2022 09 22 WS Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR WORK SESSION OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
September 22, 2022
The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, met in a Regular Work Session on Thursday,
September 22, 2022, at 5:50 P.M. in the Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market
Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance:
Laura Alvarado Council Member
Chris Presley Council Member
Charles Johnson Mayor Pro Tern
Heather Betancourth Council Member
Jacob Powell Council Member
Mike Lester Council Member
Brandon Capetillo Mayor
Rick Davis City Manager
Scott Lemond City Attorney
Angela Jackson City Clerk
John Stringer Sergeant at Arms
Mayor Capetillo convened the September 22, 2022, City Council Regular Work Session with a
quorum present at 5:50 P.M., and with all members present.
1. DISCUSSIONS
a. Receive a presentation from the Public Affairs Department and partner consultant
team of the new Visit Baytown Three-Year Strategic Plan.
Tourism Manager Anna Yowell introduced herself and presented the item to Council. Ms. Yowell
communicated that a year ago the Public Affairs' Tourism Division issued a Request for Proposal
(RFP) for a tourism strategic and action plan as well as a visitor profile study. Due to the COVID-
19 pandemic, there was a new travel climate. Thus, Public Affairs' Tourism Division asked for an
RFP that included the following three deliverables:
1) A strategic plan that looked at the current conditions of the community and stakeholders;
2) Identify strategic imperatives to guide the City into the future; and
3) A visitor analysis to identify who was traveling to Baytown.
As a result of the RFP, Ms. Yowell worked with a team of consultants from Magellan Strategy
Group and introduced Mr. Chris Cavanaugh, who would give an overview of their research and
insights. First, Mr. Cavanaugh explained that their team had put together a three-year plan that
would allow the City the opportunity to improvise. The three components previously mentioned
were used to form the plan,and the first part of their research had been for the visitor profile.Their
team used mobile geolocation location data which took the data from everyone that used location-
based apps anonymously. Secondly,the team looked at the hotel market performance for Baytown
City Council Regular Work Session Minutes
September 22,2022
Page 2 of 5
in terms of occupancy,average daily rate, and revenue per available room.With that data,the team
looked at several comparable markets within the Houston metropolitan area. Lastly, the team
conducted focus groups with over thirty(30) Baytown tourism stakeholders and staff.
Mr. Cavanaugh shared the guiding principles of the plan were as follows:
1) Build from strengths; 4) Be realistic about available resources; and
2) Be authentic; 5) What would be good for the destination,be
3) Be intentional; good for the community.
The identified strengths for Baytown as a destination were listed as follows:
• Location along IH-10; • Texas Avenue's Potential;
• Year-round Petrochemical-related • Historic Roots;
Business Travel; • Pirates Bay;
• Proximity to Houston; • Events;
• Waterfront Location; • The New Hotel Convention Center; and
• Passionate Arts Community; • Youth and Amateur Sports.
The identified weaknesses of Baytown were mentioned as follows:
• Incomplete destination assets (Texas Avenue, water-related, and historical);
• Low profile of tourism in the community and relatively few advocates;
• Lack of ongoing product development; and
• Awareness of Baytown connected to highly visible petrochemical industries.
With that, Mr. Cavanaugh relayed their team had identified the following strategic imperatives:
1) Make Baytown tourism more relevant to more people;
2) Optimize the investment of resources;
3) Leverage strengths and pursue additional product development; and
4) Invest in the destination brand.
Imperative 1: Make Tourism More Relevant to More People
Baytown had passionate advocates for tourism in the following sectors: the arts, sports, and Parks
and Recreation. Mr. Cavanaugh expressed they want to find ways to grow those communities to
make more people interested and to bring them in to Baytown. By doing so, Mr. Cavanaugh spoke
on how the tourism would support small businesses. On another note, Baytown would continue to
host business travelers connected to the petrochemical industries. Mr. Cavanaugh relayed there
were ways to encourage such individuals to spend more time and money in Baytown as well.
The goal of the first imperative was to elevate the perception of Baytown in terms of tourism. Mr.
Cavanaugh imparted their team had two strategies to do just that.The first strategy was to celebrate
tourism successes. He noted it was customary to hold annual tourism events that celebrated
pioneers of tourism,business owners, and hospitality employees.The second strategy was to build
City Council Regular Work Session Minutes
September 22,2022
Page 3 of 5
a bigger tourism tent. Specifically, Mr. Cavanaugh indicated there was an opportunity to have a
tourism advisory council to help advise the City on what was going on with the community.
Imperative 2: Optimize the Investment of Resources
Baytown had great foundational drivers of occupancy. Hotel occupancy, in particular, was good
as those travelers help pay to grow Baytown's tourism economy. With that, Mr. Cavanaugh
believed there was an opportunity to optimize resources for more effective uses. The Brunson
Theater, for example, was an underutilized asset which could drive more pedestrian and customer
traffic along Texas Avenue. In contrast, Pirates Bay was a tremendous driver of visitation. The
goal of the second imperative was to maximize the use of available financial and staff resources
as a mean to improve the City's Return on Investment ("ROI") and to attract additional support.
To accomplish that goal, Mr. Cavanaugh listed the following strategies:
1) Make better use of current tourism staff resources;
2) Leverage amateur and youth sports;
3) Engage in purpose-driven tourism development in partnership with other City departments;
4) Further leverage the potential of Pirates Bay as a motivator of visitation;
5) Integrate the Hotel Convention Center in to the Tourism Division's marketing program;
6) Promote weddings and family reunions more prominently;
7) Regularly assess the ROI of initiatives and the potential of future tourism initiatives; and
8) Enhance the ROI of Baytown's HOT Grant programs.
Imperative 3: Leverage Strengths and Pursue Additional Product Development
Mr. Cavanaugh clarified "product development" meant visitors' experiences which could range
from capital assets to events.His team believed the opportunities in Baytown fell into two different
categories. The first category was of assets that were complete but, in order to remain competitive,
needed investment. For example, youth and amateur sports was an incredibly competitive field
where communities spent millions of dollars to attract tournaments. The second category was of
assets that were not yet complete and, likewise, needed investment. Therefore, the goal of the
imperative was to continually invest in Baytown's current and potential destination strengths.
The strategies to accomplish the goal of the imperative were relayed as follows:
1) Develop a master plan for regular capital investment in destination assets;
2) Establish direct support for desired small tourism-related business growth; and
3) Measure and assess the impact and potential of Baytown tourism investment by using
newly available research tools.
Imperative 4: Invest in the Destination Brand
Baytown lacked a true destination brand which was more than just a logo. A brand was the
emotional connection visitors and residents had with a place. For example, Las Vegas was known
as an adult playground. Mr. Cavanaugh suggested the City have a well-thought out process to
establish a brand they wished Baytown to be known for in the marketplace. What would visitors
City Council Regular Work Session Minutes
September 22,2022
Page 4 of 5
associate Baytown in the marketplace of destinations? The goal of the imperative was to increase
awareness of Baytown as both a destination and a place to work and live. Mr.Cavanaugh explained
the investments the City made in tourism would pay off in terms of getting people to relocate and
to bring businesses. The strategy to do that would be to establish a new brand for Baytown tourism
that captured the benefits the City provided while also being aspirational.
In conclusion, Mr. Cavanaugh stated success for Baytown tourism looked like the following:
• More travelers choosing Baytown because they want to, not because they have to;
• Improved quality of life for residents and quality of visit for visitors;
• Increase hotel occupancy, visitor spending, and length of stay;
• Residents and stakeholders placing a higher value on tourism;
• Increased and consistent investment in product development; and
• Greater integration of tourism and strategic discussion of tourism opportunities.
Mr. Cavanaugh noted a full written report would be available within the next week, and then
opened the floor to questions. With regard to revising HOT Grants,Council Member Presley noted
Council had done that recently. HOT Grants no longer came before Council as they were now
handled administratively. He inquired over the changes Mr. Cavanaugh anticipated and Mr.
Cavanaugh shared their team had a couple of suggestions. One suggestion, in particular, was to
offer a program of cooperative marketing opportunities to make it easier for HOT Grant recipients
to invest their dollars. As there were many options for investing marketing dollars, what could the
City do to help those tax dollars be more effective? Mr. Cavanaugh further shared his team had
suggestions on how to measure the ROI of those tax dollars as well as an evaluation process.
With that, Council Member Presley discussed how District 2 had a huge tie to the Hotel
Convention Center. He believed it was time to stimulate tourism and small business growth, and
complimented the strategy on being aspirational. The strategy seemed different than years past,
and Council Member Presley believed they were on the right track. With regard to the Hotel
Convention Center, Mr. Cavanaugh discussed the opportunities along Goose Creek and Texas
Avenue to make attendees happy with their visitor experience. Council Member Johnson requested
clarification on who were the tourism stakeholders that were mentioned. Mr. Cavanaugh replied
they were businesses and organizations where their success depended on tourism success as well.
Council Member Johnson then took a moment to speak on the need for youth sports in Baytown.
Mr. Cavanaugh shared his recommendations, such as establishing a sports commission. Council
then proceeded to engage in a discussion concerning matters of expanding Baytown's sports
industry. Mayor Capetillo requested Mr. Cavanaugh's thoughts on having a tourism board with
different types of stakeholders be kept separate from a sports authority. Mr. Cavanaugh agreed on
having a sports commission while also having an advisory council that would bring all those
different types of stakeholders together. Mayor Capetillo briefly mused whether to reconstitute the
Arts and Culture Committee, and lastly thanked Mr. Cavanaugh for his presentation.
b. Discuss any or all of the agenda items on the City Council Regular Meeting Agenda
for September 22,2022, which is attached below.
City Council Regular Work Session Minutes
September 22,2022
Page 5of5
With consideration of the time, no discussion had taken place over any agenda items on the City
Council Regular Meeting for September 22, 2022.
2. ADJOURN
With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor Capetillo adjourned the September 22,
2022, City Council Regular Work Session at 6:24 P.M.
u
Angela it ckson
City of Baytown' *t m*
� jjbyar / ��
B'•ln e,p 49w .r
k_... Fr«.t'