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three years behind any recovery. The county manager asked if there were questions and Lee Storrow made the statement that Visitors Bureau dollars should be used to increase revenues in the county and that he would like to see increased alignment and more of a partnership involved in the structure of the Arts Council in the Visitors Bureau budget. The manager says she thinks there is opportunity to blend some efforts between the Visitors Bureau and the Arts Commission. Tim Hoke reported that, at present, they have an extremely active board. He reported that Martha Shannon will be retiring effective June 30, 2016. He directed board members to the Arts Commission's online survey, http : / /artsorange.org /. They hope to increase their outreach as there are 179 different arts organizations in Orange County. They want to make contact with each one through personal contact with their board members. George Cianciolo asked the Manager if she saw any cuts to the county coming out of this year's short session. She responded that most affected will be school funding and the limiting of what the county can and cannot do. Lee Pavao stated that he was appreciative of the open communication we are experiencing with the Manager. In response to Mr. Sherburne's question about economic indicators showing a downward trend she said that the County is working with UNC on formulating a five year projected forecast. This forecast will be used as a tool for the county commissioners. The county is being more aggressive in its investments. In 2006 the county earned $500,000 on its portfolio and in 2015 the county earned only $37,000 on an even larger portfolio. The Manager stated that there will be funds in the upcoming budget to do a SWOT analysis in regards to economic development to define what the county should be focusing on. As the Manager reviews her upcoming budget recommendations she will be reviewing the amount of indirect cost the county collects from the Visitors Bureau fund as reported by Maximus, the county's indirect cost analysis firm. Chair Waldorf stated that she believes that our fund is somewhat different that other funds, i.e. Solid Waste, in that we generate income for the county. ExeCUtive Directors Report As Executive Director Laurie Paolicelli is out of town, Chair Waldorf offered the report. She updated the Board on the upcoming space study. A consultant has been chosen and will be meeting with the sub - committee on May 19. The meeting will focus on scope of work, and the plan is to begin work immediately. She stated this will be a two part study, the first to determine a need for this space and a second to look at possible locations. Sales port Marlene reported that she traveled to Oxnard CA to attend this year's North American Travel Journalists Association conference. She reported that she addressed House Bill 2 in her presentation to the group and explained that as a community we do not support the legislation, and that we participate in the fight against social injustice and welcome all people. She was able to track over four million impressions on twitter the week after the conference regarding Orange County. She also stated that a year out from their 2015 conference, articles are still being published as a result of the conference. She will be tracking media generated by the conferences meeting in Oxnard. The conference will be here May 16 -19, 2017. Chair Waldorf shared with the Board that she, Laurie, Marlene and Lee Pavao will be hosting Orange County's hotels General Managers at a round table on Thursday, May 12 at the UNC Basketball Museum. New BUsiness/Round table Chair Waldorf acknowledged all for updates in their respective fields: Marlene Barbera reported that she had contacted all county hotels to see if they had been affected by House Bill 2 and that they reported they had not. She was contacted by Alice Wertheimer at UNC who has had a conference cancelled and the Friday Center reported that they had had two events cancelled. These cancellations have affected the Courtyard. The County is documenting this. Aaron Bachenheimer suggested she speak with some entertainment venues as well. Kristen Smith requested this data be shared with the Chamber. 21Page C 11 II 0 C V 3 B 0 D 1Meetfiing A Il�Dir °ill 2 0 , 2 0 1.6