The Vance County Board of Commissioners agreed to send the Henderson-Vance County Economic Development Commission’s Strategic Plan 2010-2014 to an upcoming planning retreat.
The item was originally on yesterday’s commission slate with a recommendation for approval by the County Manager Jerry Ayscue.
The date and time of that planning retreat will be set when the city of Henderson responds to a Vance County request for specific plans regarding the retooling of funding for joint city-county programs.
Commission Chair Danny Wright revealed that the EDC document would be discussed later after a public comment by Home in Henderson editor Jason Feingold on the plan.
In his remarks, Feingold objected to the plan’s references to Home in Henderson, “former elected officials sending out bad negative information throughout the area and state”, and a “community talk show badmouthing the community” as “key strategic challenges”.
Feingold characterized that part of the plan as a “blacklist” and a potential abrogation of the First Amendment rights of those listed. He asked members to consider the “legal and ethical ramifications” of accepting it in its present form.
During a later discussion of the plan, Ayscue noted that “most if not all” of the commissioners had input in data gathering and community input into it.
Commissioner Scott Hughes said that he would like to see a document with “less opinions and more facts”.
Member Dan Brummitt asked if the document had been approved by the EDC. Commission member Terry Garrison, who also services on the EDC, said that the EDC has approved what was sent to the commission, although he confessed that he was out for a number of weeks and not able to attend all the meetings.
He also said that he did not see anything “that seems to be a red flag”, and that the plan had been “hashed over pretty thoroughly”.
Danny Wright said that he has concerns with the 501(c)(3) status that the EDC is looking for. He said that responsibility for economic development lies with [the county commission] if tax dollars are involved.
The commission chair said that with 501(c)(3) organizations, sometimes “accountability and transparency become blurred”.
Member Deborah Brown, referring back to Feingold’s remarks, said that because the speaker said that the commission needs to consider legal and ethical ramifications that the county attorney should provide feedback as well.