Minutes 03-05-2026-Business Meeting

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3 Assistance Program (TAP), which serves over 10,000 unique riders, 70% of whom are employed, with 24% reporting they would struggle to pay grocery bills without the program. The annual program cost is $353,000, with Orange County's transit plan contributing $28,000. She also discussed the Triangle West Destination 2055 document, emphasizing strong connections between land use and transit planning for mixed-use development within a half-mile of frequent transit Vice-Chair Fowler thanked other commissioners for their comments, the veterans in attendance, and the service members who lost their lives in the most recently initiated conflict. She noted attending the Triangle West meeting, where they approved the 2055 MTP plan, which includes comprehensive bike, pedestrian, public transit, and technology components for congestion improvement. She reported on a Tax Assessment Work Group meeting featuring presentations from commercial appraiser Paul Snow and Stanley County's in-house appraiser Clinton Swearingen about the pros and cons of in-house appraisal services. She said the next Tax Assessment Work Group meeting will review RFQ responses from two organizations. She concluded by acknowledging Women's History Month. Chair Hamilton thanked other commissioners for their thoughtful comments. She petitioned for the Board to recognize March 15th as International Long COVID Awareness Day, noting that one in six North Carolinians experience long COVID, with many suffering severely despite COVID being considered over. She planned to bring a formal recognition to the March 17th meeting. Hamilton encouraged individual commissioners to respond directly to a resident's email about concerning groups in the county, feeling that it was not appropriate for her to respond on behalf of the board. She also reminded commissioners to review a petition requesting that the board sign a resolution asking Governor Stein to examine Duke Energy, noting individual responses were welcome, but board action would require discussion. 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations a. Women's History Month Proclamation The Board approved a proclamation designating March 2026 as Women's History Month in Orange County. BACKGROUND: The celebration of Women's History Month traces its roots to the socialist and labor movements in New York City. The first Women's Day took place on February 28, 1909, marking the one-year anniversary of the garment workers' strikes in which thousands of women marched for economic rights. This strike followed another in 1857, when garment workers took to the streets demanding equal rights and a 10-hour workday. Within two years, the movement grew into an international event. In 1975, the United Nations officially recognized International Women's Day, which will be celebrated on March 8, 2026. When Women's History Month was first established, feminists in the United States saw it as an opportunity to highlight the contributions of women — contributions that had been largely overlooked in American history. The celebration began as a national observance in 1981, when Congress authorized and requested that President Jimmy Carter proclaim the week of March 7, 1982, as "Women's History Week." In 1987, the Women's History Month Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the celebration to the entire month of March. President Ronald Reagan was the first to issue a proclamation declaring March as Women's History Month. Today, local, state, and federal government agencies continue this tradition, recognizing March as Women's History Month with events, programs, and celebrations. The County will again be hosting the same Color Me Bad Event similar to last year. This event is a Women's Retreat examining rest as resilience and resistance. Tricia Hersey, an American poet,