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17 <br /> 1 department to attend its meetings and raise their concerns directly. She this project will help the <br /> 2 department better serve the community. <br /> 3 Commissioner Portie-Ascott thanked the fire district for the presentation. She encouraged <br /> 4 the district to increase communication with community members. She supported moving <br /> 5 forward considering the lower numbers of volunteers and that the department has the financial <br /> 6 capacity to pay back the loan. She said call volumes have increased and every household and <br /> 7 business are impacted by their services. She supported the resolution. <br /> 8 Commissioner Marilyn Carter said she was encouraged by the financial analysis presented <br /> 9 by Director Donaldson and supported providing the fire department with the opportunity to build <br /> 10 a facility that would allow personnel to respond more effectively. She thanked Commissioner <br /> 11 McKee for prompting the community conversation before the vote. <br /> 12 Vice-Chair Fowler said she agreed that the department should improve its community <br /> 13 communication practices, but that securing a better interest rate through county financing was in <br /> 14 the best interest of district residents and she would support the motion. <br /> 15 Chair Hamilton asked if this is the first time the county is borrowing on behalf of one of <br /> 16 the fire districts. <br /> 17 Gary Donaldson said yes. <br /> 18 Chair Jean Hamilton confirmed with Director Donaldson that this was the first instance of <br /> 19 the county making such a loan to a fire district. She said she found the argument for county- <br /> 20 facilitated financing compelling given the repayment security and the county's need to be <br /> 21 prepared for the future,and encouraged continued improvement in the department's community <br /> 22 communications. <br /> 23 Commissioner McKee said the fire district is not alone in needing to improve <br /> 24 communication with the public. He said that increased county involvement with the fire district <br /> 25 may lead to more scrutiny. <br /> 26 <br /> 27 A motion was made by Commissioner Bedford, seconded by Vice-Chair Fowler,to approve <br /> 28 to adopt the resolution authorizing Orange County to make a $1,700,000 loan to Orange Grove <br /> 29 Fire District, approve the Promissory Note and Budget Amendment#9-A in substantially the form <br /> 30 presented, and authorize the County Manager and Chief Financial Officer to take all actions <br /> 31 necessary to implement the loan. <br /> 32 <br /> 33 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 34 <br /> 35 b. Additional Discussion on Strategic Communications Approaches <br /> 36 The Board discussed and considered possible approaches to the County's Strategic <br /> 37 Communications efforts,specifically community listening sessions,and provided direction to staff. <br /> 38 <br /> 39 BACKGROUND:The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) discussed strategic communications <br /> 40 approaches during its April 7, 2026 Business meeting. At that time,the Board considered options <br /> 41 for enhancing collaboration with residents, including the creation of project-based stakeholder <br /> 42 groups and the implementation of quarterly updates to the BOCC. <br /> 43 <br />