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Commissioner Halkiotis said that the graphic artist, Carol Vollmer, has captured the <br />forum very well with the graphics. He asked that she be considered to serve as the facilitator <br />for the County Commissioners' retreat next year. <br />8. Public Hearings <br />a. FY 2005 CDBG Program -IDA Program <br />The Board received comments from the public regarding the development of a FY 2005 <br />Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Application for funds for an Individual <br />Development Account (IDA) Program. <br />Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes introduced this item. The <br />North Carolina Department of Commerce announced the availability of up to $70,000 in CDBG <br />funds for this purpose. The program allows low-income families to save money towards <br />purchase of a first-time home, and the savings are matched by both public and private <br />sources. This is an opportunity to receive comments regarding the development of a new IDA <br />program application. <br />PUBLIC COMMENT: <br />NONE <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to <br />close the public hearing and for staff to proceed with development of a FY 2005 Community <br />Development Block Grant Application for funds for an Individual Development Account <br />Program. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />b. Orange County's 2005 Legislative Agenda <br />The Board held a public hearing on 1) potential items for inclusion in Orange County's <br />legislative agenda package for the 2005 North Carolina General Assembly Session and to <br />consider approval of draft resolutions and funding requests for presentation to the Orange <br />County's legislative delegation; and 2) on potential items/projects to request federal <br />funding/assistance. <br />Geof Gledhill said that the legislative package includes three specific pieces of legislation: <br />1. Authorize County Commissioners to levy an impact tax on land development. <br />2. Allow Orange County to levy an excise tax on conveyances in an amount not to exceed <br />1%. <br />3. The yellow sheet (in packet) contains three acts: <br />a. An act to make technical corrections and conforming changes to the general <br />statutes. <br />b. An act to authorize the regulation of the removal of natural sound barriers <br />adjacent to interstate and primary North Carolina highways. <br />c. An act to clarify the existing delegation of authority to counties and to confirm <br />flexibility in the execution of those delegated authorities. <br />He made reference to the orange sheet and said that the items with double asterisks <br />are new initiatives. He described some of these new initiatives (EFNEP, child support <br />enforcement, per pupil funding, etc.). <br />13 <br />