Agenda 06-02-2026; 8-a - Minutes for May 5, 2026

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Attachment 1 1 1 DRAFT MINUTES 2 ORANGE COUNTY 3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 4 BUSINESS MEETING 5 May 5, 2026 6 7:00 p.m. 7 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Business Meeting on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at 7:00 9 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. 10 11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jean Hamilton, Vice-Chair Amy Fowler, and Commissioners 12 Jamezetta Bedford, Marilyn Carter, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, and Phyllis Portie-Ascott 13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None. 14 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts 15 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager Caitlin Fenhagen, and 16 Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) 17 18 Chair Hamilton called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All commissioners were present. 19 20 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda 21 Chair Hamilton requested to amend the agenda by adding a letter to Zoe Tolmie as item 8-1 on the 22 consent agenda, congratulating her on winning an honorable mention in C-SPAN's 22nd annual student 23 documentary competition. 24 Commissioner McKee made a motion to amend the agenda by adding a letter to Zoe Tolmie as 25 item 8-1 on the consent agenda. Commissioner Carter seconded the motion. 26 27 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 28 29 Commissioner Greene made a motion to remove item 84 from the consent agenda so that a 30 revised version of the Jewish-American Heritage Month Proclamation could be considered. Commissioner 31 McKee seconded the motion. 32 33 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 34 35 Chair Hamilton read the public charge. 36 37 2. Public Comments(Limited to One Hour) 38 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda 39 Gayanne Chambless thanked the Board for recognizing Principal Jason Johnson and that mental 40 health is a critical part of well-being. She challenged the community to do more for mental health 41 awareness and trainings. She described free training opportunities available to the public. She highlighted 42 that the Orange Partnership Coalition's federal SAMHSA Partnerships for Success (PFS) grant has funded 43 over$53,000 in training costs over the past two years at no cost to county government, but that the grant 44 ends in 2027. She asked the board how it would support these efforts going forward. 45 Sandra Theard described difficulties she is having with a property tax appeal and asked the Board 46 for assistance. 47 Laura Horrigan described the need for increased school funding. She made three points:first,that 48 teachers are superstars who need competitive pay to be retained, as they cannot live on state pay alone;