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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 Page 2 of 4 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. Page 3 of 4 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 Page 4 of 4 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.