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16 <br /> By allowing us to use our Millhouse Rd property for an expanded headquarters, Orange County <br /> aligns itself with its Guiding Principle "to provide employment opportunities close to the areas <br /> where people live in Orange County" (Comprehensive Plan, p 3-16), facilitating the following: <br /> • ED Goal 3: Effective systems to train and support residents and those who work in <br /> Orange County. <br /> • Objective ED-3.1: Develop and nurture partnerships that support workers and their <br /> families at all stages of their lives and provide opportunities for lifelong learning and <br /> retraining in response to changing economic conditions. <br /> • Objective ED-3.2: Promote access to living wage jobs that offer benefits and career <br /> advancement potential. <br /> • Objective ED-3.3: Form partnerships with Durham Technical Community College, <br /> UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill/Carrboro Schools, Orange County Schools, and others to <br /> provide adequate training and education to enable workers in Orange County to obtain <br /> high quality jobs. (Italics added) <br /> 5. Public Education about Trees and Tree Care <br /> Most homeowners in our area will eventually have a concern about trees that calls for <br /> professional attention. When this happens they will often call an arborist. We receive <br /> approximately 75 requests every week from concerned local homeowners requesting an <br /> in-person property visit from one of our consulting arborists, and we fulfill these property visits <br /> requests typically within the subsequent week. Over 85% of those visits are provided by us at no <br /> cost to the property owner, and many of these requests are primarily requests for our advice. <br /> These advice requests run the gamut and are incredible opportunities to educate and inform <br /> the public about their trees. Many of our clients cannot distinguish a birch from a beech. They <br /> may have called us because they fear a large white oak that is leaning slightly towards a child's <br /> bedroom, or because of a dead black gum in their backyard, or because their slippery elm <br /> appears to be dying. As often as not, we are able to assuage their tree fears, directing the <br /> homeowner towards more valuable and ecologically sound investments in their property. For <br /> the white oak, we might discuss the many virtues of Quercus alba and why its lean doesn't of <br /> itself constitute a high risk of tree failure. We might provide them with risk mitigation options <br /> that will save the tree and be less costly than whole tree removal. If their dead back gum is <br /> suitably located, we'll point out that leaving it in place is a reasonable option, even beneficial <br /> for its wildlife habitat value and ecological function. If their apparently dying elm is merely <br /> defoliated by elm leaf beetle, a common native insect in our area, we will inform them that, <br /> despite appearances, the tree will prove itself to be entirely healthy the following spring. Next <br /> 9 <br />