Orange County NC Website
16 <br /> Chair Bedford said she initially began going as part of the Orange County Partnership to <br /> End Homelessness. She said that it took a bit, but she figured out what it was she did not care <br /> for. She said they did not get information ahead of meetings and she did not want to make <br /> decisions without preparation. She said that she also decided that she would not be bringing back <br /> a recommendation to her Board from these meetings. She said it put her in the position of <br /> speaking for the Board without actually checking with her colleagues first. She said the minutes <br /> are a must have but it also presents an opportunity for a chair or mayor to work outside of their <br /> boards. She said Commissioner Greene asked if the meetings should be recorded. She said that <br /> at that point, she did not think it should be recorded. She said the other question is if it should be <br /> a public meeting. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott if there was an informal meeting group before the MMC. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said there was not a group meeting regularly before the MMC. She <br /> said at most it was managers and mayors meeting to set agendas for joint meetings. She said in <br /> 2016 at the Assembly of Government, they were talking about the Greene Tract, and it was always <br /> once a year. She said that it was created to facilitate additional conversations about the Greene <br /> Tract. She said before 2016, there had been a task force, but nothing had happened for a long <br /> time, and it led to a lot of frustration. She said that the benefit of the MMC is that there has been <br /> more progress in the last 7 years than there was before. She said one of the concerns she had <br /> was when it started to grow bigger than the Greene Tract. She said that they brought the <br /> Partnership to End Homelessness and she did not feel there was a reason to bring those items <br /> before the MMC because they already get brought to the full boards. She said that the mayors <br /> have more authority than a chair does, since mayors are elected by the people. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott said it seems like it would be a great idea to have a group <br /> like the MMC to discuss those common issues. She said maybe some tweaking could be done to <br /> provide more direction. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton said she had a concern about the MMC making decisions. She <br /> said with the Greene Tract, there was a clear directive. She said with the other topics, there was <br /> no clear direction. She said a smaller group making decisions holds up information sharing. She <br /> said she thought the meetings should be open to anyone. She said the role of setting joint <br /> agendas makes sense. She said that she did not see the group serving the Board well. <br /> Chair Bedford said the full set of Greene Tract minutes are not on the website, but they <br /> put summaries up. She said they did not do that for other discussion items. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton said the problem is that topics should not be discussed without a <br /> mandate from the boards. <br /> Chair Bedford said that is exactly what this portion of the meeting is to talk about and <br /> figure out. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton said she thinks no. <br /> Commissioner Fowler said that she agrees with the need for a limited scope because <br /> there are already intergovernmental bodies to discuss those topics. <br /> Commissioner Richards said she thinks there are things that happen in Orange County <br /> where getting the leadership together to talk about them is a good thing. She said that access to <br /> the meetings is a concern. She said that said in one of the minutes it seemed like the MMC was <br /> going to appoint itself as a task force to do something and that the scope should be limited. She <br /> said it did not actually happen, but it seemed like it was limiting input and participation. She said <br /> the Assembly of Governments does not seem like the time to make decisions since the time is <br /> brief. She asked if staff should be meeting instead and then bringing information to the Board. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said she meets with the managers and OWASA director monthly. <br /> She said when she hears things that might be coming, she shares it with the Chair. She said this <br /> is natural protocol. She said Commissioner Greene had asked her if the MMC meetings might be <br /> recorded because she has an interest in discussions about homelessness and was hearing things <br /> from Mayor Seils from Carrboro, so she wanted to know what was happening. She said that it <br />