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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 05-18-2000APPROVED 4!312001 MINUTES SHAPING ORANGE COUNTY'S FUTURE COMMUNITY FORUM May 18, 2000 The Orange County Board of Commissioners attended Shaping Orange County's Future Community Forum on Thursday, May 18 2000 at 7:00 p.m. at the A. L. Stanback Middle School, Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Stephen H. Halkiotis, and Barry Jacobs COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Alice M. COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Evelyn Cecil, (all other staff members will be identifie Gordon John M. Link, Jr. and Assistant to the Clerk d appropriately below) NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. 1. Convene Ellen Ironside welcomed everyone to the Forum and introduced Macon Ollis, Co-chair of the Shaping Orange County's Future Task Farce. She covered the "Acknowledgements", "Introductions", and "A Shared Set of Values" in New Directions for Orange County: A Companion Document to the Shaping Orange County's Future Report. Andy Sachs, from the Dispute Settlement Center, asked how many people were in attendance from each township and municipality. He said that his job was to make sure the meeting flowed smoothly and to help attendees understand what Shaping Orange County's Future was all about. He explained the agenda far the forum and the three parts of the meeting. He said that each task force member would take no more than five minutes for his or her presentation. He then opened the floor for questions about the agenda. In answer to a question from the audience, Andy Sachs said that the focus groups would not reconvene after the refreshment break, but that the task force members who took part in the individual discussions would bring that information back to the complete task force at their next Task Force meeting. Ben Lloyd asked if those who were present tonight could come forward and ask questions or make comments tonight. Andy Sachs said that that was part of tonight's agenda and all questions and comments would be received. 2. Presentation of the Provisional Recommendations Macon Ollis, Co-Chair of the Shaping Orange County's Future task force, made the presentation for the SOCF "Project Structure", "Task Force Diversity", "Project Goals", "Project Achievements", "Timeline for Project Completion", and the "Provisional Report" from the task force provisional report and recommendations. Louise Tate made the presentation for "Putting Community-Building First" from the task force provisional report and recommendations. She has lived in Orange County or Alamance County all of her life. She said that her son was the fifth generation in her family to farm in this area. One of the recommendations of the Shaping Orange County's Future task force is to increase the size of the Board of County Commissioners to allow for a better representation of rural citizens. She said that improving relationships and building community among Orange County citizens is a critical priority. Bernadette Pelissier made the presentation for "Inter local and Regional Cooperation and Planning", "Land Use Patterns that Meet People's Needs while Protecting Natural Resources", and "Conserve Natural Areas, Farmland and Other Important Open Space" from the task force provisional report and recommendations. She said that much of the SOCF vision and recommendations rests on the necessity and capability of local governing boards and their staffs working together. Carl Shy made the presentation for "Environmentally Sustainable Transportation Systems that Meet People's Needs" and "Water Supply Protection, Pollution Prevention, and Waste Reduction" from the task force provisional report and recommendations. He pointed out a slide showing a projection of the increase in traffic over the next 30 years. If the trend continues, the traffic will increase by 2.5 over the next 30 years in Orange County. Transportation issues in Orange County revolve around atwo-pronged axis: air quality and traffic. The recommendations of the task force are an effort to reduce traffic and improve air quality. Rachel Phelps-Hawkins made the presentation for "State of the County's Economy" from the task farce provisional report and recommendations. She said that Orange County's unemployment rate was the lowest in the state. Marty Mandell read "Supporting a Diverse Economy that Meets Local Needs" from the task farce provisional report and recommendations. Peggy Pollitzer made the presentation for "Affordable Housing" and "Human Services Priorities" from the task for provisional report and recommendations. Local housing affordability and quality, and housing policies that can help all citizens obtain these necessities, are crucial to Orange County's quality of life and to its economy. Ellen Ironside made the presentation for "K-12 Education" and "Citizen's Roundtable" from the task force provisional report and recommendations. She said that Orange county residents clearly expect the best in K-12 education and that Orange County is home to some of the most outstanding schools in the state. She made reference to the Citizen's Roundtable and explained the purpose. Andy Sachs said that this concluded the formal presentation and he asked citizens to come up and speak or, if uncomfortable to speak, to write out any questions. 3. Citizens Comments David Bolatin said that he was a relative newcomer to the state and would like someone to explain how, in the light of wonderful economic conditions, that the state and local governments are under funded. He made reference to sustainable agriculture and organic farming and said that this could feed vast numbers of people with local produce. Andy Sachs summarized Mr. Bolotin's comments. There was no response to government reform by the task force members. Marty Mandell responded to Mr. Bolatin's comments about sustainable agriculture. Jeff Schmit from Cedar Grove Township thanked the Board of County Commissioners for convening the Shaping Orange County's Future task force. He spoke about the election of County Commissioners and said that he is in favor of district representation. He said that 57 of 100 counties in North Carolina have other than at-large representation for electing County Commissioners. Andy Sachs asked the task force haw the study of the election of County Commissioners would be different from previous ones. Macon Ollis explained the recommendation and stated that the difference was that this recommendation would require a ballot on an option for changing the electoral process. Robert "Bobby" Nichols, a 72-year old retiree, has lived in Orange County for 68 years. He asked the members of the audience to raise their hands if they owned more than 10 acres of land. He also asked how many other people were not elected officials or County employees. He said that nowhere in this report is the issue of Protection of Private Property Rights. He spoke in support of affordable housing. He said that the attitude about affordable housing was, "not in my backyard." He made reference to the conservation of farmland and said that he would like the option to develop his property if he wants to. He made reference to water and sewer and said that everyone was depending on surface water. He said that the environmental concerns were so great that farmers could not afford to stay in business. Carol Crumley said that the project was initiated by the governments and the recommendations will go to the governing boards. Because the report addresses government, a lot of community building is also an important part of the report, addressing the need for people to talk together about the issues. There was a discussion about the value of land. Mayor Horace Johnson spoke to a Legislative Bill about land ownership and his concern that this federal legislation may pass. He was also concerned about coordinating SOCF with Hillsborough's efforts. Rachel Phelps-Hawkins told Mayor Johnson that the task farce met with Hillsborough and discussed at length the 2030 plan for Shaping Orange County's Future. Andy Sachs read a written question from Terry Tyson - "Are the documents created by the Shaping Orange County's Future task farce available in Spanish, and if not, how would we include the exploding population of Hispanics in Orange County?" Macon Ollis said that the reports were not available in Spanish at this time. He said that there was not funding far this and that volunteers would be welcome. Andy Sachs read another written question concerning the speeding laws and tailgating. There was no response to this. David Herman lives in Northern Orange County in Little River Township. He made reference to the age group in attendance. He said that he represented a different generation than mast of the people in attendance. He made several comments about community centers, farming, shared values, affordable housing, and tax burdens on citizens and ways to ease the tax burden. He spoke in support of easing regulations for farmers. He spoke in support of easing tax burdens on childcare so that mothers could stay home and raise their children. Andy Sachs encouraged the task force to speak to these issues, especially to what extent was the tax burden discussed in the meetings. There was no response. He asked the task force who would run the community centers. Carol Crumley said that the task force was very interested in community spirit. She does not foresee the government only running the community centers. Will Town, a 20-year resident who is running far the N. C. House of Representatives, congratulated the task force for the presentation. He would like to know the cost of implementing the recommendations of the task force. Carl Shy said that the Task Force was a citizens group and could not express the cost. He said that whether or not the goals were achieved, there were costs. Macon Ollis said that the next step was to do a cost analysis of the implementation of the Shaping Orange County's Future task force recommendations. Ben Lloyd asked how many people owned 10 acres of land or more and depended on that land for their livelihood. He commended the Task Force for their work. He is concerned about district representation of the County Commissioners. He is concerned that water and sewer extensions in rural areas do not allow atop-on. He is very concerned about down zoning. He made reference to the housing size requirements, lot size requirements, and affordable housing. He asked the task force members to imagine themselves in the position of having to provide for their families with the property that they own. The meeting was adjourned to the hallway where refreshments were served and people talked in small groups. ADJOURNMENT At 9:45 Andy Sachs announced that the meeting was over. The next regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners will take place on May 22, 2000 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk