Minutes 04-16-2019 Regular Meeting

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2 Seamus O'Neill said he is here to speak about Linda Sarsour, whom he considers the radical left's version of David Duke. He said the BOCC would understandably never invite David Duke to speak, and he questions why the BOCC would invite Sarsour, who is equally polarizing. He said local government has a lot of responsibilities to account for, and he hopes it will no longer waste funds on something so destructive and divisive. He said if the BOCC wants to unify the community, it should agree that the Sarsour incident was a mistake that will not be repeated. 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 Dorosin said he attended the North South Bus Rapid Transit meeting, and in September a request will be sent to the FTA to have the project evaluated and voted on to get into the President's budget for 2021-22. He said any rating medium or above is good, and a rating should be issued by early 2020. He said they are working to get the design drawings to 30%, at which point it will be turned over to the environmental team for evaluation. He said some decisions have yet to be made regarding the area from Eubanks to North Street, as to whether to construct or convert additional lanes. He said it may vary in different parts of the road, but the decision will be made by the time it is submitted in September. He said if all stays on track, there will be two years of construction, a year to order the buses, with service beginning in 2023. He said buses will be on the outside lanes, and some questions still remain about the area around the UNC hospital now that light rail will not be present. Commissioner Greene asked if it is still true that there will not be dedicated lanes below Cameron Avenue. Commissioner Dorosin said yes, probably from North Street to south of Mason Farm Road. Commissioner Greene said it may or may not make the stops on time. Commissioner Dorosin said that is certainly a reality. He said it will really be a BRT system from Eubanks to North Street and from 54 to Southern Village. He said in between it will likely function as a regular bus. He said he will forward the presentation that was shown at the meeting to the Board Commissioner Marcoplos handed out a draft resolution that he would like to be considered at the next BOCC Meeting on May 2"d to honor Daniel Aaron Toben, a lifelong resident of Orange County, who has voluntarily spent thousands of hours and thousands of dollars of his earned income over the past ten years cleaning up trash and tires in some of the most neglected parts of Orange County. Commissioner Marcoplos petitioned the solid waste department to educate the public on how to terminate the delivery of catalogs. Commissioner Price said she attended the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting, where they voted to end the light rail project. She said there was one amendment made to the resolution to mention the role of the State Government, and its impact, on the outcome of the project. Commissioner Price said she attended the Family Success Alliance (FSA) meeting and when summer comes many children may not get meals. She said there may not be enough slots for summer camp, and the camps are cost prohibitive for some families. She said she would like a matrix as to what summer programs are available to children to go on the website, which can also allow the Board to see where gaps may exist.