Orange County NC Website
to the state. Orange County does not seem to have a plan and neither does any other area. Nick <br />Waters hopes to hear something within the next week. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis, Commissioner Brown, and County Engineer Paul Thames have been <br />meeting with Jim Warren of NC Warn to plan a community update session during the month of February <br />in order to pull citizens together and give them an update on the status of CP&L and the storage of spent <br />nuclear waste. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he heard that Tom Maynard, the head of OPC Mental Health, had <br />a heart attack last Friday but that he is doing better. He wished Tom a speedy and complete recovery. <br />Chair Jacobs said that he had a conversation with the Director of Cooperative Extension Fletcher <br />Barber about the tub grinder and he suggested that Commissioner Halkiotis coordinate with him on the <br />demonstrations. <br />Commissioner Brown said that OWASA has brought up the issue of a risk assessment study and in <br />regards to a terrorist attack on the Shearon Harris plant and what it would do to the entire water supply at <br />Jordan Lake. <br />Chair Jacobs said that the County Manager, Commissioner Halkiotis, and he met with Orange- <br />Alamance Water Systems last week and they talked about working collaboratively to address some of <br />the water issues in the central part of the County. Orange-Alamance expressed an interest in working <br />with Orange County and it was a very positive and productive meeting, the second within the last six <br />months. <br />Chair Jacobs said that he and Economic Development Director Dianne Reid visited manufacturing <br />plants in the Mebane area of Orange County to acquaint them with the fact that Orange County <br />government is interested in having them continue to prosper within our borders. Dianne Reid has written <br />a report that will be distributed to the County Commissioners. They heard a lot of problems from the <br />businesses and the staff will try to address some of these problems. One of the problems has to da with <br />water pressure and is crucial for one of the businesses to survive. <br />Chair Jacobs made reference to the dedication of Manley Estates, which is housing for 41 seniors. <br />This is located across from Lincoln Center in Chapel Hill. Orange County gave $10,000 far the planning <br />phase and reimbursed $123,000 in impact fees that would have otherwise been required to be paid if it <br />was afor-profit development. Also, the County Commissioners recently endorsed a plan for the staff at <br />the Department on Aging to do some assessment work with the residents there. <br />Chair Jacobs asked the County Commissioners for their support of writing a letter to the Carrboro <br />Board of Aldermen asking for their support in their negotiation of the contract with Time Warner to <br />include the opportunity far citizens of Carrboro to see the broadcasts of the Board of County <br />Commissioners' meetings. <br />4. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT <br />John Link made reference to the budget cuts from Governor Easley. The reimbursements that <br />were discussed at the retreat for inventory or intangible tax is going to be kept by the State government. <br />He is not surprised about this and he thinks that the County is in good enough financial shape to buffer <br />this impact. What was surprising was that the funds that were held in escrow for the mental health <br />reform are now sequestered as well. Even more surprising is that there is some non-instructional <br />funding far school systems that the Governor is also sequestering. He will give the Board a complete <br />analysis of what these cuts mean to the County budget. He just received the information today. <br />5. RESOLUTIONS/PROCLAMATIONS <br />a. Resolution in Support of Morgan Creek Valley Alliance <br />The Board considered a resolution of support for the newly formed Morgan Creek Valley <br />Alliance. <br />Land Conservation Manager Rich Shaw said that a partnership was recently formed to focus <br />greater attention on protection of natural and cultural resources in the Morgan Creek Valley. <br />Representatives from a number of entities including the Botanical Garden, the Towns of Chapel Hill and <br />Carrboro, Orange County, OWASA, the Triangle Land Conservancy, the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers, <br />and others gathered last September to consider whether it would be useful to meet regularly and try to <br />collaborate to conserve some of the resources within this part of the County. Morgan Creek starts at <br />