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11 <br /> o Federal level- moving target on federal level such as funding, etc. <br /> o Staff works diligently to insure families receive prompt service. Department of <br /> Social Services (DSS) is serving between 15,000 and 20,000. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs asked if the department's employment capabilities are sufficient <br /> to cover those on Medicaid being required to work. <br /> Nancy Coston said more staff would probably be needed to address these issues. She <br /> said processing something like that would take a great deal of time. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs asked if there is an estimate for the number of additional clients <br /> that may need to be served, and if she would share this information with their Congressman. <br /> Nancy Coston said she does not have this readily available but will get that information. <br /> • Commission for the Environment: Vice Chair Bill Kaiser and Peter Sandbeck <br /> Bill Kaiser said the Commission prepares news articles on environmental issues for <br /> publication in papers. He said he would like to get more information on water resources in <br /> Orange County, and to look for funding resources. He said he is interested in invasive plants, <br /> which are insidious. <br /> Commissioner McKee noted the severity of the hydrilla in the Eno River, and <br /> encouraged the Commission to monitor this closely. <br /> Bill Kaiser said the Commission is being kept aware of this. <br /> • Economic Development Advisory Board: Jim Kitchen, Chair and Steve Brantley <br /> Jim Kitchen thanked the BOCC for appointing three new board members last week. He <br /> reviewed the following highlights: <br /> o Small Business Grant Program has awarded 72 grants to date, and 245 jobs <br /> have been created or retained from these grants. The grants have primarily <br /> funded existing Orange County businesses in need of capital to expand <br /> operations. On occasion grants have been given to LAUNCH. <br /> o More fund requests submitted than grant funding available. To spread funds <br /> around, the average grant for the last two quarters has been around $2500. <br /> o Grant program funded at $100,000 per year, or $25,000 per quarter. Request <br /> made for BOCC to allocate additional funds to this program. <br /> o Orange County Farm Grant Program awarded 30 grants, with 83 jobs created or <br /> retained. Also more grants requested than funds available. <br /> o Working on a SWOT analysis to take a macro and micro look at the Economic <br /> Development Districts (EDDs). This analysis is important because there is a <br /> need to diversify the current tax place and make economic development a <br /> priority. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos said there used to be a state of the economy annual <br /> breakfast, which the Chamber of Commerce eventually took on. He asked if this event could <br /> be reclaimed by Orange County. <br /> Jim Kitchen said they will research this. <br /> Commissioner Price asked if there has been any discussion to expand the digital <br /> infrastructure. <br /> Steve Brantley, Economic Development Director, said there are regions within the <br /> EDDS and the associated areas in Efland that are being reviewed. He said there is some <br /> amount of existing fiber and IT infrastructure in these areas. He said the Planning and IT <br />