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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 11-12-2013 - 4ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 12, 2013 SUBJECT: County Fair Workina Group Report DEPARTMENT: County Manager, Asset Management Services (AMS), Cooperative Extension, Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation (DEAPR), Economic Development, Visitors Bureau ATTACHMENT(S): Blackwood Farm Park CIP Page Working Group Report, Including Work Group Charge and Meeting Agendas and Information - Sharing Session Summary (To Be Provided Under Separate Cover Prior to the Meeting) Action Agenda Item No. 4 PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No INFORMATION CONTACT: Commissioner Mark Dorosin, 245 -2130 Commissioner Renee Price, 245 -2130 Interim Manager Michael Talbert, 245- 2300 County Fair Working Group Staff 1 PURPOSE: To report to the Board on the activities and deliberations of the County Fair Working Group, charged and commissioned on June 18, 2103 to investigate a potential Orange County Fair. BACKGROUND: On June 18, 2013 the Board of Commissioners appointed Commissioners Mark Dorosin and Renee Price to work with the County Manager's office and directors from several departments to develop an outline and basic information and concepts about a possible county fair including such topical areas as activities, timeframe, process, costs and possible creation of a County Fair Advisory Committee. The specific language of the charge is provided in the "Charge — County Fair Working Group," which is an attachment to the Working Group report The Working Group began its efforts on July 10, and met on five occasions to develop its report. The Group also participated in conference calls and site visits to potential fair locations, and received advice and feedback from the County Fair Coordinator from the NC Department of Agriculture. Members of the group visited other fairs and spoke to event organizers and representatives of other festivals and events, and shared this input with the group. The efforts culminated with an October 30, 2013 Information - Sharing Session held at the Solid Waste Operations Center meeting room on Eubanks Road, where 32 residents and interested parties attended a meeting and discussed the value of a potential fair, possible components and activities, locations, and what organizations or persons should be involved in further event planning. This information, along with a distillation of previous conversations and discussions, was compiled into the Working Group report. Additional outreach has been conducted to ask the organizations and the general public for feedback on the themes and ideas of the Working Group, both via brief written survey questions and an online survey. As shown in the attached report, the following primary findings or themes are proposed for the Board's consideration: • A county fair could offer the opportunity to celebrate the many unique historical, social, cultural, and creative aspects of Orange County, and create a community - building event bringing together residents from all across the county to an event that also offers entertainment, recreation and economic development potential. • As an initial event, the Working Group recommends a two -day Friday- Saturday event. Friday would be targeted to encourage field trips from local schools. • While a fall date in late- September was initially proposed and discussed, the Working Group recognized that a fall 2015 event was too distant in the future. In the interest of launching a fair sooner, the Group identified an alternative window of late -April for a Spring 2015 fair. This spring fair could be seen as a test run, and a decision on whether future fairs should be fall or spring could be made after gleaning the experience of a first -run in Spring 2015. • A number of possible sites for a potential fair were examined, with two sites visited and explored in more detail. After deliberation, the Working Group found consensus around the idea of using the future Blackwood Farm Park site on NC 86 and New Hope Church Road between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. This 152 -acre site is located near the population center of the county, is owned by the County, has easy access to Interstate 40, and has been used for similar festivals and events. Infrastructure and logistical issues will need to be addressed, but many of these are consistent with planned future improvements in the adopted Capital Investment Plan. • The fair as conceptually - proposed would be structured around five primary themes, with an overarching sustainability theme and a number of sub - themes and activities possible within this framework. These five main themes are: o Agriculture, local food and restaurants o Arts and local artists • Orange County's diverse history • Schools, education and youth, and o Live music The fair as envisioned would also include some attractions for children, including traditional and non - traditional rides and games. K A listing of approximately 35 groups, organizations and persons has been gathered, and the Working Group recommendations propose a "Coordinating Committee for the Orange County Fair' ( CCOCF) be formed in January, including representatives from these groups and other interested or identified parties or residents. The initial organizations list is included as an attachment to the report, and many of groups participated in the October 30 information session. The creation of a CCOCF would enable the next steps to be taken to develop a 2015 County Fair Strategic Plan, including more - specific activities and amenities within the identified themes, a three -year financial plan and a recommended management/operating structure for the fair. This information, along with further assessment of the site infrastructure needs, and the potential for sponsorships and volunteer group assistance, would be needed to develop a project budget that is a self- sustaining model, as directed by the Board. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The financial impact of a potential county fair would need to be addressed as the event's specifics are developed and refined. Examinations of other budgets for like events, and a general schematic estimate for this event (as shown in the report) reflect a projected range of $60,000 to $185,000 in costs associated with operating a fair at Blackwood Farm, depending on the scope of activities. Much of this cost is expected to be offset or reduced by revenue structures and coordinated volunteer assistance, which have not yet been developed. The Chapel Hill /Orange County Visitors Bureau currently has a special event fund that has supported several events in Orange County, including TerraVITA and Hog Day, Carrboro Film Festival and others. The Bureau has $10,000 reserved for opportunity promotions and expects to contribute $10,000 to the County Fair, seed dollars that would go towards hiring an events contractor to launch the Fair. From a tourism perspective, promoting Orange County's bounty, through an annual food, heritage and music event, will help the County's brand and, accordingly, tourism numbers. Considerable advance planning will be needed to fully develop the fair concept. A county fair in spring 2015 would require funding in the FY 2014 -15 fiscal year. The Board's charge to the Working Group included a self- sustaining model over time, and if possible, from the outset. The Working Group has identified the County's future Blackwood Farm Park site as the likely preferred location. Some improvements (primarily a new entry road, parking and site work) would be needed for a County Fair to occur in 2015, and while these improvements are consistent with the park master plan, the current FY 2013 -18 Capital Investment Plan (CIP) does not include funding for these items until 2018 and beyond (see attached Blackwood Farm Park CIP page). RECOMMENDATION(S): The Interim Manager recommends that the Board receive the report of the Working Group, discuss whether to proceed with planning for the fair, and identify any needed additional information. If the Board wishes to proceed with planning for the County Fair concept, and is in agreement with the proposed coordinating committee approach, the Working Group could be instructed to bring back a recommended charge and scope of work for the proposed Coordinating Committee for the Orange County Fair, along with a timeframe of activities. The Clerk to the Board could also be instructed to solicit for possible applications for the Committee appointees. 0 County Capital Projects Fiscal Years 2013 -18 Project Name Blackwood Farm Park Project Status Approved /Proposed Functional Service Area Community and Environment Starting Date 7/1/2012 Department DEAPR Completion Date 7/1/2018 Current Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Five Year 6 Prior Years Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Year to Project Budget Funding 2012 -13 2013 -14 2014 -15 2015 -16 2016 -17 2017 -18 Total Year 10 Appropriation Land /Bullding Construction /Repairs /Renovations 50,000 - - - - - - 7,500,000 Equipment /Furnishings - - - 500,000 Total Project Budget - 50,000 - - - - - - 8,000,000 General Fund Related Operating Costs Personnel Services 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 60,000 325,000 Operations - 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 25,000 275,000 New Debt Service - - - - - 1,670,400 Total Operating Costs 12,000 17,000 17,000 17,000 17,000 17,000 85,000 2,270,400 Revenues /Funding Source Transfer from General Fund 62,000 13,000 13,000 13,000 13,000 13,000 65,000 580,000 General Fund - Debt Service - - - - - 1,670,400 Grants (PARTF), User Fees - 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 20,000 20,000 Future Debt Issuance - - - - - - 8,000,000 Total 62,000 1 17,000 17,000 17,000 17,000 17,000 85,000 1 10,270,400 Project Description /Justification The Blackwood Farm Park is a 152 -acre site located midway between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough on NC 86 and New Hope Church Road. The adopted master plan includes a multi- faceted park that retains components of the farm's agricultural past, including community gardens and agricultural demonstration areas and exhibits. It also includes an amphitheatre, fishing, trails and open fields - as well as the planned Agriculture, Environment and Parks Center (including the permanent parks operations base). Funds approved in 2012 -13 will provide for limited access opening later in 2013, perhaps including a community garden. Center construction and Park construction are planned in Years 6 -10. NOTE: A Space Needs Analysis will be performed on all County facility needs, including the space needs /requirements for Agriculture center related needs that may involve facilties such as the Environment and Agriculture Center and at Blackwood Farm Park. Estimated cost to be no more than $25,000, and will be budgeted in Asset Management Services operations in FY 2013 -14. 061