Minutes 08-21-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Hemminger said she and Commissioner Foushee would be coming back to the Board with updates on the Rogers Road Task Force. There has been media coverage on this and some has been accurate while some has not. They're meeting tomorrow for an agenda process and they will get more information. Commissioner Jacobs said he attended the Burlington-Graham MPO meeting, along with Staff, and there have been a number of discussions about where the boundary will be between the Durham-Chapel Hill MPO and the Burlington-Graham MPO. He displayed a map and said it seems the Staffs have agreed to leave things the way they are which was not what they had been thinking previously. Commissioner Jacobs spoke with a member of the Mebane City Council who assured him this was fine with Mebane and that they didn't care if they had any of the MPO in Orange County. Commissioner Jacobs suggested at the MPO meeting they would first have discussions as a Board and, since they are meeting jointly with Mebane shortly after the 20th, that they have a conversation of the two elected Boards. Ed Hooks of Mebane and he would then come back to the next MPO meeting and report on whether the two Boards that are most affected are willing to sign off. Commissioner Jacobs said Commissioner Foushee and he attended the NACo Convention in Pittsburgh. He said he would write a report of what he learned or was exposed to. Two of the most interesting things were regarding using employee wellness tools to create a self-insurance program and alternatives to incarceration for misdemeanors. He said as they talk about building a jail, there's a tremendous amount of energy and information on alternatives to incarcerating people for misdemeanors. Fifty-one percent of families are now single parented and they heard examples of single mothers who were jailed because they couldn't make $500 bail because they lost their jobs and their children had to go into foster care. He said if they're going to try to build a jail and make the best use of their resources, there are a tremendous amount of alternatives to making sure what they're doing is keeping people in society who can function in it, and separating out the ones who can't in a way that is best suited for our resources and our needs. Lastly, Commissioner Jacobs said he was serious about asking the recreation staff to look at whether there are uses for the upper deck after 5:00 whether it is mobile baskets for people playing basketball, or shuffleboard. It's a big open space after the Staff goes home in the middle of Hillsborough that could actually be a resource. He offered to do this as a petition at the next meeting if necessary. Chair Pelissier suggested a petition at the next meeting. Commissioner Gordon asked to confirm that the Burlington-Graham MPO did not take a vote on the boundary. Commissioner Jacobs confirmed that was correct. Commissioner Gordon asked if it was a consensus that they leave the boundary as it is on the map distributed. Commissioner Jacobs explained there was a change up to Frazier Road that they indicated Mebane was including. It's a very small portion north of the current area where it extends into Orange County. He's not sure that is what Mebane thinks which is why he suggested they would have a discussion with Mebane and then hopefully have a unified opinion. Commissioner Gordon verified that the green area on the map is the MPO boundary and she pointed out the area that is the Burlington-Graham MPO and the area they may be interested in. Commissioner Gordon said she had emailed the Board regarding the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO meeting. They talked about the boundary issue at the meeting. They asked that the two MPOs discuss this, that they get input from the local Boards involved which are the BOCC and the Mebane Town Board, before they make any decision and that they would work something out. She said they respectfully asked the vote be delayed until today so it appears that worked itself out. Commissioner Yuhasz did not have any comments. Chair Pelissier said they had originally asked that something be brought to this meeting regarding the implementation agreement. A lot of Staff was on vacation and they will not be getting it until the end of September. She wants to be sure they get it without further delay because they do have the transit tax on the ballot and they approved the plan contingent on an implementation agreement.