Agenda - 06-01-2021; 8-a - Minutes

Browse Search

2 1 Arts Moment— No Arts Moment was available for this meeting. 2 Commissioner Dorosin left the meeting at 7:02 p.m. 3 4 2. Public Comments 5 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda 6 7 Margo Lakin said she lives in Hillsborough. She said she has followed many proposals 8 and zoning issues over the last year: RTLP, Medline, Buc-ee's, Buckhorn Area Plan, and has 9 seen one common thread: a glaring lack of an inclusive process to notify and include the public. 10 She said public notice signs are written in 9-point font, and placed in locations that residents 11 have to risk their lives to access. She said a person living within 1000 feet of a proposed 12 location project will get a notification letter, while his or her neighbor will not. She said rural 13 Orange County seems to be at the epicenter for proposed development, yet so many residents 14 lack access to broadband. She said this is not equitable. She said people were shocked when 15 the slab was poured for Medline, as they had no idea of the magnitude of the footprint. She 16 said residents do need to be responsible to stay abreast of County matters, but that does not 17 mean Orange County is without onus. She said other counties encourage robust public 18 participation, and asked if there is a reason that progressive Orange County is not doing better. 19 She said the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is under an incredible amount of 20 pressure to move quickly to develop, in order to increase jobs and tax revenue, but it is 21 important to understand that the sense of urgency signals to residents that decisions are being 22 made without input, but yet with which the public will be forced to live. She urged the BOCC to 23 insure that all Orange County residents have a seat at the table. 24 25 Commissioner Dorosin rejoined the meeting at 7:03 p.m. 26 27 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda 28 (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda 29 below.) 30 31 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members 32 Commissioner Greene said there was an opioid litigation settlement agreement reached, 33 and major distributors will pay out $850 million dollars over 18 years. She said it will be 34 distributed proportionately, based on where the impact was most severe, based on number of 35 pills distributed, number of deaths, and number of people still suffering. She said 15% of funds 36 will go to the State for opioid remediation; 80% will go directly to counties and 17 qualifying 37 municipalities; and the remaining 5% will go to all counties who sign up all of the municipalities 38 within their county. She said she was one of five commissioners statewide who was involved, 39 along with attorneys and managers, but the North Carolina Association of County 40 Commissioners (NCACC) did heavy lifting. 41 Commissioner Greene discussed a petition, sent earlier in the day, regarding a standing 42 fund that the County would use to subsidize tax bills for low-income taxpayers. She said this 43 fund would help people with appeals. She said the County and the Town of Chapel Hill have 44 not invested in the Northside community. She said people have been unable to gain equity, and 45 investors have secured properties at bargain prices. She said the fault for this situation lies with 46 local government. 47 Commissioner Fowler agreed with Commissioner Greene's proposal to create a fund. 48 She said she has read the articles about how Charlotte and Durham did something similar, 49 based on means testing, length of occupancy, age of residents, etc. She said she would like to 50 look at the details to insure the goal is being served as intended. She said she also supported