Minutes 03-10-2022 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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9 updated. She said she wants to do all of that in a collaborative way. She asked if there is a work plan to get that done in the next year. Lamar Proctor said there were policies and procedures established that they would follow. Commissioner Richards asked about the work plan for tackling that. Craig Benedict said that when the comprehensive plan was put together, there were eight lead advisory boards. He said that it is especially important to include them. He said they want to be inclusive with advisory boards. He said there is a process, but they need to bring everyone together. He said in the coming months they will pull everyone together and get buy-in right away. He said that there is a very deliberative process to make sure they are including the advisory boards. He said that the process took several years in the past and he hopes that it can be done a bit quicker this time. Chair Price said in the previous process they used a world cafe model to share ideas. She said it was an interactive process. Craig Benedict said that when he started, they were working on the 2025 Transportation Plan and now they are working on the 2050. He said that he will be retiring but that the work continues. Estella Johnson presented for the Economic Development Advisory Board. She said their subcommittee reviewed many small business grant applications and approved twenty-six small business grant awards totaling $134,465. She said assisted in the Agriculture Economic Development Grant Program to receive and review applications, approving ten grant awards totaling $87,705 in support of Orange County's small farmers and food processors for the year. She said members of the Advisory Board participated in a third round of the Board of Commissioners' special COVID emergency small business grant program, approving forty-four awards totaling $132,000 for the year. She said this activity was in addition to 2020's first two rounds of special grant approvals that made seventy-eight awards totaling $520,131 for the prior year. She said that the combined value of all grant award activity benefiting small businesses & small farmers saw a total of $354,170 in economic development funding throughout rural Orange County and the towns of Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro. She said all of these business and agriculture/food processing grants were made possible by funds provided by the County's special Article 46 (1/4 cent retail sales tax) proceeds. She said that thanks to Article 46 funding, these grant programs show that the real estate tax paid by the public is remaining in Orange County. She said these funds are put to effective use to grow the local economy. She said Economic Development Advisory Board members worked closely with staff to review all applications and make strategic grant awards. She said all grant awards should be considered important efforts to the county's continuing investment to our locally owned small businesses, agricultural food processors, and farms, many of which are women and minority owned businesses. She said the advisory board's goals in 2022 are to assist the Board of Commissioners with their social justice goal to assist all residents with participation and sharing of economic prosperity by continuing the small business grant and agricultural programs. She said they also hope to continue collaborating with the county, the chambers of commerce of Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, and Durham Technical Community College. She said they also offer assistance to the Board by making recommendations for the use of Article 46 revenue to prioritize funding for a mix of small businesses and entrepreneurial firms. She said they also hope to attract larger industries as well. She commended the efforts of Economic Development staff for their work with the Board of Commissioners to support small and large businesses. Estella Johnson said she is relatively new to the Economic Development Advisory Board, but she would do her best to answer any questions.