Agenda - 10-20-2015 - 6a - Minutes

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9 1 Catherine Cummer thanked the Board for its ongoing support of local schools, 2 and said she is here to ask for the Board's support for the schools' capital needs. She 3 said schools do not have to be state of the art, but they must be safe. 4 Jen Bishop said she is here on behalf of the Frank Porter Graham Bilingue School 5 Improvement Team, and she supported the school capital needs funding in the bond. 6 Nikki Santos said she moved to Chapel Hill due to a domestic violence situation. 7 She said she lived at Homestart Women's Shelter for years, and finding affordable 8 housing in Chapel Hill has been very difficult. She said housing and schools and even 9 seniors make a community, and all items need to be funded. 10 Michael Reinke said he is the new Director for InterFaith Council for Social 11 Service, and he wholeheartedly supported the inclusion of affordable housing in the bond 12 referendum. He stressed the interrelatedness between safe and consistent housing, and 13 school success. 14 Delores Bailey is the Executive Director of Empowerment, Inc in Chapel Hill and 15 part of the affordable housing coalition. She said schools cannot be pit against 16 affordable housing, as the two go hand in hand. She said Empowerment is constantly 17 turning away people who are in need of affordable housing, because there are not 18 enough homes in the inventory. She said Orange County does have homeless people, 19 both adults and children. She said she has seen the disparity of those who cannot afford 20 to live in Orange County. She asked the Board to consider adding more money to the 21 bond for the extra needs of affordable housing and seniors. 22 23 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda 24 (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 25 26 3. Announcements and Petitions by Board Members 27 Commissioner Price said she would like to follow up with staff on her petition about 28 naming a room at the Central Orange Senior Center (COSC) for Jerry Passmore. 29 Bonnie Hammersley said she would be attending the meeting at the COSC on this 30 issue, and would provide a follow up. 31 Commissioner Dorosin had no petitions. 32 Commissioner Pelissier had no petitions. 33 Commissioner Jacobs said this has been an inadequate and disappointing process for 34 the bond and asked staff to come back to the Board this fall with an affordable housing plan. 35 He said this plan should cover all elements and resources of the issue, involve all stakeholders, 36 and provide short and long term visions for a strategy to address affordable housing. He said if 37 the majority of the Board is amenable to changing their vote, there is time to amend the funding 38 goals of the bond. 39 Commissioner Jacobs petitioned staff to work with Durham Tech to look at the program 40 just adopted by Richmond and Scotland counties, which pays the tuition for high school 41 students with a 3.0 grade point average. He said there are monies in the '/4 cents sales tax, 42 and he said the option would give an opportunity for students to get an education that may 43 otherwise not be available. 44 Commissioner Burroughs had no petitions. 45 Commissioner Rich petitioned staff if a process could be outline to switch the bond to 46 fund $10 million for affordable housing and $5 million seniors; and to give the schools $110 47 million, making up the rest to the schools in the Capital Investment Plan (CIP) up to $125 48 million. She said if affordable housing is put on a bond, it is dedicated money. She said she 49 would like information on how this would take place, and the costs to the taxpayers in real 50 numbers.