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HomeMy Public PortalAbout06-12-2023 Minutes TDA Regular Meeting 101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-732-1270 | www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov www.visithillsboroughnc.com | @HillsboroughNC TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES | 1 of 3 Minutes TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Budget Public Hearing meeting 1:00 p.m. June 12pm, 2023 Board Meeting Room of Town Hall Annex, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Chair and Commissioner Matt Hughes, Dani Black and Victoria Pace Staff: Planning and Economic Development Manager Shannan Campbell 1. Call to order Chair and Commissioner Matt Hughes called the meeting to order at 1 p.m. and confirmed the presence of a quorum. 2. Agenda changes and approval Motion: Member Dani Black moved to approve agenda. Member Victoria Pace seconded. Vote: 3-0 3. Minutes review and approval None. 4. Discussion/Decision Items A. FY23-25 Town of Hillsborough Staffing Contract (3 year) Manager Shannan Campbell explained that the board currently had no contract with the town for staff support and needed one for fiscal year 2023 through fiscal year 2025. The contract would entail the board paying a portion of a staff member’s salary. The responsibilities, currently filled by Campbell, include creating agendas, organizing packets, making sure public meeting laws are followed, advertising budget public hearings, and ensuring up-to-date minutes are posted to the town’s website. Staff time is estimated at 10 hours per week at a rate of $25 per hour, for a total of $13,000 a year. The number of hours would vary from week to week and might be higher during budget season and for special projects. Black asked if the Tourism Board had a similar contract. Campbell said yes, but that its contract included more hours at a higher rate because its revenues are higher and there were more contracts and special projects to manage. Pace asked if the board needed to review the contract. Campbell explained the contract was included in the meeting packet and the board needed only to approve, approve with amendments, or deny and send the contract back to the town. When asked if she found the contract acceptable, Campbell said the workload seemed manageable at 10 hour per week, but that the board can amend the contract in the future if the workload has been underestimated. She noted that staff hours in this contract were fewer than in previous contracts, which would leave the board more money to spend on tourism and less on administration. TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES | 2 of 3 Motion: Pace moved to approve contract. Black seconded. Vote: 3-0 Hughes noted that planning duties had recently taken up more of Campbell’s work hours, so he felt the town should pay a larger percentage of her salary in its budget. Hughes invited town staff members in the audience to introduce themselves. Emily Bradford, Budget Director, and Josh Fernandez, Budget and Management Analyst, did so. 5. Budget Public Hearing A. FY 24 Draft Budget . Motion: Pace moved to open the public hearing. Black seconded. Vote: 3-0 Campbell said that no one had signed up to speak for the public hearing. Hughes noted that revenues are expected to be $5,000 higher than last year. He said that while approval of the contract for staff would raise expenditures, the reduction of funds allotted to staff by $6000 kept the budget balanced. Campbell explained that those savings were allocated for special projects and partnership that the board might decide to fund later in the year, so that a budget amendment wouldn’t be needed. When asked by Hughes, Campbell said the board had not spent any money on the performance venue. Pace asked about anticipated revenues. Campbell said revenues are likely to grow in fiscal year 2024. She said that, according to information she’d received from the Orange County Visitor’s Bureau, growth in revenues was due more to rates rising than an increase in rooms sold. Asked by Black about the trajectory of revenues from the prepared foods tax, Campbell said they had also been rising since plateauing during the Covid epidemic. She added that the Colonial Inn and incremental rises in Airbnb rentals had largely driven the growth in revenues from the occupancy tax. Revenues were up $4500 over last year. Hughes asked if there were any questions or suggested changes to the budget from board members. There were none. Motion: Black moved to close public hearing. Pace seconded. Vote: 3-0 Motion: Black moved to approve budget as presented. Pace seconded. Vote: 3-0 6. Monthly Reports and Comments A. Tourism Staff Updates, Visitors Center Updates, & OC Visitors Bureau Updates TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES | 3 of 3 Campbell shared updated occupancy numbers and noted that revenues were up about $4,500 over last year. She said the board needed to reschedule its August 23rd meeting because one member had a scheduling conflict. After some discussion, the board agreed to reschedule to August 16th at 5:30pm. Campbell said that in response to a request by Black, staff had drafted a list of FAQs related to short term rentals for residents who call the Planning Department with questions because the rules are not clearly laid out in the United Development Ordinance. Campbell shared copies of the draft, which will be discussed in the August meeting. Campbell reported that Amanda Boyd s the new Executive Director of the Visitor Center. Campbell said she’d been working with Boyd and Triangle Media Partners on a marketing campaign, using remaining board marketing funds, that would run through the summer and include publicity about the Uproar Festival of Public Arts, email blasts, and social media posts. She also shared an update from the Orange County Visitors’ Bureau. County-wide occupancy rates had not fully recovered from the downturn during the Covid epidemic, but room rates had been holding steady because of the limited supply of rooms caused by staff shortages. B. TDA Member Comments & Updates There were none. 7. Adjournment Motion: Black moved to adjourn. Pace seconded. Vote: 3-0 Hughes adjourned the meeting at 1:20p.m. Respectfully submitted, Shannan Campbell Planning and Economic Development Manager Staff support to the Hillsborough Tourism Development Authority Approved: August 16, 2023