Orange County NC Website
6 <br /> The Board considered approving the annual agreement between Orange County and the <br /> North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for protection, <br /> development, reforestation, management and improvement of forestlands located in the County <br /> and authorizing the Chair to sign, subject to final review by staff and the County Attorney. <br /> Chair Jacobs asked why a forest service contract was no longer with ERCD as the staff <br /> contact, and it now with Emergency Services. Budget Director Donna Coffey said that ERCD <br /> has not been a contact with this item in the past but the Budget Department has. Emergency <br /> Services is the contact now because they work with the Fire Marshal's office. <br /> Chair Jacobs asked to include ERCD in the contacts for this. He said to make sure that <br /> ERCD is aware of the contract. <br /> County Forest Ranger Jacob Pressley said that the contact has typically been with <br /> Emergency Services through the Fire Marshal. This has a lot to do with the Emergency Services <br /> responsibilities regarding forest fires. He does not see any problems between his office and <br /> Emergency Services in the last four or five years, and would rather not change it. <br /> Chair Jacobs said that this would be more internally for the Board of County Commissioners <br /> and not for the Forest Ranger. <br /> Laura Blackmon said that Emergency Services would defer to ERCD for issues of water <br /> quality. Jacob Pressley agreed. <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Chair Jacobs to approve the <br /> annual agreement between Orange County and the North Carolina Department of Environment <br /> and Natural Resources, subject to final review by staff and the County Attorney, and authorized <br /> the Chair to sign the agreement. <br /> VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> El Futuro, Inc. Request for Funding: Mental Health and Substance Abuse <br /> Services <br /> The Board considered a request from El Futuro, Inc., a Carrboro not-for-profit providing <br /> behavioral health resources for underserved Latinos in Orange County. <br /> Luke Smith, MD, Executive Director of El Futuro, Inc., said that the recommendation is not <br /> what he had hoped for, but they have asked for the recommended funding from the HSAC <br /> Committee from the spring, and he understands that this is not available at this time. He said <br /> that he would be happy to receive partial funding and he is actively cutting services. <br /> Commissioner Nelson said that the Board made a decision as a group in the spring about <br /> how to handle these types of allocations and it was a very difficult decision. He said that this <br /> group is doing a tremendous job for a community that is being underserved. He said that this <br /> organization would be at the top of his list for next year. He regretfully thinks that the Board <br /> should stick to the decision that was made in May. <br /> Chair Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Nelson and said that, as the County <br /> Commissioners go forward, there is even more strain on the budget. He said that the County <br /> Commissioners would be willing to express support to private agencies on behalf of El Futuro, <br /> Inc. <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to <br /> deny the request pending from El Futuro, Inc. for funding in FY 08-09. <br /> VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> The Forest at Little River— Preliminary Plan <br /> The Board received the Administration and Planning Board recommendations; and <br /> considered making a decision on the Preliminary Plan for The Forest at Little River subdivision. <br />