA A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO FUND THIS TEST FOR THE FUTURE OF, OF SEDONA? AND SO THAT'S KIND OF, I THINK WHERE WE LEFT IT LAST TIME.UM, AND AGAIN, LAST TIME WE DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
WE WERE, WE WERE SITTING NORTH OF THAT I THINK.
SO I WANTED MAKE SURE WE COULD YEAH, WE LIKE 200
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE COULD BRING THIS BACK DOWN, WHICH IS WHY I UNDERSTAND THAT'S WHY WE BROUGHT THE, WE HAD HIM GO, WE SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR THESE KIOSK STRATEGY HERE, THESE ONES A YEAR.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE SO THAT WE CAN SIT HERE AND HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT MONEY? 'CAUSE UM, THAT'S WHAT IT'S GONNA COME DOWN TO IS, IS DO AS A GROUP, HOW DO WE FEEL THIS, DO WE WANT TO ASK FOR ONE POINT OR $2.1 MILLION OR TWO? OKAY,
YOU ALL CAN DECIDE, OKAY, MAYBE THAT'S THREE ONE SIDED.
IF THE ONE SIDED MAKES MORE SENSE OR IT'S TWO, TWO SIDED OR WHATEVER STILL FITS WITHIN THAT CAPACITY, CITY STAFF CAN DO THE RESEARCH ON THE LOCATIONS AND, AND MAKE THAT DECISION.
AND YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT'S OUT THAT THAT NEXT STEP IS OUTSIDE OF OUR PARAMETERS IN A LOT OF WAYS.
DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY, UM, USE ONE OF THE KIOSKS? UH, WHEN YOU TALKED TO PARK CITY, DID THEY HAVE ANY ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY GO UP AND USE IT? THEY HAD JUST PUT THEIRS IN.
WHAT'S THAT? THEY HAD JUST PUT THEIRS IN.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE STILL TWEAKING THEIR MOBILE APP.
SO THEY DIDN'T HAVE A TON OF DATA FOR US.
IT WAS MOSTLY ABOUT, OKAY, YOU'VE HAD THESE IN FOR A FEW MONTHS.
LIKE ANDREW SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK TO THE SALES GUY THAT'S WHO SELLS IT TO YOU, RIGHT? AND HE SELLS YOU THE WORLD.
AND THEN YOU'RE WONDERING HOW'S THAT ACTUALLY GONNA BE IN THE REAL WORLD? SO, UM, THAT WAS OUR GOAL WAS TO SAY, OKAY, SO, YOU KNOW, THE WAY I WAS LOOKING AT IT IS, OKAY, VISITOR BUREAU 165,000 VISITORS THIS YEAR, UM, WHAT, $380,000 BUDGET IS THAT? YEAH.
DOES THAT SOUND ABOUT RIGHT? I IT WAS LIKE 3 84.
UM, THAT, THAT BASICALLY IS $2 AND 30 CENTS PER TOUCH, YOU KNOW.
NOW TO ME THAT'S INCREDIBLY REASONABLE PRICE TO PAY FOR A FACE TO FACE INTERACTION WITH BETWEEN TWO HUMAN BEINGS.
UM, SO THEN, OKAY, YOU LOOK AT THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND, IF WE HAVE 50,000 PEOPLE USE THE MACHINE IN THE COURSE OF A YEAR, UM, IT'S ABOUT TWO BUCKS.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT THE NEXT YEAR THOUGH.
AND THEN IT DROPS TO HALF THAT IT'S THE NEXT YEAR.
BUT IF YOU GET A HUNDRED THOUSAND, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU PUT ONE IN THE, THE THROES OF TILAK AND YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY WE GOT A HUNDRED THOUSAND VISITOR CENTER GETS 160,000.
SO THEN IT'S DOWN TO, YOU KNOW, EVEN, EVEN LESS.
AND, AND SO FROM A, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE LONG RUN THING WAS, IS THERE A SOLUTION BESIDES FACE-TO-FACE THAT CAN BROADEN OUR REACH LESS EXPENSIVELY? AND YOU KNOW, EVEN IF YOU USE PRETTY CONSERVATIVE NUMBERS ON THE NUMBER OF USERS TO THESE MACHINES, YES WE CAN.
NOW THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT REPLACES THE FACE-TO-FACE TO ME BECAUSE I PERSONALLY THINK THE FACE-TO-FACE IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL.
UH, AND IT'S NOT JUST VISITOR EXPERIENCE, IT'S SAFETY ISSUES.
I MEAN, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HAD PEOPLE WE'RE GONNA GO HIKING WITH NO WATER OR FLIP FLOPS IN THE DEBT OF SUMMER AND YOU KNOW, HOW MANY RESCUES AND WHAT DOES IT COST PER RESCUE? SO I MEAN, THERE ARE OTHER ASPECTS TO THE VISITOR CENTER THAT GO WAY BEYOND JUST VISITOR EXPERIENCE.
SO, YOU KNOW, TO ME, I THINK THE, THE VISITOR CENTER IS A GIVEN.
I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE TIGHTENED THE SCREWS AS TIGHTLY AS WE CAN.
UM, IT'S JUSTIFIABLE EXPENSE, IT'S NECESSARY.
THEN THE KIOSK, I PERSONALLY CAN'T IMAGINE NOT ASKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
THERE'S NOTHING ELSE IN OUR BUDGET THAT IS DISCRETIONARY.
OUR MANDATE IS TO FIND OUT CAN WE MANAGE TOURISM? OKAY.
WE ARE SPENDING THE MINIMUM AMOUNT TO FIGURE OUT IF WE CAN DO THAT.
AND SO TO NOT ASK FOR A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A COMPLETELY NEW WAY THAT COULD SAVE MONEY IN THE FUTURE AND LEAD TO A LOT OF OTHER BENEFITS SEEMS SILLY.
YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER THINGS THE CITY SPENDS MONEY ON THAT, YOU KNOW,
[00:50:01]
ARE MORE QUESTIONABLE THAN THIS.I THINK ONE OF THE FEARS WITH, UM, THE COMMENT THAT YOU JUST SAID, IT COULD SAVE MONEY IN THE FUTURE.
WHERE DO YOU THINK THAT MONEY MIGHT BE SAVED FROM? BECAUSE I THINK WITH SOME OF THE VISITOR CENTER, UM, THERE MAY BE A, A FEAR AND, AND I'M PROJECTING OR YEAH.
UM, IS THAT THE RIGHT WORD? PROJECTING GUESSING, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THINKING, OH, OKAY, POTENTIALLY WE PUT IN THESE, UM, KIOSKS AND THEN THAT QUOTE, SAVINGS IN THE FUTURE COMES FROM DIMINISHING PEOPLE AT THE VISITOR CENTER.
UM, OR DIMINISHING VOLUNTEER HOURS, DIMINISHING, DIMINISHING HOURS.
AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY WHAT WE WANT CONSIDERING A MAJORITY ARE SAYING NO, WE'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT ALL IN ON KEEPING THE VISITORS THE VISITOR CENTER AS PART OF THE, AS PART OF OUR VISITORS VISITOR SERVICES PACKAGE PROPOSAL.
WELL, I'M THINKING OF IT MORE AS A WEIGHTED AVERAGE COST PER TOUCH.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE, IF WE CAN TOUCH ANOTHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE OR 160,000 PEOPLE AT A PRICE THAT'S HALF, THEN OUR OVERALL COST PER TOUCH HAS GONE DOWN.
SO, I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S THE WAY WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT.
THE MORE PEOPLE WE TOUCH, UM, I THINK THE, THE BETTER THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE WILL BE, THE BETTER THAT WILL BE FOR OUR BRAND.
FOR REPEAT VISITS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
JUST WANTED TO ASK THAT CLARIFICATION.
JUST 'CAUSE SO THAT'S ON THE RECORD.
DOES, DOES THE KIOSK GATHER THE DATA? YES.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA SAY LIKE, I'M A BIG BELIEVER THAT TWO THINGS CAN BE TRUE.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE ABSOLUTELY NEED AN IN-PERSON VISITOR CENTER.
AND WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO MOVE INTO THE DIGITAL WORLD, RIGHT? SO THESE ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE IN MY MIND AT ALL.
THIS SEEMS LIKE A VERY APPROPRIATE MOVE INTO THAT DIGITAL, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU BOLT ON THE MOBILE APP.
UH, AND THEN, AND IF YOU WERE ABLE TO TRACK THAT, OH GOSH, THE MOBILE APP USAGE IS LIKE GOING THROUGH THE ROOF, THEN OKAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA BUY MORE KIOSKS.
WE'RE GONNA THROW UP MORE QR CODES AROUND.
RIGHT? AND I THINK AS TIME GOES ON, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE POPULATION BECOME MORE AND MORE, I'M, I'M A DIGITAL GUY, LIKE I HATE PAPER.
SO THAT'S WHAT I WOULD BE DOING.
AND I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT MORE AND MORE GOING ON.
SO IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A, A, A COMMEND STAFF WALKING THROUGH THIS VERY TRICKY SUBJECT.
BUT I THINK THIS IS A VERY, VERY SMART PROPOSAL.
I THINK IT'S NOT, THE ARGUMENT IS THAT IT'S NOT TAKING PEOPLE FROM THE VISITOR CENTER.
IT'S ENHANCING AND AMPLIFYING THE INFORMATION, WHICH IS WHAT IS NEEDED IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MANAGING TOURISM, RIGHT? THE MORE INFORMATION, THE BETTER FOR PEOPLE.
I THINK WE'RE RUNNING THE TWO TOGETHER.
LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S NOT A CUT IN LABOR AND THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS IDEA IS AT ALL.
WE'RE, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, JOINING THE DIGITAL AGE WITH THE KIOSKS.
BUT THE VISITOR CENTER AT THE 80 20 STAYS AS IS AS A SEPARATE APPROVAL.
I WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE BECAUSE WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MEETINGS MM-HMM
AND THEY'VE KIND OF BEEN BLENDED TOGETHER.
THAT'S, CAN I THROW OUT ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON THIS? CITY'S BUDGET IS ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.
OUR BUDGET'S ABOUT $2 MILLION.
UH, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF CITY REVENUE COMES FROM TOURISM? AND ANOTHER POINT IS, WHAT DOES A, A TYPICAL COMPANY SPEND ON R AND D IN AN AVERAGE YEAR? ABOUT 2%.
I MEAN, IF WE'RE IN FACT TRYING TO SEE IF WE CAN MANAGE TOURISM, SPENDING 2% OF THE CITY'S BUDGET TO FIND OUT IF WE CAN IS A TOTALLY REASONABLE PERCENTAGE AND A TOTAL TOTALLY REASONABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
SO, YOU KNOW, 2 MILLION, 2.1 MILLION.
WELL, NOT TO MENTION BOB, THE TOTAL BED TAXES, I BELIEVE OVER $10 MILLION NOW.
RIGHT? AND, AND WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT INFLATION OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
OUR BUDGET'S BEEN STUCK AND YET INFLATION, MEDIA INFLATION INCLUDED, HAS BEEN SOARING.
SO WE'RE EFFECTIVELY SPENDING LESS THAN WE DID IN PRIOR YEARS.
'CAUSE ALSO THE CITY'S REVENUE HAS GONE UP.
SO IT JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST NOT A A I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHY WE'RE INVESTIGATING OTHER OPTIONS OF ASKING, YOU KNOW, TO ABSORB A HUNDRED THOUSAND FOR SOMETHING THAT'S TOTALLY NEW.
I JUST THINK THE 2 MILLION THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR ORIGINALLY, IT'S ALL INCREDIBLY WEALTH BEING SPENT.
IT'S LEADING TO GOOD INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE.
THERE'S NO WASTE IN IT TO ASK FOR ANOTHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
UM, GIVEN WHAT WE'RE GONNA LEARN AND THE POTENTIAL FOR IT, I THINK IT'S A NO BRAINER.
AND, YOU KNOW, I WILL PERSONALLY CHALLENGE ANY OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT
[00:55:01]
QUESTION IT.I, I JUST, AND, AND I'M THE GUY WHO WAS STARTED THE CAMPAIGN TO CUT THE BUDGET FOR TOURISM FIVE YEARS AGO DURING THE HA HIDAY.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M CONVERTED.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE CUT IT, WE CUT IT BY A COUPLE MILLION BUCKS.
BUT THIS IS, AND THIS IS A MANAGEMENT FUNCTION, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.
AND THAT'S, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I SERVE ON ANOTHER DMO AND IT'S JUST A DMO.
THIS IS A-D-M-M-O WITH A HEAVY EMPHASIS MANAGEMENT.
THIS, I BELIEVE IS WHAT COUNCIL AND THE RESIDENTS WANT US TO SPEND THE TOURISM BUDGET ON.
AND SO, TO ME, WE CAN'T EFFECTIVELY ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS.
WE'RE NOT GONNA, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE AS MANY NEXT DOOR
ACTUALLY NO BRAINER WAS THE TERM THAT I WAS
I MEAN, I REPLACED THE ROOF OF MY HOUSE.
THIS IS THE CITY, RIGHT? I SORT OF FELT THE SAME.
DO YOU GUYS WANNA MOVE INTO THE RECOMMENDATION SECTION? YEAH.
WELL THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT.
SO, UM, THIS IS A DIRECT COPY OUT OF THE STAFF REPORT, SO IT, IT WILL LOOK FAMILIAR.
UM, I FELT LIKE MAKING, UH, THE TAB SUPPORTS STATEMENTS BEFORE I WROTE THE ACTUAL RECOMMENDATION.
'CAUSE IT, IT FELT LIKE THEY REALLY, UM, WENT HAND IN HAND.
UM, AGAIN, IF THESE ARE WRONG, TELL US.
UH, I SAID THE TAB SUPPORTS THE DESIRE TO THINK OF VISITOR SERVICES AS MANY COMPONENTS WITH THE UPTOWN VISITOR CENTER IS JUST ONE OF THOSE COMPONENTS.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE UPTOWN VISITOR CENTER AS A PHYSICAL SPACE THAT PROVIDES VISITOR SERVICES, THE NEED FOR TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE THE DELIVERY AND REACH OF VISITOR SERVICES IN SEDONA, THE OPTIMIZATION OF LAYOUT OF THE UPTOWN VISITOR CENTER.
THE IDENTIFICATION THAT THE UPTOWN VISITOR CENTER BUDGET IS LEAN WITH NO OBVIOUS LINE ITEM TO DECREASE SUBSTANTIALLY.
DID I GET THAT RIGHT? I A HUNDRED PERCENT.
WHEN I READ THAT LAST NIGHT, I'M LIKE ABSOLUTELY SPOT OFF OF MY PERSPECTIVE.
THE ONLY QUESTION I HAD ON THE LAST, THE SECOND TO LAST BULLET, THE OPTIMIZED LAYOUT.
WHAT ARE YOU REFERENCING THERE? WE HAD, UM, SOME, WHAT WE WERE CALLING PHYSICAL SPACE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE VISITOR CENTER, WHICH, UM, ARE THESE BULLET POINTS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T, UH, OWN THE VISITOR CENTER.
WE HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, MAJORITY FUNDING.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WORKING TOGETHER WITH VICKI AND WHOEVER, UM, OVER THERE TO JUST HELP MAKE IT, UM, MORE THAN WHAT IT IS NOW.
NOT THAT IT ISN'T GREAT NOW, BUT I THINK WHAT I HEARD FROM THIS GROUP IS THAT THERE WERE LITTLE TWEAKS THAT COULD BE MADE, UM, THAT WOULD ENHANCE, UM, AND OPTIMIZE THAT SPACE.
AND I THINK ON, ON MY END, RIGHT, LIKE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS SINCE AUGUST AND GONNA, EACH MEETING WE'VE KIND OF DOVE, WE OPENED UP DIFFERENT HOODS RIGHT? AND JUST KIND OF JUMPED IN AND, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS INFORMATION THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE.
SO WE PUT IT IN AS SORT OF JUST SUGGESTIONS THAT, THAT, THAT WE CAPTURED ALONG THE WAY.
AS I RECALL IN OUR DISCUSSIONS, THERE WAS AT ONE POINT TALK ABOUT MAKING IT BIGGER.
AND I SAID, I DON'T THINK WE WANNA KEEP INCREASING OUR PHYSICAL SPACE WHEN THAT BECAME, MAYBE BECOME LESS VALUABLE.
BUT CLEARLY IT'S, IT'S BEHIND THE TIMES IN TERMS OF EFFICIENTLY USING THAT SPACE.
SO I, I THINK THAT CAPTURES IT.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, IN INCLUDE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE, UM, CONTROL OVER.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT THE, THE, THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE ARE IN CONSENSUS ON THIS, THAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME TWEAKS OR SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO, TO CONTINUE TO ENHANCE THAT PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR VISITOR SERVICES AND JUST BRING IT ALL INTO, YOU KNOW, A, A HIGHER LEVEL OR, OR JUST, YOU KNOW, BE CONSISTENT WITH, WITH THE LEVEL OF, UM, UM, THE LEVEL WE'RE LOOKING FOR AND ALL OF THESE OTHER, THESE THINGS, THIS HIGH END TECHNOLOGY, THESE KIOSKS, YOU KNOW, SO I, I GUESS MY QUE I'M ASKING THE QUESTION IS, IS IF I'M CITY COUNCIL, THIS IS OUR RECOMMENDATION.
THIS IS WHAT YOU SUPPORT, THIS IS WHAT WE SUPPORT, THE RECOMMENDATIONS COMING COMING, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE SUPPORT.
DOES THAT MEAN WE'RE SUPPORTING IT WITH FUNDS? NO, WE'RE, WE'RE, OR THIS IS SAYING THAT THEY, THAT THE CHAMBER, THIS IS OUR RECOMMENDATION TO THE CHAMBER.
HOWEVER, WE'RE NOT SPECIFICALLY ASKING FOR FUNDING FOR THIS.
WE'RE JUST SUPPORTING SMALL TWEAKS TO, AND CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ENGAGEMENT AND ENHANCEMENT OF ONE ASPECT OF OUR OVERALL VISITOR SERVICES.
I THINK OF IT AS ANY RETAIL BUSINESS, AND THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY SELL, THEY'RE SELLING IN INFORMATION
[01:00:01]
FOR FREE.BUT
HOW'S THE MERCHANDISE BEING DISPLAYED? AND SO A LOT OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE JUST THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LET'S, WE, WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT HAVE ALL TOLD US SOME GREAT THINGS.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN IMPLEMENT SOME OF THOSE.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOW HANGING FRUIT, THERE'S A HIGHER LEVEL FRUIT THAT PROBABLY COSTS MONEY.
UM, AND WE CAN, YOU KNOW, FIGURE THAT OUT.
UM, MAYBE IT COMES WITH A BUDGET, ASK THE NEXT YEAR.
THAT'S WHY I DON'T HEAR THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR THE MONEY.
WE'RE SAYING, WE'RE SAYING THESE, THESE ARE OUR FEELINGS AROUND IT.
RECOMMENDATIONS ARE WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SAYING.
THAT'S WHERE I WAS MAKING SURE.
AND AGAIN, AND A LOT OF THOSE BULLETS CAME FROM THE RESEARCH THAT WE DID ON HOW THE VISITOR CENTERS AND OTHER AREAS WORKED.
AGAIN, OURS PERFORMS REALLY WELL, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S, EVERYBODY'S DOING THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY, SO WHY NOT COMPILE THAT INTO THINGS THAT ARE WORKING IN OTHER PLACES, JUST, JUST SO WE DON'T LOSE THEM.
AND IF THINGS GO WELL WITH THE TECHNOLOGY AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE SHOWING EVEN GREATER NUMBERS AT THE VISITOR THAT ARE IN THE FUTURE.
AND THEN WE DO WANNA ASK FOR MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM COUNCIL, THEN WE HAVE SOME FEET TO STAND ON.
WE HAVE, WE'VE ALREADY MENTIONED THESE THINGS.
WE CAN SEE THE BENEFIT OF THIS.
IF EVERYTHING ELSE IS HAPPENING, BUT THAT HASN'T YET 'CAUSE IT NEEDS MONEY, THEN MAYBE THAT IS SOMETHING WE CAN ASK NEXT TIME.
ANY OTHER FEEDBACK ON THE, OKAY, SO THEN I SAID, THEREFORE THE TAB RECOMMENDS THE CURRENT FUNDING MODEL OF 80% FROM THE CITY, 20% FROM THE CHAMBER, UH, SIMILAR TO FISCAL YEAR 2024, UH, 2025
UH, THE TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE FEATURING WHAT I HEARD, DIGITAL KIOSKS UNDER A HUNDRED THOUSAND, UH, AT THE, AT, AT TODAY'S MEETING.
UM, THE TESTING OF DIGITAL KIOSKS TO DETERMINE IF THIS METHOD OF DELIVERING VISITOR SERVICE RESONATES WITH VISITORS.
AND IF SO, TO CONSIDER INSTALLING ADDITIONAL DIGITAL, DIGITAL INFORMATION KIOSK IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS.
SO USING THIS AS A, A TEST AND WE CAN AMP THIS UP NEXT YEAR, UM, OR NOT, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, I THINK YOU, YOU MADE A GREAT POINT.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE QR CODES ARE GOING CRAZY AND WE'VE SEEN, OKAY, WE DON'T ACTUALLY NEED TO INVEST MORE, WE JUST NEED MORE QR CODE SIGNAGE, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS ONE THING ON THIS RECOMMEND, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE IT ALL.
I DON'T REMEMBER THAT, BUT LIKE, THE TESTING OF DIGITAL KIOSK, INCLUDING A PORTING TO MOBILE.
I, I WOULD SEE, I WOULD ACTUALLY SEE MYSELF USING THAT MORE THAN, YEAH.
SO I THINK WE'LL SEE HOW THAT UNFOLDS, BE USING IT.
YOU NEED TO PUT, YOU NEED TO PUT IN THAT SECOND BULLET LESS THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
YOU WANNA CHANGE THAT? GOOD IDEA.
NOW THAT WE'RE CHANGING THINGS ON THE FLY.
ALTHOUGH YOU GUYS ALL WATCH ME TYPE, WHICH IS ALWAYS REALLY FUN.
DON'T WORRY, WE'RE NOT TOUCHING.
UM, THE RECOMMENDATION WAS LONG, SO I DIDN'T WANT THE FONT TO GET TINY.
SO, UM, CONTINUED FROM THE PREVIOUS PAGE, THE EXPANSION OF ROBUST WORLD CLASS INFORMATION OF THE DIGITAL INFORMATION KIOSK TO OFFER AN UNPARALLELED VISITOR SERVICES EXPERIENCE.
SO THIS IS, UM, SOMETHING I FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT, AND HOPEFULLY YOU AGREE.
IF WE'RE NOT GONNA DO IT, WELL, WE SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT.
UM, AND IF IT'S NOT AWESOME, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT AWESOME.
UM, SO A CURATED TRAIL MAP, UM, THAT'S REALLY TO ASSIST WITH VISITOR MANAGEMENT.
I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THAT ON THE BACK END.
WE'VE BEEN HAVING KEEGAN, UM, KIND OF CUSTOM CURATE WHERE WE WANT PEOPLE TO GO AND HOW WE WANT THEM TO DO THAT.
UM, RESTAURANT AND SHOPPING LISTINGS, HOTEL AND EXPERIENCE LISTINGS AND BOOKING ABILITY, RED RACK PASS, PURCHASE ABILITY, PURCHASE ABILITY, UM, SEDONA SHUTTLE INFORMATION, UH, THAT COULD INCLUDE, I, WE HAVEN'T LOOKED INTO THIS, BUT IT'D BE REALLY COOL TO HAVE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO TRACK TO SEE WHERE THOSE SHUTTLES WERE, TO SEE IF THEY WERE CLOSE TO YOU.
COULD YOU ALSO HAVE THE MICRO MOBILITY RIGHT FROM THAT? YES.
[01:05:01]
SOMEWHERE.AND ALSO SUSTAINA, UH, UM, BIKING AROUND THE CITY.
AND, AND MAYBE A BUTTON FOR SUSTAINABILITY.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? WHATEVER.
WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN TO YOU? I THINK IT COULD CONNECT TO LINKS TO RECYCLING.
UH, IF FOLKS WANT TO STAY AT AN AIRBNB OR SHORT TERM RENTAL AND THEY WANNA RECYCLE THAT, THAT COULD BE SOMETHING.
I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE, UH, TOURISM VOLUNTEER MM-HMM
GROUP THAT WE'VE HEARD THERE MIGHT BE CONNECTIONS THERE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT LAST TIME, THOUGH, IS NOT OVERBURDENING THIS SURE.
AND MAKE, YOU KNOW, START SIMPLE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, KEEP IT STRAIGHTFORWARD.
WELL, EVEN JUST THE, FOR THE NEXT DOOR POST FROM THE BEGINNING, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF, OF YOUR TRAVEL.
AND, AND THAT WAS REALLY WELL RECEIVED.
SO IT'S THAT KIND OF A THING MEAN WHEN, WHEN YOU SAY SUSTAINABILITY, THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING.
AND JUST TO JUMP IN, I THINK THAT, UM, AS I MENTIONED DURING OUR PREVIOUS MEETING ABOUT THIS, THE KIOSK IS A, IS A SKIN THAT PRESENTS DIGITAL INFORMATION.
AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA BE WITH OR WITHOUT KIOSKS INVESTING IN STRONGER DIGITAL INFORMATION, BUT IT'S EXCITING TO KNOW THAT THIS IS A POTENTIAL AVENUE FORWARD.
UM, WE DID HAVE THE CONVERSATION, I FORGET WHEN, WHEN WE LOOKED AT KIND OF VISITOR BEHAVIORS AND EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING TIED TO THAT.
THAT IS ANOTHER PROJECT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND WHEN YOU SAY SUSTAINABILITY, TO ME, THAT KIND OF FALLS INTO LIKE, WHATEVER THAT CAMPAIGNS ENDS UP BECOMING AND HAVING A REFERENCE TO THAT, WHICH WOULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, HERE'S HOW TO ENGAGE IN INCUR, UM, RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL BEHAVIORS WHILE YOU'RE HERE.
WHICH, IN WHICH IN MY MIND, INCLUDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK.
SO I COULD SEE THAT INTERFACING SOMEHOW.
AND I THINK IN SOME WAYS THAT'S BEEN A SUBTEXT TO OUR CONVERSATION THE ENTIRE TIME WE'VE BEEN MEETING.
AND I THINK WHILE HAVING BASIC INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT, WE, I, I WOULD ARGUE THAT WE ALSO WANNA PRESENT AN IMAGE OF THIS NOTION OF SPECIAL PLACE THAT, THAT, AND, AND SO WE'RE NOT AFRAID OF THOSE KINDS OF CONNECTIONS MM-HMM
THAT WE MAKE THEM SORT OF IN YOUR FACE.
UH, EASY STREAMLINED WAYS TO SEND THE INFORMATION TO A MOBILE DEVICE LIKE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, AND THEN ACCESS THE NEW DATA ANALYTICS RELATED TO VISITOR MANAGEMENT WITH THE KIOSK.
THIS IS A, AN INTERNAL GOAL OF OURS IS TO, UM, COLLECT A, A CONTACT LIST THAT WE CAN START PUSHING MESSAGES OUT TO.
AS A STARTUP, THIS IS A REALLY GOOD WAY OF, OF GETTING THAT EMAIL LIST GOING.
AND EVEN JUST A COMMENT, WE HAD TALKED BEFORE ABOUT, WELL, WHERE ARE REASONABLE OR APPROPRIATE LOCATIONS FOR US TO PUT THESE KIOSKS? AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TRAILHEAD SHUTTLES WAS SORT OF A MENTION, AND, AND YET IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO PUT AN ACTUAL KIOSK, EASY TO PUT A QR CODE PUSHED TO THAT MOBILE APP.
PEOPLE ARE STANDING THERE WAITING, UM, BY THE TIME THEY'RE THERE, YEAH.
THEY'RE STANDING THERE WAITING, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THE SHUTTLE.
AND THERE'S NOT A LOT OF THINGS TO LOOK AT OR SEE.
SO PERFECT OPPORTUNITY, THEY'RE ON THE SHUTTLE, WHICH OCCASIONALLY GETS STUCK IN TRAFFIC.
ANOTHER PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO, TO BE UTILIZING THIS AND THEN CONTINUING TO GAIN, UM, UH, INFORMATION FROM THEM.
SO NOT JUST RIDERSHIP INFORMATION, BUT THIS ACTUAL, YOU KNOW, REALLY ROBUST DATA, WHICH THE COUNCIL IS ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, SEEKING.
UH, I IMAGINE THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WE WOULD PAY FOR THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR, FOR THEM TO PAY FOR THAT.
BUT SINCE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THAT TOPIC, UM, AND THEY ARE OPEN IN THAT.
SO, UM, WE HAVE HAD AT LEAST INITIAL CONVERSATIONS ON THAT.
A KID FRIENDLY TABLE WITH ENGAGING CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES.
THEY DO HAVE A KID TABLE RIGHT NOW, BUT, UM, ANYBODY WHO HAS A KID KNOWS THAT, UH, I MEAN, I COULD TELL YOU LIKE THE TOP FIVE TOYS TO PUT THERE, UH, FOR A KID THAT WAS TWO, I'M SURE YOU'VE GOT ONES FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS AND SO FORTH.
UM, AN AUDIT OF THE RAT CARD DISPLAY, INCLUDING EASIER WAYS TO INTEGRATE QR CODE USE, UH, AN INTEGRATIVE 3D MAP, AN INTEGRATIVE DISPLAY OF THE LOCAL GEOLOGY AND WILDLIFE.
THAT'S KIND OF, UM, PLAYING INTO MAKING IT, UH, A MORE INTERESTING SPACE TO VISIT THAN JUST, UM, UH, RACK CARDS AND THINGS.
UH, ENHANCING SUSTAINABILITY, MESSAGING, MESSAGING WITHIN THE VISITOR CENTER AND OFFERING A LOCAL PRODUCT SHOWCASE.
THOSE WERE THE THINGS WE HEARD FROM YOU.
UNLESS THERE ARE, ARE OTHER THINGS.
I WOULD KIND OF SOFTEN IT A LITTLE BIT.
I MEAN, IT IS, THIS MAKES IT SOUND LIKE WE'RE SAYING THAT THESE NEED TO BE DONE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT ANY REGARD FOR COST OR LOGISTICS AND ALL THAT.
I MEAN, I CONSIDER MAKING THESE ENHANCEMENTS,
[01:10:01]
UM, YOU KNOW.OR EVEN, I MEAN, I LIKE ALL OF THEM, SO I DON'T WANT STOP BECAUSE THE CITY, THEY'RE ALL GREAT.
BUT THE COUNCIL WILL BE LIKE, OKAY, BRUSH THAT UNDER THE RUG.
BUT I, I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT THIS STUFF LOST.
LIKE YOU SAID, WE, THESE ARE THINGS WE'VE DISCUSSED WITH SUGGESTIONS.
LIKE THE TAB SUGGESTS AT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, IS THAT YEAH.
OR EVEN, OR EVEN OVER, OVER THE COMING YEARS AND THE CONTINUATION OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TOGETHER, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
SOMETHING ABOUT ALWAYS SEEKING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, RIGHT? SOMETHING, WELL, IS IT REASONABLE TO THINK THAT THERE'S ANY WAY THE CHAMBER WOULD DO ALL THESE PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SPACE WITHOUT CITY FUNDING PARTICIPATION AT SOME LEVEL? WELL, I DON'T THINK THEY SHOULD BE ASKED TO, TO BE HONEST.
LIKE, SHOULD JUST, WHAT I'M, THAT THEY DO THIS ON THE FUNDS THAT WE'RE APPROVING AT THE 80 20, OR THIS WOULD BE IN ADDITION TO.
BECAUSE THAT'S JUST OFFERING, THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHERE I WAS STRUGGLING ON THE FIRST RECOMMENDED ON THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT, IS BECAUSE WE'RE SAYING THIS, WE'RE LISTING ALL THESE THINGS THAT WE FEEL IS IMPORTANT, WHICH WE, THAT'S US.
BUT NOW ARE YOU, ARE WE WILLING TO FUND THIS ON TOP OF, OR AS PART OF THIS OTHER STUFF? AND I THINK THAT'S THE QUESTION.
I HAVE A SUGGESTION ON HOW TO WORD THAT.
THAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE CITY AND THE CHAMBER WORK TOGETHER TO, UH, TO ENHANCE THE VISITOR CENTER ALONG THESE LINES.
WE'RE NOT SAYING WHEN, WE'RE NOT SAYING HOW MUCH, BUT WE ARE DOCUMENTING, THESE ARE ALL THE THINGS WE'D LIKE TO SEE DONE.
'CAUSE THE REALITY IS THAT'S THE WAY IT HAS TO DONE.
WE HAVE TO WORK WITH THE CHAMBER AND FIGURE OUT DOES THAT WORK? YEP.
I JUST THINK WE SHOULD LOOK AT, LOOK AT ENHANCEMENTS.
JUST LEAVE IT IN ENHANCEMENTS.
DON'T SPELL OUT ALL THIS ON THERE.
I THINK THE ONLY THING THAT, IF YOU'RE WILLING TO SPEND THE MONEY ON THE WRAP, I THINK WE SAY WE COULD, WE'RE WILLING THAT'S, THAT'S LISTED THAT WAY AS A RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN WE LOOK AT ENHANCEMENTS TO INSIDE THE BUILDING.
AND I THINK THERE'S PEOPLE THAT ARE, THAT ARE THERE DAY IN AND DAY OUT THAT KNOW ARE ALL THESE THINGS.
I MEAN, THE, THE STAFF KNOWS BETTER THAN WE DO.
WHAT'S, WHAT NEEDS, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE UP THERE.
SO WE'RE ASKING FOR A RELATIONSHIP TO BE, YOU KNOW, FOSTERED AND CONTINUED THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BRIDGE THE CITY, THE COUNCIL AND THOSE PEOPLE TO, TO DETERMINE IF THESE ARE THE RIGHT THINGS.
I'M JUST FEELING LIKE WE'RE AFRAID TO SAY TO THE COUNCIL, LIKE, HEY GUYS, THIS IS WHAT WE REALLY THINK WE NEED.
YOU HAVE THIS, YOU HAVE, I'M, I KNOW, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, LIKE WE WE'RE, WE'RE FEARFUL OF, OF GIVING TOO MUCH ABOUT THE, THE PHYSICAL SPACE RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THIS PARTICULAR COUNCIL HAS BEEN APPREHENSIVE TO EVEN CONTINUE TO FUND IT.
SO IT'S ALMOST LIKE WE ARE, WE'RE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, TREAD THIS VERY THIN LINE WHERE WE WANNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, BUT WE DON'T WANNA PUSH THEM TOO FAR.
BUT IF WE DON'T INCLUDE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, THEN, THEN THE VISITOR CENTER PHYSICAL SPACE MAY FALL BACK.
AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WE'RE ONLY, EVERYTHING HAS TO BE AWESOME.
IF IT'S NOT GONNA BE AWESOME, WHY ARE WE RECOMMENDING IT? WELL, WHY DO WE WANT THIS AS PART OF OUR SERVICES IF IT'S NOT GONNA ALSO FEEL TO THE SAME CALIBER AS OTHER THINGS? NOT THAT IT DOESN'T, IT'S A GREAT SPACE, BUT THESE ARE JUST LITTLE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SPENT A WHOLE MEETING ON IN AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER OR WHATEVER, WHATEVER.
I JUST DON'T WANT TO GET, I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE MISCONSTRUED AS THE CITY APPROVES 80% AND THEN ASSUMES THAT THE CHAMBER IS USING THAT 80% TO MAKE THESE CHANGES.
NO, I THINK IT HAS TO BE EXPLICIT.
AND LAUREN, I'M SURE YOU'LL TO BE SEPARATE.
AND I THINK I, I MEAN, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR VICKI.
YOU CAN COME UP TO THE MIC, BUT, YOU KNOW, I BET VICKI WOULD BE LIKE, YEAH, TELL ME SOME COOL KIDS THINGS TO GET AT THE KIDS' TABLE.
AND THAT'S AN EASY ENHANCEMENT THAT WE COULD MAKE.
WELL, WE JUST WENT TO LOWELL OBSERVATORY AND THEY HAVE A WHOLE SCIENCE CENTER NOW.
SO GREAT IDEAS OF SOMEONE THAT CAN HELP US WITH THE FLOW, LIKE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.
AND KIND OF A MORE OF A THEME, WHATEVER WE WANT THAT TO BE.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS THAT MIGHT BE LIKE CROSSOVER.
LIKE THE RED ROCK RANGER STATION HAS SORT OF INTERACTIVE MAPS OR MORE LIKE GEOLOGY MAPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THERE'S A CERTAIN THINGS THAT I THINK WE MAY NOT NEED.
AND THEN THE SPACE WE'VE GOT, WE DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF SPACE EITHER, IF WE'RE GONNA KEEP A FLOW.
SO, BUT I'M REALLY EXCITED TO WORK WITH YOU GUYS ON THAT ALL YEAR LONG.
I THINK MY ONE CONCERN ABOUT THE, WE MAY NOT NEED STATEMENT IS THAT IF YOU WANNA PULL PEOPLE TO US AND FOCUS THEM ON THE CITY'S, YOU KNOW, VISITOR SERVICES, THEN ASKING THEM TO GO TO THE RED ROCK RANGER STATION, WHICH IS 20 MINUTES DOWN THE STREET TO GET THAT LITTLE BIT OF GEOLOGY, WE'RE NOT SAYING YOU NEED TO DO.
UM, I, WELL, I'M NOT SAYING THAT I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE HAD THE SAME LEVEL OF, UM, YOU KNOW, FEATURES THAT ARE AT THE RED ROCK RANGER STATION, BUT SOMETHING THAT PIQUES INTEREST THAT COULD THEN GUIDE PEOPLE TO GO A FURTHER
[01:15:01]
FIELD.BUT AGAIN, THAT WE'RE GETTING LIKE, LIKE IT'S MINUTIA STUFF.
IT'S BEYOND THE SCOPE NECESSARILY.
BUT I JUST DON'T WANT, AND I PERSONALLY DON'T WANT THIS TO BE COMPLETELY LEFT OUT BECAUSE THEN I THINK IT JUST GETS WASHED AWAY.
AND WHAT WAS ALL THAT TIME SPENT FOR, I HAD TWO QUESTIONS.
I, I YOU, YOU'RE LIKE, YOU DON'T WANNA LIST SPECIFICS WITH THAT.
AND I WANT TO ASK STAFF, YOU LISTED SPECIFICS, RIGHT? BUT THE WAY I WAS READING THIS, THIS IS JUST TO GET THIS ON THE RECORD SO THAT WE'RE CAPTURING THESE IDEAS, WE'RE NOT, SO AGAIN, I WOULD, I WOULD SUGGEST MAYBE A LITTLE LANGUAGE CHANGE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WE RECOGNIZE OUR DEFICIENCIES AND THE EXISTING VISITOR CENTER.
WE RECOMMEND THE CITY WORK WITH THE CHAMBER TO ADDRESS THEM.
SOME OF THE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS MAY INCLUDE IN THE FUTURE.
GOT DO DOT.NOW WE STILL CAPTURE 'EM.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE MY HEAD IS.
IT, IT'S THE VERBIAGE OF THAT.
WE, WE WORK TOGETHER AS A GROUP WITH THE CHAMBER TO FIGURE OUT, TAKE THE VISITOR CENTER TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT MAY BE OUT THERE.
'CAUSE YOU HAD A BUNCH OF STUFF OUT THERE YOU BROUGHT UP THAT MAYBE WE DIDN'T EVEN SEE UP AT LOWELL.
SO AGAIN, I THINK IT'S, IT'S, TO PUT SPECIFICS, I THINK, AND AGAIN, I'M TRYING TO OUTTHINK THE CHAMBER, UH, OUTSIDE OUT.
THINK THE CITY A LITTLE BIT, THE CITY COUNCIL.
BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL BECAUSE IF THEY DON'T LIKE ONE OR TWO OF THOSE THINGS, THEY'RE GONNA SAY, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY, THEY MAY BLOW UP THE WHOLE THING.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE I'M, I'M TRYING TO BE, YES.
I'M TRYING TO THINK WHAT THE COUNCILS, WHERE THEIR HEAD HAS BEEN OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS.
WE JUST WORK TOGETHER AND SEE WHAT IT IS.
AND THEN THE, IT'S ALWAYS GONNA COME BACK DOWN TO THE MONEY.
MY, THAT'S A LITTLE, MY COCKNEY SIRI IS NOW.
SO, I MEAN, I THINK, I THINK THAT'S THE CHALLENGE IS THAT YOU, YOU START LISTING TOO MUCH SPECIFICS.
THEY'RE GONNA START PUTTING PRICE TAGS ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE THINGS.
AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA COME BACK AND SAY, OKAY, WHO'S PAYING FOR THIS? YEAH.
AND I THINK WE GOTTA BE CAREFUL.
I MEAN, WE ARE PRESENTING OUR BUDGET, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL SO THAT THEY CAN APPROVE IT SO THAT THESE GUYS FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING NEXT YEAR.
AND I THINK WE HAVE, THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL.
SO, NO, AND I'VE LISTENED TO SOME OF THOSE COUNCIL MEETINGS AND I'LL JUST SAY, I THINK THE COUNCIL IS WRONG.
THE WAY THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE VISITOR CENTER.
THEY'RE VERY, VERY FOCUSED ON DIGITAL AND ALL THAT.
SO, AND I DO APPRECIATE THIS IS A POLITICAL BODY, SO WE HAVE TO BE POLITICALLY MINDED.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M SUGGESTING LANGUAGE, LIKE INCLUDING IN THE FUTURE YEAH.
WORK TOGETHER, BUT NOT, THIS IS A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO THESE IDEAS AND I THINK IT'S HELPFUL TO GET STUFF LIKE THAT ON THE PUBLIC RECORD.
SO, SO IT'S THERE FOR THE FUTURE.
BUT I, I'M VERY SENSITIVE TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
YOU BOTH USED THE WORD MAY AND OR MIGHT.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE WAY TO GO.
UH, BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO NOT WEDDED TO THOSE IDEAS.
I MEAN, WE JUST HEARD MAYBE THEY NEED TO BE DISCUSSED MORE.
SO THESE ARE JUST POSSIBILITIES THAT CAME UP.
AND WE DON'T WANT THEM TO BE A DISTRACTION THAT, THAT CREATE ANOTHER CONFLICT.
THAT'S WHERE IT SAYS, I'M AFRAID WE'RE GONNA CREATE CONFLICT.
AND IT'S LIKE, LET'S MAKE SURE WE GET WHAT WE WANT FIRST.
WELL, WE CAN ADJUST THE LANGUAGE.
'CAUSE I DO THINK THAT'S FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE.
I THINK THESE, THESE OTHER ONES, I, IT NEEDS TO, BECAUSE THE CURRENT WRAPPING IS, IS NO LONGER, UM, YOU KNOW, IN LIKE IT'S SEDONA CARE STILL, WHICH IS NO LONGER SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA BE PURSUING.
IS THAT TAKEN DOWN NOW? OR YOU DID? YEAH.
SO THAT, THAT ACTUALLY GOT TAKEN DOWN.
SO WE HAVE CONSENSUS ON SOFTENING, RIGHT? THAT LOOKS GOOD.
BUT NOD, DO WE NEED TO EXPLICITLY STATE, UM, ABOUT FUNDING? IS THAT WE'RE NOT REQUESTING ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN THE, AT THIS TIME? AT THE, AT THIS TIME OR FOR THE COMING, YOU MEAN IT JUST EXPLICITLY SAY THIS IS, WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING ANY CURRENT FISCAL YEAR FUNDING FOR THIS? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YEAH, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK YEAH.
YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN MASSAGE THE LANGUAGE, BUT I PUT A LITTLE NOTE SAYS NO, WAIT, WAIT FOR IT TO LOAD NO FUNDING REQUEST.
SO
SO THAT'S IN THE BUDGET, RIGHT? YEAH.
WAIT, CAN WE GO BACK? SO DOES EVERYBODY FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATION AS IT STANDS? YES.
CAN WE JUST POP BACK THROUGH IT QUICKLY? YEAH, IT WAS A LOT OFF THE SUPPORT STAFF, THE SUPPORT, UM, SECTION OR DO YOU WANT THAT ONE TOO? I THINK WE WE'RE, WE'RE GOOD ON THAT, RIGHT? WE'RE OKAY.
IS EVERYBODY IN AGREEMENT? MM-HMM
SO IS THERE A POINT IN THAT MAYBE THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, MAYBE WE'RE ALREADY MAKING IT, BUT THAT WE ARE IN CONSENSUS, THAT WE IN NO WAY FEEL THAT TECHNOLOGY REPLACES SURE.
[01:20:01]
HUMAN PEOPLE, PEOPLE, THE SERVICES OF PEOPLE.JUST TO MAKE IT REALLY CLEAR THAT WE'RE NOT SEEING THIS AS A ZERO SUM.
IT'S AN ENHANCEMENT, RIGHT? COMPLIMENT.
I, I, YEAH, I MEAN, I, I GOTTA TELL YOU, MY ONLY QUESTION IS, DID YOU'RE SAYING NOT, I THINK WE NEED TO ADD THE WORD AT THIS TIME.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SAY.
YOU MEAN ON NUM ON OPTIMIZATION? OR DOES IT NEED TO SAY THE OPTIMIZATION OF THE LAYOUT OR JUST NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.
THE ONE ABOVE IT, THE ONE WE JUST ADDED, I THINK WE GOTTA BE CAREFUL OF I DON'T WANT TO LIVE IN THAT WORLD THOUGH.
AND SO INHERENT IN A PILOT PROJECT IS, IF IT WORKS, THEN YOU THEN YOU GO BACK AND REVISIT AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO.
BUT YEAH, MAYBE YOU WANNA ADD AT THIS TIME OR CURRENTLY REACHED CONSENSUS OR WHATEVER.
BUT I THINK PUTTING THAT, I THINK TO HAVE YOU WRITTEN RIGHT NOW, THAT MAKES MORE SENSE TO NEED TO TEST TECHNOLOGY.
I I MEAN, I, I WASN'T HERE FOR OUR LAST MEETING.
UH, BUT IT SEEMS CONSISTENTLY THAT THERE HAS BEEN, AGAIN, ANOTHER UNDERCURRENT THAT, UH, THE VISITOR CENTER IS UNDER ATTACK, WHICH WE KNOW, BUT ALSO IS PRECARIOUS.
AND HOWEVER, AND OUR CONVERSATIONS HAVE BEEN IN SUPPORT OF THE VISITOR CENTER.
SO I THINK THAT THAT'S A, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE TO BE CLEAR ABOUT, RIGHT.
THAT WE AND OUR ADVICE, OUR JOB IS TO ADVISE OR SUGGEST, AND THAT'S COUNCIL THERE, IT SURPRISED ME THAT WE HAVE HAD REALLY SORT OF AGREEMENT ON YEAH, BUT FRANCIS, THERE'S A DISSONANCE HERE.
WE HEARD FROM CHERYL THAT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NO LONGER CONSIDERS HIMSELF.
I THINK THE QUOTE WAS A TOURISM BUREAU.
SO THERE'S A CHANGE HERE IN THE MODEL HERE, AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT WE'RE DOING IS REALLY REFLECTIVE OF THAT CHANGE OR UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE CHAMBER'S VISION OF THAT CHANGE WILL BE FOR FISCAL 25 AND BEYOND.
SO I'M, I'M NOT SO SURE IF I UNDERSTAND THE UNDERPINNINGS THERE.
SO AGAIN, I HOPE THAT WE CAN KIND OF SORT THROUGH THAT AS TIME GOES ON.
BUT I, I'M, I GOT A COUPLE QUESTION MARKS THAT I HAVE NOT YET ANSWERED TODAY.
GIVEN WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, GIVEN THE COMMENTS WE HEARD.
SO ARE YOU SAYING THAT THERE'S SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW, LIKE THAT THE CHAMBER IS DECIDING IN NEXT YEAR, YEAR? I JUST HEARD NO LONGER A TOURISM BUREAU IN THE PRELUDE.
AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, ISN'T THAT DIFFERENT THAN IN FISCAL YEAR 25? SO HOW DOES THAT CHANGE, IF ANYTHING, WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW? BUT THAT'S THE QUESTION.
I HEARD THE SAME THING, RICHARD AND I WAS KIND OF WONDERING, OH, WE MOVING, OKAY, YOU GUYS WANNA BE OUT OF THIS BUSINESS ENTIRELY IN THE FUTURE? AND SO I WAS REALLY THINKING, BUT I'M LIKE JUST TRYING TO LIKE MM-HMM
KEEP THE FOCUS ON THIS FISCAL YEAR.
AND I THINK, I MEAN, THAT'S WHY I MAKE DECISIONS.
LET'S MAKE A GOOD DECISION FOR THIS INCREMENTAL STEP, UNDERSTANDING THERE'S FUTURE THINGS TO DO, BUT LET'S BE DATA GATHERING ALONG THAT AND WE COME BACK AND, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS WHY I USE THE WORD DISSONANCE BECAUSE I WASN'T QUITE SURE IF THERE'S A, THERE'S AN ELEMENT HERE TO CONSIDER, BUT TO DISSONANCE TO ME.
I, I I HAD A SIDE NOTE ON THAT.
SO I, I UNDER I HEARD THE SAME THING.
AND SOME CLARIFICATION CAN BE MADE.
I DON'T KNOW MY UNDERSTANDING OF THAT COMMENT WAS THAT THE CITY, OH, I GUESS CHERYL CAN CLARIFY.
I, WE INVITE YOU TO THE ONLY 30 SECONDS.
SO THE DIFFERENCE IS WHEN THE SPLIT HAPPENED, THE CITY WANTED THE DMMO, WHOEVER OWNS THE DMMO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR TOURISM.
SO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MOVING FORWARD IS GOING TO BE AN OFFICIAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WHERE WE FOCUS ON BUSINESSES, BUSINESS GROWTH, BUSINESS EDUCATION.
ARE WE GETTING OUT OF THE TOURISM BUSINESS? NOT COMPLETELY, BECAUSE WE HAVE, WE OWN VISIT SEDONA.COM.
SO WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR FUNDING VISITOR SERVICES THE WAY WE USED TO BE.
AND IT'S VERY, VERY HARD FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND.
FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS, THE CHAMBER'S BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.
WE'VE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR MARKETING AND FOR MANAGEMENT AND FOR HEADING UP THAT, BUT THAT'S NOW ON THEIR PLATE A HUNDRED PERCENT.
SO WE STILL WANNA COLLABORATE.
WE STILL WANT TO BE PARTNERS HOWEVER WE CAN, BUT THE FOCUS MOVING FORWARD FOR THE CHAMBER IS TO SUPPORT THE
[01:25:01]
BUSINESSES.CHERYL, DO YOU FEEL THERE IS AN OVERLAP THERE? 'CAUSE I HEARD THE SAME THING RICHARD'S TALKING ABOUT, BUT ALSO I'M THINKING THE REALITY IS UPTOWN IS FULL OF OUR CHAMBER AND INTERSECTING WITH THEM AND THE THE RACK IS FULL OF BUSINESSES.
SO IT SEEMS TO ME THERE'S AN INTERSECTIONALITY.
SO THERE'S SOME LOGIC TO THIS 80 20 SPLIT TODAY.
WHAT I WAS READING INTO IT IS LIKE, HEY MAN, THIS DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE SENSE LONG TERM INTO THE FUTURE.
AND I DO THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT.
WELL, WHEN IT COMES TO THE VISITOR CENTER, WE'RE THE LANDLORD, WE OWN THE BUILDING.
BUT EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON INSIDE THE BUILDING, AND WE, AND WE ACTUALLY EMPLOY THE, THE PAID EMPLOYEES.
HOWEVER, THE EMPLOYEES ARE PAID BY THE TOURISM DOLLARS.
SO I MEAN, YES, THERE'S GONNA BE OVERLAP, RIGHT? BUT SO YOU'RE NOT ASKED FOR ANY CHANGE RIGHT NOW? NO, NO, NO.
WE WANNA GET THIS DONE CORRECTLY.
BUT THERE'S BEEN A SHIFT AND AS TIME GOES ON, WE MIGHT NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT MORE PRECISELY IN TERMS OF FUNDING AND OVERSIGHT.
SO, SO THE CONCERN OF MINE WHEN I FIRST GOT UP HERE, AND, AND AGAIN, IT WAS BASED ON LAST MONTH'S MEETING, WAS WHEN YOU HAVE A CONVERSATION AND YOU START TALKING ABOUT, WELL, THE CITY SHOULD ONLY PAY 70% SO THAT WE CAN HAVE MORE MONEY TO PAY FOR KIOSKS AND THE CHAMBER SHOULD PAY MORE.
AGAIN, THE DMMO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING AND OPERATING THE VISITOR CENTER, NOT THE CHAMBER.
BECAUSE IN OUR, OUR MOVEMENT, THAT'S NOT IN OUR, OUR BANDWIDTH ANYMORE.
WE DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING FOR THAT.
SO WHEN YOU SAY 30%, IF THAT'S HOW THE CITY COUNCIL GOES, THAT'LL KILL THE CHAMBER.
THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATION IS 80 20.
BUT LAST MONTH THE DIRECTION WAS, THIS IS THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATION.
BUT THAT'S WHY I GOT UP AT THE BEGINNING AND SAID, THIS IS THE WAY IT'S GOTTA BE BECAUSE WE CAN'T AFFORD IT ANY OTHER WAY.
SO, BUT THAT'S, DOES THAT EXPLAIN YEAH.
KIND OF ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT I CAN, BUSINESS IS STILL GETTING BENEFIT AS WE HEARD YEAH.
FROM HAVING A VISITOR CENTER THERE.
SO IT'S, THAT'S THE OVERLAP THAT IT'S RANDY WAS TALKING ABOUT.
SO IT'S NOT A CLEAR CUT AND DRY, WHICH IS WHY I SAID THERE'S A DISSONANCE HERE AND MM-HMM
I'M NOT SURE HOW WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO GET A RESOLUTION IN THE SHORT TERM, BUT I JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AS LONG AS WE KEEP WORKING FORWARD, LET'S MOVE FORWARD.
AND I THINK THE TOGETHER PART IS REALLY IMPORTANT TOO.
LET ME MAKE SURE THAT'S STATED.
WE WANT TO WORK WITH THEM, UH, AND WITH ALL OF YOU AND YEAH, WE DON'T WANNA STEP OUT ON THE SIDE, BUT WE'RE ALSO, DON, WE'RE ALL THE SAME THING HERE.
IT'S JUST A MATTER OF DIFFERENT HATS WE WEAR ALONG THAT PATH.
I WOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AS WELL.
WELL, AND, AND MY POINT WAS THAT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT AS WE'VE BEEN MEETING, WE HERE HAVE ALL BEEN REALLY POSITIVE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF A PLACE PEOPLE CAN GO AND HAVE FACE TO FACE, FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT WITH PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.
THAT I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYONE SAY THAT THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.
SO I THINK THAT THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PIECE TO NOTE REGARDLESS OF THE, UH, ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL MACHINATIONS THAT'S DIFFERENT.
ARE WE ALL GOOD WITH THE REVISED LANGUAGE ON THE FIRST SLIDE OF THE RECOMMENDATION?
WE'RE SO THI THIS IS CLEARLY AN ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE IN ADDITION, THE FIRST, EACH BULLET IS SEPARATE YEP.
JUST MAKING SURE
AGAIN, THESE ARE JUST THE MODULES THAT COULD BE IN A KIOSK.
WE'VE GOT A LONGER LIST THAT WE SHARED EARLIER.
SO, AND THEN WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SOME LANGUAGE TWEAKS TO THIS SLIDE.
BUT, UM, I THINK WE ENDED UP IN A GOOD PLACE LAST TIME WE HAD THIS ONE UP.
IF THAT STILL FEELS GOOD, JUST SAVE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE SO WE CAN CIRCLE BACK TO IT IF YOU DON'T INCLUDE IT
AND THEN I HAD THIS SLIDE JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE WERE GONNA BE TALKING.
SO, SO WHERE, SO LIKE, WHERE'S THE RECOMMENDATION OR ANYTHING FOR HOW MUCH WE'RE FUNDING AND ADVERTISING AND ALL THAT? THIS IS ALL, THAT'S THE LITTLE PIECE OF THE BUDGET THERE,
SO WHERE'S THE REST OF THE, OKAY.
UM, I'M NOT LOOKING AT ANYTHING EXTRA IN OUR BUDGET NEXT YEAR EXCEPT THIS, THIS IS THE MAIN, MAIN THING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, INCLUDING STAFF OR COULD YOU SHARE THAT BUDGET? YES.
[01:30:01]
I JUST DON'T, UM, I HAVEN'T MADE IT.YOU MAY HAVE, I HAVEN'T EVEN MADE IT FOR LAST YEAR, SO I WOULD SHARE WITH YOU LAST YEAR'S.
AND, AND KNOW THAT IT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING SIMILAR.
I MEAN, WE ARE LOOKING AT A BUSINESS AS USUAL BUDGET.
UM, I, AND I THINK YOU PROBABLY HAVE SHOWN THAT AT SOME POINT I'VE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LOST IT AND YOU REFRESH, KEEP IT AS NORMAL.
AND I'M LIKE, WELL WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN? SO THAT'D BE REALLY HELPFUL TO ME.
WHEN DO YOU PRESENT A TOTAL BUDGET TO THE CITY FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR? UM, I BELIEVE I GO IN MARCH OR APRIL FOR THE FIRST TIME.
YOU'LL RUN THAT THROUGH US AT SOME LEVEL, OR, OR DO YOU NEED TO? UM, BECAUSE I WASN'T ASKED.
THIS IS THE ASK, THE ADDITIONAL ASK.
THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND.
BUT I, I WOULD AGREE IT'D BE GOOD TO GET IT JUST TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE SITTING HERE SAYING, AGAIN, IT COMES BACK TO THIS WHOLE BUDGET.
WHAT'S IT, WHAT ARE WE SPENDING? HOW MUCH ARE WE WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR FOR REPRESENTING THE CITIZENS? YEAH.
WE WERE PLANNING OF SEDONA, UM, AN UPDATE ON THE SEDONA TOURISM PLAN AT THE FEBRUARY MEETING MM-HMM
WHICH WOULD JUST INCLUDE SORT OF LIKE A HIGHER LEVEL LOOK AT OUR WORK PLAN AND DOLLARS.
SO, UM, AND AGAIN, THAT'S GONNA BE LIKE A BUSINESS AS USUAL CURRENTLY.
I MEAN, LAUREN AND I ARE MEETING, I THINK TOMORROW TO START HAVING SIGNIFICANT CONVERSATION AROUND NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, BUT, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT A SIMILAR TRAJECTORY.
BUT LIKE BOB WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF IT'S AN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS BUDGET AND 2% IS WHAT THE TOURISM, UM, UH, IS GIVEN, AND YET IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, 2% IS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
WELL, WE'RE WAY MORE THAN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, IT HAS TO BE.
UM, IT'S, IT'S JUST SOMETIMES I'M LIKE, WHY ARE WE HAVING THIS HUGE DISCUSSION FOR A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS? LIKE, WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL? PEOPLE WILL JUST THROW THAT AROUND AROUND HERE SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW? SO, I DON'T KNOW, I JUST, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A LITTLE BIT MIND BOGGLING TO ME.
AND, UH, YEAH, JUST SEEING THAT, THAT WOULD BE, THE BUDGET WOULD BE HELPFUL TO ME.
THE ONE THING THAT I AM LOOKING AT, UM, NOT FOR THIS COMING YEAR, LIKE WE SAID, BUT UM, I JUST WANNA GET SOME, SOME COMP SETS ON.
WHAT ARE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE STATE DESTINATIONS THAT WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO? WHAT ARE THEY SPENDING ON DESTINATION MARKETING? LITERALLY LOOKING AT, I WAS IN THE DMO MEETING YESTERDAY.
I'M LOOKING AT LIKE WHAT MESA SPENDS I'M, I CAN GIVE YOU A DEEP DIVE ON THAT.
AND IT'S, THE REASON I WANNA LOOK AT THE BUDGET IS IT'S WHERE ARE WE SPENDING MONEY? LIKE I WAS COMMENTING YESTERDAY, LIKE, WE'RE SPENDING TOO MUCH ON THERE, MESA.
SO WE NEED TO SPEND MONEY ON MARKETING MORE THAN MANAGEMENT.
BUT I'M LIKE,
IT'S LIKE, WHY IS OUR GA SO HIGH? THAT KIND OF THING.
SO THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND.
UM, MY GOAL WITH THIS PROGRAM, AT LEAST IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS, WAS TO GET US TO WHERE THE CHAMBER WAS WHEN THEY WERE FULLY FUNDED BEFORE COVID HIT AND ALL THAT STUFF.
AND, AND THAT'S WHERE I GOT US TO WITH ADVERTISING.
I WANNA KEEP US THERE FOR ANOTHER YEAR SO THAT WE DON'T MAKE ANYBODY NERVOUS.
UM, BUT OVER THE NEXT YEAR, THAT'S MY, MY THOUGHT IS TO LOOK INTO WHAT'S EVERYBODY ELSE DOING AND HOW DO WE COMPARE.
AND, AND I WOULD JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE ARE SO FOCUSED ON ORGANIZATION BUILDING RIGHT NOW THAT MM-HMM
THAT'S WHY I'M LOOKING AT A BUSINESS AS USUAL BUDGET.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST KIND OF GROWING INTO OUR CLOTHES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I STILL SAY WE'RE IN THE TEETHING PHASE, SO WE KNOW HOW MUCH KIDS NEED NEW CLOTHES.
SO
UM, AND YOU GUYS COULD SHUT THIS DOWN IMMEDIATELY IF YOU, IF YOU ALL FEEL CONVICTED IN THAT FIRST RECOMMENDATION, THAT'S GREAT.
I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE NOT HAVING THIS DISCUSSION.
DO WE WANT TO CONSIDER A SECONDARY RECOMMENDATION IF COUNSEL DOESN'T FUND THE A HUNDRED K? NO.
THAT'S ANYBODY I'M SEEING KNOWS.
DO WE HAVE A MAJORITY BY THAT? I THINK, I THINK, I THINK WE HAVE TO HAVE THE CON I THINK WE GOTTA LOOK AT THE WHOLE BUDGET.
SO WHETHER IT'S THE WHOLE BUDGET, THERE'S THE CHAMBER, THE, THE VISITOR CENTER BUDGET, OR THIS, I MEAN, I MEAN, DOES THE COUNCIL WANTS OUR FEEDBACK ON THE FULL BUDGET? OR IS THAT A STAFF AND COUNCIL THING ON OUR, ON OUR FULL TOURISM BUDGET? IT'S INTERESTING.
I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T TEE THAT UP BECAUSE WE WEREN'T ASKING FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE A CONVERSATION IN FEBRUARY ON THAT, I'M JUST WORRIED THAT IT MIGHT BE TOO LATE WITH ME PUTTING TOGETHER MM-HMM
IT MIGHT BE TOO LATE FOR THAT.
WHEN IS THE COUNCIL GONNA SEE AND DISCUSS THIS RECOMMENDATION NEXT COUNCIL MEETING? SO I, I TALKED WITH ANNETTE ABOUT THAT, UM, THIS WEEK, AND WE THOUGHT THAT BRINGING IT TO THEM IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH WOULD BE APPROPRIATE AND WOULDN'T PUT US UNDER THE SAME GUN AS WE'VE BEEN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
[01:35:01]
THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE THOUGHT PROCESS.SO IF THE CITY LISTENS TO THIS DISCUSSION, WHICH THEY TYPICALLY DO, I BELIEVE, LISTEN TO THESE, UM, BECAUSE I'VE HEARD SOME FEEDBACK AND THEY HEAR THAT WE HAVE PROPOSED A SECONDARY RECOMMENDATION, WHY WOULD THEY NOT AUTOMATICALLY ASK THAT WE GO WITH THE SECONDARY LOWER COST RECOMMENDATION? I DON'T FEEL THAT THAT IS A GOOD MOVE.
I, I I WOULD ABSOLUTELY AGREE.
WAIT, DOES EVERYBODY AGREE, JOHN? I DON'T KNOW JOHN, RICHARD, I'M LOOKING AT YOU
IT'S A GOOD AT, BECAUSE HERE'S WHATS, I, I THINK WE HAVE TO BE THINKING NOT THE SHORT TERM LONG TERM.
AND I, I'VE SAID THIS IN ANY BOARD I'VE BEEN ON.
IT'S, WE HAVE SHORT TERM GOALS AND WE GOT LONG-TERM GOALS.
AND I THINK THAT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR TECHNOLOGY, A LONG TERM GOAL THAT WE NEED TO BE TESTING AND WE NEED TO BE PLAYING, WE NEED TO BE PLAYING IN THIS SPACE.
AND IF THEY DON'T GIVE IT THIS, THAT MONEY, I THINK WE NEED, I PERSONALLY THINK WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT THAT BUDGET, LOOKING AT THE CHA LOOKING AT THE VISITOR CENTER BUDGET AND SAYING, OKAY, WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? IS, IS THIS THE RIGHT LONG TERM DIRECTION? AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE MY HEAD IS.
IT'S LIKE, AND AGAIN, I, I'LL GO WITH, YOU KNOW, BUT WE KNOW THAT THE CHAMBER IS SAYING THAT THEY WILL NOT, I WOULD LIKE, I GUESS I WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT WITHOUT ASSUMING A ZERO SUM RIGHT NOW.
LIKE I, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THAT, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE ADEQUATE INFORMATION.
SO I I, I HEAR YOU JOHN ON THAT.
SO LIKE, IF I HAVE A BASELINE OPERATION IN MY ORGANIZATION RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S LIKE I REALLY NEED TO ADVANCE A, B AND C, I CAN'T TAKE IT FROM MY BASELINE OPERATION, THAT'S NOT AN OPTION.
SO IF THEY DON'T WANNA FUND THE DIGITAL, THEN WE'RE NOT PLANNING FOR THE LONG TERM.
THERE'S NOWHERE TO REALLY CUT THAT.
SO, BUT I GUESS WE'RE MY, WE'RE ANOTHER, NO, WE'RE OPERATING AT A PRETTY BASELINE OPERATION FOR THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN THIS CITY.
BUT I, I GUESS WHERE MY HEAD IS IS THAT I AGREE WITH YOU.
WE, IT'S, IT'S FROZEN OR WE WE'RE, WE THINK WE'RE THE BEST WE'RE GONNA BE RIGHT NOW, TO ME, I'M, IF I'M LOOKING AT THIS FOR A LONG-TERM VISION IS THAT OKAY, WE'RE GONNA INVEST A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, BUT TWO YEARS FROM NOW THEY CAN'T GET ALL THOSE VOLUNTEERS.
THEY KEEP TELLING US THAT THEY CAN'T GET THE VOLUNTEERS LIKE THEY USED TO.
DOES THAT MEAN THEY'RE GONNA PUT MORE BODIES IN THERE? OR WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THIS? MM-HMM
TO ME, THIS A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IS SAYING THAT OKAY, IT STARTS GIVING US SOME OPTIONS IN THE FUTURE.
AND SO WHETHER WE'RE TAKING IT OUTTA THE VISITOR CENTER BUDGET OR WE'RE TAKING OUTTA THEIR BUDGET, HOW DO WE FEEL AS A GROUP THAT THAT SHOULD BE FUNDED IF THEY SAY NO TO IT? AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE MY CONCERN IS, THAT IF YOU DON'T GIVE 'EM A SECOND OPTION, WE KNOW THE HEARTBURN THAT THEY'VE HAD ABOUT THE VISITOR CENTER, SO WELL, MAYBE THIS IS IT FOR THIS YEAR AND IF THEY DON'T WANNA DO IT THIS YEAR, THEN WE CIRCLE BACK.
AND IF YOU ASK ME IF WE, OUR FISCAL YEAR 2026 RECOMMENDATION A HUNDRED THOUSAND MORE DOLLARS OR RIGHT.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE ART, WAIT ANOTHER 12 MONTHS TO FIND OUT WHETHER IT WORKS OR NOT, WE'VE BEEN BUILDING ORGANIZATIONAL STRENGTH WITH, I THINK STAFF HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB ON MM-HMM
THE AMOUNT OF TIME LIKE BUILDING THIS ON THE FLY IN A MARKET THAT'S AS BUSY AS THIS WAS TOURISM.
SO, AND THEN LET'S NOT PUSH ANY BUTTONS ON BUDGET THIS YEAR, RIGHT? MM-HMM
BUT JOHN, IF YOU WERE BASICALLY ASKING ME SHOULD WE MAINTAIN THE VISITOR CENTER STATUS QUO, FUNDING OPERATION, EVERYTHING ELSE, OR SHOULD WE INVEST A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS? SO LET'S ASSUME THAT TO DO THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS WE CLOSE THE VISITOR CENTER.
ARE WE WILLING TO DO THAT? 'CAUSE IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE THAT'S WHAT WOULD HAPPEN.
AND THIS IS WHERE I FEEL LIKE THE LINES ARE GETTING BLURRED, RIGHT? SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 80 20 AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE.
I'M NOT SURE THAT'S THE REAL CASE.
'CAUSE WE DON'T REALLY KNOW THE BUDGET.
WE DON'T KNOW FROM THE CHAMBER HOW MUCH YOU'RE PUTTING IN THAT, HOW MUCH THE MARKETING IS AND HOW MUCH YOU'RE GOING TO ZERO.
WHICH IS THEIR INTENT TO READY TO GO TO ZERO.
THE QUESTION IS ONLY WHEN THE, SO IT'S THE, IT'S GOING TO BE ZERO TODAY ISN'T THE SECONDARY RECOMME THAT'S TODAY RECOMMENDATION, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CHAMBER? THEN IF THEY SAY NO, WOULDN'T THE CHAMBER THEN COME BACK WITH, OKAY, WE'VE SHARPENED OUR PENCILS, LET'S HAVE ANOTHER DISCUSSION.
IS THAT REALLY OURS TO RECOMMEND RIGHT NOW AT THIS TIME WHEN WE'RE RECOMMENDING THE 80 20 BUDGET FOR THE NEXT NEXT FISCAL YEAR? ALSO, WHERE THIS IS OUR RECOMMENDATION.
IF THEY SAY NO, THEN WE COME BACK AND HAVE A CONVERSATION.
AND I WOULD ADVOCATE THAT WE HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT PUTTING UP SIGNS WITH CODES EVERYWHERE.
BUT THAT, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION NOW.
I MEAN, OUR JOB IS TO RECOMMEND OR SUGGEST, RECOMMEND.
I THINK THIS IS OUR RECOMMENDATION.
IF THEY DON'T WANNA GO, WE THINK IT'S SMART.
IF THEY DON'T WANNA GO DOWN THAT ROUTE, THEN WE CAN COME BACK.
I MEAN THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT PLAN B WAS
[01:40:01]
COULD BE A DIFFERENT PLAN.WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS WE'RE GIVING, WE'RE GIVING WHAT? YEAH.
SO WE'RE, SO WE'LL BE, I'M AFRAID WE'LL JUST END UP IN A NOWHERE PLACE.
SO WE DON'T HAVE FUNDING, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING APPROVED.
WE DON'T HAVE IF THE CHAMBER WILL OR WON'T DO, BUT THE 3 MILLION PEOPLE ARE STILL COMING AND ARE WE SERVICING THEM? OKAY.
THAT'S MY CONCERN IS WE END UP HAM HAMSTRUNG TO DO THE BASIC MANAGEMENT PART OF VISITATION.
AND THE SECONDARY RECOMMENDATION IS TECHNOLOGY BASED, WHICH IS A SEPARATE LINE ITEM FROM THE 80 20 MM-HMM
WHICH IS WHERE I AGREED THAT I THINK WE SHOULD AT AT LEAST THAT SECONDARY RECOMMENDATION.
IT, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE IN MY OPINION.
BECAUSE IT, IT NEGATES ONE COMPONENT OF OUR, YOU KNOW, LIKE IT'S THE TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE SEPARATE IN ADDITION TO THE 80 20.
THE MINUTE WE START TALKING ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA FUND THE TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE BY PULLING AWAY FROM 80 20, THEN, BUT IT WON'T WORK.
'CAUSE WE KNOW THAT THAT'S NOT AN OPTION.
SO IS IT A FIXED MODEL MODEL? IT'S A FIXED BUDGET MODEL AND YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO, TO JOHN'S POINT, MAKE SURE YOU ALLOCATE WITHIN THE BUDGET FROM THE DIFFERENT AREAS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE TRADE OFF I THINK.
SO YOU'RE JUST SAYING, LOOK, FORGET YOU'RE NEVER GONNA GET AN EXTRA A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, JUST STOP ASKING FOR IT.
IS THAT ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? WE DON'T KNOW.
SO WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M SAYING JUST FROM MY ONE POSITION HERE IS I WANNA ASK FOR THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS I THINK IT'S NEEDED.
AND I THINK IT'S NEEDED BECAUSE WE WILL, I DON'T WANNA MOVE INTO A DIGITAL PLATFORM BLIND WITHOUT ANY UNDERSTANDING OF HOW EFFECTIVE IT'S GOING TO BE.
THIS IS A WAY FOR US TO DO IT.
IF WE CAN GROW OUT OF A VISITOR CENTER, GREAT.
IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GET THROUGH THE EARLY ADOPTERS TO THE, YOU KNOW, FIRST WAVE, THE SECOND WAVE, AND YOU CAN SEE, LIKE IF YOU'D ASKED ME, I THOUGHT EVERYBODY'S DRIVING EVS BY NOW.
SO SOMETIMES THESE TRENDS HIT WALLS.
AND SO I THINK IT'S A REALLY SMART INVESTMENT IN THE CITY TO PUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS INTO THIS, THAT THE, THE ENGAGEMENT BY THE COMMUNITY, THE ABILITY TO GATHER DATA AFTER THAT, WE'RE GONNA SAY, OH, THIS IS THE WAY WE'RE GOING.
LIKE, LIKE I SAID, IF EVERYBODY'S LIKE, GEEZ, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT IN VISITOR, VISITOR CENTER, GO GOES DOWN BY 50% 'CAUSE EVERYBODY'S WALKING AROUND DOING THIS.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE, THAT'S REALLY WHAT I'M SAYING, RIGHT.
IS LIKE MY, MY INITIAL CONVERSATION WITH THEM LAST AFTER THE LAST MEETING WAS THIS IS THE, WE'RE WE'RE INVESTING THIS A HUNDRED THOUSAND FOR THE FUTURE TO SEE WHERE IT GOES.
THAT'S REALLY WHY I'M SAYING IT LIKE THAT IS THAT I DON'T KNOW WHERE THREE YEARS FROM, THEY, WE MAY NOT HAVE ADOPTERS HERE IN SEDONA.
WE, YOU KNOW, WE JUST DON'T KNOW.
AND SO THE A HUNDRED EXTRA IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING I THINK WE HAVE TO ASK FOR SO THAT WE CAN SEE WHERE IT GOES IN THE FUTURE FOR US.
AND THEN IT KIND OF, UM, YOU, YOU'RE TRYING TO LOOK INTO THE FUTURE, RIGHT? AND, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE DIFFERENCE IS.
I'M FINE TAKING THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION OFF, BUT I THINK IF YOU'RE GONNA TAKE THAT OFF, YOU'VE GOTTA PUT SOMETHING A LITTLE HEAVIER THAT WE'RE INVESTING THIS INTO THE FUTURE.
THE EXTRA A HUNDRED WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS, IS AN INVESTMENT INTO OUR FUTURE.
SO WHAT IF WE, WHAT IF WE COMMIT TO, IF COUNSEL SAYS NO, WHICH I'LL HAVE A GOOD IDEA IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH, THEN WE HAVE A ANOTHER CONVERSATION WHERE WE EXPLORE THE ALTERNATIVES.
THAT'S KIND OF, AND I, I JUST WANNA SAY I RECOGNIZE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SAYING MUCH BETTER NOW YOU'RE JUST SAYING LIKE, LIKE I SAID, LIKE WE'VE GOTTA JUST UNDERSTAND OUR LIKELIHOOD IS WE GOT 2 MILLION OR NO MORE THAN THAT.
BUT OUR, THE A IS FOR ADVISOR AND OUR ADVICE IS TO ADD A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO THE BUDGET.
SO WE CAN GET TO, BUT I THINK YOU GOTTA GIVE 'EM THE, THE REASON WHY AT THE BACK END.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE THAT IS NOT IN THAT FIRST RECOMMENDATION STRONG ENOUGH THAT SAYS, IF ONE OF MY GENERAL MANAGERS CAME TO ME AND SAID, HEY, I NEED $10,000 SO I CAN DO X, Y, Z IN THE FUTURE, IT'S A RETURN ON MY INVESTMENT.
AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT IS NOT SPELLED OUT.
I BELIEVE IN THIS, IN THIS RECOMMENDATION FOR THE EXTRA A HUNDRED AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE MY PROBLEM IS.
I FEEL LIKE IF A SECONDARY RECOMMENDATION NEEDS TO BE MADE THOUGH THE CHAMBER SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THAT CONVERSATION.
I THINK IT, I THINK WE'D PULL IT OFF.
I MEAN I'M FINE PULLING IT OFF AS LONG AS WE REINFORCE THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
IT'S AN INVESTMENT INTO THE FUTURE.
I MEAN THAT, THAT'S MY CONCERN.
I SAID LISTENING TO THE CHAMBER, LISTENING TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
I KEEP SAYING CHAMBER, BUT THE CITY COUNCIL, THAT'S, WE GOTTA SHOW THEM WE'RE LOOKING FOR STUFF FOR THE FUTURE AND WE SHOULD SHOW UP FOR COUNCIL.
I DID ADD A BULLET THERE FOR YOU JOHN.
WE'LL WE WILL CONTINUE TO KIND OF WORDSMITH THE MASSAGE, BUT I THINK, I THINK KIND OF REITERATING THE GOAL HERE, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN I REFLECT ON WHAT STARTED ALL THIS IN AUGUST, AND I KNOW I'VE SAID IT BEFORE, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ALL DIRECTED BY CITY COUNCIL TO EXPLORE OUTSIDE OF A BUILDING SOLUTIONS TO VISITOR SERVICES.
RIGHT? IN THAT PROCESS, WE VALIDATED THE IMPORTANCE OF A PHYSICAL VISITOR CENTER MM-HMM
BUT WE'VE ALSO COME FORWARD WITH WHAT I FEEL LIKE IS A REASONABLE APPROACH.
[01:45:01]
INCREMENTAL APPROACH TO DETERMINE THE VIABILITY OF A DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR VISITATION.AND THE CITY WANTS DATA, THEY'VE ALWAYS WANTED DATA AND THIS WILL GIVE THEM A LOT OF DATA.
HOPEFULLY, UH, I CAN'T REMEMBER.
MAYBE YOU PROBABLY, WE PROBABLY HAVE SEEN THIS IN A BAR GRAPH, BUT WHAT'S THE AGE CONTINUUM OF ART VISITORS? BECAUSE I, ONE OF THE CHARTS.
'CAUSE I KEEP HOLDING ONTO THE FACT THAT WE'RE STILL NOT AT A PLACE WHERE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF PEOPLE ARE COMFORTABLE WITHOUT A FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION.
BUT MAYBE IN FIVE YEARS WE WILL BE.
BUT I THINK NOW THERE'S STILL ENOUGH ELDERLY FOLKS, ALL US OLD FOLKS ARE GONNA DIE.
WHO MIGHT, WHO MIGHT NOT QR EVERYTHING.
THERE IS ALSO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S WHAT SOME YOUNGER PEOPLE WHO ARE ALSO ANTI-TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE THEY SEE EVEN THE NEXT GENERATION BECOMING SO INUNDATED WITH IT AND OR NOT WANTING TO SHARE DATA AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO IT'S NOT JUST AN OLDER VERSUS A YOUNGER.
UM, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE WERE SAYING LIKE, OKAY, WELL THEY'RE NOT GETTING THE VOLUNTEERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I, AND I DON'T KNOW, BUT YOU KNOW, I WONDER, OKAY, WHAT SORT OF ADDITIONAL, UM, RECRUITMENT FOR YOUNGER, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE OR, OR YOU KNOW, SO EVERYONE'S NOT AGING OUT OF THE VOLUNTEER POOL.
WHAT ARE THE EFFORTS TO, TO RECRUIT MORE, YOU KNOW, AND UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE, WHAT THOSE EFFORTS ARE, BUT MAYBE THOSE EFFORTS CAN BE RAMPED UP AND IT'S NOT SO MUCH THAT WE'RE JUST LOSING AND WE ACTUALLY ARE GAINING PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT.
OR MAYBE PEOPLE WHO, YOU KNOW, ARE LATER COMERS, UM, BUT KNOW A LOT ABOUT SEDONA AND WOULD BE GREAT VOLUNTEERS.
THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN BE AWARE, YOU KNOW, SO THERE'S JUST, UM, CERTAINLY A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO BUILD MM-HMM
SO CAN I SUMMARIZE? SO WE ARE GOING WITH THE RECOMMENDATION BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR THE WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING NEXT YEAR.
SAME FUNDING, BUT WE'RE ASKING FOR AN EXTRA A HUNDRED THOUSAND OR SO, UM, TO TEST TE OS AND DIGITAL VISITOR SERVICES.
AND AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WE DON'T HAVE AN OPTION.
IT'S, IT'S EITHER, YOU KNOW, GIVE US THE HUNDRED OR DON'T GIVE US THE A HUNDRED.
IF YOU DON'T GIVE US THE HUNDRED, THEN MAYBE, MAYBE THERE'S SOME WAY WE COULD SCRAP A REALLY SCALED DOWN TEST OF DIGITAL.
BUT EVEN IF, BUT ANOTHER THING TO SAY IS, WELL, IF YOU DON'T GIVE US THIS, THEN YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON ALL OF THIS.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON ALL THIS DATA.
WE'RE YOU'RE MISSING WITH THE HUNDRED THOUSANDS GONNA GIVE US, WASN'T THE TECHNOLOGY A CITY REQUEST? WASN'T THE ASK FOR THOSE NUMBERS DIRECTLY FROM THE CITY OR DID I THE COUNCIL INTERPRET THAT? YES.
I, UH, I THINK IT WAS JUST TO THINK ABOUT WITH, WITH NO BUMPERS ON WHAT DOES VISITOR SERVICES LOOK LIKE? AND BOB, WHAT YOU SAID, I WOULD AGREE WITH A HUNDRED PERCENT.
EXCEPT I SAID IT'S NOT JUST A TEST.
WE'RE IMPLEMENTING A DIGITAL PLATFORM.
WE'RE BY, SO IT'S GONNA BE HERE BY, SO BY DOING SO, WE WILL GAIN THE INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF IT TO TRUE.
IT'S, IT'S OUR, IT'S OUR INVESTMENT INTO THE FUTURE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE FUTURE.
THE ONLY THING, BUT WE ALSO AGREE THAT IT'S A, UH, I DON'T KNOW, MODEST IS THE WORD, BUT IT'S A MANAGEABLE INVESTMENT.
SO WE'RE SORT OF, WE CAN SEE THIS AS INCREMENTAL APPROPRIATE.
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS FOR AT LEAST TWO MORE HOURS.
SO THAT SUMMARY OF THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR THIS.
AND IF WE DON'T GET IT THEN IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO ADD? YOU'RE MISSING OUT ALL THIS ADD, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO ADD FOR THE SHUTTLES AND ALL THAT? LIKE THE ADDITIONAL STUFF OR ARE WE OKAY ON THAT? OH, YOU MEAN LIKE ON THAT MOBILE APP? YEAH, LIKE IT WAS IN THERE.
OR YOU MEAN LIKE HOW THE, YOU KNOW, MAKING THE VIDEOS AND THINGS LIKE THAT IS PART OF THE VISITOR SERVICES PACKAGE.
BUT SO THAT'S ALREADY PART OF YOUR DON'T, YOU'RE NOT ASKING FOR MORE MONEY FOR THOSE THINGS.
SO DO WE NEED TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE? I THINK WE SHOULD.
UH, MOTION TO, FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA PULL 'EM BACK UP
SO ANY RECOMME THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THESE ARE THE FOUR SLIDES THAT THE STAFF IS GOING TO CONSOLIDATE AND RECOMMEND TO CITY COUNCIL? DO WE HAVE A MOTION? I MOVE.
[01:50:02]
IT'S PROOF.I WAS KIND HOPING FOR A, A GAVEL THERE.
I GOT THE PANIC BUTTON HERE TOO.
THE MAYOR HEAD MAYOR'S GOT A LITTLE THING HERE.
[5.b. Sedona tourism winter campaign update]
UM, I'LL LET LAUREN QUICKLY UPDATE ON THE WINTER CAMPAIGN AND THEN I'LL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE'S A RESEARCH REPORT AGAIN AT THE END.UM, SO NOW THE FUN, FUN STUFF.
UM, YOU ALL KNOW THAT THERE'S A CAMPAIGN RUNNING RIGHT NOW.
UM, THE TOTAL SPEND WAS $127,000 IN THOSE AREAS THAT WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT 11 MARKETS ARE TARGETED.
UM, AND HERE, OH, IF IT'S IN PRESENTATION MODE, DOESN'T WORK.
UM, THIS IS THE CREATIVE THAT CAME FROM THAT, UM, PHOTOGRAPHY SHOOT.
SO ON THE LEFT WE'VE GOT MORE OF THE, UM, ATHLETIC GROUPING.
UH, SECOND TO LEFT IS THE ARTISTRY GROUPING.
THIRD IS THE FAMILY GROUPING, AND FOURTH IS THE, UM, HOSPITALITY, UH, GROUPING, I GUESS.
UH, THEN WE HAVE MORE OF THE SUSTAINABILITY MINDED.
UM, I BELIEVE THE, YEAH, THE ONE, THE TWO ON THE LEFT ARE STRONGER.
THE ONE ON THE RIGHT, THE LAST ONE SAYS REDEFINE YOUR WINTER, WHICH IS SOFTER.
BUT THAT'S WHERE WE LANDED WITH ALL OF THAT CREATIVE.
UM, DID A WEEKEND OF SHOOTING SUN UP SUNDOWN.
I, I, UH, RECRUITED SEVERAL STAFF MEMBERS TO BE MODELS.
UM, BUT WE HAD, WE HAD A GOOD TIME.
I REALLY LIKE THE, I REALLY LIKE THE REDEFINED NIGHTLIFE ONE.
I WOULD, UH, I KNOW YOU, YOU ARE THE PEOPLE WHO OPERATIONALIZE IT.
I WOULD, UH, ENCOURAGE YOU TO HAVE A WIDER PALETTE THAN ONLY WHITE WOMEN.
A WHAT, WHAT'D YOU SAY THEN? HAVE A WIDER PALETTE OF PEOPLE THAN ONLY WHITE WOMEN.
SO, UM, THERE IS ACTUALLY A COUPLE HISPANIC PEOPLE.
UM, SO ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, THAT WOMAN IS HISPANIC STANDING THERE ON THE RIGHT.
I FORGOT THE GUY THERE WITH THE APRON.
I JUST SAW THE YOGA GALS AND HE'S ALSO HISPANIC.
I'M TRYING TO MAKE A TRANSITION THAT DOESN'T FEEL FORCED.
SO AS I OF COURSE, OF COURSE AS I WAS COMING UP, I JUST, WITH SEEING THE YOGA GALS YEP.
AS I WAS COMING UP WITH MODELS, UM, YOU KNOW, ORIGINALLY WE WERE LIKE, OKAY, WE'LL HAVE ONE, ONE WHITE, ONE BLACK, ONE HISPANIC.
AND THEN THE VISUAL WAS JUST LIKE, THIS FEELS SO INAUTHENTIC AS LONG AS WE'RE MINDFUL AND IT IS, IT IS A, IT IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK ABOUT ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND WE HAVE, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT A FEW MORE SHOOTS THAT WE'RE CO-FUNDING WITH THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM THROUGH THE REST OF FISCAL YEAR.
AND THAT IS A SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT AND WITH THE AGENCY THAT, THAT WE'LL BE WORKING WITH.
JUST TO HAVE IT ON THE RECORD, I HAD ALSO MENTIONED THAT TO THEM IN OUR PRE-MEETING.
UM, JUST UH, IN ADDITION AND WE DO HAVE THE CHILD, THE ONE CHILD, BUT THAT FAMILY LIFE OR FAMILY TIME THING, UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THAT WE'RE SEEKING OUT FAMILIES, BUT WE'RE SEEKING OUT A DEMOGRAPHIC THAT INCLUDES PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN AND THEREFORE NOT TO EXCLUDE THEM.
SO JUST ANOTHER THING TO PUT ON THE RECORD.
YOU CAN'T SEE THEM, BUT THIS IS A GREAT PICTURE OF A YEAH, OF A I DID.
I ALWAYS LIKE, I ALWAYS LIKE THE DADS WITH KIDS TOO.
[5.c. State of Sedona tourism research update]
BE SUPER QUICK.UH, YOU KNOW, I DID SEND OVER THE RESEARCH REPORT OUT TO FOLKS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT REALLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE SEE HERE IS THAT I DO FEEL LIKE WHEN I LOOK AT THIS SEDONA TOURISM PLAN, I THINK ONE OF THE IMPERATIVES, AND I'M EXCITED TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH YOU IN FEBRUARY, UPDATING ON THE WORK PLAN AND ALL THE WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING WITH IT, BUT STABILIZE KIND OF THE PEAKS AND VALLEYS IS ONE OF THE INTERPRETATIONS THERE.
AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT A YEAR OVER YEAR, WHICH IS IN THIS SLIDE, YOU'RE SEEING THAT OKAY, NOW, YOU KNOW, OCTOBER'S NOW 5% UP.
THIS IS NOT WHAT WE SAW IN JULY.
SO WE'RE KIND OF SEEING, I'M SEEING THINGS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT.
AND I THINK THIS, THIS SORT OF SHOWS THAT, UM, OBVIOUSLY OCCUPANCY IN SHORT TERM RENTALS IS DOWN YEAR OVER YEAR AS A REMINDER.
THAT'S 'CAUSE SUPPLY IS UP, REVENUE IS UP, UM, MORE SIGNIFICANTLY THAN IN THE HOTELS.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE AGAIN, OCCUPANCY'S NOT THE METRIC OF SUCCESS.
'CAUSE SUPPLY DISRUPTS THAT HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CONTINUE TO SEE SORT OF THE, THE DIFFERENCING
[01:55:01]
IN THE PERFORMANCE OR THE DIFFERENCE IN THE PERFORMANCE BETWEEN SEDONA PLUS AND VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK PLUS.UM, I WILL SAY WE DID SHARE THE SLIDE WITH FOLKS AT THE LODGING COUNCIL.
UM, A COMMENT THAT WAS MADE WAS THAT IT'S PRETTY NORMAL FOR VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK TO BE FIVE POINTS BEHIND.
I WILL JUST ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE YEAR OVER YEAR, THERE'S MIGHT BE SOMETHING ELSE THERE TOO.
UM, BUT THAT WAS, IT WAS HELPFUL FOR ME TO HEAR FROM KIND OF THE LO ON THE LODGING PROPERTIES DOWN THERE THAT HEY, IT'S NORMAL FOR THERE TO BE A DIFFERENCE IN IN KIND OF PERFORMANCE.
I WISH THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE THAT SO STRONGLY.
UM, AND JUST ANOTHER COMMENT, AND OBVIOUSLY RANDY, I KNOW YOU HAVE A PROPERTY THERE IS LIKE, UM, WHEN, WHEN SEDONAS OCCUPANCY GETS HIGH, THEN YOU START TO SEE THE VILLAGE GOES UP TOO.
IT'S SORT OF THIS, THERE IS A MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOSE TWO THINGS.
CAN I ASK A QUICK QUESTION? AND YOU'VE PROBABLY SAID THIS, BUT WITH THE UM, THE SHORT TERM RENTAL, UM, YOU KNOW, RATES AND EVERYTHING, ARE YOU EXTRAPOLATING THE NUMBER OF ROOMS IN EACH AIRBNB OR IF IT'S JUST AN AIRBNB? SO IT COULD HAVE FIVE ROOMS OR IT COULD HAVE ONE ROOM AND IT'S THIS ALTOGETHER.
PER LISTING, RIGHT? YEAH, IT'S PER LISTING.
AND THEN, UM, AS A SIDE NOTE, WE DID POP IN RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL ZONES INTO KEY DATA.
SO NOW I CAN SPLIT BASICALLY THE LISTINGS THAT ARE IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES, WHICH IS MORE ONE-TO-ONE TO HOW THE CITY GIVES OUT LICENSES VIS-A-VIS THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES LIKE THE HOTELS AND THE TIMESHARES, THAT LIST.
WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING AN INVESTIGATION TO UNDERSTAND IF THERE'S A DIFFERENCE.
UM, IF THERE IS, WE WILL KEEP EXPLORING.
IF NOT COOL, WE, WE JUST TESTED THAT MM-HMM
UM, BUT WHAT WE FOUND IN THAT IS THAT A LOT OF THE INFO IS SELF-REPORTED MM-HMM
SO, UM, EVEN IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF BEDS IN THOSE PLACES, WHICH IS PART OF THE DEEPER ANALYSIS WE'RE GONNA START TO DO YEAH.
FOLKS WHO WERE SAYING THAT THEY WERE HOTEL PROPERTIES.
SO THERE'S JUST, THERE'S BAD DATA IN THERE.
BASICALLY IS THE BEST WAY TO SAY THAT.
WHERE THE HOTEL DATA WE HAVE IS PRETTY PHENOMENAL.
IT JUST, IT'S HAS HARD TO IMAGINE, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL SEE IN THESE VALUES AND THEY'RE LIKE, WOW, THAT'S HIGH.
BUT THEN THAT'S PROBABLY TAKING FIVE BEDROOMS AWAY FROM THE HOTELS VERSUS THE ONE OR WHATEVER.
BUT I THINK AGAIN, WHAT'S NICE IS THAT NOW THAT WE'VE DONE THIS SPLIT, IT GIVES US THIS, THIS TEAM HERE AT THE CITY TO REALLY START TO DIVE INTO THIS QUESTION.
IT'S GETTING SO MUCH MORE, A LITTLE MORE.
AND WE'VE GOT SOME HIRED CONSULTANTS THAT ARE MORE DATA ANALYSTS THAN I AM THAT ARE I I FEEL LIKE I TOOK IT TO A POINT THAT WE CAN BRING IN THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
UM, AND THEN JUST AS A REMINDER, THERE'S SAMPLE SIZE HERE.
UM, I KNOW IT'S SMALL BUT I THINK IT'S JUST ALWAYS HELPFUL TO PUT THINGS INTO CONTEXT.
SO I APPRECIATE IT BEING ABLE TO READ THAT.
'CAUSE YOU'VE SAID IT AND I'M LIKE, OKAY, WELL, BUT THEN TO ACTUALLY SEE I'VE ALWAYS BLOWN THROUGH IT.
I THINK I HAD LIKE A NOTE CARD UP, BUT NOW IT'S IN A REPORT.
UM, SO YEAH, I KNOW WE'RE AT TIME SO I'LL HAND IT BACK TO YOU, JOHN.
WAIT, CAN I JUST MAKE ONE MORE COMMENT? I JUST WANNA CONGRATULATE ALL OF US.
WELL NOT YOU ALL, THE REST OF US OF UM, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A YEAR NOW, SO THAT'S PRETTY EXCITING.
SO HATS OFF TO YOU FOR MAKING THE COMMITMENT.
WE COULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN IT TO WHERE WE'VE GOTTEN IT WITHOUT YOU AND UM, JUST PROBABLY WOULD'VE GOTTEN IT FURTHER
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED FOR 2025, SO THANK YOU.
'CAUSE IT HAS BEEN YEAH, THANK YOU ALL AS WELL.
IT'S, WE'VE ALL BEEN LEARNING.
I, I THINK SOMEBODY SAID IT EARLIER, WE'RE GROWING IT AS WE'RE, WE'RE FLYING A PLANE, AS WE'RE BUILDING IT, YOU KNOW, AND SO I THINK WHETHER ALL THE TOPICS WE'VE HAD THIS YEAR, AND I THINK WE'VE DONE A NICE JOB GETTING US TO THE POINT WHERE WE ARE.
UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATIONS AND I THINK WE'RE SOLID ON 'EM.
I JUST WANNA CONFIRM WE DO NOT HAVE, THE SECOND RECOMMENDATIONS ARE NOT GONNA BE, WE'RE NOT PURSUING THAT CORRECT? NO, BUT WAS JUST ON THE FIRST, UH, BASED ON THAT COUNCIL MEETING, THEN WE CAN DECIDE IF WE NEED TO COME BACK TO THEM.
AND I WOULD SAY SUBSEQUENTLY, ARE WE FREE ON JANUARY 8TH? UH, THAT WAS WHAT I, YEAH, THAT WAS, I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP THAT WOULD SAY, I THINK WE ARE, WE ARE.
BECAUSE THAT WAS THE, THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE, IF WE DID NOT, IF WE COULD GET THIS RECOMMENDATION, IF WE DID NOT COME TO CONSENSUS, WE WOULD SKIP AND GIVE YOU ALL A MONTH, A MONTH OFF.
SO I FEEL CONFIDENT IN, I THINK WE ARE.
AND THEN AGAIN, FEBRUARY WOULD BE AN UPDATE ON THE PLAN.
I KNOW AT ONE POINT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT MAKING IT EVERY OTHER MONTH.
I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF WORK FOR YOU ALL TO HAVE THIS, BUT MAYBE THEN IT'S ALSO HELPFUL FOR YOU TO HAVE THIS.
HOW ARE YOU NOW FEELING FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR? LET'S MAYBE TALK ABOUT THAT IN FEBRUARY.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT, WE CAN SPEND SOME TIME ON THAT AND JUST HAVE THAT BE ONE OF, ONE OF THE BUSINESS ITEMS I THINK IS WHAT WE CALL THEM.
AND YOU GUYS HAVE THE FOLLOW UP NOTE TO SEND US LAST YEAR'S BUDGET JUST SO WE CAN BE EDIFIED.
[02:00:02]
ANYBODY, ANYTHING ELSE MEETING CLOSE SO MUCH.YOU WANT ME TO