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Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Advisory Board

Orange County · Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau
Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Advisory board meeting Arts and public artBudget and appropriationsFees and utility ratesTax rate and revaluationWater and sewer

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved Approval of Minutes Approved unanimously

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau board met on 16 April 2025 with its budget under pressure. Chapel Hill's interim manager is proposing to cut the town's funding from $550,000 to $200,000, and staff expect the bureau's fund balance to be drawn on for other county projects.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

Staff asked members to attend public meetings and argue for keeping the performance agreement with Chapel Hill as it stands. The board discussed the statutory purpose of the occupancy tax, which is tourism promotion, and whether more lobbying at state level is needed.

On marketing, a year's advertising was reviewed: weekly placements across North Carolina and into South Carolina, Virginia and Florida, a Pride campaign in development, and meetings business at a quarter of the spend. The bureau is putting $20,000 into promotion of an international soccer match at Kenan Stadium on 10 June and $10,000 into an MLS sponsorship, and staff said Kenan itself does little marketing, so an outside agency is needed. The trolley returns for Uproar in August, with 60 sculptures split between Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough.

Members reported around the table. One said the revaluation is hitting residents on fixed incomes who are unsure they can stay in the county. Hillsborough is in its budget process with FEMA grants cancelled federally and water and sewer rates under review. Chapel Hill is also cutting Downtown Partnership funding. A 38-acre park is being built in Efland.

How the votes went

The March minutes were approved unanimously, and the meeting adjourned. No other votes.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (6)

Procedural · 2Staff or committee report · 2Minutes approval · 1Budget action · 1
  1. Call to Order and Introductions
    Procedural
    The chief financial officer of Well, a digital health company that moved into 501 W. Franklin in September 2024, described its platform and its meeting space.
    • 501 W Franklin St · Ons Property Management Group LLC · 0.29 acres · assessed $374,400
  2. Approval of Minutes
    Minutes approval
    Approved unanimously
  3. Visitors Bureau Updates
    Staff or committee report Arts and public art
    A year of advertising reviewed, with weekly placements in four states and a Pride campaign in development. The bureau is putting $20,000 into promoting a 10 June international soccer match at Kenan Stadium and $10,000 into an MLS sponsorship. The trolley returns for Uproar in August, with 60 sculptures across Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough.
  4. Budget Update
    Budget action Budget and appropriationsFees and utility rates
    Chapel Hill's interim manager proposes cutting the town's funding from $550,000 to $200,000. Staff expect the fund balance to be used for other county projects and asked members to advocate for the performance agreement at public meetings.
  5. Update from Board Members
    Staff or committee report Arts and public artTax rate and revaluationWater and sewer
    Reports on the Arts Center gala, Carrboro's poetry month and Pride, a Hillsborough preservation tour, and the effect of the revaluation on residents with fixed incomes. Hillsborough is budgeting with FEMA grants cancelled federally and water and sewer rates under review.
  6. Adjournment
    Procedural
    Adjourned 9:14 a.m.

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