Agenda - 05-25-1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROVED: 6-28-89 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PUBLIC HEARING MAY 25, 1989 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on May 25, 1989 at 7:30 p.m. in Superior Courtroom, Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough, North Carolina for the purpose of hearing citizen comments on matters concerning economic development in the County. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT,: Chair Moses Carey, Jr. , and Commissioners Shirley E. Marshall, Stephen Halkiotis, Don Willhoit, John Hartwell. ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John Link, Purchasing Director Pam Jones, Economic Development Director Sylvia Price, Planner Gene Bell, Clerk to the Board Beverly Blythe and Deputy Clerk to the Board Kathy Baker. CONSULTANT PRESENT: Thomas McDowell of McDevco Associates, Raleigh, NC. Chairman Carey opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. He indicated that this meeting was the second of two Public Hearings which were originally scheduled to hear public comment on the remaining site for the proposed Regional Airport. On Monday night, May 22nd, the Board of Commissioners decided that site 11 was not suitable and that other alternatives could be pursued to contribute to the achievement of the County's goal of economic development and diversification of the tax base. The Board also voted on Monday night to continue with these Public Hearings to hear citizen comment on the subject of alternative methods for reaching those goals mentioned above. Members of the public who wish to comment on the need for an airport in Orange County are invited to speak on that also. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPEN FOR CITIZEN COMMENTS. MR. JAMES LA TORRE, an Orange County resident, presented the Board of Commissioners with additional petitions opposing the proposed airport. He stated that he has recently learned that over 90% of the tax base is residential and that tax base needs to be expanded by attracting industry to our County. He suggested setting aside an area for industrialization and providing an adequate infrastructure in that area. He also suggested using the communication network that has been established to fight the airport• as.a tool for organizing the current labor force, so that potential employers will know the kind of workforce available to them. Finally, he suggested the County's attendance at trade shows where industries are seeking new locations for their business. MS. LEIGH PEEK, an Orange County resident, spoke in opposition to Orange County ever having a regional airport. She suggested that a commitment be made to have the County stay the way the people in the County want it to be, rather than doing whatever to attract economic development. She also asked that in the future Orange County residents be used as consultants. She suggested that the County learn to better budget county funds so that the goal of economic development could be reached without having to raise taxes. She mentioned that the utilities, particularly the telephone systems, need to be improved in order to attract new industry. She stated that her understanding is that the area in the County which is zoned Industrial/Commercial does not have water/sewer service. A commitment needs to be made to actually making the