Minutes - 20081014 - Work Session

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what the County already has. Staff would like feedback and direction from the Board on this issue. Chair Jacobs suggested starting with the action plan and seeing if anyone has questions or comments. Commissioner Gordon said that the action plan seems fairly similar to what the County had before. She said that the specifics should probably be discussed. Chair Jacobs suggested working with Cooperative Extension to see if linkages could be created to train new farmers. Chair Jacobs made reference to the Historic Preservation Commission and the costs associated with preserving historic structures on acquired properties. He thinks that this is an area where some creative thinking could come into play. He thinks that there should be some statement that the County has talked about over time that it should make a commitment to maintain these properties and take responsibility for an asset. Dave Stancil said that the staff has been doing some creative thinking about the existing assets. Commissioner Nelson asked if the County were to pursue the Mountains to Sea Trail, would it have to come up with additional money. Dave Stancil said yes, or appropriate some existing funds to it as opposed to an existing project. He said that the Board will always be making case-by-case decisions. Commissioner Nelson said that the country is already in a recession and facing tough economic times in the next year or two. The County is not going to be able to spend money in the next couple of years like it has the last couple of years. He said that he is wondering why the County is buying land when it cannot even afford the basics. Dave Stancil said that one of the beauties of the Lands Legacy is that it can function at a very low level, such as $20,000; or a very high level, such as $20 million. Chair Jacobs said that one suggestion would be to not work on any new priorities, but focus only on the priorities that have already been established. Commissioner Foushee made reference to the second page of Appendix 3, where it addresses the methods that might be established to determine how property is acquired. She asked how and when these methods would be honed down. Dave Stancil said that he and Rich Shaw would be going to Raleigh tomorrow to meet with the State Parks to talk about the Mountains to Sea Trail. The key issue is the role that the State is going to play. Commissioner Foushee would like the State's role to be defined before the Board of County Commissioners talks about it. Commissioner Gordon said that the County should give priority to the existing projects. She would take a cautious approach and try to accomplish things that are already on the table. Laura Blackmon said that this is a plan and putting the projects into the plan does not mean that funds will be allocated. Chair Jacobs suggested adding a second tier along with the existing priorities. He said that there is $2 million in bond money that the voters have approved for these uses and there is $400,000 in payment-in-lieu funds that could relate directly. Commissioner Nelson said that he is going to be hesitant to issue any more debt that is not absolutely necessary. He said that all governments will be operating differently in the next five to ten years. Chair Jacobs made reference to page 8 and the notion of a land trust and open space authority. He said that this idea has been floating around for years and it should be either fleshed out or dropped. Chair Jacobs asked Dave Stancil what staff envisioned in talking about the Upper Eno. Dave Stancil said that the Seven Mile Creek Preserve is in the existing program. For this issue, staff was looking at what else was going on in the corridor. This may be a concept that