PTFF members present: Donna Fichtner, Mike Henderson, Dennis Lyford, Roger Merchant, Patrick Myers, John Simko, Mike Turcotte, Sophie Wilson

Minutes from the meeting on February 23rd were approved. In future, minutes will be approved via e-mail so that they can then be distributed to the Advisory Board and posted on the website in a timely manner.

During the formation of the PTTF Roger Merchant filled the role of committee chair. There was unanimous agreement that he should continue in this role for the duration of the PTTF's existence.

Roger and others emphasized the importance of the Advisory Board in the operation of the PTTF. He has been talking about the PTTF and Advisory Board at several meetings and has received good feedback regarding this structure.

Patrick Myers will be the contact point for the Advisory Board and will be responsible for disseminating information to the Advisory Board. Patrick reported on the current state of the Advisory Board and collected names of new members from members of the PTTF. The PTTF members will be contacting more community members soon.

The PTTF's website was discussed (http://www.pcedc.org/tourismtaskforce/). The website will include an input form so the public can easily give comments and suggestions. Patrick Myers will receive the comments from the web site and distribute them to the PTTF and Advisory Board. The PTTF will receive all e-mails as they arrive. To reduce the e-mail burden on the Advisory Board they will receive periodic summaries of comments received. It was again emphasized that the Advisory Board must be kept very well informed so that they can be in a position to inform the decisions of the PTTF.

There was a brief discussion regarding the FERMATA meeting in Greenville on the 30th. Several members of the PTTF will be at the meeting and will consider the bearing of the meeting on the PTTF.

A wide-ranging discussion of the LDR Study commenced. Issues discussed included:

• Many of the initial goals of the LDR study are being supported by the establishment of the Maine Highlands Corporation.

• The need for and challenges to regional collaboration on Chamber of Commerce guides was discussed. A regional guide could highlight the Katahdin and Moosehead Heritage Trails and what sets this area apart. Perhaps the FERMATA study will speak to what thematic values set this region apart.

• The existence of a regional group (Maine Highlands) in no way assumes that local groups are reduced in importance or function.

• Many of those not actively involved in tourism work do not understand that the issues involved are very complex. Donna Fichtner discussed a series of regional meetings she held to discuss tourism issues with town managers, Economic Development managers, and other stakeholders.

• There has been good progress on working together on a regional approach to tourism, but do small businesses "buy in" to this theory? Is it harder to sell the idea that a small retailer in town X is benefited by a program that also helps a small retailer several towns away? It is important to note that the results of the PTTF will not be a "silver-bullet" to solve economic problems. One goal might be to smooth out seasonal feast-and-famine cycles.

• Individual businesses at the local level do experience a benefit when value is added at the state and regional levels through a tourism program.

• The studies under review by the PTTF haven't been implemented. How can the PTTF form an implementation strategy? If the study recommendations are implemented, it could transform the county.

• Saying what needs to be done is easy. The question is "what deeper factors and conditions have been holding us back from implementing the recommendations?"

• A provincial mindset? Not wanting to look past our own town/storefront?

• Has consistency of effort been a problem? There has never been consistent leadership on the issue.

• The public may get a mixed message from different sources around the state and be confused about the state of the county and the north woods.

• There is considerable difference of opinion on the importance and effectiveness of eco-tourism. Some people see losing a higher paying manufacturing job and replacing it with a lower paying service job while others see an opportunity in moving from manufacturing to starting their own business geared towards eco-tourism.

• There are many activities in the region geared towards day-visitors who typically do not spend as much money. A large percentage of tourists to the region come from within Maine. How do we pull in out-of-state visitors who will stay longer and spend more? There has to be the infrastructure to support these visitors before marketing work can start, but where does the infrastructure investment come from when there is no existing market? Marketing towards out-of-state visitors in no way diminishes the importance of local tourists, but the expectations of downtown areas do need to be raised.

A discussion ensued about the need for some way to educate regional and state stakeholders and the press about what the region has to offer. The discussion centered around some sort of in-county tour to bring everyone up to speed on issues of tourism and opportunities that already exist. Perhaps break the county up into three areas and have three different tours? This makes scheduling and expense a problem. Stakeholders that would need to be on the tours would be hard-pressed to commit the time to take part. There is also a need to include in the tours the resources of the unorganized territories. Is there a possibility of bringing state legislators on the tours? The concept of an in-county tour could be part of the implantation strategy developed by the PTTF.

Discussion then focused on the two studies done for the Moosehead and Southern Piscataquis Chambers of Commerce. The following points were part of the discussion:

• The two chamber areas have different faces - Southern Piscataquis is more agrarian while Moosehead is focused more on forest heritage.

• Resources listed in the studies were quite different. Southern Piscataquis has some natural sites, other businesses, festivals and events, but limited restaurant and lodging opportunities. Moosehead is stronger on lodging and restaurants.

• Both studies mention that neither area has a clearly differentiated image. What does differentiate Moosehead is the lake, however the image of Moosehead that is being portrayed does not encourage people to make the trip to Moosehead.

• In Southern Piscataquis there doesn't seem to be a unified image to begin with.

• Some specific issues noted in both areas were:

• Lack of children's activities

• Lack of bad weather activities

• Improving the physical appearance of the commercial area

• It was also noted that the focus should be to energize the slow seasons rather than pushing the summer season any further.

Discussion then returned to the idea of education and the need for the PTTF to educate itself on the variety of plans, initiatives, and programs going on in the entire region. It was decided to communicate with Town Managers, First Selectmen, the Advisory Board, and other interested people to gather a database of what is going on around the county.

For example, John Simko gave a short list of what is occurring in Greenville, including:

• 4 Million dollars in improvements for the Greenville Airport - will have implications for tourism county-wide.

• The potential of the Thoreau Heritage Trail. Has potential to link Southern Piscataquis and the Maine Northwoods.

• Involving the AMC who has 93 thousand members and wants to bring them into the area as well as involving Plum Creek. This region has never had a major organization like AMC or landowner like Plum Creek at our doorstep. They are reaching out to bring different people into their properties. Could we become more known for hiking then we are now?

There was then a discussion of the impact of LD 1 on the ability of municipalities to take an active part in tourism-related projects.

The discussion then turned to the plan/agenda for our next meeting. Roger Merchant and Donna Fichtner will pull the themes from the Chamber Studies together into the framework of the LDR study. The PTTF will also collect information on the different plans and initiatives going on in the county. The document created by Roger and Donna will be distributed to ensure they include everything.

The next meeting of the PTTF will be April 27th at the Penquis Higher Education Center.

Meeting Concluded at 12:05 pm