Agenda - 09-04-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

1 1 Attachment 1 2 3 DRAFT MINUTES 4 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 5 WORK SESSION 6 APRIL 8, 2014 7 7:00 p.m. 8 9 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Tuesday, April 10 8, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. 11 12 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jacobs and Commissioners Mark Dorosin, 13 Alice M. Gordon, Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price and Penny Rich 14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: 15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts 16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: Interim County Manager Michael Talbert, Assistant County 17 Managers Clarence Grier and Cheryl Young and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other 18 staff members will be identified appropriately below) 19 20 Commissioner McKee called the meeting to order at 7:04. He said Chair Jacobs will be 21 a few minutes late. 22 23 1. Follow-up Discussion on Potential Establishment of a Women's Commission 24 Cheryl Young said at the June 18, 2013 BOCC Meeting, Commissioner Price petitioned 25 the Board regarding the establishment of a Women's Commission as an Orange County 26 advisory board to be staffed by and receive technical support from the Orange County 27 Economic Development Department. She said a draft resolution was presented. 28 She said Commissioner Price noted that there currently was not an Orange County 29 advisory board to address issues unique to women and to provide policy and program 30 recommendations to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners since the former 31 Commission for Women, established in 1978, was eliminated as an advisory board in 2010. 32 She said the functions of the original Commission for Women (CfW) were made a responsibility 33 of the Human Relations Commission (HRC) in 2011, and CfW as a separate entity was sunset 34 in April 2011. 35 Cheryl Young said the BOCC discussed the request at the October 8, 2013 work 36 session and there were various opinions related to how to proceed and the advisability of 37 establishing an independent group. She said there was consensus that the issue warranted 38 further discussion. 39 She said the possibility of having the Human Relations Commission establish a 40 subcommittee was among the ideas discussed. She said the Human Relations Commission 41 had discussed this matter and voted against creating a subcommittee whose sole focus is on 42 issues of gender inequality. She said the HRC had created a subcommittee entitled Diversity 43 Matters which will address a cornucopia of issues of inequality for different minority groups, i.e. 44 women and persons with disabilities. She said this decision was based on the idea that if the 45 HRC created a subcommittee that focused only on women's issues, then there would be a need 46 to create additional subcommittees with a targeted focus on each different protected class. She 47 said the HRC is currently working on a written report for the BOCC regarding the HRC's role in 48 addressing women's issues.