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Orange County
Commission for the Environment
Meeting Summary
January 13, 2014
Orange County Environment and Agricultural Center, Hillsborough
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PRESENT: Jan Sassaman (Chair), Loren Hintz, Donna Lee Jones, David Neal, Steve
Niezgoda, Jeanette O’Connor, Rebecca Ray, Gary Saunders, Lydia Wegman, David Welch
ABSENT: May Becker, Peter Cada
STAFF: Tom Davis
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I. Call to Order – Sassaman called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm.
II. Ad ditions or Changes to Agenda – There were no changes or additions.
III. Introduction of New CFE Members – Sassaman welcomed new members, Wegman
and Ray. Both introduced themselves and explained their interest in serving on the CFE.
IV. Approval of Minutes – Sassaman asked for comments on the draft minutes for the
December 9 meeting. Neal motioned to approve as written; O’Connor seconded.
Approved unanimously.
V. CFE Committee Structure – Sassaman introduced the idea of modifying the standing
committees so that they might align better with the subject matter dealt with by the CFE.
Rather than the current two committees, he proposed dividing into three: Air and Energy
Resources, Land Resources, and Water Resources.
CFE members discussed the proposal and identified pros and cons of making this
change. After the discussion, Neal motioned to adopt the new committee structure;
seconded by Saunders. Approved unanimously.
VI. CFE Liaison to the Intergovernmental Parks Work Group – Sassaman asked if there
were any CFE members interested in serving as the liaison to this intergovernmental
work group. Wegman volunteered to serve as the CFE representative, and Jones
volunteered to be the back-up representative.
VII. State of the Environment 2014 – Davis provided a status report on the progress made
since the December meeting. He discussed changes to the Water Resources section
that he made using input from committee members. Davis also noted there had been a
few changes to the Land Resources section, however further review and edits was still
needed for the Air and Energy Resources section.
Sassaman introduced the topic of the CFE holding an Environmental Summit in the
spring or fall of 2014. The CFE formed a committee (O’Connor, Hintz, Wegman, and
Ray) to explore the possible venues for holding the summit.
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CFE members agreed to review the draft SOE report and provide further comments on
the document by January 27, after which staff would incorporate the changes and
provide a revised draft for CFE consideration so that members would have an
opportunity to review prior to the February 10 meeting.
VIII. Updates and Information Items – Information on the following subjects was included in
the meeting materials and selected items were summarized by staff: a) proposed
screening of an industrial hemp film, b) Orange County fair proposal, c) future
recycling/waste reduction update, d) NC Conservation Tax Credit expiration, e) the
completion of two recent Lands Legacy conservation projects, and f) a recent reduction
in residential electrical use.
IX. Adjournment – Neal motioned to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Wegman.
Approved unanimously. Sassaman adjourned the meeting at 9:30 pm.
Summary by Rich Shaw, DEAPR Staff