Agenda - 09-17-2024; 8-a - Minutes

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4 1 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members 2 Commissioner Richards said the ABC Board and Partnership for Young Children Boards 3 discussed budget decisions and that process is underway for funding. She said that some growth 4 in ABC revenues has slowed down, so they are having some issues supporting organizations in 5 the community. She noted that it was Pride Month and would be celebrated across Orange 6 County. 7 Commissioner Portie-Ascott wished everyone a happy Pride month. She said that she 8 attended the Research Triangle Regional Partnership Board of Directors meeting. She said the 9 goal of that group is to market the Triangle to national and international organizations. She said 10 that all those efforts are focused on ag-tech and strengthening food technology. She said that the 11 Research Triangle said it is establishing itself as a leader in the ag-tech industry. She said they 12 will focus on life sciences and bio-manufacturing. She said she attended the Orange County 13 Advisory Council meeting and met Alex Kissinger, the new area extension agent for livestock and 14 she also met two new summer interns. 15 Commissioner McKee said he participated in the hiring of Bonnie Hammersley and that 16 from the moment she was hired, she earned the trust of the Board. He said that he vividly 17 remembered that process and that one applicant rose to the top immediately, and that was her. 18 He thanked Bonnie Hammersley for the trust and how well she handled herself during that 19 process. 20 Chair Bedford said there is a public design workshop for the Greene Tract at Morris Grove 21 on Friday from 9-5. She said that on Friday, June 14 the county will celebrate Juneteenth with 22 several events throughout the day. She petitioned the Board to align funding of outside agencies 23 with the county's strategic and comprehensive plans. She said that she hopes this could happen 24 during the fall. She said it is flexible and she is open to all ideas on how to approach this. 25 Vice-Chair Greene said several members of the Board attended an event at the Weaver 26 Community Apartments. She said they are the recipients of a grant from Urban Sustainability 27 Solutions, and they came to help with better stormwater management. She said that the grant is 28 from the Federal Clean Water Act. She said they received $69,000 from the community climate 29 action grant fund. She said they will create an afterschool internship for high schoolers to create 30 and build cisterns. 31 Commissioner Hamilton thanked the residents and stakeholders have come to speak to 32 them about the budget and the bond. She said that this is an exercise in democracy that is very 33 important. She said her approach to the budget is informed by her background. She said that she 34 has a Ph.D. in Economics and taught economics for a few years. She said she is a social worker 35 specializing in aging and has a master's in social work. She said she is concerned about the 36 pressure of raising taxes to provide the services. She said she is optimistic about revenues, but 37 they do not know for certain. She said they have a sense of their expenditures. She said that 38 when she looks at the budget, she is trying to look ahead and think of ways to limit tax increases 39 but also meet the needs of the community. She said some of the priorities for her is protecting the 40 most vulnerable. She said there are residents at the edge. She said she also looks at things that 41 have an impact on the most residents. She said it is important to support employees. She said 42 that in this environment, you must pay to be competitive. She said that she was also looking at 43 investments that provide a long-term benefit. She said it is in the spirit of thinking differently, her 44 amendments were submitted. She said that they must look across departments. She said that 45 investing the children, is investing in all of them, including seniors. She said that the bond will do 46 that. She said that she will be a retiree and looks at the fact that the children today are the best 47 educated they can be so they can be ready for the global economy and the seniors. She said she 48 is passionate about making those investments and the bond specifically is a process. She said 49 they have focused on issues around the need with the workgroup, the commissioners have 50 focused on the funding, the school boards have focused on the plan and the thing that is important 51 to her is that the consultant's principals are key so they can get a benefit now and for the future.