OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority Board Meeting – February 9, 2026

Board of Supervisors — Monday, February 9, 2026
BodyCarson City, Nevada
SessionBoard of Supervisors
DateMonday, February 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:24:06

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

Sure.

3:08

This is a Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority Board of Directors meeting.

3:13

Today is Monday, February ninth, twenty twenty-six.

3:16

It is four oh two PM.

3:18

And we are at the Carson City Community Center, Robert Bob Kroll Boardroom.

3:23

Can I get a roll call?

3:26

Andrew Reno.

3:27

Here.

3:28

Stacey Giome.

3:29

Here at Lupier.

3:36

We have a we have a quorum.

3:38

All right.

3:39

If everybody could please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

4:11

Possible action, approval of minutes from January twelfth, twenty twenty-six CTA board meeting.

4:18

Does anyone have any additions or changes?

4:21

No, I make a motion to approve the minutes from the January twelfth, twenty twenty-six uh cultural and tourism authority meeting.

4:31

All in favor.

4:32

Aye.

4:33

Aye.

4:34

Any opposed.

4:36

Hearing none, the motion passes.

4:39

Next, we will move on to item six.

4:42

Possible action, discussion and possible action regarding approval of CT.

4:47

Oh, wait, sorry about that.

4:49

We're moving on.

5:00

Does any member of the public or board have any items they'd like pulled for further discussion?

5:05

Hearing none, can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda?

5:10

Sure.

5:10

Move to approve the consent agenda as presented.

5:15

All in favor?

5:16

Aye.

5:17

Aye.

5:18

Any opposed.

5:20

Hearing none, we will end the consent agenda and move on to item eight.

5:26

And with that, I will turn it over to executive director David Peterson.

5:33

Thank you, Chair for the record, Dave Peterson, executive director of visitors and city.

5:37

9A is my executive director's update.

5:40

We had a wonderful VT Railway Commission retreat on Friday.

5:46

Good solid eight plus hours with my peers.

5:51

We covered a lot of ground on Friday.

5:55

Some of the highlights just to share as as your liaison uh pointed person to the commission.

6:02

Um we're working on the ticketing, so taking a look at reducing kids' tickets to encourage, we're trying to really strategize about getting families to participate on Sundays.

6:15

That is our lowest performing day, especially when we're running the diesel.

6:20

Everybody really wants to be on the steam engine.

6:23

And so we've done some price adjustments in both directions, uh, reducing diesel ticket price, and then on our specialty trains where we're doing Toast of the Canyon, uh making sure that those prices have come up so they're all similar in price because we do sell those particular trains out.

6:42

Uh, we are going to be looking at doing a 250th kind of a thematic train uh this coming, it's probably gonna be summer, so it'll be uh just because of timing and budget and everything after the 4th of July.

6:55

And then we're also looking at doing hopefully a beer train in July.

6:59

So we have our our wine trains, but there's been a lot of interest in having a beer train and working with some of the local brewers uh to have them be a part of of such a thematic style train.

7:10

So that's a little bit on where commission stands on pricing.

7:16

Uh and the other thing too that we're going to do, and Leah Cruz, uh, who's the deputy director for the Virginia City Tourism Commission, she's kind of taking the lead on this, but uh the idea is to get the Lydia's of the world uh on a call uh initially, and then to have routine calls.

7:35

So having our marketing team with Zach, the VCTC marketing folks, and they have an outside uh agency as well as the vendors that the uh VT Railway Commission has.

7:46

So we can better collaborate.

7:49

Um and really it's for Lydia and team and then the Virginia City folks and team to know exactly what is happening when we move forward with pricing, schedule, different trains, just to have that communication flow from the VT Railway Commission from our vendors down to the DMOs.

8:11

So we can be better positioned when we have a train that's has 22 people on it, you know, on a Sunday against 210, you know, that would fill the train.

8:21

Uh so we can be a little bit more proactive and have a better concerted effort to try and sell these trains out on our poorly performing weekends in particular on uh on Sunday.

8:33

So we've got some other things that we're talking about as well as it relates to potentially bringing um a contracted vendor in the form of an event planner on board as well to actually help with the special trains.

8:47

It's a pretty big load on the one uh person who's sort of the executive assistant to the commission, which is Sherry Bailey, uh, to try and help her out, uh, as well as Tom Gray and Candy Duncan who are handling the train operation side of things.

9:04

And so this is something that we're looking at.

9:06

Obviously, we have to budget in for this, so it would be a fiscal year 27 expenditure, you know, from a commission from the commission's perspective.

9:15

But we're we're looking also, I'm happy to say, finally, um, we have the new site up and running, but looking at our groups and charters, you know, folks that want to bring a group of 20 or 50 or 100 people, or they want to rent the whole train out, and actively we're gonna pursue going after those types of of um opportunities, I guess, you know, for lack of a better word for the the VTE Railway, uh, because I think there's something in that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tourism█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Technology and Innovation█████████11%
Procedural███████8%
Parks and Recreation██████7%
Marketing and Communications██████7%
Rail Operations███4%
Public Art███3%
Marketing██2%
Healthcare██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority Board of Directors Meeting – February 9, 2026

The Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority (CCTA) Board of Directors met on Monday, February 9, 2026, at 4:02 PM in the Robert Bob Kroll Boardroom of the Carson City Community Center. The meeting included approval of minutes, an executive director’s update, review of December Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) results, events and sales updates, a marketing and PR presentation, and board comments.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the January 12, 2026 CCTA board meeting.
  • Consent Agenda: The board voted to approve the consent agenda as presented. No items were pulled for discussion.

Discussion Items

Executive Director’s Update – VT Railway Commission Retreat

Executive Director David Peterson reported on the February 6, 2026 VT Railway Commission retreat. Key topics included:

  • Ticketing Strategy: Reducing kids’ ticket prices to boost family attendance on Sundays (lowest-performing day for diesel trains); increasing prices on specialty trains (e.g., Toast of the Canyon) to align with demand.
  • Themed Trains: Planning a 250th anniversary train (summer 2026) and a beer train in July 2026, in partnership with local brewers.
  • Coordination: Leah Cruz (Virginia City Tourism Commission) will lead routine coordination calls between marketing teams and the railway commission to improve communication and fill underperforming trains.
  • Third-Party Ticket Sales: Exploring reseller/affiliate marketing to capture additional sales beyond the current direct-to-website model.
  • Groups and Charters: Actively pursuing group bookings (20–100+ people) and full-train charters, citing interest from the Dustin Wander Trail and a family event.

Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Actual vs. Forecast

David Peterson presented December 2025 TOT results:

  • Record December: Revenue reached just short of $1.8 million (approx. $1,769,000), an all-time record for the month, attributed to snowfall and the fully operational Winter’s Charm Act Three campaign.
  • Forecast Adjustment: The revised projection for FY2026 is 0.63% ahead of last fiscal year but approximately 3% below the original budget. The new Home2 Suites (opened February 5) is expected to lift February numbers onward.
  • Board Feedback: Board member Matt Garrett noted that his property saw a robust January, better than internal projections, offering optimism for the market.

Events and Sales Update

Stu Wexler, National Sales Manager, reported:

  • American Bus Association (ABA) Conference: Held in Reno (first week of January). Stu had 25 scheduled appointments (one cancellation, two no-shows) and met 6 additional tour companies. A sightseeing tour for 50 operators included breakfast (L.A. Bakery), a guided tour by Mary Bennett, stops at the Governor’s Mansion, Krebs-Peterson Mansion, Nevada State Museum (coin press demonstration with Mark Twain medallions), Nevada State Railroad Museum (appearance by Mark Twain impersonator MacAvoy Lane), and Carson Hot Springs. Box lunches from Sassafras were provided. A post-fam tour (15 operators) visited Staybridge Suites, Gold Dust West, Brewery Arts Center, and Federal Hotel. Partners contributed to the success, and Travel Nevada praised the experience.
  • Upcoming Shows: Go West Summit (Las Vegas, March 2026) with a pre-fam in Carson City (Stewart Indian School basket exhibit, Nevada State Prison tour, Virginia City).
  • Nevada Association of Student Council Conference: Approximately 1,500 students will attend in Carson City (first time in 20 years). The CCTA is the destination sponsor; students from Washoe County will stay overnight. Activities include Kit Carson Trail and a mural/public art tour. Local businesses are encouraged to participate.
  • Endorsed Tournaments: The board reviewed the updated Exhibit A schedule of endorsed events (April–November 2026), including Rock & Reno (first tournament on new turf at Centennial Park, May 22–24), Legacy Sports (seven tournaments), Battleborn Blades, and others. Some dates remain tentative pending confirmation with Parks and Recreation. Stu also noted potential new events: Nevada State Sporting Clay Championship, a horse dancing event, PGC Basketball training camp, and boxing tournaments.

Marketing and PR Update

Marketing Manager Lydia Beck presented:

  • Digital Growth: January 2026 saw over 83,000 total website visits, a 41% year-over-year increase. Lodging referrals from paid search jumped 53%. StackAdapt video completion rates exceeded 81%.
  • AI & SEO: The rise of AI overviews is reducing casual traffic but increasing engagement from intentional visitors. The team is evolving SEO strategies, focusing on curated content (Capital City Insider) and updated itineraries. A potential investment in Mind Trip AI (a chatbot integrating website content with AI) was discussed as a future tool, currently used by Travel Nevada and Visit Carson Valley.
  • Public Relations: Positive articles from freelancer Aliza Freeman highlighted Carson City in day-trip roundups and Nevada Day coverage. The Kit Carson Trail was mentioned in a non-travel Yahoo article.
  • 2025 Destination Overview: Over 3.5 million visitor days, 1.25 million trips, average stay 2.8 days. California remains the top market (56%), with Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Francisco as primary DMAs. Fallon appears as a surprising top city due to military assignments at NAS Fallon. Shopping and downtown experiences are key drivers for overnight stays.
  • DataFi Campaign: The shoulder-season campaign (October–February) targets high-value lodging visitors. Early results: audiences served ads were 9.33 times more likely to visit Carson City, generating approximately 2,500 attributed trips and 650 observed room nights. Geo-conquesting serves ads to Tahoe-area visitors to encourage visits to Carson City. Display ads performed 70% better than industry benchmarks.
  • Board Discussion: Board members asked about remarketing to past visitors and the impact of AI on tourism marketing. David Peterson shared an example of AI in healthcare (transcribing patient visits) to illustrate the potential and need for verification. Lydia noted the importance of balancing AI with authentic content.

Board Comments & Announcements

  • Centennial Park Update: Board member Matt Garrett toured the park and reported construction is ahead of schedule. Field 4‑5‑6 (northwest field) is close to laying sod; drainage improvements are complete. A new heated modular bathroom (glycol floor heating) will remain open year-round. Engineers will verify drainage before padding installation. The synthetic turf is expected by May 2026. The park will also include real grass between fields to reduce dust.
  • Next Meeting: March 9, 2026 at 4:00 PM in the same location.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved minutes from January 12, 2026 CCTA meeting.
  • Approved consent agenda.
  • Directed staff to provide an updated endorsed tournament schedule (post-February 4 revisions) and to share a combined schedule from Parks and Recreation.
  • Acknowledged the December TOT record and forecast adjustments.
  • Accepted the events and sales reports, including the success of ABA activities.
  • Noted the marketing performance and the ongoing exploration of Mind Trip AI.
  • Received the Centennial Park construction update.

The meeting adjourned at an unspecified time.

Meeting Transcript

Sure. This is a Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority Board of Directors meeting. Today is Monday, February ninth, twenty twenty-six. It is four oh two PM. And we are at the Carson City Community Center, Robert Bob Kroll Boardroom. Can I get a roll call? Andrew Reno. Here. Stacey Giome. Here at Lupier. We have a we have a quorum. All right. If everybody could please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Possible action, approval of minutes from January twelfth, twenty twenty-six CTA board meeting. Does anyone have any additions or changes? No, I make a motion to approve the minutes from the January twelfth, twenty twenty-six uh cultural and tourism authority meeting. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Any opposed. Hearing none, the motion passes. Next, we will move on to item six. Possible action, discussion and possible action regarding approval of CT. Oh, wait, sorry about that. We're moving on. Does any member of the public or board have any items they'd like pulled for further discussion? Hearing none, can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda? Sure. Move to approve the consent agenda as presented. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed. Hearing none, we will end the consent agenda and move on to item eight. And with that, I will turn it over to executive director David Peterson. Thank you, Chair for the record, Dave Peterson, executive director of visitors and city. 9A is my executive director's update. We had a wonderful VT Railway Commission retreat on Friday. Good solid eight plus hours with my peers. We covered a lot of ground on Friday. Some of the highlights just to share as as your liaison uh pointed person to the commission. Um we're working on the ticketing, so taking a look at reducing kids' tickets to encourage, we're trying to really strategize about getting families to participate on Sundays. That is our lowest performing day, especially when we're running the diesel. Everybody really wants to be on the steam engine. And so we've done some price adjustments in both directions, uh, reducing diesel ticket price, and then on our specialty trains where we're doing Toast of the Canyon, uh making sure that those prices have come up so they're all similar in price because we do sell those particular trains out. Uh, we are going to be looking at doing a 250th kind of a thematic train uh this coming, it's probably gonna be summer, so it'll be uh just because of timing and budget and everything after the 4th of July. And then we're also looking at doing hopefully a beer train in July. So we have our our wine trains, but there's been a lot of interest in having a beer train and working with some of the local brewers uh to have them be a part of of such a thematic style train. So that's a little bit on where commission stands on pricing. Uh and the other thing too that we're going to do, and Leah Cruz, uh, who's the deputy director for the Virginia City Tourism Commission, she's kind of taking the lead on this, but uh the idea is to get the Lydia's of the world uh on a call uh initially, and then to have routine calls.

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