HomeMy WebLinkAboutCHOCVB Board Meeting Minutes 021920For Approval June 17, 2020
Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board of Directors Meeting
February 19, 2020
The Chapel/Orange County Visitors Bureau met at
UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus 430 Waterstone Dr., Hillsborough, NC 27278
Board Members Present: Dixon Pitt, David Brooks, Tanya Moore, Anthony Carey, Kayla Dempsey, Mark Bell, Sam
Vadgama, Lydia Lavelle, Tim Hoke, Spring Council, Annette Stone, Libbie Hough, and Jamezette Bedford.
Not Present: Pam Hemminger, Matt Gladdek, Mark Sherburne
Staff Attendance: Laurie Paolicelli, Marlene Barbera, Leslie Wilcox
Also present: Jeffery Strickler, Vice President, UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus, Jenn Weaver, Mayor of Hillsborough
and Elise Tyler, General Manager, Colonial Inn Hillsborough.
Call to Order
Chair Anthony Carey called the meeting to order at 8:09 a.m.
Introductions were given by all.
Jeff Strickler welcomed the board to UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus. Hillsborough Hospital is an 80-bed community
hospital that is part of the UNC Medical Center. It is the home for a number of elective surgical services and special
programs for UNC. On the surgical side, it is the home for all elective joint surgery, spine surgery, and Ophthalmology
surgery. It is the home of UNC Geriatric Medicine and the future home for UNC Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
As a community hospital, it has an Emergency Department open 24/7/365 that has the distinction of being North
Carolina’s first recognized Geriatric Emergency Department. As part of its focus on the needs of the older adult, it is
recognized as the 2nd hospital in North Carolina which has provided Dementia Friendly training to their staff. It has
recently expanded its cancer treatment options by the opening of its Radiation/Oncology unit and has started the
construction on its new bed tower. This construction will take two years and will double the size of this campus to a
total of 160 beds. Family Medicine is also moving to this location this summer, as it becomes the site for inpatient
program.
Approval of Minutes
Chair Carey requested a motion to approve the January 19, 2020 minutes. Mark Bell so moved and Dixon Pitt seconded
the motion. With all members in favor, the minutes were approved as submitted.
Finance Report Executive
Commissioner Bedford referred to the December Gross Receipts Comparison report and highlighted the information on
the report. Occupancy Tax collections were $100,076, down $3,959 from December 2018, representing a 3.81%
decrease. Total occupancy tax collected year-to-date through December is $858,491, up $42,847 from last year, which
represents a 5.25% increase. Almost $9,548 in Airbnb occupancy tax collections and Commissioner Bedford advised that
we are aware that there is a gap between what is collected and what short-term rentals actually owe. The Town of
Chapel Hill has a task force looking into that. Anthony Carey is a chair on that task force and will report back on their
findings. Commissioner Bedford inquired with the Board on their opinion as to the dip in Occupancy Tax revenue in
December. Anthony Carey and Sam Vadgama responded that occupancy tax revenue in Chapel Hill and Orange County
is strongly effected by UNC athletics and how well the teams are doing. They attributed the dip in December to the
injuries and losses the Tar Heels have been experiencing.
Commissioner Bedford then referred to the January Monthly Budget report and advised the largest expense in January
was design and printing of the Visitors Bureau 2020 Visitors Guide and 2020 Neighborhood Guide, both regular expenses
to the Visitors Bureau. She also commented that in reviewing this report she sees that the Visitors Bureau does not
DocuSign Envelope ID: A3146F50-E28D-4A4E-B9E4-E9C35AD5C8AA
2 | P a g e C H O C V B B O D M e e t i n g F e b r u a r y 1 9 , 2 0 20
have large expenses in some areas, such as office supplies, and sees this as an indication of good fiscal management and
responsibility.
Lastly, Commissioner Bedford mentioned that the Town of Chapel Hill’s financials were released and the Visitors Bureau
collected an additional $174,000 as part of our 2018-2019 performance agreement in which we received 50% of their
occupancy taxes collected over $1,000,000.00
Executive Director’s Report
Laurie Paolicelli advised that she has been having discussions with Randi Emmerman, owner of Film Fest 919 about a
possible $25,000 sponsorship. Laurie feels it would not be effective, from a marketing point-of-view, unless Visit Chapel
Hill is part of the logo. Laurie reviewed the sponsorship information covered in the Film Fest 919 handout. Anthony
Carey motioned to approve the Visitors Bureau sponsorship of $25,000 to Film Fest 919. Libbie seconded the motion.
The motion was passed unanimously.
Laurie Paolicelli shared that the lease for the Visitors Bureau new location at 318 W. Franklin St. has been approved by
the Board of County Commissioners and so is public record and is signed. The architect, Josh Gurlitz, has also been
approved and a contract is signed.
Laurie Paolicelli updated the Board on her recent public support of the Town of Chapel Hill’s consideration of using the
American Legion site for amateur sports. The town held a public hearing in early February to invite citizen comments on
potential uses of this site. Paolicelli spoke in favor of such a site, giving details from a 2017 feasibility study the Visitors
Bureau Board commissioned to look at new visitor oriented development in Orange County for the purpose of driving
new tourism, hotel room nights and economic impact to Orange County. Supporters of this study included Carrboro
Hotel developer, Manish Atma, Anthony Carey, Mark Sherburne and many other Orange County hotel general
managers.
The results showed that there is moderate to high unmet demand for:
Multi-component indoor amateur sports facility positioned to compete for non-local tournaments and local
users.
Assumed publicly-owned, privately-managed.
Fits well within the “brand” and amenity infrastructure that exists in Chapel Hill/Orange County.
High economic impact opportunity.
Opportunity to alleviate pressure on area school gymnasiums with one centralized facility to accommodate
community demand.
Presence of nearby hotel and other visitor industry infrastructure may make location more appealing to nonlocal
event/tournament organizers.
Recommended facility include:
8 hardwood courts (8 basketball or 16 volleyball) + indoor turf component.
Bleachers, netting, equipment, scoreboards, and other standard amenities.
Retail, pro shop, concessions.
140,000 GSF site/location.
3.5 acres (building) + 6.5 acres (surface parking) = 10.0 acres.
Preferred location would be near UNC campus.
Paolicelli said the town was committed to several public hearings and continued study of affordable housing needs on
said site and/or development opportunities.
DocuSign Envelope ID: A3146F50-E28D-4A4E-B9E4-E9C35AD5C8AA
3 | P a g e C H O C V B B O D M e e t i n g F e b r u a r y 1 9 , 2 0 20
New Business/Roundtable
The new Hillsborough Town Mayor, Jenn Weaver, shared Hillsborough updates:
The Colonial Inn is nearing completing. Elise Tyler, The Colonial Inn General Manager, is also here and will
provide a more detailed update.
River Park is getting a new entrance. A piece of art is being made from the old oak tree that fell last year,
possibly the oldest oak in Hillsborough, will be erected as part of the entrance.
There will be several commemorative events occurring this year in Hillsborough celebrating the 100-year
anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.
No major summer construction projects.
Hillsborough will be embarking on a comprehensive/sustainability plan process. It is in the very early stages of
imagining what that process will look like and it will likely take about two years.
Two new restaurants are opening in spring, Napoli and Nomad.
New handrails have been installed on all sets of stairs on Town sidewalks, making them somewhat more
accessible though, obviously, not wheelchair accessible, unfortunately.
Elise Tyler, General Manager of The Colonial Inn in Hillsborough shared information on the Inn’s opening.
Tim Hoke for Orange County Arts Commission:
Monday, February 17 was the deadline for applications for the new Eno Mill space lease. We are beginning this
new support for the artists in our community. Katie has moved her office into the Mill as well. Target move -in
date is March 15th for the tenants.
We have finalized the bylaws for our new arts 501(c)(3).
Monday, April 13th is the State of the Arts Day. Two events will be hosted by Orange County Arts Commission
and Arts NC. One will be a breakfast or lunch with arts leaders and the other will be an evening meeting for the
general public.
Arts Day 2020 will be Tuesday and Wednesday May 19th and 20th. These are advocacy days for the arts at the
State Legislature.
Wild Hillsborough: 20 panels are to be painted by local schoolchildren with the theme of “Wild Hillsborough”.
They will be placed at Gold Park. Ribbon cutting will be after the start of the new school year.
Tanya Moore for UNC Visitors Center:
The board is invited to a special preview of the UNC Visitors Center on Tuesday, February 25th. Please drop by
between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to see the new space at 134 E. Franklin St. You are also invited to a reception
celebrating the grand opening of the Visitors Center at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 5 th at the Carolina Coffee
Shop
Kayla Dempsey for North Carolina High School Athletic Association:
Basketball is on March 14th at the Smith Center.
Mayor Lydia Lavelle and Annette Stone for the Town of Carrboro:
New building to house Orange County’s Southern Branch library, replacing Cybrary and McDougle Carrboro
branches, Town Recreation and Parks Offices, and a number of smaller civic groups such as a teen center, virtual
justice center, and community radio station WCOM, and maybe even a black box room with multiple uses
(annex theatre to the Arts Center, meeting space, etc.). It no longer includes The Arts Center, which will build its
own new building. Mayor Lavelle explained the reallocation of the cost of designing and construction of the
building. (Please provide summarized details if you want included.)
New Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park had its ribbon cutting and grand opening on Martin Luther King Jr. day,
Monday, January 21st. Anthony Carey shared that his family uses the “pump park”, a BMX track, and what a
great feature of the park that is. Mayor Lavelle added that, in addition to the multipurpose field, and, in keeping
with honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that they chose eight of Dr. King’s quotes to install around the walking
trail and recommended we all check it out.
Annette shared she ate at the new Lune Restaurant in Carrboro and it was delicious. She has yet to try the new
Thai restaurant.
DocuSign Envelope ID: A3146F50-E28D-4A4E-B9E4-E9C35AD5C8AA
4 | P a g e C H O C V B B O D M e e t i n g F e b r u a r y 1 9 , 2 0 20
Next meeting: Wednesday, March 18th at The Friday Conference Center.
Meeting adjourned at 9:17 a.m.
___________________________________ ____________________________________
Minutes reviewed by: Minutes accepted by:
Laurie Paolicelli, Executive Director Anthony Carey, Chairman
___________________________________ _______________________________________
Date Date
DocuSign Envelope ID: A3146F50-E28D-4A4E-B9E4-E9C35AD5C8AA
8/18/2020 8/18/2020