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<br />WHEREAS, he has been credited with restoring integrity in a chamber tarnished by the actions <br />of several House members; and, <br />WHEREAS, he has shown commitment to protecting and strengthening the institution of the <br />state legislature through his diligence and statesmanship; and, <br />WHEREAS, Joe Hackney has championed new ethics legislation and fostered greater <br />openness in the legislative process of North Carolina; and, <br />WHEREAS, an independent, non-partisan selection committee representing the State <br />Legislative leadership Foundation and the National Conference of State <br />Legislatures as well as journalists, former legislators and scholars have selected <br />Joe Hackney for the 2007 Excellence in State Legislative Leadership Award; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Orange County Board of Commissioners do hereby <br />recognize the Speaker of the House Joe Hackney for his progress and <br />commitment to restoring the sanctity of the political process in the North Carolina <br />General Assembly while representing residents of Orange County. <br />This the 21 ~ day of August 2007 <br />VOTE: UNANMOUS <br />b. Resolution of Approval -Conservation Easement for the Tate Farm <br />The Board considered a resolution to approve the purchase of and acceptance by <br />Orange County of an agricultural conservation easement for the Tate family farm and <br />authorizing the Chair and the Clerk to sign, subject to final review by staff and the County <br />Attorney. <br />Environment and Resource Conservation Director Dave Stancil said that this will be the <br />10t" agricultural conservation easement for Orange County. He thanked the Totes and other <br />staff. This property is in northwest Orange County and is 78 acres. It is located at Harmony <br />Church Road and Lynch Store Road. <br />Rich Shaw made a PawerPoint presentation with pictures of the property. The Totes <br />have been farming land in Orange County for 200 years, and the Tate family has farmed this <br />property for five generations. This easement will protect 78 acres of this 81-acre farm. The <br />farm has been converted from tobacco to chicken farming. Other sections of the farm are used <br />for hay, beef cattle, and horses. The conservation easement will remove all of the non- <br />agricultural development rights from the property. The monetary value of the rights is $417,000 <br />as determined by a recent appraisal of the farm. The purchase price far the easement is <br />$333,750, which is 80% of the appraised value. The Tote's intend to donate 20°l0 of the value <br />of the easement and take advantage of federal and state tax benefits available for easement <br />donations. The federal funds used to help purchase this easement are from a grant to Orange <br />County from the USDA Farm and Ranchland Protection Program. The total cost of the project <br />is $344,250, with $208,000 being paid by the federal grant. The County's share of the total <br />would be $135,750, which would come from existing funds budgeted for the purchase of <br />conservation easements. <br />Dave Stancil introduced Hurley and Louise Tate and their son, Roger. <br />The County Commissioners expressed their thanks to the Tate family. <br />Commissioner Jacobs read the resolution. <br />