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Attachment -- <br /> 1 <br /> 1 DRAFT MINUTES <br /> 2 ORANGE COUNTY <br /> 3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> 4 BUSINESS MEETING <br /> 5 April 18, 2023 <br /> 6 7:00 p.m. <br /> 7 <br /> 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Business Meeting on Tuesday, April 18, <br /> 9 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. <br /> 10 <br /> 11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jamezetta Bedford, Vice Chair Earl McKee, <br /> 12 and Commissioners Amy Fowler, Sally Greene, Jean Hamilton, Phyllis Portie-Ascott, and Anna <br /> 13 Richards (arrived at 7:01 p.m.) <br /> 14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None. <br /> 15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts <br /> 16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager <br /> 17 Travis Myren, and Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified <br /> 18 appropriately below) <br /> 19 <br /> 20 Chair Bedford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All commissioners were present, <br /> 21 except for Commissioner Richards. <br /> 22 <br /> 23 <br /> 24 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda <br /> 25 <br /> 26 Chair Bedford dispensed with reading the public charge. <br /> 27 <br /> 28 <br /> 29 2. Public Comments (Limited to One Hour) <br /> 30 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda <br /> 31 <br /> 32 There was no one signed up to speak. <br /> 33 <br /> 34 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda <br /> 35 (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) <br /> 36 <br /> 37 Commissioner Richards arrived at 7:01 p.m. <br /> 38 <br /> 39 <br /> 40 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members <br /> 41 Commissioner Greene said she went to the Orange County Partnership to End <br /> 42 Homelessness meeting. She said they received presentations on the Homeless System Equity <br /> 43 Analysis and on the supportive housing systems gap. She said the two presentations made it <br /> 44 clear that readily available ongoing rental subsidy and intensive high quality case management <br /> 45 provided through permanent supportive housing is the lynch pin to equitable homelessness <br /> 46 systems. She said that Black and African American people comprise 12% of the Orange County <br /> 47 population and count for over half of the people experiencing homelessness. She said that people <br /> 48 experiencing homelessness are 14 times more likely to die by overdose and 9 times more likely <br /> 49 to die by suicide. She said almost half of those experiencing homelessness meet the vulnerability <br /> 50 threshold for needing permanent supportive housing. She said the lack of ongoing rental subsidy <br /> 51 paired with high quality intensive case management means that Black and African-American <br />