Minutes 12-06-2021 Virtual Business Meeting

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4 Commissioner Hamilton said the first meeting of the Capital Needs Work Group took place November 291h. She said this group was formed to look at the facility needs of the K-12 public schools, and it is comprised of elected officials and staff from the County as well as the Orange County Schools (OCS) and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) districts. She said she is serving as the Chair with Bonnie Hauser, member of the OCS board of education, serving as Vice-Chair. She said Gary Donaldson, Orange County Chief Financial Officer, gave a presentation on the finances for capital needs for schools. She said the work group will meet again on January 101h at 8:00 a.m. She said Chair Price is the other commissioner on the Capital Needs Work Group. She said the Board of Health also met on November 17th and wrapped up work for the year. Commissioner Bedford said she sat in on the Alliance Health Board Meeting last Thursday, and the transition is effective December 1 st. She said it will take a billing cycle to work through some of the wrinkles, due to the transition. She said she forwarded a letter from the Alliance Board Chair welcoming Orange County. Commissioner Greene said the Cedar Ridge High School women's volleyball team won the state championship, which is the school's first state championship since 2003, when the men's track team won. She said she became aware of this achievement during the Hillsborough Holiday Parade, where she was positioned in front of the team's float. Commissioner McKee said the parade was well received, and there was a large crowd in attendance. He said there is a milestone coming up for the Broadband Task Force in the next couple of weeks when RFPs are due back. He said the task force will be meeting on Wednesday to discuss how those will be opened, followed by another meeting in a couple of weeks to actually look over and evaluate them. He said the group will also look into some short term wireless options, until the fiber fix can be implemented. He said this will be an expensive and long project, but he is glad that it is moving forward. Chair Price said there is draft Rules of Procedure as an information item in tonight's packet, and the Board will be voting on that at the December 14th meeting. She said the main changes were just correctional updates. She said the rules can be amended in the future, but she hopes this can serve as a basis that is accurate. She reminded the public that the mask mandate is still in effect in public indoor spaces, in light of the Omicron variant. She asked if the board would like to recognize the Cedar Ridge volleyball team at their next meeting with a proclamation. She said December 6, 1865 was the day of the ratification of the 13th Amendment, declaring the abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a convicted crime. She said therein lies the rub because there are issues with that clause, and vestiges still remain, but today marks 156 years since the abolition of slavery in the United States. Commissioner Greene said there was an item in the Rules of Procedure, to which she wanted to propose an amendment. Chair Price said that can be considered next week, if the Board would like. She said it was not her intention to go through the Rules of Procedure thoroughly, but just to make corrections for accuracy. Commissioner Bedford asked if Commissioner Greene would send the proposed amendment to the Clerk for distribution to the Board. 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations None. 5. Public Hearings None.