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Commissioner Halkiotis said that he talked with Brenda Stephens about libraries in the <br />Gulf that needed assistance. He would like to ask both school systems to donate old textbooks <br />to send to them. He asked the Manager and Brenda Stephens to look into this. He has heard <br />that there is someone that may ship these books for free. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that tomorrow, October 19t", the Home Depot opens in <br />Hillsborough. He said that Economic Development Director Dianne Reid has started a Shop <br />Orange First campaign and he thinks it would be nice to encourage residents to shop at this <br />Home Depot. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he was cleaning out some old papers at his home and <br />asked if they have resolved the issue about Confederate Memorial Day and their desire for <br />Orange County to fly the Confederate battle flag over the courthouse. He thought this was <br />supposed to be sent to the Human Relations Council for an opinion. He thinks that the only <br />flags that should be flown aver the County courthouse are the United States flag, the North <br />Carolina flag, and the Orange County flag. He wants to resolve this issue before the spring <br />because they have been back two years in a row. Chair Carey said that he thought that they <br />had contacted the leaders of the group and indicated that they would not fly the flag. <br />Jahn Link said that the communication was to not act on the resolution this year. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis would like to have a flag policy. <br />Commissioner Jacobs suggested checking the minutes. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that the last time she reported on the DCHC-TAC, she said <br />that the Secretary of Transportation did not approve the 2006-2012 TIP. There was no official <br />communication until October 3~d by fax. The TAC staff did meet with DOT staff and DOT staff <br />did apologize far what had happened. Somehow the plan was not reviewed soon enough to get <br />back to the TAC. They discussed this at the October TAC meeting and tried to figure out what <br />happened. One of the main sticking points had to do with adding the bicyclelpedestrian projects <br />to the scope of some projects. There were some compromises, but the new approach was <br />accepted and approved. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that they also talked about the regional priority list for the <br />2007-2013 TIP, but no action was taken. There will be time for the jurisdictions to comment <br />before the next meeting. <br />Commissioner Gordon reported on the work session of the Triangle Transit Authority. <br />The mock up of the new vehicle has been on display. There is still not a full funding grant <br />agreement, but the company is enthusiastic and designed the vehicle, which is the first FTA <br />fully compliant vehicle. She said that they have been working hard with FTA on the new model <br />which shows reduced ridership compared to the old model. It meets the old federal guidelines <br />for cost effectiveness, but not the new guidelines. They are turning in the New Starts proposal <br />and are trying to negotiate that they be allowed to comply with the old guidelines for cost <br />effectiveness and not the new guidelines. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the Board talked about its many construction projects <br />last night, and it unanimously directed staff to come back with a resolution endorsing the <br />concept of partnering with the Town of Carrboro to build a freestanding library. He added that <br />Purchasing and Central Services Director Pam Jones has been taking references for possible <br />sites. <br />Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the water issues, and said that he thought that <br />it was striking that Hillsborough voluntarily agreed to maintain a level in Lake Orange. <br />Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the Duke Power issue and said that today <br />there were three tour groups in Orange County far the Fourth Annual Small Farms Conference. <br />There are a lot of organic farmers in Orange County. He said that Duke Power would say that <br />there are no health consequences for what they put on the growth in the rights-of-way. He <br />thinks they should be sensitive in an area where people may not even know where spraying has <br />taken place. He hopes there is more active communication. <br />