Tourism Development Grant Review Committee

AGENDA City of Williamsburg Tourism Development Grant Review Committee Monday, September 12, 2022 A meeting of the Tourism Development Grant Review Committee will be held Monday, September 12, 2022 at Stryker Center (Room 127), 412 N Boundary St, Williamsburg, VA 23185 commencing at 3:30 PM. Page I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. APPROVE MINUTES A. January 31, 2020 2-4 IV. OPEN FORUM V. INTRODUCTIONS & OVERVIEW A. 2022-2023 Members 5 VI. APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS A. Chair & Vice Chair 6 VII. OLD BUSINESS A. 2019 and 2020 Cycles 7-8 VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. 2023 Cycle • Proposed Timeline • Information Sessions IX. OPEN FORUM X. NEXT MEETING(S) October 10, 2022 at 3:30 pm OR November 14, 2022 at 3:30 pm XI. ADJOURN The purpose of the Tourism Development Fund (TDF) is to increase patronage to restaurants, attractions, hotels, and events in the City of Williamsburg through financial assistance and reinvestment in tourism products, place-making projects, special events, public-private partnerships, and destination marketing. Page 1 of 8  DRAFT Tourism Development Grant Review Committee Meeting Minutes The Tourism Development Grant Review Committee (TDGRC) met on Friday, January 31, 2020, at 10:00 AM in the 3rd floor conference room of the Municipal Building, 401 Lafayette Street. I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mr. Caracci at 10:00 am. II. Roll Call The following TDGRC members were present: Chris Caracci (Chairperson), Andrew Voss (Vice Chairperson), Scott Foster, Elaine McBeth, Craig Reeves, Adam Steely, Sally Wolfe. The following staff members were present: Andrew Trivette (City Manager), Michele DeWitt (Economic Development Director), Robbi Hutton (Director of Parks and Recreation), Barbara Dameron (Finance Director) Joanna Skrabala (Tourism Development Specialist). III. Approve Minutes a. September Minutes Mr. Voss made a motion to approve the September minutes and Ms. Wolfe seconded. All approved. IV. Open Forum Mr. Trivette said that despite early frustrations and lack of staff, the TDF process has been very smooth. He credited Ms. DeWitt’s leadership to make this possible. Ms. DeWitt extended credit to the TDGRC and its hard work. V. Reports a. Chairperson’s Report Mr. Caracci said he was pleased that City Council agreed to the TDGRC funding recommendations and is looking forward to the next year. Mr. Caracci also said that City staff created an ad to run in the IAAPA email newsletter in hopes of developing additional interest. Ms. Wolfe asked if it was only one ad. Ms. DeWitt said it would be included in IAAPA’s daily email for a period of time. She said the ad takes you to the TDF landing page. Mr. Voss asked if there were local or regional operators that the City would want to Target. He suggested looking to Richmond or the southside. Ms. DeWitt also suggested using the Mid-Atlantic ICSC conference to attract business. VI. Old Business Page 2 of 8  DRAFT a. Status of FY20 TDF Grants Mr. Trivette said he was working with Colonial Williamsburg to finalize a lease agreement for its grant. He also reported that a lease agreement has been drafted for the City to take over management of the parking lots. He said the City was waiting on CW’s response. He said this was done prior to Cliff Fleet’s arrival and Mr. Fleet would need time to get oriented. Mr. Trivette said the deadline for accepting the agreement was the end of June. Mr. Caracci confirmed that this agreement included lots 2, 4, and 5, and Mr. Trivette said the City could also entertain lots 6 and 3. Mr. Trivette said a light engineering review was completed revealing a lot of potential for the lots. Mr. Caracci also reported that CW had a 2021 deadline to complete its restrooms renovation. Ms. Hutton said Parks and Recreation had met with an architectural firm to discuss the 4th lighted field project. She said they are working on an RFP that should be released at the end of February. Ms. DeWitt reported that her department was working on an RFP for the EDA signage grant. She said this would also be released in February. Ms. DeWitt also said the City was working on a performance agreement with the Williamsburg Regional Library for its grant. For the portable stage, Ms. Hutton said she had been in contact with two vendors to discuss options and prices. Mr. Trivette reported that he was drafting an invitation letter to the York and James City county administrators outlining the progression of the Sports Complex, including information on the formation of a Historic Triangle Sports Authority Committee. Ms. DeWitt said she would share a copy with the TDGRC. VII. New Business a. Grant Tracking Program – Survey Monkey Apply Ms. Skrabala reported on a new system the City would use for its TDF grant, Survey Monkey Apply. Ms. Wolf asked if scoring was available for reviewers and Ms. Skrabala confirmed that it was. b. IAAPA Ad Ms. McBeth asked if staff had attended the IAAPA show before and Mr. Trivette confirmed that they had as attendees. He said the show was incredible but purchasing booth space is very expensive. He said the next conference is in the fall of 2020 and the group should think about how they might want to participate. c. 2020 Calendar Everyone agreed to the 2020 meeting calendar. Page 3 of 8  DRAFT d. Review Phase I Application Ms. DeWitt reported that for the next grant cycle, one question was removed from the Phase I application, but everything remained the same. She said the deadline for Phase I was March 13. VIII. Open Forum Ms. DeWitt thanked the finance department for their hard work coding the individual grants. Ms. Wolfe suggested holding a workshop on how to apply for the grant. Ms. DeWitt suggested having open office hours for people to come into the office to ask questions. Mr. Voss said there needs to be a way to communicate the types of the projects in layman’s terms. IX. Adjourn The next meeting is scheduled for March 27, 2020, in Room 127 at the Stryker Center. The meeting adjourned at 10:55 am. Page 4 of 8  TOURISM DEVELOPMENT GRANT REVIEW COMMITTEE 2022-2023 Cash Arehart (12/31/2022) 707 Tanyard Street Williamsburg, VA 23185 757-220-7683 thecasharehart@gmail.com Christopher Caracci (12/31/2023) 260 Sir Thomas Lunsford Williamsburg, VA 23185 321-356-4422 ccaracci@williamsburgva.gov Ron Kirkland (12/31/2022) 286 Ogden Street West Point, VA 23181 804-385-6986 ron.kirkland@widomaker.com Craig Reeves (12/31/2023) 616 College Terrace Williamsburg, VA 23185 757-592-4502 creeves@williamsburgva.gov Sally Wolfe (12/31/2023) 150 Ridings Cove Williamsburg, VA 23185 757-812-2646 swolfe@williamsburgva.gov Adam Steely, Economic Development Authority Ex-Officio (12/31/23) 6 Efford Court Williamsburg, VA 23188 757-476-2583 asteely@williamsburgva.gov Greg Granger, Planning Commission Ex-Officio (12/31/24) Greg@wmbgradio.com Staff Contact: Joanna Skrabala  Tourism Development Specialist  jskrabala@williamsburgva.gov Page 5 of 8  TOURISM DEVELOPMENT GRANT REVIEW COMMITTEE AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 9/12/22 Staff Contact: Joanna Skrabala, Tourism Development Specialist Agenda Item Wording: Appointment of Officers Background Information: Due to the pandemic and the hiatus of the TDF program, the TDGRC has not met since January 2020. At that time, Chris Caracci was Chair and Andrew Voss was Vice Chair. Mr. Voss is no longer on the TDGRC and Mr. Caracci’s term has expired as Chair. A Chair and Vice Chair need to be (re)appointed to proceed with meetings. Officers shall be appointed for twelve-month terms, expiring on June 30. Previous Action: None Staff Recommendation: Appointment of those TDGRC members who are nominated and accept and understand the duties. Sample Motion: I move that the Tourism Development Grant Review Committee appoint <name> as Chair and <name> as Vice Chair. Page 6 of 8  TOURISM DEVELOPMENT FUND – 2019 CYCLE UPDATES Indoor Sports Complex – City of Williamsburg $250,000 grant in FY20 for further study and design of an Indoor Sports Complex and planned reserves of$250,000 in FY21 for building design, $800,000 in FY22 to pay the TDF share of debt service during construction, and $1,150,000 in FY23 and FY24 to pay the TDF share of the debt service after construction. The group pursuing the sports complex project has formed the Historic Triangle Recreational Facilities Authority (HTRFA). The HTRFA was formed to oversee the construction and management of regional recreational facilities as part of the redevelopment of 160+ acres alongside the Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center. The board is made up of representatives from the City of Williamsburg, York County and James City County. The HTRFA is tasked with leasing the property, procuring the construction and financing for the project, and managing the operations of the facility once constructed. At its meeting on 2/9/22, the HTRFA accepted two unsolicited proposals for the facility and voted to begin the PPEA process which takes 45 days. No additional proposals were received. The HTRFA received presentations from the two teams that submitted proposals at their July 13th meeting, and anticipate selecting a team to move forward with an interim agreement at their September 14th meeting. The interim agreement authorizes the selected team to design and engineer up to 35%, which will give the HTRFA a better idea of cost, management structure, as well as inform the arrangement with Colonial Williamsburg as landlord. Gateway Signage – City of Williamsburg $250,000 grant to the Williamsburg Economic Development Authority to facilitate the design and installation of a comprehensive wayfinding signage system. City staff will manage the project. A Wayfinding Plan to make it easy for visitors and residents to navigate around downtown, promote parking opportunities, encourage local shopping & dining and market special events was approved by City Council at its August 2022 meeting. This project is funded with a $250,000 grant from the Tourism Development Grant Program. After a public procurement process, the City hired MERJE, a nationally recognized design firm with specific expertise in Community Wayfinding, to work with the community to design this system. The public input process included: Stakeholder group meetings with PC, EDA, BZA, ARB, businesses, citizens, tourism council, chamber of commerce, CW, and W&M (January 2021); Public survey to collect input on three design options with the overwhelming choice by the public being design #2 (March 2021); and Zoom public input meeting that confirmed the community preference for design #2 (April 2021). MERJE estimates that the project budget of $250,000 will fund the installation of 42 directional signs and four static informational kiosks, which will be Phase 1 of installation. Future phases are estimated to cost: PHASE 2: Parking (Directional & Identification) at $ 142,300; PHASE 3: Kiosks (Digital / Static) at $150,000 - $275,000; and PHASE 4: Gateways, cost TBD. Phase 1 requires a public procurement process. The anticipated schedule follows: DOCUMENTATION (MERJE) - AUGUST / SEPT REC. TO CITY COUNCIL - NOV /DEC ADVERTISE FOR BID - SEPTEMBER APPROVAL TO PROCEED - DECEMBER BIDS DUE - OCTOBER SHOP DRAWINGS & SAMPLES - JAN/FEB BID REVIEW - NOVEMBER FABRICATION/INSTALLATION - MAR-JUNE 1 Page 7 of 8  TOURISM DEVELOPMENT FUND – 2019 CYCLE UPDATES Outdoor Furniture – Williamsburg Regional Library $10,000 grant to the Williamsburg Regional Library to purchase additional furniture for the City Square Plaza. The furniture was purchased and installed for less than expected in early 2021. Using the remaining funds, the WRL received approval from the City to install “café lighting” in the outside structure near the fountain. Portable Stage – Williamsburg Parks & Recreation $100,000 grant to the City's Parks & Recreation Department to purchase a portable stage available for use in the City. The Parks & Recreation Department was awarded grant funding from the Tourism Development Fund in the amount of $100,000 to purchase a mobile stage. The original grant application was submitted by the Williamsburg Regional Library but after TDF committee discussion it was determined that a mobile stage would be a beneficial asset to the City. After thorough research, the durability, ease of use to include set up and breakdown, the Wenger Showmobile was the best option to meet the demands of anticipated use in the City. The Wenger Showmobile was the only vendor that offered a hydraulic self-leveling system and hydraulic accessible ADA compliant lift. Furthermore, the Wenger Showmobile was the only stage that came equipped with stage lighting and offered a five-year warranty. The purchase of this stage required additional funding. The Wenger Showmobile from the Wenger Corporation was purchased for $169,177. Events that the mobile stage has been rented for are: W&M Commencement Ceremonies, Summer Breeze Concert Series, and Newtown Concert Series, and Occasion for the Arts. 4th Lighted Softball Field at Kiwanis Park – Williamsburg Parks & Recreation $529,153 grant to the City's Parks & Recreation Department in FY20 and a planned reserve of $670,847 forFY21 to total $1,200,000 to complete the fourth lighted field at Kiwanis Park. In 2019, Park & Recreation applied for grant funding in the amount of $1.2 million from the Tourism Development Fund to build softball field#4 at Kiwanis Park. After a thorough review process by the Tourism Development Grant Review Committee, it was recommended the project be approved for funding. The project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic however, the field was debuted at the National Softball Association’s Softball World Series in July. The complex hosted 24 teams from 8 states. The department’s youth softball program will play on the field beginning this fall. There are outstanding items that remain however, the field will be used while those outstanding items are completed. The outstanding items that remain include bleacher seating and shade, trash receptacles, backstop padding and press box window guard. 2 Page 8 of 8