HomeMy WebLinkAboutTourism & Fair Committee - Minutes - 4/12/2023
Minutes of the
BAYFIELD COUNTY TOURISM-FAIR COMMITTEE
Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 4:30 PM
EOC
Members Present: Larry Fickbohm, Jeremy Oswald, Steve Sandstrom, and John Rautio
Members Absent: James Crandall
Others Present: Mary D. Motiff, Tourism Director; David Eades, Fair Coordinator
I. Call to Order: Fickbohm remotely attended the meeting and asked Sandstrom to chair the
meeting. Sandstrom called the meeting to order at 4:30pm.
II. Motion Regarding February 8, 2023, Tourism-Fair Committee Meeting Minutes
Motion to approve by Rautio, second Oswald – motion carried.
III. Public Comment: – Limited to 3 minutes per person. - None
IV. Budget Review:
Motiff reviewed the budget and noted the following:
A. Tourism was over budget on account 50320, Publications, Subscriptions, and Dues, but will be
reimbursed by the Wisconsin Lake Superior Byway for various expenses.
B. Tourism account 50340-001, Promotional Items, should have been expensed to 2022 but ended
up in 2023. It is too late to fix this error.
C. Account 56770, Visitor Guide, is going to be over due to an increase in printing costs. A budget
amendment may have to be made before fall to print the ATV map. Motiff also noted the
Visitor Guide revenue exceeds the printing expense, but ad revenue may have to be adjusted in
the future to account for the increased printing costs.
V. Discussion on Staffing
Motiff requested that the Fair Coordinator position be moved to 75% using the tourism numbers
from the state Department of Tourism as an argument for funding. At least 20% of county sales
tax is due to tourism spending and should be considered when funding this position. Fickbohm
asked if a more detailed breakdown by month was available. Motiff said it is not but we could pay
for a study to get those numbers.
The Personnel Committee met and voted to make the position full-time with the new title of
Tourism Specialist. The Committee and Motiff would have to come up with a job description for
this new position if it gets approved. Sandstrom asked if Motiff could come to the committee
with a plan that they can respond to.
VI. Discussion on 2023 Fair Planning
Motiff reviewed the following with the committee:
A. Sponsorships – Sponsorships are doing well and should meet or exceed last year’s
numbers when completed.
B. Vendors – all vendors have committed to this year’s fair with two new food vendors
added.
C. Premium List – Eades has completed the changes to the Premium List, and it should go to
print by the end of April. Eades noted that he plans on having it electronic only in the
future as most fairs no longer print the books. Rautio suggested making a note in this
year’s Premium List that this change is happening.
D. Advertising – the standard print, TV, and radio ads are being done with Duluth as a strong
market for the Fair.
VII. Buildings and Grounds Update
A. Draft Horse Barn – a grant was applied for to improve the outside stalls and make them
more usable for horse shows. This should increase the size of shows that can be hosted.
Improvements to the inside stalls are being researched to make the inside more usable
for horse shows and possibly to be used as the new sheep barn during the fair.
B. Market Sale is waiting for better weather to get an update on the cleaning station at the
Beef Barn.
C. General Maintenance – There is some minor electrical work that needs to be done at
the Horse Barn. The Dairy Barn has some concrete in a stall that needs to be removed.
The groundskeeper will be using LEDs instead of fluorescent lights in the safe room
when they need to be replaced.
D. Fence Repair – Grounds crew will assess the snow damage to the chain link fence and
give a recommendation.
VIII. Tourism Report from Director
A. Department Goals & Objectives with Activities
1) The hiking and camping brochures are being updated to make them more
professional. They contain all campgrounds and hiking trails in the county and are
very popular with tourism partners in the county.
2) The new State Department of Tourism guide has the Apostle Islands on the
cover and Bayfield County Tourism is a part of three ads in the guide done with
co-op partners.
3) The State Departments of Tourism and Transportation have added pages to
their websites about the Scenic Byways as well as inserting a brochure into the
Rustic Roads brochure they send out.
4) The State fishing opener is being hosted by NW ITBEC starting this year.
5) We partnered again with Bayfield and Madeline Island on a JEM grant for the Art
Escape event.
6) Group Tours seem to making a comeback with many inquiries coming into the
Tourism office.
7) Travel Green – the State is revamping the program and we will help share
information with area businesses about how they can participate
8) Lake Superior Circle Tour Adventure Guide is prompting many inquiries.
B. Measurable Data Review including Analytics & Sales Tax
Sales Tax was flat in March but still we are still breaking records. The retail sales at the
NGLVC were up and our VG requests were down but still up from pre pandemic levels.
Motiff asked the committee to share any ideas they may have on Facebook posts and to
please share the posts when they see them.
IX. Future Agenda Items and Next Meeting Date
July 10, 5:00pm at the Safe Room at the Bayfield County Fairgrounds.
X. Adjournment
Adjourn 6pm
Respectfully submitted by:
Mary D. Motiff
Director, Tourism & Fair