TOURISM COMMITTEE – Meeting Minutes
January 15, 2008
2:00 p.m., RTC –
The
Tourism Committee of the Comprehensive Plan met on January 15, 2008. Those in
attendance included: Brett Hollern, Somerset County/G.A.P.; Kerri Burtner, CP
Coordinator; Ron Aldom, Chamber of Commerce; Teresa Marafino, Green
Gables/Mountain Playhouse; Jeff Miller, Woodland Marketing Mgmt.; Charlie Fox,
Somerset Historical Center; Brad Zearfoss, Planning Commission; John Vatavuk,
Commissioner.
1. Gateway
Signs – Discussion was had about the
need for “welcome” signs into Somerset County. Two types of signs have been
identified: large, stone base signs for the major highways into the County and
smaller signs for the secondary roads. Brad Zearfoss, Ron Aldom, Kerri Burtner,
Jim Marker and several other people had a meeting with PennDOT to discuss the
intention of having signs. While the group has not received final approval from
PennDOT, they were given a postitive impression during the meeting. Therefore,
the group would like to move forward on sign design and securing funding for
the construction of signs. Teresa Marafino informed the group there is a Sign
Trust and she will notify that group that we would like to meet with them to
discuss the signs we hope to install.
2. Education
Initiative – Susie Harshbarger was
not able to attend the meeting to discuss the initiative her sub-committee is
working towards. She will give an update at the next meeting. It was suggested
that the annual Envirothon held at Kooser State Park could be incorporated into
her efforts.
3. Tourism/Hospitality
Survey – Ron Aldom and Kerri Burtner
shared with the group the information presented to the Chamber Education
Committee by Dr. Bruce Extrom, President of ACM. He has an interest is
fulfilling the County’s need for tourism/hospitality training in a format yet
to be determined (ie a certification, an associate’s degree, or individual
classes). Dr. Extrom asked that a survey of the hospitality-related businesses
in the County be conducted to determine exactly what type of training the
businesses need.
The members of this committee were asked to think
about this in terms of the businesses they represent and be prepared to talk
about it and formulate survey questions at our next meeting.
4.
Economic Impact of the Arts in Somerset County – Michael Knecht, Exec. Director of Laurel Arts,
shared with the committee the results of the recently completed study. Arts
contribute over $2 million annually to the economy of the County. Only a small
portion of the organizations asked to particpate took the time to do the
survey. Michael asked that this committee assist in encouraging those
organizations to participate when the survey is done again in 2012.
5.
Festival Transportation – Paige Wetterberg remarked that a transportation
network during those weekends with multiple festivals would be an excellent
asset for those attempting to attend several events in a day. Instead of
individual people driving from festival to festival, they could rest on the
shuttle while being driven from one location to the next.
6.
Upcoming Meetings: all meetings will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the RTC on the 1st
Tuesday of the month, unless otherwise noted.
a.
February 5
b.
March 4
c.
April 1
d.
May 6
e.
June 3
f.
July 1
g.
August 5
h.
September 2
i.
October 7
j.
November 4* (please
note – we will meet at another location, TBD)
k.
December 2