Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
APPROVED 5!8102 <br />MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ANNUAL RETREAT <br />FEBRUARY Z, 2002 <br />The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for their annual Board retreat on Saturday, <br />February 2, 2002 at 9:00 a.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. <br />COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Margaret W. <br />Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordan, and Stephen H. Halkiotis <br />COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Borhanian <br />COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Jahn M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod <br />Visser and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (all other staff members will be identified appropriately <br />below} <br />NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT <br />AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT <br />FOR 5 YEARS. <br />OPENING COMMENTS <br />Chair Jacobs spoke on behalf of the County Commissioners and said that they were proud of the <br />County staff and appreciate their work. He said that they were proud of what County employees do for <br />the citizens of Orange County. <br />1. BRAINSTORMING, GENERAL DISCUSSION {Facilitated by Julia Mack) <br />Julia Mack, facilitator, said that her goal is to have a written record of the brainstorming session <br />and to keep the discussion on track. She went over the ground rules. She asked the County <br />Commissioners to comment on what they want to accomplish -regulations versus reasonableness <br />dealing with an agricultural based economy, which is in the transitional phase of moving into new <br />endeavors. This was an opportunity for the Commissioners to talk freely about different issues. <br />Chair Jacobs spoke about customer service and said that the County does a good job but he <br />feels we could do a better job. He feels that if we were in business we would treat our customers <br />different because we would want them to come back. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that something the County has tried to accomplish in the past is <br />regulations versus reasonableness. He said that one of the many challenges the County is facing is <br />dealing with an agricultural based economy in the central and northern end of the County that is in a <br />transition phase of moving beyond many of the traditional practices and going into new endeavors. <br />Sometimes these endeavors slam head-on with County and State regulations. He would like to respond <br />and deal with this so that all departments understand that the County is supporting agricultural activity. <br />He said that it angers the people that we are trying to help. He would like to have a roundtable <br />discussion and put this issue to rest. <br />Chair Jacobs made reference to customer service and said that the County could do a better jab <br />at serving its citizens. He would also like to continue to promote cooperation between the two school <br />systems. <br />Commissioner Carey would like to continue to promote cooperation with the Towns and <br />