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rate here since the flashing light went in at that location. There may need to be a regular <br />stoplight there. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis asked the Manager far an update on Hoyle King's property. He <br />said that he went by there last week and it looks like it is going back to what it was before. The <br />people living around Mr. King are tired of the junk, and he is now putting stuff outside of the <br />fence that he built. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is willing to be part of a group to rectify <br />this situation. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he had a discussion with some business people in <br />Orange County in the last couple of weeks, and he got the feeling that they feel that Orange <br />County is not user-friendly to small, clean, start-up businesses and they do not feel that the <br />County cares about them. There are a couple of cases where businesses were leaving Orange <br />County because they were having a difficult time expanding their operations. He would like to <br />get a group together involving representatives from the Planning Department, Inspections, Fire <br />Marshall, Economic Development, Manager's office, and some business people to see what the <br />problems are. He thinks the mainstay of economic development in Orange County has to be <br />focused on the small businesses. He asked Chair Carey to look into this and volunteered to be <br />on this group. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis thanked Environment and Resource Conservation Director Dave <br />Stancil for picking him up in a Crown Victoria, powered by alternative fuel, to attend a landfill <br />gas seminar in Raleigh. He nominated Dave Stancil to lead a group to discuss the possibility of <br />using methane gas from the landfill for a source of energy for Chapel Hill's new public works <br />facility. He would like Dave Stancil to do a presentation on methane gas early next year. He <br />said that the abandoned landfill on Eubanks Road is on a list of potential sites for methane gas <br />extraction at the state and federal level. <br />Chair Carey said that some of the items raised by Commissioner Halkiotis would be <br />good subjects for the planning retreat in January. <br />Commissioner Gordan reported back on three meetings she attended. The first is the <br />Transportation Advisory Committee. They discussed the MPO boundary in Orange County and <br />they kept the boundary the way it was, which is what Orange County had requested. They want <br />to know if the County Commissioners have thought about the Burlington MPO being expanded <br />into Orange County. The TAC staff recommended that the boundary be reconsidered in <br />subsequent years. <br />The second meeting was the Durham-Chapel Hill-Orange Work Group. She <br />represented Orange County in Commissioner Jacobs' absence. There were many different <br />reports presented. The work group discussed Erwin Trace, which is a proposed subdivision <br />including land in Durham and Orange Counties. The subdivision plan called for a conservation <br />easement on approximately 10 acres in Orange County. However, Durham County is now <br />interested in purchasing the land for preservation and they are still interested in joint <br />participation with Orange County. As the work group examined the site plan, another question <br />was the utilities for the subdivision. The plan indicated that lines would be extended into the <br />rural buffer and they wanted the Orange County Commissioners to look into this and indicate <br />whether county policy was being followed. <br />Commissioner Gordon made reference to the Durham Comprehensive Plan and said <br />that the plan originally designated areas adjacent to Orange County as a rural buffer and it is <br />coming back to them in the plan as a mare dense designation. She asked the County to send a <br />letter reiterating Orange County `s desire to have Durham's rural buffer remain in the area next <br />to the County's rural buffer. She asked Chair Carey to pursue this and respond. <br />The last meeting was the Commission for the Environment, which has been working on <br />the State of the Environment report. <br />Chair Carey said that there are several questions to address with Erwin Trace, and he <br />will be working with Commissioner Jacobs and staff to respond. <br />