Minutes 09-15-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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that good schools cannot be effective if the students do not have safe, clean and affordable housing. Mary Jean Seyda said she is part of the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition and is here to ask the Board of County Commissioners to support affordable housing in the proposed bond. She asked Orange County to join Carrboro and Chapel Hill in their efforts to dedicate funding to affordable housing. She said funding would allow agencies to plan and move forward with housing, as well as take advantage of real estate opportunities as they arise. Tish Galu said she is here to support affordable housing in the proposed bond referendum for the health and well being of Orange County residents. She said it is estimated that $10 million will be needed to implement a plan for affordable housing in Orange County. She asked the Board to delay making a decision about the bond and use those few months to work out a real plan for affordable housing. Daniel Bullock provided written comments, incorporated here by reference. Gary Bird said he is a member of several school improvement teams in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS). He said his concern is the older infrastructure in many of the schools, and he encouraged the Board to use the bond funding for renovations of these older schools to insure the safety of the students and teachers. Barbara Redmond said she is a homeowner at Phoenix Place (affordable housing), and these homes would never have been built without bond money from the 2001 bond. She asked them to support affordable housing in the 2016 bond. Mark Marcoplos said he is on the Housing Authority Board. He said it should first be acknowledged that the process for this bond should include transparency, but it has not. He said many members of the public here tonight did not get a chance to hear the Board's April discussion about the bond. He asked the Board to reconsider and add affordable housing as part of the bond. He asked the Board to walk the talk with real funding and a real plan. He urged the Board to make this social investment. Margaret Samuels, a social worker, said she has worked with families in the community in many areas, with one of them being education and early education. She thanked the Board for its ongoing commitment to education. She said the Board is the last line of defense for the school systems. She asked the Board to support the schools with the bond referendum. Dan Levine said he is a lifelong Orange County resident, and he urged the Board to add affordable housing to the bond referendum. Rani Dasi said she is asking the Board to expand the bond offer to cover school capital needs, as well as affordable housing needs. Ellie Kinnaird said she is a member of the Affordable Housing Advisory Board and is here to ask them to support affordable housing in the bond referendum. She said Orange County is not exempt from poverty, and children that live in poverty do not do well in schools. She asked the Board to allocate $10 million in the bond for affordable housing. Jonzella Bailey Pridham asked the Board to fund safe, affordable housing in the bond. She said the community is full of people with great potential, and willingness to work but lack somewhere safe to live. Sharon Barrett said she is the Vice President for Advocacy for the CHCCS Parent Teacher Association, and she hoped that the Board would expand the bond to include other issues. She said CHCCS parents are tired of organizing to petition the Board annually for more school funding. She asked the Board to do the right thing and fund the schools.