Orange County NC Website
Approved 2/4/15 <br />2 <br /> 55 AGENDA ITEM 6: CHAIR COMMENTS 56 57 <br />Pete Hallenbeck: Just to clarify, when we have a guest speaker come to speak to us it is for our information and not 58 <br />to create a public forum, that is not the purpose here. We will strike a compromise tonight and allow Bonnie to ask a 59 <br />few questions. 60 <br /> 61 <br />Pete Hallenbeck: Keep in mind that due to open meeting laws, when members email each other back and forth 62 <br />those emails are public record and as such will be part of the record or minutes. 63 <br /> 64 <br />Pete Hallenbeck: In the meeting the BOCC had with advisory board chairs, I asked about the preference for 65 <br />information in the minutes and the consensus was that going around the table is helpful and concise and the open 66 <br />back and forth discussion can become confusing and hard to follow. We will try to get away from that some and 67 <br />especially if something has been discussed at length. 68 69 70 AGENDA ITEM 7: OVERVIEW OF COUNTY’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES: To receive an overview on the 71 <br />County’s economic development activities, as requested at the November 5th Planning Board 72 <br />meeting. 73 Presenter: Steve Brantley, Economic Development Director 74 <br /> 75 <br />Steve Brantley gave an in-depth review of the economic development department and its efforts to attract business 76 <br />and the challenges faced in Orange County. 77 <br /> 78 <br />Tony Blake: They broke ground on Chatham Park yesterday, in one sense I’m a little afraid of over building, there 79 <br />seems to be a lot of competing dollars and projects going on, is there a concern that we might try to over build? And 80 <br />not be competitive? 81 <br /> 82 <br />Steve Brantley: How could we over build? We can run 4 million dollars’ worth of water and sewer to serve industry 83 <br />that takes these sites whether they are marginal sites with poor topography and eye sores, whatever but the water 84 <br />sewer boundary agreement says you cannot have that industry that would rather be on the other side of the road and 85 <br />connect to utilities, it cannot happen. From there south all the way to the rural buffer to Chapel Hill/Carrboro it is 86 <br />rural. When you factor in watershed protection issues, and the water and sewer boundary agreement, the rural buffer 87 <br />you have multiple overlapping restrictions that won’t allow industry or a Tanger mall type of development to be 88 <br />anywhere other than just along the highway. 89 <br /> 90 <br />Paul Guthrie: We’ve been looking for years at a unified water system, Durham, Cary, Raleigh, Chapel Hill and 91 <br />Hillsborough. There are some connections but there is not a straight way in. One of the long range development 92 <br />plans that needs to be undertaken is a serious look at the long range needs for water and wastewater disposal. 93 <br />Aren’t those some common projects for multiple municipalities? That is a real key to give you tools but will also 94 <br />protect this whole area from long term droughts. 95 <br /> 96 <br />Steve Brantley: I wish that certain sites that border the existing EDDs, even though outside the water and sewer 97 <br />boundary agreement, could be incorporated. If that’s what it takes to get that big project which would otherwise walk 98 <br />and go to Alamance County, I’d like to be able to have that as an option. Secondly, what I personally consider the 99 <br />best land in Orange County to attract business is where 85 and 40 come together in Efland. There is watershed and 100 <br />water and sewer boundary issues that keep all that land off limits to what actually would be the most successful to 101 <br />develop with big projects. It has rail, it has visibility, it is not encumbered with topography, housing, etc. 102 <br /> 103 <br />Tony Blake: I am really more of a representative of Bingham, and what they want is small community/organic 104 <br />business. What is stopping that is the land doesn’t perk and there is no way to support sewer, however, I’ve seen 105 <br />two instances in my immediate area where there is a technology call AdvanTex. We put it in in the fire department. 106 <br />UNC is using it at their animal research facility. What I’m wondering is there a way to bring in a private organization 107