Agenda - 05-18-2010 - 8b - Laserfiche WebLink

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Economic development is shaped by forces of competition and market demand in which there are more potential sites than business opportunities to fill them; Orange County cannot control those faces but can choose how it adapts to them Site selection decision- makers base decisions on criteria important to their business needs and shareholders — For entrepreneurs and small businesses, these shareholders generally are limited to family members and friends — For established businesses, these shareholders generally include an expanded network of investors, employees, suppliers, and customers All things being equal, jurisdictions and property seller /lessors who understand and meet those needs of business will attract and retain those businesses • It is critical for Orange County to improve the trust quotient relative to its support for economic development: 'Trust= Perceived Value ercerve rs — When investor trust is low, the burden is on the other party(ies) to prove themselves otherwise • Successful market shifts occur only after those offering innovations have successfully demonstrated an understanding of market needs as well as the ability and willingness to satisfy those needs as understood by the market. — Successful market development requires speaking the same language used by those making purchase and investment decisions Snnunary of Strategic Recommendations The EDC recommends comprehensive, systematic, and strategic upgrading of the county's economic development capacity. We believe implementing the complete set of recommendations is necessary to advance the commissioners' interests in improving Orange County's economic development prospects and its commercial tax base. Places, Tools, and Knowledge. These are the three tenets of our recommendations. We strongly recommend the Orange County Board of Commissioners to adopt the ten recommendations as a strategic program in their entirety, including fully finding the $525,000 increase in the Economic Development Department's FY 2010 -2011 budget Places Whether moving from the kitchen table to free - standing commercial space or expanding existing operations, business -ready space must be available for economic development to occur. With Class A space priced higher than that available in surrounding counties, Class B space being scarce, and wet lab space being unavailable, Orange County has the opportunity to develop the Buckhorn and Eno EDDs in a way that can meet the needs of start-ups and established businesses to locate or remain in the County. However, in order to achieve this objective, the EDDs must be shovel - ready, complete with fill utility build -out. We believe any step taken without the funding and completion of water and wastewater infrastructure to the Buckhorn and Eno economic development districts will continue to eliminate Orange County from consideration by the majority of site selection specialists and business owners looking to expand or relocate. By completing the North Carolina Certification process, Orange County will immediately establish its EDDs as being high- quality shovel -ready sites that have satisfied 31 prerequisites valued by CEOs, site selection specialists, and investors. Tools The second leg of our recommendations is the sustained endowment of an economic development tool kit so that the county can effectively respond to opportunities to recruit, retain, grow, and generate the kinds of businesses that are desirable. In today's economic development marketplace, there are more desirable businesses than desirable sites. In order to differentiate themselves from other locations being considered jurisdictions must have numerous tools available to adapt to the needs of interested businesses. Many start-up and established businesses view the Triangle counties, including Orange as being equally attractive. In such a competitive environment, Orange County needs to 21Page