* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [CALL TO ORDER] [00:00:08] SO WE CAN GET STARTED, UH, WELCOME TO THE AUGUST 10TH, 2020 MEETING OF THE AUSTIN TOURISM COMMISSION. UH, I'M GOING TO QUICKLY RUN THROUGH THE ROLE IF YOU CAN JUST HEAR AND, OR RAISE YOUR HAND IN THE, UM, PARTICIPANTS SECTION, UM, UH, ALEXANDER COMMISSIONER ALEXANDER CHAIR, ONE SECOND. THIS IS JOSEPH AT THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE. WE NEED ALL SUPPORTING STAFF TO GET OFF OF THE WEBEX LINE AND CALL IN ON THE MICROSOFT TEAMS LINE. THE LINE IS VERY CROWDED AND IT COULD CAUSE BANDWIDTH ISSUES, WHICH WILL THEN COULD COMPROMISE THIS WHOLE MEETING. GOT IT. UM, ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO GIVE A FEW MINUTES FOR STAFF TO GO AHEAD AND, UH, SIGN OUT AND CALL BACK IN ALL SUPPORTING STAFF THAT ARE NOT PRESENTING. IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR. I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT WOULD BE STAFF WISE WOULD BE YOUR LIAISON. FELICIA HEDA. WHAT ABOUT STAFF THAT IS GOING TO BE PRESENTING TODAY? YES, THEY WILL GO AHEAD AND, UM, BE PRESENTING FROM THE TEAM'S LINE AND THEY'LL JUST COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CTM, UH, ASSISTANT OF WHICH SLIDE IT NEEDS TO BE ON. AND WHEN TO TURN TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UNDERSTOOD AS WE'RE SHARING OUR SMILING FACES. HI EVERYBODY. IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL. I HOPE YOU'RE ALL WELL AND GOOD HEALTH AND GOOD HUMOR. OKAY, WE'RE READY TO GO AHEAD AND CALL. ROLL UP. ARE WE GOOD? ALL RIGHT, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND START CALLING ROLE A DISTRICT ONE COMMISSIONER ALEXANDER. I DON'T SEE HER IN THE ROOM YET. UM, DISTRICT TWO, COMMISSIONER FLINT IS NOT HERE. DISTRICT THREE, COMMISSIONER BAILEY HERE, DISTRICT FOUR COMMISSIONER MCGEEN HERE DISTRICT FIVE COMMISSIONER BUNCH FISHER BUNKER YOU ON THERE. I SEE, I SEE YOUR ICON. THERE YOU ARE. YOU WENT TO, SIR, WE'LL COME BACK TO COMMISSIONER BUDGE, UH, COMMISSIONED DISTRICT SIX TWICE. YOUR COUNSELOR DISTRICT SEVEN COMMISSIONER READING HERE. MR. K COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ HERE, UH, DISTRICT NINE, COMMISSIONER ROGERS, UH, DISTRICT 10 COMMISSIONER CANADY. LIKEWISE, SIR. I SEE YOUR ICON, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE MUTED, BUT YOU WERE THERE. I SEE YOU. I ALL UP. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU. UH, AND THEN, UM, UH, DISTRICT, UH, THE MAYOR'S APPOINTEE PUTTING 10 MINUTES HERE. SO ALL TO A MEETING OF THE TOURISM COMMISSIONER, UH, COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER, SIR. I SEE YOUR ICON THERE. I JUST WANT TO CHECK IF YOU'RE THERE. OKAY. NOT GETTING AUDIO. HE'S TRYING TO CALL BACK IN COPYING. LET'S SEE. THANK YOU. UM, ALL [1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. June 8, 2020] RIGHT, SO WE HAVE AN APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING, UM, FOR EVERYONE A MINUTE TO REVIEW THE MINUTES THAT WERE SENT OVER, [00:05:07] I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING. I'LL SECOND, ANY, UH, ALL IN FAVOR, AYE. ANY ABSTAIN ABSTENTIONS, A LACQUER. LET THE RECORD BE SHOWN THAT, UH, COMMISSIONERS WHITTINGTON, REEDY RODRIGUEZ, BAILEY MCGEE, AND CANADY ALL MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM JUNE. [2a. Discussion on formation of working groups] ALRIGHT, I'M JUMPING IN A, UM, ITEM TO A DISCUSSION ON THE OF WORKING GROUPS. I KNOW, UH, COMMISSIONER REEDY, YOU WANTED TO REVISIT THE DISCUSSION OF IF YOU COULD WORK IN GROUPS. SO I'LL OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO YOU, SIR. UM, WE DISCUSSED CREATING A TPA WORKING GROUP IN FEBRUARY AND AGREED TO ADDRESS IT AT ANOTHER TIME. SO I WAS JUST CIRCLING BACK TO IT. I THINK THE MOTIVATION WAS THAT, UH, AT THE TIME WAS THAT WE WANTED TO MOVE FORWARD ON THAT. I THINK IT'S EVEN MORE URGENT NOW, YOU KNOW, AS WE COME INTO THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WE'RE GOING TO PROBABLY SEE MORE PRESSURE ON HOUSING AND PERHAPS AN INCREASE IN HOMELESSNESS. SO I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE A CHEAP HIT IN PLACE AND GENERATING REVENUE WHEN TOURISM RETURNS SO THAT WE CAN GENERATE THOSE RESOURCES FOR FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS RIGHT OFF THE BAT. UM, I'LL CHIME IN A LITTLE BIT, UH, JUST FROM MY CURSORY UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE THE PROCESS IS WITH THAT. UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE FOUNDATION FOR A T PIN IS IN PLACE AND I THINK THAT THE NEXT STEPS IN ORDER FOR IT TO HAPPEN, UM, WOULD BE FOR COUNCIL TO MOVE FORWARD, TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE HOTEL AND LODGING ASSOCIATION AND FOR THEM TO COLLECT THE NECESSARY SIGNATURES FROM THE HOTELS. BUT I BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY IS IN THE PROCESS, UH, AND, AND READY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE JEEP AT THIS TIME. UM, NOW ALL THAT SAID, IT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT TO SAY, UH, THE VALID OF, UH, OF A WORKING GROUP REGARDING IT. UM, JUST TO SAY THAT IT'S IN MOTION, AS FAR AS I KNOW, UM, THERE IS, THERE IS SOME QUESTION IN MY MIND ON THE RELEVANCE TO THE MISSION OF THIS COMMISSION, UH, THE TPN ITSELF BEING THAT IT'S NOT HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, UM, ALTHOUGH IT IS TOURISM RELATED. SO I WOULD OPEN THAT UP FOR SOME DISCUSSION. I WOULD JUST OBSERVE THAT OUR, OUR SCOPE IS NOT CONFINED EXCLUSIVELY TO HOTEL TAX VALID POINT. I GUESS MY, MY, UM, MY UNDERSTANDING OF IT IS THAT THIS WOULD BE A PRIVATE CONTRACT THAT WOULD BE ENTERED INTO BETWEEN THE, BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE HOTELIERS. UM, AND ONCE THAT'S IN PLACE AND ALL THOSE AGREEMENTS ARE THERE, THERE'S REALLY NOT A WHOLE LOT FOR OUR PERMISSION TO BE ADVISING ON ONCE IT'S, ONCE IT'S SET UP. UM, BUT BY ALL MEANS I SUPPORT THE FORMATION. GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER MCGEE, I SUPPORT THE FORMATION OF A TAPAD WORKING GREAT. I THINK I CANNOT. AND, UM, COMMISSIONER MEETING AS THE POINTS THAT THEY HAVE STATED, UM, IT MAY NOT BE PERHAPS WE WILL HAVE A MINIMAL ADVISORY ROLE, BUT WE WON'T KNOW UNLESS WE'RE THERE. AND I THINK IT'S MORE A CASE OF JUST SORT OF BEING THERE TO ENSURE THAT THINGS TO KEEP MOVING ALONG, UM, PER THE PROMISES THAT WERE MADE. UM, AND I THINK IT IS RELATED TO TOURISM IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, HAVING HOMELESS ON OUR STREETS, UM, AND, UH, AND THE PROMISE OF FUNNELING THAT MONEY, UH, FROM TOURIST DOLLARS, UM, TO HELP THEM I'M IN FAVOR OF A WORKING GROUPS, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION COMMISSIONER AND WELCOME. I'VE NOTED YOU, UH, ON THE ROLLS HERE. GOOD TO SEE YOUR FACE. ALRIGHT. UH, WELL, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, DO WE HAVE A, A MOTION I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION. OKAY. [00:10:11] AND, UH, ALRIGHT. YEAH. ALL IN FAVOR, ANY OPPOSED TO A WORKING GROUP RELATED TO, UM, UH, DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA WHO WOULD BE APPOINTED TO IT APART OR, OR HAVE WE GOTTEN TO THAT POINT YET? I MEAN, THAT'S THE NEXT, THAT'S THE NEXT STEP? UH, I BELIEVE THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER MCGEE COMMISSIONERS REALLY, UM, BOTH, BOTH WERE INTERESTED IN BEING INVOLVED OR ANYBODY ELSE WANTED TO BE INVOLVED WITH THAT. UH, PERMISSION RODRIGUEZ RAISED HER HAND, BUT SHE'S NOT SHE'S MUTED AT THIS POINT, I GUESS I'D LIKE TO HAVE, I WOULD LIKE TO GO HOME. I DON'T WANT TO. SO WE'VE GOT COMMISSIONERS RODRIGUEZ, REEDY AND MCGEE AS NUMBERS OF THE CHIEF KIT WORKING GROUP, ANY OTHERS, SCOTT, UH, COMMISSIONER JOHN'S LOVE, I BELIEVE THAT WE HAD PUSHED THIS, UH, FROM LAST MEETING IN, IN, IN CASE YOU WANTED TO, UM, BE A PART OF THIS WORKING GROUP, BUT I'M GOING TO PUT IT OUT THERE. I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT ON YOUR PLATE RIGHT NOW. SO, UH, NO PRESSURE, WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S STILL WITH US, SO I'LL JUST SAY, UH, COMMISSIONER'S REEDY RODRIGUEZ AND MCGEE ARE, UH, NOW, UH, THE CHIEF HAD WORKING GROUP AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IF OTHERS WANT TO, UM, JOIN IN THE FUTURE, AS LONG AS WE DON'T HIT A QUORUM, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT REQUIRES ANY ACTION OTHER THAN JUST SAYING THAT THEY WANT TO BE A PART OF IT, BUT, UM, BUT EVERYONE GENERALLY AGREE WITH THAT. YES. NODS OF HEADS DIDN'T REALIZE IT. OKAY. ALRIGHT, KEN, KENDRA, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? OH, I CAN HEAR YOU. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON. ALL RIGHT. NOW I WAS ON THE LINE EARLIER WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TOURISM COMMISSION, BUT FOR SOME REASON THE AUDIO I USED IT. WELL, WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW, SIR. YES. ALL RIGHT. JUST IF I, IF I COULD REVISIT THAT TOPIC AND, AND HAVING A COMMISSION IS FINE, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THERE IS A SEPARATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS THAT OVERSEES THAT TOURISM COMMISSION, AND THEY TAKE ALL THE VOTES ON HOW THAT MONEY IS SPENT. AND THE CITY COUNCIL SIMPLY APPROVES AN UP OR DOWN BUDGET EACH YEAR. UM, AND THAT BUDGET IS PURSUANT TO A PETITION. SO THOSE CATEGORIES FOR THE BUDGET CAN'T CHANGE. AND THEY'RE BASICALLY ABOUT 45%. I THINK IT'S 40% MARKETING OR SALES. WE HAVE THE CONVENTION CENTER, WHICH WILL TRANSLATE UP TO THAT AMOUNT FOR, UM, HOMELESSNESS AFTER THAT TYPE ACTIVITY THAT'S GENERATED AT THE CONVENTION CENTER. UM, AND THEN THE REMAINED THERE PRIMARILY 5% RESEARCH, 5% ADMINISTRATION AND THE REMAINDER GOING INTO, INTO MARKETING. AND SO, UM, THE COMMISSION CAN CERTAINLY, UH, GIVE FEEDBACK AS TO WHAT THEY MIGHT SUGGEST OR WHAT THEY MIGHT, UH, YOU KNOW, FEEDBACK THEY'D LIKE TO GIVE, BUT THERE'S GOING TO BE THAT SEPARATE BOARD AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR THE OWNERSHIP THAT ARE PAYING INTO THAT DISTRICT. THIS IS THE SPECIAL DISTRICT THAT THEY HAVE TO FIND BENEFIT TO EACH OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, OR THEY HAVEN'T MET THE STATUTORY REQUISITE YET. SO IT'S, IT'S IT, IT'S NOT A PUBLIC PURPOSE DISTRICT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF JUST GENERAL COMMUNITY CONCERNS OR EVEN HOMELESSNESS. UM, IF IT'S THE HOMELESSNESS WOULD BE BASICALLY FUNDING BY THE, UH, THE, THE CITY WOULD UNDERTAKE OUT OF CONVENTION CENTER REVENUES THAT ARE ALLOCATED BASED ON BY DOWN TO THE CONVENTION CENTER. SO, UM, THAT WOULD BE ALMOST MORE OF A TOPIC WITH THE COUNCIL AND THE CITY MANAGER STAFF AND LESS WITH THE DISTRICT. CAUSE WE WON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DISTRICT WITH HOW THAT MONEY IS SPENT ONCE THE CONVENTION CENTER RECEIVES THAT. SO, AND THEN AT THAT POINT, THAT'LL, YOU KNOW, A CITY STAFF AND CITY COUNCIL DETERMINATION. AND AGAIN, THAT ASSUMES THAT THE DISTRICT IS FORMED. IT ASSUMES THAT THE PETITIONS ARE GATHERED [00:15:01] AND THEN IT'S ALL DEPENDENT ON AN OVERSIGHT GROUP. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL UNDERSTAND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WILL ONLY BE CONSIDERING THAT DISTRICT ONCE A YEAR, FOR THE MOST PART, WHEN, UM, THEY'RE UP FOR RENEWAL OF THEIR SERVICE PLAN. AND THAT'S PRETTY, THAT'S A PRETTY BASIC FUNCTION OF, THEY JUST UPDATE THE AMOUNT OF REVENUES AND THE AMOUNT WITHIN EACH CATEGORY BASED ON, UH, PROJECTED EXPENSES AND PROJECTED REVENUES. THEY CAN'T CHANGE THE CATEGORIES BECAUSE IT'S A PETITION, IT'S LIKE A BOND PROPOSITION ONCE THEY ALLOCATE THAT MONEY, UM, OR THEY GET THE APPROVAL FOR THE PERCENTAGES WITHIN EACH CATEGORY THAT CAN'T CHANGE DURING THE TERM OF THE DISTRICT. SO THERE'S JUST NOT A LOT OF DISCRETION OTHER THAN THE EVERYDAY DECISIONS AND THE EVERYDAY DECISIONS ARE GOING TO BE MADE BY THAT BOARD, UM, UH, SOLELY HOTELIERS. AND THEY'RE CERTAINLY OPEN TO ANY FEEDBACK OR FEED OR, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, UH, UM, THAT Y'ALL WOULD WANT TO PROVIDE. BUT, UH, BUT YOUR INTEREST IS MORE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE HOMELESSNESS ISSUE. AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, THE FEEDBACK WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE APPROPRIATELY PROVIDED TO THE CITY COUNCIL, JUST FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER READING. I APPRECIATE THAT COMMISSIONER JOSLIN. I JUST WANT TO REMIND THE GROUP THAT, UH, TOURISM COMMISSION'S JOB IS TO ADVISE CITY COUNCIL ON THESE ISSUES. SO THAT'S HOW I SEE IT. JUST, JUST MAKING SURE THAT COUNCIL HEARS FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THE T PIT EXPECTATIONS HAVE BEEN AND WILL BE FAIR ENOUGH. ALL RIGHT. ANY FURTHER, UH, DISCUSSION REGARDING TPN AND, UH, THE TOURISM PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT WORKING GROUP OF EXCLUSION COMMISSION. HI TO MY MOM THAT I'M STILL I'M. I ASSUME I, I HAVE BEEN PUT ON THAT COMMITTEE. UH, YOU HAVE NOW. OKAY. UH, IF, IF YOU WANT TO, I, I, THE, THE FLOOR IS OPEN TO ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO JOIN UP TO SIX, YOUR NUMBERS AT THIS TIME. AND I ASSUME THAT ANY RECOMMENDATION THAT TRINITY WITH CUTBACKS THE FULL OR FULL COMMISSION, GENERALLY SPEAKING. YEAH. THAT'S THE WAY THAT THE WORKING GROUPS SHOULD OPERATE. IT WOULD BE TO MEET AND JUST REMINDER THAT WORKING GROUPS CAN ALSO HAVE NON-COMMISSIONED NUMBERS AS, AS A PART OF THE WORKING GROUP, UM, WITH THE LIMIT OF THE NUMBER OF COMMISSIONERS THAT COULD BE ON IT TO FIVE. SO I HAVE JOSS LOVE RUDY MCGEE AND RODRIGUEZ AS MEMBERS OF THE TOURISM PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT WORKING GROUP. AND, UH, THE MOTION WAS A UNANIMOUS BASED ON, UM, THE FEEDBACK. I DIDN'T HEAR ANY NAYS ON THE MOTION OF THE FORMATION. SO JUST PUTTING, JUST, JUST TO CLARIFY, BECAUSE I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE, UM, CALLING IN, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I CAPTURED EVERYONE'S VOTE CORRECTLY FOR THE RECORD, UM, JUMPING [2b. Update on Historic Preservation Fund and Historic Preservation Grants presented by Economic Development Department, Interim Director, Sylnovia Holt Rabb] INTO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION GRANTS PRESENTED BY THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTS, INTERIM DIRECTOR, SYLVIA HOLD ROUND. SO THAT WILL BE A WELCOME, UM, I'M GOING TO STEP AWAY FOR JUST A SECOND VICE CHAIR. MCGEE. DO YOU MIND, UM, HOLDING DOWN THE FORT FOR A QUICK MINUTE, PLEASE? THAT'S FINE. GOOD AFTERNOON, TOURISM COMMISSION. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND SPEAK TO YOU TODAY. I'M JOINED BY OUR HISTORIC HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIVISION MANAGER, MELISSA ALVARADO, WHO WILL GO DEEPER INTO THE PRESENTATION TODAY. SO IF CITY HALL COULDN'T BRING UP OUR POWERPOINT. OKAY. IF YOU COULD ADVANCE TO THE SEC. NO, THAT'S NOT IT. YES. SO IF YOU COULD GO TO SLIDE TWO, PLEASE. THANK YOU. [00:20:01] AS A REMINDER, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT'S MISSION OF COURSE, IS TO DEVELOP AND LEAD INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS THAT WILL INCREASE THE PROSPERITY OF AUSTINITES BUSINESSES NEIGHBORHOODS WHILE CREATING A CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT THAT ENHANCES THE VITALITY OF THE COMMUNITY. AND JUST AS A REMINDER, WE ARE VERY DIVERSE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, WHERE WE EMBED THE CREATIVE SECTOR, UH, HISTORIC PRESERVATION INTO OUR TRADITIONAL BUSINESS MODEL, BECAUSE WE DO RECOGNIZE IT AS AN ECONOMIC ENGINE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THERE ARE THREE DIVISIONS THAT ARE ACTUALLY SUPPORTED PROGRAMMING THAT IS SUPPORTED BY THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION HERE AT TOURISM MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT. TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO STRICTLY FOCUS ON HERITAGE TOURISM, NEXT SLIDE. AND WE WILL GO DEEPER. AND I'M WITH MELISSA ALVARADO, WHO IS THE MANAGER OF THE HERITAGE TOURISM. BUT BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO HER NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, JUST A REMINDER THAT CITY COUNCIL HAS APPROVED THE FULL 15% AS OUTLINED BY THE STATE STATUTE TO GO INTO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND. AND WE USE THOSE FUNDS FOR PROGRAMMATIC EFFORTS WITH THROUGHOUT THE CITY. SO NOW I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MELISSA TO GO IN DEPTH AND TO OUR HERITAGE TOURISM, MELISSA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO NO OF, YEAH. GOOD AFTERNOON COMMISSION. I'M MELISSA ALVARADO, HERITAGE TOURISM MANAGER WITHIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE PURPOSE OF THE GRANT IS TO PROMOTE PRESERVATION THROUGH THE RESTORATION OF HISTORIC SITES. IT ALSO PROVIDES PLANNING, EDUCATIONAL AND MARKETING PROJECTS, UH, FUNDING TIE TO A HISTORIC SITE. UH, THE TEXAS TAX CODE CHAPTER THREE 51 REQUIRES THE FUNDING TO BE USED TO PROMOTE TOURISM. AND IT ALSO PROMOTES THE CONVENTION AND HOTEL INDUSTRIES. IT ALSO REQUIRES THAT THE GRANTS BE AWARDED TO PROJECTS THAT ARE EITHER IN THE VICINITY OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA OR IN AN AREA LIKELY TO BE VISITED BY TOURISTS. THIS IS A BROAD TIMELINE OF EVENTS OF THE HERITAGE GRANT PROCESS. THIS YEAR, WE LAUNCHED THE HERITAGE GRANT ON MARCH 2ND OF THIS YEAR. UM, AND THEN BRIEFLY SUSPENDED THE GRANT APPLICATION. ONCE THE WORK FROM HOME HOME ORDERS WERE IN PLACE, WE THEN RELAUNCHED THE, UM, GRANT APPLICATION AFTER ESTABLISHING A VIRTUAL INFORMATION SESSIONS, A VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGN, VIRTUAL INFORMATION OFFER, UM, UM, I'M SORRY, OPEN OFFICE HOURS AND, UM, RELAUNCH THE ENTIRE HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM. UH, ON MAY 2ND, THAT CALL WAS OPEN THROUGH JULY 10. AND AT THAT TIME WE DID, UM, A NUMBER OF TECHNICAL ONE-ON-ONES. IN ADDITION TO THE VIRTUAL OFFERINGS THAT WE DID, PART OF OUR ENGAGEMENT EFFORT IS FOCUSED ON, UM, UH, THE INFORMATION SESSIONS, THE ONE-ON-ONE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, BUT WE ALSO UTILIZE, UH, THE CREATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS AND TARGETED EMAIL CAMPAIGNS AS WELL. UM, WE'RE ABLE TO GARNER A LOT OF INFORMATION IN TERMS OF SHARES RESPONSES. UM, HOW LONG AN INDIVIDUAL DOES NOT RESPOND TO AN EMAIL AND, AND WE'RE ABLE TO TRIGGER ADDITIONAL, UM, ADDITIONAL EMAILS, UM, TO TARGETED GROUPS AND, UH, AND CONTINUE TO GROW THAT DATABASE. WE ALSO DO A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CROSS PROMOTION TOGETHER WITH OUR MUSIC AND CULTURAL ARTS ALLIES THAT HAVE, UM, FOLLOWERS, UM, OF, YOU KNOW, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS. WE DEFINITELY UTILIZE CROSS PROMOTION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT AND WITH SISTER DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION, UM, AND THEN ALSO SHARE OUT TO EXTERNAL ENTITIES AS WELL. UM, SO CURRENTLY THE HERITAGE GRANT PANEL REVIEWS ARE, ARE UNDERWAY AND, UM, THAT THE LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE SHARED WITH THE TOURISM AND THE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSIONS ON MONDAY, AUGUST 24TH. UM, IN ADDITION, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE BROUGHT FORWARD TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON SEPTEMBER 3RD. AND, UH, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, THAT REVIEW AND THAT VOTE AT THAT TIME. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. WE RECEIVED 24 APPLICATIONS FOR THE HERITAGE GRANT. THIS INCLUDES CAPITAL MARKETING, EDUCATIONAL AND PLANNING [00:25:01] PROJECT PROPOSALS, UM, EQUALLY OVER A $2.6 MILLION IN REQUESTS. 29% OF THE APPLICANTS IDENTIFIED SELF IDENTIFIED AS, UM, AFRICAN LATINO, HISPANIC, ASIAN, OR NATIVE AMERICAN 18 OF THE 24 PROJECTS WERE FROM NONPROFITS AND NINE OF THE 24 WAR FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM, WE CONTINUE TO PLACE A VERY HEAVY EMPHASIS IN THE AREAS OF TOURISM AND PRESERVATION IMPACTS AND OUR OVERALL SCORING CRITERIA. UH, THE HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM GUIDELINES UNDERGO AN ANNUAL REVIEW AND WE MAKE ANY NECESSARY REVISIONS. UM, PRIOR TO THE NEXT APPLICATION LAUNCH, UM, AFTER APPLICATIONS MEET CRITERIA ESTABLISHED BY CHAPTER THREE 51 ONLY AT THAT POINT, ARE THEY EVALUATED BY AN EXTERNAL HERITAGE GRANT REVIEW PANEL? THESE EXTERNAL PANELS ARE COMPRISED OF TOURISM AND PRESERVATION PRESERVATION INDUSTRY EXPERTS, UM, WHO PROVIDE ALL OF THE REVIEW ANALYSIS AND SCORING ON EACH OF THE APPLICATIONS. UM, AGAIN, THE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED, UH, TO BOTH THE TOURISM AND HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSIONS ON AUGUST 24. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. UM, IN NEXT STEPS, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I AM CURRENTLY WORKING ON IS, UM, TO CONDUCT ENGAGEMENT AND SURVEYS RELATED TO THE, OF ELIGIBLE CRITERIA FOR THEIR PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC INTERIORS. THIS IS AN AREA THAT WAS RECOMMENDED BY THE HERITAGE GRANT WORKING GROUP IN THEIR SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, UH, UH, THE HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM. UM, AND SO WE WILL BE CONDUCTING THAT ANALYSIS, UM, THROUGH A THIRD PARTY. UM, IN ADDITION AS AUTHORIZED BY CITY COUNCIL AND FISCAL YEAR 20, WE WILL SOLICIT PROPOSALS FOR THE PLANNING AND DESIGN SERVICES FROM EXPERIENCED FIRMS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN UPDATE TO THE MASTER WAY FINDING SIGNAGE PROGRAM. THIS IS SPECIFICALLY GEARED TO PROMOTE THE TOURISM AND CONVENTION AND HOTEL INDUSTRIES AND ENCOURAGE TOURISTS AND CONVENTION DELEGATES TO PROMOTE ARTS ENTERTAINMENT AND, UM, HERITAGE TOURISM. SO WE WILL BE DOING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ENGAGEMENT AROUND THAT, UM, RELEASE. UM, LASTLY, THE HERITAGE TOURISM, CULTURE ARTS AND MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISIONS ARE, UM, ENGAGED. WE'LL ENGAGE WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO EXPAND AND DEVELOP THE, THE SHARED STRATEGIES AROUND THE CREATION OF A CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM PLAN. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING MORE DETAIL ON THAT, UM, TO YOU, UM, AS, AS THAT COMES TO FRUITION. THANK YOU. SURE. OF COURSE. YEAH. THANK YOU MELISSA, FOR THAT. AND, UM, CITY HALL, YOU CAN TAKE DOWN OUR POWERPOINT AT THIS TIME. UM, I WANT TO THANK MELISSA OR HER PRESENTATION, AND ALSO TO LET THE COMMISSION KNOW THAT AS MELISSA MENTIONED AT THE END THAT WE ARE WORKING ACROSS DIVISIONS, UH, NOW ALL THE DIVISIONS THAT SUPPORT A HOTEL OCCUPANCY, YOU CAN TAKE IT ALL THE WAY DOWN. WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO THE LIVE MUSIC FUND TODAY. IT WASN'T POSTED, UM, ARE NOW UNDER ONE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND OUR GOAL IS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, UH, EQUITY STRATEGIES THAT MAXIMIZES THE USE OF HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX ACROSS TO THE VISION THAT BENEFIT NOT ONLY TOURISTS, TOURISM, BUT, UM, CREATIVES WITHIN AUSTIN. AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER BACK TO THE CHAIR, VICE CHAIR FOR ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CANNOT. HE HAS A QUESTION COMMISSIONER. SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD TELL US WHEN THE NEXT GRANT PERIOD WILL REOPEN FOR THE HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM. SURE. UM, WE ANTICIPATE RELAUNCHING THE NEXT HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM. UH, THE FIRST MONDAY OF MARCH. UM, I DON'T HAVE THAT DATE RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY, UM, UH, RIGHT AT MY FINGERTIPS, BUT THE, UM, INTENT IS TO MARKET, UM, THE HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM, ALONG WITH THE CULTURAL ART FUNDING THAT WILL COME AVAILABLE. UM, UH, THE, UH, INTENT IS TO DO IT JOINTLY THAT WE CAN MAXIMIZE OUR OUTREACH AND SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR? UH, THIS IS, UH, CHAIR WHITTINGTON. I'M SORRY IF I MISSED IT. HOW MUCH OF THE TOTAL BUDGET IS GOING TO THESE GRANTS PROGRAM ITSELF? [00:30:02] THAT IS 15%, UH, 15% OF TOTAL HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX IS GOING INTO HISTORIC PRESERVATION OR 15% IS GOING TO THE GRANT PROGRAM. WELL, OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND THAT IS ALLOCATED TO THE CITY, APPROXIMATELY 15%, UM, GOES TO THE HERITAGE GRANT. AND THEN, UH, THERE ARE OTHER PORTIONS OF THE FUND THAT GO TO THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS OWNED THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. THAT'S APPROXIMATELY 70%. UM, AND THEN ANOTHER 15, APPROXIMATELY 15% GOES TO THE POTENTIAL ACQUISITION OF A HISTORIC PROPERTY IN LOOKING THROUGH THE BUDGET, UM, POSTING THAT WE SHARED, BUT ALSO ON, ON, ON, ON THE BUDGET, UM, ON THE SEEING, UH, CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS YEAR AND THE, TO THE TUNE OF 9.5 MILLION AND CONTRACTUALS AT 3.83. CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THOSE, UH, WHAT THOSE REQUIREMENTS COVER AND WHICH ONE OF THEM IS AND WHERE THE GRANT MONIES LIVE WITHIN THOSE TWO LINE ITEMS? SO NAVEEN, DO YOU WANT TO, OH, AND A WALK THROUGH THAT. YEAH. SO UNDER CAPITAL, UNDER THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND FOR CAPITAL, UM, THE 9.3 AS, UM, UH, MELISSA MENTIONED CONSISTS OF PORTIONS OF THE CITY PROPERTIES, AS WELL AS, UM, FUTURE PURCHASES OF, UM, OF A HISTORIC BUILDING. AND THEN WITHIN THE CONTRACTUALS, YOU WILL SEE A HISTORIC PRESERVATION GRANT WITHIN THE 3.8. AND THEN OF COURSE THERE'S A PORTION THAT TRANSFERS TO PART AND LIBRARY WHERE THEIR CIP KEEP THEIR FACILITIES, THEIR HISTORIC PRECEDENT, HISTORIC BUILDINGS. GOT IT. GOT IT. UM, AND THEN, UM, AND THE TRANSFERS IN OTHER FUNDS, THAT'S GOING TO BE THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY MONEY'S COMING INTO THIS YEAR, CORRECT. RIGHT. SO, UH, AS A REMINDER WITH THE ADDITIONAL 2 CENTS THAT WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL THAT COMES INTO THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUND TRANSFER THE CONVENTION CENTER, AND THEN THE CONVENTION CENTER TRANSFERS IT TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION, SIMILAR TO LIKE THEY TRANSFER IT TO THE MUSIC, THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, ADDITIONAL 2 CENTS 15 CENTS. YEAH. ZERO ZERO 3 CENTS PER TAXABLE DOLLAR. YES. THANK YOU, KEVIN. YEAH. OKAY. NO, THAT MAKES SENSE. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. UM, ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, VICE CHAIR, MCGEE. HE'S ON MUTE. YOU'RE MUTED. MA'AM SORRY. I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THAT. UM, RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT, UM, RECENTLY SUBMITTED A RESOLUTION THAT I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO WAS GOING TO TAKE UP AND LOOK AT. UM, AND THE IDEA WAS POTENTIALLY THE CITY PURCHASING, UM, SOME OF THE LIVE MUSIC VENUES IN THAT DISTRICT TO HELP PRESERVE THEM. IF THAT, UM, IF THAT WERE TO PROCEED, WOULD THAT, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU THINK WOULD COME UNDER, UM, HISTORIC PRESERVATION? WOULD THAT BE WHERE IT WOULD LAND? AND I ASKED YOU THAT BECAUSE YOU WERE SAYING YOU WERE WORKING ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, I'M JUST CURIOUS, UM, IF IT MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS AS ARTICULATED BY THE CITY, IT COULD COME OUT, BUT AGAIN, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE VOTED, UM, PAST THE ENTIRE COUNCIL. YEAH. YES. AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO ADD THAT, UM, A HISTORIC SURVEY HASN'T BEEN CONDUCTED IN THAT AREA. SO I THINK THAT WOULD ALSO NEED TO BE, UH, AN ELEMENT THAT WOULD NEED TO OCCUR TO ENSURE THAT THE, UM, HISTORIC, UM, DESIGNATION ASPECT OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS OR OF THE, OF THE, UH, PROCESSES IS INTACT. YES, THAT'S KEY. THAT'S THAT ONE? SURE. I THINK IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY FROM THE VISITOR IMPACT TASK FORCE, [00:35:03] STAY LAW DOESN'T NECESSARILY DICTATE WHAT THE CRITERIA IS FOR HISTORIC DESIGNATION. WHAT IS THE CITY STANCE ON A REQUIRED DESIGNATION? SO FOR, UH, THE HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM, WE REQUIRE FOR A SITE TO EITHER BE, UM, DESIGNATED OR APPLY FOR FUNDING TO OBTAIN THEIR DESIGNATION. SO WE DEFINITELY WILL MAKE THAT INVESTMENT. UM, IF AN APPLICANT APPLIES FOR, UM, ANY FEES ASSOCIATED WITH OBTAINING A AND THEN WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION, UM, AND THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE TO ENSURE THAT ANY WORK THAT IS CONDUCTED ON THE HISTORIC SITE MEETS THE SEARCH OF A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS. SO IN OTHER WORDS, THAT THE INTEGRITY OF THE SITE IS INTACT AS THE, AS ANY WORK CONTINUES. DO YOU HAVE ANY, UM, SITES CURRENTLY IDENTIFIED, UH, AS RECIPIENTS OF THE ACQUISITION FUNDING? UH, NO, WE DO NOT, BUT WE WILL BE, UH, WORKING CLOSELY WITH, UM, UH, THE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT TEAM INTERNALLY WITHIN THE CITY, UM, TO HELP IDENTIFY, UM, A SHORT LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONSIDERATION. WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR US TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT SHORT LIST WHEN IT'S AVAILABLE? YES. THANKS. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR A GUESS? NO, JUST A THANK YOU. YES, I'M MELISSA. I APPRECIATE Y'ALLS TIME TODAY. AND, UH, AS ALWAYS YOUR THOROUGHNESS DID Y'ALL HEAR ME? YES. THANK YOU, SCOTT. SCOTT. IT THERE. YEAH. YEAH, I'M HERE, BUT EVERY TIME I CALL IN, THEY, UH, SOMEHOW IT GOES, IT GOES ONTO MUTE WHERE Y'ALL CAN HEAR ME WHEN I HAVE A QUESTION. SO IF YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT STAFF ON MUTE THE COMMISSION MEMBERS SHARE THING, THAT'S YOUR NUMBER FOUR, SEVEN, FOUR. WE'LL MAKE SURE TO KEEP THAT. WE'LL TRY TO KEEP THAT. UNMATED GO AHEAD YOUR QUESTION, SIR. I, YEAH. IS THERE A SURPLUS MONEY RIGHT NOW IN THAT FUND THAT HASN'T BEEN SPENT AND THAT'S STILL HOW MUCH YES. AS OF IT'S AN ESTIMATED ROUTE, ESTIMATED TO HAVE AN ENDING BALANCE OF ABOUT 7 MILLION AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, AND AS FAR AS APPLICATION FOR FUNDS, WHAT IS THE, ARE THERE PENDING APPLICATIONS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN GRANTED A MAN EPISODE TO WHAT TOTAL? YEAH. SO AS MELISSA MENTIONED, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN THE APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS, AND SO WE'VE RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 24 APPLICATIONS AND SO THEY'RE BEING REVIEWED. AND ONCE THOSE THAT MEET AND ARE APPROVED, THEY WILL BE, UM, GO TO COUNCIL ON SEPTEMBER 3RD. OKAY. BUT DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THOSE APPLICATIONS TOTAL IN TERMS OF AMOUNT OF MONEY REQUESTS, 2.6 MILLION, TWO POINT. SO THEN YOU STILL HAVE ANOTHER FOUR OR 5 MILLION THAT YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE APPLICATION FOR? NO, UH, BECAUSE SOME OF THAT ALSO WITHIN THAT LINE OR OTHER CONTRACTUAL ITEMS THAT WE HAVE FOR NEXT YEAR. OKAY. SO HOW MUCH IS NOT ASKED OR COMMITTED? OKAY. UM, RIGHT NOW, AGAIN, IT'S ESTIMATED THAT WE WILL HAVE AN ENDING BALANCE OF ABOUT 7 MILLION. AGAIN, WE COULD GET INTO THE APPLICATIONS AND SOME, THEY MAY NOT RECEIVE FULL FUNDING DEPENDING ON THE APPLICATIONS. IS THAT CORRECT, MELISSA? YES, THAT'S ACTUALLY, UM, THE GUIDANCE THAT WE ARE GIVING OUR PEER REVIEW PANELS, UM, IS THAT APPLICANTS COULD POTENTIALLY RECEIVE PARTIAL FUNDING DEPENDING ON HOW STRONG OF AN APPLICATION THEY HAVE. UM, AND EACH OF THE INFORMATION SESSIONS THAT I CONDUCTED, I INFORMED APPLICANT'S THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, BASED ON HOW MUCH WOULD ACTUALLY BE AVAILABLE THROUGH HOT PROJECT PROPOSALS COULD BE, UH, UM, AWARDED, UH, USING A PHASED APPROACH. SO I HAVE EACH APPLICANT CREATE A PRESERVATION PRIORITY LIST IN TERMS OF THE ITEMS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO GET FUNDING. AND SO THEY HELP [00:40:01] PROBLEM SOLVE IN ADVANCE IN THE, IN THE EVENT THAT WE CANNOT FULL, UH, FULLY, UH, PROVIDE A GRANT AT A HUNDRED PERCENT. BUT I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IS HOW MUCH MONEY IS, UH, BASICALLY NOT COMMITTED OR BEING ASKED FOR, AND IT REMAINS IN RESERVE OR SURPLUS, RIGHT. AND AGAIN, THAT WILL BE THE AMOUNT THAT'S COMMITTED TO A CAPITAL OR AN ACQUISITION. AND THAT AMOUNT IS THE PERCENT OF 15% IS SET ASIDE FOR COUNCIL TO DETERMINE. SO YES, IT'S A SUBSET OF THAT, BUT ENDING BALANCE. SO IS THAT $7 MILLION THAT'S SET ASIDE FOR FUTURE CAPITAL ACQUISITIONS? YES. IT COULD BE AGAIN, ALL SUBJECT AS YOU KNOW, TO COUNCIL'S APPROVAL SO THEY CAN ALWAYS COME IN AND MAKE AN AMENDMENT, BUT, YES. ALL RIGHT. AND ARE THERE ANY HOTELIERS, ARE THERE ANY HOTELIERS, UM, WHO ARE IN ANY OF YOUR PEER REVIEW OR, OR, OR COMMITTEES THAT LOOK AT THE EXPENDITURES OF THESE ITEMS AND, AND HOW, UH, THEY IMPACT TOURISM AND HOTEL ACTIVITY? UH, YES. YES. IT'S A, IT'S A NICE MIXTURE OF TOURISM AND PRESERVATION, UM, PROFESSIONALS, UH, THAT WE ASKED TO SERVE ON OUR REVIEW PANELS. OKAY. COULD YOU GET ME A LIST OF THE, THE FULL COMMITTEE AND THE HOTELIERS THAT ARE ON IT? SURE. YEAH. WE'RE HAPPY TO DO THAT. OKAY. I APPRECIATE IT. THAT'S ALL MY, OH, HI. I'D LIKE TO SEE IF THAT LIST COULD BE PROVIDED TO THE ENTIRE COMMISSION. IS THAT OKAY? YEAH, THAT'S WE WOULDN'T DO THAT. WE WOULDN'T JUST GIVE IT TO ONES IT'S LIKE WITH CITY COUNCIL WITH DISTRIBUTE TO THE ENTIRE, THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR OUR GUESTS? WELL, THANKS. Y'ALL VERY MUCH, UH, BEFORE WE JUMP TO ITEM TWO, SEE THE UPDATE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER. YOU HAVE SOME PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, I BELIEVE MR. KEITH ZIMMERMAN HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. MR. ZIMMERMAN, ARE YOU THERE? GOOD AFTERNOON. THIS IS CITY HALL. I DID NOT HAVE MR. ZIMMERMAN CALL IN TODAY. OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE, UM, CHECKING TO SEE IF HE WAS, UH, AVAILABLE OR WANTED TO, UH, BRIEF THE COMMISSION. SO, UM, WITH [2c. Update on Convention Center Expansion presented by Austin Convention Center Department, Acting Chief Administrative Officer, Katy Zamesnik] THAT SAID, LET'S GO AHEAD AND JUMP TO ITEM TWO C UPDATE ON THE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION PRESENTED BY THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER DEPARTMENT, ACTING CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER KATIE ZANS. NICK KATIE. HELLO. HI, GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, SO I KNOW I SEND MY PRESENTATION IN LATE CITY HALL WHERE WE, THIS IS CITY HALL. UM, CAN YOU, CAN YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE, UM, HE'S GOING TO SHARE THIS SCREEN AND LET ME KNOW IF THIS IS YOURS. OKAY. NOPE. NONE OF THOSE ARE, UM, I CAN SHARE MY SCREEN IF THAT'S EASIER, IF THAT MAKES IT, IF THAT WORKS. YES, THAT WILL WORK FINE. THANK YOU. OKAY. GIVE US JUST A SECOND. HE'S GOT TO GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO SHARE. OKAY. SO NOW IT SHOULD WORK. OKAY. OKAY. SO EVERYBODY CAN SEE THE POWERPOINT NOW. OKAY. YES. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS KATIE'S MESNICK. I AM THE ACTING CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER. UM, I'M ATTEMPTING TO FILL CARLA'S VERY TALL SHOES. UM, SO AS REQUESTED, I AM HERE TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION. THIS PRESENTATION IS GOING TO BE SHORT AND SWEET AS WE ARE STILL IN OUR DUE DILIGENCE PHASE. AND SO, UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T HAVE A TON OF INFORMATION TO SHARE YET. SO JUST AS A QUICK REMINDER, THIS SLIDE SHOWS WHERE WE ARE WITH CURRENT RENTABLE SPACE WITHIN THE CONVENTION CENTER. UM, AND THEN THE SPACE RECOMMENDATION FOR AN EXPANDED CONVENTION CENTER TO MEET OUR CURRENT AND [00:45:01] PROJECTED DEMAND. UH, THIS IS BASED OFF THE NUMEROUS STUDIES DONE SINCE THE LONG RANGE MASTER PLAN ADOPTED ON 2014. AND JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THAT A LITTLE BIT, UH, THIS TIMELINE HERE SHOWS THE EXPANSION PROGRESS UP UNTIL NOVEMBER, 2019. WHEN THE AUSTIN VOTERS DECLINED TO PASS A PROPOSITION B I WON'T GO THROUGH THIS SLIDE AS I'M SURE ALL OF YOU ARE VERY AWARE OF ALL OF THE ACTIONS TAKEN SINCE 2014 ON EXPANSION. UM, BUT I DO FIND IT'S KIND OF A HANDY REMINDER JUST TO HAVE, UH, TO LOOK BACK AT, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE STARTED AND WHERE, WHERE WE ARE NOW. SO SINCE THE ELECTION, WE HAVE ENGAGED CONVENTIONAL WISDOM AND HBS CONVENTION SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT FACILITIES CONSULTING TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO THE MASTER PLAN AND AN ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY OF EXPANSION. THESE REPORTS ARE IN FINAL REVIEW AND THEY'LL BE RELEASED TO CITY COUNCIL IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. UM, AND SO OBVIOUSLY AS WITH EVERYONE ELSE, THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC HAS KIT OUR CONVENTION AT TRAVEL INDUSTRY HARD. UH, WE DO CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE IMPACT TO OUR OPERATIONS AND EXPANSION. UH, BUT AT THIS POINT, BELIEVE THAT EXPANSION IS ABLE TO PROCEED AS PLAN, UH, WITH SOME POTENTIAL MINOR IMPACTS TO THE TIMELINE. SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW? SO WE'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THE CLEAR DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL IN RESOLUTION 20 1905 TWO THREE DASH ZERO TWO NINE, AN ORDINANCE 20 1908 OH EIGHT DASH ONE FOUR EIGHT. UH, THAT REAFFIRMS COUNCIL'S DESIRE TO EVALUATE A WESTERN EXPANSION IN LINE WITH UT STUDY SCENARIO FIVE. WE'RE TARGETING LATER THIS YEAR TO BE IN FRONT OF COUNCIL FOR NEXT STEPS AND THE EXPANSION PROCESS. AND CERTAINLY AS WE FIRM UP DATES AND HAVE MORE INFORMATION, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW, AND I'M HAPPY TO COME BACK BEFORE YOU AS WELL. UM, AND I CAN ENSURE THAT YOU GUYS WILL GET A COPY OF THE MASTER PLAN AND ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY UPDATES AS WELL. AND SO WITH THAT, I CAN TAKE QUESTIONS. I'LL OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO QUESTIONS. UM, LET'S SEE, KATIE, WE'RE STILL SEEING YOUR SCREEN. WE CAN JUMP OUT OF THERE SO THAT WE CAN, UH, SO I CAN SEE EVERYONE'S FACES IN CASE ANYONE WANTS TO RAISE THEIR HAND. CAUSE I CAN'T SEE YOU ALL RIGHT NOW. I'M NOT SURE HOW TO YEAH. THE WEBEX IS NOW GONE. ANY QUESTIONS, JUST GO AHEAD AND JUMP IN. UM, SO EARLIER THIS YEAR, WHEN WE, I GUESS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EITHER EARLY THIS YEAR OR THE END OF YEAR WHEN WE SAW THE TIME OF NEXT STEPS, THERE WERE ONE OF THE SCENARIOS THAT WAS DISCUSSED WAS THE IMPACT ON, UH, WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO THE REAL ESTATE IN THE SURROUNDING REGIONS AROUND THE CENTER. CURRENTLY IN THAT, UM, THERE WAS SOME DISPLACEMENT OR SOME ACQUISITIONS, I GUESS, TAKING PLACE. I'M JUST WONDERING IF, IF THERE'S BEEN ANY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OR ANY REPORTS ON WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE REAL ESTATE MARKET AROUND THE CONVENTION CENTER SINCE THE, IN THE PAST FIVE MONTHS, IS ANYTHING OF ANY SHIFTS, ANYTHING THAT NOTICEABLE THAT WILL IMPACT POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY THE BUDGET PLANNING PROCESS? CAUSE I THINK THAT LAND WAS ONE OF THE FIRST KEY FACTORS AFFECTING IT WAS THE AVAILABILITY OF THE CONTINGENT CONTIGUOUS LAND TO THE CENTER. SO, UM, YES, WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN KIND OF LOOKING AT SOME OTHER OPTIONS AROUND THAT, JUST KNOWING AND SEEING KIND OF WHAT REAL ESTATE HAS DONE, UM, IN, IN THAT AREA AS WELL. SO, UH, I'M NOT HERE TO TOTALLY SPEAK TO IT, BUT I CAN, I CAN GET YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION AROUND. SO IN SOME OF THE OPTIONS THAT WE'VE, UM, THAT WE'VE BEEN EXPLORING, I JUST WANT TO, WOULD WANT TO TALK TO OUR REAL ESTATE FOLKS. WHO'VE BEEN THE ONES HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH, I GUESS, I GUESS I WAS JUST LOOKING FOR VALIDATION THAT ONE OF THE REASONS, THE TIMELINE DOESN'T HIT TOTAL PAUSE IS THE WAY OTHER THINGS HAVE BEEN IMPACTED IN THE CITY. AGAIN, ANY OF OUR BUSINESSES IS THAT I HEAR SCENARIOS ABOUT PEOPLE JUMPING ON REAL ESTATE WHILE PRICES ARE FALLING IN WHETHER OR NOT THAT ACTUALLY CREATES SOME DISTURBANCE TO FLOW FORWARD. IF THERE BECOMES A RUN WITH CERTAIN CAPITAL ACCESSIBLE PEOPLE TO GOBBLE UP LAND WELL WHERE THIS DOWN PERIOD. SO, SO YEAH, THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS THE REAL ESTATE, UM, LANDSCAPE IS NOT EFFECTING OUR TIMELINE FOR EXPANSION RIGHT NOW. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR OUR GUESTS, CHRIS YOU'RE READING NOW. HI, UM, HAS ANY INDUSTRY REPORT BEEN PUBLISHED OR STUDIES BEEN PUBLISHED ABOUT WHEN THE CONVENTION MARKET MIGHT RETURN TO PRE COVID CONDITIONS? YEAH, SO BOTH SEABURY HOTELS AND STR SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH HAVE DONE SOME PUBLICATIONS, WHICH I CAN GET YOU SOME INFORMATION ON, ON BOTH OF THOSE. AND SO WE, WHAT WE'VE PUT IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET AND KIND OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IS, [00:50:01] YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE BEING A LITTLE, UH, WE'RE BEING VERY CONSERVATIVE ON WHEN WE THINK THE TURNAROUND WILL HAPPEN EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE THAN WHAT SOME OF THE PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ARE PUTTING OUT. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT AROUND 2024 TO 2025 TO BE BACK TO PRE COVID LEVELS, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY GET YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THAT. THAT WOULD BE GREAT. THANK YOU. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER MCGEE? UM, JUST A TECHNICAL QUESTION REALLY FOR ALL PRESENTERS. OBVIOUSLY WHEN WE MEET IN PERSON, WE USUALLY HAVE A PAPER COPY OF, UM, THE PRESENTATIONS. AND I'M WONDERING IF, UM, CITI IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD US ELECTRONIC COPIES OF THE PRESENTATIONS WE'VE SEEN TODAY. I CAN CERTAINLY, I CAN CERTAINLY GET MINE TO FELICIA TO SEND OUT. THANK YOU MENTIONED REGGIE. YES. I HAVE EVERYTHING ON OUR WEBSITE THAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED TODAY. SO EVERYTHING YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE NOW AND SEE ALL THE DOCUMENTS SHARED TODAY. THANK YOU, FELICIA. I DON'T KNOW IF SCOTT DAWSON HAS ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK WE COULD ASK HIM, MAYBE MAKE A PAUSE TO SEE, BECAUSE I'M ON THE LINE. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I'M GLAD TO TAKE ANY, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE HAVE OF ME. ALRIGHT, BUT THAT SAID, UM, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR KATIE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY AND THE PRESENTATION AND, UH, GOOD LUCK AND GODSPEED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IT'S TRIAL BY FIRE RIGHT NOW. UH, [3. NEW BUSINESS a. Visit Austin Marketing Plan and Budget, presented by Visit Austin, President & CEO, Tom Noonan] ALL RIGHT. SO ON TO ITEM THREE, WHICH IS THE VISIT AUSTIN MARKETING PLAN AND BUDGET, UH, PRESENTED BY VISIT AUSTIN PRESIDENT AND CEO, MICHELLE, TOM NOONAN. THERE YOU GO VISIT AUSTIN PLACE COMMISSIONERS, THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME FOR US TODAY. SO WE'RE GOING TO BREAK THIS DOWN INTO TWO PRESENTATIONS. NUMBER ONE, UH, TIFFANY KURT DO OUR, OUR MARKETING PLAN IS SOME OF OUR UPDATE YOU ON SOME OF OUR ACTIVITIES, AND THEN I WILL FOLLOW UP THE, YOUR PRESENTATION. SO I'M GOING TO TURN OVER TO TIFFANY. UH, AND IF YOU COULD PUT UP THAT PRESENTATION YOU HAD EARLIER, UH, UH, I'M DOING THE PRESENTATION THAT TIFFANY WILL WALK US THROUGH THAT, BUT I'M HERE FOR THE QUESTIONS AS WELL. GOOD AFTERNOON. I WAS HAVING SOME SOUND ISSUES EARLIER. CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? OKAY. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. UM, SO WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR THAT MARKETING PLAN AND PRESENTATION TO BE PULLED UP AT CITY HALL, THAT WAS IN A PDF FORMAT. UM, NOT THAT ONE, IT WAS PROVIDED OVER A LINK. UM, THIS IS CITY HALL, TWO ITEMS THAT WERE DROPPED INTO THE FILE FOR US TO USE. SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR SCREEN. YEAH, LET ME, UM, LET ME GET THAT. HOLD UP PERMISSION TO SHARE HE IS WORKING ON IT RIGHT NOW. MA'AM YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SHARE NOW. OKAY. THANK YOU. CAN EVERYONE SEE THIS? OKAY. UM, I AM, I'M GOING TO SHARE TODAY OUR, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2021 MARKETING PLAN THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE CENTER AND DOES NOT SINGLE DIRECTORS. THIS DOCUMENT WAS RELEASED TO THE CONVENTION CENTER FOR SUBMISSION CITY COUNCIL BY JUNE 15TH FOR OUR CONTRACT. SO THE INFORMATION THAT I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU IS CURRENT THROUGH THAT [00:55:01] DATE. UM, AND OUR PRINT ALWAYS STARTS WITH A LETTER FROM A MESSAGE SUMMER CEO AND PRESIDENT, AND THEN THIS YEAR'S PLAN, TOM REALLY TRIES TO SET UP THE BACK THEN AND GOING INTO OUR IN 19 AND 20, WE ARE REALLY ON TRACK AND FORWARDS FOR ANOTHER STRONG PERFORMANCE FOR THE MARKET. UM, MID MARCH, OBVIOUSLY COVID-19 STARTING TO HIT FOR US LOCALLY AND WE HAD TO TAKE A MOMENT AND SHIFT AND PAUSE OUR ACTIVITIES AND REALLY REIMAGINE HOW WE STRUCTURED THIS YEAR'S MARKETING PLAN. AND SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SHARE WITH ME, IMAGINE PLAN THAT'S BASED ON A REBASE APPROACH. OUR PLAN ALSO GOES THROUGH UPFRONT OUR MISSION AND BACKGROUND OBJECTIVES, DEPARTMENTS, ALL OF THIS I'M GOING TO FLY THROUGH REALLY QUICKLY, CAUSE I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT TO COVER, BUT THIS WILL ALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE FULL COMMISSION FOR YOUR OWN MOVIE. WE WANT TO START WITH OUR, UM, TOWARDS SOME INDUSTRY OR PAST, AND WE STARTED WITH A GLOBAL AND NATIONAL GOAL. AND SO AS WE MONITOR TRAVEL INDUSTRY RESEARCH AND TRENDS, WE SPENT THE TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID-19 IS EXPECTED TO HIT POINT IN MILLION DOLLARS, WHICH HAS CATASTROPHIC IMPACT ON THE EMPLOYMENT SECTOR. IN HOSPITALITY, TRAVEL AND TOURISM. WE EXPECTED TO SEE ABOUT A $519 BILLION LOSS IN DIRECT TRAVEL SENDING WITH DOMESTIC TRAVEL, NEARLY BABY DRIVER. UM, ONE OF THE MEASURES THAT WE ALWAYS PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO IS SHAVAR SENTIMENT. UM, AND SO THIS CHART ON THE TOP LEFT, YOU COULD THINK HEADER AND SENT FOR TRAVEL DECLINE. THIS IS SHOWING ME PERCENTAGE OF HOW WAS YOU HAD SHIPS BOOKS, BUT MADE PLANS TO CANCEL THEM. SO AT THE TIME THAT THIS WERE PULLED, THAT HAD DECLINED, YOU'RE STARTING TO LOVE LA AND WE'RE SEEING SIMILAR NUMBERS ON THAT MEASURE. NOW, AFTER TAKING A MORE GLOBAL WORLD, THEY WANTED TO DRILL DOWN AND LOOK SPECIFICALLY AT THE LOCAL ECONOMIC IMPACTS HERE IN AUSTIN. UM, SO AS MENTIONED TOM'S LETTER, WE BEGAN KIND OF SEEING 20 POINTS FOR THE, AT THE HALFWAY POINT OF OUR FISCAL YEAR. WE WERE PACING AT ABOUT 110% OF REVIVAL AND ABOUT 115% OF UNIQUE GOAL JUST BEGAN TO DIP NO SURPRISE. AND MID-MARCH FOLLOWED BY CANCELLATIONS OF GROUPS THAT WERE SCHEDULED TO MEET IN AUSTIN AND ITS WINGS ONE NIGHT. SO JUST TO BREAK THIS DOWN, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE ON THE TOP, THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE SEEING THE IMPACT OF CANCELLATIONS FOR GROUPS THAT WILL WHAT'S BY VISIT AUSTIN. DOESN'T INCLUDE GROUPS AT THE HOTELS BOOKED IN HOUSE. IT ALSO EXCLUDES THE IMPACT OF SOUND, WHICH IS NOTED SEPARATELY. SO THAT'S ABOUT ME IS IMPACTED AS AWESOME BOOKINGS. THE GREEN BELOW IS THE INDUSTRY HAD BEEN BROKEN OUT SEPARATELY AS IMPACT OF SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST. WOW, ARE THERE, WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE IMPACT, UM, OR REALLY THE OUTCOME OF, EXCUSE ME, FOR 2021, OUR INDUSTRY EXPERTS EXPECT THAT THE RETURN OF TRAVEL WILL BE LED BY DRIVE MARKET AND USE YOUR TRIPS. UM, AND WE REALLY SEE THAT THAT'S WHERE THE TURNAROUND IS GOING TO BEGIN. AND THAT'S SUCH A CRITICAL, UM, A CRITICAL AUDIENCE THAT YOU NEED TO STAY IN OF. WE GET INTO THE PHASES OF OUR TACTICAL PLAN. YOU SEE THE ARMY TACTICS ARE DRIVEN BY GEN RECORD, DRY. NEXT, I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU THROUGH OUR DESTINATION AND INDUSTRY OBJECTIVES. UM, SO TO START OBJECTIVE ONE IS REALLY ADAPTING TO OUR NEW MARKET ENVIRONMENT. AND SO WE RESTRUCTURED OUR MARKETING PLAN AROUND THREE DAYS TO REBUILD AND RESTORE STABILIZE AND MORE. SO THIS PROVIDES, IT'S A WAY TO OUTLINE OUR STRATEGIES THAT ALIGN WITH THIS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING MARKET. WE CAN HAVE A REALLY SHORT RANGE VIEW OF, YOU KNOW, THOSE THINGS THAT ARE IN FRONT OF US ARE IN FRONT OF US. BUT WHAT WE WERE REALLY LOOKING FOR THIS PLAN TO SOMETHING THAT HAD SOMEONE JEVITY LONG RANGE VIEW OF HOW THE INDUSTRY, WHAT WE COVER, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THE OBJECTIVES THAT ARE OUTLINED IN THIS MARKET, EXCEPT WE'LL GO THROUGH LATER, MAY NOT BE ACHIEVABLE IN ONE FISCAL YEAR, JUST BASED ON THE STATE OF THE MARKET AND HOW TRAVELING TOWARDS ANYTHING TO RECOVER. UM, IT'S ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT WE ARE WAITING UNTIL LOTS OF MEMBERS TO ACT OUR INTERNAL MANTRA. HASN'T REALLY BEEN A STATE OF READINESS, READINESS [01:00:01] RESEARCH, ANTICIPATING THE NEEDS OF THE MARKET AND DEVELOPING MORE CONTENT THAT WE NEED TO POTENTIAL VISITORS. RIGHT NOW, OBJECTIVE TWO IS TO PROTECT AND EVOLVE. THE AUSTIN BURNETT WE'LL DO THIS BY POTENTIAL VISITORS, EVEN WHEN THEY'RE NOT ACTIVE IN TRIP PLANNING, YOU'D REALLY WANT TO KEEP THE AUSTIN BRAND OUT FRONT AND CENTER. AS PEOPLE ARE DRAINING AND BEING HIT WITH THAT PRINCIPLE, OBJECTIVE THREE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PRIORITY FOR US AND IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. UM, AND THAT IS PROMOTE AND SUPPORT OF LOCAL BUSINESSES. AND SO WE NEED THE LOCAL BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS AND UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN COLLABORATE TO GIVE THEM THE POTENTIAL CAUSE THEIR AUDIENCE. YOU CAN SEE A NUMBER OF EXAMPLES IN THE FRONT OF OUR ONLINE GENIUS AND MY WEBSITE FINALLY, OBJECTIVE FOUR IS CENTERED ON, UM, DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT. UM, SO THIS IS WHERE WE'LL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE CONTENT TO NEW AND REOPENING HOTELS. THEN YOU SAID, ATTRACTIONS REALLY OFFER THOSE PRODUCTS IN THE AUSTIN MARKET THAT ARE RELEVANT TO OUR BUSINESS TO GET INTO OUR ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS. AND, UM, HERE, THERE ARE CALLS THAT ARE EITHER NEW OR ONE SECOND. TIFFANY, DO YOU MIND MUTING FOUR SEVEN, FOUR, WHICH I BELIEVE IS COMMISSIONER JOSLIN'S WHEN WE OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS, WE CAN JUST GIVE YOU A LOT OF FEEDBACK. SORRY. WHEN WE'RE IN PRESENTATION MODE, I CANNOT BRING UP THE PARTICIPANT LIST TO MUTE PEOPLE. SO THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MEET ON THEIR OWN. I MUTED MYSELF. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IF EVERYONE CAN SEE THAT ORGANIZATION GOALS UP ON THE SCREEN, THIS IS, UM, IT'S DIFFICULT TO PRESENT IN THIS WAY. REALLY THINK ABOUT THIS AS A BOOK, AND THIS IS A TWO PAGE SPREAD, SO I'LL KIND OF SCROLL THROUGH AS I'M SPEAKING, BUT THERE ARE SOME GOALS HERE THAT ARE EITHER NEW OR THE STATED, UM, BASED ON THE MOST RELEVANT INDUSTRY METRICS THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT CALLED OUT WITH NEW NEXT TO IT OR THAT APPLIES. ALL OF THESE GOALS REFLECT OUR BEST PROJECTIONS AS OF OUR JUNE DEADLINE. AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO JUST MONITOR THAT, MONITOR THESE AND VISIT THEM AS NEEDED AS WE SEE THE CONDITIONS OF THE MARKET, TAKE OUR BUDGET AND OUR STAFF RESOURCES INTO IT. IN YEARS PAST THE SECTION WAS BROKEN UP BY DEPARTMENT. UM, HERE WE'RE TAKING A MORE HOLISTIC APPROACH AND LOOKING AT, UM, ARTICLES AS AN ORGANIZATION, UM, UNTIL NOW TAKE US THROUGH OUR TACTICAL PLAN AND MISSILE. WE'LL GO THROUGH THIS ON THE NEXT FEW SLIDES. SO FIRST WE WILL REBUILD AND RESTORE. UM, AND SO YOU'LL NOTICE THAT EACH OF THESE THINGS IS IT'S MARKED BY A HOTEL OCCUPANCY TARGET NUMBER. WE WANTED A MEASURABLE WAY TO TRACK SUCCESS, UM, TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THOSE TRIGGERS AND SIGNALS TO LET US KNOW THAT IT'S APPROPRIATE TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STAGE OF OUR PERMITTING. AND SO FOR THIS FIRST STAGE, WE ARE LOOKING AT ANY OCCUPANCY THAT IS LOWER THAN 45%. SEE WHY? SO WITH THAT BEING OUR MARKER, UM, WE WILL REALLY LOOK AT THINGS LIKE, UM, FOCUSING ON THAT DRIVING MARKET, LEISURE, UM, MAINTAINING AS MANY OF THE CONDITIONING GROUPS THAT WE CAN FOR 20 AND 21, EITHER MAINTAINING OR, UM, RESCHEDULING THEM. SO IF THAT DOESN'T TURN INTO A CANCELLATION AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OTHER EXAMPLES THERE AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH OF THESE PAGES, YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THESE DESTINATION SUCCESS METRICS. AND I WANT TO BE REALLY CLEAR ON THIS SECTION. THESE ARE METRICS THAT INTERNALLY, WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO FOLLOW AND PEOPLE WERE NOT. AND A LOT OF CASES, THESE ARE THINGS THAT VISIT AUSTIN DOES NOT HAVE DIRECT INFLUENCE OR CONTROL OVER. UM, BUT WE THOUGHT IT WAS MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR US TO ALSO CONSIDER THESE AS LOOKING AT, UM, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT EACH OF OUR PHASES AND TACTICS AND STRATEGIES. YES, PHASE TWO IS THE STABILIZE SAY ISN'T, IT WILL BE MORE EXPENSIVE, 46 TO 64% OCCUPANCY. THIS IS WHEN YOU'LL SEE IT START TO EXPAND OUR ADVERTISING, REACH AND RESUME MORE OF OUR IN PERSON SALES TACTIC, PHASE THREE, UM, TO [01:05:01] NORMALIZE, THIS IS WHERE THE IS EXPANDING NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY. THEN WE'LL DEPLOY OTHER PROVEN SALES AND MARKETING TACTICS. AND IN THIS STAGE, THINGS ARE STARTING TO MARGINALIZE AND WE'RE REALLY TURNING OUR EYE TOWARD, UM, THIS AGAIN, UM, I KNOW KATIE SPOKE TO FULL RETURN OF, UH, THE MEETINGS BUSINESS. UM, BUT WE, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A TIMELINE, SEPARATE SETS OF THIS. THIS IS A STRUCTURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO STICK TO OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. UM, AND WE WILL ADAPT THESE STRATEGIES AS NEEDED, KNOWING THAT EVERYTHING HERE FROM PHASE ONE, GROUP THREE, JUST BASED ON OCCUPANCY AND THE RETURN OF THE MARKET WILL NOT LIKELY TO CROW WITHIN ONE FISCAL YEAR. SO IT'S HAVING THAT READINESS. IT SAID, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE TACTICS TO EXECUTE WHAT WE NEED TO DO IN THE RIGHT NOW, CURRENT POSITIONS, BUT ALSO HAVING MORE SITES ANTICIPATE OUR NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE. I'M GOING TO CLOSE WITH A SAMPLE FROM OUR RECENT ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN EFFORTS. THE FIRST THAT I'LL SHARE WITH YOU IS THIS IS AUSTIN FROM HOME. THIS IS A CAMPAIGN THAT WAS NOT IN OUR BAG OF TRICKS KNOWING INTO A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. BUT, UM, WHERE I KNOW EVERYONE'S TIRED OF HEARING THE WORD PIVOT, BUT WHERE WE PIVOTED RIGHT AWAY. SO ALL OF OUR, UH, MARKETING PAID MARKETING ACTIVITY WENT DARK. UM, AT THE START OF THIS, YOU KNEW THAT PEOPLE WEREN'T TRAVELING AND DIDN'T WANT TO PUT THAT INVESTMENT INTO THE MARKET, BUT WE DID HOWEVER WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR WEBSITE, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS, EVERYTHING ELSE, THAT OUR OWN CHANNELS WERE STILL ENGAGING, UM, THAT POTENTIAL VISITOR AUDIENCE. AND SO WE REALLY SPENT OUR TIME FOCUSING ON HOW WE CAN SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES VIRTUALLY OR TAKE OUT, UM, TO THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE REGION. YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THE EXAMPLES HERE, YOU KNOW, LIVE STREAMING OPPORTUNITIES OF OUR MOBILE COMPANIES, ET CETERA. A CAMPAIGN THAT WE HAVE IN, IN HOLDING RIGHT NOW, UM, IS ONE THAT WE'RE CALLING 130,000 REASONS TO IN AUSTIN. UM, REALLY WHEN THE TIME IS WHY THIS CAMPAIGN, UM, IS EXPECTED TO LAUNCH TARGETING GLOBAL CORPORATIONS. AND WHAT WE WANT IS FOR WHEN THEY DO RESUME IN PERSON, WE WANT THEM TO CONSIDER KEEPING THEM LOCAL FIRST. UM, WE WANT THEM TO CONSIDER THAT PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY THE WHOLE COUNTRY, 30,000 AUSTINITES WHO RELY ON OUR INDUSTRY TO PROVIDE FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR THEIR FAMILIES. UM, SO THIS IS NOT LIVE AT THIS POINT. UM, THE RESTRICTIONS AROUND GALLERY ARE PROBABLY TOO TIGHT RIGHT NOW FOR US TO, UM, MOVE INTO FOR THAT MESSAGING OUT THERE. BUT IT'S ONE THAT WE'VE GOT ON HOLD AGAIN, AND THAT WHOLE MANTRA OF A STATE OF READINESS. FINALLY, UM, EARLIER THIS YEAR WE DEVELOPED OUR NEW CONSUMER LEISURE CAMPAIGN, UM, THAT IS TITLED VISIT AUSTIN IT'S WAY BETTER LIE. THIS CAMPAIGN WAS EXPECTED TO WATCH ON APRIL 1ST AS THE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING. I WAS HEARTBROKEN THAT WE HAD TO PULL, UH, FOR OUR BABY, BUT THIS CAMPAIGN HAS NOT YET GONE MARIDE UM, BUT REALLY THE CENTER OF IS, IS, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE OUR MUSIC, AUSTIN'S RESTAURANTS, OUTDOOR SPACES, ARTS CULTURE, ALL OF THOSE WONDERFUL PILLARS OF OUR CITY BEST EXPERIENCE LIE. SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT POINT WHEN WE CAN, UM, MAKE THAT TERM FROM VISIT AUSTIN FROM HOME TO VISIT AUSSIE IT'S WAY BETTER LIVE. THE REMAINDER OF THIS DOCUMENT IS REALLY JUST TENDED TO INDUSTRY EVENTS, UM, CONTACTS FOR OUR OFFICE AND OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS. SO, UM, I WILL CALL TO YOU TO SEE THE REQUEST OPEN UP TO ANY QUESTIONS. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO HIT EITHER JUST CHIME IN OR USE THE, RAISE YOUR HAND ICON IN THE PARTICIPANT SIDE. WELL, I GUESS I'LL JUST MAKE A COMMENT THEN I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION, BUT I DO THINK THAT THE, THE STRATEGY BEHIND IT'S BETTER LIVE IS A GREAT TRANSITION STRATEGY TO BUILD OFF LIVE MUSIC, CAPITAL, HAVING INVESTMENT IN THAT. AND I THINK IT'S A REALLY STRONG CAMPAIGN COMING OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC. SO I CAN'T SAY, I THINK THE WORK IS SOLID. I HOPE YOU [01:10:01] ARE ABLE TO DEPLOY IT SOON. CAN I JUST START WITH A QUESTION EITHER, BUT I'M LOOKING AT THE BROCHURE IN A WAY BETTER LIVE CAMPAIGN, AND THAT'S SAY YOU HAVE A REALLY PRETTY PICTURE OF THE BARTON CREEK SPILLWAY CENTER FRONT CENTER THERE, WHERE ALL THE PEOPLE ARE CROWDED TOGETHER, WHICH WE NEED TO GET BACK THERE SAYING, I GUESS, BUT NOT QUITE YET, BUT I'M WONDERING IF, IF ALL OF THE ADDITIONAL FOCUS OF VISITOR TRAFFIC IN THAT PARTICULAR SPOT IS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT GET SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM VISIT AUSTIN TO HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, CLEAN UP. THERE'S JUST A LOT OF, I WENT DOWN THERE THE OTHER DAY TO SEE WHO WAS SWIMMING AND THERE'S JUST A LOT OF CRAP FLOODING AROUND IN THE CREEK NOW, WHICH IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT IS MAY NOT BE WITHIN YOUR JURISDICTION, BUT I AM SEEING A LOT OF USE AND A LOT OF SORT OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE RIGHT THERE, WHICH WOULD NOT BE POSITIVE FOR PEOPLE COMING DOWN TO VISIT. IT'S JUST SORT OF NOTING A PROBLEM AND NOT REALLY HAVING A SPECIFIC SOLUTION. OKAY. YEAH. IT'S HOW YOU FIRST RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, HE HAD, YOU KNOW, A GREAT CROWD OF PEOPLE IN THAT SHOT. THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS, AGAIN, THIS READINESS STATE THAT WE'RE IN, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FROM OUR READY TO DEPLOY FOR, UM, THE WAY THAT PEOPLE TRAVEL, KEEPING THINGS LIKE SOCIAL DISTANCING IN MIND. UM, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE PHOTOS THAT WE'D LOVE TO DEPLOY SOONER THAN LATER, BUT THAT WE PROBABLY HAVE TO HOLE IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, VISIT AUSTIN SUPPORT. REALLY OUR, OUR RAIN IS HELPING PROMOTE THESE ATTRACTIONS TO OUR VISITORS, GETTING THE VISITORS IN MARKETS, STAYING IN THEIR HOTELS, UM, AND GENERATING THOSE TAX DOLLARS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THE CITY IN OUR COMMUNITY CAN PUT TO WORK AND WHEN WE SET OUR NECESSARY. SO THANK YOU FOR OPENING UP, UM, THAT POINT, UM, AND, AND YEAH, THOMPSON TO SPEAK MORE TO OUR BUDGET AND ALLOCATIONS, YOU CAN TYPE BACK TO THAT. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE FOR TIP? THANK YOU, TIFFANY. SO A GREAT PRESENTATION AND I'LL ECHO, UH, COMMISSIONER BAILEY'S SENTIMENTS THAT DID SEEMS LIKE A VERY STRONG PLAN AND I HOPE WE CAN ROLL OUT. UM, I HOPE WE ROLL INTO THE NEXT PHASES AS QUICKLY SAFELY. WE CAN, AS WE CAN SAFELY AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN SAY SOMETHING, IS MY SCREEN STILL ALIVE OR SITTING HOME NOW WE'RE BACK TO PARTICIPANTS. THANKS. IF, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER, IF, UM, WOULDN'T MIND IF WE COULD PULL UP THE BUDGET SLIDE. YEAH. SO DO YOU HOLD YOUR MIND, JUMP INTO THE BUDGET, UH, PDF PLEASE. GREAT. I KNOW THESE, I KNOW THERE'S NUMBERS. SO THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY SENT OVER TO CITY HALL. SO IT IS ON YOUR, UH, ON YOUR WEBSITE. SO I WOULD, I WOULD CONCENTRATE RIGHT NOW ON THE PROPOSED 2021 BUDGET. AND I'M GOING TO COMPARE IT MOSTLY TO THE APPROVED BUDGET FOR 2020, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE WERE A YEAR AGO AND WHERE WE ARE TODAY. UM, SO OBVIOUSLY THE ORIGINAL, UH, BUDGET FOR 2020 OF HOTEL TAX WAS A $47 MILLION. AND THIS YEAR IT WILL BE $8.7 MILLION, WHICH IS ABOUT A 41 AND A HALF PERCENT DECREASE WHAT WE EXPECTED TO HAPPEN, UH, WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT, I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LEVEL DROP WE'VE EXPECTED TO SEE. UM, AND THEN WHEN YOU GO INTO THE PRIVATE REVENUE, I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH SOME BIG BUCKETS THERE, YOU'LL SEE THAT IN OUR PRIVATE REVENUE, THINGS LIKE RETAIL REVENUE IS DROPPED FROM 50,000, USUALLY IT'S ONE AND A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS. AND THAT'S SIMPLY BECAUSE FOR PART OF THE YEAR, THE VISITOR CENTER WE ANTICIPATE WILL BE, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE CREATED AN ONLINE STORE AND WE ARE SELLING LOTS OF LOCAL PRODUCT ON THERE, IT'S GENERATING SOME REVENUE, BUT NOT AS MUCH REVENUE AS WE WOULD HAVE SEEN FROM AN OPEN VISITOR CENTER. SO WE EXPECT THE NUMBER OF RETAIL REVENUE WOULD BE DOWN PUBLICATION. SALES IS A FLAT FEE, SO THAT DOESN'T CHANGE. RACK REVENUE IS DOWN BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE NOT OBVIOUSLY IN A BUSINESS CENTER. UM, AND SINCE WE, SO THAT NUMBER IS DOWN FROM 15,000 TO 5,000, OUR PARTNERSHIP REVENUE, WHICH IS OUR THINGS THAT OUR HOTEL COMMUNITY AND OTHER SUPPORT US WITH WHEN WE'RE DOING SALES CALLS, SALES, BLITZES, TRADE SHOWS, UH, LOCAL EVENTS, ANYTHING THAT'S GONNA GENERATE CONVENTION CUSTOMERS. UM, A LOT OF OUR HOTEL PARTNERS AND OTHER DMCS, AND SOMETIMES RESTAURANTS AND OTHERS WILL PARTICIPATE. AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT DOING THOSE ACTIVITIES RIGHT NOW. SO WE EXPECT PARTNERSHIP REVENUE TO BE DOWN TO ABOUT, UH, [01:15:01] ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILLION, ABOUT 670,000, UH, SPORTS COMMISSION REVENUE. WE EXPECT TO BE DOWN, UH, 40 TO 40,000 FROM 73 WILL BE A GOLF TOURNAMENT. OBVIOUSLY THIS YEAR, UM, DONATED SERVICES, YOU'LL SEE A BIG DROP IN DONATED SERVICES TO ABOUT 25,000. THAT'S OBVIOUSLY OUR INDUSTRY IS HURTING RIGHT NOW. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE AREN'T ARE ABLE TO DONATE THEIR SERVICES. THEY NEED TO MAKE REVENUE. AND WE RECOGNIZE, SO WE ANTICIPATE THE DONATED SERVICES WILL BE DOWN DRAMATICALLY, UM, INTEREST, INCOME, OBVIOUSLY LESS REVENUE, LESS INCOME. UM, AND THEN TO, TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE SALES AND MARKETING, NOT ONLY STAFF, BUT ALSO THE ADVERTISING BUDGET. WE WANT TO HAVE THIS PHASE ONE OF, UH, KIND OF OUR MARKETING PLAN. WE'RE ACTUALLY TAKING $2 MILLION OUT OF OUR RESERVE FUND, UM, TO HELP WHEN WE'RE READY, UH, DO AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN AND TO REALLY GET OUT AND DO SALES AND MARKETING. AND, AND, UM, YOU'LL SEE DOWN BELOW THE MAJOR BUCKETS BY PROGRAM, OUR CONVENTION SALES AND SERVICES, MARKETING MUSIC AND FILM, VISITOR CENTER AND FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION IS WHERE WE SPEND THE MONEY IN THOSE AREAS. BUT I WILL DENSE, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT WHERE WE WERE HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR AT 110% OF QUOTA, UH, SALES QUOTA AT, THROUGH THE THIRD QUARTER. WE'RE STILL AT 96% OF OUR SALES QUOTA FOR THE YEAR. AND WE HAD TO CANCEL SOME BUSINESS IN THE YEAR FOR THE YEAR. SO WE HAD TO BACK THOSE NUMBERS BACK OUT, OR WE'D STILL BE AT A HUNDRED SALES QUOTA. AND YOU WERE SEEING A LOT OF OUR BOOKINGS INTO 21. WE TOOK BOOKINGS THAT WERE 20% TO 21 OR 22. WE SEE A LOT OF OUR FUTURE BOOKINGS IN 21, 22 AND 23. WE'RE SEEING WE'RE PUSHING BUSINESS INTO THOSE FUTURE YEARS. AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON A QUOTE WITH A THOUSAND ROOM NIGHTS. UM, AND THOSE 800,000 ROOM NIGHTS WE'RE LOOKING TO CLOSE ARE ALL GOING TO BE IN 21, 22 OR 23 AS WELL, TRYING TO BRING THAT GROUP BUSINESS INTO AUSTIN. IF YOU LOOK AT THE HOTEL TAX COLLECTION, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING SOME COLLECTIONS ON THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS WERE NOT TO SEE SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THAT'S, THOSE ARE THE NIGHTS THAT CONVENTIONS ARE IN TOWN, UM, EITHER IN HOUSE OR CITYWIDE. AND SO WE ARE WORKING TO MAKE SURE THERE'S A BASE OF BUSINESS ON THE BOOKS. UM, THE MOMENT THAT WE CAN START MEETING AND GATHERING AGAIN, LIKE WE USED TO, AND HOPEFULLY OBVIOUSLY RECOVER THE HOTEL TAX AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, SO THAT HERITAGE FUND CAN GET BACK TO WHERE IT WAS AND THE ARTS FUND AND GET BACK TO WHERE IT WAS. UM, THOSE ARE PRIORITIES, THOSE AREAS WHERE WE'RE SPENDING OUR DOLLARS, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE SEE THE DROP IN REVENUE. UM, IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK AT THE DROP IN PRIVATE REVENUE IS PROBABLY A 60% AND PRIVATE REVENUE, UM, OVERALL COMPARING 2000 TWENTIES BUDGET TO 2020 ONE'S BUDGETS ABOUT A 56% DROP IN BUDGET. AND THEN YET OUR RESERVE FUNDS BACK IN IT'S ABOUT A 33%. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE COULD OPERATE TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT. AND WITH THAT CATLIN, I'LL TAKE A COMMISSIONERS. I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. CALVIN HAS HAD TO TAKE A CALL. SO I'M TAKING OVER CHAIRING THE MEETING AGAIN FOR HIM. UH, COMMISSIONERS. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. NUNAN SEE IF I CAN GET THE PARTICIPANTS WINDOW UP HERE. UM, ANY QUESTIONS FROM SCHOOL? YES. MS. COMMISSIONER JOCELYN. UM, TOM, COULD YOU EXPLAIN HOW YOUR BUDGET, UH, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF HOTEL TAX YOU GET VERSUS OTHER MAJOR CITIES IN TEXAS AND NATIONALLY AND HOW IT COMPARES? UM, WE'RE, WE'RE ON THE SPECTRUM, UH, BY, BY CITY CODE, WE GET FIVE AND FIVE SEVEN, SO WE GET THE TOURISM PROMOTION FUND AND WE, WE RECEIVE A, UH, SOME DOLLARS TO DO CONVENTION CENTER SALES AND MARKETING. IF YOU LOOK AT OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR, YOU KNOW, THE $8 MILLION ABOUT THREE OF THAT IS TOURISM FROM A HUNDRED, FIVE AND A HALF IS ROUGHLY FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER. UM, BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, YOU KNOW, WE WERE, WE WERE DOING 17 MILLION IN TOTAL, THE DALLAS, HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO, ALL AROUND 30 TO $33 MILLION IN TOTAL REVENUE FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR DEEMOS. UM, SO WE ARE, WE ARE, WE ARE, AND WE'VE TAKEN BIG HITS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE HAS, AND WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE, UM, I WOULD TELL YOU THOSE YEARS, PROBABLY 15 MILLION, 17, STILL HIGHER THAN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO FIND THEMSELVES. THEY'RE STILL GOING TO BE HIGHER THAN WE ARE COMING OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC. IS IT FAIR TO SAY, AS I UNDERSTAND IT FROM, FROM MOST OF THE MAJOR CITIES OFTEN GETS AROUND 17, 18% OF THE HOTEL TAX, IF YOU LOOK AT THE 7%, RIGHT? YEP. AND THAT, UH, DALLAS FORT WORTH HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO, UM, UM, ARE ALL GETTING IN THE RANGE OF 30 PLUS PERCENT. IF THAT FAIR, I WOULD SAY THAT'S ACCURATE. YES. [01:20:04] COMMISSIONER BAILEY. I'M WONDERING WHAT, WHAT, IF ANYTHING, AND I KNOW YOU CAN'T BE TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE, BUT W HOW DOES THE STATE OF TEXAS TOURISM, WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HOW THE STATE IS HAVING A LOOK AT THE ROLE OF TOURISM AND TO WHAT DEGREE, THEIR ASSISTANCE, AS FAR AS GENERAL OUTREACH FOR THE STATE, WHAT, WHAT IMPACT DO YOU SEE, UH, POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE ON HOW THE, HOW TEXAS BUDGETING WOULD AFFECT, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, GETTING TO WHERE WE WANT TO BE? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. OR COMMISSIONER, UH, QUESTION. UM, SO TRADITIONALLY THE STATE OF TEXAS DOES ALL OF ITS ADVERTISING OUTS. SO THERE, OKLAHOMA, LOUISIANA, YOU KNOW, EAST COAST, WEST COAST, MAJOR, YOU KNOW, UH, INTERNATIONAL MARKETS, MAJOR FLIGHT MARKETS TELLING WHERE THEY SPEND THEIR ADVERTISING, WHERE THEY DO THEIR CO-OP PROGRAMS WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT DEEMOS LIKE VISIT AUSTIN, BUT THERE'S BEEN SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT MAYBE YOU'RE ALLOWING SOME OF THAT ADVERTISING TO TAKE PLACE IN THE STATE, UM, AND DRIVE MARKET. AND SO THAT'S STILL BEING DEBATED OUT THERE AND MS. RIGHT. UM, BUT WE DEFINITELY NEED, UM, WE DEFINITELY NEED THE STATE OF TEXAS TO HAVE A HEALTHY TOURISM, YOU KNOW, BUDGET, UM, BOTH FOR, FOR TOURISM PROMOTION, UH, AND ALL THOSE CATEGORIES TO HELP US RECOVER QUICKLY, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS OTHER STATES AND OTHER DESTINATIONS ARE OUT THERE MARKETING THEIR DESTINATIONS ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, RECOVERY FROM COBIT. AND, AND I THINK WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT RECOVERY, THE WAY WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE AS TOURISM PROMOTION AND CONVENTION SALES, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT FILLS HOTEL ROOMS IS ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS AND SALES CAMPAIGNS. AND THEN ONE FOLLOWUP QUESTION IT'S ALONG THOSE LINES, THE WE'VE READ ABOUT THE, UM, EXPANSION PLANS AT THE AIRPORT HAVE BEEN PUT ON HOLD. UH, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU GAUGE OR MEASURE, UM, THE ROLE OF THE AIRPORT RIGHT NOW AND GETTING TO THE NUMBERS THAT, THAT YOU'VE PROJECTED? HOW DOES, HOW DOES THE AIRPORT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER IMPACT THAT, WELL, A GREAT LION'S SHARE OF OUR TOURISTS OBVIOUSLY COME TO THE AIRPORT. SOME OF THAT ARRIVALS DATA THAT I COULD SHARE WITH YOU WOULD SHOW YOU THAT, THAT SAMPLE SET OF LARGE SHARE OF HOTEL ROOM NIGHTS, COME FOR PEOPLE THAT OBVIOUSLY FLY IN. WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A LARGE DRIVE TRAFFIC, AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE THIS RECOVERY. WE'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT MORE DRIVE TRAFFIC. THEN WE'RE GOING TO SEE A FLIGHT TRAFFIC DOUBLE. HOPEFULLY THE FLIGHT NUMBERS ARE STARTING TO RECOVER A LITTLE BIT AND YOU START SEEING MORE PEOPLE SOMEWHAT. UM, SO, BUT, UM, I MEAN, LONGTERM OUR SUCCESS, YES, WE NEED THE AIRPORT, UM, TO RECOVER. AND I FORGET COMMISSIONERS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ADDING NEW HOTELS TO, I MEAN, WE HAVE A 600 MARYANN THAT'S GETTING READY TO OPEN DOWNTOWN. WE HAVE LOTS OF OTHER HOTELS THAT ARE COMING INTO OUR REGION. SO WE STILL NEED TO FIND MORE OCCUPANCY BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE PRODUCTS STILL COMING INTO THE MARKETPLACE. SO, SO YOU WOULD AT LEAST GO TO SAY THAT IF THERE IS A PRICE SUPPRESSION WAR TO GET PEOPLE FLYING AGAIN, THAT WE STAND A BETTER THAN EVEN CHANCE OF GETTING OUR FAIR SHARE OF CHORES BECAUSE OF, UH, BECAUSE OF CHEAPER FLIGHTS THAT COULD HELP DRIVE THIS FORWARD FASTER. I, I TH I THINK, I THINK DESTINATIONS THAT HAVE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC HAD A BETTER TOURISM REPUTATION IN TERMS OF A PLACE TO GO, UM, I'VE ALWAYS SAID, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A GREAT CONVENTION DESTINATION. UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S OBVIOUSLY A GREAT LEISURE TOWN. PEOPLE COME IN FOR LIVE MUSIC AND WEEKENDS, AND THAT'S A WIN FOR US. WE'VE BEEN A GREAT BUSINESS TRAVEL TOWN, SO CORPORATIONS ARE BASED HERE. SO WE KIND OF, WE KIND OF HIT ALL THE BASES AND SOME DESTINATIONS DON'T DO THAT, OR THEY DON'T HAVE THE DESIRABILITY BRAND THAT AUSTIN HAD AND HAS. AND SO I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE PLACES LIKE NASHVILLE, AUSTIN, AND, OR SEATTLE AND PLACES LIKE THAT. YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A RECOVERY QUICKLY OR QUICKER THAN YOU ARE GOING TO SEE PLACES. AND I'M NOT GOING TO EVEN NAME, UM, OTHER CITIES THAT DON'T HAVE THAT BRAND. LET'S JUST SAY THAT. THANK YOU. YEP. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR? OKAY. I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY. UM, SO I, WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, KNOWING ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU GUYS DO, AND I SEE THAT YOU WERE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BEING READY AND, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO ENSURE SOME HELP FOR THESE INDUSTRIES THAT ARE SUFFERING RIGHT NOW. AND I SEE MUSIC AND FILM COMMISSION IS ALWAYS PULLED OUT. UM, AND OBVIOUSLY, UH, CONVENTIONS, YOU'RE LOOKING TO HELP MY INDUSTRY. I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE ARTS, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, UM, YOU FEATURE THE PARAMOUNT'S MARQUEE THERE. I KNOW YOU WORK WITH COOKIE REESE AND VALLEY AUSTIN, AND, AND SO ON. UM, CAN YOU JUST SORT OF, UM, TELL ME HOW, CAUSE I'M IMAGINE THAT THE ARTS ARE LOCAL [01:25:01] ARTS, AREN'T A HUGE DRIVER FOR TOURISM, BUT DEFINITELY SOMETHING YOU'RE STILL PROMOTING. SO THEY'RE AN INDUSTRY THAT'S REALLY, REALLY SUFFERING RIGHT NOW AS WELL, OBVIOUSLY. AND I'M WONDERING HOW YOU ENVISION BEING ABLE TO ASSIST THEM WHEN THEY'RE READY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AUDIENCES. RIGHT. LET ME GIVE YOU SOME GREAT EXAMPLES. YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH PAM AND, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER MUSIC OPERATIONS HERE IN THE CITY IN TERMS OF PROGRAMMING AND TRYING TO GET MUSICIANS HIRED VIRTUALLY RIGHT NOW, I'LL TELL YOU A STORY. UM, LAST WEEK WE SENT AN EMAIL BLAST OUT TO 2000 MEETING PLANNERS AND SAID, LISTEN, WE KNOW YOU'RE DOING VIRTUAL EVENTS RIGHT NOW, WHETHER THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WHEN THEY WERE GOING TO BE HERE IN AUSTIN, WHERE THEY WERE GOING TO AMBER, YOU KNOW, NEW YORK CITY, WE DON'T CARE MY POINT ABOUT IT IS RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE MUSICIANS THAT CAN PERFORM AT YOUR VIRTUAL EVENTS. SO WE SENT THE SEAM OUT 22,000 MEETING PLANNERS. WE GOT 900 RESPONSES IN THE FIRST WEEK FROM MEETING PLANNERS SAYING, I HAVE AN INTEREST IN THAT. AND SOMEBODY REACH OUT TO ME. SO OMAR IS REACHING OUT, SENDING MATERIALS TO THOSE PLANNERS AND I, THAT HE WAS WORKING WITH 10 DIFFERENT GROUPS JUST LAST WEEK, TRYING TO FIND A MUSICIAN FOR THOSE VIRTUAL. SO I THINK ONE OF THE BEST WAYS WE CAN HELP RIGHT NOW IS GETTING AFTER THE MEETING PLANNER COMMUNITY WHO ARE DOING VIRTUAL EVENTS SAYING, LISTEN, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, SOME THAT ARE AMAZING, THAT ARE ABLE TO WORK FOR YOU. UM, CAN WE MAKE THE CONNECTION? AND, AND SO IT'S NICE FOR US BECAUSE IT'S NOT ONLY IT'S PUTTING THE AUSTIN BRAND OUT THERE. WE HELP OUR MUSIC COMMUNITY. UH, OBVIOUSLY, UH, BRIAN IS FOR, UM, FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMERCIALS AND TV SHOWS AND MOVIES, AND THAT THAT AREA WILL COME BACK. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY WORKING WITH THE RESTAURANT COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, UM, TAKE OUT DAYS AND TRYING TO PROMOTE, YOU KNOW, UH, OUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS AS WELL, OUR LOCAL, UM, CRAFTSMEN, WE WERE ACTUALLY WORKING WITH A LOT OF LOCAL, UM, YOU KNOW, ARTISANS THAT CREATE PRODUCT WHERE, SO NET I WANTED OUR STORES AND, AND IN ANY WAY WE CAN HELP PROMOTE OUR ART MUSEUMS. UM, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO LOOK AT DOING THAT. SO I WAS THINKING SPECIFICALLY OF ASKED THE ELECTRICAL COMPANIES, TIFFANY SALON, IF WE'D DONE ANYTHING, ANY WORK WITH THE THEATER IS RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS REGULAR OUTWARDS TO ALL THE DIFFERENT CENTERS, UM, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, UM, WHAT OFFERINGS ARE OUT THERE THAT'S EVEN BE DONE WIDE AND SAFELY OR GUN VERSIONING, ONE EXAMPLE, UM, THAT I CAN CHOOSE NATIONAL , UH, WITH, UM, HIDEOUT THEATER, UM, AND CO-HOSTED THEIR STREAM, UM, A NUMBER OF, UM, PROGRAMMING THAT IMPROV THEATER. UM, AND THAT REALLY GOT A LOT OF THE SONGS BECAUSE WE HELPED EXPAND, UM, AND ALSO GIVING THEM SOME EXPOSURE OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN TO OUR VISITOR AUDIENCE. AND SO WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THAT. IT'S TRYING TO AMPLIFY SOME OF THE EFFORTS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE ALREADY HAVING A GOOD WAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. LAST CALL FOR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR. OKAY. I DON'T SEE. WELL, LET ME GO BACK TO PARTICIPANTS. THIS IS A DIFFERENT SYSTEM TO WHAT I'M USED TO USING. I'M NOT SEEING ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE FLOW, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS The Commission may discuss and take possible action to request information and identify future agenda items, topics, or presentation: ADJOURNMENT] ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER, THAT CONCLUDES NEW BUSINESS. I'M SO EXCITED. I'M ON THE AGENDA IS ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT DO COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THEY'D LIKE TO US TO CONSIDER WE'LL ENDEAVOR TO COME BACK TO THE TOURISM COMMISSION WITH THE REPORT, FROM THE PARKS AND ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP, WE'VE MADE A LITTLE BIT OF PROGRESS. AND I THINK MAYBE WE CAN FINALIZE THAT HOPEFULLY BEFORE OUR NEXT MEETING OR WHENEVER WE CAN GET ON THE AGENDA. ALRIGHT. ANYONE ELSE? ALRIGHT, I'M GETTING THE MESSAGE. THANK YOU. IF I CAN JUST POINT OUT A LOT OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'VE DONE AND SUPPORT DIFFERENT TIMES. [01:30:02] ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. UM, WELL, I'M GETTING MESSAGES FROM FELICIA THAT, UM, WE NEED TO WRAP UP CAUSE OUR TIME IS UP. UM, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE AGENDA COMMISSIONERS, IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, IF YOU WOULD SEND THOSE BY EMAIL AND I ACTUALLY NEED TO, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER BUSINESS AND OUR TIME IS UP, WE NEED TO ADJOURN THIS MEETING. ALRIGHT, SO MOVE. IS THERE A SECOND FOR A GENTLEMEN? ALRIGHT, IT'S GOING REGULARLY MOVED AND SECONDED FOR JONES, ANY OPPOSED? ALRIGHT. SO, YOU KNOW, OPPOSE THE MOTION, UH, IS CONSENT AND WE SHALL ADJOURN UNTIL OUR NEXT MEETING TIME. WHENEVER THAT WILL BE SCHEDULED. THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU, PRESENTERS. THANK YOU FOR THOSE THAT CALLED IN AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU STAFF. THANK YOU, RACHEL. SHE WAS, HIS GIRL IS ONLY WORTH THAT STRING OF PEARLS. THAT'S THE WAY, WHAT THEY SAY PLAY IS THE SAME OLD SONG. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.