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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19890525~~ ;~ - _.- MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PUBLIC HEARING MAY 25, 19$9 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on May 25, 19$9 at 7:30 p.m, in Superior Courtroom, Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough, North Carolina for the purpose of hearing citizen comments on matters concerning .economic development in the County. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Shirley E. Marshall, Stephen Halkiotis, Don Willhoit, John Hartwell. ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John Link, Purchasing Director Pam Jones, Economic Development Director Sylvia Price, Planner Gene Bell, Clerk to the Board Beverly Blythe and Deputy Clerk to the Board Kathy Baker. CONSULTANT PRESENT: Thomas McDowell of McDevco Associates, Raleigh, NC. Chairman Carey opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. He indicated that this meeting was the second of two Public Hearings which were originally scheduled to hear public comment on the remaining site for the proposed Regional Airport. On Monday night, May 22nd, the Board of Commissioners decided that site-11 was not suitable and that other alternatives could be pursued to contribute to the achievement of the County's goal of economic development and diversification of the tax base. The Board also voted on Monday night to continue with these Public Hearings to hear citizen comment on the subject of alternative methods fox reaching those goals mentioned above. Members of the public who wish to comment on the need for an airport in Orange County are invited to speak on that also. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPEN FOR CITIZEN COMMENTS. MR. JAMES LA TORRE, an Orange County resident, presented the Board of Commissioners with additional petitions opposing the proposed airport. He stated that he has recently learned that over 90$ 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 Gaunty'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 - -.~, I _.._, __ -~ land available to industry by providing the necessary utilities. Finally, she suggested that job training is needed in Orange County. MR. JOHN HUNTER, an Orange County resident, stated that he was disappointed that the Commissioners voted against Site 11 on Monday evening before the scheduled Public Hearings. He suggested that the Commissioners have given the appearance of short-circuiting the democratic process under the pressure of a loud special interest group. He told the Commissioners that he and other citizens had been waiting to express their feelings publicly only to have the forum made meaningless in terms of airport pros and cons. He stated that he was unaware of any statistics which suggested that it is unsafe to live near an airport; that small, general aviation airports are good neighbors to have; they yield no significant pollution; this type of airport is rural in character; many communities see general aviation airports as assets to the community; finally, he stated that he was saddened and angered that the opposition has been one of emotional incitement based on inaccurate and misleading statements. MR. DAVID NAQUIN spoke in opposition to Orange County having a regional airport. He stated that he believes the Commissioners were ill-served by the Consultants who provided the airport study. He mentioned that the Consultants took wind and weather data from 1948-1964 and based the Orange County airport report on that data. He noted that those years were peculiar times in national weather patterns. It was exceptionally good, stable weather. That all deteriorated after the mid-60's. The data that comes out of that study is not appropriate for today. Also, he stated that there is an "ice line" which comes across from the southwest point of the County at Dodson's Grossroad and then across '86 toward Hillsborough. There was no reference in the study to this type of micro-climate data which would have an impact on the usability of an airport during the winter. He suggested the Commissioners pay closer attention to who is chosen as a consultant and the type of reports they return. He would like to contribute'to the process through participation on the Economic Development Commission. He stated that Orange County is competing with Wake, Durham, and Alamance for clean industry and will. need to develop the benefits of doing business with Orange County and sell those to the appropriate industries. MR. CARL WALTERS, a member of the Rural Character Study Gommittee, stated that the Committee is nowhere near having a policy for each ..community in Orange County. Many citizens are distrustful of the entire process. He stated that his personal concern is that the rural citizens are not being convinced that their wishes will be given top priority in developing a plan for how they want their area of the County to look. He suggested the Commissioners make their personal commitment to the plan known to the citizens. He stated that ha had a plan with him that had been adopted by a committee that worked through the Institute of Government, Research Triangle Institute, Triangle J Council of Governments, different attorneys, and many others. This plan would have created legal districts. He stated that if this plan had been adopted by the county it would have offered to the rural people a legal document to protect them,. and avoid this current sense of distrust. This plan would have assured the residents that a Public Hearing, for the people who would be effected, would be held before any action had been taken. MR. PATRICK DAVIS, a member of the Economic Development Commission, stated that the Economic Development Strategic Plan was recently adopted by the County Commissioners. That plan includes many strategies to address the economic development needs of all geographic areas of the County. Support of a general aviation airport is one of the strategies related to the provision of infra-structure within the County. -~ .._ .~:.. Local airports, in other communities, have been regarded by those communities as significant assets in recruiting new business and maintaining existing ones. The °`~? Economic Development Commission believes that this type of airport in the County could ', be an important asset to assist in the County's economic development efforts. However, they accept the decision made by the Board of Commissioners not to pursue an airport and are moving ahead to implement the Strategic Plan. Citizen support and involvement is going to be needed to achieve the goals of that plan. He stated that there are five major committees of the Economic Development Commission and asked for volunteers to participate on those committees. He indicated that his interest in participating on the Commission stemmed from knowledge of historical tax rates in the County. Since 1977 the combined tax bill for his property, including county, city and school taxes, has increased by over 100. County taxes alone have gone up over 160$ during that 11 year period. There is a need to look strongly at diversifying the tax base in the county and that means pursuing a different economic development strategy. MS. HELEN NOWAK, a retired farmer, stated that it sounds like the COUnty is attempting to make Orange County industrial. She asked where are we saving agricultural land? At one time, the largest export items were agricultural items, such as grain, lumber, meat. Too much agricultural land is being put into industry, and shopping malls. The little landowners are paying such a large amount of taxes to support schools. MR. ROBERT KELLER stated that he is a pilot and does not feel that airports are safe, nor does he believe that the County needs another airport. He stated that he believes that there are sufficient airports in the area. Roxboro airport has only 25 airplanes stationed there. Burlington has an airport as well, and there is going to be a new airport just south of Chapel Hill at Holly Springs. He also mentioned the ,,,,f poor quality of the telephone system. He stated that this is a real hindrance to business and needs to be corrected as soon as possible. Another drawback is that ,.,_,;~, there is not the right kind of technical training for workers in the county. He agreed with an earlier speaker who brought up the fact that there is a need to offer protection to the farmers even to the extent of zoning land so that it will only be available for farm land. COMMISSIONER MARSHALL stated that two years ago Orange County initiated some investigations into the telephone system. They got the Triangle J Council of Governments involved, and then got the Utilities Commission to hold a public hearing. One of the things that came out of that hearing from the Utilities Commission was that all the telephone companies were requested to bring in figures about how much it would cost to have free Triangle services. Those figures arrived in January of this year. Public staff is now looking at the figures. They are somewhat enthusiastic because the figures did not look as discouraging as they thought they would. There is a good possibility that they will be able to recommend tall free calling. When the public staff makes their recommendation there will be a need for letters from citizens supporting that proposal. A lot of pressure needs to be exerted during the hearings at the Utilities Commission. The county will have to count on the citizens. MS. SALLY KELLER stated that she has been attending the Rural Character Study meetings and finds them very interesting. Her only question at this time is where will there be Industrial Parks? She stated that in her opinion Lane Kendig did not have a satisfactory answer to this question. Also, the knowledge received from the Rural Character Study and the Economic Development Commission needs to be coordinated. She also agreed with the previous speaker about the need for zoning. __ CHAIRMAN CAREY stated that it is the responsibility of the Commissioners and County staff to ensure that the multiple projects, specifically the Economic Development and the Rural Character Study, do merge with each other and that their goals do not conflict. MR. RON KUMIN, a member of SCRAP, presented the Board of Commissioners with several petitions in opposition to the regional airport. He also stated that SCRAP and its process for "factfinding", were professional and in his opinion correct in their results. They organized committees, and consulted with the EPA, FAA, Raleigh- Durham Airport, NCDOT-Aviation Division and the Gulf-Stream Aircraft Co. All of the facts. which they used were either direct quotes from the County's consultants' report or were references to quotes which were given to SCRAP from the agencies mentioned. He also mentioned the fact that the citizens did not abandon the fight after their own particular sites were eliminated. He challenged members of SCRAP to remain active in the county process now that the airport issue is dead. Orange County citizens need to be involved to protect this county. He thanked all of the people in the county far getting behind this effort. He also thanked the Commissioners far helping to educate citizens, himself included, during this process. RANDALL POYTHRESS stated that the OMNI organization that is farming is a very good idea. There are so many people who do not stay abreast of what is happening that every means possible needs to be used to keep them informed. He stated that the purpose of the OMNI organization is to promote, maintain and enhance the quality, stability and vitality of the residential neighborhoods of Orange County. To accomplish its purpose the OMNI network will research and take positions on issues affecting any member neighborhood and will collect and disseminate information to stimulate awareness and interest in those issues. Examples of such neighborhoods would be The Trails, Wildwood, The Neighborhood Alliance, Small Voices, and Cedar Grove. The network will work in a positive and cooperative way with Government officials and other public and private organizations to accomplish its goals. A neighborhood will be defined as an ongoing, private, formal and representative organization in a defined geographic area, composed of at least 40 households and accounting for at least 1ST of the households in the area, the purpose of which is not inconsistent with that of the network. There will be one voting representative elected, or appointed, by the governing body of each neighborhood, as well as one alternate representative per neighborhood. These representatives will conduct all business of the network. Other persons from the neighborhoods are encouraged to serve on committees of the networks. Charter member neighborhoods will establish the by- laws of the organization. She stated there is a need to work together in this county. MR. WILLIAM HUTCHINS stated that far 30 years he lived four miles from a major reliever airport and it was not a bad place to live. The sound was not a problem and there were no accidents in the 30 years that he lived there. He indicated that he believed that the Rural Character Study was a case of the cart before the horse. The 85 - 40 Highway is going to be the major feature that, in the future, is going to make the difference. Two major interstate roads go through Orange County and he feels a major city will eventually develop where they intersect. There is a need to have a Metropolitan Plan for that future city and from that point a need to have the Rural Character Study. He believes there needs to be an airport every 20 miles from large cities so that high-tech industries will locate in that area. He suggested figuring out where we need an airport (if we do need one) and using that land for a landfill. Residents could be given notice that in the future that land would be used for an airport. This land could be zoned for business and industry. ~, ; -, ,~.: ~: JEFF, a resident of Calvander, stated that he was appalled at the change in procedure used on Monday night when an additional meeting was scheduled before the `'~"" regular Commissioners meeting. The usual process was circumvented and he hopes that it will not happen again. There being no further comments, the Public Hearing was closed at 8:45 p.m. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Kathy Baker, Deputy Clerk