Durham, NC – The Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met at 7 p.m. on January 22, 2018 in Regular Session. Highlights from the meeting include:

• Board Chair Wendy Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7 pm.

   

• The Board extended congratulations for an award recently received by the Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District’s (Durham SWCD) Board and staff. The Durham SWCD Board and staff received the prestigious 2018 Conservation Technical District of the Year award for North Carolina.

   

• Commissioners approved a resolution opposing a change from the current Election of judges to the selection of judges. The resolution has been approved by other counties and is being circulated throughout all 100 counties for support and approval by each county.

   

• Durham County Commissioners authorized the County Manager to enter into a contract with Phoenix Business Consulting in the amount of $71,080 to support the ongoing operation of the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning system.

   

• Board voted to delegate authority to the Tax Assessor to grant extensions until no later than April 16, 2018, to taxpayers required by North Carolina General Statutes to list business personal property., who request an extension during the month of January and show good cause.

   

• The Board conducted a public hearing to consider allocating a total of up to $2,700,000 in Economic Development Investment funds over a period of 7 years to Corning, Incorporated (Corning). The company currently has facilities located in the Treyburn Industrial Park in Durham County and now wishes to expand their facilities to provide development and production of new specialty glass products to serve the healthcare markets. The company plans to invest an estimated $189,000,000 in real and business personal property and to create approximately 317 new jobs. Commissioners approved negotiations for the project.

   

• Commissioners also held a public hearing to consider allocating a total of $50,000 in Economic Development Investment funds to Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated (Braeburn) utilizing funds provided as a donation to Durham County by Longfellow Real Estate Partners via the Chamber of Commerce. Braeburn focuses on the development and commercialization of medications for serious disorders of the central nervous system, including opioid addiction.

   

• Following evaluation of sites in New Jersey and North Carolina, the company chose a site in Durham County at the intersection of Hopson Road and Davis Drive. The company plans to invest approximately $19.9 Million in their facility and to hire 52 workers with an average wage of $75,769. Commissioners voted to move forward with negotiations.

   

• Commissioners made the following appointments to the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee:
  • Vernetta Alston, City Councilor
  • Ben Rose, Social Services Director
  • Tara Blackley, Deputy Public Health Director
  • Major Don Baker, Office of the Sheriff

   

• .The Board appointed Department of Social Services Director William (Ben) Rose to serve on the Workforce Development Board.

Board meetings are cablecast live on Durham Television Network (DTN) on Time Warner Cable Channel 8 or AT&T U-verse Channel 99. To view the agenda and recording of the BOCC Regular Session Meeting, visit the BOCC’s Web site. 

The next schedule Regular Session for the Durham BOCC is 7 p.m. on Monday, February 12, 2018. For more information about BOCC meetings, contact the Clerk to the Board's Office at (919) 560-0025 or email clerk@dconc.gov.

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