Minutes 03-15-2022 Business Meeting

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2 to it, legally ended after March 18, 2020 — nearly two full years ago. Because of that, I believe that all of the restrictions, shutdowns, and stay-at-home orders issued by the County over the last two years have been invalid and probably illegal after March 18, 2020. Why do I believe this? Because the original declaration and each subsequent amendment and extension are in contradiction to the Orange County Code of Ordinances. Section 14-40 of the Code states: "... Any proclamation issued under this article shall expire five days after its last imposition ..." Again, listen to those words: "shall expire five days after its last imposition" The Code doesn't say that the five day expiration is a guide, or a suggestion, or that a proclamation "might expire," or "could expire" - the Code says "shall expire." And "shall expire" is an order, not a choice. I understand the desire by the Board Chair to incorporate phrases such as "shall remain in effect until it is rescinded," but I believe such phrases violate Orange County law. The invalid language in the Declaration gives the purposeful impression that the Declaration could go on forever, and certainly longer than the statutory limit of five days. For the entire two years since the Declaration was first published, the Board and others have purposely given the impression that a valid County State of Emergency existed. If the County wanted a State of Emergency longer than five days, it would have been a simple matter: Just issue a new declaration every five days. For the last two years, thousands of County residents and businesses have been harmed by these invalid emergency declarations. I would think that County residents and businesses might seek legal recourse for the mental, emotional, physical, and financial harm they have incurred since the expiration of the Declaration two years ago. I request that the Board publicly display and send a statement to the media saying that the original State of Emergency declaration legally expired after March 18, 2020, and that all subsequent Amendments were invalid because there was no legal Orange County State of Emergency declaration in effect when the various amendments were declared." b. Matters on the Printed Agenda (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members Commissioner McKee and Commissioner Hamilton had no comments or announcements. Commissioner Bedford said she will represent the Board tomorrow at the Hillsborough Durham Technical Community College Campus during UNC-Chapel Hill's announcement regarding targeted recruitment of young adult students. She said she will report back to the Board. Commissioner Greene congratulated the Eno River Foundation, Town of Hillsborough, and Orange County for the acquisition of over two hundred acres of the Ayr Mount estate, which will be added to the Eno River State Park. She said the area include four settlement areas, including one that date backs to 1,000 B.C., the Orange County Speedway, green buffers, and wildlife corridors. She said this is an exciting addition to the county's protected natural resources. She said that the Orange County Transit Policy Steering Committee has given tentative approval for the final revised Orange County Transit Plan. She said that the plan should come before the Board in the early fall. She thanked Craig Benedict for his leadership on this plan. Commissioner Fowler indicated that the County is allowed to appoint two members to the Alliance Health Board of Directors beginning in April. She said Alliance Health also has a Family and Consumer Advisory Council that can have up to twelve members. She encouraged people to apply for both boards through the Alliance website. Commissioner Richards had no comments or announcements.