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APPROVED 211 412 0 0 0 <br />MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />REGULAR MEETING <br />October 19, 1999 <br />The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, October 19, 1999 <br />at 7:30 p.m. in the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. <br />COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Alice M. Gordon and Commissioners Margaret W. <br />Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Stephen H. Halkiotis, and Barry Jacobs <br />COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill <br />COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers Albert <br />Kittrell and Rod Visser, and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe. All other staff will be recognized <br />appropriately below. <br />NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE <br />PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL <br />RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. <br />1. ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA -NONE <br />2. CITIZEN & AUDIENCE COMMENTS <br />a. Matters on the Printed Agenda (These matters will be considered as the Board addresses <br />the items on the agenda below.) Chair Gordon made reference to the McBroom rezoning and <br />asked the Board if it was all right for one spokesperson to speak for this request and one <br />spokesperson to speak against this request. She said that the public hearing on this item was <br />closed and no further comments were allowed. <br />b. Matters not on the Printed Agenda <br />Mark Barroso spoke about flooding in Heritage Hills. He thanked the County staff for coming <br />out to Heritage Hills to see the situation. He explained that about three weeks ago Price Creek rose out of <br />its banks and into the Heritage Hills Subdivision. He said that some of the residents got about 40 inches <br />of water into their houses. He said that the damage could be repaired, but flooding has occurred in <br />Heritage Hills six times since 1990. State and County officials have told the residents that flooding is a <br />fact of life. He said that the problem began 30 years ago when a developer was allowed to build houses in <br />a flood plain which forced the creek to follow lot lines. He said that the private homeowners lack the <br />resources or expertise to handle the volume of water from Chatham County and southern Orange County. <br />He asked that the County Engineer evaluate the problem and that the Commissioners apply pressure to <br />the Department of Transportation to install adequate storm drainage under the roads. He also asked that <br />the Commissioners continue to ask their colleagues in Chatham County to better control erosion. The <br />citizens in Heritage Hills will seek participation in the state's hazard mitigation program. <br />Chair Gordon mentioned a memorandum from Rod Visser about the flooding in Heritage Hills. <br />Rod Visser said that there are several grant programs available and he mentioned the FEMA <br />hazard mitigation program specifically. He said that there is a possibility that Heritage Hills could get <br />some relief in terms of mitigation grants. He said that the state Emergency Management office indicated <br />that the emphasis is going to be on acquisition of properties by the state. He said that the key to this issue <br />is how much funding is left after Hurricane Floyd relief efforts are funded. He recommended submitting an <br />application for this hazard mitigation program.