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