PTFF members present: Donna Fichtner, Bob Hamer, Mike Henderson, Dennis Lyford, Roger Merchant, Patrick Myers, Sophia Wilson

Also Present: Jeff Rowe, Maine Office of Tourism, Mark Scarano, Piscataquis County Economic Development Council

The previous minutes were accepted and agenda reviewed for the today's meeting.

The work of the PTTF thus far was reviewed. The documents generated thus far will continue to be refined and all the supportive studies and documentation will be included in the final product. Roger Merchant, Donna Fichtner, and Mike Henderson will collaborate on the framing of the tourism plan.

Donna Fichtner distributed a first draft of the work coming out of the visioning exercise from the recent AB meeting. She will also e-mail the statement so that the PTTF can comment on it and return suggestions to her. The Vision Statement can then be distributed to the AB for further comment and review.

A discussion followed on the importance, scope, and content of the Vision Statement and the need for it to set the tone for the entire document. Concerns were also raised as to the possibility that controversial issues could potentially sidetrack the work of the PTTF and how the PTTF should approach these issues within the Blueprint Document.

The focus of the meeting then turned to the recently unveiled work of FERMATA, Inc. and the Maine Nature Based Tourism Initiative. Many of the PTTF members were at the presentation at the YMCA on the 14th and those not present have reviewed FERMATA's recommendations.

A wide ranging discussion ensued surrounding these recommendations and how they relate to the work of the PTTF and the county as a whole. Jeff Rowe spoke to the involvement of the state and some of the opportunities and challenges before Piscataquis County. He also explained the relationship between the state and region and the importance of the proposed state Task Force in this work.

It was felt that Piscataquis County should strive to move forward with projects that harmonize with FERMATA's recommendations in order to capitalize on the energy at the state level surrounding the initiative.

This led to a discussion of the AMC/CHEt map and the idea of folding that into a guide product developed at the state level. It is essential that private owners sign-off and agree to be included in the guide product. The Office of Tourism's style guide was also mentioned as it would constrain the layout/design of the product.

The FERMATA recommendation for a regional staff member to pursue the initiative compliments the PTTF's awareness for the need of paid staff to develop the region's tourism potential. While there are no guarantees as to the final structure or form of any state involvement, work done at the county level will help to move the process forward and help ensure that our county's priorities are taken into consideration.

Patrick will work with FERMATA's recommended priorities for the county and expand them to include the suggested improvements that FERMATA noted. This will be distributed to the group for further work on who could be tasked with completing this work. Further expansion will include who could be partnered with for marketing of these opportunities.

A brief discussion of the next AB meeting found there might be a need for an additional PTTF meeting in the next month. The PTTF will communicate via e-mail regarding this possibility.

Meeting adjourned at noon.