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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: February 4, 2025 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-d <br /> SUBJECT: Acceptance of the Agricultural Growth Zone Grant with the North Carolina <br /> Department of Agriculture <br /> DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, Parks <br /> and Recreation (DEAPR) <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Notice of Award and Memorandum of David Stancil, 245-2510 <br /> Agreement Christian Hirni, 245-2514 <br /> PURPOSE: To consider accepting an award and authorizing a Memorandum of Agreement for <br /> the Agricultural Growth Zone Grant with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. <br /> BACKGROUND: The acquisition of conservation easements to protect highly important natural <br /> and cultural resource lands in Orange County is a longstanding goal of the Board of <br /> Commissioners and a priority of the Lands Legacy program. Since 2001, the County has <br /> partnered with landowners and other conservation entities to protect 3,004 acres of significant <br /> natural areas and prime farmland with permanent conservation easements, leveraging well over <br /> $3 million in outside funding and grants toward these easements. <br /> This past year, staff applied for a new grant program through the North Carolina Department of <br /> Agriculture (NCDA) known as the Agricultural Growth Zone Grant. The Agricultural Growth Zone <br /> Grant is intended to provide a set amount of State funds for designated areas (in this case, Orange <br /> County), with the expectation that the County act as the grant fund manager and ensure matching <br /> funds for working land easement projects within the county. The County may utilize funds for <br /> Lands Legacy easement projects, as well as act as a grantor to private non-profit land trusts for <br /> certain qualifying projects proposed to the County and State. The program offers a streamlined <br /> process for evaluation, and allows a "rolling" application window, separate from the traditional <br /> application due dates. <br /> In September 2024, the NCDA announced that the Orange County Agricultural Growth Zone was <br /> selected, and that Orange County would be awarded $1,445,443 in matched funds for qualifying <br /> projects over a three-year period. The funds remain held at the State level, and any funds not <br /> utilized within three years would be re-allocated into State programs. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: The use of these State funds could require up to $1,300,899 in County <br /> matching funds. Sufficient matching funds exist for this grant. A total of $1.49 million is available <br /> in the County's Conservation Easement capital project, with an additional appropriation in the <br />