AUBURN’S HISTORIC & CULTURAL SITES COMMISSION
Meeting minutes from March 21, 2006
Present: J. McCormick, E. McHugh, L. Leary, D. Lamb, B. M. Lewis, S. Craner, K. Walker and J. Kline
Excused/Absent: S. Tucker, M. Alberici, M. Vanek, P. Copes Johnson, T. Bridenbecker, D. Dempsey, T. Hussey, P. Wisbey and Rev. Carter
I. Approval of the Minutes
K. Walker asked for approval of the January 17, 2006 minutes. D. Lamb made a motion to accept the minutes as submitted, seconded by J. McCormick. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Committee Reports
II. Planning & Development Committee
D. Lamb said the Site Directors met and discussed the potential budget cuts. They were worried for both the Arts & Cultural funds as well as the Commission. The Schweinfurth and the Cayuga Museum rely on the Arts & Cultural funds for programming, which to them is more important than promotion. They wanted their constituents to write letters of support showing their importance in the community. J. Kline said she will let M. Vanek know to call a Marketing Committee meeting to draft the ’06-’07 budget, so it can be discussed at the next meeting.
III. Marketing Committee
J. Kline passed out copies of her monthly report, and said please review at your leisure. As for inquiries, there were 113 for the month of March. J. Kline said this is low since our ads aren’t running yet, and next month our numbers will increase greatly.
J. Kline brought extra copies of the reprint of the Commission brochure. We printed 50,000, and Jacobs added their bulk mail permit onto the piece since we will be using them to fulfill larger-scaled mailings. Please take them back to your sites, and if you need more, they are stored at Jacobs Press.
J. Kline said, for local PR, she is running ads in the Skaneateles Festival program, Life in the Finger Lakes magazine, The Citizen’s Cultural Guide and the New Times Summer Time supplement.
IV. Community Outreach Committee
E. McHugh said she sent the “Passport to History” letters to the schools, and the program begins the week of spring break, April 3rd. She is going to bring the bike to the schools when she makes the presentations, to generate excitement about the program. The timeframe is 6 weeks, and May 21st is the last day. E. McHugh is working with money left over from last year’s budget line. L. Leary offered to help in any way needed. E. McHugh said she is presenting the program to City Council in early April. Maybe L. Leary could help coordinate the website that was developed by a Casey Park teacher to be shown, during E. McHugh’s presentation.
V. Other Business
D. Lamb said the new date for the Sites Reception is April 19th from 5PM – 7PM. The Schweinfurth will be printing invitations and distributing them to the sites to send to their staff and boards. D. Lamb asked to please also e-mail Board members in the meantime to save the date. D. Lamb asked for numbers for each of the site’s boards and staff. The following break-out was discussed: Commission members: 15, Cayuga Museum: 23, Seward House: 30, Schine Theater: 10, Tubman Home: 15, the BID Board: 15, Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce Board: 20 and Willard Chapel: 18. Elected officials will also be invited; that includes City Council, the Mayor and Manager, and the County Legislature.
D. Lamb said the sites can bring literature that they’d like to distribute, and each Site Director will have the opportunity to introduce their Board members and say a few words. M. Alberici will say a few words about the Commission, and blank name tags will be provided at the check-in table. J. McCormick offered to come early and work the registration table. J. Kline said she will let D. Dempsey know to now send his check to the Schweinfurth for refreshments. She also offered to e-mail Dia Carbajal, from the Arts Council, in T. Hussey’s absence.
J. Kline said, as for open spots on the Commission, M. Alberici had approached Diane Stankus. She and her husband have been very actively involved with Community Preservation Committee for many years. Diane is interested, and everyone thought she would be a wonderful addition, so M. Alberici can move forward with requesting the appointment letter from the Mayor.
As for the other opening, S. Craner suggested asking a representative from the Auburn Public Theater. Everyone agreed, and S. Craner said she would inquire with Angela Daddabbo.
J. Kline said unfortunately, in M. Alberici absence, we need to reappoint the officers. M. Alberici would like to remain Chair, D. Dempsey as Vice Chair and J. Kline as Treasurer/
Secretary. E. McHugh made a motion to reappoint this slate of officers, seconded by S. Craner. All were in favor and the motion carried.
J. Kline passed out the Treasurer’s Report and went over expenses incurred since the last meeting. S. Craner made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as submitted, seconded by
E. McHugh. All were in favor and the motion carried.
J. Kline said she prepared M. Alberici’s presentation for City Council, and it went very well.
M. Alberici gave an overview of what the Commission does, and stressed the economic impact of the visitors that come here for the historic sites. The break-out from the last conversion study we conducted showed that the money generated is 242 times the City’s original investment of $50,000. M. Alberici also discussed the Commission’s programs, plus highlights and attendance figures from each of the sites.
J. Kline said since learning of the Commission’s Matching Funds award, which would cover the cost of the PrePrint Publishing ad, we chose not to seek additional funding from Council. (At the last meeting with the Manager, it was suggested that Commission members come to a Council work session when Council has a better idea about the budget.) With the current budget situation, it will remain important to continue to educate the Council of our importance and impact, as we are the only marketing entity the City has.
E. McHugh said she will be attending an education meeting is Syracuse next week, and would like to bring the Commission display. J. Kline said it is stored at the Chamber. E. McHugh said they are gearing up for a Routes 5 & 20 exhibit in May, in coordination with various sites throughout the Region.
With no other business to discuss, the Commission adjourned at 5PM. The Commission’s next meeting will held May 9th at 3:30PM, 3rd Floor City Hall. The site directors should plan to meet prior to the meeting.
Recorded by Jesse Kline
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