Minutes - 05-18-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Andy Sachs asked the task force haw the study of the election of County Commissioners would be different from previous ones. Macon Ollis explained the recommendation and stated that the difference was that this recommendation would require a ballot on an option for changing the electoral process. Robert "Bobby" Nichols, a 72-year old retiree, has lived in Orange County for 68 years. He asked the members of the audience to raise their hands if they owned more than 10 acres of land. He also asked how many other people were not elected officials or County employees. He said that nowhere in this report is the issue of Protection of Private Property Rights. He spoke in support of affordable housing. He said that the attitude about affordable housing was, "not in my backyard." He made reference to the conservation of farmland and said that he would like the option to develop his property if he wants to. He made reference to water and sewer and said that everyone was depending on surface water. He said that the environmental concerns were so great that farmers could not afford to stay in business. Carol Crumley said that the project was initiated by the governments and the recommendations will go to the governing boards. Because the report addresses government, a lot of community building is also an important part of the report, addressing the need for people to talk together about the issues. There was a discussion about the value of land. Mayor Horace Johnson spoke to a Legislative Bill about land ownership and his concern that this federal legislation may pass. He was also concerned about coordinating SOCF with Hillsborough's efforts. Rachel Phelps-Hawkins told Mayor Johnson that the task farce met with Hillsborough and discussed at length the 2030 plan for Shaping Orange County's Future. Andy Sachs read a written question from Terry Tyson - "Are the documents created by the Shaping Orange County's Future task farce available in Spanish, and if not, how would we include the exploding population of Hispanics in Orange County?" Macon Ollis said that the reports were not available in Spanish at this time. He said that there was not funding far this and that volunteers would be welcome. Andy Sachs read another written question concerning the speeding laws and tailgating. There was no response to this. David Herman lives in Northern Orange County in Little River Township. He made reference to the age group in attendance. He said that he represented a different generation than mast of the people in attendance. He made several comments about community centers, farming, shared values, affordable housing, and tax burdens on citizens and ways to ease the tax burden. He spoke in support of easing regulations for farmers. He spoke in support of easing tax burdens on childcare so that mothers could stay home and raise their children. Andy Sachs encouraged the task force to speak to these issues, especially to what extent was the tax burden discussed in the meetings. There was no response. He asked the task force who would run the community centers. Carol Crumley said that the task force was very interested in community spirit. She does not foresee the government only running the community centers. Will Town, a 20-year resident who is running far the N. C. House of Representatives, congratulated the task force for the presentation. He would like to know the cost of implementing the recommendations of the task force. Carl Shy said that the Task Force was a citizens group and could not express the cost. He said that whether or not the goals were achieved, there were costs. Macon Ollis said that the next step was to do a cost analysis of the implementation of the Shaping Orange County's Future task force recommendations. Ben Lloyd asked how many people owned 10 acres of land or more and depended on that land for their livelihood. He commended the Task Force for their work. He is concerned about