Tourism Commission

Tourism Commission Minutes City of Bellingham, Washington Wednesday 3:30 PM May 10, 2023 City Council Board Room, City Hall https://meetings.cob.org - Call to Order The Tourism Commission meeting was called to order by the Chair at 3:30pm. March 28, 2023 Meeting Minutes for Approval 1. March 28, 2023 Tourism Minutes Approval Christine Jenkins moved and Todd Elsworth seconded the approval of the March 28, 2023 meeting minutes. All in favor, motion carries. Agenda Items Public Meeting 1. Discuss 2024 Grant Application and Process The Commission discussed changes to the grant application. No significant changes were made to the application itself, some minor formatting. There was a discussion about a subcommittee reviewing the marketing plans and Dylan Deane-Boyle meeting with all applicants as a requirement. The Commission felt if applicants were meeting with Dylan Deane-Boyle at the application stage that there should be a post event report to analyze the results of their marketing efforts. The final decision from the Commission was it will be a requirement for all applicants applying for the Standard Grant to meet with Dylan Deane-Boyle. That meeting will be documented as part of the application and if they do not follow through on this step their application will not be considered. It was also determined a subcommittee (Dylan Deane-Boyle, Craig Jewell and Matt Lesinski) would review marketing plans of applicants and make a recommendation to the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee on the ranking of those plans. Kevin Coleman moved and Marc Blake seconded the decision to require that all Standard Grant applicants must meet with the Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism as part of the application process and if they do not, their application will not be considered. All in favor, motion carried. Marc Blake proposed the 25% for operation be removed and the grants should allow for 100% operations. There was a discussion regarding the pros and cons of this. Marc Blake moved to remove the 25% constraint for operations and to allow for grantees to have the option of using 100% of funds for operations. 6 in favor and 3 opposed. Motion Carries. 2. Banner Project Next Steps Shannon Taysi said she met with Dylan Deane-Boyle and Matt Lesinski to discuss next steps with banner design. Here are the discussion notes from that meeting. Budget 5yrs shelf life, last time it cost:  $5,000 graphic design fee  $250/each LARGE banner (Downtown)  $100/each SMALL banner (Fairhaven) $55-60k Usage  May-Sep  Downtown May/Aug/Sep | PRIDE banners Jun/Jul | WWU Alumni weekend (Sep) Districts served (Downtown + Fairhaven) 1. Downtown 2. Old Town 3. Arts District 4. Fairhaven 5. Waterfront (TBD) Elements  Materials  Duration  Design Considerations  Longevity - Can we shorten the shelf life and keep them up longer?’  Brand standards - for wayfinding - if others give input everyone will want their way o Framing (like a letterhead) o Color/brand guide?  No standards/guidelines for signage. Yes for logo use (digital) Who are the stakeholders involved?  Commission + design?  DT Partnership + Fairhaven + etc.??? Target launch: May 2024 Shannon Taysi said if the Commission agrees she will form a sub-committee with Tourism members and neighborhood stakeholders. Peter Frazier said he would like to have further discussion regarding this topic at the next meeting (meeting was running out of time  3. Selection of Lodging Tax Advisory (LTAC) Committee Members The Commission recommended the following members for LTAC:  Christine Jenkins  Sara Holliday  Stephanie Morrell  Craig Jewell  Todd Elsworth  Marc Blake Staff will forward this recommendation to the Mayor for approval and recommendation to the City Council for final approval. Other Business 1. Public Comment Period 2. For the Good of the Order, Legislative Issues, and Annoucements Minutes prepared by: Shannon Taysi, Program Specialist