Minutes - 20040131 - Laserfiche WebLink

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what he was referring to. Dianne Reid said na because it would have to be put to a referendum. It is for EDD projects only. The other name for it is tax increment financing. John Link said that the Board needs to consider how this would mix in with the rest of the debt financing. He asked Dianne Reid to give some specific examples of how this has worked in the surrounding area. Commissioner Halkiotis said that there is a danger here with some people thinking that smart growth means having enough schools built to handle all the new kids that are coming. He said that the reasoning could become twisted into meeting the needs and subsidizing private projects with public dollars. Commissioner Carey asked if this was applicable only in the County and Dianne Reid said yes. If the voters approve this change, the municipalities would have the authority to use it as well within their jurisdictions. Commissioner Gordon urged caution because there is no free lunch. Commissioner Brown said that she would hate for this to get to the point where this is on the ballot without the Board really understanding it. In answer to a question about the loan pool, Dianne Reid said that the commitment of the banks is up, so we need to figure out what to do with it. There is a board of directors for the program, which includes Commissioner Brown, John Link, and Finance Director Ken Chavious. Commissioner Brown said one of the big issues is the low interest rates. Chair Jacobs urged the group to look at the self-help credit union, which charges virtually no interest and has a lower fault rate than traditional loans. Commissioner Carey said that if they want to make things happen in the rural areas of the County, then they need to come up with something different. The self-help option is a consideration. 3. NEW INITIATIVES -Deferred to work session on February 9~h Environmental responsibility goal far county government Social justice goal for County government Creation of Orange Unified Transportation advisory board 4. ADVISORY BOARD REPORTS Commission for the Environment: Mark Smith, Chair of the Commission for the Environment, said that they work with air quality, biological resources, and water resources. Regarding air quality, they are involved in two grant programs. One is the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Action Plan. They would like to have County Commissioner representation for this. They are also in the process of pursuing a joint Orange and Durham County Energy Audit Program. The Air Quality Committee is looking at how the County can contribute to something having to do with local ground-level ozone issues. They would like to review available information on what the County can do for local control measures. Regarding biological resources, they want to add to the overall Lands Legacy Program such as monitoring strategies far the overall program and interconnectivity conservation planning. A long-term goal is to put a higher percentage of the Lands Legacy money to conservation and natural areas and prime forests. Richard Whisnant (past chair of the Commission for the Environment) said that he works at the Institute of Government and he gets to work with local governments around the State. He