[00:00:01]
[1. CALL TO ORDER, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, ROLL CALL]
WELCOME EVERYBODY.WAS THERE A MOTION TO PROCEED AS DIRECTED? NO, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY DIRECTION.
WE'RE CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH, 2026 AT 4:30 PM WOULD YOU PLEASE JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE?
I PLEDGE THESE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TWO TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDI MISERABLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
OH, MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU CALL THE ROLL PLEASE? MAYOR PLU.
A STEAMED GROUP OF PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE.
UH, HOW LONG IS YOUR PRESENTATION GOING TO TAKE? WE'VE GOT A SMALL, MAYBE FIVE MINUTE PRESENT.
WE'VE GOT A SMALL, MAYBE FIVE MINUTE PRESENTATION BEFORE I HANDED IT OFF TO THE TAB TO SHARE THEIR FEEDBACK.
AND THEN MAYBE ANOTHER 25 MINUTE PRESENTATION AFTER THAT, BEFORE A GROUP DISCUSSION.
'CAUSE WE HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL WE'RE GONNA BE DOING HERE, AND I'M TRYING TO SEE WHERE IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO DO IT.
MAYOR, HOW ABOUT DOING IT FIRST? HUH? HOW ABOUT DOING IT FIRST? WELL, WE COULD DO THAT.
DO YOU MIND A SHORT DELAY? YEAH.
YOU GUYS GOOD WITH IT? ALL RIGHT.
UH, YOU THOUGHT IT WAS A SHORT DELAY.
ANNETTE, WE CANCELED YOUR CONTRACT.
[Additional Item]
THIS IS, THIS IS ANNETTE'S LAST MEETING WITH US.SO WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING SPECIAL.
SO WE GOT YOU A GIFT, WHICH WE'D LIKE TO PRESENT TO YOU.
AND THEN WE'D LIKE TO JUST SAY SOME WORDS.
SO WHO WANTS TO START WITH THE WORDS? GO AHEAD, DEREK.
THANK YOU YOU FOR PUTTING UP WITH US.
UM, SOME OF US ARE GONNA MISS YOU.
BUT, UM, IT'S BEEN GREAT WORKING WITH YOU.
I THINK YOU'VE DONE A GOOD JOB, UH, WITH OUR STAFF, UM, EVEN SOME OF THE PEOPLE YOU'VE CURRENTLY HIRED.
AND, UM, I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK IN OREGON.
ANNETTE, I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE SOME PRIDE IN SOME SERIOUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS, SOME STRONG ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING YOUR TIME HERE.
UH, I KNOW THAT FROM A STAFF DEVELOPMENT STANDPOINT, THERE'S BEEN MUCH APPRECIATION FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE.
UH, CERTAINLY WISH YOU WELL BACK IN OREGON.
UM, BUT NO, UH, VERY MUCH THANK YOU FOR THE TIME THAT YOU'VE SPENT HERE AND WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST.
ANNETTE, I THINK, UM, YOUR TIME HERE IS MARKED.
YOU'VE LED WITH WARMTH AND KINDNESS, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING WE ALL NEED A LOT MORE OF.
UM, BUT YOU HAVE REALLY SET THE EXAMPLE FOR THAT.
YOU HAVE BEEN, UM, A VERY STABILIZING FORCE, AND I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT AND FOR YOUR PATIENCE WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND I, MY REGRET IS NOT GETTING TO HAVE MORE TIME TO KNOW YOU BETTER ON A MORE PERSONAL LEVEL.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU, AND I THANK YOU, AND I WISH YOU EVERY SUCCESS.
YEAH, A LOT OF GREAT WORDS HAVE BEEN SAID, BUT NOT BY EVERYBODY.
YEAH, I WANNA THANK YOU, ANNETTE.
IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH YOU.
I'VE WORKED WITH A HANDFUL OF CITY MANAGERS IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
IT'S A JOB I'VE NEVER ASPIRED TO
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT DRIVES YOU GUYS TO WANNA HAVE THAT POSITION THAT YOU DO.
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AND, AND I APPRECIATE THE WARMTH AND KINDNESS AND PROFESSIONALISM THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT TO OUR ORGANIZATION.AND YES, YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS, UH, THAT YOU'VE ACHIEVED HERE AND WISH YOU GREAT LUCK AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PEOPLE OF ROSEBERG.
UM, I'VE REALLY ENJOYED MY ONE YEAR WITH YOU.
I WISH I COULD HAVE SPENT MORE TIME WITH YOU AND GOTTEN TO KNOW YOU BETTER.
I THINK YOU'RE LEAVING THE CITY IN INCLUDING STAFF, UH, IN A BETTER PLACE THAN WHEN YOU CAME.
THAT'S KIND OF ALL WE CAN EVER ASK FOR.
UM, I KNOW WHEN I'VE CHANGED JOBS, I ALWAYS COME AWAY WITH IT AND THINK IN MY NEW ONE, WHAT DID I LEARN ON THE LAST ONE THAT I EITHER WILL NEVER DO AGAIN,
SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE WERE A LITTLE BIT OF A SANDBOX FOR YOU.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ROSEBURG IS GONNA BENEFIT ANYWAY.
IT'S GOOD TO KNOW YOU, YOU KNOW, ROSEBURG, YOU ALL DON'T KNOW THIS, BUT THEY SENT SOMEBODY HERE TO INTERVIEW ALL THE STAFF, THE STAFF LEADERSHIP AND ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL ABOUT ANNETTE.
AND I THINK I WAS THE FIRST PERSON AND BRIAN WAS THE LAST PERSON.
AND JUST, IT WORKED OUT THAT WAY.
AND, UH, SO IT WAS THE, IT WAS A POLICE OFFICER, ACTUALLY, A, A, WHAT WAS THE CAPTAIN? I THINK POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I SAID, WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? YOU KNOW, DID YOU GET BURNED IN THE PAST? AND HE SAID, ALMOST, THAT'S WHY WE DO IT,
BUT, UH, I SHARED WITH HIM ABOUT ANNETTE, AND UH, I SAID, DO YOU WANNA TAKE NOTES? HE WASN'T EVEN TAKING NOTES, REALLY.
BUT THEN WHEN BRIAN MET WITH HIM, HE SAID, WE WERE ALL CONSISTENT.
HE ACTUALLY SAID IT WAS ASTRONOMICAL, WAS THE WORD THAT HE CHOSE FOR THE CONSISTENCY OF ALL THE NICE THINGS THAT PEOPLE SAID ABOUT YOU.
AND YOU KNOW, WHEN HE SAID, SHE SAID, WELL, WHAT ARE HER WEAKNESSES? OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE HER NEGATIVES? I SAID, WELL, I DON'T HAVE ANY, MAYBE OTHER PEOPLE DO, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY.
AND, UH, YOU'RE LUCKY TO GET HER.
AND I SAID TO YOU, YOU KNOW, I HOPE THAT WHATEVER HAPPENS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN.
AND ALTHOUGH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MISS GONNA MISS YOU TERRIBLY, YOU HAVE LEFT US IN GOOD HANDS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PLEASED TO HAVE KEVIN IN THE INTERIM AND, AND YOU KNOW, JUST WISH YOU, I I'M SO BAD AT SAYING GOODBYE.
IT'S LIKE IT CUTS MY HEART OUT.
UH, YOU KNOW, SO WE JUST WISH YOU AND DEVIN, YOU KNOW, HAPPINESS AND, AND THE DOG.
BUT YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU'RE A PROPERTY OWNER HERE, SO WE, YOU'RE OUR CONSTITUENT.
SO, YOU KNOW, JUST FEEL FREE TO ASK FOR IT.
YOU CAN NOW YELL AT US IN THE THREE MINUTE PUBLIC COMMENT,
SO HAVING SAID THAT, WE'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU A GIFT AND THEN WE HAVE SOME GOODIES AND WE HAVE ENOUGH TO SHARE WITH THE AUDIENCE.
DO YOU WANT ME TO OPEN IT? YES, OF COURSE.
AM I SUPPOSED TO READ THIS? NO.
I'LL READ THIS WHEN I GET DOWN.
IT'LL TAKE ME A MINUTE TO READ ALL THE NOTES.
OH, I AN EXCITED, I'M EXCITED BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ONE.
[00:10:01]
NICE.UM, AND IT'S, LET'S SEE, WILD LAND HEROES DEDICATED TO WILD LAND FIREFIGHTERS.
AND IF YOU'VE BEEN TO OREGON IN THE WINTER, YOU KNOW YOU WILL, I WILL NEED THIS
HOW ARE YOU GUYS NEED? AND PENDLETON IS THE EPITOME OF OREGON.
SO, BUT IT'S GONNA SOUTHWEST THEME.
SO NOW WE'RE GONNA BRING OUT SOME GOODIES AND YOU CAN ALL SHARE IN THEM WHILE YOU'RE PRESENTING.
SO THIS IS GONNA BE A HAPPY MEETING, RIGHT?
AND OF COURSE THIS IS, THIS IS ALL MADE BY COUNSELOR DUNN.
THE GOODIES THE GOOD, NOT THE BLANKET
AND, UM, IF I MIGHT JUST SAY A COUPLE THANK YOUS TO YOU ALL WHILE SHE'S GETTING THE GOODIES, ALTHOUGH I WANT TO THANK COUNSELOR DUNN AS WELL.
UM, IT'S BEEN A REALLY INTERESTING EXPERIENCE HERE.
AND, UM, WE REALLY HAVE ENJOYED, MY HUSBAND AND I REALLY HAVE ENJOYED LEARNING ABOUT THE AREA, GETTING, TRYING TO ACCLIMATE TO ARIZONA, YOU KNOW, BEING FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, UM, THE SUMMERS WERE A LITTLE CHALLENGING FOR US, BUT, UM, EVERYBODY HERE HAS BEEN VERY KIND AND WELCOMING AND PATIENT WITH ME AS WELL AS WE'VE TRIED TO NAVIGATE SOME TOUGH ISSUES TOGETHER.
UM, I CAN'T THANK THE TEAM ENOUGH.
WE HAVE SO MANY AMAZING, UM, EMPLOYEES AT THIS CITY, SO DEDICATED, AND I'VE REALLY LOVED WORKING WITH ALL OF THEM.
AND THIS IS THE HARDEST PART ABOUT A TRANSITION OF COURSE.
AND SOME ARE REALLY GONNA MISS THEM A LOT.
UM, BUT I'LL BE IN TOUCH AND IF PEOPLE ARE IN OREGON, YOU CAN LOOK ME UP AND FIND ME.
UM, AND YEAH, SO THANK YOU FOR THE BLANKET AND EVERYTHING.
AND LOOKING FORWARD TO MY LAST MEETING BEING ABOUT, UM, TOURISM AND ALL THE EXCITING THINGS THE CITY'S GONNA KEEP DOING.
AND I'LL BE STEALING IDEAS FROM YOU, FROM MY NEW COMMUNITY.
SHOULD WE RECESS FOR LIKE 15 MINUTES? WE WHAT? SHOULD WE RECESS FOR 15 MINUTES? I'M DOING, I'M NOT SAYING EVIDENCE.
SO COUNCIL IS GONNA BE IN RECESS FOR 15 MINUTES WHILE WE ENJOY THE GOODIES.
AND NOW WE'LL GET ON TO BUSINESS AB
[3.a. AB 3391 Discussion/possible action regarding an update from City Staff and the Sedona Tourism Advisory Board about the results of the Future of Tourism and the Sedona Experience Community Input Sessions and presentation and approval of the 2026 Sedona Tourism Plan. ]
33 91 DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING AN UPDATE FROM CITY STAFF.AND THIS IS AND THE SEDONA TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD ABOUT THE RESULTS OF THE FUTURE OF TOURISM AND THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY INPUT SESSIONS AND PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF THE 2026 SEDONA TOURISM PLAN.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE NICE KIND WORDS FOR ANNETTE EARLIER.
COUNCILOR DUNN FOR THE GOODIES.
UM, I AM THE TOURISM MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF SEDONA.
I'M HERE WITH LAUREN BROWN, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, AND OUR, WELL, MOST OF OUR TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD.
I THINK WE HAVE A QUORUM TODAY, SO THAT'S
UM, BUT JUST TO KIND OF WALK YOU THROUGH THE PROPOSED AGENDA FOR, FOR TODAY.
SO I WANT TO KICK US OFF WITH, AGAIN, THAT RECAP OF THE FUTURE OF TOURISM AND THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY INPUT SESSIONS.
UM, I'VE GOT A FEW SLIDES JUST TO KIND OF SET THE CONTEXT ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT WAS, WHAT WE HEARD AS, AS, AS CITY STAFF, BUT THEN, UH, WE WILL HAND IT OVER TO THE TAB TO, UM, SHARE WHAT THEY HEARD, UM, FOR THOSE THAT ATTENDED THOSE SESSIONS.
AND THEN WE JUST KIND OF WANTED TO OPEN UP FOR MAYBE QUESTIONS FROM YOU ALL AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN ONCE WE KIND OF GO THROUGH THAT PART, THEN I WILL, UM, GO THROUGH A PRESENTATION OF THE 2026 SEDONA TOURISM PLAN AND THEN OPEN IT BACK UP FOR GROUP DISCUSSION.
UH, MAYBE IF WE COULD JUST START WITH SOME INTROS FROM, FROM THE TAB, THOUGH.
PEOPLE KNOW WHO'S HERE, WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?
UH, AND I LIVE HERE IN SEDONA, OBVIOUSLY.
I'VE BEEN ON THE TAB FOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR, AND I'VE LIVED HERE SINCE 2012.
I'M ALTHEA JOHNSON, CURRENTLY THE VICE CHAIR OF THE TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD.
I'VE ALSO BEEN ON SINCE THE BEGINNING WITH BOB, AND
[00:15:01]
I'VE LIVED IN SEDONA SINCE 2016.I'M LARS ROIG AND I'M JUST RECENTLY ON THE TAB THIS LAST YEAR.
UH, HAVE MY HAT IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE TOWN, BUT ORIGINALLY FROM JEROME.
AND I'VE LIVED MY LIFE IN THE WHOLE VERDE VALLEY AND HAPPY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE BOARD.
UM, I JUST JOINED, UH, SO THIS IS FIRST YEAR AND I LIVE IN THE BOC THANK YOU BRETT LAB AND FIRST YEAR TAVR SEDONA RESIDENT AND HAPPY TO BE HERE.
JULIE RICHARD, FIRST YEAR TAB MEMBER, UH, SEDONA ART CENTER, CEOI LIVE IN VILLE.
SO IT WAS AT, UH, PREVIOUS CITY COUNCIL MEETING WHEN, UH, CHAIR JOHN FITZGIBBONS AND VICE CHAIR ALTHEA JOHNSON.
AND I PRESENTED AN UPDATE ON THE TAB.
UM, AND ONE OF THE KIND OF QUESTIONS OR DIRECTIONS THAT CAME UP WAS TO HAVE, UH, THE TOURISM OFFICE, TOURISM STAFF AND THE TAB HOST A SERIES OF COMMUNITY INPUT SESSIONS THAT AT LEAST WHAT WE TOOK AWAY FROM IT WAS COMMUNITY INPUT SESSIONS THAT WOULD ASK QUESTIONS AROUND, UM, HOW OUR RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS COMMUNITY ARE DEFINING THE FUTURE OF TOURISM.
AND FRANKLY, THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE.
I REMEMBER KIND OF, THAT WAS THE BIG WORD THAT WAS COMING UP DURING THAT MEETING WAS HOW ARE WE INFLUENCING MANAGING, DIRECTING EXPERIENCE WITHIN THE CITY.
AND I THINK WHAT ALSO IT WAS FOR RESIDENTS FIRST AND THEN VISITORS SECOND, BECAUSE A COMMUNITY THAT'S DESIGNED KIND OF RESIDENT FORWARD IS ALSO A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT AS WELL.
UM, SO THAT WAS, I THINK, THE DIRECTION THAT WE GOT THAT THEN LED TO THE TWO MEETINGS THAT WE HAD.
WE HAD 45 FOLKS AT THE APRIL 21ST MEETING AND 35 FOLKS AT THE MAY 13TH MEETING.
THEY WERE BOTH HOSTED AT THE HUB OVER IN POSSE GROUND.
UM, THE APRIL 21ST MEETING WAS AN EVENING MEETING, AND THE MAY 13 MEETING WAS A MIDDAY MEETING JUST TO MAKE SURE WE HAD FOLKS WITH DIFFERENT WORK SCHEDULES THAT COULD JOIN US.
UM, AS A FACILITATOR OF THE MEETING, REALLY WHAT WE, IT WAS PRETTY MUCH BROKEN UP INTO TWO DIFFERENT SECTIONS.
THE FIRST ONE WAS, UM, HAVING INDIVIDUALS AT THE TABLE WRITE DOWN HOW THEY WOULD DEFINE THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE.
WHAT DID THAT MEAN TO THEM? WHAT WERE THE WORDS THAT CAME TO THEIR MIND? AND THEN THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT THAT AT A GROUP, AND THEN PEOPLE WOULD REPORT OUT.
AND THEN THE SECOND SECTION WAS BASED ON WHAT WE HEARD IN THAT FIRST DEFINE THE EXPERIENCE, WE STARTED HEARING THEMES LIKE MAYBE IT WAS, YOU KNOW, RECREATION OR ARTS AND CULTURE OR WELLNESS OR TRANSPORTATION OR COMMUNITY.
UM, WE THEN BROKE THE GROUP UP INTO THOSE DIFFERENT TABLES AND THEN SAID, WELL, WHAT ARE WAYS THAT THE CITY, OR JUST WAYS THAT THIS COMMUNITY COULD ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE WITHIN THOSE THEMES.
UM, ACTION STEPS, ACTION IDEAS WERE COMPILED AT THAT TIME AND THEN REPORT OUT.
AND I WAS ABLE TO CAPTURE THAT.
SO I'M GONNA QUICKLY SHARE WHAT I THINK WE HEARD AS STAFF AT THAT IN TERMS OF THEMES, SOME NOTABLE IDEAS AND WHAT I LIKE TO CALL LEGACY PROJECTS.
BUT THEN WE HAVE OUR TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD HERE TO SHARE WHAT THEY HEARD, AND WE'D LOVE FOR YOU TO KIND OF ASK US QUESTIONS OR ASK FOR, UM, CLARIFICATIONS FROM THERE.
SO JUST, UM, COMMON THEMES WE HEARD, UM, A LOT OF THIS CAME FROM THAT FIRST SECTION AROUND DEFINING THE EXPERIENCE, BUT I JUST KIND OF TOOK THEMES FROM, FROM THE WHOLE DAY AND KIND OF PUT THEM INTO ONE.
UM, REALLY JUST THIS, THIS INTEREST IN STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS CAME UP.
UM, THE WORD THIRD SPACE COMES A LOT TO ME WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS FIRST THEME.
UM, JUST KIND OF PLACES WHERE YOU CAN MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR AND FEEL LIKE YOU'RE A PART OF A COMMUNITY WAS REALLY WHAT I THINK I KEPT HEARING DURING THESE.
UM, REALLY LOOKING AT WAYS TO MAKE SEDONA A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE, WORK, AND VISIT.
I THINK THAT SPEAKS BACK TO WHAT I SHARED BEFORE OF, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE MAKE A SEDONA A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE, WHICH THEN THEREFORE MAKES IT A BETTER PLACE TO VISIT.
UM, NO BIG SURPRISE TO EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM, BUT HOW CAN WE BALANCE, YOU KNOW, A TOURISM ECONOMY WITH A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR RESIDENTS? UM, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT CONTINUALLY CAME UP, UM, IN, IN THE DISCUSSIONS.
AND THEN WE STARTED GETTING MORE INTO, YOU KNOW, TRUE THEMES AND KIND OF JUST COMMUNITY SIDES OF IT.
SO IT LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, JUST THIS COLLECTIVE INTEREST IN PROTECTING AND STEWARDING THE PUBLIC LANDS INSIDE AND AROUND SEDONA.
UM, A LOT OF FOCUS ON TAKING OUR SORT OF, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS SECTORS THAT WE, THAT THAT WE KNOW AND LOVE, LIKE WELLNESS AND ARTS AND RECREATION AND TOUR GUIDING AND BEING AND HERITAGE AND SAYING, HOW CAN WE BETTER INTEGRATE THESE DIFFERENT SECTORS LIKE ARTS AND CULTURE, HERITAGE AND WELLNESS INTO THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE.
UM, WE HEARD THINGS ABOUT EXPANDING TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS, UM, AND IMPROVING ACCESS FOR RECREATION, BUT JUST ACCESS IN GENERAL.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO JUST THIS INTEREST IN STEWARDSHIP.
SO HOW CAN WE SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS FOR RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL VISITOR BEHAVIOR.
[00:20:01]
AND THEN JUST, THESE ARE KIND OF JUST SOME, SOME OF THE NOTABLE OUTPUTS THAT I THINK CAME FROM THE, THE ACTION STEP CONVERSATION.SO LOOKING AT WAYS TO EXPLORE NEW COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT PROVIDE THIRD SPACES FOR INTERACTION AND CONNECTION.
COULD WE ALSO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, BOLSTERING FIRST FRIDAYS INTO MORE OF A CITYWIDE EVENT OR SORT OF MAKING THAT MORE, MORE OF A CITYWIDE EXPERIENCE, LOOKING AT, UM, EXPANDING SHUTTLE SERVICE AND INCREASING CAR-FREE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACCESSING TRAIL HEADS.
THIS IDEA OF ESTABLISHING A BUS TRANSFER STATION BETWEEN COTTONWOOD AND SEDONA.
NOT A NEW IDEA TO THIS GROUP, BUT, UM, CERTAINLY CAME UP IN THAT CONVERSATION EXPLORING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS BETWEEN THE VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK AND SEDONA.
UM, LOOKING AT WAYS TO INTEGRATE, UM, ART BY LOCAL ARTISTS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
WE'VE GOT SOME GOOD EXAMPLES OF THAT, BUT I THINK, I THINK IT WAS MORE OF A CONTINUE TO BOLSTER THAT CONCEPT.
UM, BEING ABLE TO STRENGTH CONNECTIONS WITH BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS, THIS CON CONCEPT OF KIND OF A SHOP LOCAL PROGRAM.
UM, BEING ABLE TO REALLY TELL THIS STORY OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY THAT POWERS THIS ECONOMY, THIS INDUSTRY.
SO THIS MAKER SERIES THAT SHOWCASES LOCAL ARTISTS AND TELLS THEIR STORY, UM, REALLY EDUCATING RESIDENTS AROUND THE BENEFITS OF TOURISM AND THE CITY PROJECTS THAT ARE FUNDED BY VISITOR, VISITOR TAX REVENUE.
AND THEN REALLY LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, NEW TYPES OF TOURISM EXPERIENCES, BUT FROM THE LENS OF RESPONSIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL.
UM, AND THEN THIS IS A TERM THAT, UM, I KIND OF BROUGHT IN INTO THE DISCUSSION AS I WAS GOING THROUGH AND DOING A DISTILLATION OF ALL THE INPUT.
AND THESE ARE SORT OF THESE, YOU KNOW, MULTI-YEAR, LONGER TERM PROJECTS, THESE KIND OF LEGACY PROJECTS IDEAS.
UM, BUT WE KEPT KIND OF HEARING THEM COME UP AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN, IN, IN BOTH OF THE MEETINGS.
SO JUST, YOU'VE SEEN IT ON THE LAST TWO SLIDES.
MORE SIGNATURE COMMUNITY EVENTS, MORE INVESTMENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND PROVIDE THAT THIRD SPACE.
I KNOW WE DID A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION AROUND THE SEDONA RECREATION CENTER, UM, BUT THAT DEFINITELY CAME UP QUITE A BIT DURING, DURING THESE MEETINGS.
UM, A ROBUST ARTS AND CULTURE DISTRICT.
AGAIN, I THINK WE HAVE EXAMPLES OF, YOU KNOW, GALLERY ROW, BUT JUST CONTINUING TO BOLSTER THAT, EXPAND UPON IT, MAYBE CONNECT THE DISTRICTS TOGETHER BETTER.
UM, LOOKING AT, AGAIN, THAT VERDE VALLEY TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
SO LOOKING AT THE SUCCESS WE'VE HAD WITH COTTONWOOD AND WITH THE FOREST SERVICE AND EXPANDING THAT, AND THEN JUST HAVING MORE ROBUST PUBLIC LAND STEWARDSHIP AND ACCESS PROJECTS.
UM, WHICH ALSO I THINK WE HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LAST NIGHT, UM, WHEN WE HAD THE PRESENTATION FROM, FROM THE FOLKS WITH FOLKS WITH THE CHOICE.
I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU, ANDREW.
IT'S SORT OF A GENERAL QUESTION ABOUT THESE SESSIONS AND THE OUTPUT FROM THE SESSIONS.
SO THESE IDEAS, HOW DO YOU SEE THEM ACTUALLY TAKING FORM OR THE NEXT STEP TOWARDS ACHIEVING THEM? IS IT PRIORITIZING THEM? AND THEN WHAT IS YOUR ROLE VERSUS WHAT IS TONY'S ROLE VERSUS WHAT IS, UH, KEVIN'S ROLE IN BRINGING THESE IDEAS TO FRUITION? WHAT IS COUNCIL'S ROLE? SO I THINK AS A FACILITATOR OF MEETINGS LIKE THIS, I THINK IT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO SET A TWO-WAY FEEDBACK LOOP WITH YOUR ATTENDEES, RIGHT? WHY ARE WE HERE? WHAT ARE WE DOING? UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE OF THE TAKEAWAYS THAT I HEARD FROM THE MEETING THAT INSTIGATED THESE WAS THAT IT WAS TO BRING YOU ALL BACK THE FEEDBACK OF WHAT WE HEARD.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, JUST HONEST CONCERNS THAT I HAD WITH THIS PROCESS WAS THAT WHEN YOU BRING PEOPLE IN A ROOM THAT'S BEING FACILITATED BY SOMEONE FROM THE CITY, THEY'LL START TALKING ABOUT TONY'S DEPARTMENT PRETTY QUICK.
THAT'S ONE, THAT'S KIND OF POINT A POINT B IS I DO THINK THAT THE TIMING OF ALL THIS WORKED INCREDIBLY WELL, WHICH IS WHY WE COMBINED, UM, A PRESENTATION ON THESE SESSIONS WITH THE PRESENTATION OF THE 2026 TOURISM PLAN.
'CAUSE I DO THINK THAT, UM, WE REALLY USED THESE SESSIONS AS NOT THE ONLY, BUT SORT OF THE, THE FLAGSHIP COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO GATHER INPUT ON THAT PLAN.
SO I DO THINK THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE HEARD IN THOSE TWO MEETINGS THAT ARE ALSO IN THE TOURISM PLAN THAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT NEXT.
NOW THOSE ARE GONNA BE THE THINGS THAT ARE WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THE TOURISM OFFICE, RIGHT? IT'S NOT GONNA BE THINGS THAT ARE IN TONY'S, BUT I, I DO THINK IT, WHAT I HEARD WAS TO BRING THIS BACK TO YOU ALL TO DETERMINE HOW YOU MIGHT WANT TO PROCEED.
AND AGAIN, I THINK THE TIMING'S WELL, 'CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA GO TO THE COUNCIL BUDGET RETREAT HERE COMING UP AS WELL.
WELL, THAT'S EVERYTHING I HAD FOR THESE SLIDES.
UM, I'D LOVE TO HAND IT OVER TO THE TAB TO START TO SHARE WHAT THEY HEARD.
AND I'D LOVE FOR OUR VICE CHAIR, I DUNNO,
SO I, I DID WANNA SAY THAT I THINK ANDREW DID A GREAT JOB FACILITATING THESE MEETINGS IN THE
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MOMENT.HE KEPT EVERYBODY MOTIVATED TO STAY ON TOPIC AND JUST DID A REALLY GOOD JOB WITH IT.
SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR DOING THAT AND FOR DOING IT WELL.
UM, I ENJOYED THE, I ENJOYED THE MEETINGS.
I THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, NEEDED TO HAPPEN AND PROBABLY SHOULD CONTINUE TO HAPPEN IN SOME CAPACITY.
I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, SAY THAT I, I WISH THEY HAD BEEN MORE WELL ATTENDED.
THERE WAS CERTAINLY REPEATED PEOPLE BETWEEN THAT 45 AND 35.
SO THE FULL NUMBER IS, IS, IS NOT THE SUM OF THOSE TWO NUMBERS.
BUT ALSO TOO, I THINK THAT POSITIVE THINGS CAME OUT OF THE MEETING.
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I NOTICED WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOUR EXPERIENCE OF SEDONA AND EVERYBODY WAS WRITING IT DOWN.
PEOPLE KEPT SAYING, OH, IT'S SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE.
IT'S SUCH A, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S MAGICAL, IT'S SPIRITUAL, IT'S, IT'S STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL, IT'S ALL OF THESE THINGS.
BUT EVERYONE HAD SUCH A STRONG PASSIONATE FEELING OF HOW SPECIAL SEDONA IS.
AND I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT IT'S AN EXTREMELY SPECIAL PLACE.
BUT THAT WAS LIKE EVERYBODY'S NUMBER ONE THING ON THEIR LIST.
I'M SO FORTUNATE TO BE HERE, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
WE DIDN'T END UP WITH A LOT OF NEGATIVE, LIKE, TOURISM SUCKS KIND OF VIBE, WHICH I WAS SORT OF AFRAID MIGHT HAPPEN.
SOMETIMES I WONDER IF THINGS ARE GOING RELATIVELY WELL, YOU DON'T GET AS MUCH OF THAT.
SO MAYBE PEOPLE WERE FEELING LIKE TRAFFIC IS A LITTLE LESS, OR THIS YEAR.
AND SO SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT MIGHT HAVE OTHERWISE MADE PEOPLE COME AND BE VERY VOCAL AND VERY, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, COMBATIVE.
OR MAYBE THOSE PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE MEETING AND IT WOULD'VE BEEN THAT WAY.
SO, UM, BUT THEY WERE POSITIVE.
UM, IT ALSO WAS NICE WHEN WE HAD OUR LAST TAB MEETING AND WE SAW, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, PLAN THAT'S GOING TO BE PRESENTED TO YOU, THAT THERE REALLY WERE THINGS THAT YOU COULD FOLLOW FROM THE, FROM THE EVENTS INTO THE PROCESS OF CREATING AN UPDATE TO THE PLAN AND THEN THERE IN THE PLAN AS ACTION ITEMS. SO THAT WAS NICE TO SEE THAT THERE REALLY WAS A, A FLOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LISTENING, THEY'RE LISTENING, UH, CERTAINLY TAKING THE RESIDENT'S FEEDBACK AND DOING SOMETHING WITH IT.
UM, SO THAT'S, I I THINK SOMETHING DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE, YOU KNOW, SHARED AND PROMOTED AND, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE REALIZES, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY DO WANT THERE TO BE A GREAT QUALITY OF LIFE, WHICH THEN LEADS INTO A GREAT, UM, PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO COME AND VISIT AS WELL.
UH, SO WE'LL KIND OF STOP THERE AND PASS IT ALONG TO THE NEXT, WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK.
ALRIGHT, SO I'D LIKE TO START OUT BY SAYING I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED IN THE ATTENDANCE.
UM, AS AHI WAS SAYING, IF YOU TAKE OUT THE PEOPLE WHO DUPLICATED AND THE ONES WHO WERE CITY PEOPLE, THE, AND AND SO FORTH, WE PROBABLY ONLY HAD MAYBE 20 TO 25 RESIDENTS THAT ACTUALLY CAME TO THOSE MEETINGS BETWEEN THE TWO MEETINGS.
UM, IN, IN A CITY OF 20,000 WHERE TOURISM IS THE, THE KEY THING, UM, IT'S KIND OF DISAPPOINTING TO SAY THE LEAST.
UM, IT PART OF THAT I BELIEVE IS THE TABS FAULT.
UM, WE, WE, UH, GAVE ANDREW THE DIRECTIVE THAT TRY TO AVOID PARKING AND TRAFFIC.
AND SO WE CAME UP WITH A TOPIC THAT WE THOUGHT WOULD BE ATTRACTIVE, BUT NOT AT THE SAME TIME BRING IN JUST THE COMPLAINERS.
AND I, I THINK ANDREW DID A GOOD JOB COMING UP WITH A TOPIC.
IT'S, UNFORTUNATELY IT WASN'T MORE ATTRACTIVE.
UM, WE DIDN'T DO A VERY GOOD JOB, I DON'T THINK OF GETTING THE INFORMATION OUT ABOUT THE, THE MEETINGS.
UM, THE FIRST MEETING HAD A SMALL ARTICLE IN THE NEWSPAPER.
UH, THE EMAIL SYSTEM DID WORK ON THE FIRST MEETING.
UH, THE SECOND MEETING I DID NOT RECEIVE AN EMAIL AND I WAS IN MOST OF THOSE EMAILS.
UM, THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE PAPER, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THE MORNING.
THE POINTING PAPER WAS WEDNESDAY OF THE MEETING, AND THERE WAS NOTHING IN THERE ABOUT THAT.
UM, I DID, UH, PERSONALLY GO OUT TO, UH, THREE LOCATIONS IN THE CITY.
I WENT OUT TO BOSCH'S, PARKING LOTS, SAFEWAYS AND DOWNTOWN TALK TO 60 PEOPLE BE THE DAY BEFORE THE APRIL MEETING.
AND ONLY TWO OF THEM KNEW OF THE MEETING.
AND THESE WERE ALL RESIDENTS AND ONLY TWO OF 'EM KNEW OF IT.
SO I THINK THAT PROBABLY THE JOINT FACT THAT THE TITLE WAS SOMEWHAT VAGUE.
UM, AND ALSO THE FACT THAT WE DIDN'T DO A, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE POSTERS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY KIND OF, UM, EFFORT BY THE VOLUNTEER GROUPS IN TOWN THAT MIGHT'VE HELPED PUSH THAT ALONG.
AND SO I THINK THAT IF WE GO FORWARD ON THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING WE LOOK AT.
UH, THIS MEETING WAS DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT WASN'T INTERACTIVE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU SAW THE, UH,
[00:30:01]
THE, UM, POLITICAL CARTOON IN THE PAPER AFTER THE MAY MEETING, BUT IT SHOWED, UM, IT SAID, WELCOME TO SEDONAS TOWN MEETING SHOWED SIX EMPTY TABLES WITH A WHITEBOARD THAT SAID, PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE.AND I THINK THAT THAT'S, THAT'S SOME OF WHAT GOT OUT THERE.
AND I THINK IT'S UN UNFORTUNATE THAT THAT'S THE FEEL OF IT.
UM, WE PROBABLY WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE SOMETHING MORE INTERACTIVE, BUT I THINK AS A FIRST STEP, I THINK ANDREW DID A GOOD JOB OF TRYING TO GET SOMETHING TO ATTACK THAT WE CAN PUT FORWARD LATER TO BE MORE INTERACTIVE IN THE TOWN MEETINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT WAS JUST, UH, ONE OF THOSE TRIAL TYPE OF THINGS AND I THINK IT WENT OKAY AS IT WENT.
UM, THAT SAID, IT WAS A VERY, WE GOT A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS OUT OF IT.
I THINK WE HAVE SOME LOTS OF THINGS TO LOOK AT TO GO FORWARD, BUT, UM, WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND TO THE COUNCIL AT THIS POINT IS THAT YOU TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE ITEMS THAT ARE PRESENTED AND SAY, THIS IS HOW WE SHOULD PRESENT IT.
UM, AND IT HAS TO BE MORE, UM, GLOBAL.
I THINK FOR INSTANCE, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED.
UM, TRANSIT NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
IF I TOOK LIKE THIS TRANSIT, UH, TRANSIT WOULD HAVE TO HAVE PEOPLE FROM HERE, PEOPLE FROM VERDE VALLEY, PEOPLE FROM COTTONWOOD, PEOPLE FROM UM, RIM ROCK TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT TYPE OF THING.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU REALLY WANT THEM TO DO.
YOU WANT THEM TO, TO GIVE YOU INPUT THAT SAYS, THIS IS HOW WE THINK WE COULD HELP YOU, AND THIS IS HOW YOU COULD HELP US.
UM, SO, UM, AGAIN, I THINK WE NEED, IF WE DO CONTINUE FORWARD WITH THIS TYPE OF TOWN MEETING THING, WE NEED TO BE MORE PROACTIVE AT THE BEGINNING TO GET MORE PEOPLE INTERESTED.
AND IT MAY BE ATTACKING CERTAIN GROUPS THAT SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE THIS MEETING ABOUT, UM, MOUNTAIN BIKING.
PLEASE BE THERE AT THOSE MEETINGS.
SO THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING WE NEED.
UM, ALSO, I THINK IT PROBABLY NEEDS A LITTLE MORE FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND STAFF SUPPORT FROM THE COUNCIL.
UM, I THINK THE ONE THING I DO WANNA SAY ABOUT, UH, THE INFORMATION IN GENERAL IS THAT THIS WAS MORE OF A DMO AND NOT A-D-M-M-O.
UM, I, I THINK THE MAYOR'S BROUGHT THIS, UH, WITH HER QUESTION IS THAT, UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THE EDUCATIONAL PORTION OF, UH, DESTINATION MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION.
UM, WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO IS START LOOKING MORE AT THE, UH, MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT MARKETING NOW.
WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT.
SO ANDREW'S GROUP IS DOING A GREAT JOB ON THE EDUCATIONAL END OF IT, BUT, UM, I CAN TELL YOU FROM BEING BOOTS ON THE GROUND OUT AS A RANGER, THAT THE MANAGEMENT PORTION OF IT IS, IS PART THAT WE REALLY NEED TO ADDRESS.
SO I OBVIOUSLY, WHEN I WAS AT THESE MEETINGS, I THOUGHT THERE WAS A, A COUPLE ASPECTS THAT WE KIND OF MISSED ON HERE.
AND WHAT I WANT TO SAY IS THAT THERE WAS A REALLY GOOD EDUCATIONAL ASPECT TO THIS.
A LOT OF PEOPLE SHOWED UP AND HAD THESE IDEAS THAT THEY DIDN'T REALIZE ARE A LOT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING ALREADY.
SO IT HAD A REALLY GOOD VALUE IN EDUCATING THE PUBLIC.
THEY COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER WELL ATTENDED.
BUT I DID SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE LEARNING.
AND BECAUSE I WEAR A LOT OF HATS AND, AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT COMMITTEES AND DIFFERENT WORK GROUPS, I WAS ABLE TO EDUCATE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE.
IT'S LIKE, THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
AND SO ONE OF THE BIG HURDLES I THINK IS LETTING THE PUBLIC KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, AND IN MY LITTLE REALM, YOU IMAGINE I SAT AT, AT ONE MEETING, I WAS AT THE RECREATION AND TRAILS TABLE, AND THEN I WAS AT THE TRANSPORTATION TABLE AT THE OTHER ONE.
BUT THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE PORTION OF THIS IS WHERE WE REALLY WANT TO GET ON THIS.
AND I THINK THIS IS A CRITICAL PILLAR TO THE S EXPERIENCE, WHETHER IT'S RESIDENTS OR VISITORS.
AND INCORPORATING THIS STUFF INTO HOW PEOPLE EXPERIENCE IT IS KEY TO HOW WE HAVE A GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE THAT COME LIVES HERE AND COMES HERE.
SO THE TRAILS ASPECT OF IT IS A VERY MUCH SIMILAR TO THEME TO WHAT WE HEARD LAST NIGHT FROM SOME OF MY COHORTS THAT WE'RE PRESENTING IS IT'S A SEAMLESS THING FOR A RESIDENT OR A VISITOR THAT IT'S THE JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES REALLY DON'T EXIST FOR MOST PEOPLE.
AND SO HOW DO WE DO THAT? AND THIS IS EVEN BEYOND JUST TRAILS THAT WERE BEING SPOKEN ABOUT LAST NIGHT.
THIS IS IN REGARDS TO SHARED USE PATHS YEAH.
BY COUNTY COO COUNTY AND HOW PEOPLE MOVE ABOUT.
BECAUSE REALLY WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO IS HOW CAN I SEAMLESSLY GO FROM MY FRONT DOOR OF MY HOUSE AND GO OUT AND RECREATE AND HAVE A GOOD TIME AND DO STUFF WHICH THEN TIES RIGHT INTO TRANSPORTATION TO WHERE I DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THESE HURDLES IN TERMS OF TRAFFIC, WHICH ARE THEMES WE'VE ALL HEARD OVER AND OVER.
AND SO I THINK PEOPLE THAT ALL HAVE THOSE SAME KIND OF GRIPES AND THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SOLUTION IS, THEY JUST KIND OF COME TO YOU GUYS AND SAY, FIX THE TRAFFIC OR FIX THIS.
BUT THERE'S LOTS OF PEOPLE WORKING ON ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PIECES.
AND THIS HELPED IDENTIFY AND EDUCATE PEOPLE AS TO WHAT THAT IS.
UM, AND I THINK THE BIG TAKEAWAY OF LIKE ACTION ITEMS FOR US IS HOW DO WE ELIMINATE THOSE SILOS? AND
[00:35:01]
I'M NOT, I MEAN, WE ALL KNOW THE MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES OF COORDINATING WITH FOREST SERVICE, KINO, YAVAPI, THE CITY, ARE CHALLENGING TO MAKE EVERYTHING FEEL SEAMLESS FOR SOMEBODY TO NOT FEEL THAT WHEN THEY LEAVE THEIR HOUSE.SO I THOUGHT IT WAS A REALLY GOOD WAY TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THEN KIND OF DISTILL DOWN HOW DO WE MAKE THOSE PIECES MORE SUCCESSFUL TO WHERE, WHETHER IT'S TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE OR TRAILS, WHICH WERE MY LITTLE REALMS, HOW DO WE MAKE THOSE BETTER? AND I THINK IT'S ELIMINATING THE LITTLE SILOS AND MAKING SURE THAT THE INFORMATION SHARING IS MORE ROBUST TO ME.
AND THEN, AND THEN ONCE THAT STUFF HAPPENS FOR ANDREW'S ROLE, IT THEN MAKES IT MUCH EASIER FOR HIM TO MARKET STUFF.
'CAUSE I ALWAYS RUN INTO HIM WHEN I, I I, I WISH THINGS WERE A CERTAIN WAY TO MARKET IT AND MAKE IT MORE ALLURING TO A RESIDENT OR A VISITOR.
'CAUSE I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN PEOPLE THAT WANT TO MOVE HERE TOO, BEYOND JUST VISIT.
AND SO HAVING THAT BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE IS WHAT MAKES THAT PRODUCT BETTER AND IT'S, AND SORT OF EXPERIENCE ITSELF MORE ENJOYABLE.
I'M, UH, NOT TO BELABOR SOME POINTS, ONE OF THE THINGS ON THE TRANSPORTATION ISSUE WAS, UM, THAT, THAT WAS, UM, STRIKING TO ME WAS THERE'S NO CONNECTION BETWEEN THE, UM, VARIOUS PARK AND RIDE.
THERE'S NO CONNECTOR BETWEEN THE TWO PARK AND RIDES.
SO IF YOU WANNA GO HIKE DRY CREEK, UH, YOU GO TO POSSE GROUNDS, BUT THEN THERE'S NO WAY TO GET FROM POSSE GROUNDS TO THE OTHER, TO ONE 70 NINES PARK AND RIDE TO GO TO CATHEDRAL ROCK.
UH, AND THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER SOME LINKAGE IN SOME WAY AMONG THOSE.
UH, THAT WAS ONE THAT, UH, STUCK OUT WITH ME.
THE OTHER THING IS, IT WAS AN EIGHT, I WENT TO THE APRIL MEETING AND UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD OUR TYPICAL SPRING TRAFFIC IN MARCH AND APRIL LAST YEAR, AND I DIDN'T HEAR GRIPING ABOUT IT.
UM, IF ANYTHING, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE LIKE, WELL, YOU LIVE HERE, YOU KNOW,
AND I, IT WAS JUST STRIKING TO ME THAT THAT WAS DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO THE PRIOR YEARS, UH, THE ATTITUDE TOWARD TRAFFIC.
SO WE, WE MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.
UH, EITHER THAT OR WE'RE ADJUSTING ATTITUDES TO COPE WITH IT.
UM, AND AS FAR AS THE ATTENDANCE ON THE APRIL SESSION, I WAS PLEASED BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE.
I MEAN, WE FILLED THE ROOM, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE WAS ONE EMPTY TABLE.
AND SO, UH, BUT UH, I THINK WE NEED TO BE MORE PRECISE AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE HAVE PRE BREAK OUT WHAT EACH SESSION IS GONNA BE ABOUT.
SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ONE IS, UH, FOCUSING MORE ON, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY.
YOU KNOW, WHAT SHOULD WE FOCUS ON IN THE COMMUNITY RELATED TO TOURISM AND ANOTHER TRANSPORTATION RELATED TO TOURISM.
AND, UH, I THINK IF WE HAVE A SPECIFIC THEME FOR EACH MEETING, WE'LL ATTRACT A DIFFERENT SET OF PEOPLE TO EACH AND PROBABLY GET MORE ENLIGHTENED PERSPECTIVES THAT WAY.
YOU GUYS HIDING BACK HERE FOR A REASON.
I'D LOVE TO SEE MORE OF IT AND MORE ENGAGEMENT WITH IT, YOU KNOW, GREAT FIRST RUN.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE MORE PLANNED, BUT AGAIN, AND BIGGER WOULD BE BETTER, UH, ON THOSE, UM, TO HEAR, HEAR MORE FEEDBACK AND GET MORE DATA BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE STILL DEALING WITH SMALL AMOUNTS.
UH, THE DISCUSSIONS, I'D ECHO WHAT LARS SAID.
UH, WE JUST NEED, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT I CONTINUE TO RACK MY BRAIN ON WHAT IS A GREAT WAY TO GET EVERYBODY INVOLVED IN THE DISCUSSIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, LEAD TO SYNTHESIS AND SYMBIOSIS.
SO I'M, AGAIN, NOT SURE WHAT THAT ANSWER IS, BUT SOME FORUM WOULD BE GREAT.
UH, IF THERE ARE ANY IDEAS, MAYBE WE CAN START BRINGING THOSE UP INITIATIVES.
I THINK ANDREW COVERED, UH, REALLY WELL IN THE PRESENTATION EARLIER.
UM, THERE ARE PROBABLY SOME THINGS THAT WE, UH, ARE GONNA SEE IN THE PLAN THAT, THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THAT, THAT WE'LL MOVE FORWARD WITH.
AND THEN SOME THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, COUNSEL SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT AS WELL.
UH, BUT OVERALL I THINK IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE AND
[00:40:01]
JUST MORE OF IT WOULD BE GREAT, JULIE.AND JUST MAYBE SIT SET THE SIZE AND HAND IT BACK TO YOU BOTH OR NOT YOU ALL.
UM, I THINK WHAT WAS INTERESTING WAS, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ONE OF SEVERAL PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT HAPPENED IN A KIND OF SHORT, SHORT TIMEFRAME.
I KNOW SUSTAINABILITY WAS DOING SOME, I THINK TONY HAD A MEETING AROUND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
EVERY DEPARTMENT, EVERY DEPARTMENT WAS DOING PUBLIC MEETINGS AROUND, AROUND THE SAME TIME.
AND I ALSO THINK THAT IT WAS SORT OF RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COMMUNITY CONVERSATION CONCEPT.
AND I THINK WE JUST KIND OF HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT SINGULAR TOPICS ABOUT A SPECIFIC THING.
AND I THINK WE'VE SEEN A REALLY GOOD ATTENDANCE AT THE COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS AND IT BEING REALLY BILLED AS SORT OF A CHANCE TO BE WITH COUNCIL.
UM, SO I THINK THAT THAT TO ME HAS BEEN SORT OF A TAKEAWAY FROM THIS THAT OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, I'LL TAKE ANY CHANCE I GET TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT WHY TOURISM MATTERS TO THIS COMMUNITY AND YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE DOING AND TRYING TO DO THE BEST WE CAN.
BUT, UM, I DO THINK THERE'S BEEN A NICE EVOLUTION IN HOW WE'VE APPROACHED, APPROACHED THESE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
SO DO YOU THINK THAT THE LIBRARY VERSUS THE HUB MAKES A DIFFERENCE? UM, SO WE ACTUALLY WERE LOOKING AT THE LIBRARY, BUT IT JUST WAS BOOKED ON THE DATES WE WERE LOOKING AT, AND THAT WAS LIKE TWO MONTHS IN ADVANCE.
IT JUST SHOWS YOU THE LIBRARY.
I THINK THE HUB'S A FANTASTIC LOCATION.
WE JUST DID THE VV RIO, UM, E EVENT THERE LAST WEEK.
BUT YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF, YEAH, THERE, THERE REALLY WAS A, UM, IT WAS ABOUT SIX WEEKS AND WE HAD NO LESS THAN, I THINK I COUNTED AT ONE POINT 14 DIFFERENT, UM, PUBLIC OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES.
AND IT, IT WAS TRULY EVERY DEPARTMENT WAS DOING DIFFERENT MEETINGS IT FELT LIKE ALMOST EVERY WEEK.
AND SO, UM, IT'S ACTUALLY LED US INTERNALLY TO TALK ABOUT AN INTERNAL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT CALENDAR SO THAT ALL OF US ON STAFF CAN SEE WHO'S DOING WHAT AND WHEN SO THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT IF WE'RE DILUTING, UM, ANY OF OUR POOL.
BUT A LOT OF THAT HONESTLY CAME FROM THE COUNCIL PRIORITIES WHEN YOU ALL TOLD US THAT YOU WANTED US TO FOCUS ON, UM, OUTREACH, ENGAGEMENT, UM, AND COMMUNITY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S HOW THE COMMUNITY CA CONVERSATIONS CAME FROM THAT.
UM, AND WE'VE JUST REALLY DIALED UP EVERYWHERE OUR OUTREACH AND WHAT THAT'S DOING IS PROBABLY DILUTING, UM, SOME OF THE, THE PARTICIPATION IN SOME OF OUR MEETINGS.
BUT WE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU'RE SEEING ALL OF THESE THINGS COME BEFORE COUNCIL, YOU CAN SEE ALL THE PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE LEAD UP.
AND THAT MEANS THAT THEY'RE ALL HAPPENING IN, IN CONSECUTIVE ORDER OVER HERE, UM, AT THE STAFF LEVEL TOO.
SO I DO THINK, I, I THINK I ATTENDED ALL OF, NOT ALL MO THE VAST MAJORITY THERE WERE COMMON THEMES, RIGHT? YEP.
SO THE, UM, SENIORS AND FAMILIES HAD SOME THE SAME THEMES AS THE TOURISM MEETING, AS DID THE REC CENTER MEETING.
SO I THINK THE COMMUNITY GAVE US A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES.
ANY QUESTIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS FOR THE TAB? I, I THANK YOU.
AND I THINK IT, IT'S REALLY KIND OF FALLEN UP ON WHERE THE MAYOR WAS JUST AT.
SO I LOOK AT YOUR SLIDE FIVE, WHICH IS THE COMMON THEMES FROM THE MEETINGS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA, I DON'T, I HAVEN'T YET UNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH THOSE AND HOW THEY MAP TO THE PLAN AND WHETHER THAT MODIFIES THE PLAN OR ENCOURAGES YOU TO MODIFY THE PLAN OR, I, I LOVE THIS COMING OUT, THESE SEVEN TOPICS ARE NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART, EVERY ONE OF THEM.
AND I THINK THEY'RE VERY IMPORTANT.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE TOURISM PLAN REALLY SPEAKS TO THIS IN A WAY THAT I UNDERSTAND HOW THEY MAP OR HOW YOU THINK ABOUT THEM AND WHAT YOU HEARD VERSUS WHAT YOU DEVELOPED.
AND SO I THINK THERE'S A, A BODY OF WORK THERE TO DO TO TELL ME WHAT THAT MEANT TO YOU ALL.
YEAH, SO I THINK IT'S A GREAT, IT'S A GREAT POINT, RIGHT? AND I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, IN SOME WAYS THERE'S A VENN DIAGRAM ON THESE THEMES AND THINGS THAT SIT, I THINK, THAT I CAN SEE DIRECTLY IN THIS TOURISM PLAN.
AND THEN I THINK THERE'S JUST A BROADER VENN DIAGRAM OF LIKE AN OBJECTIVE AND A PURPOSE FOR THE CITY, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE WANT TO MAKE SEDONA A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE, WORK, AND VISIT, RIGHT? THAT'S MORE OF LIKE A, I SEE THAT ON, ON A TAGLINE FOR A LOT OF OTHER COMMUNITIES.
AND THEN THERE'S, YOU KNOW, LIKE EXPANDING TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS.
SO BECAUSE WE APPROACHED THIS, OR I WAS ASKED TO APPROACH THIS FROM A GATHER INPUT ON THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE, NOT EVERYTHING WE HEARD IN THAT MEETING WAS GONNA END UP IN THE PLAN.
[00:45:01]
AND I, I KNEW THAT FROM THE BEGINNING, UM, BUT I KNEW THERE'D BE ASPECTS OF IT THAT I COULD PULL INTO THE PLAN.SO WHEN I LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S IN FRONT OF US HERE, I WOULD SAY THAT BALANCING TOURISM WITH RESIDENT QUALITY OF LIFE IS AN OBJECTIVE THAT'S KIND OF FED THROUGH THE PLAN, BUT YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE ANY SPECIFIC WORDS ABOUT THAT.
UM, YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, PROTECTING AND STEWARDING THE PUBLIC LAND SURROUNDING SEDONA, YOU KNOW, AS WE GET THERE, I WAS GONNA KIND OF REFERENCE AS I, AS, AS I GO THROUGH THE PLAN IN THE NEXT SECTION, BUT I'M HAPPY TO SORT OF SET THE STAGE A LITTLE NOW.
BUT YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, ADVANCED DESTINATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT BALANCE VISITOR MAN COMMUNITY NEEDS AND DESTINATION CAPACITY.
THAT TO ME, MAPS DIRECTLY TO THAT NUMBER FOUR.
UM, ONE THING WE DID WITH THE PLAN, AND AGAIN, I'LL, I'LL SHARE IT AGAIN IN A SECOND, BUT WE HAD FOUR PILLARS IN THE FIRST PLAN.
WE HAVE FOUR PILLARS IN THE SECOND PLAN, BUT THEY'RE NOT THE SAME.
ONE IS NEW, UH, THAT'S ENHANCED THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE.
AND I DO THINK A LOT OF THE THINGS WE HEARD FROM THE MEETING THAT I THOUGHT I'D BE ABLE TO PULL INTO THE TOURISM PLAN ENDED UP IN THAT NEW PILLAR.
SO WE'RE GONNA SPEND QUITE A BIT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THAT ONE.
UM, THAT'S REALLY KIND OF LIKE A PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PILLAR TO SOME EXTENT.
AND THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THIS INTEGRATING ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE AND WELLNESS INTO THE SON OF EXPERIENCE.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, FOUND ITSELF WELL IN, INTO THE PLAN, UH, THAT THAT WILL BE PRESENTING NEXT, UM, EXPANDING TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS.
WE SUPPORT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE BUILD AWARENESS OF IT.
WE TRY TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT CAR FREE GETAWAYS IN SEDONA.
UM, BUT THAT'S TRULY ANOTHER DEPARTMENT THAN THE, THAN THE TOURISM OFFICE.
AND THEN, UM, SETTING CLEAR EXPECTATIONS FOR RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL VISITOR BEHAVIOR.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S, I THINK WHAT GREG WAS ALLUDING TO THAT, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW OUR MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMING WITHIN THE TOURISM OFFICE IS REALLY FOCUSED ON EDUCATION BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU'D HAVE TO GO FURTHER UPSTREAM WITH ENGINEERING, AND THAT'S A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT THAT KIND OF FALLS INTO HOW WE ENGINEER THE DESTINATION.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED IN THAT PILLAR IS HOW THE TOURISM OFFICE IS WORKING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS BETTER.
AND I THINK THAT TO ME WAS, IF I HAD TO SORT OF PICK OUT WHAT I THOUGHT YOU ALL WERE ASKING ME TO DO, AND WE STARTED THIS PROCESS, RIGHT? IT WAS, YOU KNOW, HOW IS THIS OFFICE NOT BEING SILOED AND HOW IS IT REPRESENTING THE VOICE OF TOURISM AND OTHER CONVERSATIONS? AND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN COME BACK TO SOMEONE LIKE TONY OR SOMEONE LIKE GUILLERMO AND SAY, HE, HERE'S WHAT WE'RE SORT OF HEARING.
SO BEING MORE OF AN INFORMATION SHARER OR MAYBE MORE OF A PARTNER TO THOSE DEPARTMENTS.
BUT, UM, IT'S TRYING TO BREAK DOWN THE SILOS WITHOUT TAKING THEM OVER AT THE SAME TIME.
FORGIVE ME FOR NOT HAVING A CLEAR CONCEPT OF THIS.
THESE COMMON THEMES CAME OUT OF THE MEETINGS.
WAS THE 2026 TOURISM PLAN PRESENTED AT THOSE MEETINGS OR DID IT EVOLVE AFTER THE IT EVOLVED AFTER, THANK YOU.
AND IT, THE MEETINGS WERE PART OF THE PROCESS THAT GOT US TO THE PLAN.
AND I'LL BE KIND OF GIVING THE NUTS TO BOLTS IN THE NEXT SECTION.
SO, SO JUST FROM OUR OWN INTERNAL PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE A MEETING NEXT WEEK ON ARTS AND CULTURE FOR COMMUNITY CONVERSATION OR, YEAH, YEAH.
AND, UH, FROM, WELL, THE TWO WEEKS, THE 12TH, UH, AND INTEGRATING ARTS AND CULTURE, HERITAGE AND WELLNESS INTO THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE.
IS NANCY PLUGGED INTO THIS? I MEAN, SHE'S THE ONE WHO'S GONNA BE THE LEADER OF THAT COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INTERNALLY CONNECTED.
WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S AT DIFFERENT LEVELS IN THE ORGANIZATION, AND MY JOB IS THAT I OVERSEE NANCY AND ANDREW, AND I'M IN THE SAME, I CAN SEE GUILLERMO FROM MY OFFICE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
AND SO WHEN I'M INTERACTING WITH ALL OF THESE PEOPLE AND KNOWING WHAT WE'RE SAYING HERE, I'M ABLE TO TALK WITH GUILLERMO ABOUT PARKING AND TRANSIT FROM A TOURISM LENS BECAUSE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M REPRESENTING EVERYBODY IN THAT WAY.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S WHAT IS A, UM, A UNIQUE ASPECT OF OUR TOURISM OFFICE.
WHEN YOU HAVE IT INSIDE THE CITY, IT MEANS THAT WE AUTOMATICALLY WORK BETTER WITH THESE TYPES OF THINGS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER IN AN INTERNAL ORGANIZATION ALREADY.
WE'RE NOT WORKING, YOU KNOW, YES, THERE ARE SILOS IN OUR OWN ORGANIZATION, BUT, UM, MUCH SMALLER THAN IF YOU WERE OUTSIDE THE ORGANIZATION.
SO, SO TO ANSWER MY QUESTION, YES, YES.
AND WE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST GONNA GIVE YOU A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE.
WHAT DOES ACTIVATING A SPACE LIKE UPTOWN LOOK LIKE FROM AN ARTS AND CULTURE PERSPECTIVE? WHAT DOES, UM, BRINGING A MURAL INTO THE RANGER STATION BARN, WHAT DOES THAT, WHAT DOES THAT DO FOR THE SPACE? WHAT DOES THAT DO FOR NOT ONLY THE LOCAL EXPERIENCE BUT THE TOURISM EXPERIENCE? YOU
[00:50:01]
KNOW? SO ABSOLUTELY THESE THINGS ARE ALL CONNECTED AND, AND WE'RE ALWAYS HAVING THAT CONVERSATION.YOU WANNA TAKE THE PODIUM THEN? OR YOU CAN, I, I MUTED IT.
SO WHAT I SEE WITH THIS AND JUST THINKING ABOUT IT, IT GIVES A WAY TO BREAK SILOS, TO HAVE THESE COMMON THEMES AS GUIDANCE TO PRIORITIZATION FOR A LOT OF THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND KIND OF DISTILL WHAT THEY'RE SAYING THERE, THAT I THINK THAT IT'S AN EASY WAY TO LOOK AT SOMETHING THAT I'M ALWAYS ASKING ANDREW SOMETIMES, LIKE, IF THIS AREA WAS THIS, IF WE DID THIS PIECE, IT WOULD BE THAT MUCH BETTER.
NOW IT GIVES A WAY TO HAVE A CONNECTION FROM THE TOURISM PIECE, THE SOUTHERN EXPERIENCE, TO BE ABLE TO PRIORITIZE HOW THAT STUFF SHOULD LOOK.
AND MAYBE TO COME BACK TO YOUR SPECIFIC QUESTION, COUNCIL FIRM AND THIS, THESE WERE, WHEN WE ASKED WHAT DEFINES THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE, NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TOURISM PLAN, NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TOURISM OFFICE.
THIS IS WHAT WE KEPT HEARING CONSISTENTLY.
THE QUESTION IS, HOW DO THE ATTENDEES DEFINE THE EXPERIENCE OF, OF BEING IN SEDONA MM-HMM
AND WHERE WOULD THEY WANNA SEE IT GO? YEAH.
AND AS, AS MENTIONED, THESE, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT PUT THE SECOND M INTO THE ORGANIZATION NAME.
WE WERE INTERVIEWING SOMEBODY YESTERDAY AND THEY SAID, I PROBABLY ONE OF THE UNIQUE PEOPLE IN SEDONA WHO DID NOT COME HERE FOR THE RED ROCKS AND SAID, I CAME BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER WORKS HERE.
AND, UH, BUT SO SHE HAD HER OWN, HER OWN WANTING HER OWN EXPERIENCE TO BE BROADER THAN HIKING AND BIKING AND ALL OF THAT.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THAT EVERYBODY IS HERE BECAUSE THEY'RE ATTRACTED, YOU KNOW, TO THE OUTDOORS AND IT ISN'T ACTUALLY TRUE.
AND SO I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE, AND THEN YOU HAVE A FAMILY ALSO IN SOME, EITHER THE KIDS OR THE PARENTS, YOU KNOW, THEY WANNA DO DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO HOW DO WE ENHANCE THAT EXPERIENCE AS WELL? AND, AND THAT'S WHERE, TO ME, THE LINKAGES COME IN WITH WELLNESS AND ARTS AND CULTURE AND THOSE ALONG THOSE LINES.
YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY WELCOME TO STAY, BUT WE APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE ON THE VOLUNTARY BOARD AND ALSO FOR SHOWING UP TODAY.
CAN COME, MELISSA, SINCE WE'RE DISMISSING TAB, UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK YOU'RE DOING, ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS, UM, HELPING ANDREW AND HIS TEAM FIGURE OUT THE PERSPECTIVE AS RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS OWNERS AND PEOPLE WHO ENGAGE ROUTINELY, SOME OF YOU WITH TOURISTS.
AND, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE HAVING THAT KIND OF NOVEL INSIGHT THAT GETS BROUGHT BACK TO US.
SO MOVING ON TO THE NEXT SECTION, WHICH IS THE, UM, PRESENTATION OF THE 2026 TO 20 20 30 SIT ON A TOURISM PLAN.
UM, SO JUST TO SORT OF BRING US TO HOW WE GOT HERE AND I THINK WHAT THE, WHAT THE TASK IS THAT WE'RE HERE TO PRESENT YOU WITH TODAY.
SO, UM, WE GOT THE 2024 SEDONA TOURISM PLAN THAT WAS PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL ON AUGUST 14TH, I THINK IT WAS MY 44TH DAY ON THE JOB, WHICH WAS, WHICH WAS A FUN MILESTONE FOR ME.
BUT WHAT WE LOOKED AT WAS REALLY CREATING A TWO YEAR ROADMAP TO ESTABLISH THE NEW DMMO WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SO A LOT OF THAT FOCUS WAS HOW COULD WE PROP UP A-D-M-M-O AND REALLY LOOK AT STRENGTHENING THE ORGANIZATION.
THERE WERE CERTAINLY THINGS THAT I WOULD'VE WANTED TO PUT IN THAT PLAN FOR THE FIRST TWO YEARS, BUT WE HAD TO PROP UP AN ENTITY.
SO I'M HAPPY THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS INTO THE PLAN THAT I'M HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU TODAY.
BUT I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THE BROADER GOAL OF THE 2026 PLAN WAS TRULY A TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE.
PLUS YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS BEFORE, BUT IT'S REALLY LOOKING AT HOW CAN WE MAKE INVESTMENTS IN THE LOCAL TOURISM INDUSTRY, UM, THROUGH THIS TOURISM OFFICE THAT STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE FOR RESIDENTS, A THRIVING ECONOMY, AND THEN PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
UM, THE 2024 PLAN HAD FOUR PILLARS, 17 INITIATIVES AND 60 ACTION STEPS.
UM, THE PILLARS ENDED UP BEING, AGAIN, TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE PLUS MANAGE AND STEWARD THE DESTINATION AS
[00:55:01]
YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL PILLAR, OPTIMIZE ECONOMIC IMPACT AS YOUR ECONOMIC PILLAR, ENHANCE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH TOURISM AS YOUR SOCIAL PI, SOCIAL PILLAR, AND THEN STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION.UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE INITIALLY DID, AND THEN IT'S KIND OF ON THIS NEXT SLIDE AS WELL, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS PLAN AS A WORK PLAN FOR THE TOURISM OFFICE.
SO TO ME, HOW I INTERPRET THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WE ON PAPER HAVE 3.55 FTE THAT HAVE JOB DESCRIPTIONS.
THERE'S A BUDGET THAT WE WORK WITH YOU ALL ON TO APPROVE, AND THEN THIS WORK PLAN REALLY SPEAKS TO HOW WE'RE, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTING THAT BUDGET.
UM, SO REALLY THIS PLAN WORKS TO REALLY FOCUS IT ON WHAT DOES THE TOURISM OFFICE DO WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT MAKES SENSE TO ME THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO PLANS, BUT WHEN WE MET WITH THE TAB IN MAY, WE SORT OF SET SOME GROUND RULES ON CAN WE GET SOME BACKBONE STRUCTURE AS WE'RE STARTING TO GET STARTED WITH THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THREE OF THE DECISIONS WERE THAT THE NEXT PLAN SHOULD BE A FOUR YEAR PLAN.
UM, THAT GIVES US KIND OF A LONGER RUNWAY TO PUT SOME MORE ASPIRATIONAL ITEMS IN.
UM, WE FELT LIKE WE HAD BEEN ABLE TO SET UP THE ENTITY.
I MEAN, SOME OF THE OLD ACTION ITEMS WERE HIGHER A TOURISM MANAGER THAT HAPPENED.
ANOTHER ONE WAS HIRE A DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR.
SO I THINK NOW WE HAVE OUR STAFFING AT LEAST TO A BASELINE.
SO THAT'S WHY I FEEL LIKE STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE IT INTO THIS, ENHANCE THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE, WHICH REALLY CAME FROM EVERYTHING THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT A STAKE IN THE GROUND ON WHAT THIS TOURISM OFFICE IS DOING TO HELP WITH ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE.
AND THEN AGAIN, SOME PLANS JUST ONLY PUT IN NEW THINGS THAT THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT.
UM, BUT JUST BECAUSE WE WANT THIS TO BE A TRANSPARENT WORK PLAN FOR HOW THE 3.55 STAFF, THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE, WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THOSE DOLLARS AND KIND OF WHAT, HOW, HOW WE WOULD PRESENT THAT.
UM, THE OTHER THING TOO WAS, YOU KNOW, AS WE WENT THROUGH, UM, SOME THINGS WE FELT LIKE WE ACCOMPLISHED SUCH AS HIRE TOURISM MANAGER, UM, SO THOSE WE SORT OF PUT PUT DOWN BEHIND US.
UM, QUITE A FEW THINGS GOT CARRIED INTO THE CURRENT PLAN BECAUSE THERE ARE ONGOING ACTIVITIES THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET STARTED.
I THINK THAT WAS THE BIG GOAL FOR US.
AND THAT FIRST PLAN WAS START SOMETHING AND THEN BE ABLE TO CONTINUE IT.
UM, AND THEN THERE WERE QUITE A FEW NEW THINGS THAT WE PUT INTO THE 2026 PLAN AS WELL.
UM, I'VE DONE A LOT OF TOURISM PLANS IN MY LIFE, UM, LEADING UP TO THIS.
THEY TRULY ALL HAVE THE SAME THREE PHASES.
THERE IS AN INFORMATION GATHERING PHASE, UM, WHICH FOR US WAS, WE REVIEWED TOURISM PLANS FROM SIMILAR DESTINATIONS.
UM, WE ALSO GATHERED COMMUNITY INPUT.
YOU JUST HEARD ABOUT KIND OF THE FLAGSHIP ONES, BUT WE DID QUITE A BIT MORE AS WELL THROUGHOUT, YOU KNOW, THE LAST, LAST YEAR OR SO.
AND THEN BECAUSE THIS WAS AN UPDATE TO THE PLAN, WE THEN SAT DOWN AND UPDATED THE PLAN, UM, AS BEING SORT OF THE THREE, THE THREE PHASES.
UM, SO LOOKING AT OUR LITERATURE REVIEW, THE PLANS THAT WE LOOKED AT, UM, SOME OF THESE ARE ONES THAT I'VE JUST BEEN ENVIOUS OF.
SOME OF THEM WERE NEW ONES I WANTED TO TRACK DOWN.
UM, AND SOME OF THEM WERE JUST FROM D OS THAT I'VE RESPECTED.
BUT WE LOOKED AT, UM, PLANS ALL FROM WITHIN THE LAST, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS OR SO.
SO WE HAD THE ASPEN DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN.
UH, WE LOOKED AT A CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN THAT JUST CAME OUT FROM LINCOLN COUNTY AND OREGON.
UH, WE LOOKED AT THE LANE COUNTY TOURISM PLAN, UM, JUST A PHENOMENAL DMO THERE THAT I WANTED TO JUST SEE FROM SPACE BETWEEN MAYBE A RURAL MOUNTAIN TOWN, BUT HOW A PRETTY, PRETTY SOPHISTICATED DMO WOULD BE DOING THINGS.
UM, SNOWMASS TOURISM, DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN, TAO STEWARDSHIP PLAN, TETON COUNTY.
UM, SO JACKSON HOLE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN AND THEN VISIT BEND, DESTINATION STRATEGY.
ANDREW, WHERE IS LANE COUNTY? UM, THAT IS EUGENE OREGON.
QUITE A FEW OF MY COLLEAGUES FROM TRAVEL OREGON ENDED UP THERE.
SO I, I I, I TRY TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEM.
UM, AND THEN THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT THAT WE DID, I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, IT'S A CHANCE AS WE JUST ACKNOWLEDGE FROM COUNCILOR DUNN, IT'S A CHANCE FOR US TO GATHER INPUT FROM OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND ALSO ALSO OUR RESIDENTS.
UM, I DO HAVE A STANDING AGENDA ITEM AS COUNCIL, AS VICE MAYOR FALWELL KNOWS AT THE SON LODGE COUNCIL MEETINGS, UM, WHICH IS A GREAT CHANCE FOR ME TO GET IN FRONT OF THE HOTELIERS AND KIND OF CHAT WITH THEM.
UM, A LOT OF OUR STRATEGY AND I TELL THEM ALL THE TIME IS, YOU KNOW, THE MEETINGS WE HAVE HAVE WITH THE LODGING COUNCIL REALLY DO FIND THEMSELVES IN DECISIONS THAT I'M SHARING WITH YOU ALL ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UM, AND THEN I THINK WE STARTED OFF THE SERIES, IF YOU WILL, WITH, UM, WENDY AND HER TO LOCKA POCKE BUSINESS TENANTS.
I KNOW A FEW OF YOU WERE THERE IN OCTOBER OF 2025.
QUICK SIDE NOTE, UM, I DID SEND THE UPDATE.
WE MOVED IT TO 1119, BUT THAT'S THE NEXT TO LOCKA POCKE BUSINESS TENANT MEETING.
UM, SO SORRY FOR THE CONTINUED CHANGES.
UM, BUT, UH, I HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SON AS AONA AND METAPHYSICAL SPIRITUAL ASSOCIATION.
UM, WE ALSO MET WITH SHORT-TERM RENTAL OWNERS THAT REACHED OUT.
THEY KIND OF RUN A COMMUNICATION NEWSLETTER FOR DIFFERENT OWNERS.
SO WE JUST WANTED TO SAY, HEY, HERE'S OUR TOURISM OFFICE, HERE'S
[01:00:01]
THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE.UM, BEING, BUILDING A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH BETSY OVER AT HILLSIDE.
SO WE DID A HILLSIDE BUSINESS TENANT MEETING.
UM, I SPOKE AT THE KEEP SEDONA BEAUTIFUL SPEAKER SERIES AND HAD A CHANCE TO GO BACK AND FORTH WITH THEM.
AND THEN WE OBVIOUSLY DID THE FUTURE OF SEDONA AND THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY SESSION.
SO, UH, IS, IS THERE NOT A ARTS AND CULTURE GROUP, OR DO YOU FEEL THAT THE TILL KAA BUSINESS OWNERS REPRESENT THAT IT'S NOT REALLY A YEAH.
DO YOU WANNA QUICKLY SHARE IT? JULIE? UM, THE GROUP, WE HAD A, A LOOSE GROUP WHEN WE DID THE ARTS AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY STUDY, AND THEY, WE GATHERED THEM MAYBE THREE TIMES DURING THAT TIME AND, UH, I THINK ONE ADDITIONAL TIME AFTER.
BUT, UM, IT JUST DIDN'T REALLY, PEOPLE DIDN'T WANNA REALLY GATHER AFTER THAT, SO IT JUST DIDN'T CONTINUE.
BUT INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, THE NEXT ARTS AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY STUDY IS GEARING UP, AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO HAVE SEDONA PARTICIPATE IN THAT NEXT TIME, AND WE COULD, WE'D BE WILLING TO LEAD IT AGAIN.
UM, BUT WE WOULD NEED THE FUNDING AND I BELIEVE THEY'RE GONNA BE CHARGING $4,000, BUT IT'S ALSO GONNA BE PHASED.
SO I DON'T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION YET ABOUT THAT, BUT IT WOULD BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY THEN TO GATHER EVERYONE AGAIN AND GET THEM ALL INVOLVED IN THAT FOR THE NEXT STUDY.
AND THIS IS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY.
SO, SO I, I, I DO THINK THERE'S ALSO JUST ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS I HAVE WITH BUSINESSES, UM, THAT I THINK START TO TOUCH ON THE ARTS AND CULTURE.
BUT NO, THERE'S NOT A ORGANIZED GROUP THAT I CAN MEET WITH.
BUT, UM, I CERTAINLY CAN DO MY JOB BETTER WHEN THERE, WHEN THERE ARE THESE GROUPS OF PEOPLE THAT REGULARLY MEET THAT ALLOW ME TO COME SPEAK WITH THEM.
SO, UM, SO YEAH, SO HERE IS THE UPDATED ONE PAGER OF THE PLAN.
UM, IF YOU GOT THE STAFF REPORT OR THE AGENDA BILL, THERE WAS THIS LONGER ONE THAT I HAVE WITH ME THAT GETS BEYOND THE PILLARS AND INITIATIVES AND INTO THE ACTION STEPS AND KEY MEASURES.
BUT, UM, THAT'S, I GUESS, MORE DETAILED READING THAN WE WERE PLANNING TO DO TODAY.
BUT I'M OBVIOUSLY HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE STILL STUCK WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THREE OF THE FOUR PILLARS LOOKING AT HERE IN THE, THE TOP ROW MANAGE AND STEWARD THE DESTINATION, OPTIMIZE ECONOMIC IMPACT AND ENHANCE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH TOURISM.
UM, THE NEW PILLAR BEING ENHANCED, THE SIT OWN EXPERIENCE.
UM, AGAIN, UM, SOME OF THE ORIGINAL ACT, UM, INITIATIVES AND ACTION STEPS GOT KIND OF CONSIDERED COMPLETE AND MOVED OUT.
WE DID MOVE AROUND SOME OF THIS OVER TIME.
UM, WE ENDED UP PUTTING A LOT MORE IN KIND OF OPTIMIZED ECONOMIC IMPACT.
UM, IF YOU REMEMBER THE, THE RESEARCH, UM, INITIATIVE WAS UNDER STRENGTH IN THE ORGANIZATION.
WE MOVED THAT INTO ENHANCED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH TOURISM BECAUSE IT'S THE GOAL OF PROVIDING PUBLIC ACCESS TO RESEARCH WAS SORT OF THE THINKING THERE.
UM, BUT YEAH, I'D LOVE TO KIND OF GO THROUGH THE MAJOR CHANGES.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH EVERYTHING AT ONCE.
UM, THERE ARE SOME THAT I'LL JUST ACKNOWLEDGE WE'RE CARRYOVERS, UM, BUT I DO WANT TO SPEND THE TIME WALKING THROUGH MANAGE AND STEWARD THE DESTINATION AND ENHANCE THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE.
THOSE ARE THE, THOSE ARE THE TWO THAT HAVE THE MOST NEW IN THEM.
SO, TO START, SO, UM, WITHIN THE MANAGEMENT STEWARD DESTINATION PILLAR, WE'VE GOT FOUR INITIATIVES.
THE FIRST ONE BEING SET EXPECTATIONS FOR RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL USE OF SEDONA THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, SO ONE OF THE NICE CHANGES WITH THIS PLAN IS THAT WE INITIALLY HAD, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP AN ALWAYS ON EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN.
WE WERE ABLE TO LAUNCH APPRECIATE SEDONA LAST SPRING, WHICH IS OUR EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING CAMPAIGN THAT'S ALWAYS ON, UH, THAT'S A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM AND LEAVE NO TRACE.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT A LANDING PAGE FOR IT.
WE MET WITH COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY LEADERS TO FIND THE BEHAVIORS THAT WE WANT TO INFLUENCE THROUGH STRATEGIC MESSAGING.
UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RUN SOME, UM, EXPECTATION SETTING MARKETING CAMPAIGNS IN ARIZONA FOR FOLKS THAT WE KNOW ARE COMING IN THE SPRINGTIME.
SO THAT'S ONE WAY THAT WE'RE DISTRIBUTING IT.
UM, KIND OF BUILDING ON THAT, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE CORE THEMES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IN THIS PLAN, IS REALLY ACTIVATING FRONTLINE STAFF AND ACTIVATING AMBASSADORS THAT SHARE INFORMATION ON OUR BEHALF.
SO LOOKING BEYOND OUR WEBSITE, LOOKING BEYOND OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, LOOKING BEYOND OUR CAMPAIGNS, REALLY FOCUSING ON PLACES LIKE THE VISITOR CENTER.
I KNOW GREG WAS JUST HERE, BUT WORKING WITH THE PARKS AND REC RANGERS.
SO WE'RE ALSO SORT OF SPEAKING FROM A COMMON LANGUAGE.
UM, IT'S NEVER GONNA BE COMPLETELY CONSISTENT.
WE KNOW FRONTLINE STAFF COULD PUT THEIR OWN PIZAZZ ON THEIR OWN DISCUSSIONS, BUT AT LEAST IF WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A TRAIL MAP THAT WE'RE ALL USING, MAYBE WE HAVE THE SAME SHUTTLE INFORMATION GOING OUT.
SO, UH, REALLY WORKING FROM THE SAME PLAYBOOK IS THE GOAL THERE.
UM, WE HAD THE SH THE TRANSPORTATION WAS ITS OWN INITIATIVE BEFORE.
WE'VE EMBEDDED IT INTO THIS ONE, JUST UNDER THIS BROADER CONCEPT OF RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL USE, BUT CONTINUE TO BUILD AWARENESS OF THE SEDONA SHUTTLE AND ESTABLISH SEDONAS REPUTATION AS A LEADING US DESTINATION THAT CAN BE VISITED WITHOUT A
[01:05:01]
PERSONAL VEHICLE.UM, I CAN'T SAY WHO, BUT I CAN SAY THAT WE ARE GONNA BE ANNOUNCED AS ONE OF THE MOST WALKABLE DESTINATIONS IN THE US IN MARCH.
UM, AS AN EXAMPLE, OUTPUT FROM JUST THE WAY THAT WE'VE BEEN ORGANIZING THIS STRATEGY.
SO, UM, WE HAD THEM IN TOWN LAST MONTH, UM, AND I'LL BE ABLE TO, THAT ORGANIZATION THAT YOU CAN'T NAME, WELL, I CAN'T SAY THE PUBLICATION BEFORE THEY ANNOUNCE IT.
OH, IT'S A PUBLICATION, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN.
UM, AND THEN, UH, AGAIN, ONE THAT WE CAN HELP KIND OF PARTNER ON IS EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES TO AMPLIFY REAL TIME INFORMATION ABOUT CAPACITY AT PARKING LOTS AND TRAVEL TIMES.
THIS IS ONE THAT OUR TEAM ON THE TOURISM OFFICE ISN'T GONNA FIGURE OUT HOW TO ESTABLISH THE REAL TIME CAPACITY AT TRAP, AT PARKING LOTS.
I KNOW GUILLERMO AND HIS TEAM'S WORKING ON THAT.
ONCE WE HAVE THAT, I WOULD EMBED IT INTO THIS CONCEPT OF JUST THAT EXPECTATION SETTING FOR PEOPLE BEFORE THEY ARRIVE.
UM, THE NEXT ONE WOULD BE ADVANCED DESTINATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT BALANCE VISITOR DEMAND, COMMUNITY NEEDS AND DESTINATION CAPACITY.
UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF BUILDING ON THIS FIRST ACTION STEP IS BUILDING ON ONE THAT WE'VE PRESENTED TO YOU IN THE PAST, BUT REALLY CONDUCTING RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND WHERE VISITOR PRESSURES AND TOURISM IMPACTS EXIST THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
AND DEVELOP SYSTEMS FOR MONITORING PRIORITY IMPACTS.
WE KIND OF SHARED THAT VEHICLE TO TRAVEL TIME CONGESTION MAPPING THAT WE HAD DONE WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS TEAM.
UM, KIND OF CONTINUING TO DO THAT, BUILDING ON THAT BY LOOKING AT TRAIL USAGE AND THEN POTENTIALLY COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS ABOUT CERTAIN TOPICS AND JUST ESTABLISHING BASELINES.
UM, I THINK THAT'S ONE I'VE HEARD FROM COUNCIL BEFORE IS THAT LIKE WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE GROUND A LITTLE BIT.
SO CONTINUING TO COMPILE THAT DATA, BUT LOOKING AT IT THROUGH THAT KIND OF MANAGEMENT LENS.
UM, ANOTHER ONE WOULD BE WORK THAT I THINK I SHARED WITH SOME OF THE COUNSELORS, UM, AT, AT A DIFFERENT MEETING.
BUT, UM, CONTINUING TO PARTNER WITH THE US FOREST SERVICE TO MONITOR AND UPDATE OPEN STREET MAP DATA TO ENSURE THAT TRAILS AND ROADS WITHIN THE RED ROCK RANGER DISTRICT ARE ACT ACCURATELY PRESENTED ON DIGITAL OUTDOOR RECREATION MAPS LIKE ALL TRAILS AND ONYX.
UM, THE GOOD NEWS ON THAT IS OUR CONTRACTOR JUST HANDLE HANDED EVERYTHING OFF TO AARON OVER AT GIS.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA KIND OF PICK EVERYTHING BACK UP, UM, WITH, WITH ALL WITHIN CITY STAFF NEXT MONTH WITH THE US FOREST SERVICE TEAM TO KIND OF DO ANOTHER LOOK AT THE TRAILS THAT WE WANT TO BE DEPRIORITIZING THE SYMBOLOGY OF.
SO WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS KIND OF MAKING THE SOCIAL TRAILS LOOK LESS LIKE TRAILS AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE TACKLING, UH, THE OHV ROADS NEXT.
SO THAT'S JUST A, A NICE PROJECT WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT WE'VE FOUND ITSELF IN THE PLAN.
AND THOSE ARE ON OUR, ON THE MAPS ON OUR WEBSITE AND ON OUR KIOSK CORRECT MAPS ON THE WEBSITE.
THE KIOSK, IF YOU GO ONTO TRAIL FORKS, GAIA ONYX, IT'S ALL KIND OF POWERED BY OPEN STREETE MAP.
UM, AND THEN THIS IS JUST THE DIRECTION WE GOT FROM THE FOREST SERVICE.
I THINK IT'S A KEY PART OF THE ROLE THAT WE HAVE AT THE TOURISM OFFICE.
BUT TRULY THIS IS OUR EDITORIAL PRIORITY WITH MEDIA LIMIT, THE PROMOTION OF RECREATIONAL EXPERIENCES WITHIN THE COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST TO LOCATIONS THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE VIA DESIGNATED US FOREST SERVICE TRAILS OR ROADS, WHICH IS MY WAY OF SAYING WE DON'T PROMOTE CAVES.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THIS IS ONE THAT WE'VE BEEN KIND OF PLAYING AROUND WITH THAT I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF GROWTH OPPORTUNITY FOR IN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS OF THE PLAN.
SO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO BETTER DISTRIBUTE OR CONCENTRATE VISITATION DURING PEAK TIMES OF YEAR.
THIS IS ONE THAT WE ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT WITH THE TAB LEADING UP TO OUR SPRING EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN THAT I MENTIONED WHERE, UM, WE WANTED, WE KIND OF PICKED OUT OF APPRECIATE SEDONA.
WE PICKED TWO KEY MESSAGES, WHICH WAS RIDE THE SEDONA SHUTTLE CONNECT AND GET YOUR DINNER AND TOUR RESERVATIONS BEFORE YOU GET TO SEDONA.
UM, THOSE WERE KIND OF TWO THINGS THAT WE'RE CREATING A LOT OF PINCH POINTS THAT WE KEPT HEARING FROM FOLKS.
SO WITH THE TAB, UM, DIRECTING US TO FIGURE OUT HOW MANY TRAILS YOU COULD GET TO ON THE CONNECT, UM, ROB AND I MET WITH MV.
WE ENDED UP PUBLISHING A SIMPLE MAP AND NOW WE'VE IDENTIFIED THERE ARE SEVEN TRAIL HEADS YOU CAN GET TO WITH THE SEDONA SHUTTLE CONNECT.
SO IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A HIKING EXPERIENCE, YOU CAN DO THAT.
MY BUDDY WAS IN TOWN, WE WENT TO SUGARLOAF, TOOK IT, TOOK THE CONNECT TO THE VAULT, AND THEY GOT BACK TO MY HOUSE AND WE HAD A FULL KIND OF CAR FREE DAY, UM, THERE.
SO THAT'S HOW WE CAN KIND OF BETTER DISTRIBUTE BY ALSO SAYING TRAILS OR SORRY, SHUTTLES TO TRAILS.
UM, AND THEN ONE THAT I'VE ACTUALLY CHATTED ABOUT WITH THE RED ROCK RANGER DIS, OR RED ROCK, RED ROCK TRAIL FUND, UM, WAS KIND OF LOOKING AT THESE CLUSTER HIKING MAPS WHERE IF YOU'RE STAYING IN WEST SEDONA, HERE'S A MAP OF ALL THE TRAILS IN WEST SEDONA.
IF YOU'RE STAYING IN, YOU KNOW, UPTOWN, HERE'S ALL THE TRAILS UP THERE WITH THE GOAL OF TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO MOVE THROUGH THE Y LESS, RIGHT? SO HOW CAN YOU KIND OF CONCENTRATE PEOPLE IN CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS? BUT THE SPIRIT OF THIS IS, HOW CAN WE LOOK AT THIS BETTER DISTRIBUTION AND BETTER CONCENTRATION.
UM, IT'S SORT OF COMBINING THAT CONCENTRATED USE AND DISPERSED USE WITHIN PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT.
UM, SO I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU.
BOB SAID IT SEEMED LIKE IN MARCH AND APRIL IT WAS, THERE WAS LESS TRAFFIC.
I I, OR IT WAS, PEOPLE SAID LESS ABOUT THAT PEOPLE, I GOT THE SENSE THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T FEEL AS OPPRESSED.
NOW IT'S OCTOBER, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR BUSIEST MONTHS.
AND OTHER THAN I'VE BEEN GOING TO THE VILLAGE A LOT, SO I'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, THINKING, OH GOD, WHEN DO I GO? SO I AVOID THAT, BUT IT REALLY
[01:10:01]
HASN'T BEEN BAD.SO MY QUESTION IS, ARE WE DOING A BETTER JOB OR LESS PEOPLE COMING HERE OR? I THINK IT'S BOTH.
UM, SO OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A
SO, UM, IF WE LOOK AT HOTEL DEMAND IT WITHIN SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH, UM, OUR HIGH POINT WAS IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, OUR HIGH POINT WAS 2024.
UM, IF WE LOOK AT JANUARY THROUGH SEPTEMBER, UM, FOR 24, UM, 25 JANUARY THROUGH SEPTEMBER WAS DOWN 5.8%.
UM, 26 IS DOWN 4.2% FROM THAT SAME TIME SEQUENCE IN 24 WE'RE UP 1.7% IN 26 COMPARED TO 25.
SO YEAR OVER YEAR DEMAND HAS GROWN SLIGHTLY, BUT COMPARED TO 24 IT IS DOWN.
AND I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, FOREST ROAD CONNECTION, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE CREEK, THE CREEK CROSSING UNDERPASS, I MEAN THOSE ARE ALL, I THINK, SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENTS THAT THIS PERSONAL OPINION.
BUT I THINK IT IS A COMBINATION OF WE'VE, WE ARE SEEING LESS PEOPLE THAN WE SAW IN 24, BUT WE'VE DONE A BETTER JOB OF ENGINEERING OUR ROADWAYS THAT'S JUST MADE TRAFFIC MOVE BETTER.
UM, AND THEN JUST 'CAUSE THIS IS LIVING, YOU KNOW, DESTINATION MANAGEMENT IS NOT, YOU KNOW, NOT LIKE MARKETING WHERE THE GOAL IS TO BRING, YOU KNOW, VISITORS THAT ARE ENGAGED WITH OUR VALUES.
IT IS REALLY RESPONDING TO THE PINCH POINTS THAT TOURISM CAN CREATE.
SO AS THOSE CHANGE AND EVOLVE OVER TIME, WE WANT TO BE EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR STRATEGIES AND ADJUSTING THESE APPROACHES BASED ON DATA.
UM, SO THEY'RE NOT JUST KIND OF ONGOING STRATEGIES.
THERE'S ONE THAT, THERE'S, WE, WE, WE CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THEM.
KATHY JUST MADE A COMMENT TO ME, WHICH I'LL SHARE.
BECAUSE THIS HAS, IT'S BEEN AN ISSUE FOR US FOR A WHILE.
WE TALK ABOUT A LOT BECAUSE IT'S FRUSTRAT.
WE, WHY DOES THE BED AND AND BED AND SALES TAX REPORT SHOW INCREASES? GO FOR IT.
WHERE ARE THOSE INCREASES COMING FROM IF THERE'S LESS PEOPLE HERE PRICES, IT SEEMS TO TELL A DIFFERENCE.
IT'S, IT'S, IT, IT'S INFLATION AND IT'S SPECIFICALLY, IT'S A DR AT THE HOTELS.
THEY ARE CHARGING MORE, WHICH YOU WOULD THINK THEY CHARGE MORE.
SO THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA GET LESS OCCUPANCY.
BUT THEY'RE ALWAYS PLAYING THAT GAME OF HOW MUCH CAN I CHARGE AND STILL GET PEOPLE TO BOOK MM-HMM
AND SO UNTIL THEY START SEEING, YOU KNOW, ENOUGH BOOKINGS TO MAKE THEM WANNA DROP THEIR A DR, THEY'RE GONNA TRY AND RECOVER OCCUPANCY WITH A DR, WHICH IS WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING.
IT, IT DOES WORK FOR THE HOTELS.
UM, I DO THINK JUST, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT IT DOESN'T WORK FOR IS, YEAH, THIS IS JUST, I THINK THEORY.
AND I, I THINK, I THINK AT THE LAST BUDGET RETREAT I SHARED, I SHARED A GRAPH ABOUT THE PERCENT OF THE TOTAL SALES TAX COLLECTION FROM THE DIFFERENT SALES TAX CATEGORIES.
AND IF YOU RECALL, THERE WERE TWO THAT HAD, YOU KNOW, TREND LINES AND ONE WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING GOES UP, RIGHT? 'CAUSE PRICES GO UP, ESSENTIALLY.
BUT, UM, THE PORTION OF THE, THE TOTAL PORTION OF BED TAX THAT RETAIL WAS RELATED TO WAS IN A DECLINE.
AND THE HOTEL MOTEL ASPECT OF THE SALES TAX WAS IN AN INCLINE.
SO ONE CATEGORY WAS SORT OF TAKING OVER ANOTHER CATEGORY, AT LEAST IN THE FIVE YEAR TREND ANALYSIS THAT WE LOOKED AT.
SO I'M GONNA ASK JULIE 'CAUSE SHE'S THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO HAS A BUSINESS.
I MEAN, YOU JUST SHARED WITH ME THE SUCCESS OF THE PIER FESTIVAL THAT JUST OCCURRED THIS LAST COUPLE WEEKS.
HOWEVER,
WE HAD THE WORST AUGUST WE'VE EVER HAD, LIKE RIDICULOUSLY BAD.
SEPTEMBER WAS A ROLLERCOASTER.
UM, WE DIDN'T MAKE OUR, OUR BUDGET, UM, BUT WE WERE CLOSE.
WE'RE A THOUSAND DOLLARS OFF OCTOBER.
WE'LL, OUR, IN OUR GALLERY SHOP, WE'LL BE DOWN ABOUT 7,000 FROM OUR BUDGET.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE LEN AIR FESTIVAL BRINGS IN PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT TRAVEL SPECIFICALLY HERE FOR THE LEN AIR FESTIVAL, AND THEY STAY HERE FOR THE WHOLE 10 DAYS.
SO THEY'RE COMING SPECIFICALLY TO BUY.
THEY'RE AT EVERY SINGLE THING WE DO.
WE HAD PROBABLY HAD 250, 300 PEOPLE THERE ON FRIDAY NIGHT.
WE PROBABLY HAD ANOTHER 300 PEOPLE THERE ON SATURDAY MORNING FOR THE COMMUNITY PAINT OUT AND THE PUMPKIN PAINTING THAT WANDERED IN AND OUT THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
SO THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE COMING IN AND OUT OF UPTOWN.
AND, AND EVEN THOUGH THE LOWER PARKING LOT WAS FULL, PEOPLE WERE FINDING PLACES TO PARK AND STILL COMING DOWN TO THE ART CENTER.
SO IT, PEOPLE ARE FIGURING IT OUT.
BUT YEAH, UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT BACK TO WHERE IT WAS.
AND I'M GLAD YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION.
SO, UM, THIS IS A TOTALLY NEW INITIATIVE AND TRULY THIS
[01:15:01]
CAME FROM JUST INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE EXPERIENCE THAT WE HAD WITH THE POCKET FIRE LAST SUMMER.UM, SO WE WANNA DEVELOP A TOURISM CRISIS COMMUNICATION PLAN.
THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN CONFLICT WITH THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANS OF OF THE CITY.
IT'S MORE JUST UNDERSTANDING HOW THE TOURISM OFFICE CAN THEN COMMUNICATE WITH TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL AND JUST BE A PART OF, BE A PART OF THAT SPOKEN WHEEL SOLUTION.
SO, UM, BEING ABLE TO REVIEW SUCCESSFUL TOURISM CRISIS COMMUNIC COMMUNICATIONS PLANS AND IDENTIFY BEST PRACTICES RELEVANT TO SEDONA REALLY DEFINE THE ROLE OF THE TOURISM OFFICE IN THIS PROCESS.
WHAT OUR RESPONSIBILITIES ARE PROTOCOLS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH VISITORS, TOURISM BUSINESSES, RESIDENTS, MEDIA TOURISM PARTNERS, DEVELOP THAT PLAN THAT IDENTIFIES PRIORITY AUDIENCE, COMMUNICATION CHANNELS, KEY MESSAGES, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
THEN ESTABLISH THE COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS WITHIN THOSE AUDIENCES.
AND THEN CONDUCT PERIODIC REVIEWS.
UM, ONE INTERESTING PART ABOUT THIS, AND THIS IS JUST TO HELP FRAME IT, HOW, HOW I'M THINKING ABOUT IT IS, UM, WHEN I WAS BACK IN COLORADO, YOU HAD, UM, THE GLENWOOD CANYON FIRE AND THEN THE, THEN THE LANDSLIDES THERE AND THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, BIG TOURISM TOWN LIKE OURS AS WELL.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF CONVERSATION AROUND HOW MESSAGES GOT DISTRIBUTED, BUT THEN VISIT GLENWOOD SPRINGS REALIZED THAT NO ONE WAS REALLY GETTING TO THE HOTELS, FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT? HOW IS THAT GETTING TO THE POPULATION THAT'S IN TOWN AT THE TIME? SO I THINK THAT'S MAYBE THE GAPS THAT WE'RE GONNA EXPLORE IF THEY NEED TO BE FILLED.
IF NOTHING NEEDS TO BE DONE, WHEN WE LOOK AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT PLANS THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY, THEN THAT'S GREAT, BUT WE JUST WANNA DO AN INVESTIGATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT MISSING ANYTHING IN THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND THEN THESE ARE KIND OF NEWER THINGS.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT I THINK WE'VE BEEN DOING, BUT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE PLAN YET.
UM, AND JUST KIND OF FILLING OUT JUST KIND OF WAYS TO BROADEN THE ROLE OF THIS OFFICE IN SUPPORTING THE LOCAL VISITOR ECONOMY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THINGS THAT COULD GROW OVER TIME.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN THE DE FACTO SEDONA FILM OFFICE SINCE I GOT HERE.
SO I WENT, FILMMAKERS WANT TO COME TO TOWN, UM, THEY TALK TO ME.
I WANNA BE CLEAR THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S STILL CARRIE MEYER AND KIND OF HER TEAM.
BUT I'M THE FRONT LINES AND I TRY TO TEE THINGS UP FOR CARRIE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
SO, UM, THAT DOES TAKE UP A CHUNK OF TIME.
I HAD TWO REQUESTS THIS WEEK, FOR EXAMPLE, I WAS PREPARING FOR THIS MEETING.
SO THESE ARE JUST THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SPENDING TIME ON.
SO I WANNA BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, A PART OF OUR PLAN.
UM, AND THEN SAME THING WITH KIND OF EVENT ORGANIZERS THAT ARE COMING TO TOWN.
IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE BIG LAUGHS FESTIVAL THAT WAS HERE, THEY WERE, I ENDED UP BEING SOMEONE THAT HE TALKED TO QUITE A BIT.
DO WE HAVE ANY FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF THE IMPACT OF FILMING ON THEM? LIKE IS IT HAPPENING ALWAYS IN A COUPLE OF PRIME LOCATIONS BECAUSE OF THE SCENERY? OR IS IT FILTERING ELSEWHERE? WHAT, WHAT IS THE IMPACT? YEAH, IT'S SOMETHING I'M GONNA BE INVESTIGATING AS I JUST ESTABLISH THIS.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST BEEN KIND OF LIKE A REACTIVE PIECE.
I THINK BEING ABLE TO BE MORE PROACTIVE AND ESTABLISH A POSITION IS WHAT MY GOAL IS HERE.
UM, BUT YEAH, I'M DEFINITELY LOOKING INTO THAT.
UM, MOST OF THE FILMING IS HAPPENING IN COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST.
SO A LOT OF THE TIME I'M JUST DIRECTING PEOPLE TO TOBY OVER AT THE US FOREST SERVICE.
BUT THEN THERE'S US FOREST SERVICE THAT'S IN THE CITY LIMITS, WHICH THEN REQUIRES A DOUBLE, A DOUBLE FILM PERMIT PROCESS.
SO IT'S SORT OF A PRETTY COMPLEX FILM PERMIT LANDSCAPE AT TIMES.
LIKE CHAPEL HOLY CROSS I THINK COMES UP QUITE A BIT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN ONLY BEING ABLE TO COMPILE WHAT I'VE BEEN A PART OF.
BUT I THINK IT'S BEING ABLE TO DIVE DEEPER INTO YOUR EXACT QUESTION.
'CAUSE IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SAY WE'RE A FILMING TOWN EITHER.
THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT THE GOAL OF, OF THIS, OF THIS ACTION STEP.
I MEAN, AND WAS THAT GOOD FOR SEDONA? BAD FOR SEDONA? WHY WOULDN'T WE PROMOTE THAT MORE IF IT WAS EXACTLY THAT EXPERIENCE? WHICH ANECDOTALLY I'VE HEARD THAT IT IS, BUT LIKE I DON'T SEE THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF, OF FILMING AT THE MOMENT.
I DON'T SEE FOOD TRUCKS, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE WITH CREW.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THAT.
YEAH, MOST FILMING IS COMMERCIAL, SO YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE BIG CREWS.
AND I THINK A LOT OF THE TIMES THE CREWS THESE DAYS ARE A LOT SMALLER.
LIKE THE, THERE WAS ONE, THE COMMERCIAL I WAS TALKING TO THIS WEEK, IT WAS A SUNGLASS COMPANY THAT WANTED TO SHOOT COMMERCIALS HERE.
UH, THEY HAD A CREWE OF EIGHT, UM, WHICH IS, WHICH DOES REQUIRE A PERMIT WITH THE FOREST SERVICE.
ANYTHING FIVE OR LESS DOESN'T WITH THEM RIGHT NOW.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS AT THE VV RIO MEETING, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER I WAS SITTING NEXT TO SOMEBODY AND THEY WERE TELLING ME THAT THERE'S MONEY IN THE STATE FOR FILM.
I'M MEETING WITH THEM ON, UH, TOMORROW ACTUALLY.
SO TELL THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULD THINK ABOUT, UH, REACHING OUT AND, AND THEY'VE, THE LEGISLATURE GAVE AN INVESTMENT.
AND THEN THERE'S A GROUP OF D OS LIKE DISCOVER FLAGSTAFF THAT MEET THAT I'M TRYING TO GET IN THOSE MEETINGS TOO.
JUST AGAIN, JUST TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING COUNSELOR.
I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S MY MAJOR GOAL RIGHT NOW IS WHAT IS OUR POINT OF VIEW ON THIS.
PEOPLE ARE COMING, THEY'RE ASKING US QUESTIONS, STAFF TIME'S GETTING TAKEN UP, BUT LET'S KIND OF LEARN THE LAY OF THE LAND AND THEN DEVELOP A POINT OF VIEW.
I WAS HAVING LUNCH MONTHS AGO AND
[01:20:01]
A PERSON CAME OVER TO THE TABLE WHO KNEW THE PERSON THAT I WAS HAVING LUNCH WITH AND STARTED TALKING ABOUT THIS MOVIE THAT WAS BEING SHOT THAT AT THAT VERY MOMENT.AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT.
I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOU COULDN'T TELL WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
NO, BUT, UH, BUT THEY KNEW ABOUT IT AND IT WAS, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE B ROLL, BUT IT WAS SHOT IN SOMEBODY'S HOUSE.
NO, BUT I, I KNOW THAT IN TALKING TO CARRIE A LITTLE BIT, A LOT OF THE FILMING ALSO HAPPENS IN KIND OF RESIDENTIAL HOUSES TOO.
I DON'T KNOW WHEN IT'S GONNA BE SHOWN OR IF IT'S GONNA BE SHOWN, BUT THEY WERE, THEY JUST SAID IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE DOING IT.
SO THEN, UH, I'LL BREEZE THROUGH THIS ONE 'CAUSE THIS IS ALL CARRYOVER STUFF YOU SAW IN THE LAST PLAN.
SO, UM, CONTINUE TO HAVE OUR EDITORIAL CONTENT CALENDAR THAT FINDS ITS WAY THROUGH ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT MARKETING CHANNELS.
IMPLEMENT DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, UM, BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DO THE B2B INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT.
THAT'S KIND OF GOING TO THE TRADE SHOWS, WORKING WITH THE PRESS TRIPS AND THE F FAMILIARIZATION TOURS, PROVIDING BACKGROUND TO MEDIA AND THEN ALSO JUST PROVIDING LOCAL BUSINESS SUPPORT.
UM, IF YOU GO DEEPER INTO THAT ONE, THAT'S WHERE OUR CREATIVE ASSET PRODUCTION SHOOTS ARE AND OUR I ABILITY TO HAVE PUBLIC IMAGE LIBRARIES THAT WE GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO NOTHING NEW IN THAT, BUT JUST KIND OF RESTRUCTURED AND REFINED A LITTLE BIT.
SO OUR ENHANCED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH TOURISM, UM, AGAIN, SORT OF MOVED A FEW THINGS AROUND AND PUT THEM TOGETHER, BUT TO BE ABLE TO HA BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE TOURISM'S ROLE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, UM, PROVIDE ACCESS TO, UH, TOURISM RELATED RESEARCH, AGAIN, THAT WAS IN A DIFFERENT PILLAR.
WE, WE MOVED IT OVER AND THEN ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY IN THE FUTURE OF TOURISM IS REALLY THAT FEEDBACK LOOP.
UM, IF WE DO WANT TO DO MORE OF THESE TOURISM TOWN HALL STYLE MEETINGS, THAT'S WHERE THIS ONE WOULD LIVE AS WELL.
UM, SO MOVING ON TO, UH, THE FOURTH PILLAR AND THE SECOND ONE THAT I'LL GO DEEP DIVE INTO 'CAUSE THEY'RE MOSTLY NEW.
UM, ENHANCE THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE.
SO DEVELOP AND ENHANCE SIGNATURE VISITOR EXPERIENCES THAT REFLECT SEDONAS NATURAL CULTURAL CREATIVE AND WELLNESS ASSETS INITIATIVE.
UM, SO THIS IS, I THINK REALLY THE ONE THAT CAME OUT PROBABLY THE MOST COUNSELOR FURMAN FROM, UM, THE MEETING THAT WE HAD FOR THE INPUT SESSIONS THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT.
UM, SO BEING ABLE TO SAY, OKAY, WE HAVE THESE DIFFERENT SECTORS OF WELLNESS, YOU KNOW, HERITAGE, OUTDOOR RECREATION, UM, ARTS AND CULTURE.
UM, LET'S REALLY TAKE A DIVE INTO THOSE AND CONDUCT RESEARCH AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT TO LOOK AT GAPS, OPPORTUNITIES, EMERGING TRENDS IN SEDONAS VISITOR EXPERIENCE.
THEN REALLY WORK WITH DIFFERENT TOURISM, UH, PARTNERS TO PACKAGE DEVELOP AND ENHANCE THOSE EXPERIENCES.
UM, ONE COOL ONE IS THAT ADAM AND I WERE JUST TALKING TO GLOBUS MOTOR COACH COMPANY.
I'VE BEEN TALKING TO NATE AT THE HERITAGE MUSEUM QUITE A BIT ABOUT HOW WE CAN WORK WITH THEM ON HERITAGE, HERITAGE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT.
UM, ONE OF MY LIKE CHECKS FOR THIS ONE WOULD BE WHEN THERE'S A GROUP IN TOWN THAT'S LOOKING FOR LIKE AN EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCE, AKA GLOBUS, WHICH IS A PRETTY LEADING NATIONAL TOUR OPERATOR THAT KIND OF BRINGS IN GROUPS OF 20 OR MORE AT A TIME.
AND THEY BRING 15 PLUS OF THEM A YEAR TO OUR HOTELS.
THEY'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING NEW.
COULD THEY MEET WITH NATE AT THE OLD SHERMAN HOMESTEAD, SEE THE ORIGINALS DEL GRAPEVINES, GET THE STORY OF THE HISTORY OF ARIZONA WINE, AND THEN END UP AT PAGE SPRING CELLARS MEETING WITH THE WINEMAKERS THERE AND SEEING THE VINES THAT THEY'VE GRAFTED THE SHERMAN GRAPES ONTO.
AND SORT OF THIS PAST AND PRESENT HERITAGE EXPERIENCE.
SO TRYING TO TURN THAT INTO A GROUP TOUR PRODUCT, FOR EXAMPLE, IS, IS KIND OF THE, UM, ONE I'LL GIVE THERE.
AND THEN, UM, ROB AND I HAVE ALREADY GOTTEN THESE PUBLISHED, BUT CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THEM, BUT MANAGE AND MAINTAIN A COLLECTION OF EXPERIENTIAL GUIDES ON SCENIC SEDONA THAT INSPIRE VISITORS TO DISCOVER THE BREADTH OF THE EXPERIENCE.
SO LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, HIKING, BIKING, STARGAZING, WINE TASTING, ARTS AND CULTURE, WELLNESS, UM, SUSTAINABILITY, ALL OF THOSE BEING THINGS THAT WE'RE REALLY LEANING INTO FROM AN EXPERIENTIAL STANDPOINT.
UM, AND THEN THIS LAST ONE IS GETTING INTO THAT SECOND LAYER OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS REALLY JUST TRYING TO MEET OTHER NICHE AUDIENCES WHERE THEY'RE AT.
UM, STARTING TO LOOK AT TRANSLATED VISITOR GUIDES FOR OUR INTERNATIONAL FOLKS.
UM, LOOKING AT NICHE AUDIENCE GUIDES.
WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS LOOKING AT HOW DO WE PROMOTE ACCESSIBLE TRAVEL FOLKS WITH, UM, ACCESSIBILITY NEEDS.
HOW ARE WE SORT OF CATERING TO THAT AUDIENCE? THERE COULD BE LGBTQ PLUS SORT OF PROMOTIONS THAT WE COULD DO AND SEE AT LEAST GUIDES WE COULD CREATE.
UM, SO REALLY EXPANDING INTO MORE MORE NICHE AUDIENCES AND JUST HAVING MORE INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE WITH SPECIFIC INTERESTS.
HAS THE TRAFFIC ON SCENIC SEDONA PICKED UP? DO YOU HAVE ANY METRICS? WE'RE WE'RE ABOUT, UM, LAST I CHECKED, WE WERE AVERAGING ABOUT 600,000 PAGE VIEWS, SORRY, USERS A YEAR, WHICH PUT US ABOUT A QUARTER OF WHAT VISIT SEDONA WAS DOING AT THE TIME.
HOW DOES THAT COMPARE WITH VISIT SEDONA? IT WAS ABOUT A QUARTER AT, IT WAS A QUARTER UP FROM A LOT UP FROM ZERO ZERO
[01:25:01]
UM, AND THEN, UH, THIS ONE WE SORT OF HAD IN THE LAST PLAN, BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT MORE TO SAY WITH IT.
SO PROVIDE ROBUST VISITOR SERVICES THROUGHOUT SEDONA.
UM, WE, WE NOW HAVE PUBLISHED OUR SECOND OFFICIAL TRAVEL PLANNER, UM, THAT INCLUDES UPTODATE BUSINESS INFORMATION AND TIMELY EDITORIAL CONTENT.
UH, WE JUST DID A 20,000 PRINT OF THAT MOSTLY IN THE UPTOWN VISITOR CENTER, BUT ALSO HAVE IT IN LIKE PHOENIX, FLAGSTAFF, UM, AND OTHER, OTHER ARIZONA D OS.
UM, AND THEN IMPLEMENT THE DIGITAL KIOSK STRATEGY.
SO HOPEFULLY YOU ALL KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT TWO OF THE KIOSKS UP.
THE THIRD ONE IS WAITING TO GET INSTALLED WITH THE PARKING GARAGE OPENING.
UM, BUT, BUT IMPLEMENT THAT STRATEGY BY MAINTAINING ACCURATE UPTODATE BUSINESS INFORMATION AND EXPERIENTIAL, UM, INFORMATION AND REGULARLY EVALUATE KIOSK PERFORMANCE AND USE YOUR EXPERIENCE TO IDENTIFY, IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT.
UM, I'M SURE YOU'RE GONNA ASK WHAT'S BEEN THE PERFORMANCE OF THAT COUNCIL? FURMAN MAYBE, BUT, UM, I
BUT WE'RE INTERESTED TO SEE HOW THAT MIGHT INCREASE DURING, DURING HIGH SEASON.
AND JUST TRYING TO LOOK AT WHAT, WHAT THAT WOULD BE.
SORRY, HOW ARE THE KIOSKS HOLDING UP PHYSICALLY OR THEY, THEY DID NOT BLOW UP IN THE SUMMER HEAT.
THEY DIDN'T, THEY'RE NOT ALL SCRATCHED UP? NO, NO.
YEAH, THEY'RE NOT SCRATCHED UP.
UM, THEY WERE ABLE TO HANDLE THE HEAT THAT WE HAD.
WE DID PUT THE AC UNITS IN THEM.
UM, I WAS TOLD IT WAS GONNA WORK.
I HAD MY OWN SUSPICIONS THAT IT MIGHT NOT, BUT THEY WERE WARRANTIED, SO I FELT, I FELT FINE WITH IT.
BUT YEAH, NO, THEY WERE ABLE TO SURVIVE IT.
UM, ADAM GOES UP EVERY COUPLE WEEKS AND JUST LOOKS AT THEM AND CLEANS THEM.
UM, THE, THE PEOPLE, THE, THE VOLUNTEERS AT THE VISITOR CENTER ARE DOING THE SAME AS WELL.
WHERE'S THE LOCATION AT TILAK? IT'S RIGHT NEXT TO THE PINK JEEP KIOSK.
SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE RIGHT BY LIKE THE OAK CREEK BREWING AREA.
UM, AND I WOULD SAY THAT ACTUALLY HAS THE MOST ENGAGEMENT.
UM, SO WE'RE SEEING, WE'RE SEEING THE MOST INTERACTIONS IN TILLOCK, WHICH KIND OF MAKES SENSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT BECAUSE IF YOU'RE GOING TO THE VISITOR CENTER, YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA WALK INTO THE VISITOR CENTER.
UM, BUT IT'S NICE THAT IT'S ALSO THERE.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT 15% OF THE ENGAGEMENT AT THE VISITOR CENTER IS OUTSIDE OF VISITOR CENTER HOURS.
SO WE ARE PROVIDING ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION WHEN PEOPLE, UM, ARE NOT THERE.
AND THEN, UM, YOU CAN SORT OF DO THIS, WE'RE, AGAIN, THIS IS A LIVING CONCEPT AND WE CAN TWEAK IT, BUT UM, WHEN I TALK TO THE VISITOR CENTER STAFF, THINGS THAT THEY CAN'T DO ARE SHOW SOMEBODY A MENU OR HAVE THEM MAKE A RESERVATION.
BUT, UM, YOU CAN DO IT WITH CERTAIN WEBSITES, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH TRUE ROMNEY, BUT BEING ABLE TO HAVE MORE RESERVATION OPTIONS AND LOOKING AT MENUS SO THAT THEY CAN SAY, HEY, YOU HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE VISITOR CENTER VOLUNTEER.
GO OUT TO THE KIOSK AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MAKE YOUR RESERVATION THERE.
WE ALSO ARE WAITING TO SEE WHAT OCTOBER NUMBERS LOOK LIKE AT THE VISITOR CENTER, BECAUSE PART OF THE MOTIVATION OF DOING IT THERE IS WHEN THERE'S A LINE, THEN THEY CAN ALSO, YOU KNOW, BE SERVED WITH THE KIOSK AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A LINE UNTIL OCTOBER, APRIL, YOU KNOW, THOSE TIME TYPE OF TIMEFRAME.
UM, AND THEN JUST KIND OF BUILDING ON THAT, RIGHT, IT'S JUST, AND I ALWAYS SAID THIS WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE KIOSK, 'CAUSE THAT THE KIOSK IS A MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH INFORMATION IS SHARED, RIGHT? IF GOOD STRUCTURED INFORMATION IS WHAT WE WERE KIND OF GOING FOR, BUT THAT CAN BE DELIVERED THROUGH VISITOR CENTER STAFF, YOU KNOW, A FRONT DESK STAFF AT A HOTEL, PARKS AND REC RANGER.
SO I THINK IT'S, THIS WHOLE PROCESS HAS BROADENED US JUST CLOSER WITH THE UPTOWN VISITOR CENTER.
SO, UM, ADAM AND I ARE UP THERE QUITE A BIT, ADAM MORE THAN ME.
UM, AND JUST KIND OF LEVERAGING, YOU KNOW, THAT PARTNERSHIP TO BE ABLE TO SHARE INFORMATION RELATED TO VISITOR SERVICES AND REALLY TRY TO GET TO THAT MORE CONSISTENT BACKBONE OF WHAT IF YOU, IF EITHER OF US WALKED INTO A DIFFERENT PLACE IN SEDONA THAT IF THEY ASKED A QUESTION, THEY'D GET SOMEWHAT SIMILAR ANSWER IS REALLY WHAT I THINK THE GOAL OF VISITOR SERVICES IS.
AND THEN TO BUILD ON THAT BEYOND THE UPTOWN VISITOR CENTER, JUST REALLY IDENTIFY AND MEET REGULARLY WITH FRONTLINE STAFF.
UM, ADAM'S BEEN STARTING TO DO THAT COMPILING LIST, BUT JUST SO THAT WHEN TIMELY INFORMATION COMES OUT, LIKE WE JUST HEARD THAT, UM, THE, THE POSSE GROUND PARK AND RIDE WILL BE CLOSED DURING THE MOUNTAIN BIKE FEST, WHICH MAKES SENSE, AND THEY'RE GONNA SERVICE SOLDIERS PASS FROM THE 89 A, UM, PARK AND RIDE.
WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT RIDE OUT TO EVERYBODY.
SO REALLY MAKING SURE THAT THE FRONTLINE STAFF KNOW THAT.
UM, AND THEN PARTNER WITH REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, AND NONPROFITS ON STRATEGIES THAT CREATE A MORE RESILIENT SEDONA ECONOMY.
THIS ONE WAS IN THE LAST PLAN.
WE SORT OF JUST BOLSTERED IT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, SOME CHANGES ARE I NOW SIT ON THE VV RE BOARD.
UM, I'M ALSO, YOU KNOW, PRETTY TIED UP WITH THE ECO LEADERSHIP, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO WORKING WITH THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO IDENTIFY ECONOMIC TRENDS, VULNERABILITIES, AND OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, REALLY IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT OUR BUSINESSES AND ASSETS WITH BROADER REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND DIVERSIFICATION EFFORTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AT ITS MOST BASE LEVEL, IT'S THE LOAN PROGRAM AT VV RIO WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.
[01:30:01]
COLLABORATE WITH REGIONAL PARTNERS ON INITIATIVES THAT STRENGTHEN THE LONG-TERM COMPETITIVENESS AND RESILIENCE OF OUR TOURISM INDUSTRY.UM, AND THEN REALLY BEING ABLE TO UTILIZE THAT ENGAGEMENT TO SHARE TOURISM RESEARCH TRENDS, LESSONS LEARNED, SO THAT SORT OF, THEY'RE REPRESENTING THE VOICE OF SEDONA IN THEIR CONVERSATIONS AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST, LAST ONE FOR TODAY WOULD BE, UM, REALLY PARTNERING WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS TO REPRESENT THE VOICE OF TOURISM AND BOLSTER THE SUCCESS OF LEGACY PROJECTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE THAT I DO THINK WAS, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER AT THIS MEETING, I THINK IF I, BETWEEN THE LINES, WHY I WAS PARTIALLY ASKED TO DO THE, UM, FUTURE OF TOURISM AND COMMUNITY INPUT SESSIONS, JUST KIND OF BREAK DOWN THE SILOS AND HAVE TOURISM BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION EVEN IF OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE LEADING ON THE DECISIONS.
UM, I THINK THE, THE HONEST STATEMENT IS THAT THAT DOES TAKE UP MORE OF MY TIME, BUT I THINK IT'S A WORTHWHILE USE OF TIME FOR SURE.
UM, TONY AND I HAVE BEEN REALLY KIND OF GAME PLANNING A LOT WITH SOME OF HIS UPCOMING WORK AND HOW, UM, I CAN BE AN EXTENDED PART OF HIS TEAM THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS.
AS JUST A QUICK EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE IMMEDIATE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE MAKING ON THIS.
UM, EVEN AGAIN, WORKING WITH CARRIE ON FILM PERMITS SO THAT IT'S TAKEN THE LOAD OFF OF THEM AND HAVING SOME VOICE OF TOURISM IN THAT.
SO, UM, REALLY REPRESENTING THE VISITOR ECONOMY AND CITY PLANNING AND PROJECT DISCUSSIONS WHEN TOURISM RELATED IMPACTS OR OPPORTUNITIES ARE IDENTIFIED.
AND THEN, UM, AS A BYPRODUCT OF THAT, AND THIS ONE WAS IN THE LAST PLAN, BUT EDUCATING VISITORS ABOUT CITY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS THAT BENEFIT THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE THROUGH APPROPRIATE TOURISM COMMUNICATION CHANNELS AND REALLY KIND OF BUILDING AWARENESS OF SHARED USE PATHS, TRANSIT SYSTEM, ET CETERA.
SO THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME GO THROUGH THAT, UM, ALL AT ONCE.
I KNOW WE'RE KIND OF OPENING UP FOR QUESTIONS, SO PLEASE VICE MAYOR.
ANDREW, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOU THINK ABOUT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE? RIGHT.
SO, UH, I DIDN'T SEE ANY DIRECT REFERENCE TO THEM BEYOND VISITOR CENTER PER SE, AND I STILL GET CONCERNED THAT WE'RE OVERLAPPING EFFORTS, RIGHT? UM, THE WEBSITE, UH, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
AND IN A SEARCH ON, I GUESS IT'S BING, I THINK, UH, TOURISM INFO FOR SEDONA AZ, THE, UH, THE FIRST LISTING FOR VISIT SEDONA SAYS THAT IT'S THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE SEDONA TOURISM BUREAU.
SO EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE CHANGED THEIR NAME, THEY'VE NOT FILTERED THAT THROUGH THEIR ONLINE PRESENCE AND WHATNOT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I, I APPRECIATE THE COLLABORATION THAT YOU HAVE WITH THE CHAMBER.
UM, AND IT SEEMS TO BE A RECIPROCAL APPRECIATION, SO BRAVO ON THAT.
BUT HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CHAMBER IN A FOUR YEAR PLAN HERE? SO I'D JUST SAY I, I WOULD PUT THEM INTO, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS UP TOP HERE.
I MEAN, DAVID'S ON THE VIVI RE BOARD WITH ME, FOR EXAMPLE.
HE IS BECOMING THE CHAIR OF THE VIVI RE BOARD.
SO THAT'S JUST ANOTHER KIND OF INTERFACE THERE.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD PUT THEM ON THIS SLIDE IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT KIND OF WHERE THEY STAND THERE.
UM, THEY ARE DOING A REBRAND OF THEIR LOGOS RIGHT NOW.
UM, I'VE BEEN PULLED INTO THAT PROCESS, SO I'VE BEEN ABLE TO AT LEAST BE THERE AND BE PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND WHAT THE FUTURE CAN LOOK LIKE.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE NEW LOGO WON'T SAY TOURISM BUREAU.
UM, SO I DO THINK SOME OF THAT LEGACY IS JUST WAITING FOR THE REFRESH.
UM, AT LEAST I'VE BEEN INFORMED THAT WHEN THAT'S DONE, THAT THING YOU JUST MENTIONED WOULD LIKELY NOT BE THERE ANYMORE.
BUT I'M NOT THEM, SO I CAN'T PROMISE THAT.
UM, I DO THINK THAT AS PART OF JUST, YOU KNOW, DAVID BEING IN HIS ROLE FOR LONGER, US HAVING TURNED THREE IN JULY AND KIND OF BEING IN, BEING IN YEAR FOUR OF THIS, OF THIS, OF THIS OPERATION, UM, THE THING THAT I'VE BEEN ASKING FOR, AND I DO THINK IT WILL HAPPEN, UM, IS REALLY JUST SORT OF THIS CONVERSATION.
AND I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHO WOULD BE IN THAT ROOM, BUT IT WOULD BE AT LEAST ME AND DAVID
BUT JUST A CONVERSATION AROUND, YOU KNOW WHAT, THERE'S THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AS A TOURISM OFFICE AND THERE'S THINGS THAT WE CAN'T DO, RIGHT? I MEAN, THERE'S THINGS THAT YOU WOULD NEVER LET, LET ME DO
NOR WOULD I ADVOCATE FOR THAT EITHER.
AND THERE'S THINGS THAT THE CHAMBER CAN DO AND THE CHAMBER HAS, I THINK MORE FLEXIBILITY IN WHAT IT CAN DO COMPARED TO A, COMPARED TO A CITY PROGRAM.
UM, BUT I'D LOVE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM AND START TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN WORK BY FILLING IN EACH OTHER'S GAPS RATHER THAN ESSENTIALLY UNINTENTIONALLY COMPETING WITH EACH OTHER.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF THAT IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AS WE SORT OF TRANSITIONED INTO HOW WE GOT TO HERE TODAY.
BUT I'M EXCITED TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION AROUND, YOU KNOW, WE ARE PUBLICLY FUNDED AND WE ARE OVERSEEN BY A CITY COUNCIL.
WE HAVE TO FOLLOW, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN GOVERNMENT POLICIES ON WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO.
AND HERE'S WHAT WE CAN DO AND HERE'S WHAT WE CAN'T DO.
[01:35:01]
CHAMBER CAN MARKET OUTSIDE OF THE CITY.THAT'S A THING THAT THEY CAN BASICALLY PROVIDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF EVENTS THAT WANT TO COME TO TOWN, YOU KNOW, THEY REQUIRE ESSENTIALLY A SPONSORSHIP OR IT'S KIND OF A, A BUY-IN FROM THE COMMUNITY OTHER THAN OUR SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM AND OUR LARGE GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH TYPICALLY GO TO THE NONPROFITS.
THAT'S NOT A POCKET OF FUNDING THAT WE KIND OF HAVE AVAILABLE TO OURSELVES.
THE CHAMBER COULD DO THAT, FOR EXAMPLE.
THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT I WOULD THINK ARE ASPECTS OF WHAT A-D-M-M-O COULD DO.
UM, AND I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN HUGE SPREADS OF WHAT A-D-M-M-O COULD DO, UM, IF THEY'RE, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE A STANDALONE ENTITY.
I LOOK AT VISIT BEND, THEY'RE A 5 0 1 C SIX, THEY'RE ONE OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE ENTITIES I'VE EVER SEEN.
BUT THEY'RE NOT, THEY DON'T LIVE ANOTHER CITY DEPARTMENT THAT'S DOING SOMETHING ELSE NEXT TO THEM.
SO I WOULD NEVER COMPETE WITH MY OWN CITY DEPARTMENTS.
BUT THEN WE ALSO HAVE THINGS THAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO JUST AS CITY GOVERNMENT.
MY ENCOURAGEMENT IS JUST BE AS ALIGNED AS POSSIBLE.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, I WOULD ARGUE IT'S JUST ME.
I'M BIASED, BUT I WOULD ARGUE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THIS CITY'S TOURISM OFFICE SHOULD BE THE TOP OF THE FUNNEL FOR THE CITY AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THESE OTHER ENTITIES AND THE CHAMBER WOULD BE ONE OF THEM IS KIND OF THE ONES THAT'S PULLING THROUGH AND DOING MORE CONVERTING INTO PEOPLE.
WE DON'T REALLY PROMOTE INDIVIDUAL BUSINESSES.
THEY CAN PROMOTE INDIVIDUAL BUSINESSES.
UM, SO AGAIN, THERE'S JUST ALL THESE THINGS.
IF WE CAN, I CAN SAY A LOT OF CAN AND CAN'T AND I'D LOVE TO SIT DOWN AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY CAN FILL IN.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NOW, DO YOU, ARE YOU WANTING US, I WOULD SAY THIS TO ADOPT THIS PLAN OR I'D SAY, OR IS THIS A PLAN GETS ADOPTED BY THE TAB? DOES THE TAB HAS RECOMMENDED THE PLAN.
UM, AND OUR QUESTION TODAY IS, DOES CITY COUNCIL HAVE ANY OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS STAFF SHOULD CONSIDER INCORPORATING INTO THE 2026 PLAN, WHICH WILL SERVE AS THE PUBLIC WORK PLAN FOR THE OFFICE THROUGH 2023? THERE WAS A MOTION FOR APPROVAL IN THE PACKET.
YEAH, THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING, WERE YOU EXPECTING US TO APPROVE SOME TAKE ACTION? NOT NECESSARILY.
I THINK WITH, WITH THE, WITH ANY INPUT THAT YOU ALL HAVE, WE'LL INCORPORATE IT, WE'LL FOLD IT IN, UM, AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL GO FORTH AND USE IT AS OUR NORTH STAR.
SO I THINK THE, FOR ME, THE MISSING PIECE, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT EXACTLY, IS JUST THE RESIDENT.
HOW DO WE INCORPORATE THE WHOLE BALANCE QUALITY OF LIFE VERSUS VISITOR EXPERIENCE? PERSONALLY, I'VE HEARD LESS COMPLAINING IN THE PAST YEAR OR SO THAT I HEARD PRIOR TO THAT.
BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THAT, IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING.
I THINK, I THINK WE HAD LESS PEOPLE AND THEN, I MEAN, WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE EVERY TIME I GET TO TAKE THE FOREST ROAD EXTENSION AND NOT HAVE TO SIT THROUGH THE Y ROUNDABOUT IF I'M TRYING TO GO, YOU KNOW, TO UPTOWN OR TO FLAGSTAFF.
SO, UM, I THINK THOSE TYPES OF THINGS DEFINITELY HELP THE QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND, AND, AND I THINK THE THING THAT I'VE BEEN MAYBE REFLECTING ON IN THIS, 'CAUSE THERE'S, IF I WAS BUILDING A PLAN FOR A 5 0 1 C SIX, IF I WAS BUILDING A TOURISM PLAN FOR THE CHAMBER WHEN THEY WERE THE DMO, IT'D BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN A TOURISM PLAN FOR A CITY A A CITY OFFICE.
BUT I THINK BECAUSE WE'RE IN, I'M NOT HEARING A LOT OF WHAT I THINK I HEARD I WAS GONNA HEAR WHEN I TOOK THIS JOB.
I STILL HEARD A LITTLE BIT WHEN I FIRST TOOK IT AND I STILL HEAR, HEAR A LITTLE BIT NOW.
IT'S NOT THAT IT'S COMPLETELY SILENT, BUT, UM, IT DOES FEEL LIKE I WOULDN'T SILO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE RESIDENTS IN THE OFFICE IN, IN THE TOURISM OFFICE.
IT FEELS LIKE A BROADER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY.
AND THEN WE THEN SUPPORT IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT EXPLICITLY SAID HERE.
'CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DO WHAT WE MAYBE DID LAST SPRING, WHICH WE HAD PUBLIC MEETINGS EVERY WEEK BY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE SORT OF CONSOLIDATE THAT? UM, YOU KNOW, MY JOB WOULD BE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, GOOD MESSAGING AVAILABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH RESIDENTS ABOUT TOURISM.
UM, CONTINUE TO GET BETTER AT THAT, CONTINUE TO BOLSTER OUR TRANSPARENCY HUB.
THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT ARE IN KIND OF THE DEEPER SECTIONS OF THE PLAN.
BUT, UH, YEAH, I DO THINK IT'S THINGS WE CAN DO AS SORT OF DEVELOP THE POSITIONING, UM, BUT THEN REALLY WORK WITH THE COLLECTIVE CITY TO DISTRIBUTE THAT POSITIONING.
AND I THINK WHEN WE SEE HOTSPOT TOPICS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE I THINK WE'RE, WE'VE BEEN RESPONDING TO.
AND I DON'T THINK TOURISM HAS BEEN A HOTSPOT TOPIC FOR A LITTLE BIT.
[01:40:01]
LIKE TO SORT OF JUST CHIME IN HERE A LITTLE BIT TOWARDS WHAT YOU SAID AND, 'CAUSE I, I'M SYMPATHETIC TO THE WORDS THAT YOU USED AND WHAT YOU MIGHT BE TRYING TO CONVEY.AND I, I'D BEEN WORKING ON A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE HERE ABOUT, UH, I DO THINK TOURISM IS DOWN AND I DO THINK WE'VE DONE SOME GOOD THINGS, BUT I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD FORGET THE ELECTION RESULTS EITHER.
AND IT WAS A FAIRLY TIGHT ELECTION IN SOME WAYS.
AND SO WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT STILL CONSCIOUS IN OUR MIND THAT, UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE, I STILL THINK THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT DISSATISFACTION WITH WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND THOSE, THE CHART YOU HAD OF THE TAKEAWAYS OF WHATEVER THE WORDS THAT YOU USED FROM THIS, THE THEMES I THOUGHT WERE REALLY REFLECTIVE OF SOME OF THAT AND A PIECE OF MY FEEDBACK OF THE, OF THE PLAN.
ALTHOUGH I WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF THE PLAN, IT STILL LOOKS TO ME LIKE ALL GAS AND THERE REALLY ISN'T MUCH OF A CONSIDERATION OF WHAT THE THROTTLE MIGHT BE OR EVEN A BREAK.
AND UNTIL WE CAN CONVINCE OUR, OUR PEOPLE THAT THOSE CONCEPTS ARE IN OUR MIND THAT WE'RE NOT JUST FULL ON GAS, I THINK WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE SOME DISSATISFACTION WITH THE PLAN.
AND I THINK THAT KIND OF TOUCHES ON WHAT YOU SAID AS WELL.
SO I, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A GOOD POINT THAT YOU RAISE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THE ELECTION WAS ABOUT TOURISM.
I THINK THERE'S DISSATISFACTION WITH A NUMBER OF THINGS, BUT I'M NOT SURE TOURISM IS THE CENTRAL, NOT AS MUCH AS IT WAS PREVIOUSLY.
UM, WE HAVE THE COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS COMING IN.
DON'T WE? THEY'RE GONNA BE COMING TO YOU IN DECEMBER.
UM, WE DID THAT NATIONAL COMMUNITY SURVEY THAT WE DO EVERY TWO YEARS.
BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE RESULTS.
BUT I'M SAYING, UM, THAT PROBABLY IS THE BEST RESEARCH THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE ON ANYTHING.
AND IT'S GOT, UH, DATA GOING BACK IN TIME.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE VERY REVEALING ABOUT WHAT THE COMMUNITY IS THINKING ABOUT TOURISM AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
BUT THAT'S PROBABLY THE GOLD STANDARD IN, IN RESEARCH.
I MEAN, WHAT I DON'T, THE, THE COMPLAINTS THAT I GET, I DON'T EVEN KNOW COMPLAINT IS THE RIGHT WORD, BUT THE FEEDBACK THAT I GET HAS LESS TO DO WITH THE NUMBER OF TOURISTS OR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE'RE SPENDING ON TOURISTS.
IT'S MORE ABOUT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR ME? I'M A RES, WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR ME? RIGHT.
AND, UH, SO IT'S MAKING SURE THAT WE COMMUNICATE WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES, EVEN WITH FOREST ROAD EXTENSION, WHICH REALLY WAS FOR RESIDENTS, IT WAS WHEN WE OPENED, WHEN WE HAD A SIGN THERE DURING THE, UH, MARCH AND APRIL PERIOD, WE GOT COMPLAINTS THAT THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE OUR ROAD WHILE YOU'RE ADVERTISING IT FOR THE TOURISTS.
REMEMBER THAT? DID YOU GET THEM TOO? I DIDN'T HEAR THAT.
WHEN WE OPENED, WHEN WE HAD A SIGN, ONE OF THOSE PORTABLE SIGNS DIRECTING PEOPLE TO FOREST ROAD EXTENSION DURING THE MARCH AND APRIL PERIOD, WE HAD NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FROM, FROM FOLKS FROM UPTOWN SAYING, THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET ROAD FOR US.
ONLY NOT, WHY ARE YOU ADVERTISING IT FOR TOURISTS? MM-HMM
I JUST, I HAD NOT HEARD THAT COMMENTARY.
UM, AND MAYBE JUST TO BUILD ON THIS ONE, I MEAN LIKE, UM, DEVELOPING THE POSITIONING, UM, THAT THEN WOULD BE POTENTIALLY SHARED IN OTHER MEDIUMS. SO, UH, WE'VE DONE TWO YEARS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDIES.
UM, AND MOST, WHEN I WAS AT THE STATE, I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'D WANNA DO THESE STUDIES EVERY YEAR.
BEING AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL, WE'RE NOT SEEING SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES IN A MACRO OUTPUT.
UM, EVEN IF I'M TELLING YOU THAT WE'RE DOWN, YOU KNOW, 5% IN OVERNIGHT DEMAND, THAT'S NOT GONNA CHANGE A MASSIVE AMOUNT AT THE END.
SO, UM, BUT THE ONES WE DID IN 22 AND 24, UM, THAT WAS WITH DEAN RUNYON, UM, AND ASSOCIATES.
IT'S THE SAME ENTITY THAT THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM USES.
UM, WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE SALES AND BED TAX, 'CAUSE I THINK WE'RE NOT, I THINK WE'RE LESS INTERESTED IN THE, THE TOTAL REVENUE GENERATED BY VISITORS.
VISITORS WE'RE INTERESTED IN THE TAX BENEFITS FROM VISITORS.
[01:45:01]
THIS KIND OF CONVERSATION.SO, UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOTEL, MOTEL, RETAIL, FOOD AND BEVERAGE AND AMUSEMENTS AND OTHERS, UM, YOU LOOK AT THOSE CATEGORIES, UM, VISITOR TAXES CONTRIBUTED TO 75% OF THOSE, THOSE CATEGORIES.
IF YOU TAKE THE ENTIRE SALES TAX, I'M SORRY.
AND ALSO WITH THE BED TAX TOO.
SO YOU TAKE ALL THE SALES TAX, ALL THE BED TAX, UM, BUT THEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE CATEGORIES, UM, TOTALS 66%.
SO TWO THIRDS OF OUR SALES IN BED TAX ACCORDING TO THE STUDY THAT WE'RE FINALIZING, SHOWS THAT IT'S PAID FOR BY VISITORS.
SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD NUMBER.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT ALL ONE, IT'S NOT ALL ONE SIDE ALL ON ANOTHER SIDE, BUT BEING ABLE TO KNOW THAT 75% OF VISITOR FACING CATEGORIES ARE PAID FOR BY VISITORS AND THEN TOTAL TAX COLLECTIONS WOULD BE MORE RELATED TO, UM, 66%.
AND THEN ANDREW AND I TALKED ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD WITH THESE NEXT FOUR YEARS, HOW DO WE DO A BETTER JOB? OR AT LEAST I SHOULDN'T EVEN SAY THAT OUR THOUGHT WAS TO EXPLORE, BROUGHT TO YOU BY TOURISM PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, SO THAT IT MAKES A CLEARER LINK FOR THE RESIDENT AND THE VISITOR SALES AND BED TAX THAT WE GET.
THAT THESE, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S HARD BECAUSE WE PUT IT ALL INTO ONE BUCKET AND UM, AND WE DON'T, WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, SPLICE IT OUT LIKE SOME COMMUNITIES DO, SOME COMMUN YOU KNOW, SOME DS WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE $2 MILLION IN OUR BUCKET THAT WE DO PROJECTS JUST FOR LOCALS AND IT'S KIND OF A PR CAMPAIGN THAT WAY.
IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT MIXED AS WELL.
AND SO HOW COULD WE DO A BETTER JOB OF COMMUNICATING THAT A PROJECT THAT WAS PAID FOR BY TOURISM DOLLARS, UM, BENEFITED YOU AS A LOCAL, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
I'D SAY ONE, ONE THAT I TYPICALLY SEE TO BUILD ON MOST POINTS, A LOT OF GRANT PROGRAMS AND TOURS, INDEPENDENT COMMUNITIES ARE SAID THAT THEY'RE PAID FOR BY VISITOR TAXES.
SO THAT'S A WAY TO SAY, HEY, THERE'S VISITOR MONEY THAT'S GETTING REDISTRIBUTED BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY.
WELL, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T SEGREGATE THE I KNOW.
AND I WAS WONDERING IF WE SHOULD ACTUALLY, I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT THAT.
'CAUSE IT WOULD BE EASIER TO DEMONSTRATE.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW IT ALL GOES INTO RIGHT.
OTHER THAN WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A BED TAX AND WE KNOW THAT ABOUT 20% OF THE BED TAX ENDS UP IN THE TOURISM OFFICE BUDGET, BUT OUTSIDE OF THAT, IT'S ALL IN ONE ONE FUND.
SO YOU'D HAVE TO BE MAKING ASSUMPTIONS THAT NONE OF US HERE LIKE TO MAKE.
SO,
I THINK TO MAYOR PLU, CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME WELL? YEP.
TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HOW DO WE LIKE ADDRESS THE CITIZENS? AND WITH THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE WITH THOSE MEETINGS, THAT WAS REALLY WAS PULLED FROM THE CITIZENS ABOUT WHAT DO YOU, WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF THE EXPERIENCE? LIKE WHAT, WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT IT? AND WE ALSO ASKED THE QUESTION LIKE WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR IT? AND THAT HELPED IDENTIFY SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT WERE FAR OUT OF ANDREW'S PURVIEW.
BUT WE DO HAVE THIS REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY, THE FACT THAT THE DMO IS WITH THE CITY.
I USED TO ALWAYS LOBBY WESOFF BEFORE DAVID ABOUT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.
AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TO THEM IS LIKE DEVELOPING MEDIA AND THE ACTUAL PRODUCT.
WELL NOW YOU HAVE A DIRECT CONNECTION AND THE INFLUENCE OF WHAT THAT STUDENT EXPERIENCE IS TO THE DEPARTMENTS THAT CAN MAKE THE CHANGE TO THE EXPERIENCE AND MAKE REAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND FOR THE CITIZENS.
LIKE IF WE MAKE IT GOOD FOR THE CITIZENS, YOU HEAR THAT THEME ALIVE.
IF WE MAKE GOOD CHANGE TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, IT BENEFITS THE RESIDENT AND THE VISITORS AS WELL.
AND I THINK AS LONG AS WE STAND ON THAT STUDENT EXPERIENCE PILLAR AND MAKE GOOD CHANGE TO THOSE PIECES, WE'LL MAKE A REALLY GOOD ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND WE'LL MAKE A GOOD ENVIRONMENT FOR VISITORS THAT COME HERE.
'CAUSE THE PROBLEMS SPAN BOTH OF THEM.
CONGESTION IMPACTS BOTH THE RESIDENT AND THE VISITOR, RIGHT.
AND TRAIL CONDITIONS, ET CETERA.
SO ALL THESE DIFFERENT PIECES THAT ARE ATTACHED TO THE EXPERIENCE, AS LONG AS EACH DEPARTMENT LOOKS AT IT AND ADDRESSES IT IN THOSE SAME MANNERS, I THINK THAT WE CAN THEN COME AWAY WITH A MUCH BETTER PRODUCT.
YOU KNOW, SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A THANK YOU TO THE RESIDENTS BY HAVING RESTAURANT WEEK OR FRIDAY NIGHT SPECIAL, YOU KNOW, MERCER MONDAYS.
NOW MERCER IS DOING MONDAY, HAPPY HOUR.
MERCER MONDAYS, YOU KNOW, DIRECTED.
IT'S NOT TO THE RESIDENTS PER SE, BUT I MEAN, SMALL THINGS WHERE BUSINESSES GIVE BACK TO THE RESIDENTS AND THANKING THEM FOR THE, THEIR CONTINUING SUPPORT OF THOSE BUSINESSES.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, SOME CREATIVE IDEAS OF HOW TO BRING THOSE CLOSER TOGETHER.
[01:50:01]
UP IN THE, I I'VE BEEN TALKING TO FOLKS ABOUT THAT SINCE I GOT HERE.UM, I CAME UP IN THE INPUT SESSIONS.
I THINK IT'S KIND OF IN THE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS OF THIS PLAN.
UM, WE HAD A RESTAURANT WEEK BEFORE I GOT HERE.
I THINK IT WAS OPERATED BY THE CHAMBER.
AND THEN, UM, WE HAD A LOCAL RESTAURANT GROUP BRING IT BACK IN 24, 25.
UM, THEY DID NOT DO IT AGAIN THIS YEAR, WHICH IS UP TO THEM.
UM, I DID MEET WITH, ACTUALLY, I KEPT, I, I DID A LOT OF MEETINGS THIS WEEK,
THEY RUN THEIR OWN RESTAURANT WEEK.
UM, AND THAT IS GONNA BE IN OCTOBER OF NEXT YEAR.
THERE IS A PRETTY HEFTY PARTICIPATION FEE.
UM, AND OCTOBER'S NOT PROBABLY THE RIGHT TIME FOR US TO BE INTO IT.
NO, NOT FOR, BUT THEY DO HAVE AN INTERESTING, IT'S LIKE A CHEF'S, CHEF'S CHEF'S WEEK WHERE IT'S MORE OF THE CONCEPTS AND MORE OF LIKE THE, THE DOLL RESTAURANTS, THE MEA RESTAURANTS, THE WILD TIME RESTAURANTS.
AND LIKE A LOTTE I'D PUT IN THERE, MAYBE 41 AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO DO A A A THREE A PREFIXED MENU AT THOSE.
AND TO ME, AN AN AUGUST TIMEFRAME FOR A RESTAURANT WEEK LIKE THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING.
I THINK ONE THING WE HEAR FROM THE BUSINESSES IS, YOU KNOW, WITH PRICES UP AND COSTS UP AND EVERYTHING, THAT IT'S HARD TO JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, A DEAL ISN'T ALWAYS THE RIGHT MOVE.
I THINK IT'S CREATIVITY THAT WE WOULD TRY TO FIND, BUT I THINK HAVING, YOU KNOW, RESTAURANT WEEKS ARE A GREAT EXAMPLE, BUT SOMETHING WE'RE EXPLORING.
I DO THINK BACK TO YOUR COMMENTS, VICE MAYOR, THAT THAT'S REALLY SOMETHING THAT THE CHAMBER WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE OF A LEAD ON THAT WE'D WANNA PARTNER TRULY.
UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S MORE OF THAT BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT STANDPOINT.
BUT YEAH, I'D LOVE TO SEE MORE OF THAT HAPPEN.
THERE USED TO BE A, A RESIDENT CARD.
AND IT GAVE YOU DISCOUNTS AT VARIOUS AND AS SUNDRY PLACES WHO PARTICIPATED IN THAT? THERE'S, IF, OBVIOUSLY I, I LIVE HERE, I SPEND A LOT OF TIME SECRET SHOPPING THE DESTINATION, IF YOU WILL.
BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF PLACES THAT DO IT.
AND IT'S INTERESTING, IT'S LIKE ALWAYS AT THE END THEY'LL BE LIKE, DO YOU LIVE HERE? AND THEN I, I'LL GET A LIGHT DISCOUNT.
I'VE, I'VE TRIED TO KIND OF COMPILE IT, BUT IT HAPPENS DURING DIFFERENT TIMES OF YEAR.
IT'S LIKE DURING LOW SEASON THEY'LL ACTIVATE IT.
SO IT'S JUST KINDA MORE AD HOC.
BUT YEAH, IT'D BE NICE TO BRING SOMETHING, SOMETHING LIKE THAT BACK.
SO WHERE DO YOU WANNA GO FROM HERE? AND JUST PROVIDE
I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO, YOU CAN GIVE A THUMBS UP IF YOU WANT.
DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING? GO FOR.
WELL THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME AS ALWAYS.
UM, I APPRECIATE IT AND THANK YOU ANNETTE.
IT'S NICE TO BE, WE'RE ABLE TO START, START THIS MEETING WITH A CELEBRATION FOR YOU.
OKAY, NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS DISCUSSION.
POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING IDEAS FOR FUTURE MEETING, AGENDA ITEMS. ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING?
[5. ADJOURNMENT]
OKAY.