Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
WHEREAS, as citizens of one of the oldest Piedmont counties, Orange County's 120,000 residents have <br />much to celebrate, including <br />- A commitment to education, from the founding of the University of North Carolina, the <br />nation's first state university when it opened in 1795, through the development of six <br />freedmen's schools formed in Orange County by 1868, to local school systems rated among <br />the best in the southeastern United States. <br />- A will to preserve cultural and natural resources such as the County's tapestry of distinctive <br />buildings, neighborhoods, farmlands and natural treasures like Occoneechee Mountain, the <br />N.C. Botanical Garden, and the Eno River Corridor. <br />- A growing diversity, beginning with the Indian nations, recast by the arrival of people from <br />Europe and Africa, and shaped recently by the addition of many persons from Asia, Latin <br />America and other places around the globe. <br />- An ongoing love of independence, whether reflected in the actions of the Regulators or the <br />patriots of the American Revolution, by women fighting far their equality, by African- <br />Americans struggling to secure their civil rights, by sharecroppers and mill workers striving for <br />dignity, or by free-speech advocates in the mid-20t" century. <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />acknowledges the contributions and history of the past 250 years, and officially proclaims the <br />year beginning September 9, 2002 as a year of celebration of the County's 250t" anniversary. <br />This, the 3rd day of September 2002 <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />6. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS <br />a. Update on Mental Health Reform Planning Process <br />The Board received an update on the status of the state-mandated planning process for <br />mental health reform, and received advice concerning key choices ahead. <br />Gwen Harvey provided a brief introduction and said that attempting to reform a statewide <br />mental health developmental disability and substance abuse system is a daunting process. The County <br />is required to do a sweeping reform of the service system over the five-year period. There have been a <br />large number of meetings across the State involving a broad range of stakeholders. There was a <br />steering committee comprised of OPC staff including the County Managers and representatives of the <br />Boards for Orange, Person, and Chatham Counties. Executive Director of OPC Tom Maynard is here to <br />provide the Board with an update on the work of the steering committee. This is a prologue to the public <br />forum, which will be on October 8t". <br />Tom Maynard said that it is difficult to be brief when they have such a monumental task <br />before them. He said that Commissioner Brown has been outstanding in her involvement with the OPC <br />Board. <br />He went over the State Plan Progress Report. The planning process is on schedule. The next step is <br />public forums. The draft of the final plan is scheduled to be presented to the Boards of Commissioners <br />by November 1, 2002. The final plan will identify and recommend solutions far any issues which may <br />appear either controversial or represent serious risk to the County. He said that governance is a big <br />issue because the State has mandated that the counties participating choose a governance structure. <br />There are different possible structures for governance. OPC is assuming that all three counties are <br />staying together. So far, they are looking at a public model, which encourages strong commissioner, <br />consumer, and family involvement. The OPC attorney is reviewing the structural options. He said that <br />some OPC programs are interested in independence, but mast are not. The transition plan will take time <br />and must be orderly. They have also learned that County run programs are an option. Regarding the <br />funding plan, OPC intends to present a plan that improves services with no net increase in County costs. <br />Significant service improvements will depend upon aState-financing plan. He recognized Judy Truitt, <br />Project Manager, who has done a tremendous amount of work on the plan. <br />Commissioner Brown said that this has been a significant challenge far her. She said that <br />serving on the OPC Board has been the best experience that she has had an a board (with the exception <br />