2009 Annual Conference
Workshop descriptions

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• More information on Annual Conference

Workshop descriptions will be added as they become available.

Workshop Block I

Friday, Aug. 28
10:45 a.m. – noon

Keeping the Lights On: Sustaining North Carolina's Energy Future

Energy is a critical component of our state’s infrastructure, particularly in light of our state’s continuing rapid growth. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included several incentive programs for counties to maximize their energy usage. Representatives from Duke Power and Progress Energy will discuss how their companies will meet the demands of the future while also complying with recent state legislation to require a greater use of renewable energy sources. What kinds of programs are available to help counties reduce their own energy use or encourage the development and use of alternative energy sources?

Presenters: Owen A. Smith – Managing Director, Regulated Renewable Energy and Carbon Strategy, Duke Energy
Stephanie P. Renner – Business Relations Executive, Duke Energy
Harold James, Director of Term Wholesale & Alternative Energy, Progress Energy
Martha Thompson, Progress Energy

Beyond Budgeting: Embracing Financial Sustainability (Part I)

In a time of economic uncertainty, maintaining or improving the financial position of county government can be extremely challenging for county commissioners. In response, this two-part workshop focuses on the fiscal responsibility of making policy decisions on the long-term financial sustainability of county government. Part I defines financial condition and discusses how it relates to the general fund. Part II (held during Workshop Block II) addresses the financial condition of the water and sewer fund and presents strategies for addressing the infrastructure needs of county government.

Faculty: William C. Rivenbark, UNC School of Government

Homegrown Approaches to Creating Sustainable Local Economies

The traditional approach to economic development has emphasized recruiting the branch plants of major corporations by offering tax and financial incentives. As the number of large industrial projects available in a given year has declined over time, business recruitment has become more costly and intensely competitive. The alternatives to industrial recruitment promote "homegrown" sources of development rather than focusing primarily on attracting external investment. The emphasis is on growing from within, yet the new approaches recognize that securing private investment from elsewhere is more likely with a strong foundation of local assets to build upon. This session will highlight and discuss examples of three homegrown approaches to economic development that are thought to be more sustainable than industrial recruitment: place-based development, economic gardening, and creativity and talent cultivation.

Faculty: Jonathan Morgan, UNC School of Government

Workshop Block II

Friday, Aug. 28
1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

Beyond Budgeting: Embracing Financial Sustainability (Part II)

See description in Workshop Block I

The Power of Recycling to Create ‘Green’ Jobs in North Carolina

North Carolina is home to a robust recycling economy that has a proven record of job creation. With more than 500 companies and 14,000 direct employees, the recycling sector is playing an increasingly critical role in local and state economic development. The session will feature an overview of the economic impact of recycling and will present three examples of leading recycling companies making major investments to start up or expand their capacity in North Carolina. The session will also touch on how county recycling efforts tie into the growth of the recycling economy and how upcoming laws will affect both county programs and recycling companies in the state.

Speakers:
Ron Salati, Clear Path Recycling
A joint venture of DAK and Shaw Industries, Clear Path has announced a major facility in Fayetteville to recycle 280 million pounds of PET plastic per year – or the equivalent of about 5 billion plastic bottles.

Noel Lyons, McGill Environmental Systems
McGill is the largest organics recycling company in North Carolina, producing high quality compost and mulch at its two plants in Chatham and Sampson counties.

Joe Clayton, Synergy Recycling
Synergy is one of the fastest growing electronics recyclers in the United States, with a new $15 million expansion of its operations in Rockingham County.

Scott Mouw, N.C. Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance
DPPEA leads the state's recycling market development efforts and works with both local governments and recycling businesses to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of recycling efforts.

Moving Beyond Water Lines: County Leadership and Water Sustainability

This session will present and discuss options for investments in county water sustainability. Through a hands-on exercise, participants will gain a deeper understanding of what "sustainability" means with respect to water; understand their role in the finance and governance of water resources; understand their jobs as policymakers with respect to water; and receive information about models and best practices that participants can implement in their counties.

Faculty: Jeff Hughes and Richard Whisnant, UNC School of Government

Workshop Block III

Friday, Aug. 28
3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Building Through History: Adaptive Reuse and Its Benefits

CBSA Architects will discuss the process of converting the SALT Block into its present form. This project began by converting a 1930s empty high school building and its campus into a community use arts and science complex. The original three story high school building was renovated and with additions, the facility houses the Hickory Museum of Art, the Catawba Science Center, practice space for the Western Piedmont Symphony and Hickory Choral Society, and offices for the Arts Council. In 1998 the City of Hickory constructed a new city library on the campus, and in 2008 the 1950s high school science/shop building annex was converted into a new aquarium and planetarium for the Science Center. The next phase of the project will be to renovate and update the 1970s three-story classroom and library building. This session will provide an overview of the individual renovations and additions while highlighting the adaptive reuse of the historic campus.

Presenters: Ernest K. Sills, AIA, LEED AP, CBSA Architects
J. Steven Walker, AIA, CBSA Architects

Developing a Sustainable Financial Future for North Carolina's Counties

Today's challenging economic times present a need for deeper analysis of key financial criteria, clearer development of local government strategies, and more effective citizen engagement to ensure effective delivery of services. This session will explore the importance of developing a long-range financial forecasting process, best practices, methods of program prioritization, and communicating the county's message, and will examine each topic from a national perspective. Participants will receive a better understanding of the value of and methods of developing long-range financial forecasting models, how to better identify and prioritize services, and how to better engage citizens in the budget process.

Faculty: John A. Anzivino, Senior Vice President, Springsted

Tourism as Sustainable Economic Development

Research on behalf of the N.C. Department of Commerce has determined that domestic travelers spent $16.5 billion in North Carolina in 2007. Over 190,000 North Carolinians were directly employed by the tourism industry. In addition to the $4.02 billion in payroll dollars generated by tourism, the industry generated $815 million in state tax revenues and $529 million in local tax revenues. The active marketing and promotion of our state and communities as travel destinations is a function shared by public and private entities across the state, including the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development, as well as local tourism development authorities, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, accommodations and attractions.

At the local level, the tourism industry has supported taxes on hotel stays to generate funds used by tourism development authorities and other destination-marketing organizations for the specific purpose of tourism promotion. This panel will cover best practices for utilizing occupancy tax revenues to increase tourism/economic development and local tax revenues.

Speakers represent a cross section of public (state and local) and private entities involved in tourism development:
Kelly Miller, Executive Director, Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau, and member of the City of Asheville Council
Lynn Minges, Assistant Secretary for Tourism, Marketing and Global Branding, N.C. Department of Commerce
Dana Simpson, Legislative Counsel, N.C. Travel and Tourism Coalition
N.C. Rep. Edgar Starnes (Caldwell County)

Moderator: Mitzi York, Executive Director, Brunswick County Tourism Development Authority
York also serves as President Elect of the Destination Marketing Association of NC and a Vice President of the NC Travel Industry Association.

Workshop Block IV

Saturday, Aug. 29
10:30 - 11:45 a.m.

Orange Means Green

You hear the term “go green” everywhere you turn these days, but what does it really mean to local governments? This session will chronicle efforts spanning more than a decade to make green living part of the fabric of Orange County's operations and the community in general. Information provided will range from simple steps local governments can take now to reduce their operational carbon footprint to the more complex policy and political issues and the lessons learned in implementation.

Speakers: Valerie Foushee, Orange County Board of Commissioners Chair
Barry Jacobs, Orange County Commissioner
Gayle Wilson, Solid Waste Director
David Stancil, Environment Resource Conservation Department Director
Pam Jones, Director of Asset Management and Purchasing Services

After the Crisis: PPPs and Local Government Finance

Amidst the most severe economic crisis in our lifetime, investment in safe, reliable, efficient and effective physical infrastructure has forced its way to the forefront as an important option for repairing an ailing economy and securing a prosperous future for North Carolina and the nation. Traditional means of funding needed infrastructure will not meet current and future demands. North Carolina has struggled to develop consensus about the diversity of 21st century funding streams that must be tapped if we are to pay for the built infrastructure the state requires. This is especially true of efforts to determine an appropriate role for investments from the private sector – investments that would be coordinated through a comprehensive and strategic public framework.

While Public/Private Partnerships (PPPs) alone will not resolve our state's growing need for infrastructure funding, they are an important tool that should be available to state and local entities as they build and repair the infrastructure in their communities. The panel will be comprised of state or regional experts who will address the benefits and drawbacks of PPPs through a review of best practices, as well as the current legal authority for PPPs in North Carolina. The goal of the panel will be to better convey the benefits of PPPs for both parties (public and private) and to build trust/transparency among the public sector regarding these types of partnerships.

Planning Beyond the Quick Fix

Growth pressures, business and residential disinvestment, revenue limitations, unfunded mandates, state budget uncertainties – these and other factors introduce uncertainty into county budgeting and capital improvement programming. This workshop explores tools that counties can utilize to get beyond annual band-aid approaches and move into multiyear capital budgeting, long-term revenue generation programs, and sustainable economic development strategies that provide greater stability to budgets and CIPs. This workshop will be interactive, allowing participants to discuss and evaluate the applicability of a variety of fiscal sustainability tools, including fiscal impact assessment, adequate public facilities ordinances, tax increment financing, impact fees, conditional zoning, capital-based zoning, and economic development based on quality of life considerations.

Faculty: Scott Shuford, AICP, Planning and Development Director, Onslow County