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