Minutes-10-17-2023-Business Meeting

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