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<br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the last time this was addressed, he brought up <br />changing the use value in order to include some of the smaller farmers. He suggested <br />changing the wording to an acreage minimum "and" $1,000 per year for a certain number of <br />years, to saying "or". He said that the Attorney said that it could not be done by County option, <br />but it would have to be statewide. He thinks that this is a defeatist attitude, and even though he <br />expects the Association of County Commissioners to oppose it, he would still want to promote <br />the local agriculture. There are a lot of people with small acreages who make the income. He <br />said that Greg Wilder was supposed to write this up, but he's been ill. <br />Commissioner Jacabs asked staff to bring this back with the warding. <br />Laura Blackmon made reference to Funding Request and said that the Construction and <br />Startup Funding for a Model Regional Shared Use Value-Added Processing Center has been <br />rewritten. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to <br />approve potential items for inclusion in Orange County's legislative agenda package for the <br />2007 North Carolina General Assembly Session, and authorize staff to come back with the <br />wording change as stated by Commissioner Jacobs. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />9. Items for Decision--Regular Agenda <br />b. Orange County Speedway 2007 EMS Coverage Contract <br />The Board considered contracting with the Orange County Speedway for the provision of <br />Emergency Medical coverage to ensure public safety at public events and authorizing the Chair <br />to sign contingent upon final review by staff and the County Attorney. <br />Interim Emergency Services Director Kent McKenzie introduced this item. He said that <br />there is a separate item to contract with the Sheriff's Office far coverage to the speedway. <br />These are both requirements of the North Carolina Fire and Life Safety Codes. <br />Laura Blackmon said that there were concerns about the paying time and a half for <br />personnel because they would be working a full week, and this would be considered overtime <br />for EMS personnel. She wants to make sure that this is understood. <br />Kim Foushee, Director of Operations of Orange County Speedway, said that in previous <br />encounters with staff, the representatives of the speedway have voiced some concerns that <br />Orange County is treating the speedway as a source of revenue. She said that they realize that <br />the speedway has a tax base here. She said that, since the Agees' purchased the speedway, <br />the speedway has raised $300,000 in taxes for Orange County. She said that there is also the <br />Highway 57 Small Area Planning Task Force, and when this comes to life, this would impose an <br />additional expense upon the speedway, with many items required to bring the speedway up to <br />current standards. The track is currently being forced to work under restrictions. She said that <br />there is an opportunity for the speedway to provide these services through a third party. <br />Currently on her staff, she has six double North Carolina certified firefighters and EMTs. Since <br />they began planning for the 2007 season, from the security aspect, she has hired a head of <br />security that is a Durham Police Officer as well as a Person County Deputy. She said that the <br />speedway has to pay sometimes three times more than other speedways their size for these <br />services. She said that the northeast corner of Orange County relies on services in <br />Hillsborough and the southern end of the County. She said that they feel like the main reason <br />that they have to use EMS services in particular is because of the relationship to the speedway. <br />There are many speedways that use EMT services and are not being charged what Orange <br />County Speedway is being charged. She said that she does not want to downplay the safety of <br />the fans, crews, staff members, or drivers. Unfortunately, the current interpretation of codes <br />