Orange County NC Website
15 <br />1 Jeff Thompson referred to attachment 4 in the packet, which highlights the potential <br />2 storage configuration. He said this includes record storage, solid waste roll cart storage, and <br />3 working storage for the Piedmont Food and Agricultural Processing Center. <br />4 Commissioner Gordon asked for an explanation of the color chart. <br />5 Jeff Thompson explained the chart as provided. <br />6 Commissioner Gordon clarified that there is no difference in the footprint between the <br />7 mothball and storage options. <br />8 Jeff Thompson said yes. <br />9 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the loading dock would be at the south end in the blue <br />10 area of this slide. <br />11 Jeff Thompson said yes. <br />12 <br />13 Steve Brantley discussed the Piedmont Food and Agricultural Processing Center <br />14 (PFAP). He said PFAP has achieved several milestones in the past several years, including <br />15 being incorporated as a nonprofit, and forming a board of directors representing the four inter - <br />16 local member counties. He said PFAP has added clients and used up all available storage and <br />17 freezer space. He said PFAP has established a cash flow and is able to operate independently. <br />18 Steve Brantley said the organization has seen success with clients such as Vintage Bees and <br />19 others who are exporting to other countries, and Luna Pops who is now selling through Harris <br />20 Teeter. He said PFAP is gaining a statewide reputation as a model for food and agricultural <br />21 processing, and this is resulting in various tour groups and media coverage. <br />22 Steve Brantley said PFAP presently has 43 total clients, and 35 are active. He said <br />23 there are 23 additional clients in various stages of the application process. He said 12 of these <br />24 are expected to go all the way through the process. <br />25 He said there is an immediate need for additional storage, including 21 pallet spaces <br />26 and four storage cages. He said PFAP also needs an additional 14 by 18 foot general storage <br />27 area. He said these storage needs are expected to increase significantly by the fall, to include <br />28 a total additional storage space of between 4,000 and 5,000 square feet. He said four of the <br />29 top six clients may move out of the County if affordable manufacturing space, operational <br />30 capital, and competitively priced food storage locations are not available. <br />31 Steve Brantley said PFAP has looked at several potential storage locations in Orange <br />32 County, but no suitable space has been found. He said there is also a need for short term <br />33 storage, which is difficult in the commercial market. He said several clients have already struck <br />34 out, and one of them relocated to Alamance County. He noted that the clients are constrained <br />35 by transportation costs. He said the Cedar Grove is not exactly ideal, but it is a currently viable <br />36 option. <br />37 Steve Brantley said there are 3 facilities that could be considered, but all of them have <br />38 their problems. He said one of these options is the old ABC store, which is priced at $5 per <br />39 square foot. He said PFAP has considered all of these options and feels that there are <br />40 constraints with all of them. He said Orange County has few options, and the Cedar Grove <br />41 facility does offer the possibility for PFAP to play a role and generate a lease payment. <br />42 Commissioner Gordon asked if PFAP is going to pay rent. <br />43 Steve Brantley said he is not sure that the discussion has matured to that point, and this <br />44 would be the Board's decision. <br />45 Jeff Thompson said the process would be to work out a series of rate options for <br />46 discussion. He said the market rate is around $8 per square foot, including insurance, taxes, <br />47 and utilities. He said this would be brought to the Board in the form of options. <br />48 Commissioner Gordon said the Board would be offering flexibility and a fair price, but <br />49 she would assume there would be some payment. She asked if Orange County would get <br />