Minutes 01-25-2019 BOCC Retreat - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 Commissioner Marcoplos asked about maps that show what commutes and other trips look like for people moving from rural to urban areas. Travis Myren said that in the light rail process there were some spaghetti maps developed that show that. Commissioner Greene said Chapel Hill had maps showing people commuting in and out of Chapel Hill and were readily available, and also showed traffic in and out of the County. Commissioner Price said the maps also show driving within the county. She said her perspective, coming from 20 years living in the County and prior experience in both rural and urban areas, is that everyone shares similar needs. She said they need food, access to transportation, and better jobs, and the difference comes in how services are delivered, and how the County collaborates with other jurisdictions to meet the needs of the citizens. Commissioner Price said many of the people living in urban areas are not very far removed from rural life, as many have only moved to more urban settings in the last generation or half generation. Commissioner Price said Hillsborough was experiencing a good deal of new residents coming to a town where many residents have lived for a long time. She said she sees some resentment coming from longtime residents, but has also seen some growth in bridge building. She recalled a time when she was approached by a person who said to her, "You're not a politician, because you didn't just start changing things." She said this is a perception people have that politicians are not from here, and then make lots of changes. Chair Rich spoke to the "One Orange County" idea referenced by Commissioner Dorosin. She said sometimes the biggest challenge is not between residents of the County, but leaders. She encouraged a continuing conversation to get the board on the same page, and mentioned the counter-productive nature of competition over who gets political credit behind ideas. She said the jurisdictions need to collaborate to solve issues for the greater benefit of the County. Commissioner Dorosin said all local elected officials need to be able to tell their constituents how actions taken outside of their jurisdiction benefit the County as a whole. He said there needs to be more recognition that what benefits the County as a whole, generally benefits the municipalities and vice versa. Chair Rich said this does not happen often. Commissioner Dorosin said it is important to be able to justify the decisions they make by noting how they benefit the entire county. He cited the Wegman's and Hillsborough EDD as examples of projects the County has invested in that benefit the County as a whole. Commissioner McKee said he had been questioned quite sharply by constituents on why the County put money into Wegmans, as it was in Chapel Hill. He said he responded by explaining that Chapel Hill and Orange County collaborated on that project, and that Wegmans had a choice to be across the county line in Durham, but ultimately chose an Orange County location because of congruence with values and viewpoints. Commissioner McKee also cited Morinaga as an example, where skepticism proved to be strong but the results were ultimately similarly strong. He said there was a lot of skepticism on why Orange County was incentivizing a large corporation, and his response was that projects like this keep tax rates down now and in the future. Commissioner Greene asked if those answers were satisfying to residents. Commissioner McKee said he was not sure their minds were changed, but these examples were evidence that good collaboration has been improving in recent years. He said, conversely, there has been less of a common direction in affordable housing, and further work is needed in that area. Commissioner Price said projects like Morinaga became palatable to people when they realized there would be jobs attached to the project. She said Wegmans will eventually be accepted for the same reason, but skepticism remains due to the project being located in