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CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY.
[1. Call to Order & Welcoming Remarks – Chairwoman Christy Pinski]
I CALLED TO ORDER THE ACCOMMODATION TAX ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING, UH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH AT 6:00 PM AND I AM CHRISTIE PENSKE.I'M CHAIR
[3. Adoption of Agenda]
ADOPT THE AGENDA? ALL OPPOSED TO ADOPT THE AGENDA.[4. Election of Officer: Vice Chairperson]
TAX HAS BEEN VERY POPULARLY.UM, WE NEED TO DO, UM, ELECT VICE CHAIR, UH, MITCHELL.
SECOND BACK MOTION FOR SAM BRITT TO BE VICE CHAIR.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
HE ONLY HAS TO DO IT UNTIL JUNE.
[5. Adoption of Minutes]
A MOTION TO ADOPT THE MINUTES? DO WE HAVE A COPY OF THE MINUTES? THEY WERE IN THE PACKET.I LEAVE WITH THE MITCHELL MOVED THAT WE ADOPTED MINUTES FOR AT TAX MEETING AUGUST 15TH, 2023.
AND AT TAX SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES.
[6. Financial Report]
APAC.UM, BEFORE YOU IS THE FINANCIAL SHOWING THE STATE ACCOMMODATIONS TAXES FOR THE QUARTER? UM, WE RECEIVED $235,638 AFTER THE DISTRIBUTIONS TO THE DESIGNATED, UM, ALLOTMENTS PER STATE CODE.
THE AMOUNT AVAILABLE FOR THIS QUARTER IS $151 AND $151,450.
THERE ARE FIVE APPLICANTS FOR THIS QUARTER, WHICH TOTAL $182,002.
UM, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, AND I HA HAVING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, I HAVE A QUESTION.
DID, UM, DID WE EVER FIND OUT WHAT WAS COMING BACK INTO THE ACCOUNT THAT'S FALLING OFF AFTER TWO YEARS? WE DID.
UM, I WILL HAVE, I DON'T HAVE THOSE FINAL NUMBERS YET, BUT WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK ON WHAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE THAT ARE LAPSED.
UM, BUT THE AMOUNT REMAINING FROM THE PRIOR, WE WERE PROJECTING AROUND 1800.
SO IT DID GO UP A LITTLE BIT WITH SOME OF THE LAPSED GRANTS THAT WERE FALLING OFF.
AND I CAN GET THAT NUMBER FOR YOU.
SO ONCE WE GET THAT BAT GOING, CAN WE GET THAT IN THIS? YES, WE WILL HAVE IT AS A SEPARATE ITEM.
ANY DISCUSSION? ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
UM, NATALIE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING ALL THIS JUST SO EVERYBODY KNOWS.
YES, AND I DON'T, I MEAN, UNFORTUNATELY SHANNON'S NOT HERE.
SHE HAD, UM, AN UNEXPECTED DEATH IN HER FAMILY.
UM, AND CHRIS IS NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT THIS EVENING.
SO I'M HAN SOLO AND I WILL DO MY BEST.
MAKE SURE WE'LL TELL HER THAT.
[7.a. Legal Opinion: ATAC’s Responsibilities Regarding Local Accommodations Tax Usage – Chris Forster, Assistant Town Manager]
YOU WANT, DO YOU WANNA MOVE ON TO OLD BUSINESS, WHICH COVERS THE LEGAL OPINIONS AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.SO, OLD BUSINESS IS, UM, WE GOT THE LEGAL OPINION ABOUT, UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I, WE RAISED DURING THIS SPECIAL MEETING, AND YOU CAN READ THIS ANYTIME.
UM, BASICALLY WHAT THIS SAYS IS THAT FOR 2025, UM, AT OUR FEBRUARY MEETING, WE WILL GET THE HARD, NOT HARD THE, I GUESS SOFT ROUGH YEAH.
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PLANS TO SPEND THE LOCAL ATEX.AND, UM, WE'LL GET TO LOOK AT THE, THE BUDGET, LOOK AT WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND WE CAN MAKE ANY KINDS OF LIMITATIONS ON THAT 25.
UM, I REMEMBER SEEING IN THAT APPROPRIATION FOR THE ATAC GOING TO TOWN IN THE WAY THEY WERE PUTTING IT.
AND THEN THE THING THAT STICKS OUT IN MY MIND FOR THAT WAS THAT THEN THEY WERE NOT GONNA CHARGE FOR THE USE OF, UM, POLICE, UH, POLICE SERVICES AS SECURITY THE POLICE.
AND THEN I SEE IN OUR APPLICATIONS THAT WE HAVE APPLICANTS WITH POLICE BEING CHARGED.
SO CAN WE BACK THAT OUT OF THOSE APPLICATIONS? YEAH.
SO IF THEY ARE USING TOWN POLICE SERVICES AND THEY ARE FUNDED THROUGH A GRANT, THEN THE TOWN WILL NOT INVOICE THOSE, UM, THOSE ORGANIZATIONS FOR THOSE POLICE SERVICES.
IF THEY DO WANT TO HAVE ADDITIONAL SERVICES, SAY ANOTHER SECURITY FIRM OR SOMETHING COME IN ON TOP OF THAT, THE TOWN DOESN'T COVER THAT.
THEY'RE ONLY GONNA COVER THE TOWN TOWN POLICE SUPPORT.
BUT IT STILL NEEDS TO BE IN THE BUDGET SO WE CAN SEE IT.
AND SO THAT IT CAN BE ACCOUNTED FOR A TAX TO SHOW THE FULL.
ANY, ANY QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING ABOUT THIS? EXPLAIN.
[8.a. Adoption of 2024 Application Due Date and Meeting Schedule]
SO EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A CALENDAR CALENDAR FOR NEXT YEAR.THE ONLY
WOULD YOU LIKE TO LOOK AT MINE? NO, I'M GOOD.
YOU'D MOVE IT TO PROCEEDING WEEK, CORRECT? RIGHT.
SO IT WOULD BE THE SAME THING.
SO THEN THAT WOULD BE TOWN COUNCIL, SO WE'D HAVE TO DO THE SAME THING AND MOVE IT TO THE 13TH, THE WEDNESDAY AFTER.
SO WE HAVE IT SET FOR THE 19TH AND THANKSGIVING IN 2024.
IS IT ON THE 27TH OR, OR THE 20? THAT'S THE 20.
SO WE CAN KEEP IT THAT DATE THEN.
UM, CAN I GET A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE CALENDAR? SO MOVE FILING MITCHELL TO ACCEPT THE CALENDAR.
[8.b. Review of Updated Staff Report Format and Applicant Scoring Sheet]
THE NEXT NEW BUSINESS, NATALIE, IF YOU WANNA COME UP AND HELP ME WITH THIS.SO THE NEXT NEW BUSINESS, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON WITH AT TAX.
WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING HOW AND WHY AND HOW TO MAKE SCORING FAIR.
SO LET'S LET, LET'S START THERE.
YOU WANNA START WITH THE SCORING SHEET OR DO YOU WANNA START WITH THE STAFF REPORT FIRST? OKAY.
JUST START WITH THE STAFF REPORT.
BEAR WITH ME AS I TRY AND, UM, TALK ABOUT ALL THE CHANGES THAT SHANNON HAS WORKED REALLY HARD TO MAKE.
SO THE STAFF REPORT HAS BEEN REVAMPED JUST A LITTLE BIT TO, UM, ASSIST IN THE FLOW OF HOW THE MEETINGS TYPICALLY RUN.
SHE'S ALSO ADDED IN THE BOX ALL OF THE BUCKETS THAT WOULD QUALIFY FOR AT TAX FUNDING.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT CHART ON EVERY STAFF REPORT GOING FORWARD.
AND THEN WE'LL JUST UPDATE IF ANY OF THE, UM, THE BUDGETED ITEMS PER THE ORGANIZATION QUALIFY FOR ANY OF THOSE.
AND THE BUCKETS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE AT THE TOP ARE IN YES, IN THE CHART HERE.
AND, UM, THEY'RE AUTOMATICALLY CA I JUST WANNA MAKE IT SIMPLE.
THEY'RE ALREADY CALCULATING THE AMOUNT THAT'S ELIGIBLE BASED UPON THE NUMBERS THAT THE APPLICANT'S GIVEN US.
SO WHERE SOMEWHERE SAYS LIKE, UH, FACILITIES FOR CULTURAL EVENTS, AND WE KNOW THE TOURISM RATE FOR THAT IS 50%, THEY WERE ELIGIBLE FOR HALF OF IT'S ALREADY CALCULATED.
WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO CALCULATE THAT BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE AN ESTIMATE ON WHAT THEY ARE PROJECTING
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FOR THE EVENT TO HAVE AS THEIR TOURIST NUMBERS, BUT PER THEIR REPORTS.AND, AND THEN THE SAME THING IS Y'ALL, I I NOTICED THIS WAS A GREAT THING.
WE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE, IS THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF THE REQUEST OF THE TOTAL PLUS YOU'RE ALREADY PUTTING IN ALL THE THINGS THAT IN OUR SCORING SHEET, ALLOW US THE PERCENTAGE OR, OR THE PLACE THEY BELONG, LIKE WITH ADVERTISEMENT, WHETHER IT'S LOCAL.
SO WHICH, WHICH ONE OF THOSE GO IN THE AMOUNT THAT'S GONNA BE ADVERTISED SO THAT THE HARD FACTS GET STUCK IN THERE.
SO THAT WOULD, I THINK THAT WOULD COME INTO PLAY MORE ON THE SCORING SHEET HERE.
BUT WE'LL GROUP ALL OF THE ADVERTISING TOGETHER IN ONE BECAUSE OF THE DISCUSSION ON NOT HAVING THE 50% INCLUDE THE ADVERTISING NUMBER.
AND SO AT THE TOP THERE, THAT'S WHERE WE GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF, OF THE PERCENTAGE BECAUSE TYPICALLY ON THE RIGHT SIDE WE WOULD SHOW THE OVERALL PERCENTAGE AND IT WAS A LITTLE BIT OFF BECAUSE OF THAT ADVERTISING PIECE.
SO NOW WHAT I'M, THE ONE QUESTION THAT I DID HAVE CARRYING THAT OVER WAS IF THEY'VE GOT $10,000 FOR THEIR ADVERTISING EXPENSE THAT WE'RE CALCULATING IN THE WHOLE THING GOING TO ADVERTISEMENT, ARE YOU'LL, UM, WE KNOW THE ADVERTISEMENT'S TAKEN OUT OF THE BOTTOM NUMBER.
RIGHT? THAT'S, ARE WE COUNTING THE A HUNDRED PERCENT? SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SCORING SHEET BEING, I'M, I'M VERY VISUAL GUYS, SO I'M GONNA HELP Y'ALL.
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS BEING THE SCORING SHEET IN THE TOP PORTION, MEANING HOW MUCH IS GOING TO ADVERTISEMENT? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THEIR ADVERTISEMENT BUDGET? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE PERCENT OF THE GRANT THAT GOES TO ADVERTISEMENT? DO YOU UNDERSTAND MY, MY DILEMMA? SO WE KNOW THAT $10,000 THAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR, FOR ADVERTISEMENTS GOING TO ADVERTISEMENT.
AND WHEN IT SAYS THE AMOUNT GOING TO ADVERTISEMENT, WE KNOW THE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THAT 10,000 IS GOING TO, BUT WE'RE USING THAT $10,000 AMOUNT AS A PART OF THE 20,000 FOR THE TOTAL REQUEST OF THE PERCENT TO BUDGET FOR ADVERTISEMENT IS ONLY HALF.
SO IF THEY HAVE AN YES, IF THEY HAVE AN ADVERTISING BUDGET OF SAY $10,000, BUT THEY'RE ONLY REQUESTING FIVE OF THAT, SO THAT WOULD BE 50% OF THE ADVERTISING OF THEIR BUDGET.
NO, MY QUESTION IS WE 10,000, THEY GOT THEIR WHOLE BUDGET'S 20.
THEIR ADVERTISEMENTS BUDGET'S 10 MM-HMM.
SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PERCENTAGE OF THE ADVERTISEMENT THAT'S GOING, THE ADVERTISEMENT ON THE SCORING SHEET.
AND IT SAYS HOW MUCH IS GOING THE ADVERTISEMENT, IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE ADVERTISEMENT BUDGET, BUT IT'S ONLY 50% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET.
WE WOULD USE 50% AS THE, AS THE, I THINK WE WERE SAYING THE SAME THING.
DOES THAT BRING UP QUESTIONS? ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY.
UM, SO BACK ON THE STAFF REPORT.
UM, IN BLUE IS WHAT IS CALCULATED ON YOUR SCORING RE SHEET SCORING SHEETS AS AN AVERAGE THAT IS PRESENTED TO TOWN COUNCIL AT THE NEXT MEETING.
AND THEN BASED UPON WHAT IS FILLED IN, IN THE TABLE HERE, IT'S UM, TALKED A LITTLE BIT MORE ON WHAT THEY'RE USING THE ADVERTISING FOR, IF IT'S A FACILITIES, WHAT THAT'S GOING TOWARDS AND THE TOURISM BENEFIT.
UM, AND THEN THE BOTTOM SECTION IS, UM, WHAT YOU'VE SEEN IN THE PAST.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE UPDATED FORMAT FOR THE STAFF REPORT OR ANY COMMENTS OR, I THINK IT'S A FANTASTIC THING.
JUST, YEAH, SHE'S WORKED REALLY HARD ON IT.
WE'VE REALLY TALKED ABOUT IT SO MANY TIMES ABOUT SO MANY OF THOSE THINGS THAT CAN BE PRE-FILLED BASED UPON THE APPLICATION BEFORE WE GET TO TALK TO THE ACTUAL APPLICANT.
SO NOW THE SCORING SHEET HAS BEEN UPDATED A LITTLE BIT.
IT WAS, I COULD SEE WHERE IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT TO KIND OF SEE WHERE TO FILL IN AND WHAT, UM, BOX GOES WITH WHICH DESCRIPTION.
SO WE'VE ADDED A LITTLE BIT OF LINES AND WE'VE ALSO CUSTOMIZED IT BASED UPON THE ORGANIZATION THAT'S APPLYING FOR FUNDS.
SO IF IT'S A FACILITY, THIS CHART WILL LOOK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
IF IT'S AN EVENT, THIS WILL BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, OR IF IT'S STRAIGHT ADVERTISING, IT'LL BE, UM, A DIFFERENT TABLE IN TOTAL.
IT'LL STILL BE 40 POINTS OVERALL THAT'S GRADED.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE PERCENTAGES THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT AND SOME OF THE DETAILS ON HOW TO WEIGHT YOUR SCORES.
AND THEN THIS WILL BE WHAT YOU TURN IN THAT WE WILL USE THEN TO POPULATE THE SCORING NUMBER.
SO ON THAT SAME NOTE, BACK IN THE OLD DAYS WHEN WE WERE USING THESE EXCLUSIVELY, NOT EXCLUSIVELY, BUT TO HELP WITH THE GRANT REQUEST, WE USED TO WAIT TILL THE END TO, TO ACTUALLY DO THE GRANTS BECAUSE WE GAVE STAFF TIME TO PUT ALL THESE AVERAGES TOGETHER.
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NOW THEN GO BACK TO DOING THE GRANTS AT THE END OF THE MEETING AS OPPOSED TO AT THE END OF EACH APPLICANT.SO I'VE GOT EVERYTHING SET UP, I CAN TAKE YOUR, UM, SCORING SHEETS AND POPULATE THE INFORMATION AND THEN PROVIDE BACK WHAT THE PERCENTAGE WOULD BE.
AND THEN IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT WHAT THAT PERCENTAGE WOULD BE BASED UPON WHAT THE REQUEST IS OR WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE GRANTED OR RECOMMENDED.
I, I THINK WE'RE, I MEAN, I COULD BE WRONG, BUT I THINK WHAT YOU'RE ASKING IS, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS EVERYBODY'S GONNA TURN IN THEIR SCORING SHEET AND THEN UNFORTUNATELY SHANNON'S NOT HERE.
SO NATALIE WILL HAVE TO DO IT BY HERSELF, BUT SHE'LL DO THE ADDING, THEN YOU'LL COME BACK AND SHE'LL TELL US WHAT, SO WE'LL HAVE LIKE A FIVE MINUTE INTERIM WHERE SHE DOES EVERYTHING AND THEN SHE'LL COME UP AND THEN WE'LL MAKE OUR MOTION.
SO DO YOU WANT ME TO GATHER THE SCORING SHEETS BEFORE YOU MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON AN, ON AN AWARD OR A RECOMMENDATION FOR FUNDING FOR COUNCIL? YES.
SO THEN THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO ADD TO THAT? I DON'T THINK SO.
I GUESS WE'LL FIND OUT WHEN WE GET THERE,
[8.c. Discussion Regarding Updates to Application Policies & Procedures]
LITTLE THING IS THIS SAYS DISCUSSION REGARDING UPDATES TO APPLICANT'S, UM, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.NOW, I ASKED FOR THIS GET PUT IN HERE SO THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE FOR THIS ONE AND IT WILL, UM, PROBABLY FALL AT THE END OF THE MEETING, UH, AFTER THIS.
BUT WE JUST THOUGHT SINCE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE NEW SCORING OR RE TALKING ABOUT THE SCORING, WE WOULD DO IT ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
SO AT THE END OF THE MEETING, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE THINK MIGHT NEED TO BE TWEAKED IN THIS PROCESS.
SO I'M ASSUMING THAT NOBODY HAS ANYTHING RIGHT THIS SECOND AND MORE FOR NEXT MEETING.
IF YOU THINK OF SOMETHING LIKE, I HAVE QUITE A FEW THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT, BUT I'M GONNA WAIT TILL THE NEXT MEETING SO EVERYBODY HAS TIME TO JUST LOOK AT THE PROCESS AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING.
ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS OR THE AWARD PROCESS? UM, BOTH, BUT 100%.
SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WAS WHEN THE APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED AND YOU HAVE YOUR BUDGET, LIKE THAT'S THEN WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO VOTE AND REVIEW ON FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
ANOTHER, UM, THING THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT ARE LIKE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS THAT MAY NEED TO BE IN PLACE BEFORE THE APPLICANT NEEDS TO COME BEFORE YOU AS FAR AS TIMING.
UM, AND THEN ANOTHER THING THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED WAS IF THERE IS A GRANT THAT'S ALREADY AWARDED TO AN ORGANIZATION, SHOULD IT MEET A CERTAIN THRESHOLD BEFORE THEY COME IN AND REQUEST ANOTHER, ANOTHER GRANT.
SO JUST SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT.
AND TO CHRISTIE'S POINT, UM, THIS'LL BE KIND OF AN ONGOING DISCUSSION AND THEN IT'LL BE UP FOR THE COMMITTEE TO TAKE A VOTE ON HOW YOU WANNA HANDLE SOME OF THOSE.
INSTEAD OF HAVING A WORKSHOP WHERE WE JUST ALL DAY LONG DO IT.
WE'LL JUST DO A LITTLE BIT EACH TIME OR AS THINGS MIGHT COME UP.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE FOR ME TO ADD? I DON'T THINK SO.
I THINK YOU'RE DOING GOOD, BUT I KNOW
I KNOW THAT SHANNON, SHANNON HAS BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD ON ALL OF THIS STUFF, SO, OKAY.
[8.d. Grant Applicants’ Presentations and Q&A]
AHEAD AND START WITH THE, UM, THE APPLICANTS AND, UM, SO NEW BLUFF AND WORSHIP.SO WE HAVE YOUR PRESENTATION AND WE'RE JUST GONNA LET YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE WANNA LIKE, TRY TO MAKE IT ONLY LIKE FIVE MINUTES.
MY NAME IS MONICA BARRICKS AND I AM THE ASSISTANT MINISTER AT THE NEW BLUFFTON WORSHIP.
UM, WE'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING CHRISTMAS EVE UNDER THE STARS IN THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS.
UM, IT HAS BEEN A, A MAGICAL EVENT, UM, THAT NOT JUST OUR TOWN REALLY CELEBRATES, BUT TRULY, UM, WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE OF BLUFFTON COME AND PARTICIPATE WITH US.
UM, WE REALLY, UH, WE STARTED OUT AT BUCKWALTER PLACE, UH, 12 YEARS AGO AND, UM, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHIFT GEARS AND REALLY HIGHLIGHT, UH, WE BELIEVE ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON, UM, OYSTER FACTORY PARK.
UH, WE HAVE, UM, PEOPLE COME AND CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS EVE UNDER THE STARS.
UM, WE LIGHT UP THE, THE PARK WITH, UM, BEAUTIFUL CANDLELIGHT AND, UM, REALLY CELEBRATE THE MAY RIVER AND ALL THAT BLUFFTON HAS TO OFFER.
UM, IT'S NOT JUST AN EFFORT OF THE NEW
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BLUFF AND WORSHIP, BUT IT'S ALSO AN EFFORT OF FIRST TH AND MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH.UM, WE THINK THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE CELEBRATE UNITY IN OUR COMMUNITY AND SHOW PEOPLE, UM, WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT, UM, THAT SPECIAL EVENING.
UM, WE, UH, WE HAVE LOTS OF WELCOMING TEAMS THAT, UH, SCATTER THE PARK AND ARE ABLE TO TELL PEOPLE NOT JUST ABOUT OUR CHURCHES, BUT TELL PEOPLE TRULY ABOUT BLUFFTON AND ALL THAT WE HAVE TO OFFER, UM, THAT EVENING.
UM, WE REALLY DO TAKE TO HEART THE VISION AND THE MISSION OF, UM, THE BLUFFTON COMMUNITY.
WE, WE REALLY FEEL LIKE, UM, OUR EFFORTS ARE, ARE REALLY A COMMUNITY EFFORT BUILDING NOT JUST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, BUT BUILDING THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UM, THE VISION AND THE MISSION STATEMENT AS A COMMUNITY PARTNER, UM, WE TAKE THOSE VERY SERIOUSLY AND, UM, AND OUR PEOPLE REALLY, UM, HOLD TRUE TO THOSE.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE SUCH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHERE, LIKE I SAID, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 12 YEARS.
IT REALLY HAS BECOME A TRADITION FOR PEOPLE.
UM, AGAIN, NOT JUST PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT WE HAVE SO MANY, UM, PEOPLE THAT HAVE VISITED THAT CONTINUE TO COME BACK BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN PART OF THEIR FAMILY TRADITION, UM, TO, TO BE PART OF, UM, BLUFFTON.
SO OUR EVENT, UH, TYPICALLY ATTRACTS 1500 TO 2000 PEOPLE IN JUST ONE SINGLE NIGHT IN BLUFFTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.
UM, OF THOSE ATTENDEES, WE REALLY DO ESTIMATE THAT THERE'S ABOUT 30% OF THEM THAT ARE OUT OF TOWN, PEOPLE THAT ARE RESIDING OUTSIDE OF THE 2 9 9 1 0 ZIP CODE.
UM, AND I WILL SAY THAT, UM, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY OF FAITH IS A ROUGHLY ABOUT 200 MEMBERS.
AND, UM, WE HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL WITHIN OUR OWN CONGREGATIONS EXTENDING TO OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS OUTSIDE THAT DON'T LIVE AROUND HERE TO INVITE THEM AND SAY, YOU KNOW, PLEASE COME AND, AND CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS WITH US.
UM, PART OF, UH, THE EVENT ALSO IS REALLY TRYING TO, TO HELP PEOPLE FEEL THAT STATE OF MIND THAT THAT BLUFF IN HOSPITALITY.
UM, SO WE CREATE THIS REALLY AWESOME, UM, HOSPITALITY STATION OUTSIDE IN THE PAVILION, UM, JUST TO REALLY, UH, TRY TO, TO MAKE IT A SPECIAL EVENT.
THIS IS A GREAT PICTURE OF, UH, OF ALL OF THE, THE PEOPLE THAT WE COULD CAPTURE IN ONE PHOTO OUTSIDE AT OYSTER FACTORY PARK.
WE'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, WE REACHING OUT TO WSAV, UM, DOING SOME TV INTERVIEWS.
UM, WE ALSO DO MASS MAILINGS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF OUR ZIP CODE, UM, OUTSIDE TOWARDS JASPER COUNTY, BUFORT OUT TOWARDS SAVANNAH, UM, AND ADVERTISING IN MAGAZINES AS WELL.
TO GET THE, THE WORD OUT, LIKE I ALREADY SAID, OUR, OUR MEMBERS WITHIN OUR OWN CONGREGATION DEFINITELY SPREAD THE WORD AND ARE VERY SUCCESSFUL.
UM, BOTH CHURCHES DO LIVESTREAM, UH, CHURCH SERVICES ON EVERY SUNDAY MORNING.
SO FROM NOW UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE, IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA FOR US TO SPREAD THE WORD.
UM, WE HAVE LOTS OF PEOPLE THAT TUNE IN, UM, THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF OUR AREA.
HERE'S SOME MORE PICTURES OF OUR EVENT AND JUST HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS AT OYSTER FACTORY PARK.
RECENTLY WE WENT AHEAD AND PURCHASED SOME BANNERS THAT, UH, WE WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND START ADVERTISING.
UM, AND WE DID INCLUDE THE, THE BLUFFTON LOGO.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR, UM, US AS A COMMUNITY OF FAITH TO BE A COMMUNITY PARTNER AND TO ADVERTISE, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, BLUFFTON IS, UM, AT THE HEART OF, OF WHAT WE ARE DOING.
AND THEN THAT WILL BRING YOU TO OUR BUDGET.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES.
MM-HMM,
SO, UM, THE BANNERS, HOW MANY ARE YOU HAVING MADE? I'M SORRY.
UM, CURRENTLY WE PURCHASED FOUR SO FAR, UM, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY PURCHASE MORE.
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TO HANG THEM? UM, SO OUR CHURCH IS LOCATED IN, UM, SHERIDAN PARK, SO WE CAN HAVE BANNERS HUNG AT SHERIDAN PARK.AND THEN ALSO, UM, FIRST THY AND MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH IS LOCATED DOWN WHARF STREET AND WE CAN, UM, HANG BANNERS THERE AS WELL.
UM, SO THEN I SEE WATER BOTTLES DRAW STRING BAGS AND SHIRTS FOR VOLUNTEERS.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, UH, DO EVERY YEAR IS NOT JUST CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY AND AN EXPERIENCE FOR PEOPLE, BUT WE TRULY WANT THE, OUR FAMILIES AND OUR COMMUNITY PEOPLE TO WALK AWAY WITH SOMETHING, UM, THAT WILL REMIND THEM OF WHERE THEY WERE.
SO WE ALWAYS HAVE GIVEAWAYS THAT WE, WE PRESENT TO PEOPLE LIKE OUT AT THE PARK.
AND, UM, THAT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT OUR LOGOS ON.
IT HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT THE BLUFF IN LOGO ON IT AND JUST HAVE A KEEPSAKE OF SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE TAKE WITH THEM THEY CAN LOOK AT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND REMIND THEM, I CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK TO THAT EVENT NEXT YEAR.
BRACELETS LIKE THIS, WE HAVE A RED ONE.
PEOPLE, WE, WE HAVE TO SEE YOU ALL THE TIME WEARING A RED BRACELETS THAT REMIND THEM OF THE SERVICE.
YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF SO EVERYBODY KNOWS WHO Y'ALL ARE.
I'M A PASTOR OF THE PEOPLE WORSHIP, I'M BEING JENKINS PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST CHAIR.
UM, AND I HATE TO KEEP ASKING ALL THE QUESTIONS AND THEN I'M SURE THEY, THEY'LL GET TO THEIR TERMS TOO.
UM, THE STAGE IN THE PRESENCE, Y'ALL ARE ONLY USING IT FOR THE ONE NIGHT EVENT.
Y'ALL HAVE SUNRISE SERVICE THE NEXT MORNING? NO, WE DO IT JUST FOR THAT ONE NIGHT.
AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I CAN THINK OF THAT YOU'VE APPLIED FOR ATEX? YES, YES.
AND MY QUESTION, YOU'RE JUST MAKE MY LIFE EASIER.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DID Y'ALL HAVE AT YOUR EVENT LAST YEAR? ALRIGHT, I CAN ANSWER THAT.
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY FREEZING COLD FOR 12 YEARS.
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT IT WAS THE COLD HAS EVER BEEN.
BUT EVEN THEN, I WOULD SAY WE HAD GOODNESS, WHAT YOU SAY, AND THEY WERE ALL BUNDLE UP.
WE'VE HAD, WE'VE HAD UP ALMOST 2000 AND WE'VE ASKED THIS.
YOU'RE DOING THIS IN THE OYSTER FACTORY PART? YES.
WHAT'S THE WE DON'T HAVE, SO THERE'S NOT, THERE'S NOT ONE POSTED FOR OCCUPANCY THERE, BUT THE GOOD PART IS THAT FIELD GETS FILLED UP.
SO IT'S, WE TAKE THOSE EAST AND WEST.
WHEN YOU SAY THE FIELD YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OVER BY THE, UH, BOAT.
AND THAT, THAT REALLY IS, UM, IT, THAT, THAT REALLY HASN'T EVEN BEEN FILLED YET.
STAY ON THEIR GOLF CART AND YEAH, IT'S JUST WONDERFUL.
UM, THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE, SIR.
I'VE GOT ONE REGARDING THE, UH, THE MARKETING BUDGET.
YOU'VE GOT, UH, THE $2,000 FOR THE SHIRTS FOR THE VOLUNTEERS.
IS THAT 3000 BELOW THE APPAR FOR THE VOLUNTEERS THAT A DUPLICATE EXPENSE? CAN YOU SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME? UM, YOU'VE GOT SHIRTS FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS AT $2,000 AND THEN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN.
APPAREL FOR THE VOLUNTEERS TO WEAR IS ANOTHER 3000.
JUST CURIOUS IF THAT'S A DUPLICATE EXPENSE.
YEAH, THAT IS A DUPLICATE EXPENSE NOT ON HERE.
AND YOUR CHURCH IS LOCATED, I'M SORRY, I KNOW YOU SAID SO, BUT IN SHERIDAN PARK? IN SHERIDAN PARK, HIS CHURCH IS, OR OPPOSITE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WHERE IS, IS IT IN THE OLD, THAT'S NOT THE OLD BAR, IS IT? YES, IT IS.
IT'S, WE ORIGINALLY DID THIS, UM, SERVICE WHEN WE FIRST STARTED OVER AT MARKETPLACE WHERE, WHERE A HARDWARE IS NOW.
UM, THEY ALLOWED US TO USE A LOT THEN, AND WE WENT THROUGH, YOU KNOW, FOUND, IT WAS JUST A WONDERFUL FIRST START.
WE HAD 350 PEOPLE COME THE FIRST NIGHT WE DID IT, AND THEN IT JUST GREW.
AND, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO, WE REALIZED THAT WE'RE BOTH FROM BEAUFORT, PASTOR BENNY AND I, AND WE'VE BEEN LIVING HERE FOR A GOOD WHILE, AND WE JUST REALLY BELIEVE IN WALTON.
WE LOVE THIS AREA, WE LOVE THE PEOPLE HERE, AND WE RETIRED.
I THINK BOTH OF US ARE TIRED OF HOW SUDDENLY OFTEN, HOW OFTEN PEOPLE LOOK AT WHAT ORGANIZATIONS ARE AGAINST PARTICULARLY CHURCHES.
AND THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SAY WITH WHAT WE ARE FOR AND WE'RE FOR BOSTON, AND THAT'S WHY WE DO IT.
AND THAT'S WHY WE DON'T, AND IT'S BROUGHT PEOPLE IN GOODNESS FOR YEARS.
WE'D SEE PEOPLE COME THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT AREN'T FROM HERE OUT OF TOWN.
THEY CAME AND THEN THEY'VE COME BACK AND THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT TO DO AND GO TO.
WE EVEN HAVE PEOPLE VOLUNTEERING THAT AREN'T EVEN FROM THIS AREA THAT WANNA BE A PART OF IT.
SO YOU SAID IN YOUR PRESENTATION THAT YOU DO ADVERTISING IN MAGAZINES.
[00:30:01]
UM, WE DO THE BLUFFTON SUN.THE JASPER SUN, OR IS, IS IT JASPER SUN OR JASIN TODAY? IT'S, IT'S CONFUSING.
I, I JUST TALKED THROUGH THAT THE TODAY, BUT WHATEVER THE JASPER, UM, MAGAZINE IS, UH, WE DO THOSE TWO AND THEN, UM, WE JUST INQUIRED, UH, CB TWO.
UM, THEY HAVE AN ONLINE PRESENCE THAT WE WERE, UM, INTERESTED IN BECAUSE CB TWO HAS, UM, THEY HAVE 10,000 SUBSCRIBERS, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY LIVE IN BLUFFTON TO BE A SUBSCRIBER TO THAT MAGAZINE.
UM, SO WE WERE INQUIRING ABOUT THAT.
UH, TODAY PAST AND I PACKET, WE'VE USED THEM PAST AS WELL.
[00:35:03]
I CAN, I'M SORRY.SO THE AVERAGE OUT OF 40 CAME TO 22, WHICH IS 56%.
SO THE REQUESTED AMOUNT WAS 23,110.
IF YOU APPLY THE PERCENTAGE TO IT, THE AMOUNT WOULD COME TO $12,942.
CAN I, DO I HAVE A MOTION? I MAKE A MOTION TO AWARD THE NEW BLUFFTON WORSHIP CHRISTMAS EVE UNDER THE STARS EVENT, THE AMOUNT OF $15,280 DISCUSSION.
DID YOU GET A SECOND? NOT YET.
OH, SECOND, SECOND DISCUSSION.
SO THE WAY I CAME TO THE AMOUNT WITHOUT APPLYING A A PERCENTAGE OF THE AVERAGE IS, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE IN THAT SWAG USUALLY IS NOT A, A TAX EXPENSE THAT WE PUT INTO THE BUDGETS FOR, FOR THE ANY EVENT.
UM, THERE'S BEEN ONE OR TWO TIMES THAT'S HAPPENED.
UM, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, IT'S JUST NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO, WE DON'T WANT TO BE IN CHARGE OF GIVING OUT SHIRTS AND WATER BOTTLES AND IT, IT, IT'S JUST A NEVER ENDING THING.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, SO THAT REDUCED, UM, THAT ADVERTISING BUDGET 'CAUSE THAT WAS IN THERE.
UM, THEN WE LEFT IN THE FACILITIES, WHICH IS EXTENDED OUT FROM THE PERCENTAGE OF TOURISM.
AND THEN THE $1,400, WHICH IS THE POLICE PRESENCES A AUTOMATICALLY BE BACKED INTO YOUR, THEY DO THAT PER THE BEGINNING OF THE CONVERSATION THAT LEFT, UH, THAT TOTAL THAT I CAME UP WITH.
AND JUST SO EVERYBODY KNEW WHERE I CAME UP WITH IT.
UM, THAT'S KIND OF HOW I GOT THERE.
UM, SO TOTAL, OH, 15,280, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I CAME UP WITH.
ANYBODY ELSE? ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? NO.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF GRANTING $15,280 TO NEW BLUP AND WORSHIP S UNDER THE STARS.
I'M A NEW TRANSPLANT DOWN HERE.
AND SO, UM, SPENT A LOT OF YEARS WORKING WITH NONPROFITS MY ENTIRE PROFESSIONAL CAREER IN MANY MANIFESTATIONS.
AND, UH, NOW I'M HERE AND HELPING SOME OF, UM, WORKING WITH SOME OF OUR LOW COUNTRY NONPROFITS AND SEEING HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO GROW AND HELP THEM BECOME MORE AND MORE VIBRANT AND, AND INCREASE THEIR IMPACT AND CELEBRATE THE
[00:40:01]
WONDERFUL, UM, PLACE THAT IS THE LOW COUNTRY WITH ME IS AUNT PEARLY SUE, UM, OF THE GO TRAVELING THEATER.HAVE ANY OF YOU SEEN ANY OF HER SHOWS? YEP.
WE HAVE A COUPLE PEOPLE WHO'VE SEEN THEM.
UM, AND MOST OF HER SHOWS HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN PLACE IN BEAUFORT, IN HISTORIC BEAUFORT, UM, USUALLY ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR.
AND, UM, THEY'RE ALWAYS SOLD OUT AUDIENCES.
AND, UM, SHE HAS OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS GROWN IN POPULARITY.
UM, THERE WE GO, GROWN IN POPULARITY, UM, NATIONAL ACCLAIM, WORKING WITH THE LIKES OF, UM, PBS AND VARIOUS TELEVISION SHE'S PRESENTED IN FRONT OF THE UNITED NATIONS.
SHE HAS BECOME KNOWN AS ONE OF THE LOW COUNTRY'S GREATEST TREASURES.
UM, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN A PERFORMANCE, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO.
I THINK YOU WILL JUST LOVE IT, AND IT'S MORE THAN LOVING IT.
YOU'LL LEAVE INSPIRED AND HOPEFUL AND JOY FILLED.
AND, UM, IT IS A WONDERFUL CELEBRATION OF THE BEST OF WHO WE ARE AS A PEOPLE.
UM, VERY DIVERSE POPULATIONS AND PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE COME AND CELEBRATE.
AND I WILL SAY 20 YEARS AGO, THE THE DECORATION DAY PLAY WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT BROUGHT ME TO THE ROW COUNTRY FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.
AND, UM, IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO ACTUALLY SEE THE PLAY.
I KEPT GETTING HERE ON THE WRONG DAY.
AND APPARENTLY I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE BECAUSE THE, UM, BEAUFORT, UH, PORT ROYAL CONVENTION VISITORS BUREAU HAS BEEN REALLY ENCOURAGING, UM, THE GULLAH TRAVELING THEATER FOR MORE PRODUCTIONS LOCALLY.
UM, THEY GET DAILY CALLS AND INVITATIONS TO PERFORM AROUND THE COUNTRY AND EVEN AROUND THE WORLD.
UM, AND SO 2024, WE ARE MAKING A CONCERTED EFFORT TO PRODUCE NEW, UM, PLAYS AND TO RELEASE THEM HERE IN THE LOW COUNTRY AND TO MOVE BEYOND JUST HISTORIC BEAUFORT AS A PLACE TO HAVE THEM.
THIS ONE, WE ARE DEVELOPED, WE HAVE DEVELOPED A MARKETING PLAN AND A PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE FOR YEAR ROUND TOURISM.
UM, WE KNOW THAT HER VENUES ARE NORMALLY SOLD OUT, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO DIVERSIFY AND BRING MORE PEOPLE INTO THE, UH, PERFORMANCE SPACE TO EXPERIENCE AND LEARN AND CELEBRATE SO THAT THE GULLAH CULTURE, THAT IS A, UM, ESSENTIAL PART OF WHAT IT MEANS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE LOW COUNTRY, UM, CONTINUES TO BE CELEBRATED, HONORED, AND, UM, THAT GENERATIONS WILL CONTINUE TO LEARN ABOUT THE MANY CONTRIBUTIONS AND THE WAY THAT THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY HAS HELPED TO SHAPE AMERICA.
COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IS ESSENTIAL TO EVERYTHING THAT MS. PRATHER DOES.
I'VE, I'VE WITNESSED IT AND IT'S REMARKABLE.
SHE IS WALKING COMMUNITY, SHE EMBRACES EVERYONE, AND SHE IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS IN WHICH TO CONNECT AND TO LIFT UP AND TO HELP EV EVERYONE MOVE IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION.
UM, AND SHE ALWAYS HAS SPACE FOR WHOMEVER IS NEXT.
UM, AND SHE'S ALSO HELPING HER STAFF TO LEARN THAT AS WELL.
I'VE WORKED WITH A LOT OF NONPROFITS AND, UM, I'M ACTUALLY A RETIRED PASTOR, UH, AS WELL.
SO I APPRECIATED THE FIRST PRESENTATION TOO, AND I'M STILL CHURCH HUNTING, SO I REALLY APPRECIATED IT.
UM, BUT, UM, SHE'S ALSO MODELING THAT WITH THE PEOPLE THAT SHE WORKS WITH AND THE PARTNERS THAT SHE WORKS WITH.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN, UM, UH, THE WORK THAT'S BEEN GOING ON WITH THIS PARTICULAR NONPROFIT IN HISTORIC BEAUFORT WITH OTHER PARTS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY AND SHARING THE WEALTH AND POPULARITY, UM, WILL BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
WE KNOW THAT OF THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT DO COME TO SEE HER EACH YEAR, THAT MANY OF THEM COME OVER TO BLUFFTON, UM, TO SHOP, UM, TO TRY AND, UM, GET ACCESS TO, UM, DIFFERENT BEACHES AND GO THROUGH HERE TO HILTON HEAD.
AND SO WE KNOW THAT THERE IS A SUBURBAN TOURIST THAT IS A PART OF THE POPULATION THAT COME HERE FOR THE GULLAH TRAVELING THEATER.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE ARE, UM,
[00:45:02]
CULTURAL ASSETS HERE THAT HAVEN'T BEEN A PART OF THE MAINSTREAM TOURIST GULLAH STORY.AND SO THE ABILITY TO BEGIN TO LIFT THOSE THINGS UP AND, UH, CELEBRATE THEM TO HELP CREATE TOURS AND, AND STORIES, UM, GIVE OTHER NEW NEW REASONS FOR PEOPLE TO COME BACK, WE THINK WILL BE, UM, OF GREAT ADVANTAGE TO US ALL.
AND PARTICULARLY THE STORIES THAT, UM, HAVE WOVEN US TOGETHER TO BECOME THIS COMMUNITY.
UM, WHEN WE BEGAN TALKING ABOUT HOW TO EXPAND BEYOND, UH, UH, HISTORIC BEAUFORT BLUFFTON WAS THE FIRST, UM, MUNICIPALITY THAT WE DECIDED TO REACH OUT TO.
WE THOUGHT THAT, AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE HISTORIC ASSETS HERE, BECAUSE OF THE ARTIST HUB, BECAUSE OF THE SHOPPING LOCATION, AND ALSO BEING ABLE TO DRAW IN PEOPLE ON THIS SIDE OF THE LOW COUNTRY, WE THOUGHT WAS ALL, WOULD BE, UM, ATTRACTIVE.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO DO COME FROM OUT OF TOWN COME INTO ONE OF THE TWO AIRPORTS THAT ARE MORE, UH, CENTRALLY LOCATED TO THIS LOCATION THAN TO THE HISTORIC BRIEFING LOCATION.
AND SO THAT IS WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY.
THIS IS THE FIRST STOP ON, UM, OUR EXPANSION PLAN WITH DOWNTOWN BEAUFORT HAVING SO MANY WONDERFUL, UH, SO MUCH, UM, PERSONALITY, LOW COUNTRY PERSONALITY AND RESOURCES AND THINGS TO CELEBRATE.
WE KNOW THAT, UM, THIS IS A PLACE THAT WILL EMBRACE THE STORYTELLING, THE HISTORIC, THE, UM, ARTS, THE CULTURE.
AND THE ONE THING THAT I WILL SAY ABOUT THE GULLAH TRAVELING THEATER IS IT'S MORE THAN ABOUT THE SHOW.
WELL, THE GULLAH TRAVELING THEATER, THEY REALLY TRY TO IMMERSE, UM, VISITORS WITH A LOW COUNTRY EXPERIENCE.
AND SO WE GET CALLS FOR BUSLOADS OF INDIVIDUALS TO COME TO THIS AREA, TO SEE ONE OF HER PLAYS A CHURCH IN ANOTHER, OUT OF ATLANTA OR OUT OF SOMEWHERE IN, IN NORTH CAROLINA.
SAY, WE WANNA BRING A GROUP OF PEOPLE DOWN TO THE LOW COUNTRY FOR ONE OF YOUR PLAYS.
AND, AND THEY CALL AND WE WANT, YOU KNOW, 50 TICKETS, A HUNDRED TICKETS, BUT WE'RE GONNA BE COMING LONG DISTANCE.
AND SO WE WANNA DO MORE THAN JUST SEE YOUR PLAY.
CAN YOU HELP US FIGURE OUT WHERE WE'LL EAT? THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS FOR US TO DO.
AND SO THE GULLAH TRAVELING THEATER IS ALSO, UM, WORKING IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS, WITH TOUR GROUPS, UM, WITH THE HOTELS, UH, WORK TOGETHER TO PUT PACKAGES TOGETHER FOR PEOPLE AND NOT TO JUST BENEFIT THE GULLAH TRAVELING THEATER, BUT TO BENEFIT THE BUSINESSES AND THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO THAT EVERYBODY IS ABLE TO TAKE A PART IN THE ECONOMIC IMPACT THAT THAT GROUP OF A HUNDRED TOURISTS, UM, HAS WHEN THEY COME HERE.
OUR GOAL WITH THIS PROPOSAL IS TO INTRODUCE THESE PLAYS IN A VENUE HERE IN BLUFFTON.
FROM THERE, ONCE WE KNOW THAT, UM, WE CAN PUT THIS IN PLACE, OUR GOAL THEN IS TO WORK WITH LOCAL TOUR OPERATORS HERE TO ADD TOUR OPTIONS FOR THE VARIOUS GROUPS WHO WILL COME.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE ARE HOPING TO, UM, OR PLANNING TO, I SHOULDN'T SAY HOPING, WE ARE PLANNING TO, FOR 2024 TO ACTUALLY RELEASE A SEASON WIDE SCHEDULE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY AS WE CELEBRATE PERHAPS DR. KING OR, UM, BLACK HISTORY MONTH, UM, TO CELEBRATE PERHAPS SOME OF THE, UM, HISTORIC WOMEN DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH, WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH TO, THERE'S A NEW PLAY THAT, UM, MS. PRATHER IS WORKING ON FOR JUNETEENTH, AND WHICH IS A, UH, A NEW DISCOVERY FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE IN TERMS OF TAKING IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CELEBRATE.
AND SO WE ARE RELEASING A NEW PLAY THIS YEAR FOR THE JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION AND EXPECT THAT TO HAPPEN.
UM, AND SO THAT WOULD BE A PLAY THAT PERHAPS WOULD BE A GOOD FIT FOR BLUFFTON.
THESE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE LIKE TO DO, AND AS WE, UM,
[00:50:01]
MAKE THIS OUR FIRST STOP, WE EXPECT TO SEE THE, THE, UM, PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE HERE IN BLUFFTON CONTINUE TO BLOOM SO THAT IT WOULD NOT BE FOR, UM, ONE OR TWO SHOWS, BUT WE COULD ACTUALLY PLAN OUT WITH YOUR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS PEOPLE WITH SOME OF THE THEATER PEOPLE THAT WE'VE TALKED TO ABOUT POSSIBLY SHARING VENUE SPACE, UM, SO THAT WE CAN WORK IN BETWEEN THEIR SEASONS.UM, WE CAN HIT TIMES WHEN, UM, OTHER PEOPLE AREN'T DOING THINGS, UH, OUR SCHEDULES, WHICH IS WHY WE DIDN'T PUT ONE IN.
UM, WE ARE STILL LOOKING TO SIT DOWN WITH, UM, SOME OF THE KEY PEOPLE, AND WE'RE RELYING ON YOUR, YOUR GENEROUS STAFF TO BE OF SOME ASSISTANCE WITH US TO FIGURE OUT WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME FOR US TO SET UP THE THREE SHOWS THAT WE ARE PLANNING FOR 2024, UH, HERE IN IN BLUFFTON.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE MONEY.
EVERYBODY ALWAYS WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THE MONEY.
WE ARE ASKING FOR 18,000, A LITTLE OVER 18,000, ALMOST $19,000.
AND TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, MOST OF IT IS FOR ADVERTISING.
UM, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TV, RADIO, UH, BILLBOARDS, SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE DO QUITE A BIT OF ADVERTISING THROUGH THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT WE DO OUT OF HISTORIC BEAUFORT.
IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT WE WOULD TRY TO WRAP OR BUNDLE, SO EXPAND OUR MARKETING PACKAGES SO THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY ABLE TO MAXIMIZE RATES AND, UH, GET MORE COVERAGE.
AND, UM, IN THE TV, RADIO, BILLBOARD, SOCIAL MEDIA, UH, SPACE, WE'VE ALSO ADDED A COUPLE OF OTHER, UM, SMALLER ITEMS IN THERE.
UM, JUST THE CUSTODIAL, UH, SANITATION REQUIREMENTS THAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE LEAVE THE VENUE, UM, WHERE IT IS.
THE WAY THAT, THAT WE FOUND IT, UH, WE INCLUDE A SMALL AMOUNT, NOT ALL OF WHAT WE WOULD PAY OUT TO, UM, FOR SALES COMMISSIONS, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THE TRAVELING THEATER DOES IS IT ENCOURAGES THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE PRODUCTIONS TO SELL TICKETS.
AND IF THEY SELL OVER 200, WHAT DO THEY DO? 300, THEY SELL OVER $300 WORTH OF TICKETS, THEY GET, UM, UM, A SALES COMMISSION.
BUT IT REALLY DOES HELP MOVE THE TICKETS QUICKLY AND, UM, EFFICIENTLY.
AND SO WE DO GIVE A LITTLE BIT BACK AGAIN, PART OF SHARING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AND HELPING THEM TO, UM, PARTICIPATE AND TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE THEATER, UM, AND THE PRODUCTION, SOME PRINTING COSTS FOR THE PLAYBILLS, WHICH WOULD ALSO, UM, HAVE OPPORTUNITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, WELL, NOT JUST SMALL BUSINESSES, ANY BUSINESSES OR ORGANIZATIONS OR EVEN MUNICIPALITY OR SPECIAL AGENCIES TO PUT AN ADVERTISEMENT IN, UM, TICKETS AND, AND WRISTBANDS ALSO FOR THE THEATER GOERS.
AND FINALLY, WE DO SOME ENHANCEMENTS, SOME AND SOME CONTENT BUILDING TO SPOTLIGHT BLUFFTON AND TO DO SOME ANNOUNCEMENT WORK AROUND, UM, LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS HAPPENING, AND SO THAT AS THEY SEE THINGS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, THEY WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
I WILL SAY THAT OUR WEBSITE IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING A MAJOR TRANSFORMATION, UM, AND WE HOPE THAT IT WILL, OUR PLAN IS FOR IT TO BE UNVEILED IN JANUARY.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
MUCH MORE OF AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE WITH SNIPPETS OF THE SHOWS AND PRODUCTIONS THAT HOPEFULLY MAKE, UH, PEOPLE WANT TO, UM, CLICK OVER AND ONLINE AND, AND BUY A TICKET AND COME AND JOIN US.
AND THEN WE WILL HAVE LINKS ON THERE FOR OTHER THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN BLUFFTON, ON THE BLUFFTON PAGE, HOTELS IN BLUFFTON THAT WE RECOMMEND, THAT THEY CHECK OUT FOR LODGING, UM, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE PUT ALL OF THOSE LINKS TOGETHER AND WE HAVE BLUFFTON, PAGE OR TWO, THAT HOT LIGHTS, THE PERFORMANCES THAT WOULD BE HAPPENING HERE, AND ALL OF THE WAYS THAT YOU CAN ENJOY, UH, A WONDERFUL STAY WHILE YOU ARE IN, UM, WHEN YOU'RE IN BLUFFTON.
WE COLLABORATE WITH ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO'S WORKING FOR POSITIVE GOOD AND, UM, COMMUNITY HARMONY AND EMPOWERMENT, AND PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO CELEBRATE, UH, THE GULLAH CULTURE AND HISTORY AND WANNA LEARN ABOUT IT.
UM, BUT WE, EVERYTHING WE DO IS GENERALLY AN EXPERIENCE.
WE ALWAYS FIGURE OUT SOME THINGS TO GO ALONG WITH IT.
IN FACT, IN TWO WEEKENDS, THE CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA
[00:55:01]
WILL BE HAPPENING IN HISTORIC BEAUFORT, UM, NOVEMBER 30TH, DECEMBER 1ST AND DECEMBER 2ND.AND THE PLAYS ARE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING DURING THE DAY ON THURSDAY, THERE IS A SYMPOSIUM, UM, UM, MAKING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SIERRA LEONE AND THE LOW COUNTRY AND LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR HISTORY AND CULTURE.
AND THEN ON, UM, FRIDAYS, THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY, THE CHILDREN'S SHOWS.
WE ALSO REACH OUT TO THE SCHOOLS AND PROVIDE, UM, LITTLE TO NO COST TICKETS FOR THE STUDENTS.
SO IF TEACHERS, UH, AND PRINCIPALS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WOULD LIKE TO ARRANGE FOR FIELD TRIPS SO THAT THEY CAN COME AND HAVE, UM, A COMPARABLE EXPERIENCE AT ONE OF THE SHOWS, WE DO THAT AND CONTINUE TO EDUCATE AS WE ENTERTAIN.
AND THEN ON, I FORGET WHAT DAY WE'RE ON, FORGIVE ME, IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY.
EVERYBODY WANTED THINGS DUE YESTERDAY AND TODAY I'VE BEEN UP FOR LIKE 48 HOURS STRAIGHT TRYING TO DELIVER.
BUT, UM, WHAT I WANNA TELL YOU ABOUT IS THE, UM, IS IT SATURDAY OR SUNDAY? THE COOKOFF SATURDAY.
SATURDAY IS THE, UM, AT HENRY C. CHAMBERS WATERFRONT PARK, THERE WILL BE A RICE COOKOFF, A CHRISTMAS MARKETPLACE, AND, UM, PEOPLE CAN VOTE ON THEIR FAVORITE RICE DISH.
THERE WILL ALSO BE VENDORS AND, UM, EXTRAVAGANZA.
SO THAT THE WAY YOU CAN SEE, THAT'S A EXCELLENT BLUEPRINT THAT THEY USE, THAT THEY'LL DO TWO OR THREE NIGHTS OF SHOWS THEY BUILD IN STUDENT PERFORMANCES DURING THE SCHOOL DAY, AND THEN THEY ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING COMPLIMENTARY THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE WEEKEND WHERE THEY PULL IN OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND EXPAND THE REACH AND OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO STAY OVER, GIVE THEM A REASON TO STAY OVER AND CELEBRATE.
OH, AND THEN THE CHRISTMAS PARADE ISN'T THE CHRISTMAS PARADE IS THAT IS ON SUNDAY MORNING IS THE CHRISTMAS PARADE.
AND WE ALSO PUBLISH, UM, DO YOU WANNA JUST GIVE US THE FLYER? FLYER? OH, SORRY.
BUT THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN TAKE IT HOME.
IF YOU, IF YOU ARE FEELING DOWN, IF YOU ARE DISCOURAGED, GO SEE ONE OF THESE PLAYS.
YOU WILL LEAVE WITH YOUR, UM, YOU'RE SPIRITFUL AND JUST LIFT IT UP.
AND IT IS A, A TREMENDOUS, UM, TREMENDOUS DRAW.
I'LL ALSO CLOSE YOU BY CLOSE AND TELL YOU THAT, UM, MS. PRASSER IS PROBABLY THE CONVENTION BUREAU'S FAVORITE, UM, PERFORMER TO TRAVEL WITH THEM WHEN THEY'RE GOING OUT SELLING THE LOW COUNTRY AT CONVENTION BUREAU, UM, GATHERINGS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ALL YEAR LONG WHERE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE TOURISM BUSINESS WANT TO KNOW WHERE'S THE NEXT BEST PLACE TO GO THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN.
AND THEY TAKE HER OUT ON THE ROAD WITH THEM, PAY FOR ALL OF HER EXPENSES, JUST SO THAT SHE WILL HELP ENCOURAGE ANDRO AND DRAW PEOPLE TO THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS.
AND THEY CONTINUE TO MAKE THAT INVESTMENT BY TAKING HER BECAUSE HER INTERACTION AND, UM, SPIRIT JUST DRAWS PEOPLE IN AND BRINGS PEOPLE TO THE LOW COUNTRY BY JOE.
MY BRAIN WAS TRYING TO FIND, AND IT CAME TO ME.
I WANTED YOU TO KNOW HER WEBSITE ANALYTICS.
SHE, YOU KNOW, SHE'S HIRED THIS PROFESSIONAL GRANT STRATEGIST, SO I'M TEACHING THEM STUFF ABOUT WEBSITE ANALYTICS AND DATA, AND WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CONVENTION BUREAU AND PULLING NUMBERS.
HER WEBSITE, UM, DRAWS PEOPLE FROM IN THE LAST YEAR, 41 OUT OF 50 COUNT, 41 OUTTA 50 STATES IN THE UNITED STATES, AND OVER 25 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD.
UM, UNIQUE VISITORS WHO VISIT HER PAGES MULTIPLE TIMES.
YOU CAN SEE THE PEAKS AROUND HER SHOW PERIODS.
UM, AND SO OUR GOAL IS TO STRENGTHEN THOSE PEAKS AND MAKE THEM MORE CONSISTENT YEAR ROUND.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING.
I'M JUST THINKING YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THE PRESENTATION.
[01:00:01]
I'VE HEARD YOU SPEAK.WELL, I WANTED TO HEAR HER LET HER SING, BUT SHE TOLD ME THAT'S WHAT I PAY YOU FOR.
I SAID, WELL, I WON'T SING, AND THEN MAYBE I'LL STILL GET PRAISE
UM, BUT YEAH, WE WOULD PAY YOU TO LEAVE MAYBE.
YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
THAT'S HE THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
YOU WANT MY HUSBAND FOR THE, FOR THE VOCALS, NOT ME.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES.
ANYBODY WANNA GO FIRST? I'LL GO FIRST.
I, I'VE GOT A QUESTION JUST ON THE, UH, JUST SO I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, WHEN YOU MENTIONED THREE SHOWS, IS IT THREE WEEKEND SHOWS IN 2024 OR IS IT JUST THREE INDIVIDUAL SHOWS? THREE WEEKEND.
NOW WHEN I SAY WEEKEND, LIKE A, A WEEKEND, RIGHT, RIGHT.
IT DEPENDS ON WHAT PARTNERS WE CAN PARTNER WITH HERE TO COLLABORATE TO UH, KIND OF BRING A PACKAGE TOGETHER.
NO, WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE ISOLATED THE PERIODS OF TIME WE'RE INTERESTED IN, AND WE'VE TALKED TO YOUR, UM, WONDERFUL MUNICIPAL STAFF ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE VENUES.
UM, WE'VE TALKED WITH MAY RIVER THEATER ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE AND WHEN THERE WOULD BE AVAILABILITY DEPENDING ON, UM, HOW WELL THINGS GO TONIGHT AND HOW MUCH MARKETING SPACE WE HAVE.
BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REALLY RELYING ON THIS PROPOSAL FOR, WILL DEPEND ON HOW MUCH PUSH WE CAN DO WITH THE $18,000.
I'M THINKING WE CAN DO THREE PUSHES.
UM, AND SO WHETHER IT WOULD BE, UM, JANUARY, FEBRUARY IS ONE PERIOD THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
MARCH IS ANOTHER POSSIBLE ONE, AND THEN MAYBE, UH, A SECOND CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA.
UM, AND THEN PERHAPS MOVING INTO 2025, NOT INCLUDED IN THIS PROPOSAL, BUT JUST TO WET YOUR APPETITE.
WE ALSO ARE LOOKING AT, WE DOING DINNER THEATERS AND A LITTLE BIT SMALLER VENUES WITH SMALLER CASTS SO THAT YOU HAVE DINNER WITH HARRIET TUBMAN, UM, AND HER FAMILY OR, UM, SOME OTHER HISTORICAL CHARACTER THAT, UM, WILL BE YOUR HOST AT THE DINNER THEATER FOR THAT EVENING.
AND SO THAT THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE WILL BE ONE WHERE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL MEAL OF LOW COUNTRY, UH, DELICIOUS FOOD AND ALSO BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH PEOPLE, UM, HISTORICALLY AND HAVE THAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE.
SO WE'RE VERY, VERY OPEN, UM, AT THIS POINT.
BUT THOSE ARE THE, THOSE ARE THE WINDOWS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
UM, BUT WE'RE, IF SOMEONE WERE TO SAY, GOD, WE REALLY WISH YOU DO THE JUNETEENTH THING HERE, WE WOULD BE OPEN TO THAT.
WE ARE CRAFTING THAT SCHEDULE NOW, AND THAT, AND THAT'S WHERE I WAS GOING WITH IT.
JUST 'CAUSE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS ALL ENCOMPASSING AND WE'VE GOT SIX WEEKS LEFT IN 2023, RIGHT.
AND SO TO MARKET AND ADVERTISE AND WITHOUT A VENUE AND COLLABORATE, THAT, THAT WAS MY QUESTION, RIGHT? SO WE'RE REALLY TALKING PROBABLY THE SPRING FOUR, YOU ARE PLANNING SOMETHING IN EARLY JAN IN JANUARY IN PARTON, IN IN HILTON HEAD, UM, THAT IS ON OVER IN THIS SIDE.
SO WE WOULD PROBABLY BE THINKING ABOUT, AND WE KNOW THAT THE HARRIET TUBMAN, UM, NEW MEMORIAL THAT'S COMING TO, TO BEAUFORT IS WE'RE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DEBUTING AND HAVING A GRAND OPENING SOMETIME BETWEEN, WE DON'T KNOW, IN THE NEXT TWO TO SIX MONTHS.
WE'RE STILL WAITING TO FIND OUT.
SO SOME THINGS WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO TIME PERFECTLY.
UM, BUT WE PROBABLY WOULD BE TALKING ABOUT LAUNCHING SOMETHING LIKE IN MARCH, UM, OR APRIL, JUNE, JULY, AND THEN SOMETHING IN THE WINTER.
I I WOULD SAY WE HAVE GREAT RESOURCES FOR YOU, AS A MATTER OF FACT, BEHIND YOU MAY BE SOMEBODY FROM THE
WE ALREADY HAVE TREMENDOUS, UM, CULTURAL EVENTS OVER HERE.
YOU WATCH MY ISSUE WOULD BE NOT A PLAN.
YOU'RE, YOU WANT TO DO IT, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE A VENUE, YOU DON'T HAVE DATES.
TYPICALLY WHEN WE SEE AN APPLICATION, IT'S FOR THESE THREE DATES AT THESE THREE VENUES WITH THIS SORT OF A THING.
IN THEORY, I REALLY WANNA SUPPORT YOU IN WHATEVER WAY WE CAN, BUT I HAVE A HARD TIME WITHOUT KNOWING, YOU KNOW, YOU SAY YOU COME INTO HILTON HEAD, THAT'S WONDERFUL, BUT THAT'S THEIR AT TAX, RIGHT? RIGHT.
YOU SAY YOU'RE GONNA COME TO BLUFFTON, BUT YOU KNOW, BLUFFTON IS NOT ALWAYS BLUFFTON.
IT WAS ACTUALLY THE HILTON HEAD INVITATION THAT INSPIRED US TO START THINKING
[01:05:01]
ABOUT BLUFFTON.AND, UM, MY APOLOGIES, THIS IS MY FIRST ROUND DOING AX.
SO I'M, SO I'M LEARNING, BUT I WILL SAY THAT I'M REALLY HOPING THAT THE STRENGTH AND TENURE OF THE GULLAH TRAVELING THEATER AND THEIR SUCCESS FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS, UM, WILL GIVE YOU ENOUGH CONFIDENCE THAT WE WILL CARRY THIS THROUGH, UH, FRUITION.
SHE HAS BEEN WRITING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS NONSTOP, AND WE HAVE FOUR NEW PLAYS TO DEBUT NEXT YEAR.
AND WE DECIDED, UM, A LITTLE BIT LATER THAN PROBABLY WAS IDEAL, BUT WE DECIDED THAT ALL OF THOSE PLAYS WILL NOT DEBUT IN HISTORIC BUFORD.
AND SO WE SAID, WELL, LET'S SEE HOW RECEPTIVE BLUFFTON MIGHT BE TO HAVING US COME.
AND I GUARANTEE YOU THAT WE WILL GET TO WORK IMMEDIATELY SOLIDIFYING THE DETAILS, UM, MEETING WITH YOUR STAFF, YOUR COMMUNICATIONS MARKETING STAFF, AND GETTING THINGS, UH, PUT TOGETHER.
AND I WILL ALSO SAY THAT THEY ARE EXTRAORDINARILY EXPERIENCED IN WORKING, UH, PERFORMANCES.
THEY, IF IF THEY'RE DOING IT THERE, THEY CAN DO IT THERE.
IN FACT, IF I GET OUT OF THE WAY, SHE'D DO IT RIGHT NOW.
WELL, I HAVE NO DOUBT ABOUT, AND I'LL JUST TAKE THE MONEY, THE QUALITY AND THE ABILITY YOU GUYS TO PULL IT OFF.
WHAT I UNDER, I UNDERSTAND WHAT WE, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS IF YOU SAID WE'VE ARRANGED FOR A VENUE, IT'S GONNA BE THE COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE ON FEBRUARY 14TH, WE'RE GONNA DO THE JUNETEENTH SHOW AT THE HILTON HEAD DISTILLER, SORRY, THE BLUFFTON DISTILLERY FOR THE JUNETEENTH EVENT.
AND WE'RE GONNA DO ANOTHER PERFORMANCE AT THE, THE OYSTER FACTORY PARK AS PART OF WHATEVER CELEBRATION.
AND THESE ARE OUR THREE DATES.
THIS IS OUR, THIS IS OUR BUDGET FOR THOSE DATES.
WHERE YOU AT WITH THAT? AND THIS WOULD BE SUCH AN EASY CONVERSATION BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE USED TO SEEING.
WE'RE NOT USED, I I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A LONG TIME.
I'VE NEVER, I'VE PERSONALLY NEVER BEEN PART OF A, OF A, OF A REQUEST IN A GRANT WITH SOME SPECULATION ABOUT THOSE DETAILS WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHERE, WHEN, HOW WE KNOW YOU'RE GONNA DRAW, WE KNOW YOUR NONPROFIT OR, BUT WITHOUT SOME, SOME MORE DETAILS IS MY RELUCTANCE.
AND, AND THE REASON THAT I'M, I'M SAYING THIS TO YOU IS JUST THE, THE ABSENCE OF THOSE DETAILS, YOU WILL FIND PEOPLE LINING UP TO SUPPORT WHAT YOU DO IN THEIR EVENTS.
IT'S THE PROBLEM IS HAVING THOSE EVENTS AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS A DEFINED EVENT TIME PLACE.
THE, THE, THE VOLUME AND THE BREADTH OF WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA DO, DO BE DOING.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE CHRISTMAS EVENT, YOU KNOW YOU'RE DOING THREE PLAYS, YOU'RE DOING CHILDREN, YOU HAVE A COOKOFF.
THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA SEE AS THAT SORT OF A, OF A, NOT A COMMITMENT, BUT A, A A DECISION TO HAVE DONE.
SO AT THAT POINT, I'M ALL IN, AND I GUESS WE'RE, AND I, UH, I GUESS FOR ME, I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THE CHICKEN AND THE EGG WHO CAME FIRST IN, IN TRYING TO TO DO IT.
WE DO KNOW ABOUT, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THE SAME TOURIST TRACK ON THIS SIDE THAT YOU HAVE ON THAT SIDE.
SO THESE WERE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO SIT DOWN WITH WITH PEOPLE AND GET INFORMATION.
WE STARTED TO MAKE SUPPOSITIONS AND THEN WE SAID, WELL, BUT THIS IS BLUFF, THEN THIS IS NOT BEAUFORT.
THEIR, THEIR SEASONAL TRACK COULD BE VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR THOSE WINDOWS WHERE THINGS ARE NOT HAPPENING AND THAT WE WANNA BRING SOME NEW ENERGY TO SOME OF THE FLATTER TIMES OF THE YEAR.
WE JUST NEED TO CONSULT WITH AND, UH, LINE UP THOSE PLAYERS THAT, THAT HELP US.
AGAIN, WE HAVE WE'LL, FANTASTIC PEOPLE TO HELP YOU WITH THAT.
WE'LL DO, WE WILL, WE WILL DO THE WORK AND, AND I'M, I'M TELLING YOU THAT WE GET IT DONE.
AND THE WONDERFUL THING, IT'S, IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO, UM, SOME OF THOSE SUPPER KITS.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GO TO THE STORE.
I'M A, I'M A MAKE IT FROM SCRATCH KIND OF GAL.
SO IT'S REALLY HARD FOR ME TO TAKE ANYTHING OUT OF A BOX AND NOT DO ANYTHING TO IT.
UM, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT WHEN IT COMES TO PERFORMANCES, THE GULLAH TRAVELING THEATER, PUTTING ON A PERFORMANCE, THEY GOT IT IN A BOX.
THEY ONLY HAVE TO OPEN IT UP AND PUT IT ON THE FLOOR.
IF WE WERE TO PICK A DATE IN SIX WEEKS, THEY HAVE A PRODUCTION READY.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALREADY WORKING ON THESE PRODUCTIONS.
[01:10:01]
THE ONLY THING WE WILL DO IS PICK THREE DATES AND VENUES SIT DOWN WITH PEOPLE.I JUST, WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE BOTH THE TIME AND THE UM, UM, KNOW EXACTLY.
SO I WILL, WILL BE ON THE PHONE IMMEDIATELY, UM, TO START WORKING THROUGH THOSE DETAILS WITH, UM, WITH SOME GUIDANCE.
WE ARE HOPING FROM, FROM SOME OF THE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION STAFF, PLEASE.
SO I'M GONNA MAKE A SUGGESTION.
I MEAN, WE CAN STILL DO A MOTION OR WHATEVER, BUT MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE, COME BACK WOULD BE MINE.
SO I DON'T SEE AN ISSUE WITH THIS, BUT IT'S AN IF RIGHT THIS SECOND, AND I BELIEVE WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL THAT YOU WILL GET IT DONE.
UM, OUR NEXT, UH, END DATE IS THE 31ST.
YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH 31ST OF DECEMBER.
AND I ALSO WOULD, UM, SUGGEST IS, SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT YOUR BUDGET, SO I'M ASSUMING THIS IS ALL FOR BUFORT, YOUR BUDGET THAT YOU'VE USED HERE AND YOU, UM, YOU, FOR BUFORT IT'S $5,320 AND 8 CENTS IS WHAT YOU'VE USED ON ADVERTISING AND YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU USED THAT FOR.
I WOULD PUT THAT MORE IN HERE THAT WE ARE GOING TO MORE SPECIFIC.
AND AGAIN, I WAS WAITING TO TAKE UP YOUR STAFF TIME UNTIL WE SAW WHAT THE CLIMATE WAS LIKE.
AND I HAVE TO SAY, YOU GUYS ROCK DOWN HERE.
I'VE BEEN THE, LIKE EVERY MUNICIPALITY TO DO AT TAX MEETINGS GOLD STARS RIGHT HERE.
THE OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS, UM, SO YOU ALL YOUR EVENTS IN BEAUFORT, AND I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE I COME TO ONE OF 'EM AT THE END OF THE MONTH.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT YOUR TOURIST COUNT OH YEAH, WE HAVE THAT.
IF YOU HAVE THAT AND PUT THAT IN HERE TOO.
ANYTHING LIKE THAT IS GOING TO HELP YOU MORE AND MORE.
WELL, I, I, I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU SO THE DECORATION PLAY, THE ONLY THING THAT LIMITS, UM, HER NUMBERS IS THE NUMBER OF SEATS THAT WE'RE DOING THE PERFORMANCE FOR.
BUT THE GULLAH FESTIVAL, THE DECORATION DAY PLAY, WHICH HAPPENS MEMORIAL WEEKEND, UM, IS THE ANCHOR FOR THE GULLAH FESTA FOR THE GULLAH FESTIVAL IS ONE OF BUFORD'S FIVE SIGNATURE EVENTS THAT THEY HAVE EVERY YEAR.
THAT EVENT ON A SLOW YEAR DRAWS ABOUT 12,000 PEOPLE.
THE THREE SHOWS THAT SHE DOES ARE SOLD OUT.
SO, UM, AND THEY DO ALSO OVERFLOW INTO THE MAIN STAGE AND DO SOME SONGS AND SINGING AND SOME, YOU KNOW, REENACTMENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, SO THE SHOW IS, THE WAY THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT STATS WAS AROUND THE PERFORMANCE STATS.
WHATEVER SEATS, NUMBER OF SEATS YOU GIVE US, CHANCES ARE WE'RE GONNA SELL IT, SELL IT OUT.
YOU'RE GOING ON A PERCENTAGE ANYWAY.
SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET TO IS, WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL IN THAT SCENARIO THAT I JUST DISCUSSED ABOUT THE DECORATION DAY AND THE GULLAH FESTIVAL, WHAT STATS IN THERE ARE THE MOST HELPFUL FOR YOU? IT'S NOT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE AT YOUR EVENT, BECAUSE THAT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE LIMITED BY YOUR FACILITY.
IT'S IF THERE'S A THOUSAND PEOPLE AND YOU CAN IDENTIFY THAT OF THE PEOPLE COMING TO YOUR EVENT, 82% ARE FROM OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA.
AND SO WHAT THAT DOES FOR STAFF AND STAFF WILL BE GREAT TO HELP YOU WHEN YOU GET READY TO DO, IF YOU'RE GONNA REAPPLY, WHICH I BELIEVE YOU WOULD COUNTING ON, THEY CAN TELL YOU HOW TO PUT THOSE STATS INTO YOUR APPLICATION BECAUSE LIKE, YOUR FACILITIES FOR A CULTURAL EVENT IS BASED ON TOURISM DRAW.
SO IF YOU GOT $10,000 AND 82% OF THAT IS FOR, IS A TOURIST RELATED EXPENSE, YOU GET $8,200 OF THE $10,000 OF THAT COST.
SO IT'S, IT'S, WE'RE TRYING TO BRING IN THOSE TOURISTS.
UH, BETWEEN STAFF AND THEN THE CHAMBER, UH, OR WE BE THE, THE HILTON HEAD.
BLUFFTON CHAMBER IS A VERY USEFUL, UH, AND THEN SOME OF THE OTHER EVENTS THAT ARE IN TOWN, UM, THE FARMER'S MARKET, FOR EXAMPLE, I WOULD EXTEND AN INVITATION IF YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO COME SET UP AT THE FARMER'S MARKET AND MAYBE DO A PREVIEW ONCE YOU GET YOUR SCHEDULE DOWN FOR BLUFFTON.
THE SAME THING WITH THE, WE JUST HAD OUR FALL FESTIVAL, WHAT DO THEY CALL IT NOW? FALL FESTIVAL? THE, FOR SEAFOOD FESTIVAL? YEAH.
AND, UM, THAT'S OURS HERE IN BLUFFTON.
AND THEY HAVE STAGES ALREADY SET UP AND RIGHT.
SO THERE'S ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT WE, WE DON'T LACK FOR EVENTS.
WE PROBABLY, WE LACK FOR ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT.
AND SO CONTENT, EVERYBODY NEEDS CONTENT.
[01:15:01]
FOLKS.BUT I, I WOULD TELL YOU AND FOR WHAT'S WORTH, WELL, AS I TELL YOU, THE GULLAH FESTIVAL DRAWS A MINIMUM OF 10,000 PEOPLE.
UM, 10 TO, AND IT A LOT DEPENDS ON THE WEATHER.
LAST YEAR THEY STILL DREW 12,000 PEOPLE.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER WHAT MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND WAS LIKE LAST YEAR WAS LIKE THE, THE, THE PASSERS WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW COLD IT WAS.
IT WAS A TORRENTIAL STORM FOR TWO DAYS AND PEOPLE STILL LINED UP IN THE POURING RAIN TO SEE HER SHOWS.
THEY WERE, I HAD PEOPLE SAY, WE LOST OUR MONEY BECAUSE THE BASKET WEAVING DIDN'T HAPPEN AND THE DRUMMING, THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN.
I SAID, WELL, ARE THEY COMPLAINING OR ARE THEY NOT GONNA, THEY SAID, BUT WE'RE HERE AND WE ARE GONNA SEE THIS SHOW AND WE KNOW THAT THIS EXPERIENCE IS GONNA BE SO AWESOME.
WE DON'T CARE THAT IT EVEN RAINED.
AND THEN SUNDAY, THE NUMBERS WERE SO TREMENDOUS PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THE, THE, THAT WAS INDOOR.
IT WAS THE ONE THING THAT WENT ON THROUGH THOSE TWO RAINY DAYS.
KEPT PEOPLE HERE WHO DIDN'T CANCEL THE TOUR BUSES THAT DIDN'T CANCEL AND MOVED US ON TO THE NEXT ONE.
WE KNOW THAT THE GULLAH FESTIVAL BRINGS IN 50% TOURS OUT PEOPLE, UH, 50% TOUR, UH, OUT OF TOWN TOURISTS, PEOPLE FROM OUT OF TOWN.
AND THE GULLAH CHRISTMAS LAST YEAR BOUGHT IN 34%.
AND WE ARE EXPECTING THOSE NUMBERS TO SURPASS 40 THIS YEAR.
WE'RE EXPECTING TO SEE THAT CONTINUE TO GROW AND, UM, THE CELEBRATION HAS EXPANDED, UH, TO MAKE IT THE THREE DAY.
AND WE'VE MOVED SOME THINGS AROUND.
SO WE ARE, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO SEEING THAT TOO.
WE ALSO INCLUDE HOUSES OF WORSHIP, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE WHO COME IN TOWN KNOW WHERE THEY CAN WORSHIP ON SUNDAY AND TRY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO STAY OVER AND HAVE A GULLAH WORSHIP EXPERIENCE AS WELL.
YOU WANT TO ASK HER IF SHE JUST WANTS TO READ THE SILENCE? DO YOU JUST WANT TO, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHAT DO YOU, WHATEVER YOU ALL RECOMMEND, WE, WE WANT TO DO WHATEVER YOU RECOMMEND.
I WOULD SUGGEST RESUBMITTING IT BEFORE THEY, FOR THE DECEMBER 31ST, THE SPECIFIC WITH A COUPLE OF WEEKS IN IT AND A PROGRAM SCHEDULE FOR THE YEAR.
I'M OUR BOARD PRESIDENT FOR BAY, SO YES.
UM, SO I DON'T ALWAYS, SO WE HAVE REALLY SMALL WINDOWS OF AVAILABILITY, SO REACH OUT EMAIL TO A COUPLE.
I'M THE ONE THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE ANSWERS FOR 181.
IT WAS AROUND TWO SEATS AND STUFF.
I MEAN, WE'VE, I MEAN, WE'RE RIGHT.
I MEAN, WE'VE GOT A GREAT LITTLE HERE AND STUFF WHERE WE STUFF AND, BUT WE HAVE EVERYTHING.
WHEN YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU GOT PLACE IN THE WORKS, WE DO, AT THE END OF THE SUMMER, WE DO A SERIES OF ONE ACTS WHERE WE ACTUALLY PRODUCED A COUPLE RIGHT.
NEW PLACE AND THINGS LIKE THAT TOO.
SO MAKE AND AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR, THAT APPLICATION OPENS UP.
SO, OH, SO WE, YOU APPLY FOR THAT.
THAT ONE AND THAT ONE GOES THROUGH US
SO WE'RE GONNA MAKE THIS OFFICIAL, DO I HAVE A MOTION? I, I'D MAKE THE MOTION TO HAVE THE GULLAH TRAVELING THEATER INCORPORATE GULLAH, KEN FIT, COME TO BLUFF, AND COME BACK WITH A FULL, A MORE FULLY DEVELOPED PLAN SO THAT WE CAN AWARD THEM THE MONIES THAT THEY, THAT THEY'RE ELIGIBLE FOR.
I DON'T THINK, UM, YOU NEED TO, HE'S DONE THAT.
UM, SO I'M ELIZABETH SCHLAGER.
I AM THE, UM, BOARD PRESIDENT FOR MAM RIVER THEATER.
UM, EXCITED TO BE HERE TONIGHT AGAIN WITH ANOTHER SEASON COMING UP.
UM, I'M GONNA, YOU GUYS, I'M GONNA
[01:20:01]
TRUST THAT YOU LOOKED THROUGH ALL THE STUFF WE SUBMITTED.YOU LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS, SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU LIKE TWO MINUTES OF HIGH POINTS HERE.
UM, JUST 'CAUSE I LIKE TO BRAG.
UM, SO WE ARE, THE REQUEST THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU IS TO HELP YOU WITH OUR, TO HELP US WITH OUR 21ST SEASON, WHICH IS THE YEAR THAT WE'RE GOING INTO, UM, FINISHING UP THIS OUR 20TH SEASON STRONG.
WE HAD, UM, EIGHT OF OUR 12, UM, MUSICAL PERFORMANCES SOLD OUT.
UM, WHICH IS A, I THINK THE PREVIOUS SEASON WE HAD TWO SHOWS SELL OUT.
SO I MEAN, IT'S CONTINUING TO GROW, UM, IN THE NUMBERS JUST 'CAUSE WE'RE TALKING, UM, TOURISM AND STUFF.
THE ONE I LIKE LOOKING AT IS IF, IF YOU LOOK AT, OKAY, LET'S LOOK FOR THE RIGHT ONE.
THE, UM, FIRST THINGS ARE WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT TO SEE AS FAR AS OUR NUMBERS IN THIS AREA, LIKE WHO'S HERE.
BUT AS SOON AS YOU GET PAST LIKE BLUFFTON AND HILTON AND STUFF, OUR NEXT NUMBERS THAT WE'RE PULLING FROM ARE CHARLOTTE, ATLANTA, JACKSONVILLE, CHARLESTON.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXPANDING WHAT OUR BUBBLE IS.
UM, I THINK IT HELPED OUR RENT PRODUCTION.
WE HAD A COUPLE PEOPLE THAT WERE IN THE SHOW THAT WERE FROM CHARLESTON AND SAVANNAH.
UM, BUT THEN WHEN WE GOT TO, UM, ADAM'S FAMILY THAT JUST WENT UP, WE HAD PEOPLE COMING TO THE SHOW FROM CHARLES CHARLESTON AND SAVANNAH AND ATLANTA THAT DIDN'T KNOW ANYBODY IN THE SHOW.
THEY JUST HAD KIND OF, THEY UNDERSTOOD WHAT WE WERE STARTING TO OFFER HERE.
UM, SOMETHING TO KIND OF, IT JUST CAME OUT.
UM, BUT BROADWAY WORLD, SOUTH CAROLINA JUST PUT OUT THEIR NOMINATIONS.
UM, WE WERE NOMINATED IN 16 OF THEIR CATEGORIES WITH OVER 25 INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP RECOGNITIONS THAT GOES OUT THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE.
AND THAT'S ALL IT'S RELEASED NATIONALLY, BUT SO WE'RE ON THERE WITH THEATERS THAT ARE ALL OVER SOUTH CAROLINA.
UM, INCLUDING EVEN LIKE THE ART CENTER, UM, OUT ON THE ISLAND IS MENTIONED IN SOME OF THOSE CATEGORIES.
AND I'M GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF PRIDE IN HAVING OUR COMMUNITY THEATER GO, YOU KNOW, IN THE SAME CATEGORY, BUT SOMETHING THAT'S PULLING IN, UM, DIRECTORS AND PRODUCERS AND UM, PERFORMERS FROM NEW YORK.
AND LET'S SEE, WHAT WAS OUR OTHER THING THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT? OH, I ALSO THINK SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T COME ACROSS IN THE DATA BUT REALLY KIND OF EXPANDS US BRINGING TOURISM IS IN, IS AS I MONITOR OUR WEBSITE, UM, ALL THE CONTACT COMES TO ME AND STUFF.
AND AS PEOPLE ARE MOVING TO THIS AREA, UM, I PROBABLY GET AT LEAST ONE EMAIL A WEEK THAT'S LIKE, HEY, I DID COMMUNITY THEATER IN NAME WHATEVER STATE IT IS.
I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO GET INVOLVED WITH THIS.
UM, IN FACT, I JUST CAST OUR UPCOMING PRODUCTION AND ONE OF OUR ACTORS IS MOVING DOWN FROM NEW JERSEY.
SHE WON'T BE HERE TILL THE END OF THE MONTH, BUT SHE'LL BE IN OUR SHOW IN FEBRUARY.
AND WE HAVE ANOTHER WOMAN THAT'S FROM MARYLAND THAT'S JUST HERE FOR THE FOUR MONTHS OF THE WINTER.
SHE SAW THE SHOW WE WERE DOING.
SHE'S LIKE, I NEED TO AUDITION.
SO WHEN SHE'S DOWN HERE, SHE'LL BE IN OUR SHOW.
SO I LOOK AT THOSE THINGS AS THEY'RE COMING HERE, THEY'RE GONNA GO BACK, THEY HAVE RELATIVES, THEY, AND THAT JUST KEEPS EXPANDING WHO WE'RE REACHING AND WHO WE'RE BRINGING IT INTO THE BLUFFTON COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY ALL I'M GONNA REALLY ADD TO IT.
I HAD MORE, BUT, UM, I'LL SPARE YOU ALL THAT STUFF EXCEPT, UM, WE ARE EXPANDING.
WE HAVE A NEW TICKETING SYSTEM.
WE HAVE SOMEBODY COMING IN TO REFINE OUR WEBSITE.
UM, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF THE OTHER, THOSE ARE KIND OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE'RE SEEING AS JUST KIND OF STREAMLINING OUR PROCESS.
UM, WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO PUT OUT ALL OF OUR SEASON OR OUR SEASON TICKETS AS WELL AS ALL OF OUR INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, UM, WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS HERE, WHICH MEANS AS VISITORS ARE COMING HERE, 'CAUSE I GET THOSE EMAILS TOO AND THEY'RE LIKE, WHAT DO YOU GUYS COULD SHOW IN, IN JULY? THEY'LL BE ABLE TO PURCHASE THOSE TICKETS IMMEDIATELY AND NOT WAIT TILL WHEN WE USUALLY RELEASE THEM ONLY A MONTH BEFORE THE SHOW.
SO IT'S JUST KIND OF, IT'S PRETTY AWESOME TO BE AT THAT POINT WHERE WE CAN START DOING THOSE THINGS.
AND THAT'S REALLY BECAUSE OF, OF THE CONTINUED SUPPORT THAT WE'VE HAD FROM ATAC.
I HAVE JUST ONE, I THINK UHHUH TWO.
HOW COME YOUR ADVERTISEMENT BUDGET FOR THE CATEGORY IS 28,423 AND YOU'RE REQUESTING 27,028? YEAH, NEVERMIND.
I GOT THE ONE THAT CAME OUT EARLY IN THE PACKET.
WAIT, YOU GOT THE WRONG PEOPLE THEATER.
OKAY, SO THEN MY OTHER QUESTION, SINCE THAT ONE'S ALREADY BEEN ANSWERED, OH, MAYBE I HAVE AN OLD ONE.
YOU MIGHT HAVE AN, THERE'S ALL ARE DIFFERENT.
ALRIGHT, SO I GOT A DIFFERENT NUMBER.
[01:25:01]
DO WE HAVE A WHY? ALRIGHT, SO I ONLY SUBMITTED ONE, BEEN UPDATED SINCE IS THIS ONE.THIS ONE'S THE ONE YOU GOT, RIGHT? THE ONE THAT CAME OUT IN THE, THERE WAS ONE NUMBER THAT, THERE WAS ONE OF THE, UM, ONE OF THE COLUMNS IN THE EXCEL SHEET DID NOT COME THROUGH, SO I HAD TO RESEND IT TO SHANNON.
SO THAT MIGHT BE WHERE THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT ONCE SHE DID IT, THAT THAT WAS UPDATED.
AND THEN THE MAR AND THEN JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, THE FACILITIES FOR CUL AND CULTURAL EVENTS, THAT'S ALL FOR YOUR, UH, IT'S NOT COPYRIGHT STUFF, BUT IT'S THE PLAYBILLS, THE STUFF THAT LETS YOU PERFORM IT.
THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO MAKE SURE OF.
ANYBODY ELSE HAD QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.
WHAT, WHAT WE CAN DO, WHAT WE, WE THINK WE'RE GONNA DO IS WE'RE GONNA BY YOU SCORE THIS.
WE'RE GONNA LET THE NEXT OUT TALK.
WE DON'T NEED THE PRESENTATION BECAUSE KIM, SHE DON'T WANNA BE QUIET.
YEAH, EVERYBODY'S FINISHED SCORING.
THIS YOU, I'LL GIVE YOU THAT ONE.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THOSE EVEN MORE.
I CONTEMPLATE IT PUTTING IN MY BOX.
WELL YEAH, JUST LIKE HIGHLIGHT THE WHOLE BOX.
THIS IS WHERE YOUR NUMBER NEEDS TO GO.
WE'LL PUT SOME GLITTER ON IT TOO.
I'M KIM VJA, I'M EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FARMER'S
I DIDN'T DO A FANCY PRESENTATION, BUT UM, I'VE BEEN UP HERE A WHILE DOING THIS KIND OF THING, BUT WE HAVE SOME NEW THINGS GOING ON THIS YEAR, UM, FOR ADVERTISING.
I TOOK YOUR RECOMMENDATION FROM LAST YEAR AND, UM, MAY ASK FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY.
WE ARE GOING TO BE GETTING A BILLBOARD.
UM, IT'S INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO FIND A BILLBOARD AND ONCE THERE IS ONE AVAILABLE, YOU HAVE TO SNAG IT RIGHT AWAY.
AND THE SAME THING GOES WITH THE KIOSK OVER IN THE SAVANNAH AIRPORT.
AND SO I WANTED TO FOCUS ON THE SAVANNAH AIRPORT, THE KIOSK THAT ARE DOWN AT THE BAGGAGE CLAIM.
AND 'CAUSE THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE LUGGAGE.
THEY'RE GONNA COME INTO THE FARMER'S MARKET, THEY'RE GONNA BUY FOOD AND THEY'RE GOING TO EAT.
SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS SHOOTING FOR.
SO I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING SPECIFIC.
I HAVE THE ROUNDABOUT BUDGET FOR THOSE, BUT UNTIL I CAN GIVE THEM A YES, WE CAN START ON THIS DAY, UM, HE CAN SAY YES, THEN THIS IS AVAILABLE AND WE CAN START DOING THAT.
AND UM, ALL OF THE POSITIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE NOW ARE PRETTY GOOD.
THE ONES COMING OVER BACK FROM SAVANNAH AND THEN THE ONE DOWN IN THE BAGGAGE CLAIM THAT I WANTED.
UM, I DIDN'T GET DELTA, BUT I'M SHOOTING FOR DELTA NEXT ON THAT LITTLE ONE.
SO WE ARE GONNA DO THAT THIS YEAR.
UM, WE'RE GONNA DO THE SAME ADVERTISING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT'S BEEN WORKING OUT GREAT.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO FIND NEW WAYS OF MAKING MONEY.
WE'VE BEEN APPLYING FOR DIFFERENT GRANTS.
WE USUALLY GET AN AG SOUTH GRANT FOR $500 IN MARCH THAT WE APPLY FOR EVERY YEAR.
THEY HAVE COLLABORATED WITH A BUILDING COMMUNITIES, UM, ASSOCIATION AND THEY INCREASED THAT GRANT TO $5,000.
AND SO 275 ORGANIZATIONS APPLIED FOR IT AND 42 GOT IT.
AND WE WERE ONE OF 'EM, SO THAT'S AWESOME.
[01:30:01]
THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA HELP US A LOT.UM, MY LAST ISSUE LAST YEAR, A THING WE'VE BEEN HAVING TROUBLE WITH IS, IS, IS, UH, MOVING ALL OF OUR STUFF, OUR TENTS, OUR TABLES, OUR, ALL OF OUR EQUIPMENT.
WE'VE NEVER HAD A TRAILER AND IT'S NEVER REALLY FALLEN INTO AT TAX.
AND OUR INCOME THAT WE MAKE FROM OUR, UM, VENDORS, WE KEEP VERY LOW.
UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S, WE'RE THERE TO SUPPORT, BUT NOW WE'RE HAPPY THAT WE HAVE A LITTLE EXTRA MONEY.
I ACTUALLY WENT OUT AND BOUGHT A TRAILER ON MY OWN JUST SO I COULD GET IT OUT OF MY CAR.
SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN SWITCH THAT OFF.
BUT INCLUDING IN THE ADVERTISING, I THINK WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE AT TAX COULDN'T PAY FOR THE TRAILER, BUT IT COULD PAY FOR IT TO BE WRAPPED AND IT COULD, AS LONG AS IT HAD THE, UM, LOGO ON IT AND ALL OF THAT INFORMATION ON IT.
UM, IT, I, I HAVE IT IN STORAGE DURING THE WEEK.
I'M LOOKING FOR A PLACE THAT WOULDN'T MIND ME KEEPING IT OUT SO SOMEBODY CAN SEE IT ALL THE TIME.
BUT DURING THE MARKET, IT'S RIGHT THERE ON, UM, RIGHT THERE ON BOUNDARY STREET.
BUT I KNOW THERE IS A THING ABOUT KEEPING TRAILERS IN THE OLD HISTORIC PART OF BLUFFTON THAT I'M NOT ALLOWED TO DO, BUT MAYBE SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE OF THERE I CAN FIND A HOME FOR IT.
BUT RIGHT NOW I'M, I'M STORING IT IN MY BOAT STORAGE IN ROSE HILL.
UM, OTHER THAN THAT, LET'S SEE.
UH, OH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING A LOT WITH THE, THE BLUFF AND BREEZE HAS BEEN AMAZING.
UM, AND I KNOW IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S ALL LOCALS RIDING THE BLUFF AND BREEZE, BUT IT'S REALLY NOT.
WE'VE ESTABLISHED THIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE, UM, MOTOR HOME PARK, THE OVER BY NATIONAL AND THEY'VE JUST PICKED UP ON IT.
AND SO THEY DUMP OFF PEOPLE AT THE FARMER'S MARKET ALL DAY LONG.
SO, UM, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF LOCALS THAT ARE USING IT AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO PUSH THAT BECAUSE PARKING OF COURSE IS STILL A LITTLE, UM, SKETCHY SOMETIMES.
BUT, UM, THEY'VE BEEN SUPER HELPFUL IN BRINGING US THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THOSE RVS THAT COME DOWN HERE AND GET 'EM OUT TO THE FARMER'S MARKET.
AND SO WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THEM A LOT THIS YEAR.
UH, WORKING, STILL WORKING WITH THE HAYWARD HOUSE AND RENTING THE HAYWARD HOUSE KIND OF WAS STILL WORKING ON THAT.
IT'S KIND OF FUNNY THAT IT'S HARD TO BREAK PEOPLE OF HABITS AND TRY TO GET THEM TO GO PAST A THRESHOLD, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE OUR LIVE MUSIC AND WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE MORE VENDORS, UM, OVER THERE.
AND I KNOW THEY'RE MAKING A LOT OF CHANGES, SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM TRYING TO, TO WORK TOGETHER ON THURSDAYS.
UM, LET'S SEE WHAT ELSE THAT IS ABOUT IT.
WE WORKED, UM, A LOT WITH THE, UM, BLUFFTON HILTON HEAD CHAMBER WITH THEIR LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE AND THEY DID A LOT OF OUR SURVEYS FOR US.
AND THAT'S ALWAYS A BIG QUESTION WITH US IS, UM, WHO, WHO ARE TOURISTS THAT COME TO THE FARMER'S MARKET.
IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO FIGURE THAT OUT BECAUSE THEY COME FROM ALL DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
SO WE HAVE A LITTLE METHOD THAT WE USE.
UM, EVERY COUPLE HOURS WE'LL GO AROUND AND DO, DO A SURVEY.
HOW MANY PEOPLE, WHAT'S YOUR, WHAT'S YOUR ZIP CODE? AND SO, UM, OH, I'VE BEEN USING ALL THE VOLUNTEERS THAT WE CAN GET AND WE'RE KIND OF STILL RIGHT WHERE WE ARE.
IT VARIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BUT WE'RE STILL AT THAT 75% OUT OF 2 9, 9 1 OH.
UM, AND WE HAVE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT COME BACK YEAR AFTER YEAR.
I BACK IN CANADA EVERY FEBRUARY.
WE HAVE OUR FAVORITE FAMILIES THAT COME SEE US.
SO, SO THANKS ARE THANKS ARE GOING GREAT.
ANY QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS? NOTHING HERE.
MM-HMM?
SO EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS PLEASE.
PENS, TABLES, UM, BARRICADES, CONES, UM, SPEAKER, UM, UM, EXTENSION CORDS.
UM, WHAT AM I MISSING? THOSE TYPE OF THINGS THAT WE DON'T HAVE DOWN THERE.
UM, I DID THAT 'CAUSE NOT EVERYBODY'S NOT HERE.
UM, YOU HAVE THAT BROKEN DOWN.
YOUR 5,000 FOR WHAT THAT IS WHAT THAT BREAKS DOWN TO FOR LIKE ALL YOUR TABLES AND YOUR SHARES AND BARRICADES.
'CAUSE LIKE BARRICADES DON'T COUNT.
NO, BUT IT, UM, WELL WE HAVE SAW THERE ARE SAW HORSES, SO I HAVE TO MAKE SIGNS FOR 'EM.
SO WE PUT THE SIGNS OUT, UM, WHEN WE CLOSE THE ROAD TWO HOURS EARLY.
[01:35:01]
KIND OF THINGS.AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE THE POLICE BARRICADES THAT WE USE, BUT THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO PURCHASE AND SIGNAGE AND BANNERS AND ALL OF THAT.
BUT I COULD BREAK THAT DOWN FOR YOU.
I WOULD, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE IT SOMETIME.
THE 12, THE FACILITIES FOR CIVIC AND CULTURAL EVENTS IS $12,000 AND IT CARRIED OVER 12,500.
SHOULDN'T THAT BE BASED ON TOURISM SECOND LINE DOWN IN THE BUDGET? ON, ON THE TABLE I'M MISSING.
UM, SO IT SAYS, UM, LET'S SEE, I CAN READ IT VERBATIM.
MONIES CAN BE USED FOR CONSTRUCTION MAINTENANCE OPERATION, FACILITIES FOR CULTURE AND CIVIC EVENTS INCLUDING CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE ACCESS, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
ELIGIBLE EXPENSES UNDER THIS CATEGORY CAN INCLUDE COSTS INCURRED, UH, FOR A CIVIC CENTER, MUSEUM, OR COLISEUM.
MONIES CAN ALSO BE USED TO FUND THE CONTINUED OPERATION OF SUCH FACILITIES, INCLUDING MANAGEMENT FEES OR TO PAY, UM, FOR THOSE WHO WORK IN THE FACILITY AS WELL AS COST REPAIR.
PLEASE NOTE THE FACILITY MUST ENHANCE THE ABILITY TO ATTRACT AND PROVIDE FOR TOURISTS.
IT CANNOT PROVIDE A PURELY LOCAL FUNCTION OR BENEFIT.
IT DOES NOT HAVE THE QUALIFIER LIKE SOME DO, UM, LIKE FOR, UM, PUBLIC FACILITIES.
UM, WAIT, BUT ISN'T THAT WHAT THIS SO PUBLIC FACILITIES ARE FOR FACILITIES SUCH AS RESTROOMS, DRESSING ROOM PARKS, AND PARKING LOTS.
SO WE WERE QUALIFYING THE FACILITY AS THE RENT THAT'S PAID TO THE HAYWARD HOUSE, NOT NECESSARILY A PUBLIC RESTROOM.
BUT IT IS NOT TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, ESPECIALLY ON HERE.
IT'S A IN KIND, IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN? SO THERE'S, WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT, SO, AND GENERALLY WHAT WE NORMALLY SEE IS WHEN WE, WHEN WE SEE THAT LINE ITEM DON'T COME ACROSS, IT USUALLY HAS A TOURISM REFERENCE TO IT MOST OF THE TIMES.
AND SO IT'S A PERCENTAGE LIKE, LIKE THE WASTE SERVICES USED TO SEE IN BACK IN THE DAY AND UM, BACK WHEN YOU USED TO HAVE TO RENT THE, THE TRANSPORTATION, THE DIFFERENT EVENTS YOU'VE DONE.
IT'S A PERCENTAGE OF TOURISM BASIS.
SO MY MY CONCERN IS, IS THAT 12,500, IF IT WAS APPLIED TO THE TOURISM DRAW, IT REDUCES THAT.
AND I, I THINK IN THE PAST WE'VE, WE'VE USED THE PERCENTAGE OF TOURISM DRAW ON THAT NUMBER.
UM, KNOWING THAT YOU WERE DOING SOME IN KIND STUFF, THE WAY THAT THE HAYWARD HOUSE IS, IS LETTING YOU USE THE FACILITY BOTH FOR THE RESTROOMS AND LATELY THE GUY'S NOT PLAYING IN THERE NO MORE.
HE'S PLAYING OUT IN THE MARKET.
IT DEPENDS ON HOW MANY VENDORS WE HAVE OVER THERE,
AND SO IF, IF, IF MY VENDORS CANCEL OVER THERE, THEN I MOVE HIM OVER SO HE'S NOT BY HIMSELF, BUT YEAH, THEY CHARGE, UM, $150 A WEEK AND THAT'S PART OF MY AT TAX.
AND THEN IT JUST DOES THAT CIRCLE.
THAT WAS ONLY MY AND UH, WE CAN MAYBE GET MORE CLARIFICATION ON THAT.
AND WE DO HAVE LIMITED FUNDS AGAIN.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE.
WHAT IS OUR AMOUNT THAT WE HAVE THAT WE CAN, WE, WE, WE STARTED OFF WITH 1 51 0 1.
AT THIS POINT WE'RE DOWN TO ROUGHLY 1 56.
I DIDN'T WRITE DOWN THE FIRST, SO, OKAY, LET'S GET BACK TO THAT IN A MINUTE.
YOU SAID MONTH SIX, THE, THE AVAILABLE AFTER THE RECOMMENDED.
UM, I WASN'T GETTING, I GOT A CLOSE.
IT WAS, UH, WE DID, UH, 15,280 FOR THE STARS.
WE DID ZERO FOR THE COME TO BLUFFTON.
UM, WE HAVE NOT FUNDED OR VOTED ON THE FUNDING FOR THE MAY RIVER THEATER AND WE'RE AT THE BLUFFTON, UH, FARMER'S MARKET.
BUT AFTER THE, UH, FEST OR THE GULLAH THEATER, TRAVELING THEATER, WE WERE ROUGHLY AT 1 56 OUT OF THE, UM, 1 51 DOWN TO, UNLESS MY MATH IS REALLY BAD.
[01:40:02]
THERE.OH, YOU'RE TAKING THE AMOUNT FROM THE REQUEST.
THAT'S WHY HER NUMBERS DON'T LOOK RIGHT TO ME EITHER.
UM, SO I I'M DID YOU GET, UH, ANYBODY ELSE HAVE QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS? FARMER'S MARKET.
JONATHAN, YOU WANNA GO TO MAYOR I FOUND? YES.
ALL, SO THE SCORE, THE AVERAGE SCORE THAT CAME BACK WAS 30 OUT OF 40, WHICH IS 75%.
THE AMOUNT REQUESTED IS 39,801.
UM, APPLYING THE 75% IT WOULD COME TO 29,652.
SO CAN I SAY SOMETHING BEFORE WE GO? OF COURSE.
SO MY NATALIE FOR STAFF AND JUST KIND OF MAKE A GENERAL COMMENT, NO ONE'S EVER GONNA SCORE 40 POINTS EVER.
AND SO THE PACE TAKING THE AVERAGE SCORE AND, AND DOING THAT, I CERTAINLY, IT'S A GREAT TOOL.
UM, BUT TO, TO BASE AN AWARD ON, UH, A TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF 40 POINTS THAT, AND IT, IT'S SO HARD TO ACHIEVE THE 40%.
I THINK THAT'S A BETTER TOOL TO SEE HOW WELL IT RECEIVED BY, BY THE COMMITTEE AND OF COURSE BY WHAT WE SAW.
UH, AND CERTAINLY COUNCIL CAN AND, AND, AND CAN USE THAT INFORMATION.
BUT IT'S JUST, I, I CAN'T EVER, I, I CAN'T EVER THINK OF A TIME WHERE THERE WOULD BE A A HUNDRED PERCENT OF, OF THAT AS AN AWARD TO, TO DO THAT.
AND THAT'S JUST, THAT WAS MY ONLY COMMENT.
I I THINK IT'S A GREAT TOOL, IT'S JUST THAT, HUH.
NEVER A HUNDRED PERCENT
SO IF I CAN JUST YEAH, PLEASE.
IF YOU WANNA COMMENT, MAKE YOUR COMMENT.
UM, SO THIS MIGHT BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION THAT WE'LL HAVE ONGOING AS WE PROCEED THROUGH ALL OF THE UPDATES AND THE POLICIES AND THINGS.
UM, AND MAYBE A GOOD STARTING POINT TO YOUR COMMENT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE USING THAT METRICS OF IF IT'S 10 OUT OF 40 OR 20 OUT OF 40, THEN YOU WOULD APPLY THIS PERCENTAGE OF THEIR FUNDING IF TO YOUR COMMENT, IF THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, IF 40 OUT OF 40 IS EXTREMELY RARE THAT YOU COULD SAY, OKAY, IF IT'S 30 OUT OF 40, THEN IT'LL BE THIS PERCENTAGE OF FUNDING.
I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT IF, IF WE'RE GONNA TAKE A $40,000 REQUEST AND SAY THEY GOT 20 OUTTA 40, DO WE GIVE THEM $20,000 RIGHT.
WHEN FOR WHATEVER REASON THEY COULDN'T ACHIEVE A 40 OUT OF 40 NO MATTER WHAT THEY DID.
SO THAT WAS MY, THAT WAS MY COMMENT PART OF THAT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? UH, NOW WE CAN GO FOR IT.
WOULD SIMON LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION ON MAY RIVER THEATER? WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER AGAIN? 41 2 0 2.
THAT NUMBER? NO, I HAVE THE WRONG ONE.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT MAY AWARD THE OF 39,008.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND DISCUSSION? I THINK THEY DO A GREAT JOB.
WHO SECONDED THE MOTION? A OKAY.
YOU WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING? I KNOW.
YOU
I'M TAKING IT AS A PERSON CALL FIRE AND STAFF DIDN'T, THEY TOOK IT AS,
[01:45:01]
UM, IF IT'S NEEDED TO FACILITATE THE EVENT FOR IT TO OCCUR.BUT WE JUST NEED TO, I GUESS IN FUTURE GET THAT CLARIFIED A LITTLE BIT.
DOES THAT MAKE YOU KNOW WHAT I'M, YOU KNOW WHERE I CAME FROM, RIGHT? WAS THAT IT'S, TO ME THAT'S PUBLIC IS BECAUSE IT'S OUR WHATCHAMACALLIT PLACE.
THAT'S OUR, THAT'S OUR CHAMBER.
I MEAN OUR, UM, WEAPONS WEBSITE.
ANYWAY, ANOTHER STORY FOR ANOTHER TIME.
I MEAN, THEY'RE PRIVATE ORGANIZATION ACTING AS A PUBLIC ENTITY, BUT, BUT THEN IT JUST GOES RIGHT BACK TO THE TABLES AND CHAIRS.
IS ARE THEY NIGHT WHEN I WITHDRAWN, RIGHT? YES.
SO, UM, OUR LAST ONE IS BLUFFTON CHAMBER AND THEY ARE GOING TO PRESENT AT THE NEXT MEETING.
SO WE'RE UNDER BUDGET
WHICH IS UNDER WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS ASKING FOR NOW.
UM, SO THE NUMBER THAT CAME BACK WAS 40, NO I'M KIDDING.
UM, SO 83%, IF YOU APPLY THAT TO THE 55,300 THAT'S BEING REQUESTED, THAT AMOUNT WOULD BE $45,622 AND 50 CENTS OR 45,623.
IF YOU ROUND UP, CAN YOU REPEAT THE NUMBER FOR ME NOW? THE FIRST THE, WITH THE PERCENTAGE APPLIED, IF WE ROUND IT, IT'S 45 THOU 45,623.
THE TOTAL AMOUNT REQUESTED IS WITH YOUR PERCENTAGE.
OH, THE OVER UNDER WITH THE PERCENTAGE? NO, NO.
I MAKE A MOTION THAT THE FARMER'S MARKET OF BLUFFTON RECEIVES 55302ND DISCUSSION.
I WOULD STILL HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT FUNDING THE FULL AMOUNT FOR THE FACILITIES ONLY IN THAT.
I I THINK IT RUNS BACK INTO THAT.
BUT OUTSIDE OF THAT, DO YOU MEAN THE HAYWARD HOUSE ITSELF? IT'S MORE WHERE YOU'RE PUTTING IN FOR FACILITIES FOR SUBCULTURE.
I THINK THAT THOSE FACILITIES WHERE YOU'RE PAYING, IT'S THE HAYWARD HOUSE PLUS, UH, SOMETHING ELSE.
THE MARK, MARK FAMILY PARK, UM, IS CONSIDERED IN KIND.
SO WE DON'T, THERE'S NO EXCHANGE OF MONEY THERE.
AND THEN THE HAYWARD HOUSE WHO IS TRYING TO CREATE MONEY, WHO KEEPS UPPING MY CHARGE.
SO I HAVE TO UP MY CHARGE ON HERE IS CHARGING ME $150 A WEEK TO USE THAT FACILITY.
SO I'M, I'M FINE TO LEAVE IT AS REQUESTED.
LET SOMEBODY HIRE UP ON THAT FOOD CHAIN, MAKE THAT CALL.
MAYBE BY THEN STAFF CAN GIVE A BETTER TO, TO COUNSEL WHAT THAT, HOW THAT WOULD APPLY IF IT APPLIES.
IT'S JUST IN HISTORICALLY SETTING UP HERE, WE TRY TO HAVE A PERCENTAGE OF SOME OF THAT STUFF BASED UPON TOURISM DRAW.
YOU'RE SO FAR UP ON TOURISM, UM, THAT IT'S, IT'S A BIG, IT'S IT IS STILL MOSTLY THE NUMBERS.
IT IS, IT IS ODD BECAUSE PEOPLE, WHETHER WE HAVE A VENDOR OVER THERE OR NOT ON A PARTICULAR MARKET, PEOPLE ARE GONNA GO OVER THERE AND SIT ANYWAY.
AND WITH THEIR STAFFING ISSUES THAT THEY'VE HAD, WE'VE SORT OF BEEN A WELCOME CENTER ON THURSDAYS, WHICH I DON'T MIND, WHICH IS GREAT.
BUT UM, WE JUST HAVE THE SINGER OVER THERE FOR THE STAGE AND FOR THE LECTURES AND, AND TRYING TO HELP THEM.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A DOUBLE IN KIND SITUATION.
YOU STAFF IT AND THEY DON'T CHARGE YOU 150, I DUNNO, DISCUSSION PLEASE.
SO THE WAY THAT WE, SORRY, UP HERE.
[01:50:02]
THE WAY THAT WE WERE CATEGORIZING THE RENT AS THE FACILITIES BECAUSE SHE, IT WOULD NEED, SHE WAS HAVING RENT FOR THE OVERFLOW AND IT WOULD NEED TO OCCUR IN ORDER FOR THAT EVENT TO HAPPEN.THE PUBLIC FACILITIES, IT'S THE, IT SAYS IT'S THE, IT MUST ENHANCE THE ABILITY FOR, TO ATTRACT AND PROVIDE FOR TOURISTS.
SO THE, I MEAN THINK THAT THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF GRAY AREA THERE, BUT WE WERE CONSIDERING THAT RENT PORTION AS A NECESSITY FOR THE FARMER'S MARKET TO OCCUR BECAUSE IT WAS GROWING.
SO, AND IT WASN'T NECESSARILY LIKE WE, IF YOU HAVE A RESTROOM, EVERYBODY CAN USE THE RESTROOM WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE A TOURIST OR, OR NOT.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE THAT PERCENTAGE IS APPLIED TO A RESTROOM OR TRASH, THAT SORT OF THING BECAUSE IT'S BEING INCREASED.
LIKE IF YOU NEED TO HAVE PORTA-POTTIES OR, SO WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS LEAVE THE FULL AMOUNT OF 12,500 IN THERE.
THAT'S THE WAY THAT WE WERE, UM, APPLYING IT.
SO MY ONLY CONCERN MM-HMM
I'M HAPPY TO, I'M NOT GONNA CHANGE IT.
I'M JUST, I WOULD TAKE THAT OUT OF THE REPORT PERSONALLY.
FARMER'S MARKET VOTED TO DID YOU VOTE TO TABLE THE SO CAN I GET A MOTION TO TABLE THE CHAMBER SINCE WE'RE NOT HERE? I SO MOTION? YEAH.
AND THEN, SO DISCUSSION ON THE THINGS, RIGHT? IS THAT WHEN IT'S GONNA HAPPEN NOW NORMALLY YES.
SO, AND, AND IT'S UP, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR MEETINGS SO THAT IT CAN RUN EFFICIENTLY.
SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE OLD BUSINESS FIRST AND THE NEW BUSINESS, WHICH INCLUDES THE APPLICANTS.
AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE STAFF TO MOVE OLD BUSINESS, WHICH WE WILL CONSIDER LIKE THESE UPDATES AND THINGS THAT THEN WILL BE VOTED ON.
IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO MOVE THOSE TO AFTER THE APPLICANT'S.
THAT'S WHEN IT SHOULD PROPERLY BE DONE.
BECAUSE WE, IF WE START DOWN THAT ROAD BEFORE EVERYBODY SETS UP, THEY'RE GONNA GO YAWNING AND START TELLING STORIES AND LEAVE.
AND THE ONLY REASON WHY WE DID IT TODAY IS BECAUSE WE WANTED TO GO OVER THE SCORING THING.
AND JUST KIND OF ON THAT SAME OH NO, YOU'RE FINE.
IT'S NOT EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATING.
UM, ON THAT SAME VEIN, SO I'M ASSUMING THAT THE SCORING CHANGES IS DIRECTED BY COUNSEL SCORING AND PERCENTAGES.
WHO'S DIRECTING THAT? IS THAT, SO COUNT COUNSEL WOULD REALLY, THEY REALLY WANTED TO SEE THE SCORES.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE GET THOSE SCORE SHEETS BACK AND THAT THEY'RE CALCULATED CORRECT.
UM, EFFICIENTLY AND THEN INCLUDED ON THE STAFF REPORTS THAT THEY SEE AT THE FOLLOWING MEETING AFTER ATAC.
I GUESS WE WENT THROUGH THAT PROBABLY A YEAR AGO WHERE THEY WANTED, WE WENT BACK TO SCORE ON EVERY, EVERY MEETING AND UM, YEAH, JUST THE, THE DOING, APPLYING A PERCENTAGE TO THE REQUEST.
JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE OKAY.
SO WHEN WE GO TO THE DISCUSSION, LIKE ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD LIKE IS IF YOU HAVE ALREADY APPLIED FOR AT TAX AND HAVE BEEN GRANTED YOUR AT TAX TO NOT BE ABLE TO PUT ANOTHER THING IN UNTIL YOU'VE USED THE MONEY THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE.
SO LEMME TELL YOU WHAT'S THAT DO TO US.
LIKE KIMBERLY WHO WE USED TO HAVE TO APPLY FOUR TIMES A YEAR TO GET HER MONEY IS THEN GOING TO MAKE, UNLESS THERE'S A PERCENTAGE USED, LIKE IF WE SEE THEY'RE ON TRACK TO GET THE WHOLE 50,000 OF THE GRANT, IF THEY'RE GONNA, LIKE THEY'RE APPLYING NOW FOR ONE ONE AND SO THEY GOT A WHOLE QUARTER LEFT BEFORE THEY HAVE TO DO THEIR APPLICATION.
SO IF WE JUST HAVE TO, I THINK THAT THE WAY YOU APPROACH THAT IS THEY'RE ON TRACK TO RECEIVE IT AS OPPOSED TO ALREADY USING IT.
NOW IF IT'S AN EVENT, I'M TRYING TO, UH, WHOEVER WE DID HERE WHO WAS AN EVENT TODAY, I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER, BUT LIKE THE EVENT AND THEY'VE, THEY'VE THEY'VE HAD THE EVENT AND THEY'VE HAD FOUR MONTHS TO FINALIZE STAFF WITH ALL THE RECEIPTS FROM ALL THE ADVERTISEMENT, ALL THE EXPENSES THEY HAD.
[01:55:01]
CAN CLOSE SOMEBODY LIKE THAT OUT.BUT LIKE AN ONGOING EVENT LIKE, UM, EXACTLY LIKE FARMER'S MARKET WHO'S AN ANNUAL, IT'S AN ANNUAL REQUEST.
AND SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DO, 'CAUSE WE USED TO HAVE TO DO, YOU DON'T KNOW THIS I SORRY.
SO WHAT WE USED TO DO IS IF SOMEONE WAS ASKING A REQUEST, THEY CAME IN FOR EACH AT TAX MEETING AND THEY REPRESENTED AND WE SAID YES.
UH, HAYWARD HOUSE WAS FAMOUS AS EVERY QUARTER BOOM, OLD TOWN MERCHANT BOOM.
WE HAD TO, WE HAD TO GIVE THEM MONEY EVERY QUARTER, UM, BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT THAT CONTINUATION GOING.
BUT WE JUST FOUND IT WAS MUCH EASIER SEVERAL YEARS AGO TO MAKE THE CHANGE.
AND SO YOU ONLY HAD TO REQUEST ONCE.
SO, SO MY FOR INSTANCE IS LET'S JUST USE HAYWARD HOUSE 'CAUSE 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS RIGHT NOW.
SO IF HAYWARD HOUSE CAME AND SAID, UM, WE'RE REQUESTING $50,000 TO REPLACE OUR ROOF, RIGHT? AND SO THEY GET THAT GRANTED NOW THEY COME BACK THE NEXT QUARTER AND THEY HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED THE ROOF YET AND THEY SAY, OH, WE WANNA ADD A PORCH ON AND WE WON ANOTHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
WELL THEY HAVEN'T STARTED THE UM, THE THING YET.
YES, IT WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL TO HAVE A BIGGER PORCH, BUT THEN YOU'LL GET INTO THE SITUATION LIKE WE JUST DID FOR THE, THE AME CHURCH WHERE WE GAVE THEM A GRANT PENDING THE NEXT OF THE PROJECT WHEN THEY WON'T BE FINISHED WITH THE FIRST PHASE.
JUST JUST FOR US TO CONSIDER WHAT THIS MIGHT, WHAT THIS MIGHT OPEN UP.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I'M THINKING.
AND THAT'S WHY I'M SAYING IT IS BECAUSE JUST, AND THE REASON I'M, I'M BRINGING THIS UP IS BECAUSE WE ARE ONLY USING STATE AT TAX.
NOT THAT WE'VE USED SURPLUS THE LAST FIVE YEARS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT SURPLUS AND IT'S DIMINISHING.
I MEAN WE'RE $18,000 DOWN THIS UH, QUARTER FROM THE SAME QUARTER AS LAST YEAR.
SO IF WE ARE HOLDING A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS JUST TO MAKE MATH EASY FOR TWO YEARS WHEN IT'S NOT BEING USED YET AND THEN WE PUT ANOTHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND ON IT, ANOTHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND ON IT.
IT'S A LOT OF MONEY BEING HELD FOR WAITING.
WHAT'S THE STATE CODE FOR THE TIMEFRAME? THERE'S A STATE CODE FOR THE TIMEFRAME Y'ALL, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO STOP ANYBODY, I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MONEY IS GOOD FOR WHOEVER NEEDS IT.
RIGHT NOW WHAT I'M AND YOU, I DON'T KNOW, DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER ALREADY? YEAH.
SO THE STATE REQUIRES THAT THE FUNDS BE USED WITHIN TWO YEARS OF RECEIPT.
AND SO WE APPLY THAT SAME, UM, METHODOLOGY WITH THE GRANTS.
BUT THE STATE DOESN'T REQUIRE US TO HOLD THAT MONEY FOR TWO YEARS.
THEY REQUIRES WE GET TWO YEARS TO SPEND STATE A TAX MONEY, BUT, AND WE JUST APPLY THAT TO THE RECIPIENTS.
BUT COULD WE CHANGE THAT TO SAY, IF YOU HAVEN'T USED THE FUNDS X, Y, Z PAST YOUR EVENT DATE FOR A BETTER EVENT OR UH, YOUR PROJECT DATE, WHATEVER, THAT THEY WOULD BE UNAVAILABLE THAT, AND I KNOW IN Y'ALL SIDE IT'S GOTTA BE TERRIBLE WAITING TWO YEARS FOR SOMEBODY TO MAYBE SEND YOU A $25 REIMBURSEMENT FOR
SO WHAT SHANNON HAS ALSO DONE IS SHE NOW REQUIRES, UM, THE RECIPIENTS TO SUBMIT QUARTERLY UPDATES.
RIGHT? SO WHETHER IT'S A REIMBURSEMENT OR HEY, THIS IS WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR PROJECT, WE HAVE THOSE QUARTERLY UPDATES AND THEN WHEN THE EVENT OCCURS, THEY HAVE 30 DAYS TO SUBMIT THEIR FINAL REPORT.
AND SO WE'RE STARTING TO ADHERE TO SOME OF THOSE TIMELINES TO ASSIST WITH ANYTHING THAT'S LAPSED OR TO HAVE AN UPDATE OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE PROJECT THAT CAN BE PROVIDED BACK TO THE COMMITTEE.
AND IF WE HAD SOMEBODY LIKE THE FARMER'S MARKET WHO'S AN ANNUAL ONGOING EVENT, UM, WOULD STAFF HAVE AN ISSUE WITH, WITH LIKE PUTTING A CLOSE DATE ON THAT? LIKE WOULD IT, WOULD IT CREATE ISSUES FOR STAFF TO BE ABLE TO MONITOR AND TRACK THAT? NO.
'CAUSE WE, WE ALSO HAVE QUARTERLY UPDATES FROM ALL OF THE RECIPIENTS HAVE TO HAVE A QUARTERLY UPDATE TO THE TOWN.
ARE YOU ASKING I'M JUST ASKING.
ARE YOU ASKING IF, IF KIM COMES IN AND ASKS FOR $50,000, JUST MAKE EASY AND SHE HAS NOT USED IT IN THAT YEAR, GIVING HER ONLY THAT.
'CAUSE SHE HAS TO HAVE TWO YEARS NO MATTER WHAT TO TURN HER STUFF IN.
SHOULDN'T HAVE TO THE STATE MAKES US HAVE TWO YEARS ON OUR RUNOFF, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO GIVE TWO YEARS.
WHAT, THAT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I WAS ASKING HERE.
IS THERE A OKAY, THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO PROVIDE TWO YEARS FOR THE APPLICANTS, BUT IF SOMEONE'S ON AN ONGOING SCHEDULE, WE SHOULD SAY AT THE END OF MAKE LIFE EASY AND SAY KIM'S THING ONE, ONE TO 1231, YOU HAVE THE NEXT QUARTER TO FINISH OUT THE LAST YEAR.
THAT GIVES 'EM A A QUARTER TO DO THAT.
IF YOU HAVE AN EVENT, A ONE TIME SHOT
[02:00:01]
EVENT LIKE THE SEAFOOD FESTIVAL, IT'S A ONE SHOT DEAL WHEN YOU FINISH, YOU GOT ONE QUARTER TO GET YOUR FINAL BILL IN HERE AND OTHERWISE WE RUN THAT MONEY THAT'S LEFT OVER BACK INTO THE BUDGET.YEAH, BUT CAN YOU DO THAT? SO ACTUALLY IT'S ON A TIGHTER TIMEFRAME BECAUSE IT'S A 30 DAY, THEY HAVE TO SUBMIT THEIR FINAL REPORT WITHIN 30 DAYS.
SO YEAH, THEY'RE WE'RE THEY'RE ALREADY DOING THAT.
BUT THEY'RE HOLDING THOSE FUNDS OPEN FOR THE TWO.
THEY'RE LEAVING THEM, YOU'RE LEAVING 'EM ON THE BOOKS FOR THE TWO YEAR RUNOFF PERIOD THOUGH, RIGHT? UNLESS WE HAVE THEIR FINAL REPORT AND THEY'RE DONE AND EVERYTHING'S BEEN REQUESTED FOR REIMBURSEMENT, THEN WE OPEN THOSE FUNDS BACK, WE LAPSE THOSE FUNDS AND PUT THEM BACK IN THE AVAILABLE.
SO THAT'S, THEY'RE KIND OF DOING PART OF IT, BUT THEY'RE GIVING A TWO YEAR RUNOFF ON THOSE, THOSE AVENUE PEOPLE HAVE NOT DONE THAT FINAL THING.
SO WE, WE WOULD FORCE THEIR HANDS BY SAYING YOU HAVE A 30, 90, 60 WHATEVER DATE TO FINALIZE YOUR, YOUR LAST REPORT.
HEY QUICK IS APPLICANT, WOULD THAT CREATE FINANCIAL OR ANY KIND OF HARD, HARD NO, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING BECAUSE, UM, OUR FOURTH QUARTER, WHATEVER WE SPEND UP UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR WOULD BE THE ONLY THING I WOULD REQUEST.
AND THAT WOULD BE WITHIN THE NEXT 30 DAYS.
SO I'M NOT SPENDING MONEY THAT FOLLOWING JANUARY OR FEBRUARY.
YOU'RE STARTING ON NEXT BUDGET.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE NEXT, SO IT DOESN'T ROLL OVER IS WHAT I'M SAYING.
IF I CAN SPEND IT BY THE 31ST OF DECEMBER, THEN I CAN'T SPEND ANYMORE OF IT.
I HAVE A, I HAVE A LITTLE LEEWAY, LIKE A 30 DAY LEEWAY TO SEND MY RECEIPTS IN BECAUSE SOMETIMES I DON'T GET A RECEIPT RIGHT AWAY FROM SOMEONE THAT I NEED TO SUBMIT.
I I DON'T GET TO USE THAT MONEY IF THERE'S SOME LEFT.
BUT WHAT ABOUT FOR, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS? SO LIKE YOU HAVE, THE PROBLEM YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THERE IS LIKE WHEN WE GRANTED BOTH THE, THE, THE TWO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT WE DID FOR, UM, AME CHURCH AND THEN FOR THE GU MUSEUM.
UM, THE PROBLEM I HAD IS ON THE AME IT WAS A LIKE A SIX, NOT A SIX, BUT IT HAD LIKE FOUR PHASES IN IT.
IT HAD MULTIPLE PHASES AND WE GRANT 'EM MONEY FOR THE FIRST PHASE BECAUSE OF, OF MONETARY REASONS.
UM, DID, DID COUNCIL FINISH THAT ONE? THEY THEY GRANTED THAT ONE THEY TOOK MONEY AWAY FROM THE GULL MUSEUM, CORRECT? MM-HMM.
AND THEN, SO THE GULL MUSEUM WAS ALSO THE SAME THING, BUT WE KNEW WHAT THEIR TOTAL WAS GOING IN AND ONCE THEY GET CO E THEY'RE DONE WITH, WITH THE GRANT PROCESS.
BUT TRUST ME, IN CERTAIN ACCOUNTS LIKE THAT, YOU'LL NEVER HAVE OLD EXCESS WHEN THE PROJECT'S DONE.
BUT IT LIKE THE, I I DON'T KNOW THE TIMEFRAME.
UM, MAYBE YOU'RE A MEMBER, HUH? UM, END.
SO WHAT'S THEIR TIMEFRAME ON THAT WHOLE RENOVATION PROJECT AT AME? I I BELIEVE IT'S THE END OF NEXT YEAR.
I I'M THINKING THAT OUT NOW BECAUSE I, YEAH, BUT NOTHING EVER GOES ON PROJECTIONS.
THAT'S WHY I SAY, UM, UH, JUST IT'S FOR US TO THINK ABOUT CERTAINLY IN, AND IT'S, WE, WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD EXPLORE THAT BEING ABLE TO PUT A HAMMER ON THE END OF THE, OF THE GRANT REQUEST.
AND THERE'S ALSO A TIMEFRAME ON THE APPLICATION AS WELL THAT WE USE.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR, DOES THAT GET YOU WHERE YOU WANTED TO GET OR NOT? NO.
BUT WE'LL CONTINUE DISCUSSING IT.
I CAN STAY HERE FOR ANOTHER THREE HOURS TO DISCUSS
OH, YOU'RE TAKING ME OUT? YES.
BUT IT ONLY COULD BE TWO OF US THERE.
UH, ANY OTHER BUSINESS? MOTION TO ADJOURN? THERE YOU GO.