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34 <br /> 1 Tom Altieri, Senior Planner for Long Range Planning, introduced the item and reviewed <br /> 2 the background information. He also reviewed the following costs associated with the item: <br /> 3 <br /> 4 Subiect Matter Experts: <br /> 5 Applied Resource Management—Groundwater hydrology and community wells. <br /> 6 $2,250 <br /> 7 UNC School of Gov., Development Finance Initiative—Market analysis of rural activity nodes, housing <br /> 8 needs, and residential supply/demand. <br /> 9 $45,100 <br /> 10 Randall Arendt—Conservation subdivisions <br /> 11 ($8,500 plus travel est.) $12,000 <br /> 12 <br /> 13 Sub-Total $59,350 <br /> 14 Clarion Associates: <br /> 15 A staff member to attend BOCC presentations to hear presentations, Board discussion, and note taking <br /> 16 for items that will require changes to the Draft Land Use Plan. (4 work sessions and 2 retreats) <br /> 17 $4,020 <br /> 18 Meeting Facilitator: <br /> 19 True North Performance Group—Facilitation of two retreats. <br /> 20 $17,500 <br /> 21 <br /> 22 <br /> 23 Total $80,870 <br /> 24 <br /> 25 Commissioner Greene asked who True North Performance Group was. <br /> 26 Tom Altieri said it is a consulting firm led by Rebecca Jackson, who is also an adjunct <br /> 27 faculty member at the UNC School of Government. <br /> 28 Commissioner Greene asked if she would have expertise in local government that other <br /> 29 facilitators do not have. <br /> 30 Tom Altieri said yes, and that they wanted someone with a basic understanding of land <br /> 31 use and planning. <br /> 32 <br /> 33 PUBLIC COMMENTS: <br /> 34 Laura Streitfeld from Preserve Rural Orange urged ensuring an informed, equitable <br /> 35 planning process. She questioned whether proposed presenters (volunteer board members and <br /> 36 for-profit companies) provided truly independent scientific viewpoints, suggesting University <br /> 37 scientists instead. She said the board hadn't requested the proposed market analysis and <br /> 38 encouraged university planning experts for rural node insights. She criticized the consultant's <br /> 39 website as a significant barrier, disconnected from the county site with no government logos or <br /> 40 links, making the plan inaccessible when searching the county website. She asked the Board to <br /> 41 take action tonight for a thorough, accessible and inclusive land use planning process. <br /> 42 <br /> 43 Given time constraints and questions about costs, the Board agreed to proceed with the <br /> 44 September 9th presentations but bring back cost discussions at the September 4th meeting. <br /> 45 Commissioner McKee said he had a problem discussing $80,000 in consultant costs after <br /> 46 hearing from flood victims receiving limited assistance. <br />