Agenda 11-06-2025; 8-a - Minutes for October 7, 2025 Business Meeting and October 14, 2025 Joint Meeting with Chiefs Association and Work Session

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2 1 of the concerns raised by neighbors for planning and zoning decisions. She said there is no 2 mention of how or where to send comments to the Planning Board or to commissioners' email 3 accounts. She asked the Board to prioritize equitable access to information. 4 5 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda 6 (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 7 8 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members 9 Commissioner Fowler said she attended the Triangle West TPO meeting where they held 10 a public hearing on the 2025 MTP preferred options and their work plan. She said they approved 11 the SPOT 8 candidate project list. She said there was a Board of Health meeting on September 12 24th. She said one of the subcommittees is preparing a resolution advocating for initiatives to 13 increase affordable housing, recognizing it as a health issue. She said she attended Last Fridays 14 in Hillsborough with the Board of Health to provide information on suicide prevention. She said 15 she attended a meeting the evening before with Justice United where vertical equity in tax 16 revaluations was discussed. She said the Board is very committed to researching this issue in 17 detail and examining inequities so that they can improve. 18 Commissioner Carter said she attended the reception for Paint it Orange, hosted by the 19 Arts Commission. She congratulated the winners and said that the event demonstrates the 20 county's whole community focus. She said she toured the OWASA plant on Mason Farm Road. 21 She learned more about how they managed the flooding from Tropical Storm Chantal. She said 22 she attended the Justice United event the previous evening. She petitioned for the Board to 23 receive brief updates on the progress of that work at every business meeting. She said she was 24 looking forward to hearing more about the impacts of federal funding changes to nutrition 25 programs. 26 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she attended the Justice United meeting the previous evening. 27 She was glad to hear from many residents of how the revaluation process affects them and is 28 committed to finding a way to do it better. 29 Chair Bedford highlighted the Orange County Road Show on October 12 at the Cedar 30 Grove Community Center. She noted that there was a proclamation for 4-H Week on the agenda 31 and she applauded the group for the work they do with children. She said it was Fire Prevention 32 Week and gave tips on preventing fires from lithium batteries and chargers. She noted item 8-1 on 33 the agenda regarding animal control contracts with the municipalities. She petitioned for 34 information on why animal control is not available on the weekends, the history of animal services 35 in the county, and why the towns pay for service. 36 Commissioner Greene said that this week is Banned Books Week. She said the theme is 37 "Censorship is so 1984 - Read for Your Rights." She said Pen America, an organization that a 38 literary organization that champions the freedom to write, reports that 6,870 books were banned 39 from school libraries in 2024-25. She said that the General Assembly passed a law in July 40 requiring schools to catalog all books in libraries, including the books kept by teachers in their 41 classrooms. She noted the Arts and Humanities Month proclamation on the agenda, and said the 42 the humanities are best equipped to teach critical thinking and fostering the power of empathy. 43 She said empathy is needed to get through the present time and back to the framework of a 44 pluralistic society, because pluralism is essential to a democratic culture. She petitioned for a 45 formal proclamation for Banned Books week and an updated Arts and Humanities Month 46 proclamation. 47 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she completed her orientation as district director for 48 District 9 with NCACC, and said data fact sheets are available at NCACC.org that provide a clear 49 picture of how Orange County performs across key areas. She emphasized that while data helps