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Home My Public Portal About08-07-2023 Minutes Tourism Board Regular Meeting101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-732-1270 | www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov www.visithillsboroughnc.com | @HillsboroughNC TOURISM BOARD MINUTES | 1 of 3 Minutes TOURISM BOARD Regular meeting 5:30 p.m. August 7, 2023 Board Meeting Room of Town Hall Annex, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Chair Matt Hughes, Barney Caton, Barry Hupp, Victoria Pace, Eryk Pruitt and Scott Czechlewski Absent: Rainbow Cabbage, Megan Kimball, Smita Patel Staff: Planning and Economic Development Manager Shannan Campbell 1.Call to order Chair and Commissioner Matt Hughes called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. Planning and Economic Development Manager Shannan Campbell confirmed the presence of a quorum. 2.Agenda changes and approval Motion: Member Barry Hupp moved to make no changes to the agenda. Member Barney Caton seconded. Vote: Ayes: 6-0. 3.Minutes review and approval Minutes from the regular meeting on April 17, 2023, and the budget public hearing on June 12, 2023. Motion: Member Scott Czechlewski moved to approve both sets of minutes as presented. Member Eryk Pruitt seconded. Vote: Ayes: 6-0. 4.Presentations A.Contract partner quarterly reports 1.Alliance for Historic Hillsborough (Visitors Center) Amanda Boyd, executive director of the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, summarized the activities that took place at the Visitors Center in the third and fourth quarter of FY22. The presentation and report were included in the agenda packet. 2.Hillsborough Arts Council Events/Visitor Services Kera Yonker, Interim Leader of the council, shared highlights of council activities in the third and fourth quarter, which were also available in the agenda packet as a presentation. 3.Burwell School Visitor Services Sharon Ringwalt, chair of the Historic Hillsborough Commission, introduced the school’s new site coordinator, Emma Vadney, who will concentrate on marketing and fundraising for the school. Ringwalt summarized the TOURISM BOARD MINUTES | 2 of 3 school activities in the third and fourth quarter, which were also available in the agenda packet as a presentation. 4. Orange County Historical Museum Catie Atkinson, site manager of the museum, summarized activities in the third and fourth quarters, which were also available in the agenda packet as a presentation. She noted the numbers of visitors are up, thanks in part to the museum expanding its hours to seven days a week. 5. Discussion/Action items A. Special Project/Partnership Request: Orange County Historical Museum conference “Collecto Con” Courtney Smith, Exhibits and Program Coordinator at the Orange County Historical Museum, explained that museum staff were organizing a mini conference as a follow up to the successful program on treasure hunters earlier this year. The conference will include a fashion show, nighttime treasure hunt, and talks by individual collectors. She said the conference is already funded, but the museum is seeking extra money to promote the event. Indy Week magazine has offered the museum a $3,000 package of advertising for $1,000. Smith said the museum was also seeking $300 for the initial printing of rack cards representing local restaurants to provide lunch options for conference attendees. There was discussion about the pros and cons of business cards vs. map guides to restaurants. It was noted that rack cards might be funded through the Visitors Center budget. Board members agreed the conference should generate tourism dollars and that the investment in advertising would provide the museum with useful data and brand recognition. Motion: Member Victoria Pace moved to move $1,000 from the fund balance to the special projects and partnerships line and grant the amount to the museum for advertising. Pruitt seconded. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: Caton, Czechlewski, Hupp, Pace, and Pruitt. Hughes recused himself because he is on the museum board. B. Tourism Board FY24 Contracts (Grants and Contract Partners) Campbell explained the contracts were included in the agenda packet for review. Hughes asked about a placeholder number in the contract for the Alliance. Campbell explained that she had talked with Boyd about moving the Alliance from monthly to quarterly payments, which would put their payment schedule in line with those of other partners. There had not been a decision on this but it wouldn’t impact the total amount the alliance received to run the Visitors Center. Motion: Caton moved to approve FY24 contracts. Pace seconded. Vote: 4-0. Ayes: Caton, Hupp, Pace, and Pruitt. Hughes and Czechlewski recused themselves. C. Tourism Funding Workshop/Discussion- Focus: RFP process for contract partners Hughes noted this topic was more of a discussion item rather an action item and suggested Campbell send out an email asking for questions about the RFP process in preparation of the workshop. Campbell said she had included in the agenda packet a one-page outlining the contracts process. She explained that the board used to have only one fund for grants and tended to get the same requests year after year. The board decided to split the fund into three funds: 1) a special projects and partnerships fund intended for unanticipated needs or sponsorship opportunities that cost less than $5,000; these funds don’t require a budget amendment and approval by the Town Board. 2) A traditional grant program with grants ranging between $5,000 and $10,000 that is more competitive. These grants are intended to be seed money for new projects, and organizations are eligible for only two years. After that, they are encouraged to self-fund by generating revenue by the project/program or become a contract partner. Grants require a final report at the conclusion of the grant project. 3) A fund that allots $10,000 or more to contract partners, which need money every year to conduct TOURISM BOARD MINUTES | 3 of 3 things like visitors services, events, and on-going tourism programing. She said these partners are required to give quarterly reports. She explained the budget process starts in January or February and finishes in June with a public hearing and adoption. She noted that previous board discussions had raised questions about the return on investments per visitor and the scoring rubric for grant applications. Hughes also invited the contract partners to submit suggestions for improving the process. Hughes suggested going more in-depth to these discussions at the next meeting. 6. Monthly reports and comments A. Tourism Staff Report, Visitors Center Updates, and Orange County Visitors Bureau updates Campbell noted: • She would provide the board an updated revenue report soon. • The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau reported the soccer game between the Chelsea and Wrexham football clubs in Chapel Hill in July was a huge success. She said there were indications Hillsborough experienced a small uptick in tourism from the event. Hughes said he thought the town would get some percentage of the tax gathered from ticket sales. B. Board comments and updates Campbell said to avoid a conflict with Labor Day, the board had decided to meet on Sept. 12th and asked members to check their calendars. Hupp reported the Eno River Brewery will be opening this Thursday and will be a new source of food and beverage revenue. 7. Adjournment Motion: Hupp moved to adjourn at 7:09 p.m. Pace seconded. Vote: 6-0. Respectfully submitted, Shannan Campbell Planning and Economic Development Manager Staff support to the Hillsborough Tourism Board Approved: September 12, 2023