Council action is requested to issue a purchase order to PGAV, Inc., for Tourism and Museum Master Planning Services.

The Parks/Recreation/Tourism Department recommends approval.

Approval of this item will provide for issuing a purchase order for Tourism and Museum Master Planning Services for the Parks/Recreation/Tourism Department.

The Independence for All Strategic Plan 2022-2026 includes several key objectives for improving tourism related attractions. These include updating the Trails Museum Master Plan to focus on museum exhibits and visitor experience, attract and retain visitors to the City’s historic sites, amenities and events, as well as, begin implementation of enhancements to City-owned historic sites. In order to work towards these objectives, budget amendments for a Tourism Master Plan and a National Frontier Trails Museum Master Plan for the FY 2022-23 budget were approved by the City Council on June 21, 2022.

A Request for Qualification (RFQ) was issued by the Procurement Division on July 22, 2022 for Tourism and Museum Master Planning Services, which closed on August 5, 2022 with two firms responding to the RFQ. After review and scoring of the submitted proposals, PGAV, Inc. was selected as the most qualified firm for the project.

Master planning services are intended to advance the vision for the city and benefit the citizens of Independence by enhancing the quality and quantity of tourism and tourism-related activities. This master plan will provide a vision for Independence to fulfill its potential as a tourism destination, by exploring the possibility for a new and reimagined National Frontier Trails Museum as well as strategic alignment of the museum with other new and existing tourism assets. The plan will provide a clear strategic direction and key insights into several key factors:

• Develop a high-level understanding of the tourism attractions that exist today within the city
• Understanding of its potential visitor base
• Analysis and strategies for the destination brand, including audience expectations, attitudes, and beliefs
• Identification of authentic and compelling storylines and themes
• Development of high-level strategies for wayfinding and visitor understanding of place
• Development of a timeline and roll-out plan for new products, including financial models

The Master plan process is divided into three phases: Destination Assessment, Product Development, and Implementation Planning

Phase 1 – Destination Assessment tasks include:
• Define planning goals and parameters
• Gather and synthesize community input
• Conduct story and interpretive planning research
• Assess site and facilities
• Assess market potential and audience segmentation
• Trade area inventory
• Market analysis
• Peer venue analysis
• Trend analysis
• Brand strategy
• Compile a destination strategic assessment report

Phase 2 – Product Development tasks include:
• Facilitate a product development workshop
• Develop an interpretative matrix
• Develop guest experience concepts
• Develop an architectural program
• Develop preliminary illustrative building and site plan diagram
• Prepare cost estimates of new products

Phase 3 – Implementation Plan tasks include:
• Program recommendations
• Funding mechanisms
• Prioritization matrix
• Summary report

The project will incorporate citizen input and key stakeholder feedback as the master planning process takes place. The project is anticipated to take six (6) months to complete. At the conclusion of the project, the city will receive a master plan document which will include:

• Destination strategic assessment report
o Project goals and parameters
o Community input
o Interpretative research
o Facility assessment
o Market research/segmentation
o Competitive assessment
o Brand strategy
• Product development summary
o Interpretative plan/matrix
o Narrative describing the organization strategies, programmatic zones, and key visitor experiences for use in development/partnerships/sponsors
o Artist concept renderings of key visitor experiences
o Architectural diagrams showing visitor flow, critical adjacencies, and area allocations for front and back of house functions of the museum
o Capital cost estimates of the museum and other aspects
• Implementation plan report
o Phased implementation plan
o Museum vision

Total cost for Tourism and Museum Master Planning Services is $248,880. Funding of $150,000 is included in the fiscal year 2022/23 adopted budget in 6062.5226; and $150,000 has been re-appropriated from capital outlay for Tourism Wayfinding Signage, to account 6062.5226.