Agenda 03-19-24; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

2 1 Lynn McGee of the Human Relations Commission (HRC) invited the Board to attend the 2 upcoming Pauli Murray Awards ceremony. She said there has been a lot of turnover on the HRC. 3 She said that it means there are fresh eyes on initiatives. She said they have all completed fair 4 housing training and the state HRC orientation. She said they would like to do more in the 5 community. She said they would like to do more fair housing education in the community. She 6 said they know what they want to do, but the big question is how. She said they recently had a 7 retreat, and they want to focus on groups that are underserved and marginalized. She said they 8 anticipate some issues in the community related to politics and the nationwide discourse. She 9 said they would like the commissioners to consider creating a pressure release valve of sorts for 10 community conflict resolution. She said this could be an emergency hotline or call center and 11 maybe a conflict resolution professional or polling expert could be available. She said the second 12 thing they would like to focus on is identifying roles and responsibilities. She recommended that 13 the commissioners form a subcommittee to look at the advisory board policy and develop 14 standard operating procedures because it would help boards run more efficiently. 15 Commissioner McKee said he was not aware of any political tension in the community. 16 Lynn McGee said it is not just political, it could be related to other issues. 17 Chair Bedford said the community is really enjoying the Pauli Murray mural on the side of 18 the Sportsplex. She said there are emergency plans in place for any issues that may come up at 19 polling locations. 20 Vice-Chair Greene said she has heard of safe space type places in other communities 21 and thinks it is an interesting idea, but she is unsure that a government body should be the one 22 to do it. 23 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the HRC tracks where issues are and if it is mostly 24 housing or are there other areas. 25 Lynn McGee said it is in communities and they have a subcommittee to deep dive to try 26 to identify the needs. She said that housing is close to their heart, so they address those first and 27 foremost. She said fair housing is a big part of their mission. She said that there may be other 28 issues that come up and they are trying to identify if it is just housing or if there are others. 29 Commissioner Richards said she is interested in standard operating procedures. She said 30 she thinks the turnover and the operating policy is important to focus on so that when new 31 volunteers come on board, they will know what to expect. 32 Lynn McGee said it could be beneficial for everyone and she would be available to help if 33 needed. 34 Natalie Ziemba, chair of the Orange County Parks and Recreation Council, said the 35 primary purpose of the council is to be the main advisory board for the Department of 36 Environmental, Agriculture, Parks, and Recreation. She said they also review outside funding 37 requests for any program related to recreational programs offered by the county. She said they 38 are co-sponsoring the Nature of Orange photography contest. She said 2023 was the Year of the 39 Trail. She said the council sponsored hikes in recognition. She said they participated in the Perry 40 Hills minipark design process and got involved with the community. She said members 41 participated in the 2050 Land Use Planning for Orange County. She said they are in the process 42 of reviewing the Master Plan and that is a mid-way review that will assess how we are doing. She 43 said that post pandemic has changed how parks are used and how people gather. She said that 44 they are also incorporating diversity equity and inclusion. She said that when the plan was 45 adopted, there was interest in a community swimming pool, but key details are missing. She 46 asked if it was an urgent request. She said that there was a lot of room for collaboration and 47 partnership, so they are exploring ways to work with the towns to utilize recreational spaces. She 48 said they are developing a disc golf course. She said there has been a huge increase in interest 49 in pickleball and they are exploring a way to accommodate the interest and increase availability. 50 She said they are considering partnering with the Friends of the Library to do a storybook trail 51 through Orange County. She said that the Central Recreation center is doing a fabulous job with