Orange County NC Website
core health function to assess and monitor the health of refugees arriving, a half-time family <br /> nurse practitioner position is requested to provide the full health assessment within 30 days of <br /> the arrival of refugees as mandated by the federal government. In addition, the new <br /> communicable disease surveillance and reporting system will be implemented throughout the <br /> state this summer. This new system will allow for quicker response, however, it is expected to <br /> result in a 30% increase in the number of communicable disease cases reported. To provide <br /> the communicable disease screening to all of the arriving refugees within 30 days of arrival and <br /> to meet the projected 30% increase in the communicable disease workload due to the <br /> surveillance system, a full-time communicable disease nurse has also been requested. <br /> Sakari Blake said that she has been a Land Trust homeowner since 2001 and a board <br /> member since 2002, and the Chair since 2006. She thanked the County Commissioners for <br /> their support over the years. She asked the Board to grant the request of$200,000 for the FY <br /> 2008-09. The Land Trust model was adopted in 2000 in order to keep affordable homes from <br /> becoming unaffordable after the first low-income buyer sells their home. There are currently <br /> 132 homes in the Land Trust. When she purchased her home in 2001, there were only 12 <br /> houses in the Land Trust. She said that the proposed budget for 2008 has an increase since <br /> there is such a large volume of new homes and more staff is needed. She said that if the Land <br /> Trust does not get the $200,000, then it will be in a deficit because of the new office space <br /> required to support the new employees. <br /> Gary Wallach is a parent of a Culbreth Middle School student. He thanked the County <br /> Manager for her recommendation of funding the schools. He said that many boards have <br /> objected to raising the tax rate, and if the tax rate were kept just at $1, there is the potential to <br /> remove over$5 million from the proposed budget. The schools could lose as much as $2.5 <br /> million out of that. He hopes that the Board would consider raising the district tax if necessary <br /> to fill the potential loss. He said that the loss would mean cutting into needed existing <br /> programs. He said that we need to keep high quality schools and not continue to cut programs. <br /> Anne Jackson spoke on behalf of Club Nova. She thanked the County Commissioners <br /> for contributions in the past. She said that money is always a problem for Club Nova, especially <br /> with the mental health reform. She said that there are secondary problems with the clients, <br /> such as health issues, including heart disease and cancer. She is having some issues with <br /> cancer, and Club Nova has taken her to appointments for treatments and has been by her side <br /> through her treatments. She has also had access to food when she could not get to the <br /> clubhouse, etc. She said that it is nice to have a quality of life when there are problems and all <br /> of this takes money and time. She asked the Board of County Commissioners for funding this <br /> year. <br /> Nancy Phillips also spoke on behalf of Club Nova. She has been a resident since 1996. <br /> She said that she needs the support of mental health providers and the friends at Club Nova. <br /> She asked that the County Commissioners please support Club Nova. <br /> Mary Jane Seydon lives in Chapel Hill and is a board member of the Land Trust. She <br /> asked the Board to fully fund the budget request of$200,000. She said that the Land Trust will <br /> be adding 166 units of housing over the next few years, and the increase in the funding request <br /> is for staffing and office space. She thanked the County Commissioners for their past support. <br /> Robert Dowling, Executive Director of the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust, <br /> thanked the County Commissioners for their support. He said that the additional request is <br /> $21,000 to bring the total contribution to $200,000. He said that he has always asked for <br /> exactly what the Land Trust needs and never above. He said that, even with the full funding <br /> from the County Commissioners, there will still be a budget deficit of$10-30,000 because of the <br /> new office space. <br /> Joel Dunn spoke on behalf of the CHCCS. He has two children who have gone through <br /> the school system and they have had a wonderful experience. He supports the Manager's <br />