Orange County NC Website
50 <br /> Commissioner Bedford asked if they are suspending the Climate Council. <br /> Chair Price said yes. <br /> Commissioner Bedford said that is what is recommended. <br /> Commissioner Richards said that for an intergovernmental agreement, the other <br /> governments must be involved to adopt an MOU. She said this would not be solely Orange <br /> County's staff creating this. She said the proposal is that we use the Intergovernmental Parks <br /> as a model and specify the charge. She said there would be a new MOU created. <br /> Chair Price said yes. She said the reference about the county doing a plan is because <br /> they do not have one like the other jurisdictions have. <br /> Commissioner Greene asked if Commissioner McKee was recommending a staff-only <br /> working group. <br /> Commissioner McKee said no. <br /> Commissioner Greene clarified that it would be like the Intergovernmental Parks Work <br /> Group with staff and then elected officials appointed. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton said she would like to suspend the Climate Council for now, <br /> because she is not sure she agrees with all of the recommendations in the presentation about <br /> the charge. She said she would be happy to see an MOU. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton made a motion to suspend the Climate Council and ask staff to <br /> draft a memorandum of understanding with a restructured Climate Council based on the <br /> Intergovernmental Parks Work Group and recognize the need for the county to create its own <br /> climate action plan led by the county's sustainability coordinator and advised by and facilitated <br /> through the Commission for the Environment. <br /> Commissioner Bedford seconded the motion. <br /> VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> d. Discussion of Extensions to State of Emergency Declarations <br /> This item was added at the beginning of the meeting. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he heard there may be an extension of the local state of <br /> emergency declaration until the end of June, which he disagreed with. He said he does not <br /> think the numbers justify an extension. He said he wanted to put it out for consideration, and <br /> he was fine if the Board wanted to discuss it at a future work session. He said he wanted to <br /> propose updating the wording in the ordinance to state as follows: <br /> "Emergency declarations once declared as per existing protocol by the Chair in <br /> consultation with management that last more than 30 days will require Board of <br /> Commissioner review and confirmation at the first formal business meeting of <br /> the following month and each subsequent month in order to remain in effect." <br /> Commissioner McKee said he did not think they had ever had an emergency last more <br /> than two or three days. He said extending the review to 30 days is more reasonable than the <br /> five days he originally suggested. He said he felt that to have an emergency declaration for <br /> more than 30 days needs confirmation by the Board. He said he does not question any of the <br /> commissioners, Chair, management or Emergency Services, but he felt that due to the impact <br /> on the community, it needs to be a Board decision after 30 days. He said it could be as much <br /> as 60 days depending on when it fell. He said that towns have ability to declare and impose <br /> restrictions without the county being a part of it, so it should not be an impediment to the towns <br /> deciding what is best for their own constituency. He said it was something that needed to be <br /> looked at as a policy change, how does the county handle long-term emergency declarations. <br /> Chair Price said it was timely because there is current state of emergency declaration <br />