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2 | Page CHOCVB BOD Meeting November 20, 2013 <br /> <br />feedback session inviting those who would possibly be interested in the idea; they also sent out a survey to the public; <br />which returned both positive and negative comments. Positive comments reflected the fair would be a way to showcase <br />Orange County and get back to its’ roots; concerns pertained to budget and infrastructure issues at Blackwood. Paolicelli <br />said she supported the idea because the Visitor Bureau helped to fund several fairs and day festivals with tourism <br />potential for all three towns, but never Orange County as a whole. Paolicelli then asked Penny Rich to provide further <br />details. <br />Commissioner Rich explained that in a commissioner work session, 400 surveys were reviewed. She confirmed that the <br />responses were mixed naming infrastructure, sustainability, funding and the effect it would have on already established <br />annual events (31 in total) countywide. Rich stated that funds allocated in the CIP budget would have to be moved up <br />from 2017 to get Blackwood Farms event ready. Rich explained that funds would be needed to hire a coordinator. <br />Additionally, she noted that if private partners were brought in for sponsorship, the homegrown ‘feel’ of the fair could <br />be compromised. With that, she turned it over to the board to discuss and vote on the notion of spending $10,000 in <br />seed dollars to support this initiative. <br />Dave Gephart motioned to approve the Visitor Bureau supporting the seed dollar investment of $10,000; and Lee Pavao <br />seconded it. However, many board members wanted to weigh-in and discuss. <br />Points of discussion included: <br />1. Several board members cautioned against a County Fair, a viewpoint mostly led by Gene Pease, because he was <br />uncertain as to what came first: our support and dollars or a yes vote by the BOCC to have the fair. Further, he sensed <br />that we as a Visitors Bureau were unclear as to what our money would go towards. If it went towards research to shape <br />a vision—and it was determined by the researchers that a fair like this was not a good idea—would the VB get its money <br />back. The assumption was it would not. <br />Pease did not feel it was a Visitor Bureau’s place to support a fair or festival, especially on the early front-end. He felt it <br />was the county’s role to put the pieces together and then come after sponsors. He questioned the director as to why <br />we would even be involved with an event like this. Several board members echoed this sentiment as well. <br />Paolicelli challenged that yes this was an initiative that mirrored our mission statement to “coordinate the assets of the <br />entire county; further the brand, which is food, music, art and climate. She reviewed events that the Bureau has <br />supported in the past and felt that $10,000 should go towards research about supply/demand for area festivals. She <br />stated the findings of the research could then be shared with all event groups. She also felt that $10,000 was a <br />reasonable contribution to get the fair launched in the correct manner and help bring a tourism element to the festival. <br /> <br />2. Currently, the buildings on the property are unsafe; there is no water or sewer. Approximately 2 million dollars <br />would be needed to prepare the property for events. The event itself is estimated to cost anywhere from $60,000 to <br />$120,000 <br />3. It was not clear on what type of fair it would be or what would be offered other than music and food. <br />4. A distinctly different view was shared among many board members who felt that the Visitors Bureau should <br />support something like this and that the Bureau has supported TerraVITA, Hog Day, Carrboro events, and North Carolina <br />High School Athletics that brought in varying guests, some overnight, and sold the assets of our community to <br />newcomers.