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14 <br /> <br />Katie Murray said she has that information. <br />Council Member Buansi asked if there is a sense of the demographics at the meetings <br />that have been held. <br />Katie Murray said the demographics were varied in age and geography, but not in race. <br />She said diversity is needed on the Arts Board to change that in the community. <br />Commissioner Price said she questioned some of the statistics in the PowerPoint, in <br />regards to the numbers. She asked if there is anyway to insure accuracy of numbers, and not <br />count a person more than once. <br />Katie Murray said in that regards, the repeating of attendees does not matter, as <br />audience spending is determined by averages. <br />Commissioner Price said she is more concerned about the number of people in <br />attendance. <br />Katie Murray said attendance numbers come from the organizational surveys, not the <br />audience surveys. She said the organizational survey is very detailed, and goes out to all the <br />organizations. She said the amount of money spent is worked out in averages. <br />Commissioner Price said she is not talking about the dollars, but rather wanted to know <br />about the number of people attending events. <br />Mayor Hemminger said the dollars are more important than the number of people. <br />Commissioner Price said she wanted more accurate numbers, and if there are more <br />people coming in for the arts, as opposed to double counting the same attendees. <br />Council Member Schaevitz asked if the Arts Commission collaborates with University of <br />North Carolina (UNC), as well as non-UNC events. <br />Katie Murray said when she joined Orange County, she often heard about the lack of <br />collaboration with UNC. She said there has been discussion, and active pursuit of <br />collaboration with UNC. She said the Commission is working with UNC on its “Arts <br />Everywhere” day that will occur on April 6. She said it has been a very encouraging process. <br />Katie Murray said UNC has an arts app that tells everything arts related that is <br />occurring on campus. She said the Commission might partner with UNC to expand this to offer <br />countywide arts information in the future. She said this would be a massive undertaking. <br />Council Member Gu said she does not see many large festivals in Orange County, but <br />does see many in Raleigh and Cary, some of which are multi-day events, bringing in revenue <br />for local businesses. She asked if anything similar is planned in Orange County. <br />Katie Murray said the bulk of her background is in festival planning, and she loves <br />festivals, but they take a lot of thought and planning. She said the upcoming Local Fest in the <br />fall has the potential to grow. She said the “Near and Far” festival on April 8th will be the first <br />international festival in Orange County. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked Katie Murray if she has found Orange County sees the <br />arts as an economic development driver. <br />Katie Murray said Orange County takes the arts as an economic driver very seriously, <br />and the fact that she is a County employee is a testament to that. She said any needs that <br />exist stems from the lack of a unified voice for Orange County, and once this happens the arts <br />will grow in Orange County. <br /> <br />c) Infrastructure - no materials provided. <br />Travis Myren said this item is intended to provide the Boards with an opportunity to <br />raise questions or initiate a discussion on water and sewer, transportation, or other <br />infrastructure improvements. <br />Mayor Hemminger said the Town and County staffs have been collaborating on many <br />of these issues.