Minutes 11-14-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Dave Stancil said the Seven Mile Creek Preserve/Occoneechee Mountain/Riverwalk would the next closest network, and this is part of the MTST. Dean Ray said the N.C. State Foundation on the Hawfields side may have several acres coming available for lease to the City of Mebane. He said this is a possibility for an open space park that would be considered a district park in their system. Dave Stancil said it is important for a County parks plan to mesh with what is going on in the towns. 5. School Facility Plans Craig Benedict said there is a large portion of Mebane in Orange County that is growing residentially, and this is adding numbers to the school system. He said, because of this, the County would like to landbank property that has public water and sewer for use as a future school site to serve western Orange County and eastern Mebane. He said it would be better to do this now than to be left scrambling for limited sites later. He said the challenge is that schools can only be located where there is public water and sewer, so everything is nestled primarily around Hillsborough. He said it was suggested that three zones be looked at for potential land banking. He said the County actively looks at and projects for school populations each year. He said development projects can change those projections very quickly. Craig Benedict reviewed the three potential zones on the map. He said these zones are determined by populations. He said research of available sites showed zone 2 to have the best possibilities. He said there are not a lot of sites out there, as schools require 20-25 acres of useable land. He said the goal would be to find a site with flexibility for dual use in the future. He said a staff report will be provided in the next month or so, with approval from the new superintendent, and this will be brought to the elected officials in Mebane and Orange County. Orange County Schools Board Chair Donna Coffey said she appreciates being here to be part of the conversation. She said the district has seen slow growth in the last few years, but there was growth of over 200 students this year. She said the growth in the County indicates a need to plan for sites sooner rather than later. Craig Benedict said the economy has turned a little bit, and development is increasing. He said the impact of this growth could dramatically change the student projections. He said it takes 4-5 years to find land, create designs and get a school built. 6. Other a) White Furniture Update City Manager David Cheek said White Furniture is an old furniture store site established in Mebane in the 1800s. He said the 300,000 square foot space has been sitting empty for years, hoping for development. He said the current developer is out of Durham, and they have recently been invited to apply to HUD for market rate apartments. He said developer is working through the application process, and the town is hopeful this will come to fruition. He said this would be good for downtown and would create a lot more activity. He referenced the plans on the last page of the abstract. David Cheek said the downtown is already thriving and there are currently 4-5 renovations happening. David Cheek said the White Furniture Development would require HUD to guarantee the loans. He said the renovation plans are projected at $25-30 million. He said the fact that