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3 | Page CHOCVB BOD Meeting September 17 , 2014 Laurie Paolicelli proposed the whole board do a marketing study. Greg Overbeck suggested bringing in someone from the outside who is experienced in marketing maybe from UNC Kenan-Flagler School of Business. Paolicelli agreed. New Business Chairman Carey introduced the Bureau’s new sales Director Marlene Barbera. Ms. Barbera gave a brief account of her first week with the Bureau. She stated she has been in the industry for 19 years and brings a different perspective to the Bureau. Anthony Carey reported that the nominating committee convened to discuss the board’s vice-chair position and they recommend Jim Parker. With that, Anthony Carey motioned to nominate Jim Parker. Dave Gephart seconded the motion. Carey opened the floor for discussion. With no discussion, the board favored the motion and the motion was passed. Martha Shannon reported the Orange County Arts Commission is now accepting applications for the Fall Arts Grants program; the deadline is November 20th. Shannon also reported that the Piedmont Laureate program is accepting applications from authors of speculative fiction for 2015. Authors must be residents of Wake, Durham or Orange. Debbie Hepp reported five new members were elected to their board of directors. Jim Parker reported that the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce is still looking for a CEO. He also spoke about Riverwalk. Dave Gephart informed members that 500-600 people attended the Hillsborough Jazz Festival at Moorefields and about 100 people attended the Bluegrass Festival at Moorefields. Annette Stone reported that the Town of Carrboro’s website is up and running. Stone announced a few upcoming events: the annual Carrboro Music Festival September 27-28 and The Peoples Peppers at the Farmers Market. She also mentioned an alliance between Carrboro business that stemmed from the Think Local First initiative that would focus on Carrboro events. Meg McGurk announced WCHL will begin broadcasting their pregame show from downtown. Other announcements included Live & Local begins this Friday for their fall schedule, the TerraVITA Small Plate Crawl is Sept 25-27, three empty storefronts have new artists displays, Festifall is Oct 5th, and Halloween is on a Friday this year. Lee Storrow spoke on the current towing ordinance where the Town does have the authority to enforce however, there were a few restrictions; one, they cannot regulate the pricing. He spoke on recent discussion about what could be done outside the ordinances to alleviate some of the issues, particularly with predatory towing companies; how can we of raise awareness about slight changes might get made to the ordinance. Maybe proactively talk about how we can improve the experience of visitors and citizens. Ms. McGurk noted that some of the things they here is the not knowing a lot is private - some lots are not attached to a private business i.e. around Vespa and Noodles. It is confusing to visitors whether they can park there. She mentioned having better, thoughtful signage that explains accountability. McGurk said they have been working with the community and private property owners to explain to them what’s going on without overstepping boundaries. McGurk warned that we have to be careful as not to get in between the contractual relationships between property owners and contractors. She stated they have had some success with that approach. Anthony Carey requested Meg to list hi-risk parking lots for their concierge to give to their guests. Laurie Paolicelli offered any help needed from the Visitors Bureau. Lee Storrow told Ms. McGurk that he would forward the signage restrictions to her and seek helpful suggestions.