AUBURN’S HISTORIC & CULTURAL SITES COMMISSION
Meeting minutes from September 3, 2008 at Willard Memorial Chapel
Present: Amy Fuller (Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce), Dave Fregly (Seward House), M. Alberici, Susan Muldoon (Auburn Enlarged School District), C. Tallcot, M. Vanek, J. Kline, D. Lamb and K. Walker
Excused: S. Tucker
Absent: D. Stankus, B. M. Lewis, E. McHugh, G. Brower, D. Carabajal, Rev. Carter, J. McCormick and A. Daddabbo
I. Approval of the Minutes
D. Lamb read the Commission’s mission and vision statements. C. Tallcot made a motion to accept the 6/10/08 minutes, seconded by K. Walker. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Committee Reports
II. Planning & Development Committee
The Site Directors had not met, and there was no report.
III. Marketing Committee
M. Vanek said copies of the monthly report are in the packet, showing inquiry numbers since the last meeting. Year-to-date inquiries are 10266, with 1345 in August ‘08. Most of those inquiries were generated from an ad in Family Circle. Tear sheets from ads that have recently run were circulated.
M. Vanek next referred to the Advertising Schedule Draft for 2008-2009 in the packets. This summer, we contracted with Clear Channel for radio advertising and web links. This month, an ad will run in Family Circle, which has done very well in the past. J. Kline will continue to run regional ads promoting Holiday Traditions in the Post Standard, Citizen, Life in the Finger Lakes and in the “Lights on the Lake” event program.
M. Vanek said we will again run TW Cable ads on the various channels listed on the schedule. They will run in the summer of ‘09, instead of the spring, since people are making quicker travel decisions. We will have Coburn Design create a landing page on the website to better track traffic from these TV ads.
The Commission will again partner with the Tourism Office on a full-page ad in the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance’s 2009 Travel Guide. Other ads we’ll place are the Citizen’s “Go & Do” and “Summer Traveler” supplements, and the Meredith ’09 spring buy with NYSTPA Council. We are also going to take out some AAA ads in either Going Places or Car & Travel publications geared towards the greater NYC area, or another comparable driving market.
J. Kline said we’ve scheduled an all-day photo shoot with Kristian Reynolds for September 24th. She will be in touch regarding the schedule and coordinating the models. Site Directors should be thinking of angles for the shoot, and which staff members could pose in the shots.
IV. Community Outreach Committee
K. Walker said we have approximately 500 passports left, which will be enough for next year’s program. When we print new ones, we may consider adding Seymour Library and City Hall (suggested by the Mayor) as additional stops. Next year, we need to keep track of the total number of passports distributed so we can tell how many students went through the program.
M. Alberici said the last Commission meeting focused solely on the “Lessons on Auburn” project. The teachers gave an extensive presentation that overviewed all of the plans. Next, the lesson book will go through a multi-tiered editing phase. Some Commission members took books to edit and return before this meeting. Then it will be handed over to a professional editor and historian for finishing touches.
J. Kline said the teacher’s next project will be creating podcasts. The first two will be Fort Hill Cemetery and South Street Historic District (Seward House to Tubman Home). Material has already been collected on both subjects. If any of the sites want podcasts done, they will need to work directly with the teachers, although Commission money is available to offset expenses.
V. Other Business
J. Kline asked Commission members to refer to the 2008-2009 Budget Draft in their packets. She said we were again granted $50,000 from the City, plus an estimated $4000 grant from the Tourism Office for collaborative advertising. This totals $54,000 in income to work with.
On the expense side, the brochure distribution ($1800) and membership ($1600) lines have remained the same as last year. “Lessons on Auburn” ($2000) is $3000 less, since the plans are near completion. We will still keep the line in the budget so new plans can be submitted and added moving forward. The Passport to History line is the same as previous years, with $500 for prizes. Ad fulfillment and Administration lines remain the same as last year, with no increase requested from the Tourism Office’s for monthly fees.
J. Kline said the Web Maintenance & Optimization line is also the same ($4000). We have contracted with a new SEO firm this time around, since she wasn’t happy with the work done by the last company. There is also money in this line item for Coburn Design to add the lesson plans, videos and podcasts to the website once they are ready.
J. Kline said we increased the PR & Local Promotions line to $2500 since it’s been awhile since we’ve had any give-a-ways to promote the sites at events. The Podcast line ($2000) is the new project we discussed earlier. We allotted $3000 for Professional Development to bring in a renowned speaker that would be a regional draw, or offer a museum-based training. J. Kline said the site directors will be in charge of organizing this project.
Next, $1000 is budgeted to pay Kristian Reynolds for the photography shoot on the 24th. J. Kline said all the sites will get a CD with the best images. Last, Print & TV Advertising ($21,400) is $1000 more than last year, and M. Vanek summarized the placement schedule earlier in the meeting.
J. Kline said if anyone is wondering, last year we spent $6000 on the design and printing of our new brochure, and now we have that money to use in other areas.
D. Lamb made a motion to adopt the 2008-2009 Budget as submitted, seconded by K. Walker. All were in favor and the motion carried.
J. Kline asked Commission members to review the Treasurer’s Report detailing expenses incurred since the last meeting. D. Lamb made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as submitted, seconded by A. Fuller. All were in favor and the motion carried.
C. Tallcot said in regards to the pedestrian signage, the Exchange Street Mall sign has been installed near the parking garage and Auburn Public Theater. The State Street sign needed to be installed in a safe place near the shelter, because of the skateboarders. We are still waiting on the sign to be installed at Emerson Park, since there are more steps involved there, but C. Tallcot hoped it would happen this fall. Market Street Park is another possible location.
M. Alberici said Pauline Copes Johnson’s poor health inhibits her from attending meetings, and we need to thank her for serving on the Commission, and seek a replacement. Elaine Hutson from Fort Hill Cemetery Association has expressing interest in coming onboard. Present Commission members agreed to move this idea forward. M. Alberici and J. Kline will set up an appointment with the Mayor to share our recommendation.
Announcements
K. Walker said October 4th the Chapel will host their Historic Homes Tour around Hoopes Park, and the Arts Council is organizing an art show at the Park. The Chapel is also organizing lectures through the fall months. D. Lamb said October 5th the Schweinfurth is hosting “Schweinfest” from noon – 6PM, featuring dancing, music, a pig roast and beer tasting. October 18th they are organizing a bus trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Now they have quilters from all over the country participating in a workshop with Nancy Crow. D. Lamb said SMAC received a small grant to research the possibility of creating an arts district in Auburn, these ideas could tie into the City’s Comprehensive Planning process.
C. Tallcot said the BID’s summer concert series went very well, in spite of rainy weather. Plans for next year are already in the works, with financial support from a DEC grant. The holiday parade is set for November 29th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
C. Tallcot said Blueprint II is fine tuning their improvement projects; topics include the environment, downtown Auburn and the Schine Theater. They also talked about distributing recycled bags, which may present an opportunity to partner. The Commission could be printed on the bags. Blueprint II will be making their final presentation the first week in December at CCC.
T. Bridenbecker said the Chamber is planning their Annual Dinner October 30th with a speaker from Wegmans. Their next BAF is being hosted by Auburn Memorial Hospital on October 9th. T. Bridenbecker and her husband opened another Riverbend coffee shop, this one is on Genesee Street in the bottom of Lattimore Hall.
The next Commission meeting is set for October 15th at 3:30PM at Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center. The Commission adjourned at 4:50PM.
Recorded by Jesse Kline
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