Orange County NC Website
13 <br /> Council Member Kleinschmidt said in a political sense he believed Orange County elected <br /> officials were good at coming up with great ideas in all of these issues, noting they were so <br /> confident of the quality of their ideas because of their great evidence and experience to support <br /> them. But, he said, he worried about their often"bullying posture"with their neighbors, and that <br /> being an obstacle to success. So, he added, as they created this task force that was something to <br /> be conscious of. <br /> Alderman Broun stated communication was key, because they all knew as they moved five and <br /> ten years into the future that there would be less resources that they could singularly use as <br /> opposed as to those of the region. She said while this region in some places was economically <br /> strong and in some places was environmentally strong, no particular county, city or town was <br /> perfect. Alderman Broun stated they could learn from Chatham and from Durham if they would <br /> only listen and not believe that they always had the right answer. She stated in this type or <br /> economic climate, that would require thinking about what was best for the entire region. <br /> Alderman Broun stated they would not succeed separate and apart. <br /> 8:59:02 PM Mayor Stevens stated that was nicely said, and there were many ideas on the <br /> table. He said he believed they all wanted full engagement and equitable membership and could <br /> agree on the topics they wanted to approach. <br /> Commissioner Gordon stated she believed that any group relevant to the topic should be brought <br /> into the discussion, adding she agreed the task force should prioritize the issues for discussion. <br /> She recommended doing that, but added she could not see how you could make progress on, for <br /> instance, transportation, without making progress on land use as well. Commissioner Gordon <br /> stated if the task force was targeted, then informed decisions could be made on issues such as <br /> transportation. She said she knew how Orange and Chatham wanted to work together, noting the <br /> proposed bus route betweeen Pittsboro and Chapel Hill as an example. Commissioner Gordon <br /> recommended putting the task force together with 12 individuals, with Chatham having two at- <br /> large members, and allowing that group to come up with the priorities and to make sure they <br /> were targeted. <br /> Commissioner Gordon stated another issue to be considered was if Chatham was given the <br /> Jordan Lake western intake, noting that would be a separate issues which was urgent and needed <br /> to be supported. She urged that the task force be formed with the twelve members, with the <br /> appropriate people brought in depending on the topic, and that the group agree on the <br /> prioritization of issues so that the group did not get too general. <br /> Mayor Chilton stated as well,the elected officials could identify issues of concern for that group. <br /> He pointed out it would be possible to structure the work group in such a way that they mapped <br /> out who would come from various entities and leave it to Chatham County to decide what its <br /> delegation would look like. Mayor Chilton did agree that they should focus on particular topics, <br /> but did notice that the water supply issue was not on the list. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said she believed that was because it was urgent and needed to be <br /> addressed soon. <br /> 8 <br />