AUBURN’S HISTORIC & CULTURAL SITES COMMISSION
Meeting minutes from January 12, 2005
Present: B. M. Lewis, S. Marteney, M. Alberici, J. Bryant, K. Walker, D. Lamb, E. McHugh and J. Kline
Excused: M. Vanek, T. Hussey, S. Craner, P. Copes Johnson and P. Wisbey
Absent: S. Tucker, J. McCormick, P. Anderegg, T. Bridenbecker, Rev. Carter and D. Dempsey
Chair M. Alberici called the meeting to order and K. Walker read the mission and vision statements for the Commission.
I. Approval of the Minutes
M. Alberici asked for approval of the 10/6/04 minutes. D. Lamb made a motion to accept the minutes as submitted, seconded by E. McHugh. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Committee Reports
II. Planning & Development Committee
D. Lamb said the site directors had just met, and it would make more sense for them for the Planning & Development Committee to be replaced by a report from one of the Site Directors. Everyone present was in agreement. E. McHugh said the current plan is for another collaborative project to replace “Common Threads” in fall 2006. The themes they will draw from are freedom, innovation, exploration and expression. All of the participating sites would somehow be incorporated, hosting various lectures, programs and workshops. Posters could be made for additional promotion, and each site could have information in their newsletters. They also discussed expanding their operating hours one evening each month, i.e. the first Thursday of the month. Special programs could be scheduled for an added visitor draw.
Things are moving forward with the site-wide curriculum guide, using the same themes as mentioned above. Again, Leslie Leary thought the concept was good, and that she will discuss it with key figures within the school district. J. Bryant mentioned that perhaps the Underground Railroad research/report that Judith Wellman is doing could tie into this somehow.
III. Marketing Committee
As for leads from ads, J. Kline passed out copies of the year-end inquiry tally. Leads for 2004 totaled 8,116, down a bit from 2003, but still a strong number. The AAA ads did not produce nearly as many leads as the years past, so that buy has since been dropped from the 2005 ad schedule. The Meredith publications, Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies Home Journal, etc. continue to produce a tremendous number of leads. J. Kline said, due to past confusion with Meredith leads, our ad representative is giving us a free ad in the March issue of the Ladies Home Journal. (Our leads were sent elsewhere by mistake, and got to us much later than expected.) The value of this buy is approximately $10,000. The timing of this ad is perfect, and we should see many inquiries from it.
J. Kline said we are still waiting for the City to install the pedestrian signs. She called Jeff Brown, the new contact, and has not heard back, but she did talk with Steve Lynch from City Planning about having one of our maps installed on State Street Mall, now that construction is completed. M. Alberici said she would talk with D. Dempsey to see if he could follow-up on their progress.
IV. Community Outreach Committee
E. McHugh said they had an estimated 500 visitors for Holiday Traditions. It was good that the weather was mild that day. M. Alberici said they had 600-700 people at the Chapel, and that the sites she visited that day were all very busy. A family from Rochester made the trip in, and visited the Westminster Church and other sites. J. Kline said that she ran a Holiday Traditions ad in the Rochester D&C, and maybe that was how the family heard about it. M. Alberici’s son, who is an 8th grade teacher, said he was going to incorporate Holiday Traditions into an extra credit outing for his students. (The date for 2005 is December 11th.) J. Kline circulated copies of numerous articles about Holiday Traditions and Common Threads. Coverage was very thorough and positive this year, which was
nice.
E. McHugh said they have the passports for this year’s program. She is writing to the teachers and principals to schedule the presentations at the schools. She wants to get the passports out in early April. This year, spring break runs from April 18 – 22, so getting the passports out from the 11 – 15 would be ideal. As far as prize selection, E. McHugh said the bonds don’t generate any excitement from the students. The season passes to Casey Park pool and Reva Rollerdrome went over well though. There was a brief discussion of other possible prizes, i.e. gift certificates to Wal-Mart, but those could be used by the parents, and not the kids. Wal-Mart has donated 3 bikes in the past, and the Commission has bought the fourth for around $70. E. McHugh said bring the bike around during the presentation
gets the students excited about the program. (M. Alberici said one of the bike winners was not enthusiastic last year.) J. Kline suggested not picking an individual winner, but have a pizza party for the class that visited the most sites. After more discussion, the group present decided to stick with the bikes as the grand prizes.
J. Kline said as part of our local PR initiative for our 10th anniversary, would the sites be willing to display cards for parents to fill out to register for prizes. We would provide the display, the cards, and the prizes; they would just have to collect them. The site directors present agreed.
V. Other Business
D. Lamb said their quilt show came down on Sunday, but Cayuga Museum’s show will remain up through the month of January. The show went well, although they don’t have their final attendance numbers yet. She thinks overall visitation was down a bit from last year, mainly due to the construction on West Genesee Street. Someone had complained that the Chamber’s quilt show had come down before it was supposed to. K. Walker said she would follow-up on that with the committee, and that we needed to have more control over things there. D. Lamb said the Quilt Bus was very popular, offering a good opportunity for vendors.
M. Alberici asked whether or not the Commission should plan on hosting another volunteer recruitment night. After a brief discussion, J. Bryant made a motion to not host this event again, since it was not worth the investment, seconded by E. McHugh. All were in favor and the motion carried. M. Alberici said it may be beneficial to approach National Honors Students about volunteering at the sites. A recruiting presentation could be developed to bring to the schools.
The group present thought an event that should be repeated was the potluck dinner for site staff, board members and elected officials. It was nice for those folks to have the opportunity to network and mingle. The Chapel was the perfect venue for this event, with the adjacent kitchen. The Schweinfurth also offered to host it since it’s their 25th anniversary. J. Kline said it the Tourism Office’s 10th anniversary as well, and the Seward House’s 50th. Spring would be good timing, since summer is so busy. This will be discussed further at the next meeting.
D. Lamb said “Both Ends of the Rainbow” opened the last week in January. Visitors to this show are mostly local, plus they will have Art Camp coming up. Their March event is “Go Figure,” that will be up in May and June. These works will be abstract color theory pieces.
M. Alberici said she approached AHS History teacher Jerry Martin to be on the Commission, but he didn’t have the time. The group present agreed it would be beneficial to have an Ex-Officio Commission position for a staff member of the Auburn Enlarged School District, i.e. Leslie Leary. M. Alberici and J. Kline said they will look at the By-Laws to see how members/additions are worded.
J. Kline said she had talked with Susan May who leads the Herman Avenue Choir. They are looking for venues to perform their commemorative war songs. S. May also performs in a duet, currently specializing in music from the depression period. Those interested should contact S. May directly. Her work number is 255-8680 x2698, and home is 364-7141.
J. Kline passed around contact information for a company that offers weather insurance for special events. M. Alberici said we should schedule a City Council presentation sometime soon. The sites year-end demographics and visitation figures would provide an appropriate topic. In his absence, the group present thought P. Wisbey should have a turn, and do this next presentation, scheduled at his convenience. J. Kline said she would supply their year-end figures and whatever else they had.
With no other business to discuss, the Commission adjourned at 5:05PM. The Commission’s next meeting will held March 9th at 3:30PM, 3rd Floor City Hall. The site directors will meet prior to the meeting.
Recorded by Jesse Kline
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