Minutes 03-19-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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She said tourism is a form of economic development and economic retention, as these visitors help keep these new restaurants and hotels open. Commissioner Rich said it is important to understand that there is an increase in tourism related to youth sports such as soccer. She said there are efforts to increase stay over travelers. Commissioner porosin asked if the Visitor's Bureau is responsible for the interstate sign "You will be a fan for life." Laurie Paolicelli said no. She said a former agent at the Visitors Bureau came up with this slogan, but there is no campaign tied to it. Commissioner porosin asked how this can be changed. Laurie Paolicelli said she would look into this. Commissioner porosin said this is more than a university town. Commissioner Price asked if the Visitor's Bureau is considering moving to a new location for more visibility. Laurie Paolicelli said no formal decisions have been made on this, and it has been a discussion item for years. She said she believed if the bureau was in a more visible transit corridor there would be more walk in traffic. Commissioner porosin asked where this location would be in Orange County. Laurie Paolicelli said she would like to be closer to the MLK/I-40 freeway entrance. She said there may need to be a joint effort with the municipalities. She said another option would be to put in visitor kiosks, and a future goal is to have more interactivity. Chair McKee said he actually received a letter today that discussed the origin of the earlier referenced slogan. Chair McKee referenced the work done by the visitor's bureau, and he thanked them for their efforts. • Commission for the Environment - Jan Sassaman, Chair Jan Sassaman said the Commissioner for the Environment had an opportunity to meet with the Board of County Commissioners last fall, and it was a very productive meeting. He thanked the Board of County Commissioners for promptly approving the candidacy of Lynne Gronbeck on March 17th. He said this year the commission has taken it on themselves to informally interview candidates and invite them to their meetings, and this has worked out well. Jan Sassaman referred to the concerns and emerging issues on the last page of the report. He thanked Commissioner porosin for his suggestion of the need to address some of the environmental justice issues, and he said the commission is taking steps to do that. He said there will be several people from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the next meeting, and their focus will be on health and environmental justice. He said the goal will be to introduce the terminology and important issues in order to update the State of the Environment report in a directed fashion. He said a schedule has been set to have frequent interest articles in the local newspapers regarding some of the issues brought out in the State of the Environment. He said the first of these issues will be regarding the invasive plant species, hydrilla. Commissioner Rich said she attended one of their board meetings, and it is a very active board. She said all of the members meshed well together and this is an advantage to getting things done. Commissioner Price suggested that it may be beneficial to broaden the scope and membership of the board to include an environmental justice position.