Economic development was on everyone’s mind Thursday night when the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Mebane City Council met in Hillsborough.
Commissioners and council members celebrated the expansion of AKG of America, Inc., into Orange County and within Mebane city limits. The company, which manufactures brazed aluminum heat exchangers, created 40 new jobs and has expanded the area’s tax base, officials said.
But officials are excited because this marks the first project completed with a new partnership between Mebane and Orange County. Orange County commissioners approved a $100,000 incentive for the expansion in June.
“The partnership established in the next few years is probably going to be a foundation for a lot of success for Mebane and Orange County,” County Manager Clifton said. “It gives us great opportunities for development.”
The next joint economic venture they will pursue is the development of the corridor between Interstate 85 and Interstate 40.
Clifton called it a rare opportunity for development.
Notable:
Commissioners and Mebane council members also made new road construction at the Mattress Factory Road interchange in Mebane a top priority for transit. They said that the road cannot handle traffic from the Tanger Outlets and projected development in the area.
“Putting another interchange in would be money well spent,” said Craig Benedict, director of Orange County planning development.
Quotable:
“The good news is that, after 150 years, we’ll get most of it resolved. The bad news is we didn’t get it all done,” said Clifton of the remapping of the County line between Orange and Alamance Counties.
As of Jan. 1, 2012, 91 percent of the line will be accepted, but 9 percent will remain in contention. The line was first drawn in 1849, and has been contested for the past 150 years.
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