Orange County NC Website
attendance. Also, Chatham and Durham County Commissioners and the Towns of Carrboro and <br /> Chapel Hill have been invited to attend. There will be discussion on how to better coordinate the <br /> provision of water in central Orange County and beyond and to develop some better relationships. He <br /> said that he, the Manager, and Commissioner Halkiotis met with the Mayor of Durham, the Mayor Pro <br /> Tern of Durham, the Durham City Manager, and Interim Assistant Manager to talk about the water <br /> summit and some of the water issues. They also brought up the issue of collaborating on solid waste. <br /> The Town officials were very enthusiastic about talking about possible collaborations. They find <br /> themselves in the position of having to pay for a transfer station while someone else has built a transfer <br /> station within Durham County and is under-pricing them. Also, Durham is facing a surcharge on the <br /> waste that is being shipped to Virginia on top of what they are already paying. There were no specific <br /> suggestions made to Durham. The Managers will start talking with one another. <br /> Chair Jacobs said that the legislature is working on redistricting in response to the State Supreme <br /> Court's rendering of the law. It looks like Orange County is not going to fare very well as far as <br /> representation compared to how it fared during the 1990's. <br /> Chair Jacobs made reference to the budget cuts and said that we are just coming out of a period of <br /> prosperity and it is over for a while. We are going to have to change our mentality as a government. He <br /> has asked the Manager to list for the County Commissioners in the budget process, all of the items that <br /> are funded but for which the funds have not been expended. It may come down to choosing between <br /> enhancing audiovisual equipment and feeding people with the Meals on Wheels program. <br /> Commissioner Halkiotis said that we need to make some decisions at the State level and quit <br /> putting the burden on everybody at the local level. It is the cheap and easy way out. He thinks it is <br /> totally wrong to put the pain on the common citizens of this State. He thinks Orange County has been <br /> ahead in delaying certain things because services to our citizens are more important than bringing new <br /> vehicles online and new computers on desks, etc. <br /> John Link said that the County is cutting off all purchasing, effective this Friday, for the rest of the <br /> fiscal year. This is always done at some point during the end of or first of June, but it is being <br /> accelerated this year. The purchasing freeze is on small equipment, supplies, etc. There will be other <br /> ideas shared at the work session this Monday and other work sessions in June. <br /> 4. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT <br /> John Link introduced Martha Shannon who is the new Director of the Arts Commission. Ms. <br /> Shannon has 20 years of experience, both locally and at the State and regional level, in organizing the <br /> arts. She has been in arts advocacy and knows about creating grants and administering grants. She <br /> served as Executive Director of the City of Raleigh Arts Commission for five years in the 1990's. She <br /> most recently was Director of Communications for the Institute of Outdoor Drama at UNC. She is a <br /> native of Lexington and received her BA in Theater from Lenoir-Rhyne and her Master's in Fine Arts in <br /> Theater from UNC. <br /> 5. RESOLUTIONS/PROCLAMATIONS <br /> a. Resolution of Appreciation for Volunteers Serving on County Boards/Commissions <br /> The Board considered a resolution of appreciation for the volunteers serving on Orange <br /> County boards and commissions. Commissioner Halkiotis read the resolution. <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to approve <br /> and authorize the Chair to sign the resolution as stated below: <br /> RESOLUTION <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION <br /> IN <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> Whereas, the 29`h annual National Volunteer Week, April 21-27, was held to recognize and celebrate the <br /> efforts of volunteers at the local, state and national levels; and <br />