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9 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 C <br /> t time or Staff <br /> 3 1 . Assess the potential for establishing Economic Development Zones in rural areas where <br /> 4 commercial business would be feasible by assessing environmental impact, land cost, etc. <br /> 5 2. Staff should assess the fiscal and technical realities regarding feasibility of a County Fair (i.e. <br /> 6 cost, staff capacity, scale of an event, where they have succeeded and failed and why, impact <br /> 7 of similar competing events in Orange County towns, etc.) <br /> 8 3. Staff should identify 3-4 different kinds of County Fair events that could be a model that would <br /> 9 be modified to suit the needs of Orange County, and then arrange Commissioner Site visits to <br /> 10 each type of event so they better understand what is required to sponsor each type. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 Review BOCC Goal #2 and Priorities <br /> u im nteractiiiive & Trans parent t, <br /> 14 <br /> 15 3io iiu f " iffiverviiiievvi........1 iiii t iiii y <br /> 16 This goal is based on the Commissioners' belief that government should be accessible to all <br /> 17 residents. <br /> 18 <br /> 19 Staff U pdate/Status <br /> 20 <br /> 21 Public Affairs/Communications Update provided by Carla Banks, Director of Public Affairs: <br /> 22 Carla Banks has been hired as the Orange County Director of Public Affairs to bring a <br /> 23 comprehensive approach to communications. She wants to get the community more familiar with <br /> 24 Orange County through press releases, future implementation of a county newsletter and <br /> 25 speaker's bureau. Because many people don't know what the Board of County Commissioners <br /> 26 actually does, she hopes to initiate a citizen's academy. <br /> 27 <br /> 28 """ f iiii / iiii ,, / iiii iiii ,, ""J1 iiii•ins iiii iiii t iiii•iiii (Carl Stenberg, Institute of Government) <br /> 29 <br /> 30 Highlights of his comments: <br /> 31 1 . Three recent trends, "the New Normal" <br /> 32 a. 1st Trend is fend for yourself localism- more budget cuts on the horizon. <br /> 33 b. 2nd Shifting of responsibilities to local governments from state and federal governments <br /> 34 c. 3rd More unfunded mandates <br /> 35 2. These trends are negative because revenues aren't growing; personnel cuts will be <br /> 36 implemented again resulting in reduced scope of services that can be offered. <br /> 37 3. The positive is that these trends will motivate more collaboration between entities because we <br /> 38 are not alone in this recession — we're working across boundaries because collaboration is <br /> 39 now imperative. Many local governments are service sharing instead of duplication; tax base <br /> 40 sharing. While this is good on paper, it is not good in reality; payment in lieu of taxes. <br /> 41 4. Transparent governance — use technology to get information out to the public and to receive <br /> 42 information from the public. <br /> 43 5. Two challenges: <br /> 44 a. What do citizens want and expect from county government? <br /> 45 b. Building successful diverse collaborations with neighbors: UNC-CH; schools, towns, <br /> 46 non-profits and for profit organizations. <br /> 47 6. To improve Orange County's relationship with UNC-Chapel Hill, Carl Stenberg suggested that <br /> 48 trust and communications are important. <br /> 49 <br /> 50 iii iiii SC Li SS iiii•iiii <br /> 51 <br /> 52 1 . Commissioners need more two way dialogue with the community. <br />