Currituck County commissioners plan to appoint on Monday a new economic development board, a citizens advisory group that disbanded without fanfare nearly nine months ago.
Nine people have applied for the seven-member board, and commissioners could offer others for the appointments.
The new board is expected to have more impact than the former board, which lamented its lack of influence on county industry growth.
In August, the county hired Peter Bishop as the business recruiter. Bishop plans to work closely with the appointed residents, he said Wednesday. Many of those selected will have expertise in real estate and business, he said.
Also, the University of North Carolina is expected soon to release a study that names, among other things, industry categories most suited for Currituck. UNC business experts spent more than a year on the study. Advice from the citizens board could help officials make plans based on the study, Bishop said.
The former board foundered after the county went for nearly a year without a business recruiter. Members said their ideas were ignored. A commissioner had not regularly attended board meetings for about two years, Barry Nelms, chairman of the Currituck County Board of Commissioners, said Wednesday.
"They had no purpose," Nelms said.
In April it was agreed to disband the citizens group until the county hired a new economic developer and the UNC report was near completion, Nelms said.
On Monday, each of the five commissioners will offer an appointment and two others will be agreed upon by the commissioners as a group, Nelms said. Some of the former members could serve on the new advisory board, he said.
The county plans to hold public meetings on the UNC report on
Jan. 31 in Moyock and on Feb. 7 in Grandy, Bishop said. The economic development board typically meets the fourth Thursday of each month, but the new board might not begin meeting this month.
Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com
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