Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
APPROVED: 6-28-89 MINUTES <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> PUBLIC HEARING <br /> MAY 24, 1989 <br /> The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on May 24, 1989 at 7:30 p.m. in the <br /> Courtroom of the Old Post Office, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina for the 1 - <br /> purpose of hearing citizen comments on matters concerning economic development in the <br /> County. <br /> BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr. , and Commissioners Shirley E. Marshall, <br /> Stephen Halkiotis, Don Willhoit, and John Hartwell. <br /> ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill <br /> STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John Link, Purchasing Director Pam Jones, Economic <br /> Development Director Sylvia Price, Planner David Stencil, and Deputy Clerk to the <br /> Board Kathy Baker. <br /> CONSULTANT PRESENT: Thomas McDowell of McDeveo Associates, Raleigh, NC. <br /> Chairman Carey opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. He indicated that he would <br /> entertain comments on rural character goals, economic development, the airport or any <br /> other issues on which citizens wished to comment. As background information, he <br /> indicated that the airport process started with the appointment of a Citizen's Task <br /> Force which made recommendations concerning a general aviation airport in Orange <br /> County. The Commissioners adopted that recommendation and hired a consultant to begin <br /> the planning process. This process allowed the Commissioners to assess information at <br /> several points in the process and make decisions about whether they wanted to proceed. <br /> On Monday, May 22, 1989 the Commissioners stopped this process by voting that the one <br /> remaining site would not be suitable for the development of an airport. This Public <br /> Hearing, therefore, will be a positive statement about what is wanted by the citizens <br /> in Orange County. <br /> THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPEN FOR CITIZEN COMMENTS. <br /> MR. DON JOHNSON, a licensed pilot, Chapel Hill resident, professor at UNC, <br /> businessman, and divinity student at Duke, spoke in support of Orange County's need <br /> for a community airport. He stated that an airport improves access and encourages <br /> economic development. He encouraged the Commissioners to continue to search for a <br /> suitable site. His main reason for supporting an airport is that it would be a <br /> selling point to new businesses and industry which could provide jobs in the $10.00 to <br /> $20.00 an hour range to Orange County citizens. He questioned whether the interest of <br /> the anti-airport people was community development or self-interest. He felt that a <br /> great deal of it was self-interest. He encouraged the Commissioners to work with <br /> Chapel Hill and other community agencies toward the goal of developing a regional <br /> airport. <br /> MS. KATHY NEWELL, a Calvander resident and a former FAA repair station and <br /> refurbishment center employee, spoke in opposition to the airport. She stated that <br /> toxic waste would be a problem with an airport, and that the majority of employees at <br /> an airport would be imported from other areas of the country. She suggested that a <br /> solution to the problem of economic development would be for the County to bring in a. <br /> high level vocational school. She mentioned the Emily Griffith Opportunity School in <br /> Denver, Colo, as a model of the type of school she was suggesting. It is an adult <br /> vocational school which specializes in more technical skills than a run-of-the-mill <br />