IF ﷓ NO ANSWER BY 5TH RING |

IF ‑ NO ANSWER BY 5TH RING |

‑ OR, BUSY SIGNAL | ‑‑‑‑> TAP 3 [ENTER]

‑ OR, ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGE |

IF ‑ A NON‑WORKING OR FAX |

‑ A NOT IN‑SERVICE NUMBER | ‑‑‑‑> TAP 2 [ENTER]

‑ OR, NUMBER CHANGED TO NEW NUMBER |

IF ‑ SOMEONE ANSWERS |‑‑‑‑> TAP 1 [ENTER]

.......[question break]

Hello, I'm __ and I am calling from the UNCW survey research laboratory

May I speak to the person with the next birthday who lives at this residence

and is 18 years of age or older.

<< If not here but Respondent is 18 or over, interview Respondent. >>

We are conducting a survey about the attitudes of people in New Hanover

County about a new Convention Center‑Hotel to be built on the River in

Downtown Wilmington. The survey is being sponsored by the Convention

Center Development Team, a group of private citizens in New Hanover County.

Your answers will be confidential. The survey will take about 5 minutes.

<1> ELIGIBLE AND WILLING RESPONDENT <2> REFUSED TO BE INTERVIEWED

<3> INELIGIBLE PERSON: <4> INELIGIBLE NUMBER:

‑ UNDERAGE ‑ BUSINESS OR INSTITUTIONAL #

‑ LANGUAGE PROBLEM

‑ HEARING PROBLEM ‑ PHONE BOOTH

.......

Is this residence located in New Hanover county?

<1> Yes

<2> No

<99> Don't know

.......

I'm sorry but in this survey we are only talking to people who

live in New Hanover County. Thank you for your time. Good bye.

<<HANG UP NOW!>>

.......

Is this residence located

(1) in the city of Wilmington,

(2) in the town of Wrightsville Beach,

(3) on Pleasure Island (Carolina, Kure or Wilmington Beaches),

(4) or in some other part of New Hanover county?

<99> Don't know

.......

First, let me ask you about how familiar you are with this proposed

Convention Center‑Hotel Project. Would you say you are:

(1) Extremely familiar with it,

(2) Very familiar with it,

(3) Familiar with it, or

(4) Not familiar with the project at all?

<99> Don't know/no answer

.......

Now let me ask you where you have received information about the Convention

Center‑Hotel Project. Would you say that you received the most of your

information from

(1) the Newspaper (Morning Star),

(2) a Civic Club or other group of which you are a member of,

(3) at a community Forum,

(3) through a Brochure or another written source,

(4) through a Friend or Colleague, or

(5) through some other source?

<99> Don't know/ no answer

.......

[Insert open ended response here for AOTHER@ source]

.......

Let me give you some brief information about the Project before I ask you

a few questions. The project is to be a joint Public Private partnership.

Some community leaders have identified these benefits from the project.

An additional $61 million in annual spending in such things as hotels,

restaurants, and shops in the county. 1200 new jobs in the County. These

include service workers, supervisors, and upper level management. The two

recommended sites Downtown would be a logical extension of the central

business district and an economic stimulus to the North end of the River‑

Walk development. 80% of the convention business will take place between

September and May, a time when tourism is usually the lowest. The

convention center is likely to attract a number of professional and business

organizations that now hold their meetings in other cities in the region.

With this as background, how important do you think it is for Wilmington to

have a Downtown Convention‑Hotel Center‑>

(1) Extremely Important, (2) Very Important,

(3) Important, or (4) Not important at all?

<5> No opinion

<99> Not sure

.......

A recently completed "Feasibility Study" recommended a Joint Public Private

partnership where the Private Sector will build a hotel using private funds

and the public sector will buy the land and build the Convention Center.

It is estimated that 45% of the funds for the Project will come from the

private sector and the remaining 55% will come from the public sector.

I want to ask you about several public funding options. All of these

options have been publicly announced and discussed in the last six months.

Since the options are complex, I will read them slowly and several times if

you would like that. All of the options below except the last one

would raise sufficient funds to develop the Project described above.

A Hotel Tax and Food and Beverage Tax. The first tax would be a 3% hotel

tax that people staying in local hotels and motels would pay in addition to

their bill. The second tax would be a 1% food and beverage tax charged to

people eating at local restaurants and bars. It is estimated that the

majority of these funds would be paid for by tourists. Both taxes would be

applied county‑wide.

<<<< Enter 1 to go to next part >>>>

.......

A Sales Tax Increase. The current Sales Tax would go from 6% to 7%. Both

tourists and local residents would be required to pay an additional 1% Sales

Tax on daily purchases of such things as house‑wares, electronic, and other

retail items. It is estimated that a majority of this tax would be paid for

by local residents. The tax would be applied county‑wide.

A Property Tax Increase. Property owners in the City of Wilmington and the

County residents would see their rates go up an additional 3 cents per $100

of value. This tax would be applied county‑wide and the majority of the

funding for this option would come from local residents.

Now, which of these options would you prefer. Would you prefer the

(1) Hotel tax with the food and beverage tax,

(2) the sales tax increase, or

(3) the property tax increase?

<4> None of these plans

<5> No opinion

<99> No answer/don't know

.......

Record the subject's comments on the tax options.

If "None of the plans"

or "No opinion" then PROBE: "Can you tell me more why you think that?"

IF NO COMMENTS, PRESS RETURN TWICE.

.......

Now I have just a few final questions so we can make comparisons

among all the people in our survey.

In what year were you born?

<< __ __ Enter the last two years of the year of birth >>

<< Enter 9999 if Don't know or refused >>

.......

I am going to read you a list of income groups. Please stop me

when I get to the group that includes your total household

income before taxes last year ‑‑>

(1) Under $10,000

(2) $10,000 to $20,000

(3) $20,000 to $30,000

(4) $30,000 to $40,000

(5) $40,000 to $50,000

(6) $50,000 to $60,000

(7) $60,000 to $70,000

(8) $70,000 to $80,000

(9) $80,000 to $90,000

(10) $90,000 to $100,000

(11) Over $100,000

<12> refused

<99> Don't know

.......

Which of the following racial or ethnic groups would you say

includes you ‑‑>

(1) black or African‑american

(2) white American

(3) American Indian, or

(4) another race or ethnic group?

<99> Don't know

.......

And one last question, did you vote in the election last november?

<1> Yes

<2> No

<3> Don't recall

.......

That is all the questions we have tonight. Thank you for your time

and cooperation.