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The Board agreed to hear from the public and then reconvene at a later date for <br />discussion. There will not be a recommendation from the Planning Board until the Board of <br />County Commissioners has had a chance to discuss this matter. <br />Bill Hutchins asked how they would know if the speakers are providing comments on the <br />SUP or on the legislative portion of this. Geof Gledhill said that each person could state their <br />intention. If they are providing comments on the legislative portion of this, then they will have to <br />be sworn in. <br />Chair Jacobs said that it would be easier to go ahead and swear in everyone that wants <br />to speak. <br />Bill Hutchins said that he would like to provide cross-examination of the witnesses on <br />the legislative portion. <br />Public Comment: <br />Jack Adams: I have been sworn in. I am on the Board of Directors on the Efland Fire <br />Department, and have been a volunteer firefighter for 24 years, and have served as Captain <br />and Assistant Chief of the department. I am now the Safety Officer. While the growth of new <br />business in the economic development zone in Efland balances out the County's tax load <br />between residential and businesses, the Efland Fire Department would like to make the <br />Commissioners aware of some of the ramifications of these decisions. In the past decade, the <br />City of Mebane has annexed the majority of the businesses in the Efland Fire Tax District. The <br />results of this are that the fire department is being funded primarily by the fire tax levied on the <br />homeowners. So while these developments are benefiting the County's tax base, Efland <br />residents will have to pay more taxes for fire protection. Since the businesses in the economic <br />development zone are in the City of Mebane, the response that Efland provides to these areas <br />is one engine and two volunteer firemen. We would like the County to be aware of this, and its <br />impact on including business through this area. The Efland Fire Department has had a contract <br />with the City of Mebane where we pay Mebane to respond to calls in our tax district. They <br />respond in these areas where they would have a quicker response time. The cost of this <br />contract has gone up every time it has been brought up for renewal. This puts a further strain <br />on our budget. We would like the opportunity to work with the County and Mebane on an <br />interlocal agreement that balances out local tax revenues and the County's need for economic <br />development. Our new substation near Buckhorn Road changes our response time and would <br />factor into these discussions. Efland has enjoyed a big surge in houses over the last decade <br />because it is such an affordable area. Many firefighters who work in municipalities elsewhere in <br />the County live in Efland.. It is our hope that as the economic development zone grows, that the <br />Efland Fire Department can be included in the process to avoid having-the homeowners bear a <br />disproportionate amount of the burden in this growth. <br />Norman Umstead: I have been sworn in. I am the Pastor of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist <br />Church located on Buckhorn Road, and I also Chair the People for Progress. First, I'd like to <br />say that we are happy to hear that the water and sewer project is gaining some attention again. <br />It certainly has been a long process and we are happy to hear that something is being done. <br />Secondly, I've heard from many citizens in our area who are happy about the idea of being able <br />to shop close to home. But our churches, we have two churches located on Buckhorn Road, <br />and we are not so happy or so thrilled about the idea of invading some of our churches' <br />properties -maybe siphoned away in order to accommodate the traffic that this particular <br />project is going to bring. One church in particular is situated very close to Buckhorn Road, and <br />the traffic analysis says that they are going to widen Buckhorn, but he didn't say how far up <br />Buckhorn, nor did he include Highway 70, or I didn't hear Highway 70 mentioned, which is also <br />going to have an impact. Currently, we face some problems in our church on Sunday mornings <br />with our members who live in the Graham area or Mebane area who travel Interstate 85 going in <br />