Agenda - 09-05-2023; 8-a - Minutes

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Attachment 7 1 1 DRAFT MINUTES 2 ORANGE COUNTY 3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 4 BUSINESS MEETING 5 June 20, 2023 6 7:00 p.m. 7 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Business Meeting on Tuesday, June 9 20, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. 10 11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jamezetta Bedford, Vice Chair Earl McKee, 12 and Commissioners Amy Fowler, Sally Greene, Jean Hamilton, Phyllis Portie-Ascott, and Anna 13 Richards 14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None. 15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts 16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager 17 Travis Myren, and Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified 18 appropriately below) 19 20 Chair Bedford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All commissioners were present. 21 22 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda 23 24 Chair Bedford dispensed with reading the public charge. 25 26 2. Public Comments (Limited to One Hour) 27 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda 28 Todd McGee, Community Relations Director, introduced members of the County 29 Government Academy and reviewed the work they have completed and all they have learned. 30 Chair Bedford thanked participants for attending the academy and thanked the staff 31 members who have helped make it a success. 32 33 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda 34 (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 35 36 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members 37 Commissioner Greene said she attended the NC summit on reducing opioid use that was 38 sponsored by NCACC. She said it brought together a lot of service providers, people with lived 39 experience, social workers, etc. She said it was the first time in recent memory that NCACC had 40 a conference that was not just for county commissioners. She said Attorney General Stein gave 41 the opening remarks, and said she not only learned a lot, but it was powerful to be in the room 42 with people with lived experience who were talking about their experiences. She said Orange 43 County was well-represented including Cait Fenhagen and her staff, as well as Quintana Stewart. 44 She said one session focused on how to spend and account for the opioid settlement money. 45 Additionally, she said that one of the important subjects at the conference was housing. She said 46 people experiencing homelessness need housing as well as people with substance use disorders, 47 which was very apparent in a session on the housing-first model. She said today in the NY Times 48 there is a story on how on federal and many state-levels, there is a movement to get rid of housing- 49 first, even though there is a whole generation of well-documented evidence. She said there is no 50 doubt this model works, but also no doubt people still can't change their attitudes about