GREATER AVENUES COMMUNITY COUNCIL Minutes
December 6, 2000 Held at the Sweet Library
Meeting Conducted by Richard Leonard, Chair

beginning 7:00 pm
Pages 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Olympic Report: Peter Corroon, Avenues Rep (John Sittner was out of town) and Rip Pipatoe, City Planner for the Olympics

Ideas that the GACC will sponsor for the Olympics:

  1. Table for Eight (This is an opportunity for a local host to entertain a small group of locals ad out-of-town visitors to share dinner and to begin the evening with a pre-announced"table topic".
  2. Tour Utah - match residents with visitors (This is a program to match residents with visitors who would like to spend a few hours to a day or two getting to know Utah as only a local can share it. We will match guide and visitor interests.)
  3. Host Home for Athletes' families - (with Coldwell Banker) (This is a program of hosting athletes' families who are unable to afford local accommodations and want to be here to support their athlete.
  4. Music Festival - performances of local groups by Avenues Residents (This is to be a schedule of performances by local groups in neighborhood venues which will entertain locals and visitors.)
  5. Historic homes tour (This would be a tour of historic neighborhood homes, mansions, institutions guided by knowledgeable residents.
  6. Community visitor's Gathering Place (We are planning to staff a Community/visitor "gathering place" near the Downtown area that will be within walking distance of the downtown evens, hotels, and transportation.

Please sign up if you want to head one of these programs. Rip Ripatoe is the City Director of Olympic Planning, and he will now speak to us.

"Thank you for letting me speak first. John Sittner asked me to talk about what visitors can expect in SLC during the Olympics. I will tell you about a few things that will be going on with visitors. The Visitors Information Bureau will help visitors have a good time here, and help them experience a great event, so they will want to come here again and again. Winter Olympics come in the USA every 22 years. It is very important they get a good impression of the USA. There will be a Visitors' Services Information (VIS) Center located in downtown where visitors came come in and get info. It will have the National Park system and City, and Ski Utah, etc. so they can have the best, convenient, information.. We have a contract with SLOC. There will be roving VIS info. People on the streets during the Olympics. If that is of interest to you, there will be more information on the website, saltlakeinfo.org. We are trying to provide spectator accommodations. If you are coming into town. 80% of the inventory is already gone. 20% is either owned by someone else or they have other contracts. We have the opportunity to put a VIS rep in each venue, so that if wrong information is being put out, or there are problems, we can help. VIS - Visitors Information Services, is raising money, etc. to run our program. As far as the City is concerned, I start my job Monday, so I have a lot to learn about the City Olympic Planning. I was a general manager of the Salt Palace before that.

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