Orange County NC Website
3 <br /> 1 Planning Organization (TARPO) meeting, and that board decided to meet every other month in <br /> 2 2024. She said the NC-54 Corridor Project the Board saw at a recent meeting was adopted at the <br /> 3 TARPO meeting. She said she also learned at that meeting there will be 39 electric vehicle <br /> 4 charging stations in the four-county area and 10 of those will be privately owned. <br /> 5 Commissioner Hamilton thanked Vice-Chair McKee for his comments on the events <br /> 6 happening in the Middle East. She said through her work as a therapist, she knows that many are <br /> 7 affected by what is going on there. She said she wishes everyone peace because violence won't <br /> 8 help us develop as humans and as societies. She reminded everyone about the 9-8-8 Crisis Line <br /> 9 for those feeling distressed. She said she attended an Alliance Health Board meeting and <br /> 10 reported that Medicaid expansion is going to take place December 1, 2023. She said entities are <br /> 11 working hard to be able to serve all those who will become eligible. She said the state has some <br /> 12 funding for mental health services for those without insurance and that funding stream has not <br /> 13 been cut. She said the state budget is looking to increase Medicaid reimbursement and payments <br /> 14 to direct care workers to help support those providing mental health services. She said the <br /> 15 Strategic Communications Committee met on October 6t" and they are working to improve <br /> 16 communication with county residents. On the same day, she also attended the Employee <br /> 17 Appreciation Celebration and expressed her thanks to Orange County staff. She said she met <br /> 18 with the executive director of the Central Pines Regional Council and learned more about that <br /> 19 organization. Finally, she said she enjoyed attending the Peach Apartments groundbreaking, and <br /> 20 said it is a great example of what can be done when government, non-profit organizations, and <br /> 21 the private sector work together. <br /> 22 <br /> 23 The Board agreed to revisit Item 2-a to allow two members of the public to comment on <br /> 24 matters not on the printed agenda. <br /> 25 <br /> 26 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations <br /> 27 <br /> 28 a. Orange County Arts Commission 2023-24 Annual Grant Recipients <br /> 29 The Board acknowledged local artists and organization receiving 2023-24 Orange County Arts <br /> 30 Grants <br /> 31 <br /> 32 BACKGROUND: <br /> 33 <br /> 34 Orange County Annual Grants C r�cle <br /> 35 The Orange County Arts Commission (OCAC)administers two primary grant programs each year. <br /> 36 The Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) utilizes state funding to provide support for nonprofit <br /> 37 organizations and schools conducting arts programming. The Artist Project Grant (APG) utilizes <br /> 38 County funding for artist-led community projects. <br /> 39 <br /> 40 For the second year, $45,000 (typically dispersed through the Outside Agencies Program) was <br /> 41 allocated to the OCAC's annual Grassroots Arts Program to ensure arts agencies were applying <br /> 42 for funding through a program specific to the arts following the best practices set forth by the North <br /> 43 Carolina Arts Council. Of that $45,000, $15,289 was directly allocated to Kidzu and is managed <br /> 44 by the Visitors Bureau, changing this year's available allocation to $29,711. <br /> 45 <br /> 46 For the first time this year, the OCAC elected to keep the allowed 50%of Grassroots Arts Program <br /> 47 funding to partially support a new full-time Programs Coordinator, lowering the amount of GAP <br /> 48 funds available for sub-granting by half. <br /> 49 <br /> 50 Statistics regarding this year's grant cycle are noted in the chart below. <br /> 51 <br />