CH-OCVB minutes 042016 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Approved May 18,2016 MINUTES Chapel Hill /Orange County Visitors Bureau Board of Directors Meeting April 20, 2016 The Chapel Hill /Orange County Visitors Bureau met at The Chapel Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, Chapel Hill, NC Board Members Present: Andrew Strickland, Jeffrey Strickler, George Cianciolo, Tim Hoke, Rosemary Waldorf- Chair, Mark Sherburne, Karen DeHart, Aaron Bachenheimer, Lee Pavao -Vice Chair, Nitin Khanna, Penny Rich, Annette Stone, Lee Storrow, Not Present: Shannon Campbell, Allison Nichols- Clapper, Michelle Johnson, Mark Bell, Laurie Paolicelli Staff attendance: Marlene Barbera, Allison Chambers Also present: Kristen Smith, Chapel Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. Bonnie Hammersley, Orange County Manager Call to Order Chair Rosemary Waldorf called the meeting to order at 8:08 am. Introductions were given by all. Approval ofAimites Ms. Waldorf requested a motion to approve the March 16, 2016 minutes. Lee Pavao so moved, Penny Rich seconded. With all members in favor, the minutes were approved as submitted. She expressed her appreciation to the board for all the work that they do on behalf of Orange County. Giiest/host speakers The Chapel Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce hosted our meeting and they were represented by Kristen Smith. Their focus is to make it easier to do business in the community. She reminded us that the room we were meeting in is rented to groups as a community resource space. The Chambers is planning their intercity visit, which they do every two years. This year they will be visiting Boulder Colorado. She offered the Chambers assistance to the board as an ongoing resource. Chair Waldorf welcomed Bonnie Hammersley, Orange County Manager to the meeting. She will be presenting the budget on May 5t ", two weeks earlier than in the past, giving the Board of County Commissioner more time for deliberation. She offered background on her decision to form the Community Relations and Tourism department, of which the Vistors Bureau is a division, and her desire to have Ms. Paolicelli lead that department. She expects to see an increase in revenue due to the occupancy tax but the property tax revenue that feeds the general fund remains mostly flat. She stated that she understands the Visitors Bureau Board would like to see the Arts Commission funded by a different source than the County's occupancy tax, but she is recommending that it continue to be funded from that tax. She sees it as an eligible use of those funds and believes it will become less of a burden on any fund in the future as the Arts Council looks at alternative types of funding going forward. She has created functional leadership teams among the county's twenty -eight departments to break down existing silos. The result thus far is that they are all more aware of the challenges the other directors face in managing their resources. They county government also faces the challenge of trying to make up for the school districts what the State has taken away. She is looking to the Visitors Bureau to be a partner in sharing resources. She stated that moving forward department staff and advisory board members should be part of these teams, there by evolving into a broader outreach. She shared that local government is always about two to