03/10/06 Minutes

GWCC AUTHORITY
CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
March 10, 2006

MINUTES
________________________________________

Present:
Richard Cohen, Chairman
Glenn Hicks, Ex-officio
Dan Graveline, Staff
Khalil Johnson, Staff
Mark Banta, Staff
Brian Hill, Staff

Absent:
Ray Anderson
Nancy Coverdell
Jim Edenfield



Chair Cohen called the meeting to order at 12:10 p.m. and welcomed committee members and GWCCA staff to the meeting.

PROGRAMMING UPDATE

Summer Concert Series
COP will continue its regular summer concert series with Music at Noon, Wednesday WindDown, and Got Jazz. We are still looking at options to continue an On-the-Bricks type of concert series. We feel the series should be free to the public as we do not think the Park should become a commercial concert venue. We should know in the near future if this type of series is viable. Fourth Saturday Family Fun Days and our annual July Fourth celebration are also scheduled again for this summer. We have been talking with Southern Comfort about hosting a two-day free concert event sponsored by Southern Comfort on Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21.

Olympic 10-Year Anniversary
Mr. Graveline and Mark Banta have been part of a committee, headed by the Atlanta Sports Council, established to organize a 10-year anniversary celebration of the Atlanta Olympic Games. The Olympic celebration will be launched in conjunction with the Peachtree Road Race and our July Fourth celebration event. The Olympic celebration will mark the opening of the Olympic Museum with two-nights of festivities on July 13 and July 14. There will be two days of activities in the Park on July 19 and July 20. The July 19 event will host the 1996 Olympic volunteers and the July 20 event will be open to the public. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 11 will offer free promotional services. T.D. Jakes will be on campus July 19 through July 22 and will be an added audience potential for Olympic celebration events.

AQUARIUM

Baker Street Pedestrian Crossing
The Aquarium has generated a large amount of pedestrian traffic traveling through the Park to the Aquarium. Police barricades are being used to prevent people from crossing Baker Street to the Aquarium until the mid-block crossing is installed. The City committed two months ago to build the crosswalk and it is on their list of street projects. Hopefully it will be completed before this summer.

PROJECTS

All Children's Playground
All funds required to build the playground have been committed. Mr. Graveline and Mark Banta met with EDAW, the architect, and the plans are currently being completed. Our plan is to serve as our own construction manager and bid out the component parts. The goal for completion is the last quarter of this year.

Brick Locator Upgrade
We are still using 1995 technology to locate bricks in the Park. It is time to update the system. We have two proposals for replacing the current system. The cost will be between $20,000 and $30,000. We are also looking to make the brick locating process available through our website.

Visitor Center Renovation
The Visitor Center is eight years old and is in need of renovation. The food service area in particular will be upgraded. There has been some discussion about building an outside grill for the center in the hopes of establishing a "signature" food item, such as hot dogs and hamburgers grilled over an open fire. Portable food carts at the North end of the Park are also under consideration.

North Park Entrance Gate
The entrance to the Park at the North end of the Park, across from the Aquarium and the new World of Coke, will become a second "entry way" to the Park. We have been talking to EDAW about designing a new gate to enhance this entrance and make it a focal point.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET UPDATE

The House has passed their 2007 version of the budget. Due to the individual efforts of Representative Mark Burkhalter, our initial $5.45M included in the Governor's budget has been raised to $9M. The increased amount of $4M is to be designated to the Park for some much needed improvements. Upgrading the Ring Fountain will be the primary project.

FRIENDS OF THE PARK

Park Management has reviewed benchmarks for other "Friends of the Park" and "Corporate Friends of the Park" programs that allow people to donate money, in-kind services, and volunteer time to a particular park. Mark Banta distributed an overview of our proposed "Corporate Friends of the Park" and "Friends of the Park" opportunities. There are three levels of support: 1) Corporate Friend of the Park with Marketing Opportunities, 2) Corporate Friend of the Park, and 3) Individual Friend of the Park. We are working to get this program on our website. It was noted that hopefully the GWCCA Board of Directors will help cultivate Friends of the Park.
Brian Hill reported that Air Tran has committed $200,000 to sponsor our Wednesday WindDown summer concert series and other activities. In addition to their monetary contribution, they will advertise the series in their ticket jackets and in their on-board magazine. They will also promote the series internally. This is wonderful support of the Park.

LONG-RANGE PLANNING

In addition to everything reported at this meeting, we are using our current Business Plan to look ahead and make sure the Park standards are maintained into the future.

Chair Cohen thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:20 p.m.

Recorded by: Dale Aiken