Agenda - 06-03-2008-5b5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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33 1 Bryant Colson: I have been duly sworn in. I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to talk to ~2 you tonight. I'd also like to applaud the residents that are here at this haur and who were here 3 earlier for exercising an important and cherished civic responsibility of being here. I am 4 currently the Economic Development Commission Chair. The EDC is not at this time taking a 5 position on the issues tonight, we have a meeting on Thursday at which time we wil{ review and 6 advise. At that meeting, I plan to let our commissioners know or remind them of our purpose, 7 that is to make Orange County a smart, innovative place, a great place in which to live. We . 8 encourage private and public investments to provide jobs for the County residents and to 9 increase the non-residential fax base. Through these investments, we enhance the financial 10 well-being and quality of life of County residents, and the ability of the local government to 11 provide high-quality services. 1 know you guys know that that's the EDC mission on the Orange 12 County, North Carolina website. I also plan to advise them of all the calls and meetings that I've 13 had with individuals in Orange County where the common concern with these individuals was 14 the residential tax burden that Orange County residents are feeling, and the need for 1S commercial development to offset the tax base. I personally am in support of this controlled, 16 sustainable economic development at Buckhorn Village. It is my hope that, with developments 17 like this, it would draw us one step closer to the County's Five-Year Strategic Development 18 Plan, and that is 5,000 new private sector jobs and adding about $125 million in new 19 commercial property by June 2010. I'm advising them of all of this information in hopes that we 20 do not let opportunities like this slide by and continue to have our hands tied, and once again let 21 economic development pass us by. 22 23 Karen Bley: I have .been sworn in. There are a few things that I'm really confused about. I've 24 been a resident in Orange County for almost 40 years. I've lived on Buckhorn Road, and now I 25 live on Bradshaw Quarry Road, which is right down the road from Buckhorn. I'm really ??6 confused, I live in Mebane, but I think there's a drought going on in Mebane right now. I keep 27 hearing about all this wet water that's going to be coming from Mebane, and I don't understand 28 that, how does that work, where is this water. Why isn't Raleigh, why isn't Durham, why aren't 29 all of these other communities that are starving for water saying, "Ok, Mebane, send us the 30 water." It just doesn't make any sense to me. The other thing that really doesn't make any 31 sense to me at all is the transportation plan that was presented tonight talked about expanding 32 the bridge on I-85 and 1-40 and the left turn into the BP station and all of that, there was no talk 33 at all about all the roads that leave from Carrboro, Saxapahaw; Chapel Hill up to this 34 development. If I live in Garrboro, I'm going to be going down through Calvander, Dairyland 35 Road, up Orange Grove Road. All of those roads are. so overburdened right now. What's the 36 plan'for all of the roads that are leading into the Buckhorn Village? What really scares me is 37 that anytime there's a development that's called "village", it really makes me scared because it's. 38 not a village. I think there needs to be a lot of answers and a lot more discussion along these 39 lines. 40 41 Heather Main: I have been sworn. I live on Buckhorn Road, on that part that Karen's talking 42 about. I'm also concerned about the transportation issues. She asked Tyson Graves about the 43 southern end of Buckhorn Road. 44 . 45 -Tyson Graves: I have been sworn in. Basically, the southern end doesn't generate as much 46 traffic as the northern because of the highway. That's where most of the development trafl=tc 47 would be coming from. Therefore, there are some improvements for West Ten and Buckhorn, 48 but otherwise, it doesn't need any other improvements. 49 50 Heather Main: I've put together a petition, which people have signed. She read this petition, 51 as follows: ~~