HomeMy Public PortalAbout11-07-2016 Minutes Tourism Board Regular MeetingPage 1 of 4
TOURISM BOARD
November 7, 2016
Town Barn
6:30pm
MINUTES
Present: Chair Erik Myers, Vice Chair Mary Catherine McKee, Sean Garrett, Kate Carroll,
Kathleen Ferguson, Kim Tesoro, Matt Hughes, Libbie Hough
Staff: Shannan Campbell (Town of Hillsborough), Sarah DeGennaro (Alliance)
I. Call Meeting to Order
Chair Myers called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m.
II. Agenda Adoption
Ms. Campbell informed the board that Ms. DeGennaro needed to do her reports earlier in the
meeting because she had to leave town on a trip.
Motion: Member Hough moved to adopt the agenda with the Alliance reports at the top.
Second: Vice Chair McKee seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
III. Consideration of Minutes of October 3, 2016, Regular Meeting
Motion: Member Ferguson moved to approve the minutes as presented.
Second: Vice Chair McKee seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
IV. General Public Comment
There were none.
V. Monthly Reports
a. Alliance Director’s Report
Ms. DeGennaro clarified that this is a report on the month of September. She
indicated that the Alliance has developed a one year work plan that they will be
sharing at the next Tourism Board meeting. She announced that the Alliance is on the
News & Observer’s giving guide.
b. Visitor’s Center Communications Report
Ms. DeGennaro reported that Living History Day was well attended. The Facebook
page has been well received. Snapchat followers have increased by two. She shared
ads in the packet. The Handmade Parade was well attended.
c. Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitor’s Bureau Update
Ms. Campbell reported the bureau recently discussed their branding and marketing
strategy. The bureau is marketing mainly with a focus on Chapel Hill, but
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occasionally throws in an ad for Hillsborough or Carrboro. She indicated that she had
brought this up at the bureau meeting because it seemed to be confusing to have a
brand focus on Chapel Hill but still be able to extend that to Hillsborough or Carrboro
because the three towns are so different. She reported that the Visitors Bureau wants
to support Hillsborough’s efforts where they can and said that she is glad to have
them as a tourism partner.
VI. New Business Items
a. Board Vacancy- Restaurant Seat Interviews
- Mark Bateman: Hot Tin Roof
Mr. Bateman introduced himself to the board. He said he wants to be on the board
because he grew up here and cares about Hillsborough. He also discussed his time
and experience owning other businesses in town.
Chad Gaster: La Place
Mr. Gaster said he was raised here as well. He said that he loves Hillsborough and
wants to be on the board because he has some ideas on expanding tourism to local
farms and wineries.
b. Visitors Center First Quarter Report
Ms. DeGennaro asked if there were any questions regarding the first quarter report.
There were none.
c. Visitors Center Budget Amendments.
Ms. DeGennaro said there were budget amendments to more accurately reflect what
the budget needs to be based on to-date spending. She explained that there were also
some splitting of line items in some areas and consolidation in others.
She said that there was a line item added for special events. There needed to be more
money spent on the gift shop to increase the inventory there. The Alliance’s board
meeting costs had been removed from the Visitors Center budget entirely. They under
budgeted for insurance and seem to have over budgeted for payroll taxes. There was a
brief discussion on whether the Alliance could go in with another organization on
health insurance to get reduced rates, but Ms. DeGennaro did not immediately think
that possible.
Member Hough shared that it had been researched and determined to be not possible
due to having different tax identification numbers.
Additionally, the restroom supplies lines are now broken out as items to track the cost
of operating the detached public restroom facility on the Visitor Center property
versus the general restrooms inside the building.
d. 2017 Draft Meeting Dates Calendar
The board discussed meeting start times and the merits and downfalls of meeting
either later or earlier.
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Motion: Member Ferguson motion to move the regular meeting time to 6:00pm.
Discussion: Member Carroll indicated that she would not be able to serve if the
meeting was moved back this far and asked for some compromise on the
meeting time.
Revised Motion: Member Ferguson revised her original motion and changed the motion to
move the regular meeting time to 6:15pm.
Second: Chair Myers seconded.
Vote: Unanimous.
Ms. Campbell asked when the new meeting time would go into effect.
Motion: Member Hough motioned for 6:15 p.m. start time beginning in January 2017.
Second: Chair Myers seconded.
Vote: Unanimous.
Motion: Chair Myers motioned to move the January meeting to January 9th instead of
January 3rd.
Second: Member Ferguson seconded.
Vote: Unanimous.
Motion: Chair Myers motioned to move the September meeting to September 11th instead
of September 5th.
Vote: Unanimous.
Ms. Campbell asked if the board wanted to do the same for the July meeting since that Monday
also falls on a Holiday.
Member Hough said they could decide on that when it came up. She pointed out that last July the
board chose to cancel their meeting as many local boards do.
d. Discuss and vote on vacancy
Chair Myers encouraged recommending Mr. Bateman for the appointment for more
diversity on the board since there is already a representative from LaPlace restaurant.
Motion: Chair Myers moved to recommend Mr. Bateman for the position.
Second: Member Hough seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
VII. Old Business Items
a. Tourism Plan Kick-Off Meeting Follow-up
- Go over draft project overview, timeline, deliverables
- Recap meeting
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Ms. Campbell reviewed the Powerpoint presentation she gave at the kick-off meeting. The next
steps for Ms. Campbell will be to hold more internal/external stakeholder meetings, do some
additional research, and then present a working outline to this board in January for discussion
and direction.
VIII. Staff/Board Comments and Discussion Items
- December Meeting
Motion: Vice Chair McKee moved to cancel the December meeting.
Second: Member Ferguson seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
VII. Adjourn
Motion: Chair Myers moved to adjourn at 7:24 p.m.
Second: Member Garrett seconded.
Vote: Unanimous.