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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD <br /> March 17, 2021 <br /> Orange County Economic Development Office <br /> 131 W. Margaret Lane <br /> Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br /> Minutes <br /> Members Present: Johnny Morris, Sharon Hill, Kristen Young, Jonna Foushee, James Watts <br /> Orange County Staff: Steve Brantley, Amanda Garner, Mike Ortosky, Lindsey Hirni <br /> Call to Order <br /> The meeting was called to order by Johnny Morris at 9:43 a.m. <br /> Approval of Minutes <br /> There was not a quorum of the Board present at the meeting. The minutes from January 20, 2021 will be <br /> considered at the next scheduled meeting. <br /> New Business <br /> Steve Brantley spoke about the Advisory Board's upcoming vacancies and term expirations that are <br /> coming up on June 30, 2021. Paige Zinn's position as Chair will need to be filled and a few other <br /> members could be recommended for a one-year extension or replaced by new applicants. Steve <br /> presented the 11 applicants who have filled out the application and the board discussed the next steps to <br /> vote on these positions. After everyone has voted Steve will form a memo to the BOCC on what <br /> recommendations the board has for new members or any requests for extensions. <br /> Steve spoke about the Economic Development's FY21-22 projected budget and indicated how we were <br /> able to cut 5% of our operation budget for the county. He explained that there is a chance that the county <br /> could get additional federal emergency relief funds to use towards future grant programs. <br /> Steve gave an overview of the Mebane/Orange County"Buckhorn Area Plan" study. The BOCC said that <br /> they would like Orange County& Mebane to hold additional public hearings to gather feedback from local <br /> residents. The board discussed factors to help support the opportunity to get future development in this <br /> area. <br /> Old Business <br /> Amanda gave an overview of the funding awarded from 4th quarter 2019 to 4th quarter 2020 through three <br /> financial assistance programs funded through Article 46. The programs included all three rounds of the <br /> Emergency Small Business Funding Program as well the ongoing Business Investment Grant and <br /> Agriculture Grant programs. <br /> Director's Report <br /> Steve provided a brief update on current project activity. He told the board that there has been very high <br /> activity with more industrial interests in the past few weeks. <br /> Adjournment <br /> Johnny Morris adjourned the meeting at 11:00 A.M. <br />