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2 <br /> 1 homelessness and feeling like people must show they deserve a house before they can have <br /> 2 one. <br /> 3 Commissioner Fowler said she attended the ABC Board meeting this morning and they <br /> 4 passed the budget which included the full request from the county. <br /> 5 Vice-Chair McKee said he previously petitioned the Board to have staff identify sites for <br /> 6 youth athletic fields, but the Board did not move forward. He said he heard support for the idea of <br /> 7 youth athletic fields at the last meeting, and is renewing the petition and for staff to bring <br /> 8 information back at a work session in the fall on what youth athletic facilities are available in <br /> 9 Orange County, surrounding counties, what programs and facilities used to be provided by the <br /> 10 county and have been picked up by community groups, and what can be done to provide youth <br /> 11 indoor and outdoor recreation facilities in the county. <br /> 12 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she attended the retirement celebration at the Sheriff's <br /> 13 Office today for 6 retiring members of staff. She said she enjoyed hearing the Sheriff's personal <br /> 14 stories about the retirees as they received their plaque, which demonstrated their commitment to <br /> 15 serving the residents of Orange County. She said she attended two Juneteenth celebrations. She <br /> 16 said one was a joint event put on by the Orange County Arts Commission and Free Spirit <br /> 17 Freedom, and the other was hosted by Mt. Zion AME Church. <br /> 18 Commissioner Hamilton said she attended three Juneteenth events this weekend. She <br /> 19 said one was the Chapel Hill-Carrboro celebration, the second was the Orange County <br /> 20 Juneteenth event at the Orange County library, and the third was the Eno Arts Mill gathering. She <br /> 21 said she was glad to be able to attend all three and experience the dedication of staff and elected <br /> 22 officials who were there. She hopes that more people will take advantage of the celebrations to <br /> 23 learn about history and celebrate being together now. Commissioner Hamilton said since she has <br /> 24 been on the Board of County Commissioners, she has been involved in a number of rezoning <br /> 25 decisions, including the recent one regarding Lawrence Rd. She said the Planning Director having <br /> 26 to make a recommendation to the Board troubles her and makes it difficult for them to fulfill the <br /> 27 role of educating the Board of County Commissioners and the Planning Board about the technical <br /> 28 aspects around rezoning as well as the broader community impacts a rezoning change may have. <br /> 29 She said it is her understanding that this is not required by state statute but is controlled by local <br /> 30 ordinance. With that in mind, she petitioned the Board to consider amending the UDO to require <br /> 31 the Planning Director to do an analysis without a recommendation. She said the relevant section <br /> 32 is 2.3.8 of the UDO and states: <br /> 33 "The Planning Director shall cause an analysis to be made of the application and based <br /> 34 on that analysis prepare a recommendation for consideration by the Planning Board and <br /> 35 the Board of County Commissioners." <br /> 36 Commissioner Hamilton said she would propose for the UDO to read: <br /> 37 "The Planning Director shall cause an analysis to be made of the application and share <br /> 38 that analysis and share that analysis for consideration by the Planning Board and the <br /> 39 Board of County Commissioners." <br /> 40 Commissioner Hamilton said she hopes this change can be discussed at the first work session in <br /> 41 September. <br /> 42 Commissioner Richards said she attended many Juneteenth events over the weekend. <br /> 43 She said it is a good opportunity for the community to learn about our shared history and celebrate <br /> 44 the cause of justice for everyone. She said she also attended the Chamber of Commerce <br /> 45 Business Awards Luncheon where the Orange County volunteer fire unit received non-profit of <br /> 46 the year. Commissioner Richards also mentioned item 8-i on the consent agenda. She said she <br /> 47 is pleased there is a new Memorandum of Understanding for the Orange County Climate Council. <br /> 48 She thanked staff for working through this process to get to this point. She said she looks forward <br /> 49 to being able to implement climate activity with the MOU and hopes to see some results out of <br /> 50 that. Commissioner Richards petitioned staff to perform an analysis of the staffing levels at the <br /> 51 detention center now that it has been operational for a while. She said there was a staffing study <br />