Orange County hears annual reports from advisory boards: arts, economic development, visitors bureau and aging among updates

Orange County commissioners received annual updates from multiple advisory boards at the March 11 work session, hearing reports on grant distributions, tourism metrics, arts programming and aging services.

Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board representatives reported distributing $1,315,000 back to the community in the last fiscal year, including approximately $184,000 to law enforcement agencies and $291,000 to nonprofit organizations such as Grow Your World, Reentry House, the Freedom House Orange Partnership and El Centro Hispano. The board also reported transferring roughly $840,000 to the county fund. ABC representatives said grant decisions reflected requests and how proposals addressed alcohol-education priorities.

Kristen Young, chair of the Economic Development Advisory Board, told commissioners the county recently marked the Morinaga expansion, which she said represents $136,000,000 in new capital investment and 100,000 square feet of production space. The board said it had approved 31 small-business grants totaling nearly $150,000 and 17 agricultural grants totaling more than $135,000 in the past year. Young asked commissioners to participate in tours of local economic districts and to join discussions of the county's economic development strategic plan.

Representatives of the Visitors Bureau reported that Orange County had one of the highest increases in visitor spending among North Carolina's 100 counties for 2023. The bureau described three primary objectives: invite visitors, enhance the visitor experience and expand stays; staff said they spend about $100,000 annually on regional magazine advertising and operate a visitor center open six days a week. Bureau staff raised a new concern: automated tools and generative AI sometimes surface inaccurate venue information, leading visitors to request places that are closed or no longer operating. "A lot of folks are relying on it to plan their vacations and it's just not accurate," a bureau representative said, urging continual updates to online listings.

Denise Duffy, vice chair of the Orange County Arts Commission, reported the Arts Mill had completed a third full year of operations and covered its operating expenses with earned revenue in that year. The commission said it hosted expanded programming, grew studio tenant diversity and disbursed roughly $13,651 in annual arts grants and educator grants. Duffy and commissioners noted a continuing funding concern: the commission receives occupancy-tax funding via the Visitors Bureau, and increased staffing and programs have strained the arts budget. Commissioners were told a budget amendment to fund summer-camp scholarships was expected at a future meeting.

Anne Bradford, chair of the Advisory Board on Aging, summarized progress on the county's 2022'2027 Master Aging Plan, reporting 68% progress across goals and noting strong community partnerships and work groups. Bradford highlighted programs including "Our Place" volunteer respite, the Aging Well Together radio show and Project Engage programming on end-of-life issues.

The Adult Care Home and Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee reported 49 visits to 11 assisted-living and nursing facilities and five adult care homes in the past year; the committee said it had spoken one-on-one with about 300 residents, family members and staff. Committee members announced that regional ombudsman Autumn Cox will be leaving her Orange County post and that state training remains available for new volunteers.

Why this matters: Advisory boards advise commissioners on community priorities and shape program funding and service recommendations ahead of the county's budget process. Several presenters flagged resource gaps and asked commissioners to consider funding requests during the upcoming budget cycle.

Next steps: Commissioners thanked board members for their volunteer service and asked departments to incorporate reported needs and requests into upcoming budget discussions and to share detailed staff requests for planned budget amendments.