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1 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary February 8, 2016 Richard Whitted Meeting Facility, Hillsborough ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRESENT: Lydia Wegman (Chair), May Becker, Peter Cada, Thomas Eisenhart, Loren Hintz, Bill Kaiser, Bill Newby, Rebecca Ray, Sheila Thomas-Ambat ABSENT: Lynne Gronback, Jeanette O’Connor, David Welch STAFF: Rich Shaw, Brennan Bouma GUEST: Kathleen Smith _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ I. Call to Order – Wegman called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm. II. Ad ditions or Changes to Agenda – There were none III. Minutes – Wegman asked for comments on the December 14 meeting summary. Eisenhart motioned approval as written; seconded by Cada. Approved unanimously. IV. Welcome / Resolutions of Appreciation – Wegman welcomed Bill Kaiser back to the CFE on which he had served previously including two years as chair. Wegman also welcomed Kathleen Smith who has applied for CFE appointment and wanted to observe the meeting. CFE members and staff introduced themselves to Kaiser and Smith. Shaw presented draft resolutions of appreciation for three outgoing CFE members: Jan Sassaman, David Neal, and Gary Saunders. CFE members offered no changes to the resolutions; they were approved by acclimation. Shaw will prepare final versions of the resolutions for Wegman’s signature, and then send or deliver to each recipient. V. $2 Billion Statewide Bond Campaign – Shaw provided an overview of the $2 billion bond campaign for North Carolina (Connect NC), scheduled for a vote as part of the March 15 primary elections. He presented PowerPoint slides about the bond and the kinds of projects to be funded in the categories of education, water and sewer infrastructure, National Guard and public safety, agriculture, parks and zoos. Shaw said that according to the bond campaign there is bipartisan support for the bond, and that no tax increase is expected to pay for the bond over the next 20 years. He said the bond package includes $75 million for state parks, with $4 million of that for the NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Shaw noted that $2.8 million of the parks allotment would go to improvements at Eno River State Park, and Orange County would also be in line for funding to acquire land and trail easements for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST). CFE members discussed the contents of the bond package and identified elements germane to the CFE’s purview that could benefit Orange County. CFE members noted Eno River State Park and the MST in particular, and also Jordan Lake since many Orange County residents of visit that site. Thomas-Ambat said the county and its municipalities might also benefit from funding to upgrade and retrofit water and sewer infrastructure, thus improving water quality for residents and aquatic organisms.