PTFF members present: Mike Henderson, Roger Merchant, Patrick Myers, John Simko

Also present: Ben Bragdon

Minutes from the PTTF meeting on June 22 were accepted.

Those present took a moment to review the documents that had been distributed via e-mail since the past meeting. This turned to a discussion of the image of Piscataquis County and what is authentic about Piscataquis. What image of the people, place, and landscape should be showed to those from outside who may want to visit? Also, how is this image to be incorporated into the PTTF blueprint?

Discussion of the blueprint broadened into a discussion of the organizational structure necessary to implement the blueprint as well as what how the information in the blueprint will be managed and disseminated to key stakeholders and possible funders such as:

PCEDC
County Commissioners
EMDC
Highlands Corp
Chambers of Commerce
Town Managers

A paid staff position would be able to coordinate and catalyze tourism efforts around the region such as helping towns to complete inventories and connecting resources between different towns.

Regardless of the structure, it was agreed that many of the implementation items considered by the PTTF would be labor intensive and that there must be a paid position to get the work done.

The question then arose as to what type of advising body would be needed to direct the activities of this staff person. One suggestion was to create a standing County Tourism Committee of the PCEDC that would contain key stakeholders and funders. It would also have a conscious representation from all geographic regions of the county based on the County Commissioners districts. This is felt to be essential because similar efforts in the past have broken down due to geographic concerns. There is also a need to have full representation from tourism based businesses.

Another suggestion was to maintain membership for our legislative delegation as a way to keep them "tuned-in" to what tourism-related activities and initiatives are taking place in Piscataquis. This legislative involvement could be a help when trying to secure funding from the state-level such as through the CDBG & MITF programs as well as state departments such as the DOT.

A distinction was made between the necessity to plan for the output process of the Blueprint to include many of the stakeholders that we would want to participate in the Advisory capacity for the proposed staff position. This output process would be structured to include 3 levels: Town and County, Regional, and State. Our state's congressional delegation should also be informed so that they may be of assistance with federal resources. A winter conference was suggested that would try to pull representatives of these various groups together to discuss these issues.

A need is also seen for a leadership development process where those tasked with advising the staff position would go through an information and education process so that the leadership of the groups is informed regarding the roles that need to be played.

As an example of one a specific item that the staff person could work on, the idea was put forth to construct some sort of welcome/informational signage or kiosks at the entrances to Piscataquis County. Three possible versions of the plan were put presented:

1. Full bathroom facilities along with a covered overhang with a map of the county with navigational comments.
2. Only have the map and navigational information without the bathroom facilities
3. Simply have a "Welcome" sign without any other features

A brief discussion of other specific tourism development ideas ensued. There are many ideas out there that will need to be collected and coordinated together.

Regarding funding for these various plans, John Simko volunteered to put together a resource-list of public-sector funding opportunities.

Patrick Myers will work to collect private sector funding information in coordination with other county experts.

While considering funding, a distinction was made between funding bricks and mortar items and so called "soft infrastructure" such as staff funding, training, and education. Where bricks and mortar funding is concerned, it is essential to build maintenance costs into the budget.

Another specific tourism development piece that was expanded upon was the need for business development information to be made easily available to those entrepreneurs who are considering starting businesses. The proposed staff person could collect and coordinate tourism data and be a contact person for local businesses and entrepreneurs.

There is also a need for a regional tourism marketing effort to convince residents that tourism is an important portion of the economy and important to their individual well being. This effort would create a realistic picture in people's mind of what tourism is and what it can do for us.

Going along with this is the need for training for the hospitality and service industries in the importance of tourism. The proposed staff person could be responsible for accessing funding for this process and to implement it.

The idea of a "realistic picture . . . of what tourism is and what it can do for us." Brought into focus the need for a clear Vision Statement as part of the blueprint that would show the hoped for endpoint for these tourism efforts. Roger Merchant and Donna Fichtner will create a preliminary draft of this vision statement.

Discussion turned to what the actual tourism blueprint generated by the PTTF would look like. One suggestion was to package it as a set of architectural blueprints with images of where we are, what we are doing, and where we are going.

It was mentioned that Bruce Toll might be enlisted to create drawings of the effects of these tourism efforts on our communities as a visual way to express these ideas.

Another method to express the blueprint would be for a physical house structure to be made up of tourism building-blocks that could be removed to generate discussion.

These ideas were acknowledged to be works-in-progress that might be handed over to a potential staff member as examples of different methods that might be considered to engage the public in the educational process.

The discussion then turned to the upcoming PTTF Advisory Board meeting being held at 6:30pm on August 23rd at the Greenville Town Office. After some discussion, the following outline was created: Welcome and Introductions

1. Framing Meeting Purposes, Discussion Ground Rules and Agenda
2. Presentation of the PTTF "first draft-brief strategic plan summary"
3. Response and Feedback form the PTTF Advisory Board
4. Presentation of Examples of Implementation Actions and Structures for 2006
5. Response, Feedback from the PTTF Advisory Board
6. Next steps
7. Meeting Evaluation and Adjourn

In relation to these concerns the PTTF agreed that the August 23rd meeting should not be seen as a "public hearing" on Tourism Issues, but rather a focused working meeting for the Advisory Board.

The Advisory Board will be asked to RSVP to Patrick in order to track refreshment needs and attendance. Lisa Herzog will be asked to support the meeting by making calls to the Advisory Board members.

Meeting adjourned at 12:05