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2 <br /> <br />Chair Rich said the Board will bring this issue for discussion at a work session soon. <br />Riley Ruske said he submitted a petition about the Pledge of Allegiance being recited at <br />Board meetings at the September 3 meeting, and a follow up BOCC actions list states that it will <br />take 2 months to write a letter back to him. He said a second, more complex petition was listed <br />as “done,” indicating a lack of consistency in responding to citizen petitions. He made another <br />petition for the BOCC to: <br />1. create a written process, or procedure, for handling citizen petitions, which includes <br />timelines for completion of actions by the BOCC. <br />2. direct Orange County management to permanently post this procedure on the Orange <br />County website homepage, with a sincere invitation to the citizens of Orange County to <br />avail themselves of the petition process for better communication to the Board. <br />3. direct Orange County management to establish and maintain a database of petitions <br />submitted to, and actions taken by the Board, and provide a link to that database in the <br />above posted procedure. <br />4. To complete all these actions by November 1, 2019. <br /> <br />Riley Ruske said taking these actions would provide for more open communication <br />between citizens and the Board, and hopefully reduce distrust that citizens have for the Board. <br />He said if the Board chooses to deny this petition, it should provide a written and verbal <br />statement as to why. He said today is Constitution Day, recognizing 232 years since the <br />Constitution was ratified. <br /> <br />b. Matters on the Printed Agenda <br />(These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda <br />below.) <br /> <br />3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members <br />Commissioner McKee referred to the meeting follow-up actions, and the petition <br />regarding the pledge of allegiance, which noted a letter will be drafted for an information item. <br />He said he hopes a copy of this letter will be sent to the petitioner. <br />Commissioner Bedford said, this afternoon, at least three Board members watched a <br />webinar from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) about the <br />opioid crisis. She said the state website contains a lot of information. <br />Commissioner Price said she has been in touch with Ralph Gabellieri and his wife Elaine <br />Malek-Madani, who are interested in naming a body of water near their home to Glass House <br />Creek. She said, in order to do so, they need a letter of recommendation from a governing <br />board. She provided the necessary information, and asked if it would be considered at agenda <br />review. She said the couple is working on all the necessary criteria, and there is no apparent <br />conflict. <br />Commissioner Price said she went to the Family Success Alliance (FSA) celebration on <br />Sunday, which was wonderful. <br />Commissioner Price said she attended the ABC Board meeting, and reported that the <br />new store in Hillsborough is moving along on time. <br />Commissioner Price said there will be a Climate Strike event on September 20th at <br />Peace and Justice Plaza, and she hoped that any students wanting to attend would be allowed <br />to do so by their administrators. She said this is a teachable moment for the students. <br />Commissioner Greene said as the Board representative to the Partnership for <br />Homelessness, she and others will be visiting Dr. Allison DeMarco’s social work class to <br />discuss racial equity. She said they have been asked to bring a proposed problem, on which <br />the students can work. She said she will present the housing + transportation index, and how <br />the students would address this need, especially given the County’s rural areas.