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11 <br /> 1 Travis Myren said there is one county funded permanent supportive housing program at <br /> 2 $150,000 that IFC is administering. <br /> 3 Commissioner Bedford said the Partnership to End Homelessness met and the budget <br /> 4 they approved is a continuation budget, considering the funding pressures. She said there is no <br /> 5 new funding coming. <br /> 6 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about the number of people on the waitlist for housing <br /> 7 choice vouchers and the average length of stay. <br /> 8 Travis Myren said people keep the voucher as long as they're eligible. He said if their <br /> 9 income rises to a certain level and they become ineligible, the voucher becomes available for <br /> 10 reissuance. <br /> 11 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how often that happens. <br /> 12 Travis Myren said he would get the average length of time on the waitlist,what the turnover <br /> 13 is, and how long someone keeps a voucher. <br /> 14 Commissioner Greene asked if Orange County supplemented housing choice vouchers. <br /> 15 Travis Myren said that was through ARPA funding. <br /> 16 Commissioner Greene said she thought the county supported it when she first came on <br /> 17 the Board. She said that is one option the county could pursue. <br /> 18 Chair Hamilton said that the Board will need to have a focused discussion on housing in <br /> 19 the county. She said that the county will be challenged in providing services and paying for those <br /> 20 services. She asked that commissioners review the strategic plan. She said that they may need <br /> 21 to change performance measures to make sure that they are relevant to the community. She said <br /> 22 that federal funding may also affect performance measures. <br /> 23 Commissioner Bedford another issue is that once someone does have a voucher, they <br /> 24 must find a landlord that will accept the voucher. She said that wait can be up to three months. <br /> 25 She said 25 new landlords have been added to the program. <br /> 26 Commissioner Greene said that having a good number of landlords in the program is a <br /> 27 success. <br /> 28 Commissioner Bedford said one thing they should be looking at is the grant for preserving <br /> 29 farmland and when it expires. She said they should get an update on this, and they need to know <br /> 30 if there's a rubric and how they are recruiting. She said they have the match in the budget. <br /> 31 Commissioner Carter asked if that is the conservation easement. <br /> 32 Commissioner Bedford said she doesn't remember. <br /> 33 Commissioner Carter she attended an NCACC agriculture committee meeting, and they <br /> 34 discussed a program for conservation easements. She said that it is a pilot program this year, <br /> 35 but will expire unless the legislature acts. <br /> 36 Commissioner Bedford noted that the county closed on two conservation easement <br /> 37 properties in December 2025. <br /> 38 Kelly Guadalupe said there is a performance measure in the environment goal to <br /> 39 permanently protect 300 additional acres of farmland, priority natural areas, riparian buffer lands, <br /> 40 floodplains and wildlife habitat over the next five years. She said the county is on track for that <br /> 41 measure. <br /> 42 At 10:03 a.m., a motion was made by Commissioner Portie-Ascott, seconded by <br /> 43 Commissioner McKee, to recess until 10:20 a.m. <br /> 44 <br /> 45 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 46 <br /> 47 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Fowler, seconded by Commissioner Greene, to <br /> 48 reconvene the meeting at 10:20 a.m. <br /> 49 <br /> 50 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 51 <br />