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reference to the additional school nurse position in the proposed budget. She said that although this way <br />a state-funded position, it might not be funded if the other County-funded items were not addressed. <br />Sam Brooks spoke as a board member of EmPOWERment, Inc. She is a local realtor. She <br />spoke on two issues about why Orange County does not have enough affordable housing - it is market- <br />driven and community supported. She supports one cent of the tax rate for affordable housing. <br />Bill Rahe, Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, spoke in <br />support of the one-cent tax increase for affordable hauling. The non-profits that are trying to provide <br />affordable housing are not getting enough resources to meet the need. He said that when you provide <br />decent affordable housing for people you are doing more than putting a roof over their heads, you are <br />providing them with the stability they need in order to lead productive lives. <br />Gary Byrd spoke in support of investing in facilities far soccer in Orange County. <br />Richard Leber shared some thoughts on affordable housing. He said that the towns of Chapel <br />Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough all support one cent of the tax rate for affordable housing. The Chapel <br />Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Community Action Network have also <br />endorsed one cent for affordable housing. He made reference to some things that are happening with <br />affordable housing in other parts of the country. He said that supporting affordable hauling was not just <br />making a contribution to another charity, but it was taking care of the public and private employees of the <br />future. He said that Durham County has raised 50 million dollars of local funds for affordable housing. <br />Jonathan Klein, Chair of the Board of Health, talked about the value of health services in Orange <br />County. He said that there were many challenges facing public health. He said that public health <br />services were invisible to most people in Orange County. Some of the services offered are clean water, <br />safe and effective wastewater treatment, safe restaurant food, and control of infectious disease <br />outbreaks. He said that the cost of providing these services was small compared to not providing these <br />services. He spoke about indicators of the Healthy People 2010 Objectives. He spoke about the staff <br />needs for Public Health Services. The lack in staff is resulting in backlogs for well and septic permitting <br />and restaurant inspections. <br />There were no other speakers. <br />Chair Carey reiterated that there was another public hearing in Hillsborough at the F. Gordon <br />Battle Courtroom on Thursday, June 1St <br />CLOSED SESSION <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to ga into <br />closed session "To discuss the County's position and to instruct the County Manager and County <br />Attorney on the negotiating position regarding the terms of a contract to purchase real property" in <br />accordance with North Carolina G.S. 143-318.11(a}{5}. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />ADJOURNMENT <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to adjourn <br />the meeting. The next meeting on the adopted meeting calendar will be held on Thursday, June 1, 2000 <br />at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. <br />Moses Carey, Jr., Chair <br />Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk <br />