HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-03-2020 Minutes Tourism Board Regular Meeting
Hillsborough Economic Development Planner Shannan Campbell
101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278
919-296-9477 | shannan.campbell@hillsboroughnc.gov
www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov
www.visithillsboroughnc.com | @HillsboroughNC
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Minutes
Hillsborough Tourism Board
5:30 p.m. Feb. 3, 2020
Town Hall Annex Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St.
Present: Vice Chair Kim Tesoro, Mark Bateman, Barney Caton, Barry Hupp, Billy Maupin, Tommy Stann
Absent: Chair Matt Hughes
Staff: Economic Development Planner Shannan Campbell
Guests: Sherry Appel, Diane Edwards, Brooks Graebner Torey Mishoe and Sarah Parris
1. Call to order
Vice Chair Kim Tesoro called the meeting to order at 5:37 p.m. Economic Development Planner Shannan
Campbell confirmed the presence of a quorum.
2. Agenda changes and approval
Campbell said Member Mark Bateman would like to add a discussion about the town’s possible noise
ordinance revisions as Item 6A. The audit review would become Item 6B.
Motion: Member Billy Maupin moved to approve the agenda as amended. Member Barney Caton
seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
3. Minutes review and approval
Minutes from regular meeting on Jan. 6, 2020
Motion: Maupin moved approval of the minutes as presented. Caton seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
4. Presentations
A. Appointee interview: Cathleen Turner
Turner addressed the board. She said she has lived here about 25 years. She was the first director of the
Alliance for Historic Hillsborough. She is a regional director for Preservation North Carolina. She works
primarily in historic preservation as an element of economic development. She works on downtown
revitalization.
B. Quarterly reports from contract partners
Hillsborough Arts Council
Executive Director Torey Mishoe said the council would like to move the Handmade Parade to 2021 and then
keep it in odd years. This move would avoid election years.
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The board discussed that it was best for the council to give back the money issued for the parade in this fiscal
year.
Motion: Member Barry Hupp moved to invoice the money for the parade. Bateman seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
The board expressed interest in requiring event insurance in the contract for next year.
Mishoe reported that the Last Fridays Artwalk commenced recently. The council is working on the possibility
of expanding the artwalk to West Hillsborough. She said there are a lot of changes coming to Last Fridays.
Mishoe introduced Diane Edwards, a new council member working on Last Fridays. Edwards said the council is
rebranding the event, pulling art and music together. They are exploring options such as pairing a
singer/songwriter or instrumentalist with a painter.
Burwell School Historic Site
Brooks Graebner addressed the board. He is chair of the Historic Hillsborough Commission, which operates
and manages the site. Graebner said from July to the present, the commission has raised $50,000. The site
has operated for the last six months without staff, but the commission has recently hired for two positions.
The two staff positions are a part-time site manager and a curator.
The site has been operating under a management services agreement with the Alliance since Jan. 1. The
management agreement is raising costs of staffing the site by 15%. The Burwell School Historic Site is also
offering benefits for employees, which causes budget adjustments.
When asked to clarify, Graebner said he is not asking for a budget increase at this time, just adjustments in
the line items due to Burwell being closed there is lapse funds. He asked Sarah Parris, executive director of
the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, to talk about the increase in staffing costs. Parris said it covers benefits
and Alliance staff time. The staff time may be time spent advising, grant writing, or performing whatever
service the organization requests.
Orange County Historical Museum
Sherry Appel, chair of the museum board of directors, addressed the board. She reviewed that the museum
closed in November for roof replacement but experienced water damage related to the roof. Appel said the
museum board hopes to reopen the museum April 17.
Appel said there are three new board members, bringing the total to eight members. The board met in
December and decided to lay off the museum’s three staff members because the board did not know when
the museum would reopen and did not feel there was enough work available off site. Staff were paid through
the end of December.
Appel reported October and November visitation numbers.
Appel reported that the board held a strategic planning meeting recently. The board wants to make sure the
museum is truly an Orange County museum and is reaching out to other areas of the county for board
members.
Appel said the board plans to refresh the Let’s Play exhibit for April. It is planning a Native American exhibit in
the fall and as well a She Changed the World event and exhibit. The board plans to move forward with
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creating an inventory plan. It is also interested in entering into a contract agreement with the alliance for
management services. The board is still determining staffing needs.
Campbell asked Appel if the museum board anticipates repaying the Tourism Board any lapse funds for the
time while the museum was closed or if the museum is planning to use the funds in another way. Appel said
the museum board wants to pay a contractor to do an updated inventory of the collection and anticipates
having staff on board again by April. She doesn’t know how flexible the partnership contract with the Tourism
Board is. Campbell said she could talk with Appel outside the meeting, but that the Tourism Board would
probably want some kind of report of the amount of lapse funds and how those funds would be used for the
remaining fiscal year. She indicated that the only funds requested for the museum were for funding staff time,
so there really isn’t the ability to flex money between line items as Burwell was requesting.
Bateman said the Tourism Board sees a recurring theme of giving money for a specific purpose and the
contract partner wanting to use it for a different purpose. He wondered if the Tourism Board needs to be
clearer that the money given by the Tourism Board has to be spent on what was agreed upon or returned.
Campbell said there are parameters in the contract that cover this. She said it is commonplace to have a
contract scope of work and to shift money between line items. That sounds like what the Burwell School is
doing. The Visitors Center does this sometimes with expenses where for example they might need to
purchase software they didn’t anticipate and so they move money from a printing line item to cover the cost.
She will work with Appel and the museum’s board because those museum budget adjustments need to come
back to the Tourism Board for review/approval. The museum board needs to talk to the Tourism Board about
how the museum board wants to spend money that was supposed to be spent while the museum was closed.
Parris participated in a discussion with the Tourism Board about the contracted Alliance work for the contract
partners. Board members noted that it doesn’t appear to provide savings but an increase in staffing costs .
Board members indicated that the purpose of doing the MSA was intended to save money and create
efficiently across the non-profits. Board members indicated that they were uncomfortable paying the 15%
administrative fee and felt that the organizations needed to fundraiser to cover this cost as it operations and
not tourism related.
5. Action items
A. Alliance for Historic Hillsborough seat: Cathleen Turner
Motion: Bateman motioned to approve Turner’s appointment. Tesoro seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
6. Discussion items
A. Noise ordinance
Bateman said, as an owner of the Hot Tin Roof, he has a problem with the noise ordinance changes being
discussed as well as how often a neighbor is calling the police. He opened the bar in July 2013. Hot Tin Roof
didn’t have amplified music the first three months. Since then, a neighbor has called 911 between 120 and
150 times to complain about amplified music at this establishment disturbing him in his home on West
Margaret Lane. The complainant wants live music in Hillsborough to be required to cease at 11 p.m. Bateman
thinks this is terrible for business and tourism in Hillsborough.
Bateman said a ticket was given to a bartender that cost $360 and many hours of community service. He said
some bands no longer want to play in Hillsborough because of the noise restrictions and even with those
restrictions there is a neighbor that still is not happy.
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Tesoro pointed out the that Hot Tin Roof can currently play music until 2 a.m.
Campbell reviewed that the Board of Commissioners has discussed a possible drop in decibel levels at 11 p.m.
and disallowing amplified music after midnight.
Bateman and Tesoro pointed out that other big events with bands in town have louder decibel readings than
those measured at the Hot Tin Roof when a band is playing.
Bateman pointed out there was no noise ordinance in 2013 when the bar opened. He requested that the
Tourism Board make a statement to the Board of Commissioners about the negative impacts a stricter noise
ordinance would have on tourism.
Member Tommy Stann said his church enclosed the drum case, which solved noise complaints from neighbors
in Durham. Bateman said he asks bands to not mic the kickdrum because bass is part of the problem. He
indicated that none of the measures the HTR has taken to reduce noise have satisfied the neighbor.
Motion: Hupp moved to issue a letter in support of the current ordinance decibel levels, in support of
vibrancy in the downtown area, and noting the negative effect that eliminating live music after
11pm would have on current and future businesses in town. Maupin seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
Campbell recapped her notes for drafting the letter to the Town Board of Commissioners.
Maupin left at 7:26 p.m.
B. Fiscal Year 2019 audit review and extension documents
Campbell reported that the audit was clean and a good report on the strong financial positioning of the board.
She explained that the
Motion: Bateman moved to approve the audit extension documents. Caton extended.
Vote: Unanimous
7. Monthly reports and comments
A. Alliance for Historic Hillsborough Director and Alliance Programs reports; Visitors Center Communications
Report; Tourism Staff Report and Orange County Visitors Bureau Updates
Parris said she is reconfiguring staff at the Visitors Center now that the communications coordinator has left
his position. She is advertising for a part-time Visitors Center coordinator position and a part-time marketing
and communications coordinator. She said it did not work well for those two positions to be combined into
one. Because the Visitors Center is open seven days a week, she needs to spread staff availability over seven
days.
B. Tourism Board and staff comments and updates
Campbell said the Board of Commissioners is considering a new logo for the Town after the Tourism Program
logo was adopted there has been interest in adopting something modern for town government. She also
reported that the prepared food and beverage tax revenue have been a bit stronger this fiscal year than she
had anticipated.
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8. Adjournment
Motion: Tesoro adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m.
Vote: Unanimous