Agenda - 03-21-2006-9a - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1.3 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2.3 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 .34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 4.3 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 DRAFT 7. Special Presentations a. Receive Public Cc ~ ~, a~~ ~u~~~L CaMn~n~ g Commissioners The Board received public comment on the Board's plan to pursue Proposal 5 along with related items for a November 2006 referendum on district elections for the Board of County Commissioners; to provide the Board with an opportunity to consider the content of a Resolution calling for the referendum; and to give the Board the opportunity to provide comments, question and any further direction to staff. Chair Jacobs said that they had originally intended to hear public comment tonight and then act, but since Commissioner Foushee is not here, they can hear the comments and then take an action at the next meeting. Geof Gledhill said that this is a process that had a beginning in January 2005 and there have been a series of meetings and public hearings. The Board of County Commissioners on February 16, 2006 approved Proposal 5, which says that there will be a total of five members on the Board of County Commissioners in the district and at-large plan submitted to the voters. The elections would continue to be partisan and the district map plan would have one member from district 1 (all of the County except Chapel Hill Township); two members from district 2 (Chapel Hill Township); and two at-large members. Members elected from the districts would have to reside in the districts.. They would be nominated from members of their party everywhere in the County and then ultimately elected by all voters in the County.. The Board also confirmed that a referendum on Proposal 5 would be presented at a November 2006 referendum. The Board also confirmed that the implementation of the district at-large system would begin at the 2008 primary election. What has not been decided by the Board of County Commissioners, but is presented for consideration tonight, is an implementation or transition plan, He made reference to the map and the data that are available to the public. District 1 has approximately 39,000 people and district 2 contains approximately 76,578 people (based on 2000 census data). Chair Jacobs asked if the principles adopted by the County Commissioners were available to the public, and it was answered no, He read same of the principles, which are included in the agenda abstract, Commissioner Gordon said that the proposal she came forward with had the possibility of nominating by district or just having people reside in districts. She pointed out that the Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 to make these residency districts. PUBLIC COMMENT: Artie Franklin lives in Chapel Hill and made reference to page three, paragraph one of the abstract. He said that he found Commissioner Cordon's suggestions logical, but he hopes that the Board will consider changing the references to the at-large seat to a countywide seat. He thinks that the at-large seat and at-large elections could lead to some confusion., Also, in the next paragraph regarding the publication of the resolutions, the News of Qrange and the Chapel Hill Herald were both specifically mentioned. He asked that they also consider adding The Chapel Hill News and The Daily Tarheel because it would increase the opportunity of Grange County residents to receive notice. He said that there have been comments by County Commissioners that the district representation proposal under consideration is a start.. He said that it might be helpful to add an evaluation process to measure the effectiveness of and to provide for improving the proposal should it pass in November.