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APPROVED WITH AMENDMENT 2.7.24
<br /> 251 there's an emergency?" Their emergency page, prominent, the biggest illustration is trees. Tree emergency is
<br /> 252 storms. They're all about tree problems here, and the County, the public will only help you out if it's on public
<br /> 253 property or on the wires. Everywhere else, and that's where most of the trees are, it's tree services you need,
<br /> 254 and when the storm comes, and we've been lucky in the last three years not, there hasn't been a major storm,
<br /> 255 but when there is, you're either dependent on outside companies—and we can tell you horror stories about
<br /> 256 what happens when that happens—or we're here. We need a central location to be able to handle this. We
<br /> 257 operate 24/7 all the time.
<br /> 258
<br /> 259 Charity Kirk: So, we make land use decisions, so can you just summarize why this property in
<br /> 260 particular and what your plans are for this property.
<br /> 261
<br /> 262 Craig Nishimoto: I think the best way to make this point is to think about a similar situation that the Town of
<br /> 263 Chapel Hill was in in the year 2000. In the year 2000, the Town of Chapel Hill had a big problem. They knew
<br /> 264 that their lease on the UNC's property for their public works was expiring, and the UNC did not want to renew
<br /> 265 it. They had to find another place for their public works. What is that? That's all their trucks, all their gravel
<br /> 266 storage areas, all their asphalt storage areas, all their employees to park. Really similar to what we're doing
<br /> 267 here. They had a big budget, $52 million to spend on this problem. They, I can only imagine, had a bunch of
<br /> 268 dedicated planners working on this problem. They had a lot of resources, other assets and holdings and they
<br /> 269 knew the area really well and they cared about the future of this decision and what it would do to the Rural
<br /> 270 Buffer, for example. It is telling where they chose to locate their Public Works of a something that's just quite a
<br /> 271 bit larger in scale than what we're doing, but largely the same. They put it in the Rural Buffer on Millhouse
<br /> 272 Road, but actually a whole lot, 5.7 times closer to residents than where we are. So, three years ago, we are
<br /> 273 running out of space. We know that where we're currently at, it's just a matter of time before somebody
<br /> 274 complains and shuts us down. We are desperate to find another location. Instead of watching Netflix, instead
<br /> 275 of doing anything, scrolling on Twitter, I am looking at real estate listings all the time. It is hard to find places.
<br /> 276 And then I came across something that said 10 acres for sale in Chapel Hill"for$100,000. 1 was sure it was a
<br /> 277 mistake, but I looked it up. It was mis-listed. It, the PIN wasn't right, but after a night of searching on this, 1
<br /> 278 found out who was responsible, who I could contact about this, and they said "oh, yeah, yeah, here's where
<br /> 279 the property is." I got Katya, my wife, in the car. We ran out there. We looked at it. We said "oh, this is ideal."
<br /> 280 No neighbors. There's a dump, the old landfill. There is Duke Forest. County property. There's a cell tower
<br /> 281 here. Nobody wants this property, and no one's going to complain, so we called the guy. He says, "well,
<br /> 282 here's how it works. This is a bidding process, blind bidding, and it ends at noon tomorrow, tomorrow
<br /> 283 morning." So, I called David, my business partner, and I said, "hey, I've never seen something like this, a piece
<br /> 284 of property like this. This is perfect for us. This is what we need." So, we double the asking price, more than
<br /> 285 doubled the asking price and say no conditions, we'll take this property. I didn't think we'd see another
<br /> 286 property like this come and come around, and we got it. I didn't know about all this. This is something 1
<br /> 287 learned, and luckily I think we have a good case for this. I've read that 530-page Comprehensive Plan. I've
<br /> 288 spent a lot of time with the LIDO, 670-some-odd pages. I even read the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
<br /> 289 That's 700-some pages. I respect what you guys do. You guys are volunteers. This is amazing. I didn't know
<br /> 290 anything about local government. I'm learning, but it's taken a lot longer than I thought, and it's more
<br /> 291 expensive and time consuming, but I think we have a good case.
<br /> 292
<br /> 293 Statler Gilfillen: Just so I can understand the business that you're doing. You can go to a site, groom,
<br /> 294 correct the trees, whether it's after or a storm or not. You will then haul that material that is rubbish at that
<br /> 295 point, or scrap, to your site. Some of it could be a 20-foot long oak tree. Now, do you do any milling on the
<br /> 296 site?
<br /> 297
<br /> 298 Craig Nishimoto: No.
<br /> 299
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