Minutes-09-05-2023-Business Meeting

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1 APPROVED 1013/23 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUSINESS MEETING September 5, 2023 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Business Meeting on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jamezetta Bedford and Commissioners Amy Fowler, Sally Greene, Jean Hamilton, and Phyllis Portie-Ascott COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Vice-Chair Earl McKee and Commissioner Richards COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager Travis Myren, and Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) Chair Bedford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All commissioners were present, except Vice-Chair McKee and Commissioner Richards. Bonnie Hammersley introduced Jonathon Smith, the new Director of Cooperative Extension. She said he has been with Orange County since 2017 when he was hired as an Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development. She said when the former director, Tyrone Fisher, was promoted to the North Central District Extension Director, Jonathon became Interim Director and rose to the top during recruitment. She said she is very pleased that he chose to accept the position. She said he graduated from NC State University with an undergraduate degree in agricultural education and a master's degree in public administration. She said he was an Agricultural Education teacher for Carteret County Schools and then came to Orange County. She said Jonathon has hit the ground running as Cooperative Extension Director and has worked collaboratively with other departments in county government. Jonathon Smith said Cooperative Extension is really a cooperative between the two land grant universities, NC State University and NC A&T University, and county government. He said county government is a huge part of what Cooperative Extension does. He said Cooperative Extension is in all one hundred counties in the state. He said being present locally means they can address needs that are unique to Orange County in the areas of agriculture, natural resources, family and consumer sciences, 4-H youth development, and community and rural development. He said his staff is not very big, but they are growing and are innovative thinkers. He said he has been able to grow programs, people, and partnerships in past roles and is committed to doing that here for the benefit of Orange County residents. He said his goal is to take resources from the state and universities and bring them down to the local level to grow our community. He said he is proud to have grown up in Carteret County in eastern North Carolina. He said when he was in FFA growing up he knew he wanted to serve people and advocate for agriculture and grow it as an industry. He asked the Board to keep the lines of communication open between them and his office. He said there will be a Report to the People program on October 19, 2023, and invited commissioners to join. Commissioner Fowler said he has done a wonderful job as interim and looks forward to continuing to work with him. Commissioner Portie-Ascott said he has truly demonstrated he is invested in growing people. She said her children were a part of 4-H when he first got to Orange County, and they still talk about their experiences.