Minutes-10-17-2023-Business Meeting

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1 APPROVED 12/4/23 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUSINESS MEETING October 17, 2023 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Business Meeting on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jamezetta Bedford, Vice-Chair McKee and Commissioners Amy Fowler, Jean Hamilton, Phyllis Portie-Ascott, and Anna Richards (arrived at 7:23 pm) COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Sally Greene 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 Commissioner Richards and Commissioner Greene. 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda Chair Bedford dispensed with reading the public charge. 2. Public Comments (Limited to One Hour) a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda At the time this agenda item came up, there was no one signed up to speak. Following Item 3, the Board agreed to allow two public commenters for matters not on the printed agenda. Susan Walson said she will speak about the proposed Orange Grove Rd. convenience center. She provided a packet of information, which the Clerk passed out to the Board. She said Solid Waste Management published information in response to questions that were raised at the neighborhood information meetings, and one of the documents was titled Appendix A. She said county staff has indicated that Appendix A shows market values for properties around existing convenience centers, however, she believes Appendix A actually shows the tax values from the properties' record cards. She said that market values and tax values are not equivalent, so this document does not accurately show what being near a convenience center does for property values. She said she pulled comps for residences in the Collins Creek neighborhood, which is adjacent to the property. She said the properties staff chose to highlight in Appendix A are not similar to the properties immediately surrounding the proposed site. Marilee McTigue said she is a 30-year resident of Bingham Township and is speaking on the proposed convenience center. She read from the following prepared statement: "Given all the information the community has shared with the BOCC, county manager, and Solid Waste Department, it's time for the county to stop wasting time and money on an option that is clearly not right for this community. We ask that the BOCC immediately direct the County Manager and Solid Waste staff to remove this option from further consideration and would very much appreciate your comments at the end of this meeting tonight.