JACKSON – During a special meeting held in Jackson on Monday, Northampton County Commissioners approved an amended version of the decision paper submitted by Northampton County Director of Economic Development Gary Brown.

On behalf of the Northampton County Economic Development, Brown recommended the &uot;Northampton County Board of Commissioners approve the acquisition of real property for the industrial development purposes previously described; at a cost of not to exceed $1,200,000 for 530+/- acres, (with) the exact amount to be determined by survey.&uot;

The site is located between NC-46 and NC-48, one mile south of the I-95/NC-48 interchange and is bisected by SR1200.

He submitted a further recommendation for the Board to issue a notice to &uot;proceed with the development of all contractual and financing documents with the County Finance Director, County Attorney, County Manager and (himself) as appropriate.&uot;

Northampton County Finance Officer Dot Vick recommended the structure of financing for the project be a five-year term fixed rate.

Brown also recommended that the Board authorize of Chairwoman Virginia Spruill to &uot;execute offer to purchase and financing contract documents on behalf of the Board pursuant to review and concurrence of the county attorney and pending final closing on the acquisition at the conclusion of all site and title investigations; and further issue the economic development director with the notice to proceed with site investigation and assessment activities and all other matters related to acquisition in compliance with the terms of the offer to purchase agreement as negotiated.&uot;

Motion to approve was made by County Commissioner Robert Carter and seconded by James Boone.

&uot;I feel this is an opportunity for the positive growth and development of Northampton County,&uot; said Carter. &uot;This decision will allow for increase in the lives of all citizens in this, as well as surrounding counties.&uot;

Commissioner Fannie Green expressed her concern for the loss of jobs suffered as a result of the economy and commented, &uot;We are looking for this economic development to enhance the lives of citizens and we hope this project will do just that. This is certainly the beginning.&uot;

Spruill added, &uot;I feel that what we’ve done will place the county where it has never been before economically. We have received endorsement from the North Carolina Department of Commerce who perceives the project in a favorable light as well as from the Northeast Partnership.

&uot;We have also heard from our citizens and although we’ve heard a variety of comments, no one has been emphatically against it. The goal of this Board is to move the county forward towards economic development and we will continue to do that.&uot;

&uot;The Northampton County Economic Development Commission, the Northampton County Manager Wayne Jenkins, Vick and many others have performed exhaustive investigations to structure the project to the best advantage of Northampton County,&uot; said Brown.

He further stated that the property was priced competitive with regard to the current market and that it is geographically well-situated to attract investment in growth related industries that are transportation sensitive and focused on serving markets along the Atlantic Seaboard, adding that the project would have the ability to accommodate a variety of industrial tenants.

Projecting into the future, Brown stated that the county would &uot;move forward with onsite investigations geotechnical and environmental in scope. Likewise, engineering on various utility improvements will commence and we will move forward to take the property to the market in short order.&uot;

Brown concluded that the action taken &uot;demonstrates a tremendous amount of vision on behalf of the commissioners to build for the future and take those steps necessary to ensure prosperous economic future for Northampton County and surrounding counties.&uot;

He did not elaborate on what type of industry or industries would open at the site.