Durham and Person County commissioners have agreed to explore an economic-development partnership for northern Durham and southern Person counties.
"I think this is a viable thing for us to look at. I'm sure you're almost out of land in the RTP," said Person commissioner Jimmy Clayton.
“I like the idea of long-range planning, 30 years out,” said Durham commissioner Joe Bowser.
“We are filling up. … and we do have a substantial population in northern Durham County.”
A development partnership was a subject of a meeting between the two county boards Monday afternoon.
The extension of Roxboro’s municipal water and sewer lines to just above the county line, and an abandoned railroad line between Roxboro and Durham offer development opportunities, commissioners from both counties said.
“I think a commuter rail line is not out of the picture,” said Person commissioner Sam Kennington.
“Cross-county planning would be appropriate,” said Durham commissioner Ellen Reckhow, given the large numbers of commuters from Person and Granville counties to work in Durham County.
“The overall vision here is to create jobs,” said Person commissioner Kyle Puryear. “We have a mutual interest here. … We’re just trying to lay the foundation right now so we can incorporate that into our long-term strategic plan and you can do the same.”
Durham County Manager Mike Ruffin and Person County Manager Heidi York said they would do “some kind of a scooping analysis” – as Ruffin put it – and report back to the boards in late summer.
