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Appointments to the Economic Sustainability Commission
PURPOSE: This agenda item is for the Town Council to make reappointments to the Economic Sustainability Commission. This does not include any new appointments.
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Department
DEPARTMENT: Town Clerk
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Contact
CONTACT INFORMATION: Wendy Welsh, Interim Town Clerk, 919-918-7310, wwelsh@carrboronc.gov, Jon Hartman-Brown, 919-918-7319, jhartman-brown@carrboronc.gov
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Council Direction
COUNCIL DIRECTION:
___ Race/Equity ____ Climate ____ Comprehensive Plan _X_ Other
Council Direction Statement
The Town Council follows the Advisory Board Recruitment and Appointment Policy which was adopted on 11-21-2017. Text amendments to this policy were approved by the Town Council on 12-1-2020 and 4-13-2021, respectively, to the section entitled “Composition” which related to expanding the racial and ethnic diversity on advisory boards and commissions. It should be noted that the Advisory Board Recruitment and Appointment Policy has been evaluated using the Racial Equity Lens tool which was finalized in May 2023. A copy of this completed lens is attached here as Attachment D.
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Information
INFORMATION: The Economic Sustainability Commission composed of ten members, nine of whom shall be appointed by the Town Council.
• The members will include three residents of the Town, at least one of whom shall reside within the downtown area,
• Three owners of businesses within the Town,
• Three at-large members.
• The tenth member (the “liaison member”) shall be a member of the Arts Committee designated by the Arts Committee to attend meetings of the Economic Sustainability Commission and fill the seat reserved for the designee of the Arts Committee.
David Jessee is the current chair and is up for reappointment. Mr. Jessee is a member of the Carrboro Business Alliance and owns commercial and residential property in Carrboro. Mr. Jessee continues to promote the wellbeing and successful integration of the business and residential community.
Jim Porto is the current vice-chair and is up for reappointment. Mr. Porto occupies the downtown resident seat and is a former Carrboro Mayor, the former chair of the Appearance Commission, a former Chamber member and is part of the Summer Careers Academy Steering Committee. Mr. Porto is invested in making progress on developing a unified plan to stimulate more sustainable economic growth to shift the tax base from the residential property owners to commercial activity.
Jack Moracco is a Carrboro resident and is up for reappointment. Mr. Moracco is self-employed and serves as advisory counsel for multiple small businesses. Mr. Moracco is a youth baseball coach and believes we are stronger and develop better policies when we have diverse perspectives and input.
Nadia Taylor is a Carrboro resident and is up for reappointment. Ms. Taylor is a chef and has lived in Carrboro for 8 years. Ms. Taylor thinks it is important to be a role model in the community and values working with community leaders.
All reappointment applications and chair forms are in Attachment B.
The ESC informational matrix is Attachment C.
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Fiscal and Staff Impact
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A
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Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommend council reappoint David Jesse, Jim Porto, Jack Moracco, and Nadia Taylor to their second three-year term (Attachment A).
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