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[Call to Order]
AND GENTLEMEN.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US FOR THE DECEMBER 6TH MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
I'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER AND CALL THE ROLE, PLEASE.
ADAM, CHAIRMAN, YOU HAVE A QUORUM.
UH, TONIGHT WE HAVE A COUPLE PRESENTATIONS.
[A Williamsburg Tourism Council. Receive presentation from Victoria Cimino, Chief Executive Officer of the Williamsburg Tourism Council.]
THE WILLIAMSBURG TOURISM COUNCIL, AND I'M GONNA CALL IT CHAD GREED FOR THE INTRODUCTIONS.CHAD? YES, IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE OUR DESTINATION MARKETING, UH, DIRECTOR OR OF THE ORGANIZATION, MISS VICKY SEMINO.
AND SHE HAS WON NUMEROUS AWARDS IN THE INDUSTRY AND IS DOING A WONDERFUL JOB, UH, WITH THEIR DMO.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU ALL THIS EVENING, AND I HOPE THAT EVERYBODY'S GEARING UP FOR A SUCCESSFUL HOLIDAY SEASON.
I WAS AT THE, UM, CRAP SHOW OVER THE WEEKEND AND THE RAIN DAMPENED THINGS A LITTLE BIT, BUT THERE WAS STILL SOME SOLID FOOT TRAFFIC GOING UP AND DOWN THE STREET, SO EVERYBODY WAS MARY AND BRIGHT.
SO, UM, IT'S BEEN QUITE SOME TIME SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE TO UPDATE YOU ALL ON VISIT WILLIAMSBURG AND WHAT WE ARE UP TO.
UM, JUST TO RE-FAMILIARIZE YOU WITH THE FACT THAT I HAVE BEEN IN THIS ROLE FOR ABOUT THREE AND A HALF YEARS NOW, AND THAT VISIT WILLIAMSBURG WAS CREATED BY STATUE.
IT IS THE DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION FOR WILLIAMSBURG, YORKTOWN, AND JAMESTOWN.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO DRIVING OVERNIGHT VISITATION, GROWING AND ENHANCING DESTINATION AWARENESS AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRY PARTNERS ALONG THE WAY THROUGH OUR ADVERTISING, MARKETING, PUBLIC RELATIONS, AND SALES EFFORTS.
UM, IN 2018, VIRGINIA'S GENERAL ASSEMBLY ENACTED 58 1 6 0 3 2, UH, TO ESTABLISH THE DMO, AND WHICH IS PRIMARILY FUNDED THROUGH A SPECIAL RETAIL SALES AND USE TAX.
THE ORGANIZATION IS A PUBLIC BODY AND AN ADVISORY BOARD TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF STATE GOVERNMENT.
UM, IN 2021, 2 MILLION VISITORS SPENT ROUGHLY 782 MILLION THROUGHOUT THE REGION, DRIVING 41 MILLION IN TRAVEL RELATED TAX REVENUE HERE IN YORK COUNTY.
SPECIFICALLY, DURING THAT SAME TIME PERIOD, THE COUNTY RELAYS NEARLY 1 MILLION VISITORS WHO SPENT 317 MILLION.
WELL, VISITING THE AREA, WE ARE FOCUSED ON FOUR KEY STRATEGIC GOALS AS AN ORGANIZATION TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT VISITATION, TO INCREASE TAX REVENUE, TO UNIFY THE REGION UNDER THE, THE DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION'S, TOURISM, BRAND AND STRATEGY, AND TO IMPROVE REPORTING, ANALYTICS AND DATA DRIVEN OPTIMIZATION.
AND I'LL HIT ON EACH OF THESE FOUR GOALS AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
WILLIAMSBURG'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS DICTATED BY STATUTE THAT INCLUDES LEADERSHIP FROM COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG, JAMESTOWN, YORKTOWN FOUNDATION, BUSH GARDENS, JAMESTOWN REDISCOVERY FOUNDATION, THE WILLIAMSBURG HOTEL AND MOTEL ASSOCIATION, WILLIAMSBURG AREA RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, THE VIRGINIA TOURISM CORPORATION, THE WILLIAMSBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND ONE ELECTED OFFICIAL FROM THE CITY OF WILLIAMSBURG, JAMES CITY COUNTY, AND YORK COUNTY IS REPRESENTED BY MR. CHAD GREEN.
THANK YOU, CHAD, FOR ALL THAT YOU DO FOR US.
I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH OUR 2022 MEDIA AND CREATIVE STRATEGY.
WHILE DEVELOPING VISIT WILLIAMSBURG'S CREATIVE PLATFORM, WE CONDUCTED 15 DIFFERENT RESEARCH PROGRAMS, AND YOU'LL SEE HERE EVERYTHING FROM PERCEPTION STUDIES TO FOCUS GROUPS AND CREATIVE TESTING.
WE'VE UTILIZED A DATA DRIVEN APPROACH IN CREATING, UM, OUR STRATEGY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
WE DEVELOP A PLATFORM UTILIZING DEFIANTLY HUMAN INSIGHT.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ALL YEARN FOR REGROUNDING, RIGHT? YOU GO ON VACATION BECAUSE YOU'RE THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF WHILE YOU ARE ON VACATION.
AND THE SPOT THAT YOU CHOOSE TO BE, THAT BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF IS A HIGHLY PERSONAL DECISION.
WE WANNA ENJOY UNCOMPLICATED EXPERIENCES THAT REUNITE US WITH WHAT TRULY MATTERS.
AND SO THAT IS OUR CREATIVE PLATFORM, REUNITE WITH WHAT TRULY MATTERS.
AND SO WE CREATED LIFE AT YOUR PACE.
AND YOU MAY REMEMBER THIS FROM THE LAST TIME I PRESENTED TO YOU.
THIS CAMPAIGN HAS PERFORMED EXTRAORDINARILY WELL.
WE'VE WON MORE THAN A DOZEN NATIONAL AWARDS FOR THE WORK AROUND LIFE AT YOUR PACE,
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AND I'M GOING TO READ THIS A LITTLE BIT TO YOU, AND EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO USE MY PAPER BECAUSE I AM BLINDAND SO WE ALL AT THE STAGE, BOY, AND, AND MY PRESCRIPTION CHANGED OVERNIGHT, NOT THAT LONG AGO, AND I HAVEN'T MADE IT BACK.
SO, UH, THE WORLD FORCES US TO MOVE AT A PACE THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE US COMFORTABLE.
WE YEARN TO GET BACK TO OUR PACE OF LIFE AS FAST OR AS SLOW AS WE WISH.
WE WANT TO GET CONTROL OF OUR LIVES BACK.
WILLIAMSBURG IS THE PLACE TO DO JUST THAT BECAUSE YOUR VACATION IS YOUR VACATION.
YOU WANNA SLEEP AND HAVE BREAKFAST FOR LUNCH, GO FOR IT.
YOU WANNA PLAY GOLF ALL DAY, EVERY DAY FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK.
YOU WANNA HOP ON A CANOE AND SEE WHERE THE JAMES RIVER OR THE YORK RIVER TAKES YOU WITHOUT A PADDLE.
THEN HEAD TO WILLIAMSBURG AND EXPERIENCE LIFE AT YOUR PACE.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE EXAMPLES OF WHAT THE CREATIVE LOOKS LIKE.
SEE AT THE YORK RIVER? YEAH, I DID.
SO, UM, WE ADVERTISE ESSENTIALLY YEAR ROUND, BUT WE, IN 2022 PUSHED OUR, OUR CORE ADVERTISING OUT IN FEBRUARY.
WE ARE GOING TO CHANGE THAT IN 2023, AND RIGHT AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO COME OUT OF THE GATES FULL SWING.
WE'RE REALLY GONNA FOCUS ON, UH, YOU KNOW, ATTRACTING THOSE SPRING BREAK VISITORS RIGHT AFTER THE HOLIDAYS, WHERE TRADITIONALLY WE, WE'VE KINDA LAUNCHED TV OUT OF HOME, THINGS LIKE THAT IN MID-FEBRUARY.
SO THIS WILL SHIFT NEXT YEAR, BUT THIS YEAR, THIS IS WHAT THIS LOOKED LIKE.
ABOUT 45% OF OUR MEDIA SPEND, UH, TOOK PLACE THROUGHOUT THE SPRING MONTHS, FEBRUARY THROUGH APRIL.
AND THEN YOU START TO SEE THINGS TAPER DOWN.
SUMMER 20%, FALL ROUGHLY 20%, AND HOLIDAY IS AT 15%.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT WE, WE START OUT HEAVY IN THE SPRING.
THAT'S WHEN WE'RE RUNNING OUR, OUR TRADITIONAL TV, OUR CONNECTED TV.
AND THEN THAT DOES TAPER OFF WHERE WE WANNA MAKE THE BIGGEST HIT RIGHT OUT OF THE GATES IN THOSE EARLY MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
UM, OUR AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION, WE FOCUS ON ACTIVE MATURE COUPLES AND GEN X AND MILLENNIAL COUPLES, ALSO GEN X AND MILLENNIAL FAMILIES.
AND WITH OUR DIGITAL DISPLAY ADVERTISING, WE'RE HYPER FOCUSED ON PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY SHOPPING FOR TRAVEL.
AND SO BECAUSE WE USE SEARCH HISTORY TO UNDERSTAND WHO HAS GOOGLED VACATION IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO, WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE ALREADY SHOPPING FOR TRAVEL.
THEY'RE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE THAT WHEN WE SERVE UP THAT VISIT WILLIAMSBURG ADVERTISEMENT, THEY'LL BE MORE APT TO GO AHEAD AND BOOK ALONG THE WAY.
UM, AND SO IN 2022, WE GREW NEW AUDIENCES, BUT WE ALSO KNEW THAT WE HAD TO PREPARE FOR DRAMATIC SHIFTS IN WHAT IS CALLED COOKIE DEPRECIATION.
AND IT'S NOT THE KIND THAT SANTA EATS.
UM, IT IS WHAT COOKIES ARE BASICALLY PIXELS THAT YOU CAN PLACE ON AN ADVERTISEMENT MM-HMM.
AND THEN ONCE YOU CLICK ON THAT ADVERTISEMENT, WE CAN FOLLOW YOU THROUGH THE REST OF YOUR JOURNEY WHILE YOU ARE SEARCHING A LITTLE BIT.
AND SO THAT IS GOING TO COME TO AN END.
I, I'M GUESS I'M AROUND THE NEXT TWO, THREE YEARS OR SO.
TECHNOLOGY TENDS TO WORK, UH, A LITTLE FASTER THAN GOVERNMENT SOMETIMES.
AND SO THERE ARE WORKAROUNDS IN PLACE, BUT, UH, LONG OF THE SHORT VENDORS THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH ARE FINDING NEW WAYS TO TRACK VISITOR PATHS THROUGH THE INTERNET.
I LOOK THAT WE'RE TRACKED TRACK.
BUT IT'S A MARKETER'S DREAM, RIGHT?
AND SO, UM, WE ARE IN 22 MARKETS CURRENTLY.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE WE HAVE ESTABLISHED MARKETS THAT THIS DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION THROUGHOUT ITS VARIOUS FORMS OVER THE YEARS HAS TRADITIONALLY FOCUSED ON.
UM, AND IN 2020 AND 2021, WE EXPANDED THOSE EFFORTS INTO CLEVELAND AND COLUMBUS AND NEW YORK.
UM, IN CLEVELAND AND COLUMBUS, WE KIND OF CAME RIGHT OUT OF THE GATES WITH RUNNING TV.
THOSE ARE LESS EXPENSIVE MARKETS IN NEW YORK.
WE LAUNCHED DIGITAL ADVERTISING FIRST AND THEN WENT ON TO EXPAND THAT INTO TV AND OUT OF HOME IN 2022.
UM, IN, IN JUST THIS LAST YEAR, WE ALSO LAUNCHED BOSTON.
NOW WE SELECTED THESE NEW MARKETS FOR VERY SPECIFIC REASONS.
IS A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION WITHIN OUR HOUSEHOLD INCOME TARGET LEVEL, OUR EDUCATION LEVELS WITHIN THAT TARGET LEVEL.
IS IT AN EASY DRIVE OR IS THERE DIRECT AIRLIFT INTO THE SEVERAL AIRPORTS THAT THIS REGION HAS? AND SO, AND ARE THEY ORGANICALLY POPPING UP ON OUR LIST OF MARKETS THAT ARE VISITING OUR WEBSITE? OR ARE THEY ORGANICALLY
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POPPING UP IN CELL PHONE DATA THAT WE HAVE? SO IF YOU'RE IN YORKTOWN WALKING THE SHOPPING AREA, WE CAN TRACK THROUGH YOUR MOBILE PHONE DEVICE, WHERE YOU'RE FROM, AND LET'S SAY MM, LET'S SAY, SO I STILL HAVE A BOSTON PHONE NUMBER, RIGHT? EVEN THOUGH I LIVE HERE, BUT BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF TIME I SPEND HERE THAT'S RECOGNIZED.SO I'M NOT COUNTED AS SOMEBODY FROM BOSTON.
I'M COUNTED FROM SOMEBODY WITHIN THE 7 57.
SO THERE'S ALSO DEEPER WAYS TO KIND OF LOOK AT SOME OF THAT CELL PHONE DATA TOO.
SO I'M HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT NEXT YEAR WE WILL LAUNCH ANOTHER NEW MARKET, AND THAT'S ATLANTA, GEORGIA, AGAIN, ALREADY POPPING UP HIGH ON OUR LIST AND, UM, EASY LIFT INTO THE AREA.
LET'S LOOK A LITTLE AT A LITTLE BIT HOW LIFE AT YOUR PACE COMES TO LIFE.
WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT TELEVISION SPOTS.
UM, AND I BELIEVE THIS IS CULTURE CLUSTERS,
AND THIS IS SIMPLE'S DRIVERS, LET'S GO.
AND SO WITH EACH OF THESE SPOTS, WE'RE FEATURING DIFFERENT FOOTAGE, BUT WITH CULTURE CLUSTERS, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GONNA FEATURE THE LIVING HISTORY MUSEUMS AND, AND, UM, WITH SIMPLE STRIVE, WE'RE GOING TO FEATURE JUST THE LAID BACK STUFF YOU CAN DO WITHOUT AN AGENDA THAT DAY.
AND THEN SEARS AND DOERS IS OUR THIRD SPOT.
SO, SO THESE ARE OUR TELEVISION SPOTS, AND YOU CAN SORT OF SEE HOW THE CAMPAIGN STARTS TO EVOLVE.
AND THEN IF WE GO INTO SOME OF OUR DIGITAL DISPLAY ADVERTISING, YOU CAN SEE HERE, EXPLORE AT YOUR PACE, LEAP AT YOUR PACE, DISCOVER IT REALLY HAS ALLOWED US TO FEATURE THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF WHAT THE DESTINATION HAS TO OFFER.
AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO EXPAND INTO THINGS LIKE FOOD AND BEVERAGE, GOLF.
WE'VE GOT AN INCREDIBLE GOLF SCENE WITHIN THIS REGION WITH MORE THAN 12 WORLD CLASS GOLF COURSES.
AND I THINK THAT WE CAN GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH SOME OF OUR COMPETITION.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I, I JUST, THE THRILL SEEKING AND, AND THE RULER COASTER, ALL, ALL OF THE THINGS.
SO YOU CAN SEE HOW THIS COMES TO LIFE IN VARIOUS EXECUTIONS, AND THEN HOW IT EVOLVES THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS AND FALL, AND HOW WE FEATURE THINGS LIKE OUR HAUNTED TOURS AND, AND SOME OF THE DIFFERENT HAPPENINGS THROUGHOUT THE HOLIDAYS.
SO THIS IS A GREAT SORT OF SMOTHERING OF HOW WE HAVE EVOLVED LIFE AT YOUR PACE.
IN ADDITION TO THE DIGITAL DISPLAY ADVERTISING, WE'VE ENTERED INTO CONTENT PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTLETS LIKE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO, WE WORK WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
THEY SENT A WRITER AND AN EMMY AWARD WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER WHO HAD JUST COME BACK FROM LIKE TASMANIA OR SOMETHING EXOTIC LIKE THAT.
AND SO, UM, WE BROUGHT HIM TO WILLIAMSBURG AND THE FOCUS AND, AND THE REGION.
AND THE FOCUS OF THAT WAS TO LOOK AT THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE EXPERIENCE OF THE LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM.
THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF PLACES IN AMERICA WHERE YOU CAN FIND REAL TIME ARCHEOLOGICAL DIGS TAKING PLACE, AND THAT EXPERIENCE UNFOLDING RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES.
UM, AND SO YOU CAN SEE HERE WE ALSO FOCUS QUITE A BIT ON OUR AQUACULTURE, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE BRITS GOT HERE ON A SHIP.
UH, PEOPLE FORGET THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY ON THE WATER.
AND SO TO HIGHLIGHT OUR AQUACULTURE, OUR OYSTERS,
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UM, OUR WINES, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE MAY NOT HAVE AS A TOP OF MIND THOUGHT WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT OUR REGION.UM, WE ALSO ENTERED INTO A PARTNERSHIP WITH GOLF.COM, WHICH IS GOLF MAGAZINE'S WEBSITE.
AND SO WE HAD SEVERAL OF THEIR INFLUENCERS COME TO EXPERIENCE THE GOLF SCENE, AND WE ALSO WERE ABLE TO SPRINKLE IN A LOT OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE EXPERIENCES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
THERE ARE TWO VIDEOS, UM, AND I, YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS DECK, SO YOU CAN CHECK THOSE VIDEOS OUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GUYS IN THEIR LATE TWENTIES, EARLY THIRTIES ON A GUY'S TRIP.
AND REALLY, IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT WAY TO SHOWCASE SORT OF HOW THEN HISTORY IS STEEPED INTO EVEN THE GOLF SCENE HERE.
SO, UM, AND OUR THIRD CONTENT PARTNERSHIP THAT, UH, WAS PUSHED OUT THIS YEAR IS, UM, OUR BONA PETITE PARTNERSHIP.
AND SO WE WORKED WITH A FOODIE SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER, AND HE CAME TO THE AREA ALONG WITH A FILM CREW AND EXPERIENCED 12 OF OUR FOOD AND BEVERAGE OUTLETS, INCLUDING MOBJACK HERE, JUST RIGHT UP THE STREET.
SO, AND, UM, YOU CAN SEE HERE, THEY, THEY DID A WONDERFUL ONSITE ARTICLE.
THEY SHARED THAT ARTICLE WITH CONDE NASS ENTIRE NETWORK THROUGH THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.
SO EVERYTHING FROM VOGUE TO, YOU KNOW, UM, GQ AND, AND THE LIKE, UH, SHARED INFORMATION ABOUT THE REGION AND WILLIAMSBURG IN A DISH.
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS CONTINUE TO BE A COMPONENT OF HOW WE PROMOTE THE DESTINATION.
SO IT'S FINE AND GOOD FOR, YOU KNOW, THE, FROM VIS WILLIAMSBURG TO SAY, HEY, IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT.
WE WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO SAY THAT IN THEIR OWN WORDS TO THEIR OWN AUDIENCES.
AND SO THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE'VE HOSTED MORE THAN 30 SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS.
WE'VE HOSTED EVERYBODY FROM CELEBRITIES LIKE SEAN JOHNSON.
SHE WAS ON, I BELIEVE, DANCING WITH A STAR.
SHE HAS 3 MILLION SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS, UM, TWO DANCING WITH THE STARS, WHITNEY CARLSON.
SO, UH, WE ALSO WORK WITH LOCAL MICRO INFLUENCERS WHO SORT OF TELL THE LOCALS VIEW THE DESTINATION, WHERE YOU SHOULD EAT, WHERE YOU SHOULD GO.
AND SO IT REALLY KIND OF GOES THE FULL SPECTRUM, FULL RANGE.
UM, JUST IN CHAPEL IS ANOTHER PERSON WHO WE HOSTED.
HE'S ON THE TODAY SHOW, FAIRLY OFTEN DOING COOKING SEGMENTS.
HE'S SORT OF A CELEBRITY CHEF.
SO HE CAME AND EXPERIENCED THE DESTINATION ON THE FOODIE SIDE OF LIFE.
UH, HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF JUST IN Q2 OF 2022, WHAT YOUR COUNTY HOSTED.
UM, YOU HOSTED FOUR INFLUENCERS AND THEIR POST RESULTED IN 1 MILLION IMPRESSIONS AND MORE THAN 71,000 ENGAGEMENTS.
SO MORE THAN 71,000 PEOPLE LIKED SHARED, YOU NAME IT, THAT, THAT CONTENT.
SO IT DIDN'T JUST SHOW UP IN THEIR NEWS FEED, THAT'S THE 1 MILLION MARK, BUT 71,000 THEN SHARED THAT CONTENT.
SO OUT OF HOME IS SOMETHING THAT WE LAUNCHED IN 2022.
AND SO THIS RANGES EVERYTHING FROM BUILDING SCAPES TO SUBWAY STATION DOMINATIONS.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW LIFE AT YOUR PACE THEN TRANSLATED INTO THESE LARGER THAN LIFE EXECUTIONS IN CITIES LIKE BOSTON, NEW YORK, PHILLY, BALTIMORE, DC AND CLEVELAND.
AND HERE'S JUST SOME OTHER COOL EXAMPLES OF, EXCUSE ME, VICKI.
WE WERE IN, UH, COLUMBUS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CITY MANAGER'S ASSOCIATION.
I, UH, AND, UH, IN SEPTEMBER, AND THERE WAS A BIG, YOUR AD WAS RIGHT THERE IN THE ARENA DISTRICT FOR THE BASEBALL STADIUM.
AND THE HOCKEY ARENA WERE, IT'S, IT'S NEAT WHEN YOU SEE IT, RIGHT? BECAUSE I MEAN, BECAUSE LOCALLY NOBODY SEES OUR BEST WORK, RIGHT? BECAUSE OUR JOB IS TO GET OVERNIGHT VISITORS AND THEY'VE GOTTA TRAVEL AT LEAST 50 MILES TO GET HERE.
AND WE TARGET BEYOND SORT OF THAT TRADITIONAL DRIVE MARKET BECAUSE THOSE VISITORS TRAVEL LONGER.
THEY, THEY STAY LONGER AND THEY SPEND MORE MONEY.
SO, SO THAT'S WHY YOU, YOU TEND NOT TO SEE SOME OF OUR BEST WORK LOCALLY, UM, SALES COLLATERAL.
SO WE HAVE A ROBUST SALES PROGRAM.
WE ATTEND ABOUT 20 DIFFERENT TRADE SHOWS AND EVENTS A YEAR.
UH, WE'RE CONTINUING TO SORT OF BUILD OUT WHAT THAT SALES EFFORT LOOKS LIKE.
BUT EVERY SINGLE WEEK ON FRIDAYS, WHEN WE SEND OUT OUR INDUSTRY EMAIL, AND IF YOU'RE NOT ON THAT LIST, MAKE SURE YOU RAISE YOUR HAND AND WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU GET ON IT.
WE PUSH OUT SALES LEADS EVERY SINGLE WEEK, SOME RESULT FROM TRADE SHOWS, SOME RESULT FROM ONGOING RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE'VE BUILT.
BUT WE HAVE ACTIVELY SECURED ABOUT
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30,000 ROOM NIGHTS WITHIN THE LAST YEAR THROUGH OUR SALES EFFORTS.SO, UM, WE LAUNCHED A COOPERATIVE MARKETING PROGRAM SORT OF IN THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC IN 2020.
AND SO WE OFFER A ONE TO ONE MATCH THROUGH SEVERAL DIFFERENT OUTLETS.
UH, DRA BEING ONE, TRIPADVISOR SOJOURN IS NEW.
WE'RE GOING TO LAUNCH ONE, UM, A NEW ONE THIS COMING YEAR, WHICH I'M EXCITED ABOUT WITH VISTA GRAPHICS.
BUT HERE ARE GREAT EXAMPLES OF HOW LIFE AT YOUR PACE TRANSLATES TO YORKTOWN UTILIZING THAT SAME CREATIVE.
AND SO YOU MIGHT RECALL AT THE BEGINNING I TALKED ABOUT UNIFYING THE REGION UNDER THE TOURISM BRAND.
WE ALL LOOK LIKE WE'RE SINGING FROM THE SAME SHEET OF MUSIC WHEN WE'RE FOCUSED ON THAT.
SO, SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SORT OF ALL OF THE WONDERFUL CREATIVE WORK AND, YOU KNOW, WINNING AWARDS AND PEOPLE LOVE IT AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S TESTING WELL, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IS THE RUBBER MEETING THE ROAD? ARE WE DRIVING OVERNIGHT VISITATION? RIGHT? SO THIS IS OUR LATEST STAR REPORT INFORMATION.
SO STAR IS SORT OF THE INDUSTRY STANDARD ON MEASURING HOTEL OCCUPANCY AND RATE ESSENTIALLY.
AND THEN THEY HAVE SEVERAL OTHER METRICS, BUT IT KIND OF GETS UNDER THE WEEDS A LITTLE BIT.
SO WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON OCCUPANCY.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT OCCUPANCY IS TRENDED AT OR ABOVE 2021 LEVELS.
AND THAT'S THE YELLOW BAR THAT YOU SEE HERE.
WHICH STR SO IT'S AN, IT HAD BEEN AN ACRONYM FOR SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH.
AND THEN WHEN THEY SOLD IT BECAME STAR.
AND QUITE HONESTLY, I WAS CALLING IT SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH UNTIL ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO
SO I DIDN'T EVEN, JUST BECAUSE THAT HAD BEEN THE NAME THAT THEY HAD TO ALWAYS USED.
IT'S, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE COOKED UP.
IT'S, I WAS TRYING, I WAS TRYING TO PUT THE ACRONYM TOGETHER IN MY HEAD.
IN FACT, WE HAD, UM, SO EVERY OTHER MONTH WHEN WE MEET, WE HAVE A GUEST SPEAKER WHO ATTENDS OUR MEETINGS.
AND, UM, WE HAD A SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FROM STAR KIND OF COME AND, AND SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WILLIAMSBURG AND THE REGION IS PERFORMING COMPARED TO THE STATE AND THEN THE NATION AS A WHOLE.
AND SO, IF, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, THOSE ARE PUBLIC MEETINGS, UM, AND THEY'RE OPEN TO EVERYONE, AND WE HAVE GREAT SPEAKERS AT EVERY SINGLE MEETING.
SO, UM, CAN I ASK A QUESTION? YES.
SO TELL ME, HAVE TO READ THIS SLIDE HERE.
SO WHAT'S THE 60, WHAT'S THE PERCENTAGE ON THE LEFT? I UNDERSTAND THAT THE MONTHS AND THEN THE, THE BARS FOR THE YEARS MM-HMM.
BUT WHAT'S THE PERCENT, WHAT'S THAT MEAN? THAT MEANS HOTEL OCCUPANCY.
SO WHAT, SO, AND RELATIVELY SPEAKING MM-HMM.
WELL, IN A NORMAL NON PANDEMIC WORLD, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE DESTINATION COVERING CLOSER TO 70%.
NOW, IF YOU GIVE ME A MINUTE, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF SLIDES FROM HERE THAT I'M GONNA MAKE A POINT THAT MIGHT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
IF I GAVE POINT, WELL, NOT NECESSARILY, THERE ISN'T A BREAK EVEN POINT PER SE.
IT, IT'S MORE OF A MAJOR CITIES ARE TYPICALLY AT 85% OR ABOVE OCCUPANCY.
AND THEY ALSO, BUT YOU CAN'T COMPARE THIS REGION TOURISM WITH THAT TO A NEW YORK CITY.
SO WHAT DO YOU COMPARE IT TO? WE COMPARE IT TO PLACES LIKE HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA.
AND ARE THERE, AND HOW THE PERCENTAGES COMPARE, WE ARE STILL BELOW THOSE ARE COMPETITIVE SET.
WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE SCOPE HERE? HOTELS THAT ARE IN YORKTOWN, WILLIAMSBURG, AND JAMES CITY COUNTY.
SO IF YOU'RE IN THE GEOGRAPHIC AREA, THAT'S ALL THESE HOTELS HERE.
AND IN YORK COUNTY IN PARTICULAR, WE FOCUS ON, WE DON'T NECESSARILY FOCUS ON THE HOTEL PROPERTIES THAT ARE ALONG THE NEWPORT NEWS LINE.
THOSE ARE VISITORS WHO ARE STAYING IN THOSE HOTELS.
BUT WHEN I REPORT OUT, I USE PRIMARILY LEISURE TRAVEL HOTELS.
AND, AND STAR HAS BROKEN IT OUT THAT WAY FOR US.
I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA GET INTO IT MORE, BUT, SO IF I'M READING THAT RIGHT, SO YOU'VE GOT FOUR YEARS OF DATA THERE.
SO YOU'RE SHOWING 2019 BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, THE PANDEMIC, AND NOW THE BOUNCE BACK FROM THE PANDEMIC.
SO WE STILL HAVE THE, UH, THE SPECIAL TAXES THAT ARE BEING, UH, COLLECTED BASED UPON OUR ROOM RATES.
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I MEAN, THE ROOMS, RIGHT.SO, UM, YOU SAID YOU DON'T COUNT THOSE, SO THEY STILL, I MEAN, YOU SAID, I GUESS YOU COUNT 'EM IN A, A SPECIAL WAY.
CAUSE IF YOU COME DOWN TOWARDS, UH, WHERE SHEILA, HER DISTRICT, UM, PARTICULARLY HER DISTRICT AND UH, MAYBE UP TO STEVE'S DISTRICT FOR BELONG 17, YOU GOT A LOT OF HOTELS OR A LOT OF HOTEL ROOMS THERE MM-HMM.
WE COUNT THEM FROM A REVENUE PERSPECTIVE.
WHEN I SHARE WHAT OUR LEISURE VISITOR OCCUPANCY LOOKS LIKE, I SHARE THIS DATA POINT RATHER THAN THE HOTELS THAT WE KNOW ARE PRIMARILY BUSINESS TRAVELERS.
SO YOU'RE NOT CONFUSING NO, NO.
THE BUSINESS WITH THE PLEASURE.
WE WANNA PAINT A, A TRUE PORTRAIT OF LEISURE VISITATION TO THE AREA.
WELL, TIED TO THIS THOUGH, UH, ARE WE HAVING MORE HOTELS BEING BUILT? NO.
IN THIS, BECAUSE YOU'RE GETTING 'EM DOWN IN SHEILA'S DISTRICT.
YOU GOT A NEW HOTEL GOING UP BEHIND THE WALGREENS THERE.
BUT ARE WE GETTING A TON OF NEW LEISURE PRODUCT IN THIS AREA? OH, NO, BUT THAT'S WHY I ASKED IF YOU'RE GETTING MORE HOTELS, LET'S GO THE OTHER WAY.
SOME OLD ONES ARE CLOSING YES.
SO AS FAR AS AVERAGE DAILY RATE IS CONCERNED, YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT RATE CONTINUES TO SHOW INCREASES.
THAT'S BEEN A NATIONWIDE TREND.
UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC HOTELS WERE UNABLE TO FULLY REOPEN, AND THAT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WORKFORCE.
THERE ARE STILL A MILLION OPEN HOSPITALITY JOBS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.
AND, AND QUITE FRANKLY, WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT AND PEOPLE JUST WERE LET GO, PEOPLE LEFT THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY FOR OTHER MM-HMM.
AND SO WITH THAT CAME COMPRESSED, INVENTORY HOTELS ACROSS THE NATION WERE UNABLE TO REOPEN FULLY.
AND SO THAT COMPRESSED INVENTORY DROVE RATE, AND THAT RATE HAS STAYED HIGH.
IT'S STARTING TO DIP A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT'S STILL HIGHER THAN PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS.
SO WHEN YOU COMPARE 2019, SO PRE PANDEMIC TO 20 22, 20 19 WAS THE BEST YEAR THIS REGION HAD SEEN SINCE 2007, AND THAT'S WHEN THE QUEEN WAS HERE.
SO FOR, IN 2019, TO HAVE EXCEEDED 50% OCCUPANCY WAS A BIG DEAL FOR THIS DESTINATION, UM, TO LOOK AT TODAY WHERE IT'S PURE LEISURE TRAVEL, IT'S PURE JOE VACATION, I'M TAKING THE, THE FAMILY ON VACATION.
WE'RE STILL MISSING A LOT OF BUSINESS TRAVEL TRADITIONAL WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE DIFFERENT EVENTS AND CONFERENCES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE'RE STILL MISSING A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF GROUP TRAVEL.
AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE DEMAND'S NOT THERE, IT'S BECAUSE NOW THERE'S A BUS DRIVER SHORTAGE.
SO IT'S JUST A GIANT GAME OF WHACK-A-MOLE THAT AS PEOPLE BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE WITH SITTING IN A COACH WITH A HUNDRED OTHER PEOPLE NOW THEY CAN'T FIND PEOPLE TO DRIVE THAT COACH.
AND SO, SO OUR OCCUPANCY IS JUST SLIGHTLY BELOW 2019.
IT'S LOOKING POSITIVE FOR US TO EXCEED 2019 LEVELS, WHICH WILL BE A WIN FOR THE DESTINATION.
UM, I THINK AS WE SEE BUSINESS TRAVEL COME BACK, AS WE SEE GROUP TOUR COME BACK, AS WE SEE INTERNATIONAL COMEBACK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, RIGHT NOW WE'RE OPERATING ON ONE OUT OF FOUR CATEGORIES OF TRAVEL.
I SUSPECT THAT IN 2023 AND 2024, WE'LL SEE MORE SIGNIFICANT GAINS AS WE SEE SOME OF THAT BUSINESS COME BACK.
THE ECONOMY, YOU KNOW, YOU FITS AND STOPS WITH THAT TOO.
RIGHT? SO IN JULY WHEN GAS STARTED TO INCREASE, WHEN THERE WERE A TON OF MEDIA STORIES ABOUT A, A LOOMING RECESSION, UM, TRAVEL TOOK A HIT, PEOPLE STILL TRAVEL, BUT THEY DIDN'T STAY AS LONG, THEY SPENT THEIR MONEY DIFFERENTLY, RIGHT? SO THEY, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TEND TO TRAVEL THROUGH ANY SORT OF GAS SITUATION.
IT'S JUST, THEY, THEY, THEY'LL GO OUT TO EAT LESS.
THEY'LL, YOU KNOW, STAY A SHORTER AMOUNT OF TIME.
THEY, THEY WILL STILL TRAVEL, BUT IT LOOKS DIFFERENT.
NOW, IF YOU LOOK AT YEAR TO DATE RATE, OR 17% ABOVE 20, IF YOU LOOK AT REVENUE FOR HOTELS, WE'RE 16% ABOVE 2019.
SO WHERE PURE VOLUME IS JUST AROUND THOSE 2019 LEVELS, WERE DOUBLE DIGITS AHEAD OF WHERE WE WERE THREE YEARS AGO.
[00:30:02]
WE WORK WITH A COMPANY CALLED SAMARI INSIGHTS OUT OF INDIANAPOLIS.THEY ARE OUR RESEARCH PARTNER, AND THEY KIND OF GRADE OUR HOMEWORK FOR US.
SO, UM, THEY WORK WITH DESTIN MORE THAN 30 DESTINATIONS AROUND THE UNITED STATES FROM CALIFORNIA TOURISM TO NEW YORK TO NEW HAMPSHIRE, UH, WHICH IS WHERE I CAME FROM, WILLIAMSBURG.
UH, WE COLLECT DATA THROUGH SURVEYS AND WE DETERMINE A RETURN ON INVESTMENT FIGURE.
AND SO IT PROVIDES A REPRESENTATIVE MEASURE OF WHETHER PEOPLE REMEMBER EVEN SEEING OUR ADVERTISING TOO, RIGHT? LET ALONE DID THEY NOT CONSIDER THE DESTINATION CR ADS AND GO ON TO BOOK TRAVEL.
AND SO WE, UH, PUSHED OUT 1700 SURVEYS, AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO FOLLOW POLITICAL POLLING, THAT'S A STRONG SAMPLE SIZE.
UH, WE CONDUCTED RESEARCH IN BOTH OUR PROVEN MARKETS AND OUR EXPANSION MARKETS.
UM, AT LEAST FOR THOSE WHO TAKE AT LEAST ONE TRIP A YEAR AND TRAVEL MORE THAN 50 MILES TO TAKE THAT TRIP.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S A LEISURE TRAVEL TRIP AT THAT POINT.
WHAT, WHAT MAKES A PROVEN MARKET A PROVEN MARKET? THE TRADITIONAL MARKETS THAT I HAD HIGHLIGHTED EARLIER THAT, UM, THIS DESTINATION OVER THE VARIOUS ITERATIONS OF VISIT WILLIAMSBURG HAS ADVERTISED IN.
RIGHT? BUT HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S A PROVEN MARKET? HOW DO WE KNOW THAT? BECAUSE WE HAVE ORIGIN MARKET DATA, BOTH.
WE KNOW WE'RE GETTING PEOPLE FROM THOSE MARKETS.
AND WE MONITOR IT ON A CONSISTENT BASIS.
UM, AS FAR AS AD AWARENESS IS CONCERNED, YOU CAN SEE HERE IN OUR PROVEN MARKETS, UM, 60% OF THOSE, THOSE PULLED IN THOSE PROVEN MARKETS, 55%, UM, IN SEPTEMBER, 60% IN OCTOBER, RESPECTIVELY, RECALL SEEING OUR ADVERTISING IN OUR EXPANSION MARKETS, THAT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT LESS FOR THE MOST PART BECAUSE WE'RE NEW TO THEM, RIGHT? THEY, THEY'VE NEVER REALLY SEEN OUR ADVERTISING BEFORE.
UH, WE SEPARATE OUT BOSTON AND NEW YORK BECAUSE THESE ARE TWO BRAND NEW MARKETS FOR US, AND 43% RECALL IS VERY STRONG IN A, IN A BRAND NEW MARKET LIKE THAT.
WHAT ARE YOUR TARGETS? WHAT, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE? MINIMAL? UH, IN OUR, SO 57% FOR TRADITIONAL PROVEN MARKETS IS SMARTS, INDUSTRY BENCHMARK.
AND SO TO BE AT 57% IN NEW YORK AFTER JUST LAUNCHING TV THERE THIS LAST YEAR, AND AFTER IN BOSTON, AFTER LITERALLY LAUNCHING IN 2022, UH, TO BE AT 43% IS STRONG.
SO WHAT DOES AD AWARENESS MEAN? THAT, UM, PEOPLE RECALL SEEING OUR ADVERTISING.
WE WORKED BETTER FOR SOME OF US THAN OTHERS.
AND WE ALSO MEASURE, OKAY, DID THEY SEE US IN ONE SPOT? DO THEY REMEMBER OUR ADS JUST PURELY ON WEBSITES? OR DO THEY REMEMBER OUR ADS ON TV AND WEBSITE ON OUT OF HOME, TV AND WEBSITE? SO WE GET THAT GRANULAR WHERE, WHAT STICKS? WE CAN SAY, I QUESTION, HOW DO YOU CONTACT THESE PEOPLE BY PHONE? NO.
AND THEN WE DO IN PERSON FOCUS GROUPS.
SO YOU'D GO TO BOSTON AND DO AN IN-PERSON FOCUS GROUP.
MOST OF THE TIME THEY'RE IN NEW YORK.
SO WHAT DO YOU GET HOMELESS PEOPLE OFF THE STREET OR WHATEVER? WHERE DO YOU SEE PEOPLE? WELL, WE TEND TO FOCUS, YEAH.
WE TEND TO STEER CLEAR THE PEOPLE WHO AREN'T IN OUR TARGET HOUSEHOLD INCOME RANGE.
SO THAT'S WHERE SAYING THAT MM-HMM.
DO YOU PAY THEM? SARI DOES PAY THE IN-PERSON FOCUS GROUPS, THE ONLINE SURVEYS? NO.
WELL, IT'S IN THE WHOLE WORLD OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH, WHICH IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING, AND IT IS REACTING TO WHO ANSWERS THEIR PHONE OR WHO DOESN'T MM-HMM.
STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OUT OF IT.
WELL, AND STATISTICS ARE A REAL THING.
AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S HOW A LOT OF FAVORABILITY IS PULLED AND DETERMINED.
AND, AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT SORT OF AD IMPACT ON VISIT, YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT ADVERTISING INFLUENCE THE LENGTH OF STAY, THE NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES, TRIP SPENDING AND TRIP SATISFACTION, WHICH WOULD SUGGEST THAT ADVERTISING IS EFFECTIVELY SHOWCASING THE REGION AND INSPIRING LONGER TRIPS.
AND IT'S INTERESTING THAT NOT ONLY GETS 'EM HERE, BUT GETS 'EM HERE LONGER.
WHICH IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
[00:35:01]
SEE HERE ADD IMPACT.SO THOSE WHO ARE UNAWARE OF THE DESTINATION, RIGHT? AND FOCUS ON THE ORANGE AND THE GRAY.
THOSE ARE SORT OF THE AVERAGE AND BELOW AVERAGE RATINGS.
SO THE UN, THE FOLKS WHO ARE UNAWARE OF OUR ADVERTISING, THEY DON'T THINK WE'RE AN EXCITING PLACE TO VISIT.
THEY DON'T
YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE'RE UNDERPERFORMING WITH THOSE WHO HAD NOT SEEN OUR ADVERTISING.
AND THEN YOU MOVE INTO THOSE WHO ARE AD AWARE AND HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE, ARE THESE PEOPLE HERE? OR YOU JUST NO, THESE ARE PART, THIS IS PART OF THE SAME 1700 THAT PULLED, RIGHT.
SO, AND YOU CAN SEE HERE HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHIFT PERCEPTION THROUGH OUR ADVERTISING ABOUT ARE, DO WE HAVE UNIQUE LOCAL DINING? ARE WE FUN? WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS? WHAT DO THEY MEAN? I MEAN, ARE PERCENTAGES OR IT'S OUT? IT'S BASICALLY, IT'S AN, UH, OUT OF FIVE, IT'S POINT SCALE, SCALE FIVE.
AND SO WE ALSO CALCULATE THROUGH THOSE SURVEYED, THOSE WHO WERE AD AWARE HAD NOT CONSIDERED THE REGION AS TRAVEL DESTINATION, AND THEN WENT ON TO BOOK TRAVEL TO THE REGION.
AND WE FIND THROUGH THOSE SURVEYS AND THROUGH STATISTICS THAT ADVERTISING INFLUENCED MORE THAN 431,000 TRIPS AND 432 MILLION IN SPENDING, AND A RETURN OF $73 FOR EACH DOLLAR INVESTED IN MEDIA.
AND SO RETURN ON INVESTMENT IS IMPORTANT WAY TO MEASURE THE DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION'S PERFORMANCE, BUT ALSO THINGS LIKE VISITATION TO OUR WEBSITE WHERE WE'VE SEEN INCREASES BY 400% OF PEOPLE WHO ORIGINATE IN BOSTON COME TO OUR WEBSITE, CLEVELAND AND COLUMBUS, NEW YORK.
THESE, THESE NEW MARKETS ARE GOING TO OUR WEBSITE.
83% OF THOSE WHO HAVE VISITED OUR WEBSITE, OUR FIRST TIME VISITORS TO THE WEBSITE, THEY'RE JUST SURFING THE WEB.
THEY'RE, WHETHER THEY FIND US ORGANICALLY OR THEY'VE CLICKED ON ONE OF OUR DIGITAL ADS AND, AND MADE THEIR WAY THERE THAT WAY.
SO AND SO WITH THAT, I KNOW I'VE GONE OVER MY TIME AS I ALWAYS DO, NEIL, SORRY.
THIS IS, THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO DO IT RATHER THAN UPSTAIRS WHEN YOU YEAH.
THIS WAY WE CAN AT LEAST ASK YOU QUESTIONS AND TALK WITH YOU.
WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE REASONS? THEY, THEY COME AND STAY OVERNIGHT? FAMILY FUN ARE HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS.
AND MORE AND MORE IT'S BECOMING OUR FOOD AND BEVERAGE.
SO PEOPLE COME HERE TO GO TO RESTAURANT NO, FOR SOME OF OUR DINING.
THAT, THAT'S A MAJOR REASON WHY PEOPLE SELECT A TRAVEL DESTINATION.
RIGHT? UH, WHAT, SO GOLF IS, DIDN'T MAKE THE TOP THREE.
NOT YET, BUT REMEMBER, 5% OF THE POPULATION GOLFS, SO THEY'RE A LUCRATIVE AUDIENCE, RIGHT? BUT WE'VE GOT A LOT, WE'VE GOT, WE, WE'VE STARTED DOWN THAT PATH.
WE'VE GOT A LITTLE WAYS TO GO BEFORE WE START STEALING MARKET SHARE AWAY FROM CHARLESTON.
SO DID YOU SEE SEAN JOHNSON AND HER POSTS WHILE SHE WAS IN WILLIAMSBURG? RIGHT? RIGHT.
BUT SO THAT IS PART OF THE, IT'S, IT'S A TACTIC, RIGHT? BUT DO WE KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT GETS PEOPLE HERE? CAN WE MEASURE? I DO HAVE THAT BREAKDOWN.
AND LAST THING I LIKE, I LIKE THE AD, THE TV AD SPOTS.
UM, I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED THOUGH AT THE END.
YOU DON'T GIVE A URL TO SOMEBODY OR SOMEPLACE THEY CAN GO AND GET MORE INFORMATION.
THAT KIND OF WENT OUTTA FASHION A WHILE AGO.
SO YOU'LL NOTICE MOST BRANDS DON'T INCLUDE THEIR URL AND THEIR TELEVISION SPOTS GETTING DATED.
SO I'LL TAKE YOU, I'LL TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT, BUT IT'S A LITTLE SURPRISING BECAUSE NOW YOU'RE FORCING THE THE CONSUMER TO GO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIND YOU.
WHY, WHY WOULD YOU MAKE THEM GO FIGURE THAT OUT INSTEAD? I THINK MOST CONSUMERS WOULD GO TO THE GOOGLE MACHINE AND TYPE IN VISIT WILLIAMSBURG, AND THAT'S SORT OF THE TREND.
WHEN YOU'RE AT HOME TONIGHT WATCHING TV
[00:40:01]
I, BECAUSE I LOOK UP YORK SOMETIMES GET TAKEN TO YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, NOT YORK.WELL, THAT'S WHY WE HAVE A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL PAY PER CLICK STRATEGY AND SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO, I JUST, UH, WANTED TO COMMENT, BUT I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE UPDATE BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE WE'VE MOVED AWAY FROM THE MOM AND POP, UH, YES.
WE HAD JUST, YOU KNOW, THROW A NET OUT THERE AND SEE WHAT WE COULD CATCH.
SO IT'S, UH, SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE MORE DATA DRIVEN, MORE ANALYTICAL.
AND, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE UPDATE.
OH, FIRST OF ALL, I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING A LITTLE NO PROBLEM.
UH, I'M LOOKING AT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT IN ROI.
I'M LOOKING AT NEW YORK MM-HMM.
AND I SEE A SIGNIFICANT, UH, TIMES 10 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IN TERMS OF, UH, YEAH.
SO WHY, WHY DO WE KEEP BOSTON IN FOCUS RATHER THAN, FOR EXAMPLE, A MORE EXCITING CITY, BIGGER CITY THAT MIGHT BIGGER RETURN ON INVESTMENT? UM, SO WE LAUNCHED NEW YORK TWO YEARS AGO.
SO I SUSPECT IN A YEAR FROM NOW, BOSTON NUMBERS WILL IMPROVE.
SO IT'S REALLY A MATTER OF, IT'S A BRAND NEW MARKET FOR US, AND WE'RE STILL INTRODUCING.
AND SO IT TENDS TO TAKE ABOUT THREE YEARS TO REALLY SATURATE A MARKET AND SEE IT PRODUCE THE WAY THAT NEW YORK IS PRODUCING FOR US.
NOW AT SOME POINT IN TIME, NOT THE PICKUP BOSS, BUT MM-HMM.
SO WE SHIFT ON A DIME PRETTY REGULARLY.
YOU SAID THAT YOU JUST STARTED IN BOSTON.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN NEW YORK? JUST TWO YEARS NOW.
AND YOU ARE ALREADY AT 57 AND IT'S CRUSHING IT.
AND IT'S A SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER MARKET.
YOU KNOW, SO JUST THE PURE VOLUME, WE'RE SEEING STRONG GAINS MORE.
IF THERE ARE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TONIGHT.
IT'S BEEN VERY, VERY INFORMED.
THAT'S IT THEN I'M, I'LL LOOK AT IT, I'M AT HOME.
LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
[B Presentation of the FY 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. Receive presentation from Laura Harden, Director, Cherry Bekaert LLP.]
ON THE AGENDA OF PRESENTATION, AND THAT'S Y 22 ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT.AND THERE, OH, IS THIS GOING TO DO THE HONORS I GET TO INTRODUCE? SO, UM, EACH YEAR, AS Y'ALL KNOW, THE COUNTY, UM, HAS TO UNDERGO AUDIT BY AN INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTING FIRM.
AND THE COORDINATION OF THIS IS DONE BY CAROLYN, UH, CRE, CAROLYN AND HER TEAM OF AMY SANTIAGO AND CATHERINE WYATT.
SO I'D LIKE TO THANK THEM FOR, UM, THEIR COUNTLESS HOURS OF, UM, THE WORK, HARD WORK IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THIS.
SO ADDITIONALLY, AS PART OF THE AUDIT, NOT ONLY HAVING TO PREPARE, OUR AUDITORS, UM, HAVE TO COME TO PRESENT TO THE BOARD, UM, THE RESULTS OF THAT AUDIT.
SO TONIGHT, LAURA HARDEN IS HERE WITH CHERRY BECKER TO MAKE THAT PRESENTATION AND SOME REQUIRED COMMUNICATION THAT SHE HAS TO DO FOR US.
WELL THANK YOU AND, UH, FOR HAVING ME HERE TONIGHT TO PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 AUDIT.
UM, JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW, THIS IS OUR CLIENT SERVICE TEAM.
I WAS THE ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR WHO OVERSAW THE ENTIRE AUDIT PROCESS.
ROB CHURCHMAN IS OUR SECOND PARTNER REVIEWER.
HE GIVES US A FRESH, FRESH SET OF EYES OVER THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND THE AUDIT PROCEDURES THAT WE PERFORMED.
LOGAN BOOTH WAS OUR SENIOR MANAGER WHO, UM, OVERSAW THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS ALONG WITH ALYSSA GORE, WHO WAS OUR SENIOR ACCOUNTANT.
SO, UM, I AM PLEASED TO TELL YOU THAT WE, UM, ISSUED OUR REPORT NOVEMBER 29TH, 2022, FOR THE JUNE 30TH, 2022, UM, FISCAL YEAR END.
WE DID ISSUE AN UNMODIFIED OPINION ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
THAT IS THE BEST OPINION THAT YOU CAN RECEIVE AS A RESULT OF YOUR AUDIT.
UM, ALONG WITH THE FINANCIAL PART OF THE AUDIT, WE DO ALSO PERFORM AN AUDIT UNDER GOVERNMENT AUDIT AUDITING STANDARDS, AS WELL AS THE AUDITOR OF PUBLIC'S ACCOUNTS SPECIFICATIONS FOR AUDITS OF COUNTY CITIES AND TOWNS.
UM, WE IDENTIFIED NO INSTANCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE
[00:45:01]
THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE RE REPORTED UNDER GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS.WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY MATERIAL WEAKNESSES IN INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING.
IF WE IDENTIFIED ANY MATERIAL WEAKNESSES OR SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCIES, THOSE WOULD'VE BEEN REPORTED TO YOUR TODAY.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY INSTANCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED UNDER THE SPECIFICATIONS, WHICH IS THE VIRGINIA LAWS AND REGULATIONS.
UM, THIS IS A VERY LONG AUDIT PROCESS.
WE ALSO PERFORM A SINGLE AUDIT, WHICH IS THE COUNTY'S COMPLIANCE WITH ITS FEDERAL GRANTS.
WE ISSUED AN UNMODIFIED OPINION ON THE COUNTY'S COMPLIANCE WITH EACH MAJOR FEDERAL PROGRAM.
ONCE AGAIN, THAT IS THE BEST OPINION THAT YOU CAN RECEIVE.
UM, WE ALSO DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY MATERIAL WEAKNESSES AND INTERNAL CONTROL OVER COMPLIANCE THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED TO YOU TODAY.
UM, AS A RESULT OF OUR AUDIT, THERE COULD BE THINGS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED AS MISSTATEMENTS EITHER CORRECTED OR UNCORRECTED.
AND PLEASED TO REPORT TO YOU THAT THERE WERE NEITHER ONE OF THOSE.
UM, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY AUDIT, AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS OR UNCORRECTED STATEMENTS.
UM, AND THEN JUST A FEW REQUIRED COMMUNICA, WELL, IT ENDS UP BEING QUITE A FEW REQUIRED COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, MANAGEMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SELECTION AND USE OF APPROPRIATE ACCOUNTING POLICIES.
UM, THOSE SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ARE DESCRIBED IN NOTE ONE OF THE ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT.
UM, IF YOU LOOK IN NOTE NINE OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, IT WILL IDENTIFY THAT THE COUNTY DID ADOPT, UM, GSB STATEMENT NUMBER 87 IN REGARDS TO LEASES.
THAT STANDARD WAS EFFECTIVE FOR JULY 1ST, 2021.
UH, THAT IS THE STANDARD YOU'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, WHERE, UM, IF THE COUNTY WAS A LESSER, THEY BROUGHT ON A LEASE RECEIVABLE AND OF RELATED DEFERRED INFLOW OF RESOURCES THERE LESSEE, THEY HAD A RIGHT TO USE ASSET AS WELL AS A LEASE LIABILITY.
UM, AS PART OF OUR AUDIT, WE ALSO EVALUATE THE COUNTY'S RELATIONSHIPS IN TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PARTIES.
UM, WE NOTED NONE OF THE FOLLOWING, UH, RELATED PARTY RELATIONSHIPS THAT WERE NOT DISCLOSED TO US PREVIOUSLY.
UM, SIGNIFICANT RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS THAT WEREN'T APPROVED.
UM, ANY, WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY THAT DIDN'T LACK A BUSINESS PURPOSE.
UM, ANY THAT WERE NON-COMPLIANT WITH LAWS OR REGULATIONS.
AND THEN WE HAD NO DIFFICULTIES IN IDENTIFYING WHO THOSE RELATED PARTIES WERE.
WE NOTED NO TRANSACTIONS THAT WERE ENTERED INTO BY THE COUNTY DURING THE YEAR, UM, THAT DIDN'T HAVE, UH, THAT HAD A LACK OF AUTHORITATIVE GUIDANCE OR CONSENSUS.
UM, ALL TRANSACTIONS WERE RECOGNIZED IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND THE PROPER PERIOD.
SO, UH, IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, THERE'S ALSO THESE ITEMS THAT ARE CALLED SIGNIFICANT ESTIMATES.
THIS MEANS THAT THOSE ITEMS ARE NOT, UM, REALLY SET IN STONE.
THEY CAN CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE UNDERLYING, UM, INFORMATION AND DATA THAT GOES INTO THEM.
SO THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ESTIMATES AS A PART OF THE, THAT ARE A PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE THE ALLOWANCE FOR DO ACCOUNTS FOR TAX RECEIVABLES.
CAL, UH, CAPITAL ASSET DEPRECIABLE LIVES, UM, THE ACTUARIALLY COMPUTED PENSION AND OP E ASSETS AND LIABILITIES, AS WELL AS RISK MANAGEMENT CLAIM LIABILITIES.
SO, UM, IF YOU LOOKED AT THE ACT FOR, YOU'D PROBABLY SEE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ONES THAT FLIP FROM YEAR TO YEAR, UM, ARE GONNA BE THOSE ACTUARY, COMPUTED PENSION AND OPE LIABILITIES.
THOSE REALLY GET DRIVEN BY THE MARKET INTEREST RATES.
UH, THE, WE FOUND THAT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT DISCLOSURES ARE NEUTRAL, CONSISTENT, AND CLEAR FOR GSB.
AND, UM, THEN WE ALSO DO PROVIDE SOME NON-ATTEST SERVICES.
THAT IS THE COMPLETION OF THE APPROPRIATE SECTIONS OF THE DATA COLLECTION FORM.
THAT, UH, GOES ALONG WITH A PIECE OF THE SINGLE AUDIT WHERE WE HAVE TO REPORT TO THE FEDERAL AUDIT CLEARING HOUSE.
UH, FOR ALL A NON NON-ATTEST SERVICES, THE COUNTY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DESIGNATING A COMPETENT EMPLOYEE WHO OVERSEES THOSE SERVICES, MAKES ANY KIND OF MANAGEMENT DECISIONS, PERFORMS ALL MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS RELATED TO THOSE SERVICES, AND EVALUATES THE ADEQUACY OF THE SERVICES.
UH, WE ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY CIRCUMSTANCES OR RELATIONSHIPS THAT CREATE THREATS TO OUR AUDITOR INDEPENDENCE.
WE DID IDENTIFY THAT WE ARE INDEPENDENT OF THE COUNTY, AND WE HAVE MET OUR ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH RELEVANT ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO THE AUDITS.
UM, AND THEN A FEW MORE REQUIRED COMMUNICATIONS.
WE ENCOUNTERED NO DIFFICULTIES IN DEALING WITH MANAGEMENT IN PERFORMING OUR AUDIT, AS WELL AS NO DISAGREEMENTS WITH MANAGEMENT.
WE'RE NOT AWARE OF ANY MATTERS THAT WERE CONTENTIOUS.
UM, FOR THAT WE HAD TO GO TO SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF OUR ENGAGEMENT TEAM.
WE DID REQUEST THAT MANAGEMENT, UM,
[00:50:01]
SIGN A ME MANAGEMENT REPRESENTATION LETTER, WHICH WAS DATED AS OF THE DATE OF OUR AUDIT OPINION.AND THAT'S JUST BASICALLY WHERE THEY'RE STIPULATING TO US THAT THEY PROVIDED US ALL THE INFORMATION WE NEED TO PERFORM OUR AUDIT, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, AND THAT THE INFORMATION THAT THEY PROVIDED, UM, IS, UH, MATERIALLY CORRECT.
UH, WE ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY MANAGEMENT CONSULTATIONS.
UH, WE HAVE NO OTHER FINDINGS OR ISSUES.
WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY FRAUD OR ILLEGAL ACTS.
AND THEN THERE WERE NO EVENTS OR CONDITIONS NOTED THAT INDICATE SUBSTANTIAL DOUBT ABOUT THE COUNTY'S ABILITY TO CONTINUE AS A GOING CONCERN.
UM, LAST FEW ITEMS IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
IT IS MADE UP OF MANY VARIOUS DIFFERENT PARTS.
UH, YOU'LL, IT'S A VERY LONG PROCESS AND WE REALLY THANK THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
UM, THERE, SO THE FIRST SECTION OR ONE OF THE SECTIONS, AND THERE'S THE REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION THAT'S MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION ANALYSIS.
AND THEN THE SECTION THAT'S LABELED REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
UM, WE DO NOT EXPRESS AN OPINION OR PROVIDE ANY INSUR ASSURANCE ON THAT INFORMATION, BUT WE DO REVIEW IT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE OTHER INFORMATION THAT WAS AUDITED AS PART OF OUR, UM, PROCEDURES.
OTHER SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION IS THE OTHER SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION THAT'S LISTED IN THE TABLE OF CONTENTS, AS WELL AS THE SCHEDULE OF EXPENDITURE OF FEDERAL AWARDS.
UM, AND WE DO PROVIDE AN IN RELATION TO OPINION ON THAT INFORMATION.
AND THEN THERE IS THE INTRODUCTORY AND STATISTICAL SECTIONS.
UM, AND WE DO NOT EXPRESS ANY OPINION OR FORM OF ASSURANCE ON THOSE.
WE DO READ IT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THERE'S NOTHING THAT GLARINGLY STICKS OUT.
AND THEN VERY LAST ITEM IS UPCOMING FINANCIAL REPORTING CHANGES.
SO IF THE COUNTY ENJOYED GSB STATEMENT NUMBER 87, THEY WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ALMOST MIMIC IT WITH GSB STATEMENT NUMBER 96.
WHAT HAPPENED, THE 88 TO 95, THOSE ARE JUST AREN'T AS IMPORTANT.
UH, 96 IS FOR SUBSCRIPTION BASED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ARRANGEMENTS.
AND SIMILARLY TO, UH, IF YOU ARE A LESSEE, YOU WILL BE BRINGING ON A RIGHT TO USE ASSET IN A RELATED LIABILITY, UM, IF YOU HAVE THESE TYPES OF ARRANGEMENTS.
AND WITH THAT, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
I HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU AGAIN VERY MUCH FOR THE IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THAT THE COUNTY HAS.
AND I KNOW IT, IT'S A LONG DRAWN OUT PROCESS AND EVERYBODY, BUT IT COMES OUT WITH A CLEAN AUDIT.
AS LONG AS WE'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT, IT'S A TRIBUTE TO THE PROFESSIONALISM THAT TAKES PLACE HERE.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, OF COURSE.
DID YOU TEST ANY OF THE INTERNAL CONTROLS? YES, WE DO.
UM, AS A PART OF THE AUDIT PROCESS, WE ARE REQUIRED TO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF INTERNAL CONTROLS.
WE ALSO PERFORM TEST OF CONTROLS OVER DISBURSEMENTS AND PAYROLL.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE IDENTIFY AS A HIGHER, UM, RISK ITEM THAT WE CAN TAKE CREDIT FOR TESTING CONTROLS OVER.
AND WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY CONTROLLED DEFICIENCIES AS A PART OF THOSE PROCEDURES.
SO MY TAKEAWAY IS THAT AS THE CONCLUSION OF YOUR AUDIT, YOUR COUNTY FINANCES AND MC ACCOUNT PRACTICES, THERE ARE NO ISSUES THAT YOU COULD DISCOVER.
UM, AND WE ARE IN APPLICABLE, WE'RE IN LINE WITH ALL APPLICABLE LAWS AND, AND ACCOUNTANT PRACTICES.
FROM THE PROCEDURES THAT WE PERFORMED, WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ANYTHING THAT WAS REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED TO YOU NOW CONTROLLED DEFICIENCIES OR NON-COMPLIANCE OR FRAUD WASTE OR ABUSE.
SO CONGRATULATIONS THAT WE'RE SO MAINTAINING THE COURSE THERE, HOW DOES THAT COMPARE WITH, ARE WE THE TOP 1%? WHAT, WHAT DO WELL, I DON'T AUDIT EVERY LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND SO I DON'T HAVE THE STATISTICS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO, BUT IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, IN MY EXPERIENCE, CHERRY BECKER DOES TRY TO, UH, HAVE CLIENTS WHERE, UH, WE, THEY ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING AND MAINTAINING, UH, ALL THE PROPER CONTROLS.
UM, SO THEY'RE PRETTY ON PAR WITH OUR OTHER CLIENTS IN VIRGINIA.
ARE THERE OTHER ASPECTS OF COUNTY FINANCES AN ACCOUNTANT THAT YOUR AUDIT DOESN'T COVER? I MEAN, WELL, WE DON'T TEST 100% OF ANYTHING.
UH, SO WE DO, WE DO WHAT'S CALLED A RISK BASED AUDIT.
SO WE GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENTITY AND THEN WE DESIGN OUR PROCEDURES AROUND THOSE.
SO WE DON'T TEST EVERY SINGLE AUDIT AREA.
IF WE'VE DETERMINED THAT IT IS EVERY SINGLE AREA OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, IF WE'VE DETERMINED THAT IT'S NOT A RISK, UH, A RISKY AREA AND RIGHT.
[00:55:01]
IT.THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN, MA'AM.
UH, THIS ADDS ON TO STEVE'S QUESTION.
AND, AND THAT IS TRYING TO GET A FEEL FOR JUST HOW GOOD ARE WE RELATIVE TO THE UNIVERSE OF LIKE JURISDICTIONS, ANY WAY TO DETERMINE THAT, UH, WE'VE GOTTA LIVE WITH, WITH THE ADMINISTRATOR AND HIS TOP STAFF.
AND IF WE CAN GET BEAT TO DEATH BY THINGS LIKE PAY RAISES AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF, UH, JUST HOW GOOD ARE THESE IS THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION.
I MEAN, I'M VERY HAPPY THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO REPORT ANYTHING TO YOU TODAY.
SO I THINK, UH, THERE AND CAROLYN ARE DOING A GREAT JOB FROM MY AUDIT PERSPECTIVE.
UM, BUT I CAN'T COMPARE THEM TO EVERY LOCALITY WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.
BUT AT LEAST THIS IS AN HONORS THESIS.
IS THAT RIGHT? FOR
HAVE A GREAT EVENING EVERYONE.
WE'VE TAKEN CARE OF THAT PRESENTATION.
[CONSENT CALENDAR]
CONSENT CALENDAR.UH, ITEM ITEM NUMBER ONE IS AN AMENDMENT TO THE TOWER LEASE AGREEMENT.
ITEM NUMBER TWO IS THE, THE REQUEST FOR REFUNDED REAL PROPERTY TAXES.
NUMBER THREE IS THE ACCOMMODATION OF A RETIRED EMPLOYEE, DANNY DIGGS.
ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS PHASE TWO.
ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING THEY WOULD LIKE TO PULL? IF NOT, NUMBER ONE, PLEASE.
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, WHO'S GONNA DO THAT? WELL, RIGHT.
YOU AND I HAVE SPOKEN, I JUST KIND A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE, THE TOWER LEASE ITSELF AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO WITH THESE IMPROVEMENTS HERE.
SO THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT, UH, STARTED OVER 20 YEARS AGO AND IT WAS WITH NEW SINGULAR WIRELESS, WHICH IS NOW AT AND T.
SO ANYTIME THAT WE HAVE TOWER LEASES, YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO SOME RESEARCH TO FIND OUT WHICH COMPANY IT ACTUALLY IS THAT THERE'S BENEFITING FROM IT.
AT AND T IS CURRENTLY EXPANDING THEIR NETWORK AND THEY'RE GOING TO 5G AND THEY'RE ALSO EXPANDING SOMETHING THAT'S CALLED BROADBAND OR A PUBLIC SAFETY GRADE NETWORK.
TO DO THAT, THEY HAVE TO CHANGE ANTENNAS.
BASICALLY THEY'RE TAKING DOWN FOUR TO SIX ANTENNAS AND PUTTING UP FOUR TO SIX.
THAT'S EASY MODIFICATION AT THIS JUNCTURE.
THERE IS AN INDUSTRY THAT'S LOOKING AT CHARGING MAINTENANCE FEES.
WE HAVE TO CUT THE GRASS, WE HAVE TO PRESSURE WASH THE BUILDINGS, WE HAVE TO KEEP THINGS UP.
SO THIS IS OUR FIRST ONE THAT WE'VE PUT A FEE ON THERE TO DO IT.
AND MOST ARE AROUND $200 A MONTH.
AND AT AND T ACCEPTED OUR OFFER OF 2 25 FOR A MAINTENANCE FEE.
SO IT SIMPLY ALLOWS THEM TO PULL DOWN THEIR OLD ANTENNAS, PUT UP THEIR NEW ONES, AND NOW THEY'RE GOING TO INCREASE THEIR RENT BY ABOUT, BY $225 PER MONTH.
THE MONEY GOES INTO THE GENERAL FUND, AND IT'S USED TO HELP THE UPKEEP ON WHAT WE DO.
YOU KNOW, COUNTYWIDE, UH, THE CONTRACT THAT WE GET FROM AT AND T FOR THIS PARTICULAR SITE, WE HAVE TWO CONTRACTS ON THERE.
ONE IS VERIZON, ONE IS AT T AND T.
THEY'RE BETWEEN 36,040 $1,000 A YEAR, WHICH IS VERY HIGH FOR THE, FOR THE REGION.
THIS IS THE TOWER OF BAILEY FIELD.
THIS IS THE TOWER THAT'S LOCATED RIGHT NEXT TO THE IT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, NOT THE SMALL MONOPOLE, THE BIG 300.
SO HOW OFTEN DO WE DO MAINTENANCE? IS IT ONCE A MONTH? UH, WE DO MAINTENANCE ON IT AS NEEDED.
OUR GROUNDS MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT, UH, PUTS OUT WE KILL CUTS OF GRASS AROUND THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING.
UH, WE ACTUALLY HAD SOME DAMAGE IN THE LAST STORM THAT TOOK OUT PART OF THE FENCE.
SO WE'VE WORKED WITH, UH, FINANCE TO DO AN INSURANCE CLAIM AND CLEAN UP THE SITE AND HAD TO REPLACE PART OF THE FENCE, BUT IT'S ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS? IF NOT, YES.
NUMBER ONE, ONE QUICK ONE ABOUT THE, THE SITE.
DECIDE, WELL, I'LL, WE'LL GO AGE BEFORE BEAUTY
MY INTEREST IS REALLY, THERE MUST BE AN ANALYSIS THAT ALLOWS THERE TO BE A REFUND.
ANY IDEA WHAT THAT ANALYSIS IS, WHAT THE BOARD BOARDS ARE THAT WOULD BE NEW.
SO, UM, THESE ARE, THIS PARTICULAR ONE IS DRIVEN BY CHANGES IN STATE LAW.
JUST ABOUT EVERY YEAR THERE ARE NEW CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE THAT, UH, ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR, YOU KNOW, SOME TYPE OF REAL ESTATE.
THE BASEMENT ABATEMENT, I BELIEVE THIS ONE WAS A, A
[01:00:01]
VETERANS SITUATION.AND SO BASICALLY, UH, THE COMMISSIONER AND TREASURER NOTIFY US THAT, UH, THESE PEOPLE QUALIFY AND THEN UNDER THE LAW WE'RE OBLIGATED TO BRING IT TO YOU.
FROM A BUDGETING STANDPOINT, THAT'S ONE OF OUR CHALLENGES BECAUSE IN ADVANCE WE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHETHER THERE'S TWO OR THREE OR FOUR OF THESE OR, OR 25 OR 30 OF THEM.
AND, AND THE TREND IS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF EASY FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO DECIDE TO ADD SOME NEW CATEGORY, UH, WHERE THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT HAS TO GIVE THEIR MONEY BACK.
WELL, WE, WE PRETTY MUCH RELY ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS TO ADVISE US AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, MR. HILL AND JUST BARNETT LOOK AT IT, CAN VERIFY THAT IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE STATE LAW AND THEN WE PUT IT ON.
MR. MORGAN, I, I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SIDEWALK.
AND YEAH, AND I JUST WANTED YOU TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE, THE CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMS. AND WE GET A LOT OF CALLS FROM CITIZENS WHO WANT SIDEWALKS AND WANNA MAKE YORK A MORE WALKABLE COMMUNITY.
SO IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT THAT.
AND THIS IS JUST FOR MORE THE PUBLIC EDIFICATION MORE THAN THE BOARD, CUZ I KNOW WE ALL ARE, I KNOW WE ALL ARE UP ON, UH, WHAT'S GOING ON.
WELL, SO THANKS FOR GIVING ME THE CHANCE.
AS YOU KNOW, I FEEL PRETTY STRONGLY ABOUT THIS AND AS THE BOARD HAS OBSERVED, IT TAKES A NUMBER OF YEARS TO GET SOME MOMENTUM GOING FOR THIS.
AND AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF WORKING ON IT AND DESIGNS AND AUTHORIZING PROJECTS AND APPLYING FOR GRANTS, WE'RE NOW FINALLY STARTING TO SEE SOME CONSTRUCTION.
THIS IS THE SECOND BATCH OF THOSE.
AND WE JUST RECENTLY, UH, GOT APPROVAL FROM VDOT FOR OUR GRANT MATCH.
SO ABOUT 30% OF THIS, UH, CONTRACT WILL BE REIMBURSED FROM THE STATE GRANT MATCH.
THERE'S THREE SIDEWALK PROJECTS IN THIS PARTICULAR BATCH.
UH, THE WAY THE CONTRACT IS WRITTEN, THE CONTRACTOR CAN CHOOSE THE SEQUENCE OF WORK.
SO I CAN'T TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, WHICH ONE IS GONNA GO FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD.
UM, UH, ONE IS UP, UH, THAT SORT OF WRAPS AROUND MAGRUDER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHICH IS KIND OF INTERESTING CAUSE THERE'S ALREADY A SIDEWALK ON THE HUB LANE SIDE.
THIS WILL TIE INTO THAT, COME UP TO MERRIMACK TRAIL, GO TO THE WIDER BUS STOP AND TIE INTO THE SIDEWALK THAT GOES ALL THE WAY INTO, UH, WILLIAMSBURG ON SECOND STREET.
AND IT SORT OF CONNECTS SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY THERE.
MAKES IT EASIER TO GET TO SOME OF THAT COMMERCIAL AREA.
UH, THE SECOND ONE IS ON, UM, UM, OLD WILLIAMSBURG ROAD, WHICH BASICALLY WILL, UM, CONNECT, UH, THE WOODS OF YORKTOWN APARTMENT COMPLEX, UH, WITH, UH, LACKIE FREE CLINIC, CHARLES BROWN PARK, UH, THE LITTLE RETAIL AREA IN LACKEY, AS WELL AS THE ENTRANCE TO THE WEAPONS STATION.
SO, UH, WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT ONE.
UH, THAT'S ACTUALLY THE ONE THAT, THAT TOOK US A WHILE TO, UH, TO GET APPROVED BECAUSE WE HAD TO GET AN EASEMENT FROM THE NAVY, UH, BECAUSE THEY HAVE SOME CONTROL OF THE REAL ESTATE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE ROAD.
AND THE THIRD ONE IS A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT ONE.
UH, AND IT WILL BE ALONG, UH, BIG BUFFALO ROAD COMING OUTTA ONE OF THE ENTRANCES OF RUNNING MAN, UH, AND GOING DOWN TO THE FRONT OF TAB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, UH, SO THAT, UH, UH, FAMILIES AND, AND THEIR OLDER CHILDREN CAN CHOOSE TO WALK TO THE SCHOOL.
AND AS YOU ALL ARE AWARE, MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS HAVE A LITTLE TRAFFIC JAM AT, AT DROPOFF TIME.
AND OVER, OVER THE YEARS, WE HOPE TO HAVE SEVERAL OF THESE THAT TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF THE COMMUTE PRESSURE OFF AND GIVE MORE PEOPLE AN OPTION TO WALK OUT.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL MOVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
MOTION MADE BY MR. GREEN JUST TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS SUBMITTED.
[OPEN DISCUSSION]
THE NEXT TOPIC WILL BE OPEN DISCUSSION.DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING THEY WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT OR DISCUSS? I HAVE A TOPIC.
SO, A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, THIS BOARD TOOK A LOOK AT OPTIONS OF WHAT TO DO WITH THE OLD FIRE STATION.
AND WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS OF, UM, REQUESTING PROPOSALS, GOT SOME FEEDBACK, AND FORTUNATELY, NONE OF THOSE LOOKED TO BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE, THAT COULD WORK FOR THAT SPOT.
SO AT THAT POINT, WE DECIDED TO MOVE FORWARD.
WE GO AHEAD AND TAKE THAT BUILDING DOWN, RETURNING TO GREEN SPACE, AND HOPEFULLY HAVING A FLAT LOT WOULD MAKE IT MORE ATTRACTIVE TO SOMEBODY COMING IN BEHIND IT.
SINCE THEN, THERE SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE, MORE RENEWED INTEREST IN SOME PEOPLE COMING FORWARD AND SAYING, HEY, WHAT IF WE DID X WITH, WITH THE SPOT? AND I SPOKE TO TWO PEOPLE WHO, UH, LOOK AT ONE POTENTIALLY MOVING A BUSINESS THERE AND TWO, A, A, UM, SOCIAL SERVICES TYPE ORGANIZATION
[01:05:01]
MAY WANT TO SET UP SHOP THERE.AND I THINK THERE'S BEEN SOME OTHER PEOPLE LOOKING AT IT AS WELL.
SO GIVEN THAT ACTIVITY, DO WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE MAY WANT TO GIVE IT A SECOND LOOK, SECOND CHANCE AT THIS POINT? UM, WELL, LET'S THINK, LET'S THINK ABOUT IT.
I KNOW PARKING'S ALWAYS BEEN A PROBLEM THERE, BUT, UM, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT UP AND WE CAN CONSIDER IT LATER ON.
YOU KNOW OF SOME BUSINESSES THAT I INTEREST, I SPOKE TO ONE BUSINESS THAT'S IN NEWPORT NEWS LOOKING TO MOVE BACK IN, MOVE INTO YORK COUNTY.
UM, AND WE TALKED, WE TALKED ABOUT THE BUILDING AND THE THE OTHER ORGANIZATION, UM, HAS TORE IT AND LIKES THE SPACE A LOT.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH IT WOULD TAKE TO TURN IT BACK UP, BUT YEAH.
I I KNOW, RIGHT? THERE'S SO MUCH WORK THAT HAS TO BE DONE ON IT.
THAT'S WHY WE DECIDED THAT IT'D BE BETTER TO TAKE IT DOWN.
BUT I APPRECIATE THAT AND WE'LL, WE'LL CONSIDER IT RIGHT LATER OR NOT.
ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, I TALKED TO, UH, UH, SOON TO BE OUR NEW SHERIFF, RON MONTGOMERY, UM, ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THEY'VE BEEN HAVING IN, UH, IN UH, YORK COUNTY.
AND ONE OF THE PROBLEMS RIGHT NOW, SURPRISINGLY, IT'S NOT SURPRISING, BUT IT IS SURPRISING THAT IT'S COME, IT'S RISEN TO THE LEVEL THAT REQUIRES OUR, UH, I THINK IT REQUIRES OUR ATTENTION.
AND THAT IS THE SCAMMING THAT'S GOING ON EITHER ON THE COMPUTER OR THE PHONE.
NOW, MANY OF US HAVE KNOW, WE ALWAYS THINK WE'RE ON TOP OF THIS.
UH, WE, WE KNOW WHEN WE'RE NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE, SOMEBODY'S SCREWING AROUND WITH US.
AND I REALLY LIKE THE FACT THAT OUR IT DEPARTMENT CHALLENGES US.
EVERY NOW AND THEN, THEY'LL SEND OUT AN EMAIL AND SURE ENOUGH, YOU'LL THINK, WELL, THIS MAKES SENSE.
AND IT GOES, AH, YOU'VE BEEN CAUGHT.
RIGHT? UH, UNFORTUNATELY, UH, IN REAL WORLD OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTY COMPUTER SYSTEM, UH, WE DON'T HAVE THAT.
WHAT WE HAVE IS PEOPLE CLICKING ON STUFF THAT ENDS UP, UH, CAUSING PROBLEMS WHERE THERE, YOU KNOW, VIRUSES GETTING ON IT, THEY'RE BEING TROLLED FOR DIFFERENT PRODUCTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, OR PERSONAL INFORMATION.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS AN OLD APPROVED SCAM THAT SEEMS TO WORK, THAT DEALS WITH THE PHONE CALLS, UM, AND THEY, THE PEOPLE ON THE OTHER END THAT ARE DOING THE SCAMMING ARE, ARE REALLY GOOD AND REALLY GOOD AT WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
UM, YOU HEAR THE ONES THAT THE MECHANICAL VOICE COMES ON AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA CUT OFF YOUR POWER, WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING.
THOSE ARE EASY, THOSE ARE EASY TO PITCH OUT.
BUT IT'S THE ONE WHEN YOU GET A CALL AND YOU THINK IT'S A FAMILY MEMBER.
YOU THINK IT'S A FAMILY MEMBER BECAUSE THEY, THEY KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO BE ABLE TO, TO CALL AND USE NAMES AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
UM, SADLY, PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTY AND OUR CONS, CONSTITUENTS ARE BEING, UH, JUST AMAZINGLY, UH, GET TRAPPED.
AND WE HAD A CASE, UH, JUST RECENTLY WHERE AN ELDERLY COUPLE THOUGHT THAT THEIR GRANDDAUGHTER, UH, WAS IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW AND REQUIRED, UH, CASH BAILOUT AND THEY GAVE A COURIER 16,000 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN CASH.
OKAY? UM, COURIER SHOWED UP AND TOOK THE MONEY AND OFF HE WENT ON THE MOTOR, ON THE MOTORCYCLE.
UH, THEY HAD A CAMERA, UH, THAT, THE DOOR CAMERA THAT TOOK THIS.
BUT YOU WOULD SIT THERE AND THINK, HOW IN THE WORLD WOULD SOMEBODY UH, FALL INTO THAT TRAP? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THE EMOTIONAL CALL'S NOT A MECHANICAL CALL, IT'S AN EMOTIONAL CALL.
THEY'RE USING YOUR NAME, THEY'RE CALLING YOUR GRANDMA, AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE STRESSED OUT.
AND YOU CHALLENGE 'EM A LITTLE BIT AND, AND, OH, I'M SUFFERING FROM A COLD OR MY VOICE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
BUT HOW'S PAPA OR HOW'S SOMEBODY AND YOU, YOU FALL INTO THIS TRAP, OKAY? IF YOU'RE NOT, IF YOU JUST NOT AWARE OF IT.
THE HIGHEST ONE THAT KEPT OUR MAJOR MONTGOMERY TOLD ME ABOUT THE, THE CASH, UH, PAYOUT WAS A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
SOMEBODY GIVING YOU COME IN WITH AND GIVE YOU, UH, SHOWS UP.
I'M HERE TO COLLECT THE MONEY FOR THE BAIL.
AND THEY GIVE YOU A HUNDRED, THEY GIVE 'EM A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
SO THIS IS GOING ON AND IT IS NOT, YOU KNOW, IF I SCREW AROUND, UH, AND THEY MISS A HUNDRED CALLS, SAY, BUT IF THEY GET ONE, JUST ONE FOR A COUPLE HOURS WORTH OF WORK, YOU'VE MADE 16,000 TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
UM, AND MY ADVICE TO CITIZENS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE YOUR MONEY, IT'S IN YOUR WALLET, IT'S IN YOUR HAND, IT'S IN YOUR POCKET, IT'S IN YOUR BANK, AND IT'S YOURS TO HANG ONTO.
OKAY? AND THE POINT IS, EMOTIONS CAN GET YOU TO GIVE THAT OUT.
YOU'RE GIVING YOUR MONEY AWAY.
BUT THERE'S ALL KIND OF WAYS, THERE'S ALL KIND OF WAYS TO CHECK.
NOW, DOMINION POWER IS SENT OUT A LETTER TO EVERYBODY THAT'S ON THEIR SERVICE TALKING ABOUT THE SCAMS. CUZ PEOPLE GOING, YOU'RE GETTING THE CALLS, WELL, WE'RE GONNA CUT.
WE'RE GONNA, YOU DON'T PAY THIS, WE'RE GONNA SHUT YOUR POWER OFF.
[01:10:01]
HOW DOMINION POWER WORKS.LAW ENFORCEMENT CALLS UP AND SAYS, WELL, WE GOT A BENCH WARRANT.
THAT'S BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T SHOWN UP IN COURT.
AND AT A CERTAIN POINT, UH, AND WE, UH, WE NEED, YOU CAN PAY IT AT THE CALL SO AND SO, AND YOU CAN PAY THE, THE FINE, WHICH IS GONNA BE $200 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THAT'S NOT THE WAY LAW ENFORCEMENT OR BAIL SYSTEMS WORK.
THE POINT IS JUST HANG UP THE PHONE.
ALRIGHT? IF IT SOUNDS, IF IT SOUNDS EATING A LITTLE BIT SWEET, JUST HANG UP AND CALL THE, CALL THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
AND MY DAUGHTER HAD ONE THAT I SWEAR, I THOUGHT IT WAS NO KIDDING.
SOME, SOME IN THE MIDDLE OF VIRGINIA WAS, UH, AND I GO, HEY MAN, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU MIGHT HAVE TROUBLE TO GIVE HER THE PHONE.
AND SHE GOES, HE LISTENS, SAYS, OKAY, THANK YOU.
UH, AND THEN SHE GOES, HANGS UP CALLS THE, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT.
AND THEY GO, NO, WE DON'T DO THAT.
SO I'M JUST TELLING YOU, THEY'RE OUT THERE.
THIS TIME OF THE YEAR IS PARTICULARLY THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.
UH, THE SCAMS ARE, THEY'RE JUST, THEY'RE REALLY PROFESSIONAL.
THEY SOUND LIKE YOU PEOPLE REALLY NEED THE MONEY, BUT ALL THEY'RE DOING IS SCAMMING YOU OF YOUR MONEY.
OKAY? THIS IS, IS NOT HOW BUSINESSES WORK.
THIS IS NOT HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT WORKS.
AND, UM, SO YOU HAVE TO, YOU HAVE TO BE SMART ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE IT WITH QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE TO, THAT ONLY YOUR FAMILY WOULD KNOW.
AND THEN IF NOT, YOU CAN JUST LOOK AT, YOU CAN JUST HANG UP AND SAY, LOOK, I'LL CALL THE, THE, THE OFFICE OR THE BUSINESS OR THE, OR THE, UH, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND DON'T CALL THE NUMBER THEY GIVE YOU.
OKAY? YOU CAN LOOK 'EM UP AND FIND THAT.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS THAT NUMBER ONE CRIME WE HAVE IN OUR COUNTY IS LARCENY FROM VEHICLES.
OKAY? UM, WE'VE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH DOWN IN THE SOUTHERN END OF THE COUNTY, AT LEAST IN MY DISTRICT, THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN HAMMERED BY, UH, THIS IN A WHILE.
BUT IT'S BEEN PICKING UP, UH, UP THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE, OF THE, UH, COUNTY.
AND WHAT THEY'LL DO NOW IS THERE'S, THERE'S A, UH, WINDOW BREAKING TOOL.
OKAY? AND IT'S A, IT'S NOT LIKE YOU JAB IT, THEY HAVE TO BREAK IT, UH, HIT A HAMMER LIKE THAT.
YOU JUST TAKE THIS LITTLE TOOL ABOUT, IT'S A LITTLE BIT BIGGER THAN THIS PIN AND YOU PUT IT AGAINST THE WINDOW, HIT THE TRIGGER ON IT, AND IT SHATTERS THE SIDE WINDOW, OKAY? AND IT HAPPENS REAL QUICKLY.
SO WHAT'LL HAPPEN A LOT OF TIMES IS, UH, PEOPLE WILL GET OUTTA THE CAR, ALRIGHT? AND THEY'LL GO INTO A WALMART OR, UH, KROGER OR SOME OTHER BIG BOX DOOR, LOWE'S OR WHATEVER, AND THESE GUYS ARE SITTING OUT THERE JUST WATCHING IT.
AND LADIES, WHEN YOU GET OUTTA YOUR CAR AND YOU DON'T HAVE A PURSE, MORE THAN LIKELY YOUR PURSE IS IN YOUR CAR.
ALRIGHT? AND GUYS, WHEN YOU GET OUTTA THE CAR, YOU BETTER MAKE SURE YOUR WALLET'S WITH YOU AND IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING OF VALUE IN YOUR CAR, IF IT'S SITTING OUT, BECAUSE THEY WILL THEN DRIVE UP REAL QUICKLY.
ONE, ONE WILL DRIVE UP, THEY'LL STOP THE CAR, THE OTHER ONE JUMPS OUT, GOES OVER AND HITS IT WITH THE, THE, THE LITTLE GUN AND THEY GRAB WHATEVER THEY CAN AND GONE.
SO TODAY WE ARE GETTING WALLETS, PURSES, CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, GUNS, GOLF CLUBS, ANYTHING ELSE.
SO IF YOU VALUE YOUR STUFF, UM, EITHER PUT IT IN THE TRUNK, MAYBE THAT'LL HELP TO A POINT.
AT LEAST IT'S NOT VISIBLE CUZ THEY GOTTA GET IN AND GET OUT QUICK.
AND THESE DIRT BAGS ARE STEALING HARD EARNED, UH, MONEY TO GET, UH, BUY DRUGS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND THEY'RE JUST, UM, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, SAD, REALLY SAD.
AND THIS SCAM ON THE PHONE IS THE ONE THAT'S JUST TO ME IS REALLY DISHEARTENING TO HEAR PEOPLE CUZ THEY JUST CARE ABOUT THEIR FAMILIES.
WELL, I DO HAVE A FEW THINGS TO SAY.
ACTUALLY, WHAT I HAVE IS SOME PEOPLE THAT I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE ONE OF THEM, FOR EXAMPLE, THE FIRST ONE I HAVE ON MY LIST IS THE COMMUNITY SERVICE STAFF WHO WERE INVOLVED IN OBTAINING THE COMMUNITY BLOCK GRANT OF $1,346,195 FROM THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, WHICH IS GOING TO HELP TO REVITALIZE 12 HOMES IN YOUR AREA AND OFF OF CARRIE'S CHAPEL ROAD.
UH, THE, THE SECOND ONE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE, THE 22 NEW YORK COUNTY GRADUATES OF THE PENINSULA MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM THAT'S RUN BY THE VIRGINIA COOPERATIVE.
THIS LOCAL PROGRAM IS CELEBRATED ITS 40TH YEAR, AND JIM ORBAN, WHO SPOKE AT THE GRADUATION, ACTUALLY WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING IT STARTED HERE ON THE COUNTY.
AND FINALLY, THE ONE THAT I HAVE, WELL, IT'S NOT REALLY FINALLY, BUT THE COLONIAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ORGANIZATION IS CELEBRATING ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY
[01:15:02]
TODAY.AND DAVID COHEN IS BORN AND STAFF DO SUCH A MARVELOUS JOB.
UNFORTUNATELY, I WASN'T ABLE TO ATTEND THE LUNCHEON THAT THEY HAD BECAUSE I HAD SOMETHING ELSE, BUT I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S A MILESTONE FOR ANY ORGANIZATION THAT HAS LASTED THIS LONG.
AND IT DOES SO MUCH TO HELP THE COMMUNITY.
AND FINALLY, IN THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, I'VE MET WITH DELEGATE AMANDA BATON, SENATOR MON MASON AND SENATOR MA LOCKE.
I ALSO MET WITH SENATOR NORMAN EA MICHAEL KEMP, TO DISCUSS THE COUNTY'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR THE COMING YEAR.
OUR PRIORITIES, UH, THE OTHER DELEGATES EITHER WERE UNAVAILABLE, BUT I WILL TRY TO TALK WITH THEM.
I THINK I ASKED YOU SUPERVISORS IF PERHAPS YOU WOULD SEE SOMEBODY, BUT I, ONLY ONE WHO ANSWERED ME WAS TOM.
UM, PLEASE, IT'S A SHORT SESSION AND MAYBE NOT ENOUGH WILL BE WORTH YOUR WHILE, BUT I THINK THE FACE TO FACE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH OUR REPRESENTATIVES IS VERY IMPORTANT.
EVEN THOUGH NECESSARILY WE MIGHT NOT GET ANYTHING ON OUR AGENDA PAST THIS YEAR, AT LEAST WE WOULD BRING IT TO THEIR ATTENTION AND THEY WRITE NOTES DOWN AND THEY WOULD CONSIDER IT.
EITHER PUT IT, THINK ABOUT IT, MAYBE NEXT YEAR.
BUT I, I THINK COMMUNICATION'S A KEY.
I ALWAYS SAY THAT AND I, I THINK WE ALL NEED TO GET MORE INVOLVED WITH OUR REPRESENTATIVES IN RICHMOND.
I, I THINK, I THINK IT BEHOOVES US TO DO THAT AS OUR REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR CITIZENS.
BUT THAT'S ALL THAT I HAVE FOR THAT.
AND I THINK WE'RE NOW GONNA BE GOING INTO A
[CLOSED MEETING]
CLOSED SESSION, BUT BE, I WANNA LET THE PEOPLE KNOW THAT OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE DECEMBER THE 20TH IN THE BOARD ROOM UPSTAIRS.AND TOM, WOULD YOU TAKE US INTO CLOSED SESSION DUTIES? SURE.
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 2.2 37 11, A1 CODE VIRGINIA MOVED THAT THE BOARD SUPERVISORS CONVENE IN A CLOSE MEETING TO CONSIDER PERSONNEL MATTERS INVOLVING, UH, LET'S SEE WHAT WE GOT HERE.
EMPLOYMENT AND AN APPOINTMENT.
MS. MEETING IS GOING INTO CLOSED SESSIONS.