Orange County NC Website
30 <br /> 1 Slide #35 <br /> Environmental Scan Discussion <br /> What stood out in the presentation? <br /> Did you learn anything newt? <br /> Which themes are the most important in shaping your <br /> thinking about the future direction of Orange County? <br /> b <br /> 2 <br /> 3 Commissioner Greene said she was surprised that climate issues were not at the top of <br /> 4 community priorities. She said she felt climate action should be a priority for the Board. <br /> 5 Commissioner Fowler said many of the responses from the community have a climate <br /> 6 impact, such as bicycle and pedestrian trails and affordable housing. <br /> 7 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she was surprised that the white population of the county <br /> 8 was decreasing and the black population was staying the same. She was also surprised that the <br /> 9 Latino population only increased by 1%. She said it doesn't feel like that in the schools. <br /> 10 Chair Bedford noted that it might be related to in-county migration due to mobile home <br /> 11 parks closing in the municipalities and populations moving to the rural areas. <br /> 12 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said in the northern part of the county, it feels like the black <br /> 13 population is decreasing. <br /> 14 Commissioner Richards said it felt similar in Chapel Hill. <br /> 15 Commissioner Fowler said the Latino population might be under-represented. <br /> 16 Commissioner Hamilton said that when she went to apartments and condos while <br /> 17 campaigning, she was surprised by the number of African Americans living in those <br /> 18 developments. She said that as African Americans move to the county, they might not be living <br /> 19 in traditional African American communities. <br /> 20 Bonnie Hammersley said that the percentage of African American employees has <br /> 21 increased by 20% from 2015 to 2023. She said the White employee population grew by 4%. She <br /> 22 said 43% of employees live in the county. <br /> 23 Travis Myren said that most of the students leaving the school systems for charter schools <br /> 24 are white. <br />