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ti - <br />.Wa ~~ <br />to an informed citizens watch group which effectively spoke for the rural Orange <br />County community. She stated that the members of SCRAP researched the environmental '', <br />impact of the airport, as well as the legal rights of property owners to sue airport <br />owners and management for noise annoyances. She indicated that SCRAP members felt the <br />information found in the Task Force Survey and Consultant's report was misleading and <br />superficial. Lastly, she thanked the Commissioners for their recent flexibility and <br />sensitivity to the voice of the people. <br />MS. FRANCIS DOUGLASS presented a plan to channel the energies of the <br />neighborhoods across Orange County who were involved in the SCRAP effort into the <br />Economic Development Plan and Rural Character Study. She proposed the Orange - <br />Multi-Neighborhood Information Network (OMNI). The purpose of the network would be to <br />promote, maintain and enhance the quality, stability and vitality of the residential <br />neighborhoods in Orange County. The OMNI network would research and take positions on <br />issues affecting any member neighborhood, and would collect and distribute information '~ <br />to stimulate awareness and interest in those issues. A neighborhood will be defined <br />as an ongoing, private, formal and representative organization, from a defined <br />geographic area, composed of at least 40 households and accounting far at least 15~ of <br />the households in the area, the purpose of which is not inconsistent with that of the <br />network. There will be one voting representative elected, or appointed, by the <br />governing body of each neighborhood, as well as one alternative representative. Other <br />members of the neighborhood will be encouraged to serve on committees of the network. <br />Ms. Douglass requested that citizens interested in participating in OMNI indicate that <br />by signing their name on the sign-up sheet. <br />MS. TERESE WEAVER spoke in opposition to the airport. She stated that her family <br />had been residents of Orange County for five generations and that our area, and our ~'~~ <br />ability to attract desired economic development, is truly unique. She mentioned that <br />she worked with SCRAP on the financial analysis of the airport. Finding long-team __. <br />solutions to the County's. economic problems is very difficult. She stated that Orange <br />County citizens are an important resource and need to be included in the process of <br />finding these solutions. She volunteered to help Orange County government pursue the <br />goals which have been established. <br />MS. MADELINE LEVINE mentioned that she had earlier addressed the Commissioners at <br />a Rural Gharacter meeting. She stated that she believed the process followed in <br />pursuing the airport was flawed. Communication was lacking between the Commissioners <br />and the citizens. An example o.f poor communication was that the Report to the Pe__,ogla <br />did not include the plans for an airport. The economic goals proposed to be reached <br />through the construction of an airport were not articulated early in the process. <br />Also, the survey mentioned by Ron Kumin convinced her that the Commissioners were not <br />listening closely enough to the citizens. She did, however, agree with Commissioner <br />Willhoit that the vote on the airport should have been delayed until after the Public <br />Hearings. She stated that the questions that need to be answered are "why do we not <br />have water and utilities and job training programs in place". She suggested using <br />local citizens as volunteer consultants to come up with ways to attract desirable <br />commercial enterprises. Finally, she suggested that the Commissioners need to be mare <br />in touch with what State Agencies, including UNC, plan for the county. Initially, it <br />was assumed that UNG would be closing the Horace Williams Airport. However, that now <br />turns out to be untrue. Also, Sunday's Ch_a_pe1 Hill Herald mentioned that the head of <br />the Division of Airport Transportation at NCDOT said that if the Commissioners go <br />ahead and decide on an airport then the State will go ahead and ask the FAA to <br />designate the Orange County Airport as a "reliever airport" for RDU. She felt that <br />this was frightening. - <br />