Agenda 01-18-22; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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23 1 details will be decided in the future and she will be pushing on those details going forward but 2 will likely vote in favor of this. 3 Commissioner Greene said this has been a long process, and she was around in 2003, 4 and thoughts were very different then about what the needs of the community were, etc. She 5 said this plan has evolved to a clear point for a couple of years now. She said she appreciates 6 neighbors for speaking on behalf of the Rogers Road community who suffered the 7 consequences of the existing landfill. She agreed that the lack of trust is disturbing, but she 8 does not share discomfort about the lack of details at this time. She said the BOCC is 9 reconfiguring the land to preserve that, which should be preserved. She said there is much to 10 talk about later, but she wants to move forward tonight. 11 Commissioner Bedford agreed with her colleagues, and noted that the BOCC does not 12 have any new members to seat. She said she participated in one of the zoom public sessions, 13 and wants to talk about what future public events should involve. She said she also found it 14 concerning that the public knew about this being on agenda before she did. She said she 15 supports moving this process forward, as she has voted for it previously. She agreed that there 16 are many details to determine in future conversations, especially regarding affordable housing. 17 She said home based businesses may be a good option, along with other small stores. She 18 said the voices of the Rogers Road and Eubanks Road have to be respected, and they put up 19 with the landfill nonsense for far too long. She said in 2007, the CHCCS asked the towns and 20 counties to do a search for more land for schools, and 10 properties came back. She said 21 several were inappropriate for school sites, and this land is truly the last and only site for a 22 school. She said she wants to reassure people that around 2013-2014 the schools and the 23 BOCC decided to put new funds towards renovating older facilities. She said the older buildings 24 are smaller and capacity can be expanded. She said there is a lot to consider in next steps, 25 and she wants to be able to respect the change in affordable housing needs as the years go on. 26 She said Chapel Hill's planning department will the take lead on how everyone will be involved 27 in the planning. She said COVID has caused delays and she looks forward to being in person 28 to make great progress moving forward. She said it would have been better for this to be 29 brought to a work session to hash out wording before bringing it to an actual vote. She said it is 30 not too early to think about funding while working on the budget, and do some capital banking 31 now. She said the county committed last $2.5 million of its affordable housing bond to 32 Homestead Road projects. She said there is a lot of work to do, but she is committed to it. 33 Chair Price said it is time to invest in the Rogers/Eubanks community. She said the 34 county and municipalities have treated this community unfairly for decades, and she sees this 35 as another step in the right direction to provide housing, stability, and other services. She said it 36 would be great to have a local school. She said it is important to respect the voices of people 37 who live there. She said she walked around the neighborhood over the years and heard about 38 issues with their wells in the early 1990s. She said 30 years later the county is still trying to 39 provide a decent neighborhood for people who have been burdened for so long. She said there 40 was no intention of deception from staff or elected officials, and this evening's resolution is not 41 too far off from what the majority of the Board vote on two years ago. She said she is surprised 42 by the complaints and concerns. She said the towns and the county are trying to work jointly 43 and have things approved in the same timeline, so by the end of the week all boards are on the 44 same page. She said several statements went out to the general public to show that the towns 45 and county are trying to work together for the benefit of the community. She said she is ready 46 to support the resolution. 47 Commissioner McKee agreed with Chair Price's comments, and said the three partners 48 have to be in agreement. He said this is a reconfiguration, but is the same concept on which 49 the Board voted several years ago that will allow for recreation and animal movement. He said 50 he understands the concern with process, but there will always be a concern with process, and 51 at some point in time the BOCC has to move forward and now is the time.