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UNION — The residents of Union County will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of plans for the future of a region that encompasses 14 counties in two states during an open house on Thursday at the Union County Advanced Technology Center.

CONNECT Our Future is an initiative that deals with the future growth of a 14-county region that includes the North Carolina counties of Anson, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, and Union, and the South Carolina counties of Chester, Lancaster, Union, and York. The region’s population is projected to grow by 50 percent in 20 years and to double within 40 years and the goal of CONNECT Our Future is to develop plans that will enable the region to successfully cope with and benefit from such growth.

To help develop those plans, the initiative seeks the views of the residents, businesses, educators, government leaders and other groups in the 14-county region. A series of meetings and open houses have been scheduled and are taking place throughout the region to solicit those views.

One of those meetings was held in Union County on February 8 and involved members of Union City Council, Union County Council, the Union County Chamber of Commerce, and the Union County Development Board. The meeting, which was held in the City of Union Municipal Building, began with an overview of the initiative provided by representatives of the Catawba Regional Council of Governments and the Lee Institute followed by discussion in a small group setting.

The next CONNECT Our Future event in Union County will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Union County Advanced Technology Center, 1401 Furman L. Fendley Highway. The public is invited to attend the open house, view the exhibits that will be on display, speak to representatives of the organizations involved with the initiative and give their input on the future of Union County and the rest of the region covered by the CONNECT Our Future.

CONNECT Our Future is the latest in a series of initiatives undertaken by the Centralia Council of Governments which serves the 10 North Carolina counties and the Catawba Regional Council of Governments which serves the South Carolina counties. The cooperative efforts of the two councils is a reflection of the economy of the region which is centered on the urban area of Charlotte, N.C., linking it with the ring of suburban communities that includes Rock Hill in South Carolina and Gastonia in North Carolina and rural areas like Union County in South Carolina and Lincoln County in North Carolina. The interconnected nature of the economies of the constituent municipalities and counties of the region means that all we be affected by the anticipated growth. As a result, officials with the CONNECT Our Future initiative have said that it is vital that the public contribute to the dialog that will help shape plans to deal successfully with that growth.

For more information about the CONNECT Our Future initiative, visit the website at www.ConnectOurFuture.org.

Editor Charles Warner can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 14, or by email at cwarner@civitasmedia.com.