Orange County NC Website
2 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda <br /> 3 Riley Ruske said he came here tonight after watching the basketball game at Cedar <br /> 4 Ridge High School, where he noticed that before the game, everyone stood during the national <br /> 5 anthem. He said he has petitioned the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) multiple times <br /> 6 this fall to include pledge of allegiance at the beginning of each meeting. He said he petitioned <br /> 7 this before, and the Board has failed to discuss and vote on the matter. He said he will keep <br /> 8 bringing this up until the Board responds appropriately. <br /> 9 <br /> 10 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda <br /> 11 (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda <br /> 12 below.) <br /> 13 <br /> 14 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members <br /> 15 Commissioner Greene said she attended the Justice Advisory Council meeting last <br /> 16 week She said the County currently has a pre-arrest diversion program, which diverts only first <br /> 17 offenders (in eight specific categories), which does not include underage alcohol possession. <br /> 18 She said the Criminal Justice Resource Department staff is proposing to include the underage <br /> 19 alcohol charge in the current model of the program, to allow for early intervention with treatment <br /> 20 instead of criminal justice involvement. She said this would not include any new resources to <br /> 21 implement. She said additionally, the department wants to create a second track of harm <br /> 22 reduction law enforcement diversion that deflects our "familiar faces" (i.e., repeat low-level <br /> 23 offenders with behavioral health issues and often experiencing homelessness). This will involve <br /> 24 more intensive case management and will require additional positions working from Chapel Hill, <br /> 25 where most of the "familiar faces" reside. She said the District Attorney has agreed to these <br /> 26 changes, and she hopes the County will approve the necessary budget increases. <br /> 27 Commissioner Bedford said she and others attended the Environmental Summit last <br /> 28 week and heard about the 2019 State of the Environment Report, as well as regional updates. <br /> 29 She said it was an informative meeting. <br /> 30 Commissioner Bedford said all Board members have been to several swearing in <br /> 31 ceremonies, and she thanked those who have served, and expressed excitement to serve with <br /> 32 those newly appointed to boards. <br /> 33 Commissioner Marcoplos reiterated Commissioner Bedford's comments about the <br /> 34 Environmental Summit and said the Commission for the Environment (CfE) is an excellent <br /> 35 group, doing excellent work. He said the report can be easily found online. <br /> 36 Commissioner Marcoplos said he attended the Family Success Alliance's (FSA) <br /> 37 resource subcommittee group, where the topic was "what criteria should be used for dispersing <br /> 38 $5,000 for innovation grants to the schools". He said the plan is to disperse two $2500 grants, <br /> 39 and eligible schools are those in two FSA zones (zones 4 and 6). He said he was struck by the <br /> 40 need to give away more grants, and he petitioned the manager to add an additional $10,000 to <br /> 41 the grants. <br /> 42 Commissioner Price said she also attended the Environmental Summit, and she liked <br /> 43 the regional approach. She said she used to serve on the CfE, and it is wonderful to see the <br /> 44 good work continuing. <br /> 45 Commissioner Price said the new ABC store opened in Hillsborough today, and there <br /> 46 was a large turnout. <br /> 47 Commissioner Dorosin said he also attended the Environmental Summit, and noted that <br /> 48 there was no discussion of environmental justice, the inclusion of which the BOCC tasked the <br /> 49 CfE. He said it was a noticeable gap in this discussion. He said it was a very homogenous <br />