Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
for the meeting, he was turned away. He said that this meeting should have been an open <br />meeting and there seemed to be some finger pointing as to which delegation was responsible <br />far turning the reporter away. He said that he appreciated the comments from the Orange <br />County Attorney, but his view is that when you have two members of the Board of County <br />Commissioners, in particular the Chair and the Vice-Chair, they are acting as a committee of the <br />whole Board and become a public body, subject to the same requirements of the open meetings <br />law. After this meeting, they became aware of another meeting the night before with two <br />members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, two members of the Orange County <br />School Board, and two members of the Mebane City Council. He wanted to urge the Board to <br />look at Geof Gledhill's letter and he said that even if they do not accept his interpretation of the <br />County Attorney's letter, it seems to him that the better part of public policy is to hold such <br />meetings in the open. <br />Chair Jacobs said that he appreciates Mr. Boney's concerns and they just received the <br />letter from the Attorney tonight, and they will review the letter and will be forthcoming as much <br />as possible with regard to the meeting documents. He said that they have not pointed fingers at <br />anybody. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he has been an elected official for over 20 years and <br />they have never violated the open meetings law during that time. He said that the County <br />Attorney has spoken very clearly to this, and he is going by what the Attorney said that they <br />have not violated the open meetings law. He begged to differ with Mr. Boney. <br />Tom Boney said that the key issue seems to be who establishes who appoints a <br />committee. The open meetings law deals with just the existence of a committee and does not <br />state how it got to be a committee. His view is that when the Chair and the Vice-Chair get <br />together, the Chair has de facto appointed himself and the Vice-Chair to be an ad hoc <br />committee for that purpose. <br />Chair Jacobs said that the Orange County Attorney and the Alamance County Attorney <br />were both at the meeting and they both said that they were in accord with the open meetings <br />law. He said that they would communicate mare fully with Mr. Boney when they have had a <br />chance to review the letter in more detail. <br />b. Matters on the Printed Agenda <br />(These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda <br />below.} <br />3. Board Comments <br />Commissioner Carey said that County Manager John Link has made public his plan to <br />retire in August. He wished John Link well and said that he is sad to see him go. He said that <br />they appreciate Ginger Link for sharing her husband with them. <br />Commissioner Carey said that the OPC Mental Health agency is incurring a lot of <br />financial and organizational stress because of transitions that have been required by the State. <br />He said that the OPC Board is trying to do all it can and they have scheduled a meeting to talk <br />with people in Raleigh about this situation. Their first and foremost priority is to trying to protect <br />services that the mental health clients are receiving. <br />Commissioner Foushee added her sentiments regarding John Link's retirement. <br />Commissioner Foushee commended the Human Rights Commission and the Human <br />Rights and Relations Department for the kickoff event for Human Relations Month last week. <br />She said that it is important to accept and celebrate diversity in Orange County, but also to <br />remain sensitive to the differences that the diversities mean. She said that the presentation <br />given really expressed the sentiment of some of the Latino residents. She also hopes that if the <br />presentation was videotaped, that the recording would be made available. She also pointed out <br />that February is Black History Month and the Town of Chapel Hill has an exhibit that includes <br />