Title
Resolution to Accept and Appropriate 2019 Commemoration American Evolution Marketing Grant Funding Awarded by the Virginia Tourism Authority Doing Business as Virginia Tourism Corporation to the Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau to Develop and Market The First Arrival: Hampton 400 Years of African American Impact Smartphone Tour App
Purpose
PURPOSE/BACKGROUND:
The purpose of this resolution is to accept and appropriate state grant funds and city-match funds to permit development and marketing of The First Arrival: Hampton 400 Years of African American Impact Smartphone Tour App in conjunction with the Commonwealth’s 2019 Commemoration program administered by the Commonwealth.
Discussion:
1619 was a pivotal year in the establishment of the first permanent English Colony in North America. It was the year of the first representative legislative assembly in the Virginia colony, the arrival of the first recorded Africans to English North America, the recruitment of English Women in significant numbers, the first official English Thanksgiving in North America, and the development of the Virginia colony’s entrepreneurial and innovative spirit.
The 2019 Commemoration American Evolution Marketing Grant Program, administered by the Virginia Tourism Corporation in support of the Commonwealth's 2019 Commemoration, was created to assist Virginia cities and towns in the promotion of their connections to American Evolution.
Hampton City Council established the Hampton 2019 Commemorative Commission to plan 2019 commemorations that focus on the 400th anniversary of the first recorded African Arrival at Point Comfort and to identify the resources necessary to implement those plans. This marketing project, The First Arrival: Hampton 400 Years of African American Impact Smartphone Tour App, is not tied to the Hampton 2019 Commemorative Commission plans or budget and will operate independently of anything produced by the Hampton 2019 Commemorative Commission.
Development and implementation of The First Arrival: Hampton 400 Years of African American Impact Smartphone Tour App will engage and entertain visitors to Hampton, Virginia and help visitors learn about the significant role African Americans played in our national history. The tour will take visitors to Hampton neighborhoods, business districts, historical sites, and attractions as they explore the arc of 400 years of African American history - from the 1619 African arrival at Old Point Comfort (present day Fort Monroe) to modern innovations being made at NASA Langley and Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute. The production will be culturally relevant, historically accurate, and will allow visitors to explore as much of Hampton as they wish, staying at sites for more in-depth knowledge through tours, brochures, historic markers, and other similar programs. Visitors will also have the ability to repeat content as often as they wish.
Acceptance and appropriation of this grant will seize an opportunity to illuminate the City of Hampton’s African American historical and heritage sites with a product that can be used long after the Commonwealth’s 2019 Commemoration program is complete. It will interface with the Commonwealth's American Evolution Virginia History Trails App and will expand upon that app's Hampton-based trail sites.
The City’s $10,000 match is already budgeted in the FY19 Hampton Convention & Visitors Bureau budget. CVB has also budgeted an additional $25,000 outside of this grant for production and marketing of the Smartphone app.
An RFP will be completed for the development of the app.
Impact:
State funds in the amount of $10,000; City’s matching funds in the amount of $10,000; CVB has also budgeted an additional $25,000 outside of this grant for production and marketing of the Smartphone app.
Recommendation:
Rec
Approve the Resolution.
Body
WHEREAS, the Hampton Convention & Visitors Bureau applied for and has been awarded state grant funds through the 2019 Commemoration American Evolution Marketing Grant program administered by the Virginia Tourism Corporation to develop and market The First Arrival: Hampton 400 Years of African American Impact Smartphone Tour App in conjunction with the Commonwealth’s 2019 Commemoration program;
WHEREAS, the Hampton Convention & Visitors Bureau intends to use those grant funds in the development and marketing of The First Arrival: Hampton 400 Years of African American Impact Smartphone Tour App; and
WHEREAS, the grant award is for the period from July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 and includes $10,000 in state funds and requires a $10,000 match from the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia accepts, amends the Fiscal Year 2019 Council Approved Budget and appropriates to the Grant Fund for use by the Hampton Convention & Visitors Bureau $20,000, to include the grant of $10,000 in state funds and matching City funds in the amount of $10,000, and any supplemental funding awarded by the Virginia Tourism Authority doing business as Virginia Tourism Corporation in accordance with the grant program.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia authorizes the City Manager or her designee to take any and all necessary actions to implement this grant award.