The Orange County Economic Development Commission still exists, I know this because I am a member of it! Yet the County is functioning as if the board has been disbanded even though it has taken no such action. This is the culmination of a dysfunctional history in Orange County Economic Development. But the part that really bothers me now is a closed session being held tonight by the county commissioners on the topic of economic development without input from citizens, citizens who were appointed by our elected officials to advise them on the diverse set of opinions held by residents of Orange County.
To me this sunsetting of the Orange County Economic Development Commission is a tactic to silence dissent. It's true there are many people on the Orange County Economic Development Commission who did not agree with the former director on policy or plans. It's true that many of our meetings were frustrating. But to subvert democracy when you no longer find it agreeable is wrong. I hope as we consider a new organization to represent us in economic development matters that we remember how the county has acted.
Issues:
Comments
This deal might be mainly a "door-opener"
This relatively modest foray into offering incentives may be less about the actual specific incentive and more about opening up the door to incentives as a strategy. Alongside some successes, the economic landscape is littered with failed incentive deals. But I guess it can be easier to negotiate incentives with just a few people at one large entity than it is to engage the diverse local small businesses in creative ways to increase the economic health of the citizens. Less time is required to understand the local economic fabric, there's less messy public involvement, and the big-business oriented media stand ready to provide that satisfying publicity.And scoring big companies must be satisfying to the "big-game hunting" approach that is so prevalent in corporate-style "economic development".To use a baseball analogy, a team can go to bat looking to hit a home run on every swing and will launch one periodically while striking out a lot. Another team may adapt to the game, looking for walks, hitting singles, getting on base, stealing a base or two, maybe mixing in some extra-base hits with an occasional home run. This team will have a better chance to win games.
It sure seems to me that the
It sure seems to me that the EDC in its current iteration is no longer on the BOCC's radar screen. If that's the case, then the right thing to do is to for the BOCC to clearly communicate what their current and future expectations are of the remaining members, thank the members for their service, and be done with it. That is just common courtesy.
Email notice
I received the following email from the county clerk this morning:As an applicant for the Economic Development Commission (Orange County), I wanted to let you know that at the June 21, 2011 Board of County Commissioners’ meeting, in their effort to re-structure their internal boards and commissions, the board decided to dissolve the current EDC in order to re-formulate an alternate advisory organization structure to support the continued growth in economic development inOrange County.
Terri, Thanks for
Terri, Thanks for posting. I wonder if the current members were notified of that decision?
I got a very nice letter
I got a very nice letter last week (after my earlier post) from Bernadette Pelissier, Chairman of the BOCC, explaining that the BOCC decided to dissolve the current EDC and restructure it in another fashion. I I appreciated the letter and the explanation of what is going on.
Oddly enough
A local entrepreneur just met with the EDC last week. I asked him if his meeting was with staff or the citizen board and he said the citizen board. I'm confused.
When I served on the
When I served on the EDC-citizen board (5/09 - 3/11), I was confused also. At that time the county deparment was known as the Economic Development Commission as was the citizen advisory board. I usually referred to the citizen board as the Economic Development Advisory Board, but even that self-initiated change caused controversy. BTW, the local entrepreneur may have heard one or more department staffrers refers to the department as the EDC.
Well, something is happening
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release Date: August 9, 2011Contact: Dottie Schmitt, Orange County Economic Development Office, 919-245-2327 Orange County Approves Small Business Loans ORANGE COUNTY, NC – Orange County’s Small Business Loan Program recently approved loans to two area small businesses. Hillsborough’s Skram Furniture Company was
awarded a loan to support their continued growth in the high volume
hospitality client base. Skram has been in business since 2001
creating custom-designed furniture for residential, commercial, and
hospitality clients. As provided on Skram’s website (www.skramfurniture.com), “… skram furniture is dedicated to redefining american craft in the context of modern design.”
These carefully crafted products reflect the company’s commitment to
authentic materials, innovative design, and sustainable practices. A loan was also awarded to the newly opened The Depot at Hillsborough Station,
a ‘vintage’ general store (and much more!) located in newly revitalized
West Hillsborough. The Depot offers a wide variety of local goods,
including the “Depot Dog”, a locally raised beef hotdog and served from
an onsite hot dog cart, hand-dipped MapleView ice cream as well as an
extensive assortment of locally–produced craft items. The West End
Depot will utilize the loan funds to expand the store’s inventory of
local goods. The Depot also serves as an evening venue for area bands
and art films – more information on upcoming events can be found at hillsboroughdepot.com. The
Loan Program is a revolving loan fund designed to foster small business
development and expansion of local companies that may have limited
access to conventional financing. This program is open to small
businesses located in Orange County with gross revenues of less than $3
million annually. The program is managed through the County’s Economic
Development office and administered by a volunteer board of directors
composed of local business owners, bankers and staff representing
several Orange County departments. For more information on this program
contact Dottie Schmitt at Orange County Economic Development,
919-245-2327 (dschmitt@co.orange.nc.us).###
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