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HomeMy Public PortalAbout04-04-2016 Minutes Tourism Board Regular MeetingPage 1 of 5 TOURISM BOARD April 4, 2016 Town Barn 6:30pm MINUTES Present: Libbie Hough, Sean Garrett, Kathleen Ferguson, Vice Chair Mary Catherine McKee, Carolyn Twesten, Kim Tesoro, Steven Burke Staff: Margaret Hauth (Town of Hillsborough), Sarah DeGennaro (Alliance for Historic Hillsborough) I. Call Meeting to Order Vice Chair McKee called the meeting to order at 6:29 p.m. II. Agenda Adoption III. Consideration of revised minutes of February 1, 2016 Regular Meeting Motion: Member Hough moved to table the minutes until corrections could be addressed. Second: Vice Chair McKee seconded. Vote: Unanimous Corrections: Incomplete thoughts/sentences pointed out by Member Burke and noted by Ms. Hauth. Member Ferguson also pointed out corrections referencing “farm fare.” Consideration of revised minutes of February 23, 2016, Work Session Meeting Motion: Member Burke moved to approve the revised February 23, 2016, minutes. Second: Member Hough seconded. Vote: Unanimous Consideration of draft minutes of March 7, 2016 Regular Meeting Motion: Member Tesoro moved approval of the minutes from the March 7, 2016, meeting with a correction. Second: Member Hough seconded. Vote: Unanimous Correction: Member Tesoro corrected the time when she left the meeting. IV. General Public Comment There was no comment. V. Monthly Reports a. Alliance Director’s Report and Visitors Center Communications Report b. Visitors Center Communications Report Page 2 of 5 c. Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Update Sarah DeGennaro reported that the Visitors Center had welcomed 480 visitors as of March 28. That’s very good for March. Tours are now offered on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month instead of just the second. The Visitors Center is now also offering two weekday tours. The number of history fun day programs have also increased. In the past, they’ve hosted four per year. This March there were two. And there are three scheduled for April. For the July Fourth Event, there will be live music, food trucks, games, and a reading of Declaration of Independence. And on July 1 and 2, there will be an exhibit (a pop-up museum) on the Negro League Baseball Program. This will be in conjunction with Renee Price and the Free Spirit Freedom Program. There could potentially be a baseball game played. Location is likely to be the Whitted Building. For advertising, there are ads that will run in the Chapel Hill Magazine and Durham Magazine. There is a new folk art show at the Visitors Center. Probably the most exciting news is that Orange County was awarded the contract to host the North American Travel Journalists Conference, she reported. Regarding House Bill 2, the Alliance will be issuing a statement supporting the town’s statement that was made and will be referencing it on the website. Member Burke complimented the “in with the bloom” ad. Member Tesoro complimented the “run” ad that was not included in the agenda packets. The Chamber is supporting the concept of a “quick run over to Hillsborough” for shopping, etc. Ms. DeGennaro reported that Bona Fide has opened, there will be a half-marathon on October 2nd with more than 5,000 visitors expected, and the headquarters of Redeye is moving here. On April 9, there is a coordinated event with Bennett Place. VI. New Business Items a. 2015 Grant Project Funding/Report Extension to 12/30/2016 - Hillsborough Arts Council- Program Director ($15,000) - Pleasant Meadows Philanthropy- River Park Concert ($5,080) Ms. Hauth referred to email in the packet. The town has sent both of these organizations the funds but they are asking for an extension as a formality because they haven’t spent all the funds yet. Motion: Member Hough moved to approve the extensions. Second: Member Tesoro seconded. Vote: Unanimous b. Review/Approve RFP’s to organizations - Overview of ‘What is an RFP?’ - Review/Comment on draft RFP documents and requirements Page 3 of 5 Ms. Hauth referred to three RFPs in the packet, one each for the Arts Council for Last Fridays, Burwell School, and the Orange County Historical Museum and asked whether the board was ready to send them out. Member Hough said there had been a question about monthly versus quarterly reports and she suggested starting with quarterly reports. There was consensus to ask for quarterly reports. Member Burke said for clarity he thinks it should be specified that it’s an RFP for one year. He also thought there should be a statement that acceptance of this contract does not preclude the organization for applying for a separate grant. Also, under each there is a list of things that are expected to be done and there should be a final bullet addressing modifications. Language was drafted for this: “changes to the scope can be added upon discussion by both parties.” Finally, Member Burke suggested a standard format for criteria. There was agreement to use the criteria templates from the grant packets. There was discussion about the deadline for these. May 20 would give staff two weeks to work on this. Motion: Member Ferguson moved to approve a deadline for the RFPs for May 20. Second: Member Hough seconded. Vote: Unanimous Member Tesoro asked how to navigate potential conflicts. For instance, she may help write a grant application. What’s the approach for that conflict of interest? The board discussed this and agreed when a member of this board is a board member of the applicant, staff of the applicant, or writer of the application, the board member will recuse himself or herself. That person will then not vote for or against the application. There was agreement for members of this board to offer information about the extent of their involvement with an applicant. c. Funding Re-Structuring Communication Plan (Staff) - Grant Cycle Opening/Closing Date Notifications o Press Release (Town) o Town Website Homepage o Visit Hillsborough NC Website Homepage o Town Email Blast o Town Social Media/ Repost Visit Hillsborough Social Media o Email Blasts to Organizations o Other ideas? Page 4 of 5 - RFP release and return deadline notification - Coming Soon: Funding types brochure and handout development Ms. Hauth reported she is receiving a fair number of inquiries in Ms. Campbell’s absence. Board members requested that Ms. Hauth send an email to previous applicants so that they are aware the process is open. Board members expect next year the RFP and grant applications will go out at the same time. Neil Stutzer, chairman of the Hillsborough Arts Council, was permitted to speak. The Arts Council can’t get a band for July Last Fridays because funds from this board aren’t guaranteed yet. He shared that he needs to book bands further in advance now that the economy is doing better. The Arts Council has long-term plans to fundraise. d. Tourism logo/purpose presentation - Review and comment on draft logo designs - Finalize it down to ONE favorite concept - Comment on any suggestions/changes to finalized ONE favorite concept Board members discussed the options and decided they liked the “visit” and “NC” on concept 8 but also like Concept 9 is without the icons and with the addition of the word “visit” and a tagline with words like “happening, authentic, (and perhaps a third, surprising word).” VII. Old Business Items a. Alliance- Visitor Services/Visitor Center FY 2017 Budget Presentation for Visitor Services Vendor Contract- 2nd Draft - Questions or discussion Ms. DeGennaro explained that she had revised the budget per discussion at a previous Tourism Board meeting, adjusting the expected revenue down by $5,000. She then adjusted the expenses in administration and operations to account for that. Member Hough asked if she is remembering correctly that the Dickson House is in Orange County’s Capital Improvement Plan. Ms. DeGennaro answered that it is. Member Ferguson asked a clarifying question and Member Hough explained there is no funding separate from the CIP from the county for the Dickson House. Page 5 of 5 There was brief discussion that if more revenue comes in, the Alliance gets a previously decided percentage and spends it as it decides and reports back to the Tourism Board how it is spent. Motion: Member Ferguson moved to approve the revised budget. Second: Member Burke seconded. Vote: Unanimous b. Tourism Board Stance on Colonial Inn- formal statement “The Tourism Board is ever mindful of the important historical and cultural value of the Colonial Inn and supports the Town’s forward motion of the project and positive work in its restoration and in bringing it back into use” This was already handled at a previous meeting. VIII. Staff/Board Comments and Discussion Items IX. Adjourn Motion: Vice Chairman McKee moved to adjourn at 7:55 p.m. Second: Member Ferguson seconded. Vote: Unanimous