Minutes-09-05-2023-Business Meeting

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