HomeMy Public PortalAbout12-03-2018 Tourism Board Minutes Regular MeetingPage 1 of 4
Approved Minutes
Tourism Board
6:15 p.m. Dec. 3, 2018
Board Meeting Room, Town Hall Annex, 105 E. Corbin St.
Present: Chair Mary Catherine McKee, Mark Bateman, Libbie Hough, Barry Hupp, Billy Maupin, Tommy
Stann and Kim Tesoro
Staff: Economic Development Planner Shannan Campbell
Guests: Sarah DeGennaro, Alliance for Historic Hillsborough
1. Call meeting to order
Chair Mary Catherine McKee called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. Economic Development Planner Shannan
Campbell confirmed the presence of a quorum.
2. Consideration of changes or adjustments to the agenda
There were no changes. The agenda stood as presented.
3. Minutes review and approval
Minutes from regular meeting on Nov. 5, 2018.
Motion: Member Mark Bateman moved approval of the minutes as presented. Member Billy Maupin
seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
4. New business
A. Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Tourism Program Report
Campbell asked board members to email her if they see any corrections that need to be made. She plans to
have them printed and mailed to stakeholders.
B. Fiscal Year 2020 renewal process for contract partners
Board members briefly discussed a few additional steps for the FY20 contract renewal process. There was
interest in asking contract partners to provide detailed explanations of any budget requests that are
significantly higher than the previous year. Significantly higher may be anything more than 3 percent higher. It
was noted that the board prefers more detailed budget line items. The board also requested some additional
explanation of any new line items/projects.
Other suggestions included:
• Providing contract partners with a more detailed budget increase justification form.
• Asking on the application/budget spreadsheet what other ways the partners are planning to get
funding.
• Asking contract partners to explain how the services or projects for which they are seeking funding
align with the Tourism Board’s strategic plan.
• Asking contract partners to rank their special projects/increases in terms of priority.
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C. Recommendations for updates to FY20 grant application, scoring or process
It was noted that the electronic format worked well and that it was the first year the board had not received
incomplete applications. The online application could not be submitted while incomplete.
5. Old business
A. Visitors Center fund balance projects and draft invoice
Campbell reviewed that for some fiscal years the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, which operates the
Visitors Center, kept any Prepared Food and Beverage Tax remittance that was over the amount projected in
the budget. For the last two fiscal years, the overages have been returned to the Tourism Board because that
is now specified in the contract more clearly. For the years where the Alliance retained the money, those
funds were placed in a fund balance account.
Campbell reviewed that at the last Tourism Board meeting, the board discussed a list of projects that the
Alliance for Historic Hillsborough would like to do at the Visitors Center with that unbudgeted $60,000. At the
November meeting, the board approved the first four projects for FY19, leaving $43,380 to be reimbursed to
the Tourism Board. Campbell has created an invoice to document the payment from the Alliance for Historic
Hillsborough.
Motion: Maupin moved to approve the invoice for $43,380 to be paid by the Visitors Center with no FY19
allocation at this time. Member Libbie Hough seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
6. Discussion items and monthly reports
A. Alliance for Historic Hillsborough Director and Programs Report
Executive Director Sarah DeGennaro noted the report includes explanations of how projects tie in with the
goals and the strategic plan of the Alliance. She reviewed fall projects, including participating in the
Handmade Parade, a bell ringing on Nov. 11, documenting the Piper Cox House, connecting preservation
specialist Dean Reudrich with Orange County Schools to make sure the roof of the Hughes Academy was
prepared to preserve it. DeGennaro explained that the Visitors Center and other historic sites in town have
seen a decline in school groups coming to tour the sites and would like to brainstorm ways to boost that.
Hough suggested the Visitors Center staff consider creating a web-based interactive field trip that didn’t
require students to leave their classrooms. She also suggested DeGennaro contact the field trip coordinator
for the Morehead Planetarium to find out what the planetarium is doing to attract field trip groups.
DeGennaro noted that photos with Santa was a recent successful event.
B. Visitors Center Communications Report (September)
Campbell reported the Handmade Parade generated a lot of social media traffic. She noted the Visitors Center
had run a full-page ad in FINDER, the INDY’s Guide to All Things Triangle. Also, the Visitors Center had
published blog posts about the River Park Concert and Handmade Parade. The number of likes on Facebook
had increased by 77 in September. The Visitors Center counted 425 visitors in September from 19 states and
two foreign countries. Campbell said River Park Concert was huge this year. She noted that it was a rainy fall
season.
McKee requested that a line be added to the report noting the weather so the weather can be taken into
account when looking back at attendance or information like Spirit Tours being canceled (due to weather).
C. Tourism Board Staff Report and Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Updates (September)
Campbell reported that:
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• The Hillsborough Running Club’s Hillsborough Half event had a good turnout.
• The Hillsborough Running Club’s Running of the Elves was a big success before the Holiday Parade.
• The Hillsborough Board of Commissioners had approved widening the sidewalk in front of the
Colonial Inn, which will remove some on-street parking spaces. However, the next block of West King
Street was in the planning stages to be striped to create more parking spaces.
• There were ongoing discussions about the location of a second loading zone on West King Street for
both the King Street businesses and Colonial Inn.
• She has information about disaster-relief assistance loans offered by the Small Business Association.
• She had attended Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce meetings to participate in
planning for holiday events.
• She had met with the new Arts Council executive director, Torey Mishoe.
• The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau would be hosting an open house holiday party Dec.
11.
• She was sick for the October Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau meeting at the Hillsborough
Campus of UNC Hospitals, but DeGennaro had attended.
• UNC-Chapel Hill opened a visitors center on Franklin Street.
• The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau was changing marketing firms while working on
rebranding.
• She had placed additional information in front of the board about Prepared Food and Beverage tax
collected in July. She noted the amount of tax collected was down in July, up in August and about the
same in September, compared with those months in 2017. She does not project large growth in this
tax next year because some restaurants have closed, others are coming online, and Daniel Boone
Village is being redeveloped. She thinks the amount of tax collected will be comparable with this
year.
• The next Tourism Board meeting is Jan. 7.
D. Tourism Board Member Comments and Updates
Board Member Tommy Stann said the news release on the importance of reducing the use of single-use
plastics got him thinking how great it would be if all the restaurants started using biodegradable takeout
packaging. He said such packaging is much more expensive than the single-use plastics, though. Businesses
cannot provide the more expensive packaging on their own. He is concerned that the encouragement would
be followed by a mandatory reduction in single-use plastics from the Town Board and wanted to make sure
that Town Board members understand how much more expensive a mandate like this might be for
businesses. He is interested in financial assistance to help make that change. Stann thinks it would be great if
Hillsborough restauranteurs could work together to come up with an environmentally friendly solution with
some outside financial assistance. He could envision the environmentally friendly measures becoming a
marketing point for the Town.
There was interest among board members to help solve this problem. There was a suggestion for the Visitors
Center to sell Hillsborough-branded multi-use takeout containers and bags. It was noted that the Orange
County Health Department may not approve of the takeout containers, unless people brought them in to
package their own leftovers at the end of the meal.
Stann offered to talk with Dani Black, the Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce’s restaurant
ambassador.
Kim Tesoro supported using the Chamber’s organizational structure to collaborate on this.
McKee said if there is buy-in from restaurants, then the Tourism Board could help with signage and
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marketing.
Campbell added that on a related note, she is interested in getting bulk pricing for high chairs for restaurants
to get a better deal and encourage restaurateurs to offer them based on clientele. She has noticed several
restaurants don’t offer high chairs which is leaving money on the table, as young families will go elsewhere to
eat. Stann said he had ordered safe, easy-to-clean ones a few months ago that he was very happy with. He
indicated he would send Campbell the information on them. Campbell said that could be something for Black
to discuss with the restauranteurs as well. She said that young families is a growing demographic for
Hillsborough and that it would be a shame for them to go out of town to eat when they could eat here.
DeGennaro reminded the board that the Visitors Center will be closed Dec. 24 through Jan. 6. The extra time
is to allow for interior painting.
Tesoro noted the Candlelight Tour was coming up.
7. Adjournment
Motion: McKee moved to adjourn at 7:46 p.m. Maupin seconded.
Vote: Unanimous