Agenda 05-19-2026; 8-a - Minutes for April 16, 2026, April 21, 2026, and April 30, 2026

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6 Our members and others enjoy the beauty of the park but especially it's conservation value to the many birds that also use the park— For these reasons, we are requesting that the Commissioners reconsider building this disc golf course in Blackwood Farm Park. 1 2 LaTarndra Strong spoke about funding cuts to Medicaid and food stamps. She requested 3 that the Board avoid making cuts to human services in Orange County. She requested that any 4 caps to property tax increases include people making 50% AMI or less. She asked the Board to 5 make sure that the land use plan includes housing considerations. She expressed appreciation 6 for the Board's consideration of a moratorium on data centers. 7 8 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda 9 (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 10 11 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members 12 Commissioner Carter reported attending the National Association of Counties Annual 13 Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., alongside Commissioner Phyllis Portie-Ascott. She 14 said bipartisan panels urged counties to review their land use policies regarding large-scale data 15 centers, and that representatives from Loudoun County, Virginia — home to the greatest 16 concentration of data centers in the nation — spoke to both the benefits and the need for 17 guardrails. She said she was gratified that bringing the conference report back to the Board led 18 to the public hearing scheduled for the evening. 19 Commissioner Portie-Ascott provided an update on the Tax Assessment Work Group, 20 which she said had reviewed county assessment processes, received an update on contract 21 negotiations with an appraisal consultant, and heard from the NC Housing Coalition on the impact 22 of rising property taxes on seniors, heirs' property owners, and long-term residents. She said the 23 North Carolina House Select Committee on Property Taxes is proposing a constitutional 24 amendment to require a property tax levy limit. She said she also attended the Junior Livestock 25 Show, noting the impact of 4-H and FFA programs on youth development, and a Night of Poetry 26 hosted by Orange County Schools, guided by NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green. She 27 congratulated Jason Johnson, Principal of Orange High School, on being named National High 28 School Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. 29 Commissioner Bedford said the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness had held 30 a kickoff meeting to reconfigure into a HUD-compliant Continuum of Care structure, replacing the 31 prior partnership framework, and that the new terminology "Continuum of Care" should become 32 familiar vocabulary going forward. She said the DSS Board had met and that new software for 33 tracking Child Protective Services cases would go live the following Monday, with staff 34 commended for their extensive preparation; she noted the software would allow case 35 information to follow families as they move across county lines. She said the Durham Tech 36 Community College Board of Trustees was nearing completion of its next five-year strategic plan 37 and that she wished to remind residents that Orange County funds two years of tuition at Durham 38 Tech for graduates of Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, and that an 39 additional $100,000 in sales tax economic development funds is available for workforce 40 retraining.