Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
4 <br />MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />PUBLIC HEARING <br />MAY 24, 1989 <br />The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on May 24, 1989 at 7:30 p.m. in the <br />Courtroom of the Old Post Office, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina for the <br />purpose of hearing citizen comments on matters concerning economic development in the <br />County. <br />BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Shirley E. Marshall, <br />Stephen Halkiotis, Don Willhoit, and John Hartwell. <br />ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill <br />STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John Link, Purchasing Director Pam Jones, Economic <br />Development Director Sylvia Price, Planner David Stencil, and Deputy Clerk to the <br />Beard Kathy Baker. <br />CONSULTANT PRESENT: Thomas McDowell of Mcbevco Associates, Raleigh, NC. <br />Chairman Carey opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. He indicated that he would <br />entertain comments on rural character goals, economic development, the airport or any <br />other issues on which citizens wished to comment. As background information, he <br />indicated that the airport process started with the appointment of a Citizen's Task <br />Force which made recommendations concerning a general aviation airport in Orange <br />County. The Commissioners adopted that recommendation and hired a consultant to begin <br />the planning process.. This process allowed the Commissioners to assess information at <br />several points in the process and make decisions about whether they wanted to proceed. <br />On Monday, May 22, 1989 the Commissioners stopped this process by voting that the one <br />remaining site would not be suitable for the development of an airport. This Public <br />Hearing, therefore, will be a positive statement about what is wanted by the citizens <br />in Orange County. <br />THE PUBLIG HEARING WAS OPEN FOR CITIZEN COMMENTS. <br />MR. DON JOHNSON, a licensed pilot, Chapel Hill resident, professor at UNC, <br />businessman, and divinity student at Duke, spoke in support of Orange County's need <br />for a community airport. He stated that an airport improves access and encourages <br />economic development. He encouraged the Commissioners to continue to search for a <br />suitable site. His main reason for supporting an airport is that it would be a <br />selling point to new businesses and industry which could provide jobs in the $10.00 to <br />$20.00 an hour range to Orange County citizens. He questioned whether the interest of <br />the anti-airport people was community development or self-interest. He felt that a <br />great deal of it was self-interest. He encouraged the Commissioners to work with <br />Chapel Hill and other community agencies toward the goal of developing a regional <br />airport. <br />MS. KATHY NEWELL, a Galvander resident and a former FAA repair station and <br />refurbishment center employee, spoke in opposition to the airport. She stated that <br />toxic waste would be a problem with an airport, and that the majority of employees at <br />an airport would be imported from other areas of the country.. She suggested that a <br />solution to the problem of economic development would be for the County to bring in a <br />high level vocational school. She mentioned the Emily Griffith Opportunity School in <br />Denver, Colo, as a model of the type of school she was suggesting. It is an adult <br />vocational school which specializes in more technical skills than a run-of-the-mill <br />