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14 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 To the Orange County Board of Commissioners: <br /> 3 <br /> 4 Preserve Rural Orange (PRO) will attend tonight's Board of County Commissioners meeting to <br /> 5 request an open, public and thorough process of seeking candidates for Orange County's <br /> 6 proposed new Economic Development Advisory Board. <br /> 7 <br /> 8 PRO is concerned with the following: <br /> 9 1. The proposed advisory board policy does not adhere to key elements of Orange <br /> 10 County's General Policy for Board of County Commissioners Advisory Boards approved <br /> 11 February 21, 2012; the General Policy for BOCC Advisory Boards establishes a public <br /> 12 process for seeking applicants <br /> 13 2. County Economic Development staff assisted by chambers of commerce & UNC <br /> 14 representatives used a non-public, invitation-only process to recommend potential <br /> 15 appointees <br /> 16 3. Applications of proposed appointees were not submitted to or qualified by Orange <br /> 17 County clerk,.as specified by General Policy for BOCC Advisory Boards <br /> 18 4. Goals and objectives and majority "core business community" list do not fully <br /> 19 encompass Orange County Comprehensive Plan goals & objectives or BOCC Planning <br /> 20 Principles <br /> 21 5. Goals do not include sustainable growth, resource preservation, renewable energy <br /> 22 initiatives, environmentally responsible practices or recruiting green businesses <br /> 23 6. Proposed appointment of non-county residents conflicts with General Policy for BOCC <br /> 24 Advisory Boards; the policy authorizes commissioners "to appoint residents to serve as <br /> 25 members of advisory boards" and requires that"all board members shall maintain their <br /> 26 domicile in Orange County" <br /> 27 7. Proposed board composition does not adhere to General Policy for BOCC Advisory <br /> 28 Boards, lacking criteria aiming "to appoint members who represent the ethnic, cultural, <br /> 29 demographic and geographic diversity of the community" <br /> 30 8. List of potential appointees is imbalanced in terms of ethnic and gender diversity among <br /> 31 slate of potential appointees <br /> 32 9. List of potential appointees presents an imbalanced, limited slate, with several <br /> 33 categories listing only one or two candidates <br /> 34 10. All listed applications were submitted within a few days during the past two weeks, <br /> 35 without reference to previous applicants to Economic Development Commission <br /> 36 11. The proposed policy voids Economic Development Commission bylaws without <br /> 37 providing documentation or active links on website to previous EDC bylaws, agendas, <br /> 38 minutes, board membership or board dissolution <br /> 39 PRO proposal: <br /> 40 <br /> 41 In selecting candidates for the new Economic Development Advisory Board, Preserve <br /> 42 Rural Orange urges the county to: <br />