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Jahn Link expressed appreciation of the staff that worked in the recovery. The staff is now creating documentation to send to FEMA to declare Orange County a disaster area. This will help to recover some of the expenses incurred by the County and the Towns. This may also apply to Piedmont Electric and Orange Public Transportation. The cost estimate so far for the County is $350,000. This does not include the anticipated cast of debris being brought to the landfill by citizens. The County is not charging any citizen for bringing debris to the landfill. The County has already purchased a chipper. DOT is responsible for the collection and disposal of the wood debris along the right-af-ways of all State maintained roads, including secondary roads. The entire recovery will take several months. Commissioner Carey asked about the estimate of revenue generated over the next months from the public using the chipped wood. John Link will respond to this later, because it is too early to tell. Commissioner Carey said that he would like to encourage the Chair to write a letter to the radio station, WCHL, welcoming them and encouraging them to include someone who speaks Spanish when these kinds of emergencies exist so that the Latina community can be fully informed. Commissioner Halkiotis said that this has been a period of the worst cell phone service since Hurricane Fran. He said that this recent event has highlighted that we need to look at improved cell phone service in Orange County. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the press release from the Governor's office and the reference to food stamps. He thought he heard that until the President declares that this is a disaster area, that people were not eligible for the second set of food stamps. He asked for clarification on this. Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said that disaster food stamps would potentially be made available to people of a higher income bracket than what is normally served. This permission has not been granted from the Governor yet. There is a category that allows for an allocation confirmed to make up for any loss that would have been received by those normally receiving food stamps during a period such as this. This is under discussion. There is a question that is still pending as to what percentage of the monthly allotment could be allowed. Jahn Link said that as soon as there is clarity, they will let the County Commissioners know. Chair Brown asked John Link to put all of this information in a press release form and send it to the media. H2Orange Report -John Link said that they have a goad proposal an how to help low income homeowners in the future who may need help with re-drilling a well. This is through a home repair loan program with USDA. They will pursue this with the Board's approval. Terry Whiffed, the Community Development Specialist with USDA, is going to help lead this effort. They also researched rain barrels and same rain barrels can be acquired from Wake County ar another source. The cost is about $65 per unit. They are still trying to look at benefits to the citizens if the County purchased them versus the citizens purchasing them. The staff will come back with a more specific recommendation. Commissioner Carey would like to know more about the rain barrels and the effect it would have on the local economy. 5. RESOLUTIONS/PROCLAMATIONS a. Resolution of Appreciation for W. Jake Wicker The Board considered approving a resolution of appreciation for Jake Wicker for his work with the Institute of Government and designating Friday December 13, 2002 as Jake Wicker Day in Orange County. Commissioner Carey read the resolution to Mr. Wicker's son, Thomas Wicker. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the resolution as stated below: RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR W. JAKE WICKER WHEREAS, for 47 years, W. Jake Wicker has served the people of North Carolina as a faculty member and administrator at UNC-Chapel Hill's Institute of Government; and