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• Economic_ Development Commission Activities and Accomplishments <br />Small Businesses and Technology-Development Center - Because of <br />the county's commitment to SBTDC their operation has expanded <br />from one half time person to 3 people full time. Over the past <br />5 quarters they have worked with 165 Orange County businesses <br />providing free financing, business planning, and legal <br />assistance. A SBTDC report and a series of successes appears <br />in the attachments. <br />Cha el Hill/Orancre County Visitor's Bureau - The new director <br />begins work on June 1st. The bureau will work to extract a <br />greater economic impact out of our existing visitor industry. <br />The EDC has acted to bring the bureau to this point. <br />Hillsborough Sewer Bottleneck - After 4 years of stalled <br />negotiations the EDC, and a commitment for county funding, <br />forced a settlement of the sewer problem. The resolution <br />involved 4 monetary partners and 5 easements; construction is <br />underway and is scheduled for completion next month. <br />Current Projects <br />Joint Planning - The EDC and planning board continue to work on <br />new recommendations for growth promotion and control for the <br />interstate corridor in central Orange County. <br />Retail Analysis - With the free help of a UNC -CH Public Policy <br />intern and professor we are currently completing a project that <br />will identify the types and sizes of businesses in Downtown <br />Chapel Hill. Working with the merchants, we will then use the <br />information to target new businesses to complement the retail <br />mix. <br />Tax-Base-Study - This fall we completed an analysis of all the <br />non - residential tax -base of the Town of Chapel Hill by <br />examining all 700 'non-residential parcels. We will be <br />completing Carrboro later this summer and Hillsborough late in <br />the year. By identifying all current and potential property we <br />can work with planning to determine long range build -out <br />models. <br />Recruitment Campaign - Last fall the EDC launched an innovative <br />network recruitment campaign to identify businesses that might <br />be interested in relocating. Because the EDC spends no money <br />on advertising or recruitment travel, this approach allowed us <br />to compete for new business. To date, about 30 positive leads <br />have been generated. <br />r 1 <br />�J <br />