Minutes 09-10-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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21 1 Commissioner Jacobs said concentrating on making meetings more efficient should be 2 an on-going process. He suggested adding this discussion to the retreat. 3 Commissioner Rich asked if it is easier to keep meetings on the schedule and eliminate 4 as necessary or if it is easier to add meetings in when needed. 5 The Clerk said it is easier to have the meetings scheduled and eliminate them if 6 necessary. She said staff could look at the calendar and play with it; however, staff does not 7 feel comfortable changing meetings without Board approval. 8 Commissioner Rich said she believed more people pay attention to the petitions and 9 comments than one might think. She said the Board might need to be more thoughtful about 10 making petitions. She said she does enjoy having open discussion between Board members 11 and she would like to see work sessions move in that direction. 12 Commissioner Pelissier said she too looked forward to weeks without meetings as it 13 allows the opportunity for travel and flexibility. She said the meetings with the Fire Chiefs and 14 the City of Mebane could be added to the second half of a work session. 15 Chair McKee said the City of Mebane had very few items for discussion. 16 Commissioner Pelissier said the complicating factor in meetings is that one cannot often 17 predict how long a given item may take in a meeting. She said sometimes items get put on 18 work sessions, but the items are more important to some Commissioners than others. 19 Commissioner Dorosin said he felt the work sessions are not that much different than 20 regular meetings. He said he sees little free flowing dialogue. He said having open dialogue in 21 regular meetings is just as important. He said 53 meetings is a limiting factor to who is able to 22 run to be a Commissioner. He recognized that the Board likes conversation but hoped the 23 Board can be more disciplined. 24 Commissioner Jacobs suggested trying a meeting without the Chair presiding over it. 25 He said it could be an open discussion with interruptions and talking over each other. He said it 26 would allow for normal conversation. 27 Chair McKee said he is willing to try this but is unsure if it will be more productive. 28 Commissioner Price said regular meetings should be on the calendar but she does not 29 see how they can be shortened as the Board never knows what items may arise. She said if 30 staff sees that a meeting can be shortened, cancelled or combined, they could suggest doing 31 so. She said it is important to understand the difference between regular meetings and work 32 sessions, and the goals of each. 33 Commissioner Dorosin said he recalled the discussion to remove the four Quarterly 34 Public Hearings (QPH). 35 John Roberts said that item will not be coming back, and that issue was removed from 36 consideration. 37 Commissioner Jacobs said there was an item that arose at a QPH that had two hours of 38 public comment. He said the Board felt if that item had been part of a regular hearing, it would 39 have overrun the meeting, allowing nothing else to be accomplished. He said if a Public 40 Hearings is expected to have minimal public discussion, it could be moved to a Regular 41 Meetings. 42 Chair McKee said some items could be moved to a regular meeting. 43 Commissioner Rich said meetings should to be shorter. 44 Commissioner Dorosin said some meetings should be removed. 45 Commissioner Pelissier said sometimes there are items on a regular agenda that get 46 moved to a work session, as a way to defer a vote. 47 Discussion ensued. 48 Commissioner Jacobs said this calendar is a vestige of the personalities from past 49 boards, and Orange County became known years ago as a county that kept asking for more 50 information. He said there no longer seems to be as many issues of control, and he feels with 51 greater trust in the Manager some of the scheduling issues will work themselves out.