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3 | Page CHOCVB BOD Meeting January 21, 2015 Ms. Stone stated that parking has not been discussed yet and the financing has not been figured out, she noted that the ArtsCenter cannot do this without Kidzu. Some discussion on Kidzu and their Wallace Deck location ensued. Michelle Johnson commented that the Carrboro Town board has not talked about the issues that are concerning to the Visitor Bureau’s board and suggested that this board present those concerns to the Carrboro Alderman. Anthony Carey proposed to talk with Laurie outside of this meeting to discuss if this is something the Bureau should be involved with. Lee Storrow suggested an opinion statement from the Visitors Bureau. Paolicelli offered to provide background and meet with Steve Brantley and the County Manager but would prefer that the Board Chair, Carey, discuss this opinion with Carrboro. Paolicelli said that in light of the comments expressed at the public hearing about Carrboro talking with the County about finances, she did not feel it was her place to speak publicly at this point. Penny Rich stated that the commissioners have not talked about this at all; the manager has not passed on any information. Ms. Rich noted that the Southern Branch Library would be located just behind the proposed new hotel. Ms. Rich explained that funding for the library and ArtsCenter has not been talked about and it needs to be put on the table. Ms. Rich stated that she was concerned that the BOCC’s 3-month rolling calendar leaves no room for this discussion. Annette Stone informed members that as she understands it, if Atma Group cannot build in Carrboro, then they will look at Chapel Hill. Lee Storrow commented that he was unaware of this; and that it would be valuable for Town Council (Chapel Hill) to get feedback about all Orange County hotels, including those in the pipeline. Libbie Hough commented that they would like a hotel in Hillsborough as part of their long term tourism vision. Nitin Khanna commented that the 2014 recording breaking spike of tourism to this area was driven largely by UNC and Duke Hospital’s new patient portal system, EPIC, and those events have ended and we are now in a challenging time as tourism is leveling off at the same time new supply is coming in to Durham and Orange County. Excess supply drives prices down. Ms. Paolicelli reminded that visitors come here for the destination, not to stay in a hotel, and it’s this board’s role to market the destination. Ending the discussion, Mr. Carey stated he would get with Laurie on strategy before the next board meeting. Budget Update Penny Rich reported that the operating budget is still on target and revenues are trending slightly higher than what is budgeted. Laurie Paolicelli added that the fund balance is being spent down at the board’s request, currently going towards advertising, looking at adding a new position for a website coordinator. Ms. Rich informed the board that Orange County now has a policy to collect occupancy tax from online travel companies. She stated that the Town of Chapel Hill has signed a resolution as well, but that she was not sure about Hillsborough or Carrboro.