Town-County Tourism Advisory Board moves forward in a vacuum of information on Town plans

On Wednesday afternoon, February 12, the Front Royal-Warren County Joint Tourism Advisory Board met for the first time in the wake of the Town staff shakeup and announced intent of outsourcing the Town’s tourism function in the coming budget year. The nine, well now eight-member committee was minus Felicia Hart, listed as the Town’s Director of Community Development and Tourism, as well as Niki Foster Cales, president of the local Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was held in the main second-floor conference room of the Town Administration building.

Hart, who often guided the Tourism Advisory Board meetings, was notified of her termination by Interim Town Manager Matt Tederick on January 29, along with four other town staff, including Town Planning Director Jeremy Camp, Town Engineer Robert Brown, Council Clerk Jennifer Berry and Planning Department Technician Matt Farace*. Those terminations were part of the interim town manager’s Fiscal Year 2021 Budget proposal, from council comments at its February 10 meeting, a proposal apparently fully endorsed by the town council.

Cales’ absence was unfortunate as a great deal of discussion of the potential positives or negatives of the Chamber assuming the outsource role for Town tourism promotion occurred as the advisory board’s attention turned to the vacuum of information they currently find themselves in from the Town side.

Board Chair Katie Tewell (Apple House), upper left, opens Wednesday’s FR-WC Tourism Advisory Board meeting. Photos by Roger Bianchini. Video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

Following the meeting, Tourism Advisory Board members confirmed that they had no advance warning of Hart’s departure or the recommendation that tourism promotion be outsourced to the private sector.

In Hart’s absence, County Planning Director Taryn Logan guided agenda discussion of the status of Wayfaring Signage and responded to board questions about the financing and organizational relationship between the County and Town on Tourism promotion and marketing. Also, present though not a Tourism Advisory Board member was new Board of Supervisors Chairman Walter Mabe. Mabe responded to questions about the County’s hopes for future joint tourism marketing and offered opinions on how to best move forward.

Bringing the town governmental apparatus to the table, particularly Tederick who appears to be the architect of the town council’s wish to divest itself of tourism, among other departments, was at the top of Mabe’s list of responses.

Notably absent, though he visited the meeting room shortly before and shortly after the meeting’s convening and adjournment, was Interim Town Manager Tederick. Inviting Tederick to the Joint Tourism Advisory Board’s next meeting, tentatively set on a short turnaround for February 26, was one proposal put forth as the meeting drew to a close. Informed of that fact by this reporter as he entered the room after the meeting, Tederick was last seen heading toward the last two present, Mabe and board member Richard Runyon of the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club.

“It’s time we started working together,” Runyon had offered during the meeting.

“Somebody’s got to talk to the mayor and Mr. Tederick, and somebody’s got to talk to the Chamber or the Board of Supervisors,” Mabe had observed as discussion focused on how to bring all involved or potentially involved parties together at the table.

Following the meeting’s adjournment, several board members indicated they wished the interim town manager had chosen to participate in the 3 p.m. meeting down the hall from his office.

“We can’t wait on this, I don’t think,” Runyon said as the meeting drew to a close, adding, “It’s hot, it’s fresh – I mean if we were to take the initiative and challenge the town council and board of supervisors to come together to work to one purpose, tourism, I think we have the infrastructure …”

County Board Chair Walter Mabe makes a point, as from upper right, Richard Runyon (Shen. Valley Golf Club), Taryn Logan (County Planning Director) and Kerry Barnhart (Vibe Properties/FR Brewery) listen. Other Joint Tourism Advisory Board members include Mary Bayer (Holiday Inn & Suites), Billie Clifton (Backroom Brewery), Gary Green (Mountain Trails), Tewell (Apple House) and the absent Niki Foster Cales (Chamber of Commerce)

“A good start might be a simple ask,” Mabe replied, “We don’t have to charge the hill every time we want to do something, right? … You come to me, or your coming to the board of supervisors with another fire is not necessarily going to cause me to react any differently.”

“I’m just saying the fire’s already started,” Runyon observed.

See the meeting as the discussion turns toward the status of the Town Council and Interim Town Manager Tederick’s future plans for tourism marketing, promotion and staffing in the first (Part 2) of these two linked Royal Examiner videos. The second video (Part 1) tracks the meeting’s outset of agenda topic discussions, and conversation about the dual municipal roles in community tourism promotion run-up to the start of the first linked video.

* FOOTNOTE: Royal Examiner would like to note that the report of the January 29 termination of Deputy Zoning Administrator Chris Brock was incorrect, as we encountered him on the job in the Planning & Zoning Office Tuesday afternoon.