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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 02-03-2015 APROVED 3/17/2015 MINUTES BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING February 3, 2015 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair McKee and Commissioners Mia Burroughs, Mark Dorosin, Barry Jacobs, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price and Penny Rich COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Assistant County Manager Cheryl Young and Deputy Clerk to the Board David Hunt (All other staff inembers will be identified appropriately below) Chair McKee called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 1. Additions or Chanqes to the Aqenda Chair McKee noted the following items at the Commissioners' places: • Blue sheet— Strategic Communications information for the Work session following the regular meeting • White Sheet— Petition from the Orange Partnership for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth PUBLIC CHARGE Chair McKee dispensed with the reading of the public charge. 2. Public Comments a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda Marianne Hark with Orange Partnership for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth read from the petition included in the abstract, which outlines the need for regulation of Alcopops in North Carolina. b. Matters on the Printed Agenda (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 3. Petitions by Board Members Commissioner Rich said she has had a number of questions about Google Fiber coming to the area and what can be done for people who do not have internet. She said there needs to be a statement issued regarding the Board's efforts to help those without access. She noted the divide between internet access availability in the two school systems. Chair McKee said this is an informational item. He said he has spoken with Time Warner Cable (TWC), and they have the same type of fiber system in place in some of the Chapel Hill neighborhoods. He said he has spoken with them about trying to push some of that out into the County. Bonnie Hammersley said staff is strategizing about how to address this, and there have been discussions with Time Warner Cable. She said there have been numerous inquiries from residents without access, and she has been working with the information technology director to consider options for more Countywide accessibility. Commissioner Rich said this should be viewed as a social justice issue. She said it is a shame to have the top public university in the country and not have internet service for everyone. Commissioner Jacobs recognized and welcomed former Orange County Commissioner Moses Carey, who was in attendance. 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations a. Oranqe County Arts Grant Recipients & 30t" Anniversary of Arts Commission The Board presented checks to local artists and arts organizations receiving Fall 2014 Orange County Arts Grants, and acknowledged the 30th Anniversary of the Orange County Arts Commission, established unanimously by Resolution of the Board of County Commissioners on February 4, 1985. Moses Carey said the purpose of tonight is to celebrate 30 years of the Arts Commission. He noted the tremendous economic impact the development of arts has provided to the County. He thanked the Board for their support. Arts Commissioner Director Martha Shannon reviewed the history of the creation of the Arts Commission. She said the total state grassroots allocation from 1985 through the present time is $695,048, and $78,394 in state funds was retained by the Arts Commission to fund the arts programming. She said from 1987 to the present, the arts commission sub-granted $565,452 in County funds to artists and non-profit arts organization. Martha Shannon said this year the arts commission awarded $26,925 in County funds. Commissioner Burroughs handed out the grants as Chair McKee read through the following list of recipients: Fall, 2014 Grant Recipients Grantees: Attendees: ArtsCenter - Ashley Clay Barbara Barnes - Barbara Barnes Cedar Ridge High School - Ben Rodgers Chapel Hill Philharmonia - John Konanc Sarah Cornette Door to Door of UNC Health Care - Joy Javits Expedition School - Tammy & Brandon Finch Extraordinary Ventures - Cyndi Whisnant & Holly Johnson Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library - Nerys Levy Hillsborough Arts Council - Philip Cooley McDougle Elementary School PTA Rachael Cruickshank North Carolina Symphony Society, Inc. - Bethany Donnell One Song Productions - Marichi Gupta, Rosie Kerwin & Julia Perkins Phillips Middle School PTSA - Beverly Tyndall & Cristina Smith Seawell Elementary School PTA - Alicia & Miriam Altmueller Lindsay Ann Leach Sparks - Lindsay Ann Leach Sparks Triangle Youth Ballet - Lauren Lorentz de Haas Barbara Tyroler - Barbara Tyroler b. OWASA Annual Update Presentation The Board received a presentation and information from the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) on recent activities. OWASA Board Chair John Young introduced Executive Director Ed Kerwin and several other staff and board members. He said OWASA earned the Sustainable Water Utility Management Award in the fall from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies. John Young discussed the preliminary engineering study for sewers in the Historic Rogers Road, which is funded by the County and the towns at a cost of$130,000. He said this study is scheduled for completion in late March. He said there have been no major surprises in the study so far. He said the final cost of the project will not be known until the completion of the construction design. He said a new inter-local agreement is being drafted to keep things moving into the next phase of installation and construction, and once all of this is in place, it will take about 2 years to complete this project. John Young discussed bio-solids management, which is handled at the Mason Farm wastewater treatment plant. He said evaluations are underway to optimize the sustainability of those operations. He discussed the different methods of recycling this material. He discussed the work and partnership with local farmers in this process. John Young reviewed information on rates and affordability. He said the recent refinancing of bonds will yield $2.5 million in savings for customers. He noted that there have been no rate increases for service in the past 3 years. He discussed affordability outreach efforts, and he expressed thanks to Nancy Coston at the Department of Social Services and James Davis at the Department of Housing and Human Rights and Community Development for their contributions to this project. He said this has resulted in a new process by which OWASA will not disconnect service to customers actively seeking financial aid for their water bills. He said information is also being provided to the public regarding water conservation and how to reduce water bills. Chair McKee expressed his appreciation for the sensitivity shown in handling the bio- solids issue and in addressing the affordability concerns. Commissioner Price asked what the aforementioned $2.5 million in savings will look like in terms of its effect on an average customer on a monthly basis. John Young said this will not go into the bills right away. He discussed overall numbers and said this would equate to about a one percent savings over a ten year period. He said the average homeowner will likely not notice a direct change to their bill. He said rate and budget decisions will be made this spring. Commissioner Rich asked if the Care to Share Program will replace the Taste of Hope program. John Young said yes. Commissioner Rich asked how this program is going. Orange County appointee to the OWASA board Terri Buckner said staff is a little behind in making the changes to the website, due to the associated costs. She said work is still being done to make this operational, and there have been no changes yet. Commissioner Rich said this program allows people to round their bill payment up to the nearest dollar to help people who cannot pay their water bills. Terri Buckner said some of the wealthier residents in southern Orange County do not get a water bill, so there needs to be some restructuring of the contributions to allow everyone the opportunity to give. Commissioner Pelissier asked about the mitigation tract for forestry management. Ed Kerwin said he believes this is around 100 feet, and he will email the manager with a more specific answer. Commissioner Pelissier asked for more information about the composting of bio-solids John Young said the process introduces other biomaterials, along with the bio-solids, to create compost for landscaping companies, golf courses, farmers and others. He said Orange County's waste is treated to the highest EPA standard. He said there have been concerns expressed by citizens about pharmaceutical products that may enter the waste stream and be in the compost. He said the farmers do not see any health or safety issues with the compost. Commissioner porosin noted that the County has a living wage policy, and he asked if OWASA has any employees that make less than the living wage. Ed Kerwin said he assumes that everyone is above that, but OWASA is embarking on a total compensation study this year that will look at this. Commissioner porosin asked if the Care to Share program is completely funded by private citizens. John Young said OWASA is not authorized to support these programs. He said they endeavor to support community giving to come to the aid of residents, but it is difficult to even rationalize supporting the marketing of these programs. Commissioner porosin asked about the possibility of requesting special legislation to change these legal constraints. John Young said OWASA seeks co-funding, and this is more consistent with the mission of the County and other local partners. Commissioner porosin said he would like to explore every path possible. Commissioner Jacobs said one of the major constraints on the OWASA board members is the limitation of the purchase and sale agreement. He wonders if OWASA should be encouraged periodically to approach the University about renegotiating this purchase and sale agreement, so that the cost of service can be discussed. He suggested reaching out to the new leadership at the University. Commissioner Jacobs commended OWASA on the energy savings and the wastewater treatment plant. He asked about the planned process for resolving the bio-solids management issues. John Young said long term there is potential for collaboration with other water and sewer utilities in the region. He said some solutions involve a larger scale than would be inappropriate for OWASA's operation. He said this would involve time to develop and work out with other partners. John Young said the short term decisions will be figuring out the balance between the dewatered cakes, compost and liquid bio-solids application. He thinks that residents concerned about risks do not seem to see a difference between these forms. He said these residents are more concerned with the long term solutions. He said there are meetings planned with local farmers and all concerned parties. Commissioner Jacobs noted the University seems intent on maintaining its own airport, and the bio-solids land is a contiguous property. He hopes OWASA will continue to use this land for some public purpose. Commissioner Rich asked if there are any plans to place solar panels on either plant to help with electrical cost. John Young said this has been evaluated, and it would only be cost effective if there was a private partner to provide cost investment. Commissioner Rich said she has seen this work at a plant outside of Phoenix. John Young said OWASA will be looking seriously at energy management. 5. Public Hearinqs — NONE 6. Consent Aqenda • Approval of Consent Agenda A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner Rich to approve all the items on the Consent Agenda. VOTE: UNANIMOUS a. Minutes — None b. Motor Vehicle Property Tax Releases/Refunds The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release motor vehicle property tax values for fourteen (14) taxpayers with a total of seventeen (17) bills that will result in a reduction of revenue. Approval of these release/refund requests will result in a net reduction of$4,282.94 to Orange County, the towns, and school and fire districts. Financial impact year to date for FY 2014-2015 is $29,708.80. c. Property Tax Releases/Refunds The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release property tax values in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 105-381 for four (4) taxpayers with a total of four (4) bills that will result in a reduction of revenue of$3,259.68 to the County, municipalities, and special districts. d. Applications for Property Tax Exemption/Exclusion The Board approved five (5) untimely applications for exemption/exclusion from ad valorem taxation for five (5) bills for the 2014 tax year and approved a resolution for the above-listed applications for FY 2014/2015 exemption. e. Advertisement of Tax Liens on Real Property The Board accepted a report on the amount of unpaid taxes for the current year that are liens on real property as required by North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 105-369 and approved a request that March 25, 2015 be set by the Board as the date for the tax lien advertisement. f. Oranqe County Arts Commission Annual DCP Renewal with NC Arts Council The Board authorized the Orange County Arts Commission and staff to apply by the March 2, 2015 deadline for Designated County Partner (DCP) renewal from the NC Arts Council in order to receive state Grassroots Arts Program funds for Orange County. g. Request for Road Addition to the State Maintained Secondary Road Svstem The Board approved: 1) Making an affirmative finding that the re-development of Whirlaway Lane into a public road is consistent with the provisions of Section 7.8.1 and 7.8.2 of the UDO as recommended by staff; and 2) Recommending sending the application to NCDOT for addition to the State Maintained Secondary Road System. h. Boards and Commissions — Commissioner Assiqnments The Board approved the list of boards and commissions on which members of the Board of County Commissioners have chosen to serve as agreed upon at the January 27, 2015 BOCC Work Session. 7. Reqular Aqenda - NONE 8. Reports a. Report of the Oranqe County Housinq Authority The Board considered accepting the report of the Housing Authority for 2014 and providing feedback. Jean Bolduc thanked the Commissioners for their funding of this department even during the difficulty of the sequester. She reviewed some highlights from the following report, as included in the abstract: Though the following is not an exhaustive list, it does represent the Board's primary activities and accomplishments. • During the late Spring and through the Summer, there was a growing controversy surrounding the decision of one property management company (GSC) to discontinue its acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers. This was a corporate level decision based on many factors, having nothing to do with Orange County's voucher holders or the management of its program. Nevertheless, activists and housing advocates took up the issue and began meeting regularly in an effort to force GSC to reverse its decision. Although we are always concerned about the pressure on our housing market, the Voucher program itself was managing this within its normal course of activity. We were left, then, with a disconnect between the actual problem and the perception of the problem. Through the summer, Mr. Davis and I spend many Wednesday afternoons at Empowerment, Inc. meeting with the ad hoc group of advocates who were seeking to assist the affected families. We spent a significant amount of time correcting misinformation on many points, the leading one being that these families were "losing their vouchers." This activity culminated in a press conference given by the mayors of Chapel Hill and Carrboro to bring attention to the issue and to assistance funds they had available to help families that needed emergency funds for security deposits. Mr. Davis spoke at the August press conference, which was well covered by local media, and we both took questions from reporters during and following the press conference. Takeaway: The Orange County Community, including several segments of housing providers, advocates, political leadership and the general public would benefit from learning much more about the HCV program and how it works in Orange County. Following the mayors' press conference in August, the Housing Authority, as promised, hosted an information session for landlords and the public about the program and how to participate as a housing provider. It was held at the Orange County Library in Hillsborough and had modest attendance. We were disappointed that none of the housing advocates were able to attend, after repeatedly requesting such a meeting. • As a beginning to our educational efforts, we have (in addition to the PowerPoint created for the Landlords meeting) created a brochure that was printed in January 2015 after review with the County's Public Information Officer. We are also looking forward to taking advantage of new information infrastructure soon to be available when the County launches its new website. It's critically important that Orange County's Voucher program not "rest on its laurels" after many, many years of being a quietly well-run, effective program. Takeaway: The Orange County Government has long supported the HCV program and now does so at an even greater funding level following Federal Sequester. During 2015, we would like to raise the profile of the HCV program and its benefits to taxpayers to highlight the value of that investment. • In response to the increased pressures on the Orange County housing market, our board voted at year-end to exercise its authority to increase the program's payment standard to 110% of the HUD Fair Market Rent (FMR) rate. We are able to make this change without authorization from HUD, but to extend further (up to 120%) we would need written consent from HUD's Greensboro office. This will allow many families to stay where they are, despite rental increases due to renovations. It expands the affordable options for those assisted by the HCV program but will tend to reduce the total number of families overall that we can help. • We have also taken administrative steps to bring onto our books some of the voucher holders who have moved to Orange County with the permission of their authorities. Most of these are families with vouchers issued from the Durham Housing Authority. This process is called "absorption" and means that instead of simply accepting a "pass-thru" payment from Durham with those vouchers being counted by HUD as Durham vouchers, they become Orange County vouchers and are administered in the future just as any other we issued. This is important for us to do because it helps to more accurately reflect the number of families who are here and receiving assistance from our program. It also reduces the administrative burden that is created for the two agencies who are cooperatively managing one voucher in two jurisdictions. • Our struggle to operate as a board cannot be overstated. Following the retirement of one board member and the loss of two others due to lack of attendance (one new board member never appeared at all), we were forced to cancel several monthly board meetings for lack of quorum. How to confront this problem and our attempts to mitigate its consequences took an unfortunately significant amount of time for Mr. Davis and me. Takeaway: In the future, if faced with this type of issue, we will reach out to the Chair of the County Commissioners (and staffl for assistance much sooner. • We have begun efforts to secure an HCV participant as a board member (as required by HUD) and hope to have a recommendation for the Board of Commissioners' review and approval in the first quarter of 2015. With a more complete complement of board members in 2015, we hope to do more. We welcome your feedback and guidance as to how we can better serve Orange County in this important capacity of providing citizen oversight for the Housing Choice Voucher program. We look forward to a productive and progressive year ahead. Jean Bolduc said families affected by the changes to section 8 housing were all successfully relocated, and no one was abruptly displaced. She said it was still difficult, but it was not as bad as the publicity made it seem. She said it has been made clear that there is work to be done in educating the public and the landlords about the pros and cons of the program, and there is a need to get more landlords involved. She said Orange County is lucky to have a very well-run section 8 program, and she expects this to continue. Chair McKee thanked her for the report. Commissioner Rich asked about the struggles to get a quorum on this board. She said there might need to be discussion about solutions to this issue. She suggested that perhaps there need to be other people appointed to the board. Chair McKee said this has been a sporadic problem for all boards, and there have been letters issued to remove people for non-attendance in the past. Commissioner Jacobs said staff keeps attendance and provides a periodic report. Jean Bolduc said this attendance can be reported to the clerk on a quarterly basis. Commissioner Rich said she would like to get this for all of the boards. Commissioner porosin said he has real concerns about the section 8 program's continuing viability in a high wealth community. He asked if the landlords are not taking vouchers due to perceived stereotypes about the people who use them, or if it seems to be a problem of cost now that the economy is back up. He said he is concerned that this is an issue of money. Jean Bolduc said the money is a difficult challenge, but both of these issues are factors. She said the board has increased the payment standard from 100 percent to 110 percent of fair market rent. This means the value of all of the vouchers goes up, but the number of families served will decrease. She said there will be a greater pool of available housing. She said the larger view is that section 8 is only one program, and it is not the silver bullet to make housing affordable in this community. She said there is a whole menu of options to address the problem that exists. Commissioner porosin agreed, and he said that is an excellent point. He wonders if section 8 is not as useful in this community, given the economic realities, as other menu options. He clarified that the overall pool of money has not changed, so this is why the increase in the value of each voucher means that the number served will decrease. Jean Bolduc said that is correct. Commissioner porosin asked about the situation with the Gateway Apartments in Hillsborough. Jean Bolduc said that apartment complex is a project base section 8, versus a tenant based section 8. She said these project base section 8 programs are run directly from HUD, and her staff has no management in those vouchers. James Davis said one of the issues landlords may in not accepting vouchers is that the department does have a high standard from the inspection process. He said landlords know that they can rent apartments to low income residents without vouchers and not have to meet the quality standards that have to be met with a voucher. Commissioner porosin said the County ought to be a resource for working closely with other groups. He said there needs to be synergy in these efforts. Commissioner Burroughs asked about the status of the waiting list. James Davis said there are about 1300 residents on the waiting list. He said there is an average wait time of 5 to 8 years. Commissioner Jacobs referred to his previous discussion of section 8 childcare subsidies from the County. He asked if more affordable housing opportunities could be offered to more people if there was enough money to bump the 110 percent up to 120 percent. Jean Bolduc said HUD would probably not allow that additional subsidy, as it would be counted as income to those individuals. She said of the housing department's ideas is to take some of the unrestricted funds from the sale of land to use for an incentive program for landlords. This would provide a sign on bonus, and would pay for publicity to up the profile of the program. She said the County could also fund security deposits for residents coming into the program. James Davis said this is permitted, and the Department of Social Services has been doing this for people not already receiving subsidies from the towns. Commissioner Jacobs said he hopes there can be some strategizing about how to reduce the waiting list through judicious application of County funds, if the Board of Commissioners can make them available. He noted that the reduction of section 8 has been a concern of Congressman Price for awhile, and he offered to have the Board communicate department information to the Congressman. b. Report of the Human Relations Commission The Board considered accepting the report on the activities of the Human Relations Commission (HRC) in response to the Commission's request to address the issue of the equitable treatment of women and providing feedback to staff regarding any next steps. Matt Hughes noted that a report and plan have been submitted to the Board regarding progress on addressing the topic of equitable treatment of women. He said there were 4 goals in the report, as outlined below: 1) A proclamation to establish of August 26 as Women's Equality Day in Orange County, which was passed by the Board. 2) A Human Relations Month Forum, with a focus on the 19th amendment, which was held this past weekend. 3) A community read at the Orange County Library, which is scheduled for Monday, March 23, with a book selection and topic focused on the equitable treatment of women. 4) A long term goal of forging relationships with organizations that promote women's rights, including the League of Women Voters, and the Compass Center. Matt Hughes said, moving forward, the department will continue to work to address concerns regarding discrimination and equal access, especially with regard to gender equity. He said there will be a poster contest and an essay contest for the schools, as part of the Pauli Murray awards. He said the work to foster parity in the community is ongoing. Commissioner Rich said the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is coming up, and the Visitors Bureau is working on putting out a brochure listing all ADA facilities and hotels. She suggested that the Human Resources Committee could coordinate with them on these efforts. Chair McKee noted that Commissioner Rich and Commissioner Price participated in the Human Relations Month Forum. 9. County Manaqer's Report Bonnie Hammersley noted that the work session on February 12th will include discussion regarding Potential Requirement that Contractors Doing Business with Orange County Pay Employees a Living Wage. She said there will also be several carry-over items from the January 30, 2015 Board Retreat, including the process for the public to place items on a regular meeting agenda, and a discussion on boards/commissions' processes. 10. County Attorney's Report NONE 11. Appointments - NONE Chair McKee noted that he will follow up with the Clerk and Manager tomorrow regarding the status of the Orange County Housing Authority board appointments. 12. Board Comments Commissioner Price said she would like to make sure applications for board appointments are current, to insure that appointees are still interested in serving. She also suggested checking to be sure the advisory board polices regarding unexcused absences are being followed. Commissioner Price said the National Association of Counties (NACo) news mentioned that counties were moving forward with raising the minimum wage, ahead of the passage of the minimum wage act. She said Orange County was not mentioned, and it would help if NACo knew what Orange County has done. Commissioner Jacobs said this should be communicated through Public Affairs. Commissioner Jacobs said this meeting room will be used for the Agricultural Summit on February 16th, and it will be free, with lunch provided. Commissioner Jacobs commended Orange County Schools for paying all of its employees a living wage, and Chapel Hill Carrboro Schools for being nominated to compete nationally for their green practices. Chair Jacobs said he met with Steve Brantley and others today to discuss how the County might work to support the food council. He said these meetings are filled with energetic young people who are excited to work on the local food economy. He said Steve Brantley will be following up with the presentation of some new ideas. Chair Jacobs expressed condolences to the families of Charlene Pilkey and Don Shea. Commissioner porosin said several weeks ago this Board passed a resolution regarding equal access to education for immigrant children. He said other local boards were asked to pass similar resolutions. He said the Chapel Hill Carrboro School Board has decided not to pass a resolution, though they reiterated that they do not discriminate. He said the goal of passing these resolutions is to add a progressive voice to a discussion that is often dominated by anti-progressive advocates. Commissioner porosin noted that the constitutionality of the private school vouchers will be discussed in the state supreme court on February 16th. He said this will ultimately have an effect on public school funding across the state. Commissioner Rich asked when there will be discussion regarding the request to move board comments up to the beginning of regular meetings. Chair McKee said this will be discussed at the February 10th BOCC Work Session. Commissioner Rich congratulated the Chapel Hill High fencing team, who won their division tournament and will be moving on to state competition. She recognized Bobby Woodward, the electrician for the district, and Leonard Sterns, the East Chapel Hill High custodian, who stayed to watch the fencing tournament and helped clean up. Chair McKee said he had the honor of speaking at an event put on by Free Spirit Freedom to commemorate early Orange County schools for colored children. He said his comments centered on not forgetting history, and he spoke on the desegregation of the school system. He said this was a good event. Commissioner Jacobs said there is an upcoming ribbon cutting scheduled for the Mebane Park and Ride lot at the Wal-Mart exit on Wednesday, February 18th, at 10:30 a.m. Chair McKee noted that there are several information items contained in the packet. 13. Information Items • January 22, 2015 BOCC Meeting Follow-up Actions List • Tax Collector's Report— Numerical Analysis • Tax Assessor's Report— Releases/Refunds under $100 • Memorandum Regarding Road and Rail Traffic Separation Study for the Town of Hillsborough Report • Memorandum Regarding Update to BOCC on 2013-2016 Library Strategic Plan • Memorandum Concerning Board of County Commissioners Petition Regarding Orange Unified Transportation Board (OUTBoard)/Bicycle Safety • BOCC Chair Letter Regarding Petitions from January 22, 2015 Regular Board Meeting • Major Fund Financial Statement for the Six Months Ended December 31, 2014 14. Closed Session - NONE 15. Adiournment A motion was made by Commissioner Burroughs, seconded by Commissioner Rich to adjourn the meeting at 8:33 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair McKee announced a 5 minute break, after which the Board would reconvene for a work session. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION Chair McKee called the work session to order at 8:43 p.m. 1. Draft Strateqic Communications Plan (SCP) Assistant County Manager Cheryl Young said the draft strategic communications plan came about as a result of the Board's 2014 retreat. A three phase process was developed to help move this forward. She said the first phase included interviews with each of the Commissioners, and the second phase was gathering of strategic communications plans being used by other departments. She said the final phase was the appointment of a communications workgroup facilitated by Rod Visser. She said this group started meeting in July 2014, and a draft plan was put together and circulated for peer review and comments from department directors. Cheryl Young said comments that were in conflict with the group decisions are included on the blue sheet. She asked for comment and direction from the Board on these four items. Chair McKee said, although the Board typically does not vote in work sessions, direction and consensus can be given. Commissioner Jacobs asked how there could be dispute about the spokesperson for the Commissioners. Cheryl Young said there was not dispute about that, but this information was not included in writing, and there was a question of whether to include it in this plan. John Roberts said the Chair is the spokesperson for the Board; however he also could not find this in writing Cheryl Young said there was an additional comment from John Roberts requesting that the plan include notification that a declaration of a state of emergency is to be made by the Chair of the Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Rich asked the attorney if he thinks it is important to have a policy noting that the Chair is the spokesman of the Board. John Roberts said it might be helpful to add this to the procedure book. Chair McKee said these things are unspoken policy, but it would be good to have it in writing. Commissioner Pelissier said this is discussed in new chair training. Commissioner Price asked if it should be added that the Vice Chair takes over in the absence of the Chair. Chair McKee said this is a good suggestion, and staff can work on the wording and bring it back to the Board for approval. Cheryl Young said the second item is regarding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), which are set forth in the plan. She said there are differing opinions on whether this should be included. She asked for Board comment. Commissioner Jacobs said he agrees with the manager's recommendation to include this information. Commissioner porosin asked if this is something that will be revised annually. Cheryl Young said the plan states there will be a communications governance team to examine this and make recommendations for revision. She said it would be an easy snapshot to look at the SWOT if it is left in there. Bonnie Hammersley said she recommended that this stay in the plan, as it is an attachment. She said this is a living document, and the SWOT analysis will be done on an annual basis. She said this can be used as a guide for measuring improvements, and she thinks there is value in keeping it. Commissioner Rich said it is important to understand that this is a living document. She said communications are constantly changing, so there will be changes to this document. She said the SWOT can be taken out later if it is not valuable. Chair McKee said the Board consensus is to follow the manager's recommendation to include the SWOT. Commissioner Pelissier said, on priority B, she would like to specifically state that a SWOT analysis should be done as part of the evaluation on an annual basis. Chair McKee noted Board consensus on this proposal. Cheryl Young referred to the third item, which is discussed the establishment of a protocol for County communicators to follow in determining what information warrants relay to the Board of Commissioners. She read the following peer review suggestion from the blue sheet: (Any information that is shared with one Commissioner should be shared with all Commissioners. You may want to reword this one to take the focus off of staff and put it on the Commissioners; i.e. establish an appropriate method for Commissioners to use when contacting individual staff inembers for information [such as all requests go through the County manger, who then contacts the appropriate staff person to get the information and then responds to ALL Commissioners.] You don't want staff to get in the middle of a policy debate or to be perceived as playing favorites.) Chair McKee asked if this means that Commissioners would take it on themselves to communicate with other Commissioners. Bonnie Hammersley said it is her recommendation not to take this peer review suggestion. She said it is clear to her that the Board should have access to staff and should communicate with staff as needed. She does not feel the Board needs to go through the County manager to determine when to communicate with staff. She said there is a protocol in place that when a Commissioner asks for information, a response is sent to all members of the Board. Commissioner porosin asked where this item is located in the actual plan. Cheryl Young said this is shown on page 34 in the second plan. John Roberts said when he was hired he was given instruction to communicate any question from an individual Commissioner back to all of the Commissioners. Chair McKee said the Board will follow the manager's recommendation on this item. Cheryl Young said the final provision is regarding the protocol for communications that represent individual Commissioner viewpoints versus those representing the Board as a whole. She said the peer review stated that communications from the County should express the official stance of the County, and any individual opinions should not be expressed using County resources. Cheryl Young said the manager's recommendation was to leave the provision in the plan and allow an opportunity for protocol to be developed during implementation. She said the manager did not want to limit Commissioners from sending a letter to someone because it had not come before the entire Board. She said there are ways to identify communication as coming from the entire Board by use of signatures and the County logo. She said this can be clarified through the development of protocol. Chair McKee asked the Manager address this. He feels that every Commissioner has a right to state their position; however there is a fine line between County endorsement and minority statements. Bonnie Hammersley said this is a discussion for the Board to have in order to address this. She thinks that a media relations document, which has not been developed yet, will be a good place to address this. She does not have a strong feeling on this, as she thinks it is a Board issue. Commissioner Rich said she has never written anything on letter head; instead she replies to citizens by email, and she almost always starts by stating that she is representing her own opinion. Commissioner Jacobs said there was an issue related to this several years ago. He said a Commissioner used County letter head, and someone took it as the view of the entire Board. He said it is important to have an understanding that when letters are written, it is made clear that the opinion is being expressed by an individual and is not an endorsement from the entire Board. Commissioner Price said she can go either way as long as a standard is set. She can see an issue with using letterhead or email with a Board signature. She said people know each of them are Commissioners, and if it just needs to be clear if their statements are personal. Commissioner porosin said there was discussion earlier about formalizing a policy that the Chair (or the Vice Chair) is the only formal spokesperson for the Board, unless the Chair designates someone else in his/her absence. Commissioner Rich said it is important to make provision to designate another spokesperson in the event that the Chair cannot make it to a meeting or event. Chair McKee said he has been careful to make it clear when he is stating his opinion, and he feels this is an obligation for the Commissioners. Commissioner Price clarified that it is okay to use your title and to use County email. Commissioner Rich said she feels you should always use your County email when responding to a citizen's email. Commissioner Price asked about the policy when responding to general events, or letters to the editor. Commissioner Rich said if you are not using your capacity as a County Commissioner, then that is up for interpretation. Chair McKee said it is important to look after what is best for the Board. Commissioner Rich said this is more important in the Chair's position, because you are the voice of the Board, and it is more important to clarify when a statement is your personal opinion. Chair McKee said he would likely not feel comfortable writing an opinion or argument now that he is in the Chair position. Commissioner Rich said she would recommend taking the manager's recommendation on this as well, and this can be developed as things move along. Bonnie Hammersley said there may be an addition to clarify that the Board is the spokesperson. She said the Commissioners have a right to speak as individual regarding issues. Chair McKee said he sees consensus to take the manager's recommendation and further fill this out. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the next steps in this process. Bonnie Hammersley said this has been reviewed, and an implementation team will be put together to identify the low hanging fruit that can be addressed immediately. She said a governance team will also be put together, and reports will come back to the Board on a quarterly basis. She said this is a living document, and it will be used as a guide. Commissioner Jacobs asked when the governance team will be appointed. Bonnie Hammersley said this will be done as the document is revised and ready to go. Commissioner Rich said this plan is not intended to be too specific, but it is to be a guidance plan for the manager to implement. She said the implementation will then be worked into the plan. She said some of the items are already being worked on, but some of the big picture items are going to take a little more finesse. She said this will keep coming to the Board, and this will be an ongoing effort. Chair McKee said it is good to remember that this is a living document. Cheryl Young thanked all of the committee members for their work. A motion was made by Commissioner porosin, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to adjourn the meeting at 9:18 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Earl McKee, Chair David Hunt, Deputy Clerk