Minutes 03-16-2021 Virtual Business Meeting

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6 department don't fully appreciate the genuine and indisputable value of our water and perhaps, other natural resources—if they did, Buc-ee's would never have gotten the first green light. So we don't go down the same (Beaver) trail, I respectfully ask that you hang onto the reins and give specific direction and guidance to both the Planning Board and the Planning Department on how to meaningfully engage Orange County citizens so that our county's resources are appropriately used for the good of the community and protected, as necessary. Perhaps some joint training with the Commission for the Environment (CFE) should be considered for the planners and citizens, alike. 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 Greene said the Broadband Task Force, which she and Commissioner McKee are co-chairing, has met once and will meet again on March 17, 2021. She said a member of the task force is helping the committee examine grants and other funding sources. She said the task force will meet every two weeks. Commissioner Greene said the transit policy committee, which she and Commissioner Dorosin are co-chairing, has completed Phase 1 of planning, which involves examining the landscape and receiving public engagement. She said the next steps are to examine how much revenue is projected for is Article 43 sales tax, and determining the priorities, in order to present back to the public. She said through 2025, revenue to support extra transit projects is very constrained, under $1 million per year. She said from 2025 to 2035, the tax revenue will increase to $4.8 million annually. She said after 2035, tax revenue will increase to $8 million annually. She said, for perspective, a bus rapid transit system costs between $12 and $80 million per mile. She said the policy committee determined that the 2017 plan is good, except that it lacks connectivity to Durham County, due to light rail no longer being an option. She said the policy committee is looking at a bus connector to Durham, or other type of rapid transit connector, depending on the available budget. She said when the draft plan goes back for public comment, the policy committee will consider other ideas for meeting underserved areas of the County; however, revenue for the next several years will continue to be constrained. She said the transit policy committee will meet with the Durham County Board of Commissioners to discuss connection between the counties. Commissioner Greene said she and Commissioner Bedford attended the Family Success Alliance (FSA) meeting, and she chaired the Area Agency on Aging board meeting in the past week. She said both boards discussed how partner organizations are doing. She said one partner, Volunteers for Youth, needs mentors for ages 8-14. She said the goal of Volunteers for Youth is to keep young people out of the teen court program. She said at the Area Agency on Aging meeting, she learned about direct care providers, and that there is a shortage of workers in that field due to low wages. She said 40%of these workers are undocumented. She said the takeaway is that some of our community are doing fine, pandemic or not, but many in the community are just hanging on. She read a quote attributed to several people, "Be kind to everyone, for everyone you meet is facing a great battle." Commissioner McKee thanked Commissioner Greene for the comments for the Broadband Task Force. He said there is interest from state legislators for addressing the broadband needs in the community, and he has hope for moving forward. Commissioner Bedford said she attended the Partnership to End Homelessness meeting, which involves many agencies in the community. She said the committee is doing a significant amount of work on racial equity training.