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HomeMy Public PortalAbout01-04-2016 Minutes Tourism Board Regular MeetingPage 1 of 7 TOURISM BOARD January 4, 2016 Town Barn 6:30pm MINUTES Present: Chair Erik Myers, Vice Chair Libbie Hough, Sean Garrett, Kate Carroll, Kathleen Ferguson, Mary Catherine McKee, Carolyn Twesten, Kim Tesoro, Steven Burke Staff: Shannan Campbell (Town of Hillsborough), Sarah DeGennaro (Alliance for Historic Hillsborough) I. Call Meeting to Order Chair Myers called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. II. Agenda Adoption Ms. Campbell noted that she’d fixed a typo in the agenda. Vice Chair Hough suggested that the Tourism Plan item be tabled. Motion: Vice Chair Hough moved to adopt the agenda as amended. Second: Ms. McKee seconded. Vote: Unanimous III. Consideration of Minutes of December 7, 2015 Correction: Mr. Burke indicated that his suggestion was mis-worded on page 5. He said that his suggestion was to add how competitive the grant application was based on the scoring category. He asked that the comment be clarified in the minutes. Motion: Vice Chair Hough moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Second: Ms. McKee seconded. Vote: Unanimous. IV. General Public Comment There were none. V. Monthly Reports a. Alliance Director’s Report and Communications Report Sarah DeGennaro noted that this board has already received the director’s report and she sent the annual report earlier this afternoon. She reviewed the highlights of the director’s report, which included expanding the focus of guided tours to middle school and high school groups, coordinating ad campaigns for Hometown Holidays events, and information that the Visitors Center has new t-shirts and hats for sale among other items. Page 2 of 7 Vice Chair Hough suggested that the Tourism Board should take a field trip to the Visitors Center, either individually or as a group, to get an idea of what that resource looks like and offers for visitors. Ms. Campbell said that she would put this on the long term ‘to-do’ list for the Board. VI. New Business Items a. Welcome new Board Members i. Kathleen Ferguson (Town Board Representative) ii. Kate Carroll (Restaurant Representative) iii. Sean Garrett (Restaurant Representative) Seasoned members introduced themselves to the new members. b. Public Comment Session i. Overall Tourism Board Funding Types (3) ii. Revised Grant Process and Requirements Whitney Watson, board chair of the Orange County Historical Museum, addressed the board. He expressed appreciation for the new grant process. He expressed concern that proposed data-gathering requirements would be onerous for smaller applicant organizations. He said that, for example, counting people who attend an event and stationing volunteers to gather information would drive up the cost per participant for any event. If this data is required, he hopes the Tourism Board provides training in how to do the data collection. Also, he said that regarding the allocation of funding to the three different categories, the enabling legislation dictates that 40 percent of the net income should be used for facilities, programs, and services designed to attract tourists to the town. Given the tourism board’s estimate for the next year, about $120,000 should be available for this program. However, adding up the figures that Ms. Campbell shared, there’s only about $81,000. He said that’s a big gap. He said that some of it goes for administrative fees, an audit, and paying part of the salary for a new economic development officer for the town of Hillsborough. He’s said that he’s concerned about this reduction in funding overall. He’s concerned about the rationale of how the $81,000 is divided. His understanding is that the research goes back only one year, in which there were drastic drops in funding. His final comment addressed special projects. He explained that as a community, we need more examples of the kinds of things the Tourism Board is thinking about so the nonprofits can understand the types of projects this board is interested in funding. There was discussion about asking questions and agreement that there wasn’t time this evening but questions could be passed to Ms. Campbell. Ms. Campbell explained that she was compiling questions posed at the Public Comment Session and would send out an email detailing the answers and available data. Kate Faherty, Executive Director of the Burwell School Historic Site, in attendance with three board members of the Historic Hillsborough Commission, which owns and operates the school, addressed the Tourism Board. She reminded the audience that the 200th Page 3 of 7 anniversary of the Burwell School is just a few years away. She said the new framework for the grant applications is welcomed, particularly the opportunity for contracts. Ms. Faherty said she agrees with Mr. Watson’s comments and echoes them. She asked if there will there be regular opportunities to evaluate funding. The accountability piece may be onerous but they are willing to work with it. We love to think we attract visitors, we hope to attract more, and we want to be sure that all of the visitors are enriched by visiting rather than just attracting more. John Casadonte, representing the Historic Speedway Group, said that Mr. Watson had covered many of the concerns. He added that this group is in its 10th year and is getting great visibility including from Disney. He said that it’s unclear whether this organization can apply for grants in each of the three categories. He said he agreed with Mr. Watson’s concerns that relying on last year’s numbers when grant awards were in a decline is a concern. Candace Midgett, director of the Orange County Historical Museum, introduced other people on the museum board who attended with her. She said she agreed with what Whitney Watson had said. She added that some people do not want to share personal information and therefore museum staff will not be able to collect some of the data that the Tourism Board wishes to have. Also, she and her board are concerned about what happens when a funded event gets rained out and therefore has a poor turnout – will that event not qualify for funding the following year? She expressed concern about drawing numbers that meet or exceed numbers from years past. Neil Stutzer, chair of the Hillsborough Arts Council, said the previous speakers have addressed lots of his comments. He said that he is concerned with the level of funding. Nonprofits that rely on grants and public money need time to find other funding sources. He raised concerns about the stipulation that grant funding for events not be for more than 2 years in a row, 4 years in a decade. Would that mean if the Council can’t find another source to supplement Last Fridays that it would run for 2 years and then be off for 2 years, run for 2 years again and then be off until the next decade started? Likewise, they’ve been working a year or more in advance on the calendar and this uncertainty hinders that. For demographics, the Council asks people for zip codes. In the schools, the Council isn’t allowed to ask for any information. It’s difficult to get an accurate headcount at an open air event. Organizations do the best that they can. Collecting data requires more volunteers. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. He suggests holding off on special projects for a year or so to give nonprofits more time. Making changes to a nonprofit is like turning a tanker – really slow. Gail Cooley, treasurer of the Hillsborough Arts Council, said she is grateful for the attempt to overhaul the process. She has questions that she hopes aren’t seen as critical but rather as seeking more information: She asked the following: With restaurants apparently booming, why is the Meals Tax revenue declining? Where does the cost allocation for the Economic Development Position come from (the 40 percent facilities or 60 Visitors Center, etc.)? What, if any, part will the Tourism Development Authority play in future funding opportunities for organizations? The grant narrative states that the top Page 4 of 7 projects will be funded until the budget funding is exhausted – will there be times when you give a partial grant allocation? Finally, what promotional assistance is available to the organizations through the new position and through the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough? Maybe you can tell us what we can come to you for, especially in promotion marketing. There was a request that all will get answers to all the questions. Vice Chair Hough said Ms. Campbell will be answering questions as they come to her, but there has been discussion of pulling together a set of information. There was a request to put the master Q & A on the Web site. Ms. Campbell explained that the grant process isn’t online yet but that it will be once finalized and the grant process is open to take applications. She said that she would work on responses to the questions raised and email out responses to as many interested parties as possible. c. Nominations and Voting: Chair and Vice-Chair Positions Chair Myers said he is happy to continue serving as Chair. Vice Chair Hough said she would serve as Vice Chair if no one else feels comfortable. Ms. McKee said she’d be willing to serve as Vice Chair with Ms. Hough’s guidance. Motion: Vice Chair Hough nominated Mr. Myers as Chair. Second: Ms. McKee seconded. Vote: Unanimous. Motion: Vice Chair Hough nominated Ms. McKee as Vice Chair. Second: Chair Myers seconded. Vote: Unanimous. d. Public Comment Session- Discussion of public comments received i. Next Steps Ms. Campbell said she looks forward to answering the questions raised this evening. If the board plans to continue moving forward with the three-pronged funding approach, then we need to spend some time exploring the methodology and rationale of the two special project funds. Ms. Campbell asked the board whether anyone wished to discuss the public comments. Chair Myers said the data collection came up a lot and he thought ballpark estimates of a crowd were pretty easy to figure and would be good enough. Other board members agreed. Page 5 of 7 Commissioner Ferguson said it’s basic to gather some information when people are registering for an event. Something is wrong if an organization doesn’t know who it is serving. It doesn’t have to be onerous or expensive. Chair Myers agreed that it is information the organization should want to have. He was thinking general information like are the participants male or female and do they live in Hillsborough or not? Commissioner Ferguson said Orange County, NC, has been listed as the third most desirable county in the nation for seniors. So, for instance, she’d be interested in which of these programs are attracting seniors. With Orange County being a destination for cycling, how are we serving those people? And families? We need to understand who we are serving and who are we not serving and what do we need to do to serve, Commissioner Ferguson said. There’s an art and science to guiding people to participating in signing guest books or something similar so that it’s not onerous. Vice Chair Hough said we can be clearer about the demographic information we want to collect. And she agreed that it’s important to identify gaps. The Alliance can step in and assist the organizations that are receiving Tourism Board funding to help them learn to collect the data and grow their missions. This is something we could involve the Alliance in. Commissioner Ferguson added that she understands some families can be skittish with providing information, but being able to say that 50 children from the a certain neighborhood participated is helpful. There was more discussion about the data collection. The board and Ms. Campbell expressed the desire to have more data when possible. Vice Chair Hough suggested a late January special meeting focused on vision, mission, and clarity for the funding opportunities for these organizations. Mr. Burke requested that soon after these materials are decided, they are made available to everyone on paper and on the Web site. There was general discussion about completing the strategic plan within a timeline and editing the final grant applications again accordingly. The board agreed on a special meeting on Sunday, January 24, at 1 p.m. in the Town Barn. Motion: Vice Chair Hough moved to approve the special meeting on Sunday, January 24, at 1 p.m. Second: Ms. McKee seconded. Vote: Unanimous. Page 6 of 7 There was discussion regarding new member orientation for the three new members. Ms. Campbell explained that she had sent out the board materials, roster, and a brief summary of what the board was working on via email to the members, but that she hadn’t put together an ‘orientation’ per se. She said that she could put something together if the board wanted. She said she was also available for questions from new members about any of the work that the Tourism Board was doing. Chair Myers offered to sit down with new members informally on an individual basis and give them background information that they need about the board. Vice Chair Hough also recommended new members also talk with Sarah DeGennaro, who staffed this board for two years. VII. Old Business Items a. Previously Tabled Item: Special Projects/Partnerships in FY 17 i. West King Street Downtown Improvements- Town - Budget proposal/fund appropriation ii. Holiday Decorations Project- Town - Budget proposal/fund appropriation b. Tourism Plan i. Board Mission Statement/Vision Statement/Goals- Worksheet Motion: Vice Chair Hough moved to table both items a. and b. and discuss them further at the special work session. Second: Ms. McKee seconded. Vote: Unanimous Ms. McKee suggested at the next meeting there be a brief discussion about the Colonial Inn for a unified response. She said that she wanted the Tourism Board to have a ‘statement’ or a stance on the matter. Mr. Myers asked for a summary of the history/where the project is at now. Commissioner Ferguson shared that the timeline is on the Web site. Mr. Burke suggested a draft statement. Others thought there should be a discussion next month. Vice Chair Hough suggested also having the Alliance weigh in. Ms. Campbell said that she would put together a short history, current status, and what, if any, role, the Tourism Board may have moving forward. She said that at this point it really is not a tourism issue, but that the board can certainly development a statement or a stance on the matter so that they are all saying the same thing when questioned. VIII. Staff/Board Comments and Discussion Items Page 7 of 7 There was agreement that the special meeting on January 24 should be called a work session and should not have a time for public comment since so much needed to be covered. IX. Adjourn Motion: Vice Chair Hough moved to adjourn at 8:01 p.m. Second: Commissioner Ferguson seconded. Vote: Unanimous.