Agenda - 10-17-2017 - 8-a - Minutes

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18 1 6. The property would better serve the general residents of Carrboro as an altruistic 2 example with a low-impact use such as community gardens, like Anathoth Gardens in 3 Cedar Grove, which could continue the local trend in the county of farm to table local 4 consumers and children at Morris Grove and an anticipated middle school on the Twin 5 Creeks Park property. 6 7. Upon information, there are other properties in Carrboro, in the ETJ and in town, which 7 could be used for such development. 8 8. What uses would be allowed on the property in terms of manufacturing cannot be 9 guaranteed. If developed, the property should be on well and septic to assure limited 10 growth. 11 12 Thank you. 13 Sincerely yours, 14 15 Jay Bryan 16 Cc: Jeff Kleaveland and NTAAC members (by email) 17 18 Jay Bryan asked if the Board would delay its vote on this item. 19 Commissioner Rich asked if there is a timeline on this item. 20 Steve Brantley said the deadline for submitting bids for grants is October 20th at noon. 21 Commissioner McKee said Buckhorn was mentioned in the materials as the only EDD 22 with rail, and asked if further expansion of water and sewer in this area would enhance the 23 development potential of this area. 24 Steve Brantley said it is the largest EDD, and it is unique to have rail. He said it is 25 almost impossible to market the northern area of the EDD because there are no utilities, and at 26 the moment it is not ready to go. 27 Commissioner Burroughs asked if this opportunity will come around again in the future. 28 Steve Brantley said the state has seven or eight prosperity zones, and Orange County is 29 in the Central Piedmont one of 15 counties. He said Golden LEAF is staging its fund giving by 30 each calendar year, selecting one or two of them. He said he has not seen this come to 31 Orange County before. 32 Commissioner Rich clarified that this opportunity will not arise for another four or five 33 years. 34 Steve Brantley said he does not know the frequency, but he said Golden LEAF is an 35 option if there were an active industrial project outside of this grant cycle. 36 Chair Dorosin said Golden LEAF is designed to provide grants for the more distressed 37 counties, and Orange County is a Tier 3 county. 38 Steve Brantley said Golden LEAF liked the County's EDDs near to the interstates, and 39 neighboring Alamance County is a Tier 2 County, and Caswell County is a Tier 1 County, to the 40 north of Orange County. He said the labor draw, within one hour, to the EDDs is also 41 considered and valued. He said the Piedmont Food & Agricultural Processing Center (PFAF) 42 project left a favorable impression, and it does not cost the County anything to make a bid on 43 one to three events. 44 Commissioner McKee said it is important to pick projects that are shovel ready and laser 45 focused. He said these are agriculture monies, and Orange County use to be a major player in 46 tobacco. He prioritized the projects as follows: 47 48 - Piedmont Food & Agricultural Processing Center - $280,000. He said he would rank 49 this project as a number one priority. 50 - Hillsborough EDD- $400,000. He said it is critical to move this forward.