By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
At a joint meeting of local boards last week, Carrboro alderman Joal Hall Broun urged county and town leaders to develop an economic development plan in line with long-term goals and take a serious look at future revenue needs.
The Board of County Commissioners and the town boards of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough discussed economic development and heard from county economic development director Dianne Reid at the a meeting of the county’s Assembly of Governments in Chapel Hill.
“I hope the county, the town and other municipalities have some, what I call, definable goals that we can look at year after year to make sure we have enough tax revenue to do what we want to do,†Broun said.
Broun said that while housing “is probably the top business†in the county, “we need to provide another revenue tax source.â€
“The boom for Orange County is not going to last, and we need to plan for that,†she added.
Reid said the county needs to determine what type of businesses it wants to attract in order to work toward the economic development commission’s goals of $125 million in new commercial property and 5,000 new private sector jobs by June 2010.
Reid also asked the town boards to consider the specific goals of each municipality in order for the groups to work together.
“We feel like the goals are possible,†she said, adding that the county’s commercial tax base increased $48 million and private-sector jobs increased 915 from 2004 to 2005.
However, Reid said that labor force is a major problem for county businesses, some of which have trouble filling entry-level positions. In addition, Reid said many county businesses have a majority of aging workers, while high school graduates are leaving the county in search of jobs and cheaper housing.
Reid said the county needs to “get the word out that there are still blue collar jobs [in the county] that are meaningful and can be good career ladders for people.â€
Nuclear plant safety
Also at the Assembly of Government meeting, officials considered ways to encourage Progress Energy to increase safety standards and the emergency planning zone around Shearon Harris nuclear power plant.
According to county engineer Paul Thames, both Progress Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have denied requests to expand the existing 10-mile safety zone and address fire safety violations at the plant.
The discussion comes after a public meeting late last month in Fearrington that looked at the plant’s fire safety problems.
“At the national level, the NRC has decided, on the basis of their designed accident probability process, that nuclear power plants are safe against crashing fuel-filled planes,†Thames said.
Chapel Hill Town Council member Mark Kleinschmidt recommended the county attempt to get the support of the chambers of commerce in trying to influence Progress Energy. County leaders also discussed securing support for the changes from Fourth District U.S. Rep. David Price (D-Orange).
At the meeting, Jim Warren, executive director of the North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, said the Progress Energy plant is one of a number of nuclear plants around the country that are not in compliance with federal fire safety regulations.â€
“Public pressure around the country is building,†Warren said.