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CASE Committee Meeting Minutes 9-21-23 FINALCASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 21 SEPTEMBER 2023 PAGE 1 | 5 1. ROLL CALL Present: Committee Chair Doug Jimenez, Committee Member Calyn Rieger, Thomas Walsh, Justin Chesney, Pedro Campos, and Town Council Member Ruth Stanley Staff: Culture, Arts & Special Events Manager Danita Dempsey, and Special Events Coordinator Chelsea Van Winkle Absent: Town Council Member Lindsay Hardy and Committee Member Lisa Mattis, Danielle McNair The meeting was called to order at 12:31 p.m. Committee Member Pedro Campos joined the meeting at 12:37 p.m. 2. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comments were made. 3. MINUTES Committee Member Thomas Walsh motioned to approve the minutes from June 15th, 2023. Committee Member Calyn Rieger seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 4. DESIGN OPTION FOR TRANSFORMER VOTE CASE Manager Dempsey presented the different design options for the transformer art project (four for the front and two for the side) which are included in the committee packet (available at Avon.org) and asked for feedback from the CASE Committee. The Committee commented/inquired: A. I personally think they are all great and we can’t go wrong with our choice. B. I like number one; I like that it is not geometrically shaped, and you can see the grass and the blue wave reminds me of the lake and the river in Avon. C. All are an approvement on the ugly box that is currently there. D. There will be more opportunities to paint transformer boxes in the new skate plaza so we could use some of these options there as well. The Committee voted to approve design option one for the front and option one for the back. A. Doug Jimenez - Front: Agreed with the rest of the committee on option 1 B. Thomas Walsh - Front: Option 1 C. Calyn Rieger - Front: Options 1 & 3 but partial to number 3 D. Justin Chesney - Front: Options 1 & 3 but partial to number 1 a. Side Option 1 goes with 1 & 3 E. Pedro Campos - Front: 2 because of the three-dimensional quality F. Danita Dempsey - I like options 2 & 4 because they are different from the mural and not overdoing the heart theme. They stand out but they still tie in to our artwork with the mural. G. Ruth Stanley - Front: Option 1 as it represents Avon the best. 2 & 4 are too modern for me. CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 21 SEPTEMBER 2023 PAGE 2 | 5 5. STAFF UPDATE CASE Manager Dempsey then went through the committee packet and detailed out the opening comments that entail the work that is ahead of the CASE Committee which included developing ticketed festivals and shifting focus to arts, culture and heritage in CASE (available at Avon.org). With the shift of focus to arts, culture and heritage, the long-term goal is to have a Culture, Arts and Heritage center where the Old Fire Station is. In addition to shifting our focus, the Vail Valley Art Guild, is going to council to approve a rental space in the Sheraton Building for their organization that the Town of Avon will help fund. The hope and the desire with this partnership is that staff and council will be on their board of directors and the Town will help them build capacity in their organization. They will be able to activate art in Avon more than what staff can do and we can partner with them to enhance art in Avon. We have also put it in the budget to travel to Colorado Creative Industries Summit as well as visiting other towns that have a art program/focus to do some benchmarking which CASE is invited to and we will send out dates as we get them on the calendar. 2023 Post Event Recap CASE Manager Dempsey presented a PowerPoint that recapped the 2023 events season. The main take away was that 46,000 guests attended the events this year, up by 10,000 in attendances from 2022. When looking at the adopted budget comparison, this year we compared it to the original budget and last year and the years prior we compared to the April amendment budget. Due to comparing to the original budget, it makes our net increase look higher but is a good comparison with how other departments view their budgets year over year. Dempsey then explained that the bulk of revenue generated is bar and vendor booth sales. The rental of the pavilion is also up and generates revenue as well. The pavilion rental price is low because we want to keep it a community space that is accessible. The low rate and word of mouth has made it really popular. CASE Manager Dempsey continued reviewing the presentation explaining that staff interactions were up. Staff interactions entail every event public or private that involves staff interacting with the group or event. Special Event Coordinator Van Winkle went through the types of groups that have rented the pavilion this year which include graduation parties, private parties, wedding ceremony and receptions, student classes, work retreats, etc. She clarified that we try not to say no to groups but sometimes we do not have the capacity and must deny a private rental. It is first come, first serve. CASE Manager Dempsey detailed CASE staff including herself and Special Events Coordinator. In addition to full time staff, we had help from Recreation Staff for both Lakeside Cinema and SunsetLIVE! along with 20 volunteers. Then CASE Manager Dempsey and Specials Events Coordinator Van Winkle went through the individual events. Dempsey stated that Winter Fireworks in Avon had savings, but we moved those funds to other events. We reimagined and redesigned the Town Clean Up and Sustainability Fair and it went well. This event took all departments to put this together and next year the budget will be out of the bag fund. CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 21 SEPTEMBER 2023 PAGE 3 | 5 For our weekly series events, SunsetLIVE! is a great brand that people love and this year we had no cancellations and attendance was up. AvonLIVE! had eleven events and our revenue was more than was budgeted. Attendance was up 65% and the diversion rate was 93.19%. We upped the talent budget through the contingency funds. Salute to the USA, our expenses were over budget due to increased expenses from outside vendors, but the revenue was almost doubled from what we budgeted. There were not any sponsorship dollars, but we are building better legs for sponsors to want to be a part of it. There was a robust report about attendance to the Town Council that detailed out how we got to the final attendance number. Summer’s End is the only event where the attendance and revenue went down. We recommended we increase the budget to council and council decreased the funding. With the decrease in funding, we had to cut marketing as well although we believe the decrease in attendance is related to that day and the talent we put on the stage. In the budget, it is the same as it was in 2023 for 2024. Does the committee think we should keep it or not? We go up against Beaver Creek Oktoberfest, if we move the date, we have to have a band that is competitive. CASE Manager Dempsey stated that her opinion it should be on Saturday if we move it. Third party events are the same except we added Triple Bypass and Avon Art Celebration went down to just two days. We have ten producers and sixteen event days. Ultimate Après Avon will not be back due to the producer and us agreeing that the event was not going in the right direction. Mountain Pride attendance increased, and Triple Bypass was fantastic. Dancing in the Park went well, and the community loves this event. Lastly, Art In Avon, we will have the printed walking map placed throughout town. The Committee commented/inquired: A. What is the definition of staff interactions? B. What is the breakdown of the revenue? C. Are the private rentals a drain on the staff? D. Is the rate appropriate for the private rental? E. SunsetLIVE! is becoming a tradition for our residents, they are going every time. A lot of the younger people that are in the park come and picnic and listen to music at SunsetLIVE! F. Does the budget include the fencing for AvonLIVE!? G. Does it make any sense for us to set up and take down our own screen for Lakeside Cinema? H. I would like to see more family friendly but more appropriate movies for adults. I. Salute to the USA was incredible with people everywhere and was so organized and well put together. J. Fireworks show was the best show in the entire county. K. Is there a chance in the future to add in carnival rides to Salute to the USA? L. Summer’s End is not growing, what do we think as a group about this event? i) Is it worth keeping the event and moving the date? ii) I don’t want to let it go; it has potential to be special. We have to think differently about how we present this to the public to be more appealing. iii) Saturday would be much better for local community members that are in the hospitality business. We would be able to compete with Beaver Creek and you could do two different events. iv) CASE recommends that we keep the brand, and we increase the budget and move it to Saturday. CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 21 SEPTEMBER 2023 PAGE 4 | 5 M. So glad that Triple Bypass is back! CASE Manager Dempsey responded about Lakeside Cinema and that we do have a sound system and screen, but they are dated and very difficult to put up. Kaleidoscope has been reached out to in the past, but they are outside our budget. CASE Manager Dempsey stated that we looked at many different redesigned venues for Salute to the USA and this included at the back parking lot, and we are parking is critical so it would be difficult to take that away. We tried some new things this year and we will keep trying to find family friendly activations. She explained that we own the fencing that we put up for AvonLIVE! and our team puts it up and down, so it is not included in the budget. The fencing is up because there is too much risk with outside alcohol. 2024 Proposed Budget CASE Manager Dempsey went through the 2024 proposed budget and started with detail about Salute to the USA. Salute to the USA is up 29% in expenses, mostly due to fireworks because our 3-year contract is up. We went to RFP this fall and the price has increased significantly. Chain link fencing is also a huge expense, and we will look at purchasing vs. renting it in the future. AvonLIVE! has a 27% increase but keep in mind, we did infuse the budget as we went along in 2023. The most impactful expense is based around talent. SunsetLIVE! increased as well for talent as the local and regional talent space has gotten more competitive since COVID. Also, photography used to live in Liz’s budget, and has been moved it into the CASE budget. We also added an additional SunsetLIVE! after July 3rd so we will have fifteen total in 2024. Lakeside Cinema increase is in popcorn, advertising, creative services, and film equipment. We are going to create two new brands next year, Best of the West and Heart & Soul. We want to create collateral and secure some advertising for 2024 so that is why that expense is in the budget although these events will take place in 2025. To build these brands we want to take advantage of the winter publications. Best of the West has not been created yet so we will need to find “what are its roots, what is its tribe”. We are recommending dropping or more putting a pause on SunsetSUP. Once the Recreation Department is ready to take this on more, it will be re-launched with them. Winter Fireworks budget decreased but this is directly related to fireworks. We added back in sound coordination with the fireworks and added more chain link fencing due to safety concerns. Arts and Culture has an 82% increase. The increase includes the second stipend for Art Around Avon, a large-scale mural, refurbishing park benches, two new historical markers and a new street art painting project. The street art painting project would be placed in the merge lanes in Roundabout 3 & 4 in the spring – summer. For third party producers, Dancing in the Park went up $10,000 and will have a contributing from the Town of Avon for $40,000. When you look at your per person cost, it is a lot but it adds culture and arts to our portfolio. Are members of the CASE community supportive of the increases and decreases in the budget? CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 HYBRID FORMAT IN PERSON AT AVON TOWN HALL AND VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM CASE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, 21 SEPTEMBER 2023 PAGE 5 | 5 The Committee commented/inquired: A. It is a good problem that we have in the town, we are growing and making it happen. B. Why did only one fireworks business respond to the RFP? C. Have the fireworks always been at 20 minutes? D. On AvonLIVE! and SunsetLIVE! those increases are talent related? E. How are you approaching the third staff person? Is it in addition to the budget increase? F. Is the third person going to be paid a livable wage? G. We need a Town Tik Tok and more social media push. H. The digital sign is a good reminder of what is going on. I. My concern is that if we don’t market or advertise it well enough then we are going to fail. J. You have done a great job filling weekends and our entire summer schedule with events. K. Consensus of the group is that they are supportive of staffs proposed increase and decreases. L. I feel comfortable with what is proposed. M. I am worried about council and the increases that are significant. CASE Manager Dempsey explained that for the fireworks RFP, there are only four companies in Colorado, and two said they were too busy and did not want to bid. The industry standard for firework shows are 20 minutes long. Ours has been 22-23 minutes but the industry shows that the last 2-3 minutes are not impactful. For staffing, the request is included in the overall staff requests that went to council for all of the Town employees and is not reflected in the special events budget. Council has been supportive of raising staff wages to make them livable in the county and we feel the salary for the position is competitive. We have had internal conversations about how we can get more traction on social media and our working with other departments to come up with a plan and training. At the council work session, we will dive into our Marketing Tactics and Analytics. Lastly, AvonLIVE! and SunsetLIVE! budget increases are around talent. 3. CLOSING COMMENTS Council member Ruth Stanely strongly recommends creating a role in our town for a Social and Content Creator and would like to have the CASE committees support to go to council to bring on someone to help with social and content. Committee member Thomas Walsh, agreed with Ruth Stanely. CASE Manager Dempsey explained that we will have a CASE and council work session on the third Thursday in October and the majority of the work next CASE Meeting will be prepping for the council work session. 4. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:13 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Chelsea Van Winkle Special Events Coordinator