HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 11-07-2024; 8-k - Resolution Naming the 203 Greensboro Project as the Drakeford Library Complex 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: November 7, 2024
Action Agenda
Item No. 8-k
SUBJECT: Resolution Naming the 203 Greensboro Project as the Drakeford Library
Complex
DEPARTMENT: Asset Management Services
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
1.) Resolution Alan Dorman, Asset Management
2.) Rendering of New Name Services Director, 919-245-2627
PURPOSE: To approve a resolution naming the 203 Greensboro Project as the "Drakeford
Library Complex".
BACKGROUND: In 2017, Orange County and the Town of Carrboro entered into a development
agreement to jointly design and construct a facility that would house administrative offices for the
Town of Carrboro and the Orange County Southern Branch Library. At the initiation of the project,
the building was temporarily named the 203 Greensboro Project, based on the street name of the
building site. The facility is under construction and is expected to open this winter.
At the November 23, 2023 Board of Commissioners` Business meeting, Board Vice-Chair Sally
Greene and Commissioner Anna Richards volunteered to serve on a joint committee with
representatives from the Town of Carrboro to develop a proposed official name for the building.
The committee membership included Town of Carrboro Council Members Catherine Fray and
Eliazar Posada, and Alex Brown and Nerys Levy from the Friends of the Library.
The committee decided to seek public input on possible facility names by conducting on online
survey between May 29 and June 14, 2024, receiving almost 200 responses. Considering the
responses to the online survey as well as other information gathered, the committee approved
recommending the name "Drakeford Library Complex". The name honors Dr. Robert Wayne
Drakeford, PHd, who served as the first black Mayor of the Town of Carrboro from 1977 through
1983.
At the October 15, 2024 Board of Commissioners' Business meeting, the Board received a
recommendation from the County Manager and agreed to consider, at this November 7, 2024
Business meeting, a resolution (Attachment 1) approving the name of the 203 Greensboro Project
as the "Drakeford Library Complex". Attachment 2 shows a rendering of the front of the building
with the name "Drakeford Library Complex" mounted near the front entrance.
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At its October 15, 2024 meeting, the Carrboro Town Council formally adopted a resolution
approving the naming of the building as the "Drakeford Library Complex".
FINANCIAL IMPACT: After further discussion with the architect last week, it was determined that
the addition of the signage to the building, along with a plaque memorializing Dr. Drakeford, will
add approximately $7,500 to the project. The existing contingency funds will cover this additional
cost.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: There are no Orange County Strategic Plan Goals
applicable to this item.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve and authorize the
Chair to sign the resolution naming the 203 Greensboro Project as the "Drakeford Library
Complex".
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RES-2024-063 Attachment 1
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
RESOLUTION NAMING THE 203 GREENSBORO PROJECT THE DRAKEFORD
LIBRARY COMPLEX
WHEREAS, a Naming Committee comprised of members from the Board of Orange County
Commissioners, Carrboro Town Council, and Friends of the Library met in the spring of 2024
to develop a community engagement process to name the public building jointly operated by
the Town of Carrboro and Orange County at 203 S. Greensboro Street; and
WHEREAS, the committee reviewed results from a communitywide survey that received more
than 200 responses and subsequently took a formal vote on September 24, 2024, to
recommend that the building be named the Drakeford Library Complex; and
WHEREAS, Robert "Bob" Drakeford made history as Carrboro's first Black mayor, elected in
1977 and serving until 1983; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Drakeford served as Alderman from 1975 to 1977 before being elected as
mayor in 1977, and as a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill's city and regional planning program, he
was an advocate for public transit and cycling, and he developed valuable collaborations with
other progressive Black mayors in the South during his tenure; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Drakeford held public office when the Council (then Board of Aldermen) hired
Richard Knight as the town's first Black town manager, employed from 1976-1980. And he
served as mayor during the hiring of the Town's first professional planner, who was Black. This
decision helped set high standards that eventually made Carrboro more accessible to
pedestrians and cyclists. He also established a loan program to encourage business
entrepreneurs and created the Carrboro Community Park, later renamed the Hank Anderson
Community Park. The biggest issue during his tenure was planning the Chapel Hill-Carrboro
Bus System; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Drakeford was a veteran who proudly served our country in the United States
Army from 1966 to 1968. Following his time in service, he received a Bachelor's Degree from
Quinnipiac University and his Master's Degree at the University of North Carolina -Chapel Hill,
going on to further his education by receiving his Doctorate of Philosophy from the University
of North Carolina-Greensboro. He was a Political Science Professor, serving with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and 4-H Development at Auburn University; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Drakeford was born on April 25,1945 in New York City, N.Y., son of the late
Robert and Elizabeth McLeod Drakeford, and died on May 16, 2022 (buried at the Sandhills
State Veterans Cemetery);
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of County
Commissioners will remember Robert Drakeford for his service to the community by naming
the new public building in his honor as the Drakeford Library Complex.
This the 7th day of November, 2024.
Jamezetta Bedford, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners
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