Agenda 12-06-21; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 1 Commissioner Richards said she is continuing her education on Orange County, and 2 was briefed by 26 of the 28 departments in the County. She thanked the Clerk for arranging 3 those meetings and staff for meeting with her. She said she attended the Jordan Lake One- 4 Water event, which was very informative. She said she toured the Buckhorn Economic 5 Development area, and is getting out and doing some of the orientation she committed to do. 6 She said she attended a Hispanic Heritage Month event sponsored by Chapel Hill Carrboro City 7 Schools (CHCCS) in Carrboro on Friday night, and then went to the other events Commissioner 8 Greene mentioned. She said she welcomed guests at the Chamber of Commerce issues forum 9 on real estate, and encouraged the Commissioners to watch the video from that event. 10 Commissioner Hamilton said she attended the NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet, and the 11 keynote speech was inspiring and highlighted the importance of working together. She said 12 there is a lot of work to do, which will take a long time and will require tag teaming to get the 13 work done. She expressed appreciation to Hilary McKenzie of the Orange County School 14 (OCS) Board and OCS Superintendent Dr. Felder for sending the resolution to Commissioners 15 to let them know about what is going on in Orange County Schools. She said she is concerned 16 about the learning environment for the students and wants to support them in improving things. 17 18 Commissioner McKee arrived at 7:11 pm. 19 20 Commissioner Fowler seconded Commissioner Hamilton's comments and stands in 21 solidarity with the schools against hate, and is in support of students and staff. She said she 22 attended the Inter-Governmental Parks meeting last month and heard updates from each 23 municipality about parks and land conservancies. She said the main focus remains on following 24 COVID practices, but there has been a lot of use of outdoor facilities thanks to COVID. She 25 said there is increasing focus on sustainability projects as well. She said she attended the 26 NAACP event online. She said it is "Ink-tober", as celebrated by the Orange County Library, 27 and encouraged Commissioners to participate and get engaged. 28 Commissioner Bedford wished Commissioner Greene a happy birthday. She said she 29 voted today and encouraged others to vote early. She said early voting is open in the current 30 week Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and 31 Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. She said next week's schedule is online, and no voter IDs 32 required this year. She thanked the elections staff running the sites and the temporary poll 33 workers. 34 Commissioner McKee recognized and congratulated 29 Orange County farms inducted 35 into the North Carolina Century farm program at the North Carolina State Fair. He said the farm 36 that he and his mother, brother, and sister own was one of the 29 farms. 37 Chair Price referred to the letter from OCS, and said Commissioner Hamilton and 38 Commissioner Bedford have volunteered to write a statement in support. She said she will 39 bring forward a proclamation at the next meeting to proclaim November as Native American 40 Heritage Month. She said she attended the dedication of the mural of African American 41 Trailblazers in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, and encouraged Commissioners to view it because there 42 are recognizable faces there. She said she also went to an event at Pluck, regarding the 43 Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which Commissioner Greene also attended. She said she attended the 44 virtual meeting with the public regarding the Buckhorn Area Study, which included a brief 45 presentation by staff and comments from the public with good discussion. She encouraged 46 anyone with questions to contact Tom Altieri in the Planning Department. She said Saturday 47 10/23 is National Operation Take Back Day, and all three towns are participating. She said this 48 effort allows people to dispose of medications properly. She said drop off locations include the 49 Fairview Community Center, Wegman's in Chapel Hill, and possibly the Town Hall in Carrboro. 50 She said Senator Foushee's weekly newsletter announced that House Bill 951 passed, which 51 provides a path for 70% reduction in carbon emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality by