Orange County NC Website
21 <br /> 1 Steve Brantley finished his presentation by showing the completions of the properties in <br /> 2 phase one and phase 2 and mentioned current interest in the properties. <br /> 3 Commissioner McKee said the date for work to begin on Eno is May 1st <br /> 4 Steve Brantley said it has been 9 or 10 years for the area to get water and sewer access <br /> 5 Commissioner Dorosin said he is worried that Eno Development District may end up a <br /> 6 "checkerboard" like the Buckhorn area after the wait for utilities. He praised the work of the <br /> 7 economic development team, and asked for priorities for change and overcoming strategies. He <br /> 8 said adding a parcel or cutting residential areas out of districts are options. <br /> 9 Steve Brantley said he would be happy to generate a list in conjunction with staff and <br /> 10 advisory board that would make recommendations on potential new acquisitions and changes to <br /> 11 existing zoning. <br /> 12 Commissioner Price asked if the group agrees about moving forward with the Eno <br /> 13 district. <br /> 14 Travis Myren said the process is in design, and money commitments are to be made <br /> 15 soon. <br /> 16 The Board moved forward with a discussion of interjurisdictional collaboration on <br /> 17 economic development at the suggestion of Commissioner McKee. <br /> 18 Commissioner McKee said it would be good for the group to consider alternate projects <br /> 19 to look at that could be collaborative projects. He also recognized that the board would have to <br /> 20 shift priorities if they want to focus on those projects, as funds are limited. <br /> 21 Commissioner Price said she wants to see a plan for intergovernmental collaboration <br /> 22 with the municipalities, especially for projects in unincorporated areas of the county close to the <br /> 23 urban areas. <br /> 24 Commissioner Dorosin said, in terms of collaboration, if jobs were the overall goal that <br /> 25 the conversation needs to be collective with the municipalities. <br /> 26 Commissioner Bedford said sustainability is also important. <br /> 27 Commissioner Dorosin lamented instances where the County missed out on information <br /> 28 sharing from municipalities to encourage collaborative and mutually beneficial outcomes. He <br /> 29 also addressed an instance where the County may have missed an opportunity for collaboration <br /> 30 with Carrboro and suggested it be revisited. He suggested collaboration at the staff level and <br /> 31 institutionalizing the collaboration around economic development. <br /> 32 Chair Rich said Wegman's is a good example of collaboration with municipalities. <br /> 33 Commissioner Dorosin agreed and said economic development does not stop at <br /> 34 jurisdictional lines and suggested a unified plan for economic development. <br /> 35 Bonnie Hammersley said collaboration around economic development starts at the <br /> 36 Manager level. She said the collaboration around the Wegman's project started at that level. <br /> 37 She said there are monthly manager meetings, and more frequent meetings when needed <br /> 38 Bonnie Hammersley said perhaps an economic development office that serves the entire <br /> 39 County and includes all jurisdictions would be beneficial. She also said conversations need to <br /> 40 start at the beginning of projects. <br /> 41 Commissioner Greene asked Steve Brantley if he still attended meetings for Chapel Hill <br /> 42 Economic Development. <br /> 43 Steve Brantley said he does attend. He said that he does consider that the economic <br /> 44 development office serves the entire county. <br /> 45 Commissioner Greene asked if there had been good outcomes from the meetings. <br /> 46 Steve Brantley answered that he generates prospect leads and learns about area <br /> 47 development to promote. He believes the meetings to be of high value. <br /> 48 <br /> 49 Chair Rich brought up Gateway Station and suggested collaboration around the project <br /> 50 begin as soon as possible. She said it could be a fourth economic development district and an <br /> 51 opportunity to work towards a different type of economic development that includes retail, <br />