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5 <br />FUNDING RE0UESTS <br />Construction and Start-up Funding for a Model Regional Shared Use Value-Added <br />Processing Center <br />Orange County has worked diligently to forge a regional public-private partnership for a <br />potential Model Regional Shared Use Value-Added Processing Center. A Center would <br />enable farmers from the region to meet local market demand for year-round locally- <br />grown products. A Center would also be a model for the state as a whole. Four counties <br />(Alamance, Chatham, Durham, and Orange) and two private businesses (Weaver Street <br />Market and Whole Foods) have partnered together and secured the necessary funds for a <br />feasibility study, and the partners are moving forward with commissioning that study. <br />The study will be conducted by the Center for Assessment and Research Analyses at <br />Mars Hill College, with lead researcher Smithson Mills, who has expertise in value-added <br />facilities. The study report, which will take four to six months to complete, will include <br />information on potential site needs for a Model Center, potential product lines, marketing <br />opportunities, and numerous other factors. <br />For the 2007 General Assembly session, Orange County, on behalf of its five partners, <br />requests $1.5 million for the construction of a Model Regional Shared Use Value-Added <br />Processing Center and an additional $500,000 for the Center's start-up costs. <br />Funding for Establishment of a Model Community Historical Documents <br />Preservation Effort/Orange County Heritage Center <br />Discussions during the last several years regarding future library planning for Orange <br />County have included a proposal for the establishment of an Orange County Heritage <br />Center to preserve, catalog, and house historical documents that otherwise would be lost <br />due to age/deterioration or misplacement. Orange County requests $112,000 in matching <br />funds from the General Assembly to establish an Orange County Heritage Center. The <br />Heritage Center would serve as a model for future duplication by other local <br />governments/entities across the state for the preservation of historical documents. All of <br />the funding would be used for the establishment of and equipment for the Heritage Center <br />and for the actual preservation/digitizing/archiving/cataloging/etc. of historical materials. <br />Transportation Funding For Orange County <br />There are two related transportation funding issues the Orange County Board of <br />Commissioners would like to bring to the attention of our legislative delegation. <br />Right now, Orange County is getting relatively little in funding for transportation, <br />compared with other counties in this region and in the state. Therefore, it would be <br />helpful if the county could receive some assistance from our legislative delegation in