Editorial
Carpe
Diem
It’s
been observed many times that the key decisions that propelled
Charlotte through its boom years of the 1980s and ’90s were made
during behind-the-scenes meetings of a handful of civic and business
leaders who knew how to spot an opportunity and move decisively to
grab it. You could argue that such freewheeling tactics don’t
comport with the mandate to conduct the public’s business in full
public view but you sure can’t argue with the results. Skyscrapers
were built, pro sports teams arrived, social crises were averted,
public works projects were speedily completed.
It’s encouraging to see
that a similar approach is now being employed on the decades-old
problem of how to jumpstart the lagging economies of the rural
counties east of I-95. One blue ribbon commission after another has
examined how to promote growth Down East and made recommendations in
voluminous reports that are now gathering dust on the shelves. Few
issues in North Carolina have been studied so much, with so little
result.
But a few months ago the
Albemarle-Pamlico Economic Development Corp. (APEC) saw an opportunity
and moved decisively to grab it. APEC is the nonprofit entity formed
to manage the investment of $200 million in public bond money toward
building a natural gas pipeline in the Down East counties. The lack of
natural gas has been a big stumbling block to business growth in that
region for many years.
A major part of the natural
gas project is digging an 800-mile-long trench in which the pipeline
will be laid. As the contractor began digging the trench, APEC leaders
realized they were faced with a golden opportunity to solve one of the
region’s other pressing needs — the lack of high-speed Internet
access. Laying fiber optic cable in the same trench as the pipeline
would save 75 percent of the cost of later digging another trench.
Now, building a fiber optic
network of that magnitude, constructed in part with public money,
normally would require the prior approval of state government
regulators. Questions about who would officially own the network, what
rates for access could be charged and other issues would go before the
state Utilities Commission, which would render its decisions after
proper deliberation. Meanwhile, the pipeline trench would be closed
and the opportunity lost.
Luckily, APEC and other
public and private entities cooperating on the natural gas project
decided to seize the opportunity. The fiber optic cable is going into
the ground with the gas pipeline.
The entire project will take
three years to complete, which is plenty of time for the government
paperwork to catch up with the bold actions of a few individuals,
notably R.V. Owens of Manteo, who saw a great opportunity and
weren’t afraid to seize it. More power to ’em. -- Steve Tuttle
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