Minutes-06-01-2023-Budget Public Hearing Meeting

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6 Bill Rohe said he is an Orange County citizen and a former professor at UNC Chapel Hill where he studied the impacts of affordable housing. He said is a regular volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. He thanked the Board for past support of affordable housing and urged the Board for future support of affordable housing. He acknowledged that there is never enough funding for affordable housing. He said the timeline in the CIP of $15 million over ten years would be improved if it was bumped up to $20 million over ten years. He said in the operating budget that he was happy to see the funding for the home preservation program. He said for a minor amount of funding, they can keep people in their homes. Chief Lehew of the Town of Chapel Hill Police Department and Sarah Belcher said they were there to support OC Build and the Mobile Crisis Team Pilot. Chief Lehew asked the Board to support Commissioner Richards' amendment for OC Build. She said that this provides intervention exactly when it is most needed in their lives. She said that the program has been successful in neighboring Durham County for several years. Sarah Belcher said the Mobile Crisis Team includes a crisis counselor, a community paramedic, and a peer support specialist that would respond to 911 behavioral health calls. She said that funding for the position is in the Chapel Hill Manager's budget. She said that a fourth clinical position would work in the 911 response center. She said this will allow trained individuals to respond to trauma, psychiatric emergencies, and police can deal with more emergent calls. She said that this year is the 501" year that the Chapel Hill Police Department has had a crisis response unit. She said they truly understand the tremendous impact and look forward to seeing this program implemented. Jennifer Panek said she is a parent of students at River Park Elementary and Orange High School. She said that learning STEM skills is invaluable to a student's long-term success. She said that they learn cooperative activities and these things are critical for students to grow. She said that having a dedicated specials teacher for STEAM would free up the guidance counselors and media specialists from having to fulfill these roles. She said the counselors are critical these days and there are problems that students need to be addressed. She said that students that would like to participate but they cannot. She said that her daughter could not be on the team when she had to ride the bus due to transportation. She said providing opportunities is important whether they ride the bus or not. She said that those that are needed in the future for STEM work, are usually those who are required to ride the bus now. Woodrena Baker-Hammell, Chief Public Defender for Orange County, said she was there to support the OC Build. She said she saw it at work in Durham County with her previous clients. She said there are more kids involved in juvenile court and they need more resources. She said she still is involved in juvenile court because she believes if they help them when they are young, they won't be on her caseload when they are older. She said their role models were people involved in the court system. She said some have just stopped caring about themselves. She said this project teaches the youth to care about themselves and care about their future. She said they can have a future that does not involve being in gangs. She asked the Board to support Project Build because it is needed in the community. Deborah Smith introduced her grandson, Demarcus Smith. She said he lost his father when he was four years old. She said that her husband then fell ill, and she had to take care of him. She said at 15, Demarcus was out of school and at 16, he was in the court system. She said that she was determined that she would not lose her grandson to the court system. She said that she met Bishop Glover and that she thanks the Lord for that. She said through Fathers on the Move, she learned how to speak to her grandson, and her grandson found benefits through the program. She is grateful for the program. She said he is now 24 years old and is still with that group. She said he is incredibly smart and that the lack of a mentor in his life caused him to get into trouble. Demarcus Smith said he was matched with Fathers on the Move by the court system to keep him out of trouble. He said through that there has been a positive impact in his life. He said he has seen it make a positive impact on the lives of his friends and he is going to start mentoring