AUBURN’S HISTORIC & CULTURAL SITES COMMISSION
Meeting minutes from February 10, 2004
Present: M. Alberici, P. Copes Johnson, J. McCormick, A. Wood, E. McHugh, K. Walker,
S. Craner, D. Lamb, T. Hussey, J. Bryant and J. Kline
Excused: B. M. Lewis, M. Vanek and M. Weitekamp
Absent: C. Carter, P. Anderegg, T. Bridenbecker, P. Wisbey, S. Marteney and D. Dempsey
Chair M. Alberici called the meeting to order, and J. McCormick read the mission and vision statements for the Commission.
I. Approval of the Minutes
M. Alberici asked for approval of the January 6, 2004 minutes. E. McHugh made a motion to accept the minutes as submitted, seconded by S. Craner. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Committee Reports
II. Planning & Development Committee
D. Lamb said the committee had not met and there was nothing new to report. M. Alberici shared information she got from Trish Ottley from County Planning Dept. re: Thruway signage for the sites. There is a $750 annual fee for each sign, per interchange, as well as an annual fee of $400 for maintenance. Since these costs were not budgeted for, they are too expensive to afford. M. Alberici mentioned talking to our Legislators to see what could be done.
Representatives from the sites and the Tourism Office attended the Fast Ferry meeting in Rochester. E. McHugh said the ferry offers different options for advertising and promotional opportunities, specifically packages. J. Kline thought costs had not yet been set for brochure distribution on the ferry, but it will be expensive. J. Kline said people on the CCCVB Board were meeting on March 1st at 10:30AM at the Schweinfurth to create packages for individual travelers. If people are interested from the Commission, they are welcome to come.
III. Marketing Committee
As for leads from ads, J. Kline said during the month of January the Tourism Office responded to 97 inquiries; the top producer being Country Gardens. Inquiries are low right now since there are not any ads running. J. Kline said the reprint of the brochure is done, and she distributed copies. Please pick up more at either the Tourism Office or the Schweinfurth. In doing the brochure updates, J. Kline was in contact with Karen Krieger, Interim Director of the Tubman Home. An introductory packet was sent to her, with background information on the Commission, minutes and other materials. K. Krieger seems very nice and accessible, and hopefully she can schedule to meet J. Kline when she is in town.
J. Kline said she met with Jerry Del Favero re: pedestrian signs. The one finished sign at the DPW garage looks very nice, and there are five more signs to be made. The City still needs to create five sign blanks, but snow removal is their main priority right now. They will call Tom Shayler of Sign Guys when the blanks are done so he can come to the garage to adhere the graphics. J. Kline will check in with T. Shayler to see that this happens. When the sign fabrication is complete and the weather improves, the locations for the signs can be flagged for installation by a Commission representative and City staff.
M. Vanek met with the intern to discuss the quality standards project. The project will continue through May. The intern will compile a final report with a summary of each visit, and (if applicable) recommendations for change. The report will be created using power point, and she should be able to do her presentation for the Commission at the April meeting.
IV. Community Outreach Committee
Everyone welcomed S. Craner back from maternity leave. J. Kline asked if the Commission wanted to again have a display at the Group Tour Showcase hosted in Sodus Pt. on April 29th. The timeframe will be the same as last year with early morning set up, and the show will run from 10AM – noon followed by lunch. J. Kline will be there for the Tourism Office, and would be willing to car pool with someone else. M. Alberici said she would go on behalf of the Commission. J. Kline said a mailing with more details and a map will come shortly.
J. Kline said this Friday a man named Dan who was hired by Finger Lakes Tourism to represent the Region on an AAA sales blitz will be in Auburn visiting sites he is unfamiliar with.
J. Kline has called the Tubman Home, the Chapel and the Seward House to let them know he will be coming there. Dan has an appointment with M. Vanek at 11AM, and then he will head out to the sites. J. Kline said she received a phone call from Ann Robson re: the Bon Ton Roulet bike tour, which will be in Auburn July 28-30. The riders are spending the night at Emerson Park, and will have some time to do some sight seeing on Thursday. A. Robson wondered whether the sites would offer a discounted joint admission package. The site representatives present replied that their admission is free, or donations are voluntary. S. Craner said she had been in touch with A. Robson too about activities for that Thursday. S. Craner was thinking of doing downtown welcome signs and discount coupons for the bikers.
E. McHugh said the Ward O’Hara Agricultural Museum wanted to be added to the “Passport to History” program this year. The main problem is, the passports have already been printed for the next four years, and the Museum is located out of the City’s limits. So, unfortunately their inclusion isn’t possible at this time. S. Craner said Leadership Cayuga is conducting a feasibility study on a trolley to transport visitors from the Fingerlakes Mall, to Downtown Auburn and the historic sites, and Emerson Park. S. Craner continued, maybe the trolley could tie into the Passport to History program, since transportation for families has been a problem. S. Craner said potential partners for funding the trolley include the Downtown Auburn BID, the City and the County, and perhaps Bass Pro Shops would be
approached.
V. Quality Assurance Committee
See Marketing Committee report.
VI. Prison Museum Study Group
In P. Wisbey’s absence, no one present had seen the letter P. Wisbey said he would draft to Melina Carnicelli and Mayor Lattimore stating the Study Group’s mission of exploring whether a stand-alone prison history museum is necessary was fulfilled. M. Alberici will follow up.
VII. Other Business
J. Bryant said author Kate Clifford Larson will be giving a presentation on her new book, “Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero,” on Mon. Feb 23rd at 11AM at CCC. She will also be presenting at AHS that same evening. J. Bryant said there are two other books on Tubman that have been recently released. All the authors are from the Northeast.
D. Lamb said the site directors met regarding Commission fundraising and they are in agreement that efforts should not compete with funding streams for the individual sites. They feel it would be inappropriate for the Commission to approach local foundations for funds. They are interested in pursuing a collaborative event or project, such as Common Threads. One idea was a Tiffany theme since there are many sites that could tie in, i.e. the Chapel and the Cayuga Museum have a Tiffany interior/window, and the Schweinfurth could have an art glass installation, etc. As for their priorities in light of budget cuts, maintaining the brochure, website and advertising are valuable tools that they want continued. The rest of the programs will have to be assessed if need be, such as Passport to History and Common Threads. J. Kline
said FYI that Rev. Carter had told her that the Tubman Home would not be participating in Common Threads in 2005.
M. Alberici said she is gathering the Common Threads survey forms for David McCarthy to scan and tally. Once the results are in, the Commission should present the results to City Council. M. Alberici said next, questions for a summer survey should be drafted; please bring your ideas to the next meeting. J. Kline circulated copies of the Common Threads survey for reference. M. Alberici said that one question that should be included on the summer survey was where visitors got the brochure, whether it was an information center, an ad, or one of the other sites, etc.
E. McHugh commented that the bubble forms were hard for seniors to use, and she would rather circle answers. She said they have left over scan sheets that could be used in the summer. D. Lamb thought the survey was useful and was in favor of doing another one this summer, as was K. Walker, who didn’t experience any problems either. D. Lamb said she was curious whether the Fast Ferry and Bass Pro Shops would affect their summer attendance figures.
As for the Commission newsletter, J. Kline thanked S. Craner for devoting an entire full page of their newsletter to the Commission. J. Kline said no one had e-mailed her copy for the next edition. D. Lamb thought that maybe sending news via press release on Commission letterhead might be easier. (J. Kline does do this now, but it only goes to the press.) K. Walker said she thought the newsletter was a valuable tool and she would help make it happen.
E. McHugh said, when The Commission has valuable information we should do a quick presentation to City Council, i.e. visitation stats, or other news of importance. M. Alberici said the Commission members should rotate the responsibility of making the Council presentations. The next one could be about the new brochure and last year’s inquiries (up 79%). M. Alberici was going to check with D. Dempsey on the scheduling and devise a plan. Commission members could choose a month and then speak on whatever is relevant at that time. S. Craner said bringing hand outs are helpful. P. Johnson said it would be difficult for her to help with the presentations since she will be traveling out of town a lot.
Everyone congratulated M. Alberici on a very successful “Chef’s Night.” They sold out and the evening went very smoothly. D. Lamb encouraged people to come see their new exhibit, “Domestic Bliss: Refrigerator Art & Beyond,” up through the end of March. She passed out promotional post cards for the show. There are special events planned in conjunction with the exhibit, musical performance on two Sundays and a Leap Year Art Auction on Feb. 28th. They have works from about 50 artists, which will be sold by both live and silent auction. The Art Center finished their restroom renovations. They are now handicapped accessible.
E. McHugh said their exhibit is “Dining through the Decades,” part of the Home Grown Business Series. E. McHugh said the Cayuga Museum received a grant to undergo a complete strategic plan. In order to assess local residents’ opinions, they will be conducting public forums during February and March.
T. Hussey said the Arts Council’s “Summer Celebration” is set for August 7th at Deauville Island. This is the day before the Great Race. There is also a Lake Dance Reunion at the Pavilion that Friday night. They have live music all day long, food, a fine art show, etc. They are utilizing the whole island this year. One new partner is the Seneca/Cayuga Action Agency. The Arts Council’s piano series is happening in March and April, and the Visions Art Show is currently on view at the Chamber.
Regarding old business, J. Kline asked D. Lamb whether they were going to pursue the Arts & Cultural Funding Grant, and D. Lamb said no, not this year.
The Commission’s next meeting will held on April 7th at 3:30PM, 3rd Floor City Hall. The Commission adjourned at 5:05PM.
Recorded by Jesse Kline
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