Loose lips sink economic ships, Sedona leaders say

by Cyndy Hardy

SEDONA, Dec. 5 – Negative attitudes won’t make Hwy. 179 construction any better, according to Sedona leaders at the first of four scheduled public forums for Phase Two of the Hwy. 179 Improvement Project.

Today they urged the community to buy in to a positive spin.

Negative reports damage tourism, according to Jennifer Wesselhoff, president and CEO of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, referring to a story that aired Sunday, Dec. 1 on ABC 15 in Phoenix.

Reporter Joe Ducey spotlighted two Sedona-area businessmen who claimed Phase One of Hwy. 179 construction forced their businesses to close. Dramatic visual images showed intense construction and heavy traffic in the unincorporated Village of Oak Creek, about seven miles south of Sedona.

“Some people believe any publicity is good publicity, but speaking to the negative damages their business and has a far greater effect on Sedona as a destination,” Wesselhoff said.

The message tourists see is “don’t go to Sedona.”
Sedona area businesses suffered in 2002 and again in 2006 after media reports claimed that Northern Arizona was “on fire.”

Repercussions of ABC 15’s report were immediate, according to Edd Zielinski, director and executive vice president of ILX Resorts, which owns hotels in the Village and Sedona.

“We had some cancellations. Negative comments really have an impact,” Zielinski said.

Ducey’s investigative report downplayed the Arizona Department of Transportation’s success in honoring its commitments to keep traffic moving and to keep business driveways open, according to Kristin Darr-Bornstein, ADOT’s public outreach manager.

“I stood in front of that reporter for 20 minutes telling him how we kept traffic moving. The positive messages – that doesn’t get on the news. That hurts more than one business,” Darr-Bornstein said.

Not everyone is negative about ADOT’s performance, according to Communication Manager Mary Schnak.

“Other businesses have come to us saying ‘how can we help you out,’” Schnak said.

The answer? Realize that it’s going to be tough and watch what you say to the media, leaders said.

ADOT is here to improve a road that hasn’t been upgraded for more than 25 years. The project is complicated, in part, because it is the only road connecting I-17 through the Village of Oak Creek to Hwy. 89A in Sedona.

The local economy lives or dies by the more than 2 million visitors who use the road each year.

Residents and business owners had a lot to say about how the road would be built and how construction would happen. Every resident and business owner had opportunity to participate in the 18-month public process. Their voices are recorded in the 2005 Red Rock Scenic Corridor Management Plan and its supporting documents, available at www.scenic179.com.

“We were told specifically [by the community] not to make [Hwy. 179] wide. It’s a tight corridor because we maintained our commitment to you,” Darr-Bornstein said of ADOT’s efforts to work with the community.

During Phase One, ADOT responded as business owners’ demands changed.

“In the Village of Oak Creek, they said ‘don’t work at night.’ Three or four months into it they started saying ‘work at night,’” said Carl Burkhalter, ADOT project manager.

Commitments to keep business driveways open added to the length of the project, Burkhalter said. Every time crews ran out of time while digging in driveways, they had to bury the holes and dig them up again later, he said.

“If we could [temporarily] shut down businesses, construction time would be much shorter,” Darr-Bornstein said. It has happened in other communities, she said.

This community did not choose that option. Some would probably say it’s not an option here.

So, as the project approaches the city of Sedona in February, some business owners and residents have teamed with city government, ADOT, and the chamber of commerce to plan a strategy.

“We’re not going to promote construction,” Wesselhoff said.

The main strategy centers around a creative campaign called “Follow the Red Rock Road.” Drawing from the city’s Javelinas on Parade theme, six cartoon characters will great visitors on signs, in brochures and possibly on banners, Wesselhoff said.

Each character represents a segment of Sedona’s community: a shopper, an artist, a child, a chef, a hiker and a spiritual guide.

If the idea seems a little silly, the point is to stay positive and have a little fun during a difficult situation, Wesselhoff said. The idea came from a similar campaign in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

Signage will play an important role during construction. City leaders learned during the recent Uptown Enhancement Project and Phase One of Hwy. 179 construction that a lack of uniformed signage caused more confusion than help for tourists.

ADOT’s regulations won’t allow for much signage in its right-of-ways, so leaders are counting on businesses to work together.

“We’ll need financial help, but we don’t know what yet,” Wesselhoff said. Sedona Publishing Company has already helped by printing of about 150,000 brochures, she said.

Other team ideas include scavenger hunts for tourists, commemorative merchandise, a “Tool Belts and Tuxedos” hard-hat auction, visitor center kiosk promotion, maps, business lists, a calendar of events, street festivals, and an ambassador team.

The chamber is also trying to get informational maps placed in every rental car in Phoenix to help visitors understand and navigate construction; and will continue to advertise and market Sedona in print, television and Internet media; implement an aggressive public relations program; and educate concierges in Phoenix and out-of-state markets.

“I don’t have control over whether it works or not. Complaining about it isn’t going to help,” Wesselhoff said during a pre-forum interview Tuesday.

Leaders hope the community will help minimize negative messages by keeping complaints ‘within the family.’ Call the mayor. Call the chamber. Call ADOT. Get informed at the public meetings.

“Know who to call and who not to call – like a newspaper,” Colquitt said.

The next Hwy. 179 forums are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 11 at the Church of the Red Rocks, 54 Bowstring Drive. The business forum takes place at 7 a.m.; the resident forum at 9 a.m., according to a public notice. Everyone is invited to either meeting.

Illustration courtesy of Sedona Chamber of Commerce.
© 2007 Cyndy Hardy. Reprints by permission.