Agenda 10-03-23; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 1 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members 2 Commissioner Hamilton welcomed everyone back from summer. She said there is an 3 upcoming Alliance Health Board meeting on Thursday. She said she is working on communicating 4 up county needs on that board. 5 Chair Bedford extended her appreciation and thanks to everyone in the emergency system 6 for their response to the shooting at UNC Chapel Hill on last Monday. She offered sympathies to 7 the family, colleagues, and students of the victim. She said while the responses set in place 8 seemed to work, there will still be debriefings and review. Chair Bedford said she recently 9 attended a DSS Board meeting, as well as a Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO retreat. At the 10 latter meeting she said there was general agreement to focus on more multimodal projects and 11 be more careful with how dollars are spent. She said she also attended a meeting with the 12 Carrboro MPO subset and there is some missing information that the NCDOT quarterly meeting 13 at the end of September should clarify. She said she attended the neighborhood information 14 meeting regarding the Orange Grove Rd. project. She said she has a better understanding now 15 of why it is not best for Planning Department staff to be present at these types of meetings. She 16 said the Solid Waste Director did a great job answering questions. She said there was a Mayor, 17 Managers, and Chairs meeting about the Greene Tract, and she will send minutes to the rest of 18 the Board. She said there is a pending contract for community engagement design concepts. She 19 reminded the public to review and provide comments on the Climate Action Plan tomorrow 20 evening at the Solid Waste Department in Chapel Hill. 21 Commissioner Greene reiterated Chair Bedford's comments regarding the shooting at 22 UNC. She said she knows several families who sent their children to school for the first time ever, 23 only for them to experience a lockdown and that is something that we should not tolerate. She 24 said better guns laws are needed. She said she represented the Board at a dinner meeting with 25 Representative Valerie Foushee and the Mayors of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. She said it was 26 wonderful to see her elevated to this position and doing such a great job at being their 27 Congressperson. 28 Commissioner Portie-Ascott also thanked the first responders for their actions in response 29 to the tragedy at UNC, as well as their service every other day. She said she represented the 30 Board at two recent conferences, including a NACO conference in Austin as well as the NCACC 31 conference. She said she mostly focused on attending sessions on addressing the housing crisis 32 and the mental health needs of communities. She petitioned the Board to pass a Resolution in 33 support of the Re-Entry Act that would allow Medicaid payments to cover medical care for 34 incarcerated inmates within 30 days of their release, as well as the Due Process Continuity of 35 Care Act which would allow pretrial detainees to receive Medicaid benefits and provide planning 36 grant dollars to states to implement the benefits. She said she was pleasantly surprised to see 37 that Wake County was recognized for their Lease to Home program and all their efforts to address 38 the affordable housing crisis. She said she feels Orange County could have also received the 39 award. 40 Commissioner Fowler reiterated earlier comments thanking first responders for their 41 actions following the shooting at UNC. She also thanked teachers in the community and for 42 helping the children feel safe during lockdown. She said the ABC Board had records sales during 43 FY2022-2023, but expenses are also higher. She said the ABC Board recently approved a six- 44 week parental leave for full time staff. She said filled in for Commissioner Richards at the 45 Burlington-Graham MPO meeting last month and they are working on a new transportation plan 46 which includes a slightly enlarged area around Efland and Buckhorn Rd. She said the plan will 47 likely have to come to the Board for approval for that reason. She said she reminded staff that 48 she would like a work session to see the proposed fund balance range policy in practice. 49 50 51