Orange County NC Website
5 <br /> community to provide all information, bring Mebane into the picture, and if the community is <br /> not happy staff can pull sections out of it. <br /> Commissioner Price asked if staff could speak to the community prior to the Board <br /> voting. <br /> Craig Benedict said he can always talk to the community. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin said the Board could delay it briefly, or alternatively, the <br /> Board could approve it and add an addendum letter that lays out the community's <br /> concerns. <br /> Commissioner Greene asked if the public hearing could just be reopened. <br /> Nishith Trivedi, Transportation Planner, said there is an appendix to the report that <br /> includes the information from the community meeting and letters and responses with the <br /> public. <br /> PUBLIC COMMENT: <br /> Reverend Norman Umstead said the community is here tonight because of the <br /> recommendations presented at the February 5th meeting. He said there are two historic <br /> black churches on Buckhorn Road, and they would like for their community to stay intact. <br /> He said all three proposed options run through 3 cemeteries. He said over 141 years of <br /> ancestors are buried in these cemeteries, and a flyover will not help when the concrete and <br /> steel will be sitting in the middle of the cemetery. He said noting that the plan is not yet <br /> definite does not provide much comfort to the community. <br /> Chair Rich asked if John Roberts would lay out some options. <br /> John Roberts said there are two options: approve the plan and anyone who has <br /> concerns to send them in writing, which can be appended to the plan; or restart the <br /> community process of public hearing, etc. He said the latter option is a long process. <br /> Commissioner Greene asked if there is a reason the process takes so long. <br /> Nishith Trivedi said the process takes so long is because staff sends out 1000 <br /> letters to community members; hosts community meetings; goes back through advisory <br /> boards such as planning and OUTBoard; and schedules another public hearing in front of <br /> the BOCC. <br /> Chair Rich asked if the County must go through the whole process again, or could a <br /> public hearing just be opened this evening or at another time. <br /> John Roberts said the public hearing could not be opened tonight, and he will look <br /> into whether one can be opened at all. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos clarified that there will be a time in the process, moving <br /> forward, for the community to address its concerns. He asked if this would be as thorough <br /> a process as a public hearing. <br /> Craig Benedict said an access management plan is a rudimentary one that begins <br /> other processes, and there is nothing within it that is set in stone. He said it is ideas, and if <br /> those ideas are infeasible then the alignments will be analyzed. He said addendums can <br /> be added to the plan, so that all comments are included, and distributed to all relevant <br /> partners. He said opening a public hearing requires for everyone to receive notice. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos asked if this process could be completed in the next week <br /> or two and if acceptable to the community, things could move on, and if not, the Board <br /> could make another decision at that time. <br /> Craig Benedict said he can meet with the community in the next few weeks. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin said this item came before the Board a few weeks ago, and <br /> the Planning Department had not flagged that these flyovers could potentially adversely <br /> affect these churches and cemeteries. He said if the Board had heard this information at <br /> the public hearing, it could have had this conversation at that time. He asked if staff had <br /> known about these concerns. <br />