Agenda 03-15-22; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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17 1 Commissioner Richards asked what the tax benefit of annexation is to Mebane. She 2 asked if Mebane gets the benefits of jobs and Orange County gets the benefits of taxes. She 3 said she is trying to understand the benefits to Mebane. 4 Craig Benedict said the benefit is property taxes to Orange County and Mebane would 5 also get taxes. He said the potential jobs created are also a benefit to Mebane and Orange 6 County. He said that when properties are annexed, there is less service cost to the county as 7 Mebane would pick up some public services. 8 Commissioner Richards asked if the advantage to the county is that the county does not 9 have to fight the "no development here" people. 10 Craig Benedict said there are a few ways to look at it. He said that when the county put 11 together agreements with the City of Mebane, the city and county tried to align their 12 development standards. He said that they want to be conscious of the impact of development 13 on neighborhoods. He said it is unlikely that all of the areas on the map on slide #4 could be 14 annexed by the City of Mebane. 15 Commissioner Richards asked Craig Benedict to point out the Orange County line with 16 Alamance County on slide #4. 17 Craig Benedict pointed out the county line and discussed some of the major employers 18 along the border with Alamance County. 19 Commissioner McKee said that the tax benefit was mentioned but the sewer and water 20 flow costs go back to Mebane to help pay for their systems. He said that the designation of 21 economic development zones was discussed years ago and that during those discussions, 22 Mebane has always been a willing partner in development conversations. He said that without 23 Mebane's partnerships, none of the industries would be possible. 24 Commissioner Hamilton said that the development can come with a cost to existing 25 residents in the area, and some of the areas have been traditionally African American. She said 26 that some residents cannot afford to get water and sewer, and that Mebane is not interested in 27 annexing them since they cannot afford that. She said the water and sewer is primarily for 28 economic development, but that it leaves some residents behind. She said that she remains 29 concerned about how they are communicated with during this process. 30 Chair Price asked how many residences are still on wells and septic tanks. She said 31 she thought there were funds available to help residents hook on. 32 Craig Benedict said the 2004 agreement had twenty-seven free connections in 33 Buckhorn. He said that covered tap and connection fees. He said he has heard from new 34 residents that are not part of that 2004 agreement but there are twenty-seven taps available that 35 were in existence in 2004. He said if they are low to moderate income then they could work 36 through other departments. He said there is also a community loan fund that is an option. 37 Chair Price said that was the point of going to the community, to find out who wanted to 38 hook on. 39 Craig Benedict said there were two churches wanted to hook on — Mt. Moriah and 40 Hunters Chapel. He said that a grant received in 2005 helped with some of the infrastructure 41 costs. He said there were failing septic systems in the area, and they wanted some assistance. 42 Chair Price said she wanted to follow-up on the topic of community economic 43 development to see who might be interested in hooking on to water and sewer. 44 45 Steve Brantley, Director of Economic Development, continued the presentation: 46 47