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Home My WebLink About061422M Tourism Coordinating Council – Jefferson County Minutes of the Meeting of the Coordinating Council June 14, 2022 (DRAFT) The June 14, 2022 meeting of the Tourism Coordinating Council (TCC) for Jefferson County, convening a hybrid meeting via Zoom and from the Humphrey Room of Jefferson County Library, was called to order at 10:03 AM by TCC Chair Bill Roney. Noting that a quorum was in attendance. Council members present: Bill Roney, Diana Smeland, Aaron Terada, Crystie Kisler, Cleone Telling, Christina Maloney, Aaron Terada, Marsha Massey Valued Partners: Commissioner Greg Brotherton, Arlene Alen TCC Marketing Coordinator: Steve Shively No Public Comments received Consent Agenda Approval of May 10, 2022, TCC minutes and current TCC budget, JeffCo. and Olympic Peninsula Hotel Room Tax reports were presented. The Consent Agenda was moved and approved by unanimous consent. CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMENTS CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner’s Update – Commissioner Brotherton’s highlights included updates regarding: • COVID responsive Open Meeting Act involving TCC. BoCC bases decision to host hybrid or only virtual meetings based upon current two-week COVID-19 case rate in Jefferson County. https://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/1429/COVID-19 • TCC may follow the BoCC’s lead and only offer in-person meetings when the COVID case rate is NOT in the Moderate or High zone. Virtual meeting via Zoom will always be an option. (Watch TCC meeting notice for notice of hybrid or virtual only). • WSDOT has agreed not to close the Hood Canal bridge for four-summer weekends of maintenance work. 2023 closure weekends are planned with January or February 2023 scoping meetings to be scheduled. (TCC is working with OPTC on creating a master calendar of prioritized ‘tolerable to terrible’ summer 2023 closure dates for consideration. OPTC Highlights – Marsha shared the following updates: • First IPW (International PowWow) held since pandemic. Attendance down slightly. WA State booth hosted ~80 appointment with Visit Seattle and Port of Seattle booths nearby. Trending towards strong European travel return in 2023, with Asia to return later. Tour providers seeking more flexibility for booking lodging and car rentals. Accepting longer planning leads and higher prices. All boding well for our region. Marketing Report - Steve Reviewed with TCC the following: • Surveyed travel sentiment in light of current global tensions in Ukraine and continued domestic rise of inflation. • Drivers of travelers “destination aspiration” include factors of Adventure, Connecting with Nature, authentic food and cuisine and “desire to return to previously visited destinations, i.e. National Parks. All position Olympic Peninsula well for welcoming travelers. • Steve shared lessons learned from FAM tour to Hurricane Ridge with Olympic Hiking Co. and insights from domestic and international travelers, as well as firsthand experience with Jefferson/Kitsap Transit’s “Kingston Express” route. • Upcoming marketing, including options for community VIC table at THING event Aug. 26-28. COMMISSIONER UPDATE OPTC REPORT TCC MARKETING COORDINATORS REPORT Area Updates: Tri-Area - Crystie – Shared that Finnriver has had less than optimal Q1&2 due to rising costs of goods and labor. • The long, cool, spring has also dampened attendance. Hoping for a strong summer to help rebound. • Finnriver kitchen menu reworked and hours of operation adjusted. is happy to be retiring QR codes for ordering. Restoring in-person service counter, and extra emphasis on increased ventilation. • Seeing more bookings for private events now open Friday to Sunday 12 to 8 or 9 PM with our kitchen open and live music each evening and Monday/Thursday 2 to 8 PM with no kitchen service but pantry goods for snacks. • Return of more in-house programing, including in-house lecture series and philosophy series on Monday nights • Looking ahead we have some cool things in the planning for September farm tour. For now we just need the sun to shine and folks to come out! Marrowstone – Aaron – Share these Fort Flagler highlights: • Park doing well. Rains have kept many visitors away. • Museum is once again open, as is marina, all thanks to camp hosts and dedicated volunteers. • Seasonal Beach Combers and Kayak rentals are open. Self-guided kayak options. • Nothing new on rebuild of Norland store. Gateway VIC – Bill reported: • VIC back to normal service levels. • Phase 1 of parking lot repairs completed. Phase 2 will bring in back-fill for back areas of lot. • Porch and ADA project still waiting on weather for completion. Port Ludlow – Diana shared these highlights: • Greatest travelers click-through response has been for experiential package offerings. • Hosting USGA Jr. amateur golf tourney June 21. • Catering Jefferson Land Trust banquet and hosting June 23 Finnriver Cider Maker Dinner. • Still needing additional staff to keep up with the up-tick in business. PT Chamber/City Marketing – Arlene shared that the following highlights: • R2AK launched with a rough start for a number of boats. • Enjoying high visitor levels. Should be good for local economy, yet challenging for COVID levels. • Looking for Wooden Boat Fest as benchmark related to COVID festival responsiveness. • Ongoing chamber integration with Hood Canal. MOU between both boards is underway. Quilcene –- Cleone shared the following: • Over 300 people celebrated Worthington House’s opening weekend. • First wedding was hosted this past Saturday, and the rain held off! The wedding party’s family stayed in the house. Generating room night revenue for LTAC! • June 18 – Peninsula bike race “Bonzi Passout race” offering 32 miles, 55 miles, and loop 80 mile routes with LOTS of elevation gain. • August already has plenty going on, including a couple more races. • Quilcene Museum is open Friday - Monday 1-5PM. Brinnon & Hood Canal – Christina shared these highlights: AREA UPDATES • Damp and cold weather is impacting area and weather dependent business such as kayaking. • All looking forward to sunshine. • Visitor Information Center in Brinnon is not currently staffed. • Observation of her husband working the weekly PT Farmers market, and handing out waterfall maps as a south county rep. Idea of Jeff.Co. tourism booth representation for area promotions. • Rocky Brooke Falls and good discussion on port-a-potties, dumpsters, signage, and possible community partnerships for this popular destination, i.e. Brinnon Food Bank. SWT (State of WA Tourism… formerly WTA/WTMA) – Marsha shared that SWT is starting a two- day retreat on responsible recreation. Including a monthly webinar series. TRED App has launched, Adjournment – Bill reminded that TCC will skip July meeting. Meeting adjourned at 11:21 AM Next meeting of TCC is Tuesday August 9, 2022 – 10:00 AM location/mode TBD pending current two-week COVID-19 case rate in Jefferson County. IF in-person, Resort at Port Ludlow + Zoom. Respectively Submitted – Steve Shively AREA UPDATES (Cont.) ADJORN