AUBURN’S HISTORIC & CULTURAL SITES COMMISSION
Meeting minutes from February 13, 2008
Present: Stephanie Schuster, Paul McDonald (Seward House), E. McHugh, C. Tallcot, Mayor Michael Quill (guest),
M. Vanek, Matt Drastal (guest), Jeff Alberici (guest), Laurie D’Arpino (guest), Rev. Carter, D. Carabajal, M. Alberici,
S. Harris and J. Kline
Excused/Absent: K. Walker, S. Tucker, J. McCormick, D. Stankus, B. M. Lewis, P.C. Johnson, B. Anderson,
G. Brower and B. Barrett
Introductions were made for Mayor Quill and his assistant Laurie D’Aprino.
I. Approval of the Minutes
E. McHugh read the Commission’s mission and vision statements. S. Schuster made a motion to accept the 12/5/07 minutes, seconded by E. McHugh. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Committee Reports
II. Planning & Development Committee
Jeff Alberici and Matt Drastal have some video footage for the “Lessons on Auburn” project. M. Alberici briefly overviewed the program’s goal to encourage students to visits the sites by providing ready-made lesson plans that meet the State’s criteria, making them easy for the teachers to adopt into their curriculum. J. Alberici and M. Drastal showed a promotional DVD for Seward House as an example, and all the DVDs will have a similar feel. They are just meant as an enticement or lure piece for the program. The plan for Fort Hill Cemetery will include GPS mapping software. This system could also be used for a South Street walking tour. (They showed preliminary video footage of both locations.)
Once everything is ready this fall, packages containing the plans (hard copy and electronic) and DVDs will be sent to all the teachers in a 50-mile radius of Auburn. It will also be available/downloadable on www.tourauburnny.com.
III. Marketing Committee
A copy of the Time Warner Cable ad for the Commission was shown. (New images from Seward House will be incorporated before the ads formally start running in April.) This spot is running for free during the winter, sandwiched in with tags from Michaels & Smolak and D&W Diesel. This was an earned- value incentive for our advertising dollars. A total of 600 (free) spots will run in the Auburn-Ithaca-Cortland area as well as Syracuse. Starting in April, the ad will run for five weeks on New 10 Now, CNBC, the Food Network, Hallmark Channel and the Travel Channel.
M. Vanek said copies of the monthly report are in the packet, showing inquiry numbers since the last meeting. This includes the last report for 2007, so we compared it with 2006 inquiries. We were down from ’06 due to Finger Lakes Tourism not again offering a buy-in to the PrePrint Publishing insert. Year-to-date inquiries for 2007 were 12,257. For January 2008, we had 505 inquiries, with 407 from a free link on Better Homes & Gardens website. J. Kline added that the Commission was awarded $4000 towards the May Meredith ad buy from the Tourism Office.
M. Vanek said there is copy in the packets of the 2007 Annual Report on Tourism. It contains many useful stats and trends, helpful in showing the importance of the sites and their role in economic development. There are also copies about a new free promotional three-county program called “Teacups & Treasures” that the sites are encouraged to participate in- and many have already committed. It includes three themes, the art of the front porch: public art & architecture, the art of giving, having and making tea and Tiffany glass and other glass arts.
Front porch could include restaurants, shops, B&Bs and historic homes, the glass component could include any form of glass art, Tiffany glass or jewelry, and teas could be served or sold from any business interested. The trail will run during the shoulder season: April – June. The formal schedule for the program is in the packet. A bracelet will be given to each participate, and each stop will give out a glass bead to be added to the bracelet. M. Vanek passed around a copy of the half-page ad that ran about the program in American Style magazine.
J. Kline said Coburn Design finished redesigning the Commission brochure and she circulated a copy. They will be delivered by Jacobs Press in a day or two, if you need a supply, please request it from them. The brochure has a new cover design, which now incorporates the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center. The descriptions for each site were shortened to make room for a large centerfold map that has exterior shots of the sites, making it easy for visitors to find. (Auburn Public Theater was added, with a picture.) Nearby attractions and accommodations are also now plotted on the map as well, and mileage from major metropolitan areas and driving directions were also added.
J. Kline said things are progressing on optimizing the Commission website. J. Kline is working with WinderUp, a company that offers website optimization packages to increase traffic. In the packet is a copy of their second report. Key words that represent a typical user’s search for Auburn’s attractions were tested in various search engines to see where our website popped up. Our position ranking has improved for some key words; these include Harriet Tubman Home, Harriet Tubman NY, Seward House and Underground Railroad NY. WinderUp has made some changes to our keywords and tags that have helped, but she has been told these things take time.
IV. Community Outreach Committee
M. Alberici said “Passport to History” started February 1st and will run through May. Site staff, if they haven’t yet, needs to pick up their passports at the Chapel. M. Alberici thanked C. Tallcot for all her help making the school presentations. Sts. Peter & Paul is new this year, and are very excited about being involved in the program. C. Tallcot said it went well, she had a few questions she didn’t know the answers to, but she enjoyed doing it. Now, the next step will be securing all the prizes for each school.
V. Other Business
J. Kline passed out the Treasurer’s Report and reviewed expenses incurred since the last meeting. D. Carabajal made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as submitted, seconded by E. McHugh. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Announcements
Rev. Carter said the National Park Service held an important meeting at the Home in January- thanks to M. Vanek for coming- and major restoration work is being done to Tubman’s house, the Home and the Church. They are also repaving the driveway, and hope to have a dedication by the end of the season.
C. Tallcot said they are gearing up for the Downtown BID’s quarterly meeting next Wednesday at 6:30PM at their new offices in the Stardust building. The Chief of Police will be attending to address issue with parking.
E. McHugh invited everyone to come to their new exhibit opening about the Willard Psychiatric hospital on Friday, February 22 from 6 – 8PM. In addition to the exhibit panels, they will also have some suitcases from the patients on display. Exhibit fees were offset by Options for Independence.
S. Schuster passed out fliers and newsletter promoting their upcoming exhibits and programs. Their musical program with Bob Piorun will start on February 21 and run for 10 weeks. They will also soon be starting their video series organized by Terry Cuddy, which is held at CCC on Thursday evenings. Their new exhibit is called “Mixed Paint” and will showcase about a dozen NYS artists.
M Alberici said on October 4th CPC is planning a house tour around Hoopes Park, and the Arts Council is going to have artwork on display in the park. This event received funding from the Tourism Office.
The next Commission meeting is set for April 8th at 3:30PM.
The Commission adjourned at 5:15PM.
Recorded by Jesse Kline
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