Carrboro looks to capture the essence of the town

The face of Carrboro is about to change.

At a Tuesday night meeting, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved a recommendation by the town’s Economic and Community Development department to hire a Carrboro-based marketing group to head the town’s new branding campaign.

Several aldermen said they thought Carrboro-based marketing firm The Splinter Group would do a good job capturing the essence of the town.

“You had me at the vibe,” said Alderwoman Randee Haven-O’Donnell, who said she was impressed by the company’s background in music marketing.

The Splinter Group has many local clients, including Carrboro Coffee Roasters, Cat’s Cradle, Tyler’s Restaurant & Taproom and Fleet Feet Sports, among others.

But Mayor Mark Chilton said marketing the town will be a tough task.

“I think this will be a particular challenge,” Chilton said. “Not everybody in this community even feels that we need branding.”

The town has budgeted $18,000 to be used for the branding campaign in this fiscal year.

Carrboro is also working on redesigning its website. The redesign will include enhanced video streaming of Board of Aldermen meetings and a bookmarked video that will allow users to skip to the topic of their interest.

There will be at least one work session to get residents’ opinions on the new site before the town begins constructing it.

Noted

The board approved Carrboro’s Capital Improvements Program for the fiscal years of 2013-14 through 2018-19 — a series of projects that could cost up to $40.3 million. The includes the completion of the Weaver Street Reconstruction and capital projects to improve the town, including adding sidewalks and purchasing equipment.

Quoted

“I’m not entirely clear on what the definition of opaque is,” said former alderman Allen Spalt. Spalt took issue with a fence his neighbor erected in 2011. The aldermen discussed ways to educate the public about how to put up attractive, low-cost garden fences that would not block street view.