Minutes 01-27-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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9 Commissioner Jacobs noted that the Manager is conducting an analysis of how growth in the municipalities is affecting County services. They can take a less passive approach to transportation impacts now that they have transportation staff. Perhaps a team can be assembled to engage proactively with municipal staffs about the impact of development on the County transportation system. For example, what if Carrboro wanted to develop more intensively along Old 86? Our participation on the MPOs is formulaic, and getting a project onto a TIP is a 7-10 year process. They need more creative ways of getting involved in the transportation planning process with the neighbors who affect them, including Alamance. Commissioner Rich noted that Commissioner McKee has been asking for years to bring services and programs into the rural parts of the County. It does not have to be permanent: periodic flu shots in Cedar Grove, for example, or blood pressure or diabetes screening. Commissioner McKee said the Cedar Grove community center has smaller rooms that would support the kinds of services that Commissioner Rich is talking about. He asked Janet Sparks what the status is of bringing such services to the community centers. Janet Sparks replied that the Department Directors recently met with the Cedar Grove staff for initial conversations. Bonnie Hammersley said her direction to David Caldwell when he was the Community Center Coordinator was to assess needs and coordinate with the Department Directors and Manager in developing a plan for bringing services to the centers. He recently took a different position with the County and they are recruiting now to refill the position. The new coordinator will continue the work that Mr. Caldwell started. In the meantime, she is meeting weekly with representatives from the community centers, talking mostly about facilities because the winter is a down time for programming. Commissioner McKee expressed support for asking Tanger Outlets for a contribution, and for improving the ability of rural residents -- including people in Bingham Township -- to access services via public transportation. There are a lot of elderly people in this county who do not have family who can drive them to appointments and they need to keep that in mind. Commissioner McKee said they also need to keep the LRT component of our transportation plans in mind. The increase in its cost impacts everything they are talking about today. If they are truly committed to holding down their local taxes then this Board is going to need to ask some very serious questions about LRT. None of them imagined a year ago that the borrowing for that project would go out to 2062. He said he only found out about that a month ago, and only because he asked a question from out of the blue. As Commissioner Dorosin said earlier today, sustainability is not only about holding the line, it also is about moving forward. They won't be moving forward if they commit themselves to repeated tax increases; they'll just be spinning their wheels. Commissioner Price said most of the community centers hosted County services before those services were cut back. Cedar Grove hosted Durham Tech, the library, and day care for example. Efland-Cheeks and Rogers Road had services as well. The issue now is whether they are behind decentralizing services again. The people want it, but the "powers that be" at the time shut it down. Example 2: Broadband Following a stretch break, Travis Myren presented on the status quo, forces of change, and resilience measures planned or being taken by the County with regard to broadband. The PowerPoint presentation is below: Broadband Access National Statistics-graph Orange County Statistics