Agenda - 04-20-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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2 1 Arts Moment— No Arts Moment was available for this meeting. 2 3 4 2. Public Comments 5 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda 6 7 Latarndra Strong read a letter from the members of the Concerned Citizenry of the 8 Efland Cheeks Community: 9 10 Dear Orange County Board of County Commissioners: 11 At this time, we, the Concerned Citizens of the Efland-Cheeks Community, wish to express our 12 concern and disappointment with how matters continue to get handled as issues arise in 13 northwestern parts of Orange County. As a community, we have seen many changes take place 14 over time, the changes we see occurring are not for the betterment of our community. For 15 example, we have seen our adult populations age to senior status, while community resources 16 allocated to service aging populations get redirected to Centers outside of our community. We 17 have seen low skill jobs that pay a living wage leave our community get replaced by low wage 18 retail/food service jobs. We have seen our communities become riddled with drugs, as the same 19 good jobs that left the area are not replaced with comparable jobs, and incarceration becomes 20 the only mechanism employed to address drug use/sells. We have seen zoning changes that 21 impact our community most adversely (e.g., Black Cheeks Crossing area rezoned to 22 commercial/industrial depressing the home values and preventing the ability to make significant 23 home improvements), while other areas are systematically kept rural (aka white). And most 24 recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we found out how severely our communities are 25 impacted from technology dead zones and a lack of capital. 26 27 We are fully aware that Orange County is one of the wealthiest counties in the State of North 28 Carolina, the average property value is $292,500, and the average wage is $61,130. The 29 County's Black population comprises less than twelve percent of the population. However, these 30 facts are not so for Cheeks Township, Tract 011101. The average income of Tract 011101 is 31 over$7,000 lower than the median income of the County, over 32% of the residents of Tract 32 011101 earn less than $30,000, and the average age of the residents of Tract 011101 is higher 33 than the County's median age. Moreover, of this Census tract, Black populations make up 34 almost 20% of the population and we are overrepresented regarding markers that designate 35 poverty like food stamps. This means the average income of Blacks in the Community is 36 significantly lower than the median. We care about the environment just as others do. But if 37 changes are not made to address our present-day survival, we will not have a reason to 38 concern ourselves with future survival or the environment. 39 40 Even though many of us vote, we suspect many of you have never even taken the time to walk 41 the streets of our community. Many of the Blacks who live in this community's ancestors have 42 owned land or resided in this area since racialized slavery ended. As concerned citizens we 43 have one request, consider the irreparable harm that the Efland-Cheeks Community has 44 suffered in the past and present as you plan for the future of Orange County. We put our trust in 45 you when you were elected and our lives, our children's lives, and the lives of our children's 46 children are depending on the decisions you make today and tomorrow. 47 48 John Dempsey read the following letter: 49 50 Dear Commissioners,