Minutes - 20040518 - Laserfiche WebLink

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{These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item an the agenda below.) 3. Board Comments Commissioner Brown -none. Commissioner Halkiotis said that it appears that no one in the current administration in Washington is concerned about the rising cost of gasoline. He said that a couple of years ago the Board came up with a proposal for a social safety net for social services and they have had success with the Wheels for Work program. He would like to ask the Chair and the Vice-Chair at their next meeting with the Manager to consider having a report brought back to the Board as soon as possible to have the Social Services Director, the Public Health Director, and any other appropriate staff to give a report on how people are faring in the County. He said that people have also come before the Board talking about the escalating cost of childcare. Childcare now averages $800 per month for one child. It costs less than that to send an in-state student to UNC. He would like a report on the budget in regards to this also. Commissioner Gordon said that she emailed the Board about the TAC meeting. She reiterated that it is important to make a response about the MPO boundary. She hopes to add it to an agenda soon. She said that grange County needs to make its case. Chair Jacobs asked Carolyn Thomas, Supervisor of Elections, to speak about the primary on July 20t" and the options if you are not in town on July 20t". Carolyn Thomas said that in the first week of June, you could request to have the ballots mailed to your home. You can vote early from July 1-July 17 at three locations -Board of Elections on 110 E. King Street in Hillsborough (July 1-17), Morehead Planetarium in the Visitor's Center in Chapel Hill (July 6- 17}, and in Carrboro (July 6-10}. The phone number is 245-2350 and the information is also available on the website. The Saturday hours are 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Commissioner Halkiotis said it would be helpful far all of the people that have filed to run to get a mailing about the rules for the posting of campaign signs. Carolyn Thomas said that this is done through the Planning Department. Commissioner Halkiotis asked if there had been a proposal about buying new voting machines and Carolyn Thomas said no. Commissioner Halkiotis is against the paperless voting machines. Commissioner Brawn asked about any new precincts this year and Carolyn Thomas said that they have not changed any precinct lines because the lines are frozen by the state. They have made six changes to polling locations (Cedar Grove, Booker Creek, Coker Hill, Battle Park, Northside, and Colonial Heights). This is so every facility will be handicap accessible. All residents in these areas have been sent a notification of the change along with a new voter registration card. There will also be signs at the previous locations. Craig Benedict said that staff is working with the Attorney's office to look at the past practices of campaign signs versus actual regulations. Chair Jacobs said that he and Commissioner Halkiotis and staff had a meeting today with the DOT staff and they spent a lot of time talking about problems on Buckhorn Road and looking ahead to the changes that will take place with a middle school and soccer complex. There will hopefully be some improvements in this area in the near future. They also talked about an alternative fueling site that could be located in Hillsborough. They also went through North Carolina Moving Ahead projects and he suggested that they be posted on the County's website so that citizens can see what is going on. Chair Jacobs said that he attended the Triangle Chairs meeting with Jahn Link and they talked about solid waste initiatives. A letter was sent out to all counties within a 100-mile radius of the center of the Triangle, and there were two responses. C7ne was a county in North Carolina, and one was a company in Virginia that wants to build a facility that might service this