| March
22, 2005
Kerr-Tar Counties
Approve Letters of Intent to Form Hub Nonprofit
Kerr-Tar Region,
N.C. - County governments in Franklin, Granville, Vance
and Warren counties took first steps in March toward creating
a nonprofit organization to own and operate the state's first
multi-jurisdictional industrial park.
County commissioners
approved non-binding letters of intent to develop a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit corporation that will own, develop, market and manage
a planned technology park in the region. The park - a "hub"
of business development comprising four sites in the region
- is being designed to attract growth companies and high-paying
jobs for residents. It will be the first business park in
the state for which governments share costs and revenues across
county lines.
"Our counties continue
to pave the way in this innovative rural economic development
strategy," says Neil Mallory, executive director of the Kerr-Tar
Regional Council of Governments, which has facilitated the
development of the hub project through the planning stages.
"Our continued success in this collaborative endeavor will
not only help our counties create jobs and economic opportunity,
but provide a road map for other rural communities in the
state to return to prosperity."
The four counties have
agreed in their letters of intent to:
- Form and financially support a nonprofit that will acquire
property for the hub and develop, market and manage it.
- Form a board of directors comprising one appointed member
from each county (an elected commissioner or senior staff
person) plus five to 11 others elected by the four appointed
members. The additional board members will be selected for
their expertise in areas that are critical to the hub's
success (e.g., development, finance, land planning, fund
raising and marketing). Members will be dispersed as much
as possible among the four counties.
- Develop the four hub sites that have been identified in
the region, as funds allow.
- Share proportionately in both costs and revenues.
- Develop a financing plan for developing the hub.
With letters of intent
approved, the four counties now proceed with negotiating the
final terms and conditions (called "definitive documents")
required to operate the nonprofit. Those documents must be
ratified by the four boards of county commissioners.
The four counties announced
their representatives to the nonprofit hub board:
-
Franklin County
Commissioner Don Lancaster.
-
Granville County
Commissioner W. E. "Pete" Averette.
-
Vance County
Commissioner Danny Wright.
-
Warren County
Commissioner Clinton Alston.
The counties' latest
actions follow the February public announcement of the consultant's
recommendations for the location of the hub site. The Sanford
Holshouser Business Development Group coordinated the process
by which four sites proposed by the counties were certified
for development and evaluated to determine which had the greatest
potential for success.
The firm recommended
that sites proposed by Vance and Granville counties be combined
and developed as the first hub site. The sites are located
along Interstate 85 near Vance-Granville Community College.
The firm also recommended that sites in Franklin and Warren
counties be developed concurrently, if funds allow, targeting
distinct but complementary markets.
Hub officials plan
to contract with the Carolina Center for Competitive Economies
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to analyze
which targeted industries are most suited for the hub and
provide financial models for its development.
For more information,
visit the hub Web site at www.kerrtarhub.org or contact Neil
Mallory at (252) 436-2040 or nmallory@kerrtarcog.org.
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