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move away to adjacent counties. Pursuit of this objective should remain a <br /> priority for the Town and County in the coming year. <br /> ♦ Small business loans to Town businesses — Orange County's Small Business <br /> Loan fund is a resource available to eligible small businesses located within the <br /> County and its municipalities. Several Chapel Hill companies have utilized this <br /> unique County funded resource, to include the Chapel Hill-based firm <br /> "ServiceMaster by Santosha", which is a commercial cleaning business. In <br /> addition, the County has pending loans with two (2) other Chapel Hill firms, and <br /> one of these loans, to an information technology services provider, was <br /> disbursed in the last two weeks. <br /> ♦ Joint promotion of tourism and the arts — The Chapel Hill/Orange County <br /> Visitors Bureau (CHOCVB), located at 501 W. Franklin Street, represents a <br /> very positive, productive and longstanding good partnership between the <br /> County and Town. Led by Laurie Paolicelli, this office and staff are a part of the <br /> Orange County Economic Development Department. The attached CHOCVB <br /> document outlines the encouraging economic impact this joint Town/County <br /> agency contributed to the local economy during 2011. <br /> ♦ Ongoing communication - both formal and informal — Economic <br /> Development staffs from the Town and the County have made regular <br /> communication a priority to ensure that each office is working with current <br /> information when potential business investment prospects make inquiries. Staff <br /> members from both departments participate in regular partner meetings that <br /> include Economic Development professionals from affiliated organizations (to <br /> include the Chamber of Commerce, and the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors <br /> Bureau), as well as hosting one-on-one meetings during each month with Town <br /> and County staff participating. <br /> ♦ New project collaboration — Although the County and Town may receive new <br /> project opportunities from independent sources, such prospects are routinely <br /> shared among the economic development professionals from the County and <br /> Town in order to best meet the specific needs of the potential client. Such <br /> shared information includes a joint review of potential real estate locations, <br /> financing options, regulatory assistance, and other levels of cooperation to <br /> promote collaboration among staff, and ultimately, the recruitment of new <br /> business. <br /> ♦ Existing business collaboration — As with the joint effort to work <br /> collaboratively to seek new businesses, the Town and the County have also had <br /> the opportunity to work together to respond to the expansion and retention <br /> needs of existing businesses in a variety of ways, from assistance in finding a <br /> larger facility space to providing regulatory guidance. One current example <br /> involves the County and Town meeting with a local software related firm that <br /> has excellent growth potential to create additional high-tech employment in the <br /> Town. <br /> ♦ Transition support — The County's Economic Development staff can provide <br /> support, as requested by the Town, during upcoming economic development <br />