Minutes 12-01-2025-Business Meeting

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3 neighbors, and Medicaid rate cuts, and all of this on top of the lack of affordable housing for people making less than $74,000 a year. She said that the Board should stay focused on the work that only the Board can do. She requested that the Board consider whether their presence on unmandated boards is wise. She proposed taking a temporary hiatus from the ABC Board, Fire Chiefs Association, JCPC, Orange Care Coalition, Piedmont Food Processing Center, Solid Waste Advisory, Chapel Hill Chamber, and the Visitors Bureau. She said the Board should remain focused on the most pressing policy challenges. Commissioner Carter extended congratulations to Chair Hamilton and thanked Commissioner Bedford for her service. She asked that with the challenges facing the community, she asked that the Board consider how community members with the experience and skillsets can support boards and commissions where a commissioner is not required. Chair Hamilton said she looked forward to working with Vice-Chair Fowler. She said on November 18, the Board approved an Abolition Day proclamation. She encouraged everyone to reflect on Abolition Day and the values and progress that has defined the United States since then. She said she attended the agricultural breakfast. She said she appreciated the half day retreat on conservation subdivisions. She thanked the staff who supported residents using cold weather cots in the past week. Vice-Chair Fowler said she attended a Board of Health meeting where they reviewed client satisfaction in the different departments. She said that overall, satisfaction was high. She said there is one vacancy on the Board of Health. She said they approved a proclamation in October regarding access to affordable housing and its impacts on health. She said the proclamation encouraged policy changes to increase access to affordable housing. She said she attended a safety summit at Chapel Hill Public Library on November 20 and hear a presentation on the need for safe and accessible transportation. She said the group described as "silent suffering" was particularly highlighted. She said the silent suffering are community members that the Board might not hear from and that the presented encouraged remembering those individuals in their service and decision making. She said the next day the tax work group will receive a virtual presentation from Wake County on how they've address vertical equity and tax revaluations. She said they will meet on Friday in-person to review RFP responses. She said the meeting on Friday would be in-person. She thanked the Board for their support and said that all the commissioners provide different and valuable perspectives. Commissioner Bedford thanked everyone for their kind words. She said she filed for re- election. Commissioner McKee said he also filed for re-election. He said he attended the Thanksgiving luncheon at Cedar Grove. He petitioned for a work session discussion on the possibilities and probabilities for expanding the Homestead Exemption. He described the difficulties people face as they age and their income drops, and he mentioned some ideas that would help alleviate their tax burden. He said getting it through the state legislature would be difficult, but he wanted to discuss if there is a path forward. 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations a. OCPEH Homeless Data and Annual Report The Board received an overview of the work of the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness (OCPEH), including updated system level data about homelessness in Orange County submitted to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) earlier this year, as well as obstacles and successes. BACKGROUND: The Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness (OCPEH) was created in 2008 to coordinate funding and activities to end homelessness in Orange County. OCPEH is jointly funded by Orange County(39.5%)and the Towns of Carrboro(14.3%), Chapel Hill (39.7%), and Hillsborough (6.5%).