Tourism Commission

Tourism Commission Minutes City of Bellingham, Washington Tuesday 3:30 PM February 27, 2024 City Coumcil Board Room https://meetings.cob.org Call to Order The Tourism Commission meeting was called to order by the Chair at 3:30 PM. 1. Introductions Present: Peter Frazier (Chair), Christine Jenkins, Craig Jewell, Kelly Hart, Kevin Coleman, Marc Blake, Matt Lesinski, Nicky Kelly, Sara Holliday, Stephanie Morrell, Todd Elsworth, Hollie Huthman (Council Representative), Dylan Deane-Boyle (ex-officio), and Patricia Leach (ex-officio) City Staff/Other Panelists: Tara Sundin and Fiona Starr, PCDD; John Purdie, Mount Baker Theatre; Hunter Motto, Bellingham Exit 2. Approval of minutes from previous meeting The minutes from January 23, 2024 were approved with corrections. Agenda Items Public Meeting 1. Bellingham Exit Presentation of Final Report for 2023 p. 2 Hunter Motto gave a presentation of the Final Report for Bellingham Exit and talked about proposed improvements for the 2024 event. 2. Traffic Box Wraps and Banner Update p. 15 Tara Sundin shared the images of the new traffic box artwork to be installed downtown. These are in addition to the existing traffic box artwork already in place. She also shared the banner designs that are in process and should be finalized by the end of March. 3. Downtown Placemaking p. 41 The Tourism Commission is in support of placemaking opportunities to activate downtown. 4. Selection of Chair and Vice Chair and Selection of Lodging Tax Advisory Committee p. 42 (LTAC) Members for 2024 Nominations and voting for the Chair and Vice Chair, and LTAC members will be on the March agenda. Other Business 1. Public Comment Period  2. For the Good of the Order, Legislative Issues, and Announcements A proposal to put out an RFP for a Spring Indoor music festival was discussed. There is support from the Commission for this idea and further discussion is needed at a future meeting. Kelly Hart and John Purdie gave an update on recent state bills related to the Arts. Minutes prepared by: ____________________________________________ Shannon Taysi, Recording Secretary Minutes edited by both staff and Tourism Commission members.