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1. Report and Discussion on County's Economic Development Activities <br /> a) Frank Clifton gave some background on the new Economic Development Director <br /> Gary Shope. Mr. Shope has tremendous experience in economic development. He said that <br /> the towns and the County are all cooperating on industrial recruitment efforts. Gary Shope <br /> reiterated that he wants to collaborate with the towns in getting some economic development <br /> in Orange County. Frank Clifton said that the County still has a small business loan program <br /> and recently made a fairly large loan. There have also been a significant number of inquiries <br /> into the value-added processing center. <br /> b) Regarding the consideration of the Reformulated Economic Development <br /> Commission, Frank Clifton said that the County Commissioners and Jonathan Morgan from the <br /> UNC Institute of Government are working on the reorganization of the Economic Development <br /> Commission. The goal is to facilitate more private sector involvement and more involvement <br /> from the business community and those that are actively in the daily aspects of business <br /> development and business activities. <br /> c) Towns of Hillsborough, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill contributing financially to economic <br /> development. There has been a process in place where the Towns gave $6,000 annually for <br /> economic development. Frank Clifton said that the County has the broad role of representing <br /> economic development. There may be a specific project or issue for the towns to invest in, but <br /> he would like to revisit the issue of the recurring $6,000. <br /> d) Pursuit of Utility Infrastructure - Frank Clifton said that the County has been actively <br /> engaged for the most part with the City of Mebane and the City of Durham with the concept of <br /> extending municipal utilities. <br /> Michael Gering made reference to Frank Clifton's statement about the County being the <br /> focal point for opportunities from the State. He said that what he learned at a visit to Asheville <br /> was that the County would not only be a focal point for people in the State to contact, but for <br /> companies who are looking to make an investment here. <br /> Frank Clifton agreed and said that Gary Shope has agreed to be this contact person in <br /> the County. <br /> Michael Gering said that he also learned from Asheville the value of having an <br /> independent organization doing economic development for the municipalities. He asked why <br /> Orange County was not moving in that direction. <br /> Frank Clifton said that the goal is to get the organization running and the coordination <br /> between the County and the municipalities at a level where it could be handed off to an <br /> organization. <br /> Michael Gering said that he has not seen this happen with the Tourism Board, which is <br /> still a County entity and was supposed to be made independent. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that it has been at least 10 years since the County <br /> Commissioners have been meeting annually with the Town of Hillsborough. There was a <br /> discussion at the retreat about the issue of economic development, but there was not <br /> unanimity with the structure of this group. <br /> Eric Hallman said that this is great news with economic development but he does not <br /> want to lose track of what Hillsborough has in tourism as an economic engine. <br /> Chair Pelissier said that the other driver economically is with the food sector and the <br /> value-added processing center. The basic issue is that the County has very little commercial <br /> tax base relative to residential. <br /> Frank Clifton said that tourism is a part of Orange County's Economic Development <br /> department. He highlighted the Chapel Hill Herald's partnership with the Visitor's Bureau with <br />