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827 <br />MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />AND <br />AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS ADVISORY BOARD <br />MAY 19, 1994 <br />The Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Agricultural Districts <br />Advisory Board met on May 19, 1994 at 7:30 p.m. in the Planning and <br />Agricultural Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. <br />COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners <br />Stephen Halkiotis (arrived at 8:15), Verla Insko (arrived at 7:45) and Don <br />Willhoit. <br />COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Alice M. Gordon <br />ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Dolly Hunter and members Elizabeth <br />Walters, Chris Hogan, Robert Nutter, Pearson Stewart, Nancy Goodwin and Robert <br />Strayhorn. <br />HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Patricia Dickinson, <br />Todd Dickinson, Tom Allison and Robert Rich <br />COUNTY STAFF PRESENT* County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Clerk to the <br />Board Beverly A. Blythe, Administrative Assistant Joanna Bradshaw, Planning <br />Director Marvin Collins, and Planning Technician Beth Wickham <br />INTRODUCTIONS AND OPENING REMARKS BY CHAIRS <br />Chair Moses Carey said that the Board appreciated all the work that the <br />agricultural Districts Advisory Board has done in setting and implementing <br />goals. He thanked the members for their commitment. <br />Chair Dolly Hunter gave background information on preservation of <br />farmland. She noted that the average farm is 55 years old. The farms are <br />going to have pressures to divide into smaller pieces. People are moving here <br />because of the market and although farmers want to stay on the farm, there is <br />a lot of pressure to sell. Some of these pressures include (1) shortage of <br />farm labor, (2) uncertainty of the tobacco market, and (3) dangers of driving <br />a tractor down. the road. This committee feels it is very important that <br />agriculture be protected and she feels it can be done. She made reference to <br />an article from Forsyth County in which they sited ways to preserve the farms <br />and also have open space. <br />Commissioner Insko arrived at 7:45. <br />Marvin Collins gave a brief overview of what the committee has been <br />doing. He talked about the model that Forsyth County uses and explained the <br />process they follow in determining eligibility in their program. He made <br />reference to a map that shows cropland suitability and forestland. They have <br />identified 10 groups and broken these down further into three groups: <br />1 - 3 groups are more productive <br />4 - 7 groups are less productive <br />8 - 10 groups are those that require a lot of money to make them <br />-productive. <br />Some of the other things they looked at included a site assessment -- how <br />much area adjacent to the farm is in farm use, how much of the farm itself is