Minutes 01-22-2019 Regular Meeting

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2 final decisions can be legally made, but a consensus may be reached, which is brought back to the three boards for an official decision. He said the Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC) will be presented consensus recommendations from the working group under time pressure for quick action, without having the full range of information that was available to the working group. He said the light rail project is at a critical stage with rapid design changes being made to resolve opposition, and with cost increases multiplying. He said the project represents a key choice among transit investment options that will foreclose other options, and will have a huge impact on County finances for decades. He said it is time for full public discussion and review of the project, as final decisions and commitments are considered under a tight timing schedule. He petitioned the Board to work with its partners to open up the working group, and other key, meetings, and said there is nothing to fear in allowing more people to be involved and having complete transparency. b. Matters on the Printed Agenda (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members Commissioner McKee referred to the Department of Transportation (DOT) Plan for 1-40 and Highway 86, and said there have been some amendments to the plan and it will not affect the Northwood community as much as first expected. He said he will send a draft resolution to the Chair for consideration at the next BOCC meeting. Commissioner McKee endorsed Mr. Morris' petition to require transparency on the transportation discussions. He said Orange County has long stood for transparency, and his issue is with the moral imperative that when there are divisive discussions that all should be included. He said is he opposed to any more closed meetings involving light rail going forward. Commissioner McKee said he would like minutes from the January 10t" meeting, and going forward he would like to have minutes of these meetings within 7 working days. Commissioner Marcoplos said while Commissioner Bedford was at Commissioners' training in Asheville, he attended a Department of Social Services (DSS) meeting in her place. He said he learned that there are about 10,000 residents in Orange County that rely on food assistance. He said this was brought up within the context of the government shut down, and he said if the government does not reopen by the end of February, these residents will not have the typical funding for food upon which they rely. Commissioner Bedford said she and Commissioner Greene attended the School of Government (SOG) Essentials of Government training last week, and she also attended the Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Commissioner Bedford said she met with Go Triangle staff to understand more about their purpose and history. Commissioner Price said many thanks to all who organized and participated in the MILK events this past weekend. Commissioner Price said the Durham/Chapel Hill/Carrboro MPO met last week, and, as a result, the 2018 state of the region report is out, and comments should be submitted by January 30t" Commissioner Price said the draft FY2020 Unified Planning Work Program was released for public comment, and the public hearing to approve it will be on February 13t" Commissioner Price petitioned staff to keep the Board up to date on the status of the effects of the government shutdown on Orange County residents. Commissioner Price said she participated in a conference call with the Rural Action Caucus of the National Association of Counties (NACo) today, which discussed a concern that