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APPROVED 2/2/2010 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ANNUAL PLANNING RETREAT SOUTHERN HUMAN SERVICES CENTER December 4, 2009 9:00 a.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Board retreat on Friday, December 4, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Valerie P. Foushee and Commissioners Alice Gordon, Pam Hemminger, Barry Jacobs, Bernadette Pelissier, and Steve Yuhasz COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Mike Nelson COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker, School of Government Facilitators :Lydia Altman and Vaughn Upshaw What is the value or benefit of public participation in Orange County? ---These apply to all the various Advisory Boards and Commissions (ABCJ. • Tap expertise of our citizenry • Practice transparency in governing • Empower citizens to go beyond what the county can do alone; extend the reach • Involve and engage others in process of governing • Share the responsibility for governing and decision-making • Gain a broader base of ideas • Develop leadership capacity of citizens; they may want to run for office one day! • Greater communication of ideas (back and forth between BOCC and public) • Trust: more opportunities to share information, builds better and more accurate information, better understanding and more trust, creates more interest in working together. The Cycle of Communication • Public becomes more vested in the outcome • Creates opportunities to collaborate with others • Recognizes the concerns of citizen or employee constituencies In what ways has the BOCC or County successfully engaged the public? • Passing bond referendums. (e.g., Parks) • Enacting regulations that reflect the public's interests, especially those that are very engaged. (e.g., Tethering, hunting, land use) • Designing something for public use. (e.g., Animal shelter)