Orange County NC Website
and the Town of Chapel Hill was completed in 2008 with funding assistance from City of <br /> Durham, the State of North Carolina, and the Erwin Area Neighborhood Group (EANG). The <br /> State grants require that portions of the site be protected with permanent conservation <br /> easements. <br /> In 2006, the four local governments signed an interlocal agreement for the acquisition, <br /> planning and operation of the Hollow Rock Access Area, and also established a Hollow Rock <br /> Master Plan Committee, co-chaired by Commissioner Barry Jacobs and including <br /> Commissioner Alice Gordon. The Committee worked over an 18-month period to develop a <br /> master plan that was adopted by all four local government partners in 2009-10. Orange County <br /> adopted the plan on April 20, 2010. <br /> The Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) has been involved in the project since its inception, but <br /> it <br /> is now ready to convey its portion of the property for an addition to the public recreation area. <br /> TLC has offered to sell its 2.6-acre parcel (686 Erwin Road) to the County for $66,013 plus <br /> transaction costs. TLC purchased the property in 2001 for $132,000 with help from a grant <br /> from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund. The current tax value is $211,915 <br /> ($144,846 land; $67,069 buildings). The proposed purchase price would be a "bargain sale". <br /> Rick Shaw said that grant funds were recently awarded by the state, to Durham County <br /> for the development of the Hollow Rock site. He said a new inter-local agreement between <br /> Orange and Durham Counties regarding development of the access area will come before the <br /> Board in another month or two. <br /> Rich Shaw said TLC has signed a contract with Orange County. He said if the Board <br /> approves this purchase, the anticipated closing date will occur at the end of April 2014. <br /> Chair Jacobs thanked Rich Shaw for the yellow handout and the summary. <br /> PUBLIC COMMENT: <br /> Chad Jemison, Executive Director of TLC, said he is new to this area, and he sees the <br /> Triangle growing rapidly. He said one thing that attracted him to coming to the TLC is that the <br /> organization recently adopted, in 2011, a strategy for moving forward. He said this is called <br /> the public benefits model. He said the 4 public benefits of this are: safeguarding clean <br /> drinking water; access to local food and protecting local farm communities; protecting <br /> important wildlife habitat and natural heritage areas; and connecting people to nature. He said <br /> the TLC is in the midst of the creation of a strategic plan to guide the organization for the next <br /> 6 or 7 years and there is a wonderful history of working on projects with Orange County. <br /> Chair Jacobs expressed appreciation for what the TLC does and their partnership with <br /> Orange County. <br /> Commissioner Gordon also thanked him for coming and said she was one of the <br /> Commissioners who worked on the design of the Hollow Rock access area. She appreciates <br /> this partnership. <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Rich, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to: <br /> • Approve the purchase of approximately 2.6 acres of land located on Erwin Road from <br /> Triangle Land Conservancy; and <br /> • Authorize the Chair to sign the contract on behalf of the County, subject to final review by <br />