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3 <br /> Commissioner Fowler wished everyone a new year and said she and Commissioner <br /> Greene attended the transit planning meeting, and that information will be brought to the public <br /> in February. She said that they are looking to expand frequency and hours on certain routes to <br /> increase environmental equity and sustainability. She said she also attended her first Alcoholic <br /> Beverage Control (ABC) Board meeting and heard from local law enforcement agencies on <br /> alcohol-related education and outreach activities over the past year. She said that the ABC <br /> Board also discussed increasing salaries to living wage standards and addressing compression <br /> due to the General Manager's salary being tied to that of the Clerk of Superior Court. She said <br /> she may bring a question related to that to a future Board meeting. <br /> Commissioner Richards expressed appreciation for Christian Hirni, Land Conservation <br /> Manager in the Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks, and Recreation, who spent two <br /> hours with her to discuss Orange County land conservancy and preservation. She stated that <br /> Mr. Hirni was very generous with his time and she appreciated that and has a better <br /> understanding because of it. She said she also attended the meeting on strategies to address <br /> the opioid epidemic. She indicated she isn't sure of Orange County's status with the settlement <br /> and would like to have a better understanding of all of the community organizations that are <br /> dealing with the opioid issues. She stated that the presentation included five steps that all <br /> counties should be doing right now and she plans on finding out more about where Orange <br /> County is and then maybe make a formal request later. <br /> Chair Price said Orange County was one of the first to sign on and that Chapel Hill also <br /> signed on because of the size of the city and that Orange County is good to go. She said there <br /> are people working on what the money should be used for. <br /> Commissioner Richards asked if that information would come to the Board at some <br /> point. <br /> Chair Price stated that the Board received some preliminary information on that and <br /> then recognized Commissioner Greene for further information. <br /> Commissioner Greene said there is a meeting on Thursday of the reconvened Opioid <br /> Task Force. She stated the pandemic has caused the crisis to worsen and at the same time, <br /> took some of the focus away from the task force. She stated that the task force will be meeting <br /> again now. She said she will be at the next meeting to talk about the connections with the state. <br /> She stated that Commissioner Richards had a good question, and she will continue to make <br /> sure all the community partners are involved. She stated that the good news is that because of <br /> all the work that has been done with the Sheriff's Office and Caitlin Fenhagen's Office (Criminal <br /> Justice Resource Director), the county is in good shape to move forward. <br /> Chair Price said there are several possibilities the task force is looking at. She said it <br /> was started out of a basic interest in addressing the opioid epidemic and coming off a <br /> presidential initiative that the NCACC had several years ago. She said that now that the <br /> litigation is resolved, the task force decided to get back together again and determine how to <br /> move forward. She said that the BOCC still must determine how the funds will be distributed, so <br /> staff will need to bring that back for discussion and decisions. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton wished everyone a happy new year and said the Capital Needs <br /> Work Group meeting was rescheduled from January 10th to January 27th from 8:30-10:00 am. <br /> They will be discussing schools' capital needs and focusing on improving maintenance issues in <br /> public schools. <br /> Commissioner McKee had no announcements. <br /> Commissioner Bedford wished everyone a happy new year and said she attended the <br /> Environmental Steering Committee meeting with NCACC this morning. She said the Board has <br /> received inquiries lately about trash along roadways. She said that NCDOT provided a <br /> presentation during the meeting and that in 2021, NCDOT picked up over 13 million pounds of <br /> litter and dumping. She said the prior year was only 6.5 million because of COVID and the <br />