Agenda - 02-21-2017 - 6-a - Minutes

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21 1 2 Chair Dorosin noted that the infrastructure presentation before lunch was focused internally on 3 the County government. The anticipated forces of change are also relevant to non-government 4 actors. How can they serve as a model to help others be more sustainable. Commissioner Rich 5 agreed. She said they have talked about this at the most recent Triangle J COG meeting. They 6 learned that some companies within the RTP are cutting back on telecommuting, for example. 7 They might want to tap into the communications the COG is preparing to have with some of the 8 larger companies within RTP, perhaps doing the same kind of communicating externally here. 9 They do try to pass along what they know about green building to the residents of Orange 10 County. Chapel Hill had a grant to help lower-income residents weatherize their homes; they 11 could look into things like that. 12 13 Chair Dorosin said it would be helpful to anticipate the infrastructure needs associated with the 14 new Hillsborough growth and with growth near the County's economic development nodes, and 15 to be ready to show"the next Morinaga" how they do resilience in Orange County, so they also 16 can apply sustainable practices. 17 18 Commissioner Rich said that Apex is encouraging people who are building new homes to 19 prepare for adding solar panels, because it is easier to wire the homes for solar when they are 20 being built rather than retroactively. That would be really good for Hillsborough, since they are 21 adding thousands of homes. 22 23 Commissioner Burroughs added that sustainability considerations also could be added to the 24 housing that the County is promoting through the bond. Manufactured housing also has great 25 potential for improving energy efficiency. 26 27 Commissioner Jacobs recalled a retreat at which the purpose was to improve communications 28 to the public about what the County does. They offered domestic partner benefits to our 29 employees before the Towns, for example, and that never gets reported. They did living wage 30 increases before the Towns. Orange County is only one of two counties in the state that has 31 had affordable housing bonds —and they have done three. They are investing in recycling and 32 achieving results like no other county is. They had one of the first land use plans and watershed 33 protection plans in the state. Their Joint Planning Agreement is still unique and the creation of 34 OWASA. If they want to serve as a model for resilience in infrastructure, then when they do 35 something positive they have to communicate it. 36 37 Chair Dorosin suggested an "Orange County First" moment at the beginning of every Board 38 meeting. They could announce their achievements in reducing water and fuel use, for example. 39 40 In reply to a question from Commissioner Marcoplos, David Stancil said the County's 41 environmental health staff would be able to inform the Board of the extent to which all county 42 residents have access to safe drinking water. They have aesthetic issues throughout the county, 43 he said, from naturally occurring contaminants. Iron manganese discolors some residents' well 44 water, for example, but the levels are below those at which they would have any concerns about 45 drinking water safety. He said he is not aware of any safety issues related to the public water 46 supplies through Hillsborough or OWASA. Environmental Health can review their well water 47 records for any pockets or patterns of contamination. 48 49 Commissioner Marcoplos asked about the water supply in the Rogers Road neighborhood and 50 a cancer cluster he has heard about in the Mebane/Efland-Cheeks area. 51 21