Minutes 12-03-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 missed, and will present some challenges while also signifying real change. He said he appreciated Commissioner Jacobs’ candor, and his giving of praise and encouragement, as well as critique and constructive criticism. Chair Dorosin introduced Senator Foushee and Representative Graig Meyer and asked them to come to the podium for a special presentation. Representative Graig Meyer thanked Commissioner Burroughs for her service, and said he is here tonight with a special recognition for Commissioner Jacobs for his service, not only to the County, but to people of the State of North Carolina. He reviewed the following highlights of Commissioner Jacobs’ years of service: In 1985, Barry Jacobs applied to and was granted a seat on the Orange County Planning Board, the beginning of his public service journey. Within six months of appointment he was elected Chair of the Board. Barry Jacobs served on the team that created the Orange County-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Joint Planning agreement, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in October. In 1995 he was appointed as Orange County Representative to the Board of Directors of OWASA, where he served for five years. He was elected to the BOCC in 1998. As commissioner, Jacobs worked to create the Orange County Lands Legacy Program, which provides for the acquisition and protection of highly important natural and cultural resource lands. In the past 20 years, the county’s natural areas and farmland protection programs have leveraged $5 million in state and federal grants and protected more than 3,000 acres of land. Commissioner Jacobs has ensured Orange County pays a living wage to all county employees, and has continually supported funding for the Orange County and Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools, taking pride in making sure every single school has a full time nurse. He also supported the commercial redevelopment plan for the Fairview community in Hillsborough, including the redevelopment of the Fairview Community Park. Commissioner Jacobs has been a champion of historic preservation, becoming the site supervisor of the Historic Moorefields Estate in 1978. He created a nonprofit, Friend of Moorefield, to assume responsibility of the property. He has advocated for additional historic sites within the state through nominating all of them for the National Register of Historic Places. These sites included the Greensboro Train Station, the Edenton Peanut Factory, the Durham Hosiery Mill, and the Glencoe Mill Village Historic District. Representative Meyer said we would be remiss if we did not thank Commissioner Jacobs for his service to all of us, for his role as a freelance writer, authoring five books, hundreds of articles on sports history and the environment for newspapers, magazines, and the internet, writing multiple copies of fans guides to ACC basketball and continuing through today as a weekly sports columnist for the Raleigh ‘News and Observer,’ fostering one of our many favorite things about North Carolina: basketball rivalry. Senator Foushee thanked Commissioner Burroughs for her service and friendship, and her sacrifice of time away from her family. Senator Foushee said she came to the Board with some reservations about being well received, but Commissioner Jacobs took her in and got to know her, rather than listening to what others may have said about her. She said she served as vice chair with Commissioner Jacobs as Chair, and were able to discuss the County and its future. She said Commissioner Jacobs helped the board move forward from 5 members to 7 members, despite not being in favor of it initially. She said she may not have always agreed with Commissioner Jacobs, but she will boldly proclaim that there is no other resident of Orange County who loves this county