Seaside GM reports staffing status, booking pressure and plans for digital signage

Seaside’s general manager reported that staff stepped in to cover recent medical leaves and that a job offer is pending for a new hire who must complete a medical and drug screen before starting.

The GM told commissioners that the venue’s sales cycle is long — often 12 months up to multiple years for recurring events — and that the organization continued to honor a robust slate of multiyear agreements despite reduced active sales outreach. The GM said staff will increase outreach to address any shortfalls and that booking lists for 2026 and 2027 are already partly populated.

Commissioners and staff discussed operational improvements to reduce manual scheduling work. The GM described plans to install Blue Fin panels and wall-mounted monitors integrated with the venue’s digital signage system to display room schedules and event information. Jennifer and Brian described recent IT work to update signage software and noted the ability to upload event schedules in PDF for faster setup.

Commissioners requested clearer reports showing bookings by year and month and asked the GM to include counts of events turned away because of size or date conflicts so the commission can assess whether expansion or extra referral coordination is needed. The GM summarized priority booking tiers that grant earliest long-term access to the largest events, and said staff will provide breakdowns on request.

The meeting record shows no financial appropriation for the signage project during this session; commissioners said they would consider installation as funds free up and prioritized maintenance projects first.