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l~ <br />MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />AND <br />ORANGE COUNTX PLANNING BOARD <br />SPECIAL MEETING <br />MAY 22, 1989 <br />The Orange County Baard of Gammissioners met in Special Session on Monday, May 22, 1989 <br />at 7:00 p.m, in the Superior Court Room, new County Courthouse, Hillsborough, NC, for <br />tiie purpose of discussing the proposed airport. <br />COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Don Willhoit, Shirley <br />Marshall, Steve Halkiotis and John Hartwell. <br />ATTORNEY: Geoffrey Gledhill <br />STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John Link, Economic Development Director Sylvia Price, <br />Planning Director Marvin Collins, Planners Gene Bell, Emily Crudup, David Stancil, and <br />Eddie Kirk, Clerk to the Board Beverly Blythe, and Deputy Clerk to the Board Kathy <br />Baker. <br />1. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS fiY CHAIRMAN <br />Chairman Moses Carey, Jr., stated that this special meeting was called to discuss <br />the issue of the proposed airport. He indicated that he called a Special Meeting rather <br />than having a press conference so that official action could be taken if the Board <br />wished to do so. However, the meeting was not called to cancel the Public Hearings on <br />the airport which are scheduled for the 24th and 25th of May. He stated that he <br />recognized that by having a Special Meeting, the Board runs the risk of having some <br />peaple in the County feel disenfranchised due to the Commissioners sharing their views <br />on the remaining site prior to the Public Hearings. This risk is an acceptable one if <br />corntnents by the Board can influence people at the Public Hearings to focus on what is <br />wanted in Orange Gounty in'terms of the Boards' goals and how to reach those goals. <br />Eighteen months ago he was convinced, after talking to many people in the County, that <br />an airport was a necessary ingredient in achieving the economic development goals of <br />improving job opportunities and diversifying the County's tax base. He was sufficiently <br />convinced that he voted to hire a consultant to study the issue and enter into a <br />planning process which would allow the Gounty to determine whether an airport was <br />necessary to achieve those goals and if so, where would it be located. He stated that <br />tonight he is no longer convinced that a general aviation airport is a necessary <br />ingredient in achieving these long-term goals. He believes there are other <br />alternatives. He indicated that he is committed to studying the alternatives with <br />others in the County. He also stated that lie was not convinced that Site #11 was a <br />suitable airport site and he is prepared to vote against it. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis stated that when he became involved in this process, it was <br />out of an interest in looking at the safety consideration of Horace Williams. He <br />indicated that these planes fly over his house near Calvander every night, and he has no <br />problem with that airport staying where it is, at the same size it is. He mentioned <br />that he has been under the impression for quite some time that there was a serious <br />interest on the part of the University to shut Horace Williams down. He believed that <br />was one of the reasons, along with economics, that this issue was addressed. The <br />newspaper headlines recently which stated "UNC unlikely to shut-down its airport" <br />extremely distressed him, as did the plans for the addition of 500 feet of runway and an <br />above ground jet fuel storage tank. He indicated that he has spoken with concerned <br />citizens in the southern end of the County who will be going to the Chapel Hill Town <br />