Minutes-03-14-2023-Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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9 Adam Beeman said that due to supply chain issues and increasing costs the County should try to make improvements sooner rather than later because the costs keep going up. Michael Hughes of the Orange Unified Transportation Board said he wanted to highlight one issue in their report, which is the need for pedestrian access around Grady Brown Elementary. He said he wanted to find a way to make that happen. He said he wanted to resume conversations with NC DOT to try to find a solution. He said that staff does a great job. Chair Bedford said she was talking about that issue to the school boards in the meeting last Thursday. She said that staff is looking into ways to find funding and that the chief engineer was looking at a study. She said they have a meeting in the next couple of weeks and will get an update. She said it is complex to follow and in general, counties cannot do sidewalks, but this is a school. She said it is a community issue. Jenn Sykes of the Affordable Housing Advisory Board said in the past year, one of the biggest things is getting back to meeting in person, not just for the board but also in the community. She said they are planning a community engagement meeting in Cedar Grove. She said the previous year they meet in the Rogers Road community. She said they have evolved in their approaches to affordable housing and are looking at keeping people able to stay in houses. She said they are trying to find partners for supplemental support. She said they have worked with other county boards and municipal governments to talk about ways to improve the stock of affordable housing. She said they are looking at more creative ways to approach affordable housing. She said that they have been able to do program evaluation this year again. She said that many members are involved in outside agencies. Commissioner Richards said she was glad to hear they are expanding and taking a holistic approach. Jenn Sykes said hopefully in the new year they can get back on track. Alice Mahood of the Orange County Housing Authority Board said that they are a federally mandated board. She said they have 679 vouchers and that is the most they have ever had. She said that there is an affordable housing problem in Orange County and there are not enough homes to put the people that need them. She said they mainly focus on housing the homeless. She said they currently face challenges such as the lack of inventory and they do not have a full board. She said they want one or two participants as members on the board. She said that staff worked on trauma informed processes in the way that they interact with people. She said they are currently re-writing their administrative plan. Vice-Chair McKee arrived at 7:54 p.m. Dr. Lee Pickett of the Animal Services Advisory Board thanked the Board for hiring Dr. Strong. She said that Dr. Strong is an outstanding leader. She said that they awarded the Pat Sanford grant to Orange County Meals with Wheels for their pet program. She said they give pet food and cat litter to recipients of Meals on Wheels. She said that pets help people thrive and Meals on Wheels recognized that. She said that the organization also realized that some of their recipients were sharing their food with their pets. She said that their report is comprehensive. She said they interface with their neighbors in ways they hope will save the county pain and heartache. She described three situations. She said there were complaints about noisy roosters and free-roaming cats, which was dealt with by the board. She said they revoked a kennel license that was challenged, and they successfully handled that. Chair Bedford said it is wonderful news about the grant and for the help that will give the seniors and their pets.