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Margaret Hauth said the Town told the owners it is interested in purchasing the site,
either through a negotiated sale or eminent domain. She said the paper work to start this
process has not yet been filed, but appraisers are under contract to appraise the property in the
middle of March.
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the owners expressed interest in a negotiated sale.
Margaret Hauth said the owners have not ruled out this option.
Mayor Stevens said the Boar is committed to acquiring the property, and there is a
cordial relationship with the owners. He said the downtown area will have multiple properties
available to commercial development, as the Town Annex is built over the next few years.
Commissioner Jacobs asked if the County and the Town can start planning together on
the options for various sites. He suggested the idea of making the Heritage Collection, in the
Orange County Library, into a museum, and maybe this could be located in the future Colonial
Inn.
Chair McKee asked if Jeff Thompson could give an update on the jail project.
Jeff Thompson said the Town is recruiting a design team to assess the redevelopment
and development of a government campus on town-owned properties on East Corbin
Street. He said Town staff expects it may be five years before town-owned properties in
downtown may be made available for private development. He said the Town will be in
partnership with the Orange Rural Fire Board on the two town-owned properties that
encompass the fire station. He said the Town’s express intent in purchasing the Corbin
properties was to return the downtown properties to tax producing properties.
Commissioner Price asked if there is a way for the County and the Town to be more
collaborative with planning projects. She said a courtesy review of items is not really joint
planning.
Chair McKee said the old jail property is going to a major component for joint planning
and can be an asset or a sore spot.
Commissioner Price said a plan and timeline should be created for these facilities
instead of just a courtesy review. She said the old jail is in the heart of the Town, and there
should be a joint working group for this property.
Chair McKee said he is open to this idea.
Mayor Stevens said the Town is trying to envision the future of downtown and seeks to
involve all stakeholders.
Commissioner Ferguson said she agreed with Commissioner Price.
d) Mountains to Sea Trail/Riverwalk
COUNTY Staff: David Stancil; Staff TOWN: Margaret Hauth
Mayor Stevens said this is a follow up to last year’s discussion.
David Stancil, Department of Agriculture, Environment, Parks and Recreation (DEAPR)
Director, summarized the information below:
The N.C. Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) is a part of the North Carolina State Parks system,
connecting Clingman’s Dome on the North Carolina/Tennessee border to Jockey’s Ridge State
Park on the Outer Banks. While some sections are already built, many (including the eastern
Piedmont section that includes Orange County) have sections remaining to be located and
created.
In summer/fall 2015, the NC Division of State Parks approved an MST Statewide Master Plan,
denoting the corridor of the primary route for the trail. The MST within Orange County (please
see maps at Attachment 1-d) would run from the Alamance-Orange County line in the
southwestern corner of the county, northeast along the northern side of Cane Creek Reservoir,