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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda 05-06-25; 8-a - Minutes 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: May 6, 2025 Action Agenda Item No. 8-a SUBJECT: Minutes DEPARTMENT: Board of County Commissioners ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Draft Minutes (under separate cover) Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board, 919- 245-2130 PURPOSE: To correct and/or approve the draft minutes as submitted by the Clerk to the Board as listed below. BACKGROUND: In accordance with 153A-42 of the General Statutes, the Governing Board has the legal duty to approve all minutes that are entered into the official journal of the Board's proceedings. Attachment 1: March 11, 2025 Work Session Attachment 2: March 18, 2025 Business Meeting Attachment 3: March 27, 2025 Joint Meeting with Carrboro FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with this item. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports: • GUIDING PRINCIPLE — COMMUNICATION AND AWARENESS We provide information and opportunities for engagement in a transparent manner so that all in our community have knowledge, understanding, and a voice. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve minutes as presented or as amended. Attachment 1 1 1 DRAFT MINUTES 2 ORANGE COUNTY 3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 4 WORK SESSION 5 March 11, 2025 6 7:00 p.m. 7 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Tuesday, March 11, 9 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. 10 11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jamezetta Bedford, Vice-Chair Jean 12 Hamilton and Commissioners Marilyn Carter, Amy Fowler, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, and 13 Phyllis Portie-Ascott 14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None. 15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts 16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager Caitlin 17 Fenhagen, and Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified 18 appropriately below) 19 20 Chair Bedford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All commissioners were present, 21 except Commissioner Greene. 22 23 A motion was made by Commissioner Carter, seconded by Vice-Chair Hamilton, to add 24 discussion of a letter regarding federal budget impacts to the agenda. 25 26 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 27 28 Chair Bedford said they would take that item up at the end of the published agenda. 29 30 1. Boards and Commissions —Annual Work Plan Summaries 31 The Board received brief presentations from representatives from the first group of County 32 boards and commissions on their annual work plans and provide feedback and/or direction. The 33 first group of work plan presentations occurred at the February 11, 2025 work session. 34 35 BACKGROUND: Each year the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) requests that internal 36 boards and commissions complete reports on the activities each board has conducted over the 37 past year and a plan for future activities consistent with the goals and objectives of the BOCC. 38 The Chairs or other board representatives make presentations to the BOCC to share the 39 information in their written report. The first group of work plan presentations occurred at the 40 February 11, 2025 work session. 41 42 Boards and commissions presenting at this meeting: 43 44 Board Name Presenting Representative(s) 45 Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Judson Williamson 46 Economic Development Advisory Board Kristen Smith Young 47 Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau D.R. Bryan 48 Advisory Board 49 Arts Commission Denise Duffy 50 Advisory Board on Aging Ann Bradford 51 Adult Care Home and Nursing Home Community Jacqulyn Podger 2 1 Advisory Committee 2 Board of Health Dr. Alison Stuebe 3 Orange County Board of Adjustment Leon Meyers 4 Orange County Planning Board Lamar Proctor 5 6 Judson Williamson from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board said they distributed 7 $1.35 million back to the community in the last year. He said that the funds went to public safety 8 and non-profit agencies. He said $840,000 went to the county. He said they will be interviewing 9 new board members soon and will present a recommendation to the Board. 10 Commissioner Fowler asked what the current trend is for alcohol sales. 11 Judson Williamson said that sales have been flat recently, and that February sales were 12 down across the state. He said they have not gone to pre-COVID sales figures, but they are 13 down from the peak. 14 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about the amount of funding for Grow Your World. 15 She asked how much the non-profit asked for. 16 Judson Williamson said Grow Your World requested a lower amount of funding, under 17 $10,000. He said that their proposal also was not focused on alcohol education, which is the 18 ABC Board's focus. 19 Chair Bedford asked how the request process works. She asked if the ABC Board 20 requests proposals, then applicants are invited to speak and are evaluated. 21 Judson Williamson said yes. He said all the groups come to one of two meetings at the 22 beginning of the fiscal year to make their requests, then they come back mid-year to report on 23 how they have used the funds. 24 Chair Bedford said that they encourage all boards to increase the diversity of their membership. 25 26 Commissioner Greene arrived at 7:07 p.m. 27 28 Kristen Smith Young from the Economic Development Advisory Board showed the 29 Board examples of products made by businesses that received small business grants. She 30 thanked the Commissioners for appointing additional board members. She said highlights of the 31 last year include the Morenaga expansion, 31 small business grants, and 17 agricultural grants. 32 She said an ad campaign was run in Chapel Hill Magazine and WCHL. She said it is important 33 to communicate the need for new product in the community. She said that means maximizing 34 the opportunities in the three economic development zones. She said that strategically 35 considering land not currently in an EDD is also a goal. She thanked Paul Slack, Chief Equity 36 and Inclusion Officer, for providing training at a board meeting. She thanked the Economic 37 Development staff for their assistance. She thanked the Board for continued funding for 38 economic development opportunities and small business grants. She invited the Board to meet 39 with an advisory board member, to tour the economic development districts, and to meet with 40 Crystal Morphis, the person that is spearheading the economic development strategic plan. 41 Commissioner McKee reiterated Kristen Smith Young's comments about touring 42 economic development districts. He shared an example of touring Medline. 43 Commissioner Carter and Commissioner Portie-Ascott said they recently took a tour with 44 the Economic Development Director, Steve Brantley. 45 Chair Bedford thanked the board for administering the grant process. 46 D.R. Bryan of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Advisory Board said that 47 Laurie Paolicelli is a great representative of the Visitors' Bureau. He said that Commissioner 48 Greene is on the advisory board, along with elected officials from the municipalities, 49 representatives from UNC, and representatives the arts, hotels, restaurant, and farming 50 communities. He said the mission is to develop visitors' services in the county. He said they 51 invite visitors, enhance their experience, and expand their stay. He said they spend about 3 1 $100,000 a year in marketing and promotions. He said they will assist visitors with providing 2 transportation to special events. He said the Visitors Bureau is open 6 days a week, and 3 Saturday is their busiest day. He said visitors usually come for one or two days, so they try to 4 encourage visitors to expand their stay a couple more days. He said tourism fills the local 5 economy, supports jobs, and enhances our quality of life. 6 Commissioner Portie-Ascott congratulated the advisory board for the fact that Orange 7 County had the highest increase in visitor spending in all 100 counties in North Carolina for 8 2023. 9 Chair Bedford said it was related to the big professional soccer game. 10 Commissioner Greene asked about the challenge of Al described in the advisory board's 11 work plan. 12 Laurie Paolicelli said Al is a helpful tool as well as a challenge. She said that people rely 13 on it to plan vacations, and it is just not accurate. She said the website is getting positive views 14 for ADA and sensory assistance. She said one of the areas they are careful about is plagiarism. 15 She said they write a lot, and they want to make sure they give proper credit when they are 16 creating materials. 17 Commissioner McKee thanked the advisory board for their work and the information they 18 put out. 19 Laurie Paolicelli said in addition to being offices, they are almost a lighthouse in the 20 community. She said they provide the human services from the office, and she is proud of that. 21 She said they provide a lot of services that might not be considered visitors services. 22 Commissioner McKee thanked them for that. 23 Chair Bedford thanked them for doing the BIPOC business schedule. She asked about 24 the impact they are seeing on the work they did toward making sure that African Americans felt 25 very welcomed in the community. 26 Laurie Paolicelli said they did a survey just before COVID which alerted them to those 27 feelings in the community. She said that a lot happened during COVID, and they came back and 28 made it a priority. 29 Chair Bedford said that they will be discussing the budget at the next meeting. 30 Denise Duffy, the vice chair of the Arts Commission, thanked the Board for the chance to 31 tell them about the items they have worked on. She said this was the third year for the Eno Mill 32 arts space and they have grown that space into multiple arts. She said the LGBTQ teen arts 33 collective has 25 teens per session. She said the Juneteenth celebration was a new program 34 they supported. She said they also participated in a panel discussion with Washington Post 35 contributor, Steve Petro. She said they had a dance performance in the gallery. She said they 36 also had a volunteer fair. She said they maintained a minimum of 30% of tenants of an under- 37 represented community. She said they finished their first year of a grant that helps youth find 38 community through the arts. She said the number of artists paid for work increased and the cost 39 of work increased. She said the annual Paint It Orange fundraiser raised over $17,000. She said 40 the presence of arts brings a vibrant economy. She said the Uproar festival returns in August 41 and is a family friendly and free festival that occurs through all three towns in Orange County. 42 She said current concerns center around funding. She said with more funding, they can add 43 more employees and expand their reach. 44 Commissioner Carter commended the commission for everything they do to provide arts 45 in the community. She also commended the commission for covering all their expenses with 46 revenue. She said she looked forward to attending the Uproar Festival. 47 Vice-Chair Hamilton thanked them for the work they do. She said that the report 48 mentions the budget and she appreciate learning about the needs. She said that it will be a 49 tight budget season. 50 Commissioner McKee congratulated them on the percentage increases on the listings at 51 the Eno Mill. He said it is always good to see that. 4 1 Denise Duffy said there was a lot more need in the community and they worked with 2 DSS to provide scholarships. 3 Chair Bedford said there will be a budget amendment on a future agenda to provide 4 more funding for scholarships for summer camps. 5 Commissioner Greene thanked the commission and staff for their hard work. 6 Commissioner Portie-Ascott also thanked the commission. She asked when they would 7 hear about the staffing needs at the Arts Commission. 8 Chair Bedford said recommendations would come at budget season. 9 Ann Bradford of the Advisory Board on Aging said they met today and wanted to report 10 that they have 12 members, and they are very engaging, talented, and eager to learn. She said 11 they have doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, and the county should be proud of the group 12 of people they have. She said they focused on the Master Aging Plan. She said at 2 years in 13 on the current plan, they have made 68% progress. She said that she was a student intern with 14 the Department on Aging during the first Master Aging Plan the county completed. She said 15 they are now at the 2022-2027 plan. She said all members of the advisory board are on a work 16 group and there are over 150 community partners that work along with the Department on 17 Aging. She said the individual work group leaders give quarterly updates to the advisory board. 18 She said the master aging plan is known nationally. She said the state is using the Orange 19 County Master Aging Plan matrix as a plan for their own. She said they have a radio show, and 20 it is hosted by Heather Altman weekly. She said they are also one year into Our Place and that 21 is a volunteer respite program for caregivers. She said they are beginning to work with the 22 Jackson Center to see if there is a way to reproduce this program. She said caregiver burnout is 23 huge so anything that can be done to provide the caregiver respite and positive engagement is 24 helpful. She said Project Engage recently graduated a class and they are focusing on end-of- 25 life needs. She said the Sharp Awards recognize direct care workers of older adults. She said 26 they hope the legislature will listen to the needs of older people. She said that it is important to 27 keep funding up to complete the master aging plan. 28 Chair Bedford said that a previous commissioner, Anna Richards, was very impressed 29 by the quality of the Master Aging Plan. 30 Vice-Chair Hamilton thanked the advisory board for their work. She said because of 31 their work, the legislative issues for the county have included the needs of older adults. 32 Chair Bedford said in the letter they want to discuss later in the agenda, notes that DSS 33 shared that 19% of Orange County Medicaid recipients are older adults or disabled individual 34 and that statewide it is 50%. She said that is why that funding is critical. 35 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about in-home services. 36 Ann Bradford said there are funds that help provide limited assistance in homes. She 37 said it is in-home care, which is different than respite care. 38 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if there is a number of affordable housing units the 39 advisory board would like to see for older adults. 40 Ann Bradford said she does not have a number off-hand, but she hopes that there could 41 be at least 100 homes for people who are unhoused to keep them safe. 42 Chair Bedford said that there a lot of older adults who live in homes that are dilapidated. 43 She said they are working with the housing department to try to shift funding to make sure it is 44 making the highest impact. 45 Ann Bradford said she is aware of the needs and the repair waitlists are very long. She 46 said those are extensive repairs. 47 Commissioner McKee said there are likely hundreds of homes needed. 48 Ann Bradford said it is a problem. 49 Commissioner Carter said 9,555 units are needed for homeowners making less than 50 50% AMI. 5 1 Janice Tyler, Director of the Department on Aging, said there is a proposal to build 2 senior housing on Homestead Road across from the Seymour Center and they are very excited 3 about that. 4 Jacqulyn Podger of the Adult Care Home and Nursing Home Community Advisory 5 Committee said they visited five adult care homes included in the total of 49 visits they made to 6 assisted living and nursing home facilities. She said that a new adult care home opened on 7 Yorktown Drive. She said this committee has ten people and they work to advocate for resident 8 rights, safety, and to promote quality of life with administrators after their visits. She said they 9 were invited to participate in several angel tree activities during the past holiday season. 10 Commissioner Fowler thanked them for the work they do and said she is glad to see 11 them back in action after COVID. 12 13 Jacqulyn Podger said their allotment is 14, but if they never meet that number, they will 14 be fine. 15 Vice-Chair Hamilton asked if their will be a replacement for the ombudsman. 16 Jacqulyn Podger said they have not hired anyone yet. 17 Janice Tyler said there is a hiring freeze. 18 Vice-Chair Hamilton asked if the rising number of older adults will require additional 19 members on the commission, especially considering that an ombudsman is not available. 20 Jacqulyn Podger said recruitment must be on-going. She said that she talked to two 21 people recently who wanted to apply. 22 Commissioner Fowler asked who will do the training since the ombudsman position will 23 do is vacant. 24 Jacqulyn Podger said that the state does the bulk of the training, and it will still be 25 available. 26 Alison Stuebe of the Board of Health reminded the Board of the Board of Health's 27 mission and the structure of the Board of Health. She said they established three main priority 28 areas, the first is access to care. She said access to care is key. She said they are seeking 29 individuals that are eligible to enroll in Medicaid since the state expansion. She said they have 30 considered what it means to support access to care. She said that a person may not know 31 where to go, how to get there, or what they need. She said they are recruiting county residents 32 to take pictures that show what access to care looks like. She said that the second committee is 33 behavioral health. She said they have been requesting an amendment to the unified 34 development ordinance to prohibit the location of vape and tobacco shops within 1,000 feet of 35 where youth gather. She said they are also looking into the effects of social media and screen 36 time on children and teens. She said Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools are celebrating screen 37 free week May 5-9th. She said that means for social media and they are encouraging everyone 38 to engage with beautiful Orange County rather than their screens. She said the third group is 39 connections to community. She said they see housing as a vital condition for health and well- 40 being. She said that 17% of homeowners are housing burdened and 47% of renters are cost 41 burdened. She said this affects all of Orange County. She said they need people that work in 42 Orange County to be able to afford to live there. She said it is clear they cannot build 10,000 43 housing units but it is important to think about zoning principles in place that will allow them to 44 build. She said it is a dynamic policy environment around public health. She said on May 30th 45 there will be a NC Measles Symposium and they can learn about what to do if the measles 46 come to NC. She said they are kicking off the thriving hearts grant and this is to support mothers 47 in ten counties in NC. She asked the Board to consider a full-time grant writer. 48 Commissioner Fowler said it has been a pleasure to serve on the Board of Health and 49 she looks forward to continuing the work. 50 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how they determined which doors to canvas when 51 looking for Medicaid recipients. 6 1 Alison Stuebe said one of their board members has been very involved and that is a 2 group effort. She said they have been trying to figure out how to get that data from Social 3 Services. She said they are looking to coordinate across the county. 4 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the Board of Health has taken a position on cell 5 phones in schools. 6 Alison Stuebe said that they will have a retreat soon and they will discuss it. 7 Commissioner Fowler said the behavioral health subcommittee has been looking at 8 screen use in schools. She said that the General Assembly is proposing that schools have cell 9 phone use policies. 10 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she understood and was curious if there had been a 11 local position stated. 12 Alison Stuebe asked if it would be helpful if the Board of Health made a statement. 13 Chair Bedford said yes. 14 Commissioner Greene said she heard about the public health and housing intersection 15 years ago. She said that she found a national organization called LISK. She said it is a grant for 16 affordable housing developments that incorporate health programs. She said that the DHIC 17 project that was mentioned is one. She said it would be a good place to make that connection 18 and that she would send the information. 19 Chair Bedford asked if the Board of Health would be interested in making a proclamation 20 for Mental Health Awareness month in May regarding screen use. She said that measles will 21 eventually come to North Carolina and Orange County should be ready to support doctors. 22 Alison Stuebe said it is real and providing trusted information is important. She said they 23 will be providing the information that is necessary to vaccinate and educate the public. 24 Leon Meyers of the Board of Adjustment thanked county staff for keeping the Board of 25 Adjustment filled and organized. He said they are a board that is quasi-judicial that hears 26 applications for special use permits, variances of the LIDO, and appeals from staff decisions. He 27 said in the previous year they met five times and heard nine cases. He thanked the other 28 members of the Board of Adjustment for showing up to meetings prepared to work. 29 Lamar Proctor of the Orange County Planning Board thanked the Board for allowing the 30 Planning Board to be part of the legislative process. He said they have a good board that 31 shows up prepared and asks good questions. He thanked the previous board chair, Adam 32 Beeman, for his service. He highlighted some of the accomplishments described in their annual 33 work plan. He said that he is excited about the comprehensive land use plan process and 34 hearing from the public. He said that Planning Board members have attended all the listening 35 sessions. He praised staff in the Planning Department for their work. He said that in the next 36 year, the land use plan and LIDO amendments will take most of their time. He said Perdita 37 Holtz in the Planning Department provides training for members, so they are prepared to take 38 up new issues for consideration. He said high speed internet access continues to be a concern 39 across the county. He said the growth of the City of Mebane is an area that the Planning Board 40 is paying attention to. He said they may look at clarifications to WASMPBA. He said that the 41 preservation of water sheds and the natural environment attract people to Orange County. He 42 said they will be looking at Rural Activity Nodes and development in the county away from water 43 and sewer. He said they are looking at public transit issues and affordable housing. He said all 44 these things tie into the watersheds and they want to approach the work in a responsible and 45 intelligent way to keep Orange County wonderful. 46 Commissioner Carter thanked the Planning Board and staff for their work. She said she 47 still goes back to the Planning Board meeting minutes to see what was discussed. She said 48 she is grateful for their recommendations to commissioners. 49 Commissioner McKee said he appreciated that the Planning Board is still concerned 50 about the need for high-speed internet access. He said he hopes they can find the revenue to 51 finish the project to provide service to everyone in the county. 7 1 Lamar Proctor said notification to the public is also very important to the Planning Board 2 because once ground is broken, it is too late, and residents are concerned. He said that so 3 many citizens get surprised. He said that the future land use map is changing, and they need to 4 get as much input as possible. 5 Chair Bedford said they are trying to schedule a meeting with Mebane, and they would 6 like the Planning Board to be aware of that so they can watch. She said they also have a 7 meeting with the Planning Board about the comprehensive plan. 8 Cy Stober said there is not a joint meeting scheduled but the Planning Board 9 presentation will be made in the spring and more formal presentations in the fall. He said if there 10 is a desire for a joint meeting, they can look into that. He said they will be incorporating the 11 Planning Board's feedback into the rewrite in the summer. 12 Chair Bedford thanked all of the county's advisory boards and committees for their work. 13 She encouraged people to apply for boards that might interest them. 14 15 16 2. Consultant Presentation on Draft Orange County Land Use Plan 2050 17 The Board received a presentation from Clarion Associates, LLC, on the Draft Land Use Plan 18 2050 for discussion and feedback. 19 20 BACKGROUND: At its September 10, 2024 work session, the BOCC received a presentation 21 with an update on project progress, preliminary outcomes of the second community 22 engagement window, and initial recommendations for the draft Conservation and Growth 23 Framework. 24 25 County Planning staff, Staff Working Group, and Clarion Associates have been coordinating to 26 prepare the draft Public Review Draft of the Land Use Plan 2050 for BOCC review and 27 feedback. Feedback received from the Board will be used to edit the Public Review Draft, which 28 will be the focus of the third community engagement window to be held May—July of this year. 29 30 Additional information, including objectives for the March 11 and April 8, 2025 BOCC work 31 sessions, is provided in Attachment A. A PowerPoint presentation will be provided at the 32 meeting. 33 34 Additional information about the project, including e-mail sign-up for project updates, are 35 available on the project website: https://www.orangecountylanduseplan.com. 36 37 Completed project deliverables, including Fact Book; outreach summaries; and more, are also 38 available on the project website: https://www.orangecountylanduseplan.com/resources 39 40 Tom Altieri, Senior Planner, introduced the item and the speaker from Clarion, Leigh 41 Anne King. 42 Leigh Anne King made the following presentation: 43 44 Slide #1 ORANGE CC3UNTY Commissioners LAND USE PLAN '�� S@SSIQ17 CLARION 4 Slide #2 x. r • Agenda � Kw R' ProjectUpdate • 2. . • • Use . 050: Conservation and Growth • rk a. Policies • Y • ns • Conservation andGrowthFramework Map C. Environment and Habitat Map 3. Questions/Discussion R 9 1 Slide #3 Project Timeline K r• Phase 1: Phase 2: Phase 5: Launch Identify New Evaluate Develop Adopt the Project Issues and Planning Ran Plan Opportunities Influences $UrT�r,, 1 2023 Gai..2023 Sinn^ 2,025 2023. �: 2024 2024 . 2025 2026 Community Engagement Window#i: Community Engagement Window#2: Confirming Community Aspirations Testing the Conservation and Growth Framework[COMPLETE] [COMPLETE] Community Engagement Window#3i Unveiling of Draft Ptan PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT 2 3 4 Slide #4 4.y Y 4' 5 6 7 10 1 Slide #5 Land Use Plan 2050 Public Review Draft QLAti zoso a� 0O o z a 0 PL®LIC REVIEW 9RAFT MARCH 3.3925 2 3 4 Slide #6 3 Community Engagement Windows 8 Community Meetings and Workshops 9 Tabling, Presentation,or Other Engagement Activities 10 Briefings to Planning Board and BOCC 14 Staff Working Group Meetings 57 Stakeholder Interviews l 355 Total In Person Attendees 5$4 Community Surveys Received 5 6 7 11 1 Slide #7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Q Land Use Plan 2050 INTROO.CTION A 0-1-111 9 Abool INe Plop y Community Vision Thomas 10 PLANNING INFLUENCES 12 N-1 bra New Plan 13 Community AspYretlana 19 GUIDING CONSERVATION 9 GROWTH 16 Goals 19 Cwaservauen and Gmwth Fram—w Map 21 Land Use Cate4arles � ErteYronmenlal nntl Wl{tlllln Habltal 40 Policies 92 IMPLEMENTATION or InVotlucllPn 03 Leg--erl g3 Linkage eoihe Slreto-glc Plen gF pcilons g9 Updating B Ammding tha Plm 91 MoNtoOn9 and Poportln9 91 APPENDIX 94 p.—G-Glassory 95 Appandi.B.PLnnin9 lntlaonces 95 2 3 4 Slide #8 VISI IGHEST LEVEL OF PLAN FRAMEWOR IDEAL ASPIRATIONS OF THE PLAN GOALS DESIRED OUTCOMES RELATED TO THE VISION THEMES POLICIES STATEMENTS OF COMMITMENT AND DIRFCTION FOR ACHIEVING PLAN GOALS ACTIONS SPECIFIC IMPLFMFNTATION EFFORTS 5 6 7 8 12 1 Slide #9 Continue to Protect Critical Watershed Areas and Open Spaces and Preserve Agricultural Lands CULTIVATE SUSTAINABLE EVELOPMENT OpportunitiesAdvance Implement Attainable,Equitable Transportation Housing and Systems and Economil-J1 Employment Development k Initiatives 2 � 3 4 Slide #10 1. Agriculture, Working Lands, and Open Spaces 2. Community Equity 3. Economy and Employment 4. Environment, Parks, Recreation S. Housing Attainability 6. Regional and Local Growth 7. Resiliency 8. Services and Community Facilities 9. Transportation and Mobility m 5 6 7 8 13 1 Slide #11 Policies Agriculture, ' preserve working lands for farming and forestry Working Lands, • Preserve natural heritage and Open Spaces • Support local agricultural business Equity lens into land use planning decision-making processes Provide transparency,communication,and community Community education about land use planning Equity ' Integrate health considerations into all aspects of planning Create an environment supportive of older adults m 2 3 4 Slide #12 Policies Support commercial and industrial uses in the Economic Development Economy and Areas(EDA) Employment Support commercial uses in the Rural Activity Nodes Ensure(EDAs)are designed using sustainable development principles Improve recreational opportunities in underserved areas Support transportation and connectivity goals Environment, protect,conserve,and restore natural resources Parks, Recreation, and Resilience • Balance development needs with environmental protections and conservation Promote sustainable and resilient development • Create resilience hubs for the community 5 6 7 14 1 Slide #13 P' Encourage the development of housing options that are attainable to the local Housing workforce Attainability Reduce barriers to the development and construction of housing Support development,rehabilitation and preservation of affordable housing Regional and Support sustainable development and joint planning with municipalities Local Growth Consider sustainable development in development proposal review Continue to develop and use intergovernmental land use planning tools 2 3 4 Slide #14 Orange County • Use Plan2050 Policies • Guide infrastructure service Evaluate and develop specific Services and decision-making policies for the use of private water Community Strategically support investment in and wastewater systems Facilities water and sewer infrastructure in key Integrate carbon neutrality goals Economic Development Areas with economic development • Invest in green infrastructure Ensure that land use decisions support bicycle and pedestrian planning Transportation efforts and Mobility • Align land use planning with transit investments • Support rural transportation needs while maintaining rural character m 5 6 7 15 1 Slide#15 the�t—A-ned,-d b-i—wg—d by Ran Cpe151 It.heti-,-rh-ted 1p r • grlorltllatwn by Orany-C—y Agnl.11—Wnrkrng lands.and &AhQ.Vv--Gensotxc dMnAgrenu,o Opcn Spacers Actions unOaMdnr�rnpc�ximlaNlh- PtareonevertNtn fa wueterne Cw,t-uc4-ngw�rry�twuoet Fq ardaryee wNeach otMec iC-n,p C--n Liras Logacx P� 9. 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Z r • Establishes new policy Lo,-Cens4 .• A Neighborhood direction through future g Rural Activity Node land use guidance -Economic Development Area ! x�ynx•e•r 5 Additional Ma Features • Specific focus an h C]County Bouu ndary supporting new sustainable Municipality ■v`�B.`9 rm"°• .aiLYooa MylbWerrr housing and @ConOmIC EYtra T:rritaial Jt r nnrrl 1it1 im.m lurrsdlchan q r development opportunities E3 OQCH/CA lent planning n strategic locations Area' o Municipal Tranii '�. -.. « Areas _ --- Ra ilread ■grrnAvcn, Surface Water 5 6 Chair Bedford asked if the terms in slide #16 referred to zoning. 7 Leigh Anne King said it is the future land use plan, but they are referring to the 8 conservation and growth framework map. She said it is a policy guidance document that is 9 used when development applicants are interested in having a rezoning of their property. She 10 said that staff will look at the map to see if a project is consistent with the vision of the plan. She 11 said it is different than zoning because those are the laws. She said this is the guidance. She 12 said there are unforeseen circumstances where the Board would want to do something different 13 than the existing zoning and they can but generally you want to be as consistent as possible. 16 1 Chair Bedford asked if these are the same categories as the current pan. 2 Leigh Anne King said there are changes and some were merged. 3 Commissioner Fowler asked if she could point those changes out as they go along and 4 explain what was changed and why. 5 Leigh Anne King said they have a cheat sheet that displays the information and is very 6 clearly laid out. She said she would send that out to the Board rather than try to rely on memory 7 during the presentation. 8 Commissioner Carter asked if one of those examples would be merging rural 9 neighborhood activity nodes and rural community activity nodes into a single entity. 10 Leigh Anne King said she thinks that is exactly right. 11 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if they could receive a map that could be enlarged. 12 Cy Stober said that could be provided by GIS technicians. 13 14 Slide #17 Rural Residential ----------------- Description Rural Residential lands are the predominant land use } ` category in unincorporated Orange County.These lands share borders with every other type of land use.These lands q- include different characteristics that vary from undisturbed ; forests and natural areasto the many historic farms and .J dairies that have shaped the aesthetics and functions of the L landscape.Developed properties consist of low-density and ° 1 large-lot residential subdivisions(>2 acres),agricultural and horticultural uses,and forestry.Smaller-lot subdivisions c�r (0.92-2 acres)are scattered amongst large-lot subdivisions, large fields for conventional farming,and smaller mixed- intensity homesteads N n .r 15 16 17 Slide #18 Conservation and Preservation Description Lands in this category are permanently protected from future development by conservation easements;effectively .. preserved through the nature of their ownership,type of stewardship,and current use;or protected for a certain timeframe.Conservation easements are voluntarily 1 ti ., established by the landowner through donation to or sE �M payment from a holding entity,which may be Orange County,a land trust,or some other conservation-based — organization.Preserved lands include either active or passive open spaces,parks,and undeveloped lands that are not expected to develop,although they do not have legal protections in place.Examples of Conservation and ; � _3: •, Preservation lands include publicly accessible places such as Eno River State Park,Duke Forest,and local parks,and ;` c others that are not open to the public and are held by organizations such as OWASA(Orange Water and Sewer r � Authority),which owns them for the purpose of permanent water supply protection. .m 18 17 1 Slide #19 Rural Conservation Neighborhood Description — Rural Conservation Neighborhoods are clustered subdivisions of varying size that allow homes on smaller lots ik in exchange for protecting a larger portion of the site as open space.Open spaces are protected from development, controlled by easement,HOAs and/or POAs,and can be i common spaces with limited passive recreational °r + opportunities,left in a natural state,or for agricultural ii r�, production.Open space is sited to prioritize existing high- „ quality habitats,unique landscape elements such as rock i outcroppings or steep slopes,as well as prime farmland soils,streams,and riparian areas.In the case of lands to be • preserved for agricultural production,the presence of primes„ f farmland soil is a determining factor.Single-family residential homes(attached or detached)are the k' predominant land use,but these clustered subdivisions may I � ° include accessory uses such as common meeting and general-use buildings,community gardens and small-scale farms,and/or limited commercial operations that primarily i serve the immediately surrounding community. 3 Commissioner Fowler asked how they decided what would be better for rural 4 conservation rather than rural. 5 Leigh Anne King said that there were several things they considered. She said the size 6 of the parcel was important because 50 acres and above would be what would be feasible. She 7 said they also avoided critical habitat and environmentally sensitive areas. She said there is a 8 lot of existing development on the ground and that is not shown on the maps. She said they 9 looked at where the opportunities are. She said the open space areas would be protected 10 space. 11 Commissioner Carter asked where a proposal like the recent Fiddlehead Corners project 12 would sit in a rural conservation neighborhood, or would it be suited somewhere else. 13 Cy Stober said it is important to keep the ordinance and the comprehensive plan in two 14 separate hands. He said they want to permanently protect the most valuable lands in the 15 county, while also allowing for development. He gave examples of how they could be 16 developed. He said a project like Fiddlehead Corner is similar to what types of projects they 17 might be interested in in these neighborhoods. 18 Commissioner Fowler asked about the community center proposed in Fiddlehead and 19 said she thought that it would require different zoning. She asked if the rural conservation 20 neighborhoods would have to be developed that way rather than rural residential. 21 Cy Stober said this is not zoning and if that is a decision that the Board would like to 22 make, then they would initiate a zoning action. He said that would be a major undertaking. He 23 said this is guidance that would trigger zoning. He said in Orange County, if they want to 24 develop 20 or more lots, they must go through the rezoning process. He said it is intended to 25 provide for a mixture of uses, but if they want to take something out staff needs to know now. 26 Leigh Anne King said that if you look at the actual number of units developed, they are 27 not recommending that the buildout potential would equate to much more than what is allowed 28 today. She said the American Farmland Trust report talked about the biggest threat to 29 agriculture is low density residential development. She said this is an opportunity to protect land, 30 but to also provide the opportunity for more housing that is needed. 31 Commissioner Fowler asked if easements would be put on the land. 32 Leigh Anne King said yes. She said more than half of the site would be protected. She 33 said that a forested property could have roadway buffer requirements. She said that the actual 34 number of units may not be more than what is allowed today. 18 1 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how to address the housing supply gap with a plan 2 like this. 3 Leigh Anne King said there would be more net housing, but there might be the potential 4 to go beyond that if certain objectives are met. She said they may want to do that for affordable 5 housing, if a certain number of units are included. 6 Commissioner Carter asked about the economic development districts and if they could 7 facilitate additional housing opportunities. 8 Leigh Anne King skipped to slide #25 to review the economic development areas. She 9 said that there are existing residential within those areas. She said there are secondary uses 10 included as well. She said that they advise clients to reserve areas for fiscal development. She 11 said having housing in proximity to those economic development locations can be helpful for 12 things like reducing air emissions and travelling vehicle miles. She said that is the intention. 13 Commissioner Carter asked if it is explicit in the proposal that there would be area that 14 would be focused to help close the housing gap because those are targeted in the proposal for 15 water and sewer. 16 Leigh Anne King said the policy is drafted to support those uses as a secondary use. 17 Cy Stober said that this is the type of feedback they are looking for. He said if they need 18 to be more explicit, to let them know. 19 Chair Bedford said yes. 20 Leigh Anne King said the residential they have listed is focused on the more intensive 21 housing types and where those would be located. 22 23 Slide #20 Conservation Subdivision Wrr ®O G b rj I HE OW* 5 S01 ■ 24 Example of a Conservation Subdivision development(right)versus a typical suburban development(left). 25 Commissioner McKee asked how this will address the affordability issue. He said by 26 restricting building to a smaller area, the cost per lot increases. He said he doesn't disagree 27 with preventing urban sprawl. He said it does not address highest and best use for land. 28 Leigh Anne King said when they work with communities on housing issues, they try to 29 focus on housing stock rather than affordability. She said that communities get in trouble when 30 they try to conflate them. She said that in this state there are not many tools to require 31 affordability but there are incentive tools for affordability. She said there is not a way to require 32 affordability. 33 Vice-Chair Hamilton said it is worth thinking about who will be attracted to those smaller 34 lots with open area around it. She said she would want information about how dense, how 19 1 isolated, where those people will go for jobs. She said she would want to know what limited 2 commercial operations would include. She said they need to consider how much agricultural 3 land to protect to maintain the food economy in Orange County. 4 Leigh Anne King said there are many tools in the toolbox. She said that being proactive 5 about protecting land and providing incentives is a method that other counties are looking to 6 reproduce. She said that Orange County is doing great work to protect land. She said it is an 7 important point about non-residential uses. She said that Davidson is a good place to look at 8 being proactive about the zoning. She said that some of the rural conservation neighborhoods 9 might have a tree buffer already in place. She said that the non-residential uses would be at the 10 heart of the community and not intended to be road frontage. She said that to some extent, the 11 county already allows that. 12 Commissioner Greene said she liked the plan, and it is responsive to what the public 13 stated. She said she would like more data on the price points, because it seems like smaller 14 houses on smaller lots would cost less than what the county currently sees. She said she wants 15 to further explore what the economic development piece might be. She said in terms of where 16 people will work, people will be commuting to somewhere else just like it currently is. She said 17 the county is one of the fastest growing regions in the country and there needs to be something 18 done regarding the housing supply. She said it is a balancing act. She said that municipalities 19 are partners in creating affordable housing as well. 20 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if Commissioner Greene were saying that the county 21 would not get affordable housing. 22 Commissioner Greene said not deeply affordable housing, because it would require a 23 subsidy. 24 Commissioner McKee said the county cannot afford to subsidize housing. 25 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she would like housing for teachers. She said that she 26 is not asking for subsidized housing. She said she would like to see a developer's day where 27 developers can tell the county what is needed to get affordable housing. 28 Commissioner McKee asked if there is any non-residential entity that has located within 29 a 20 or 50 lot subdivision. 30 Leigh Anne King referred to the map on slide #19. She said that they might be able to 31 create an area of larger assemblages. 32 Commissioner McKee said 1000 homes would support that but there are not any that 33 size in Orange County. He said to get that critical mass you will need sewer and water, and it 34 would be a major hurdle to get the governing bodies to do this. He said the conservation 35 subdivision in no way saves property because that is a subdivision with open land, not a farm. 36 He said he could not see the open space in a conservation subdivision being used practically in 37 an agricultural use. He said the development is coming and they need to be smart about it. He 38 said he is concerned about creating something that only people with high paying jobs can afford 39 and not addressing the needs of lower income people in the county. 40 Leigh Anne King said they are focused on how to use the land and the opportunity for 41 development in the land use plan. She said the other tools in the toolbox are related to housing 42 affordability. She said this plan is intended to support affordable housing, but it does not define 43 the affordability plan. She said what they are recommending is their best way to create the 44 inventory and affordability. 45 Commissioner McKee said he agrees with what she is saying but his concern is that this 46 sets a path to 2050. He said that he is making a decision that will affect folks that will long 47 outlive him. 48 Chair Bedford asked for clarification on vehicle miles traveled and how that is defined. 49 Leigh Anne King said they are trying to create opportunities for daily service needs that 50 people might have. She said the intention is to reinforce neighborhood support, so people do 20 1 not have to drive so far to get to their daily needs. She said that is one way to reduce vehicle 2 miles traveled. 3 4 Chair Bedford said the Board liked the Rural Conservation Neighborhood, yet in a recent 5 board action they voted against a development that would fit in with this kind of neighborhood. 6 She said she is not sure she would like to see this kind of density all over the county. She asked 7 about having them closer to the towns rather than scattered about the county. She said it seems 8 like a different kind of sprawl. 9 Leigh Anne King said some communities have figured out how to live with working lands 10 nearby. She said there is a neighborhood conservation district in Chicago that has working 11 prairie, but she also agrees with Commissioner McKee that it may not be feasible to actively 12 farmland around a subdivision. She said there is site design and management to have residents 13 near working lands. She said there is a lot of site design and management that would have to 14 be worked out in the details. She said that it is an opportunity to do both. She said they can 15 continue to stay the course with smaller sized lots, or they can do something that is larger to 16 protect a larger part of land. 17 Chair Bedford said that there will be an increase in the number of vehicle miles traveled 18 with more people driving and that impacts the climate. She said she is unsure about the 19 tradeoff. 20 Leigh Anne King said the yield of units would increase but it is not a huge jump. She said 21 if the concern is about the yield, then that can be dealt with a density change. 22 Commissioner Fowler skipped to slide #24. She said that Blackwood was not listed and 23 asked why. She noticed there are no rural conservation neighborhoods in the rural buffer. 24 Leigh Anne King said that is intentional because of the rural buffer and the joint planning 25 agreement. She said they tested that with the land use alternatives to get reactions. She said 26 there is a small rural node along the 86 corridor and there are not rural conservation 27 neighborhoods listed. She said in the implementation section of the plan, there is a call out for 28 specific actions to be considered as any future review of those documents. She said that would 29 have to happen as part of those interjurisdictional planning efforts. 30 Commissioner Fowler said it looks like there is a municipal transitional area in the rural 31 buffer. 32 Commissioner Greene said that is Carrboro's transitional area and not in the rural buffer. 33 Cy Stober said they can change the language if necessary but that is basically 34 Carrboro's ETJ. He said it is important for the commissioner to read objectives because the map 35 is not the plan. He asked the Board to read the recommendations. He said there are 58 actions 36 and objectives. He said there are ideas such as revisiting the JPA to address some concerns, 37 mobile home park standards, single family zoning, and duplex zoning. He said as the Board 38 reviews the document, they should keep those initiatives in mind because they are proposed 39 actions but are not ordinance changes. He said they would direct Planning staff to look into 40 these. He said that they do not envision utility extensions to support the community 41 conservation neighborhood. He said these communities would be supported by community 42 wells and community septic systems and to move forward with any other assumption is not 43 realistic. 44 Commissioner Carter said she appreciates the actions, and she thinks they need to look 45 at strategic, targeted ways to address the gap they have in housing. She said she supports the 46 conservation cluster approach on a limited scale. She said she would like to have more 47 information on community health and utilities. She said she wants to support the conversation 48 with the development community to give scenarios for how to provide. 49 Chair Bedford said the School of Government is providing some information on 50 affordable housing on the Greene Tract and they also have the farm preservation draft coming 51 up in a week or two as well. 21 1 Commissioner McKee said he believes that between now and 2050 water and sewer will 2 be a necessity. 3 4 22 1 Slide #21 RURAL CONSERVATION NEIGHBORHOOD[RCN) 67e•[rlpUan Rtina{o.tseryatiae Nelghborhooes are ceu'slcrea submns�onsd wrylreg srae[real t aw hven/.s pn'Fre'eatRr nts rn exc+e,»ge fa PI'PtKtlnq a earq+s pwtlon Ntheseteas ppm snpcc bpm spaces nc 1-rMeetM hun acmcupP'+aIN.cnr„rpll+.Y tryens[nien[ HORs.raYor PCJlsana can be cernmvn sp<xeswrlM1 llrntetleaass*narmevLPnae vFPP.tu Rleson lett ma natuealstatevrher agrlNhira Fnndex^Iwm'bpmsPare S Saatl SO pnantuea%4rta9q hgn-quality rugndt54nlquelarlOSrape¢Ilrnuxgs yJchdS rock peacvpPp+rqs or heap 5eapas as sycll aSnrNne fnrmNn6+tsslmm'Is aeltlfipneinn as PotM1eeasedlares folie_ fxagrxeatus preeauctmn the pr¢mce Ft pmrefarrnlared soil lsadetmnrnrgT for 9rgle-iamlYrr•,itlmclallwrncs WHact�cr aataeMcq arethep'(dan'nant 4YetleaSC.pka CM1f-`Se FIUStMiW Skb4N%lans n]'j!VICIkR}e assory ryes suc3r.n rxm'imo.e r.eeetaegmtl ryeewi'.YvsrlMri kLngs ppe'muriy garc'ens.�tG sm;Yl-scale I.mn antl%a r..eRed commeresel•peralmca IhN prineacy senec[hc inrteed+.Rcly semvemvlrq[vrre,xn•[y Chaealea.fffitan ala lse6llsa Yblm _� ,.xm Ceen[y GlGeegl%Nfryti Mray.. . 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Growth Framework map EmTemtoml JwrWKfion 1' •�3`""^-yam- CJ ma e••r ww • Intended to guide land protection @s and site planning efforts,particularly S rr..Wwa , �! C3 for conservation subdivisions that 0 cfitcal wpm:nee have required open space set-asides . Enwln elealendwrldtaeHehltnt �� ®, 5 - 6 7 23 1 Slide #23 Low-Density Neighborhood - Description The Law-Density Neighborhood category is largely developed and limited in extent along the Highway 70 corridor between the City of Mebane and Efland,north of Hillsborough,and near the Durham County Boundary.These • T areas anticipate a transition from rural land uses and patterns to denser forms,likely due to more recent access to ` utility services outside of incorporated municipal limits. - Current uses include low-intensity residential f neighborhoods,small-scale commercial properties,schools, and faith-based organizations. 3 Chair Bedford asked if they have water and sewer in Efland. 4 Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director for Long Range Planning, said Orange Alamance Water 5 System serves the area. 6 Chair Bedford asked why higher density would not be encouraged here. 7 Leigh Anne King said they are listed as secondary uses. 8 Cy Stober said these areas are not in the utility service areas in the municipalities. He 9 said that they would like feedback on this. 10 11 Slide #24 Rural Activity Node --------------------- Description Rural Activity Nodes are key intersections of larger rural roads and state highways that can or do already serve the surrounding community with commercial retail and service _ r uses. Nodes are located at strategic crossroads to provide _ daily commercial and service needs within a short drive of 'i rural neighborhoods and home sites in the county.Existing development varies greatly by location but generally includes single-family homes,neighborhood-scale commercial uses such as service stations and convenience stores,farms,forestry,and undeveloped parcels. -� 24 1 Slide #25 Economic Development Area Description a Economic Development Areas(EDA)are strategically located adjacent and along the interstate corridors that traverse f ) Hillsborough,Mebane,and Durham,to be convenient and accessible places for commerce and job centers of varying scale where residential developments are less suitable. ' Existing developments here include warehouses,small commercial retail and service operations,warehousing, . r# residential subdivisions,undeveloped lands,and farms.They are located outside of the critical water supply watersheds. ®� The Unified Development Ordinance contains regulations for appropriate impervious surface ratios for Economic `� Development Areas within protected water supply 3 ..o.„ watersheds. I. 2 3 4 Slide #26 a 5 6 7 25 1 Slide #27 Project APR 2025 MAY JUN JUL AUG — -April 8 BOCC Community Engagement Window -Staff Working Briefing Group meeting - Revise draft plan -Online survey - In person - Board summer - Public notification launch meetings recess begins for CEW#3 -Webinar - Board summer - In person recess begins meetings SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN 2026 - Final Staff - Planning Board - BOCC Briefing on - Planning Board - BOCC Hearing for Working Group Briefing Public Hearing Meeting for Plan Adoption meeting Draft Endorsement - BOCC Briefing on CEW#3 2 3 4 Slide #28 Objectives: � tai•, Board to provide initial feedback during March 11 work session Receive comments on Draft Plan by March 25 • Review all comments and summarize how they will be addressed during April 8 work session r� i, What comments do you want to ~. share at the March 11 briefing? 5 - - 6 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if they had data on who responded to the surveys. 7 Leigh Anne King said they have public engagement reports with demographic 8 information for participants. 9 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if they felt it was representative of the community. 10 Leigh Anne King said they have improved with each session and learned, but it is never 11 as good as they want. 12 Vice-Chair Hamilton asked for examples of Rural Conservation Neighborhoods to be 13 shared in an email. She said they may need more meetings with commissioners. She said it is 14 hard to imagine without having examples to look at. She said that it is a significant change, and 15 she wants to make sure they get the word out and hear from everyone. 26 1 Chair Bedford asked if they could come back on April 8th. She thinks there will be points 2 that the Board does not agree on. She asked if in the next public engagement window, the 3 community could respond to points that the Board might be split on. 4 Leigh Anne King said that they may have that language in the plan itself as they prepare 5 materials for engagement. She said once they know the areas that are not in agreement, they 6 can focus on creating questions on those. 7 Tom Altieri said they will have a launch of the second engagement window on May 12th 8 and everything will need to be prepared prior to that. 9 Travis Myren said that they could try to set aside some time because a worksession is 10 likely insufficient. 11 Chair Bedford said she had some small issues and asked how they are supposed to 12 convey those. 13 Leigh Anne King said they can submit that with the other comments. 14 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how the consultant will get feedback from people 15 under 50. 16 Cy Stober said they will have meetings in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Mebane. He said 17 the online component also boosted youth participation. 18 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if it is possible to text links to young people. 19 Cy Stober said he would talk to Community Relations. 20 Commissioner Fowler asked for clarification on page 140 of the agenda package. She 21 said it reads that workers are commuting "from" cities, but she thinks it should say commuting 22 "to." 23 Leigh Anne King said they would look into it. 24 Commissioner Fowler referenced the discussion about the vehicle miles traveled and 25 how they skip the rural buffer for placement. She said she knows that it cannot be in the plan, 26 but she would like to know everyone's opinions about possible changes to the rural buffer 27 because it seems to make sense to place these closer to town. 28 Chair Bedford said they would need to ask about it. 29 Commissioner Greene said she does not agree with that because if you put it close to 30 town, it looks like more like sprawl. She said that they are talking about a neighborhood that 31 would be slightly denser, but not a lot denser that currently allowed. 32 Chair Bedford said that would be a big point of discussion by the Board and there would 33 be more discussion. 34 35 36 3. Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool —Appointments Discussion 37 The Board discussed appointments to the Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool. 38 39 BACKGROUND: The charge of the Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool is to hear appeals 40 concerning violations of the Orange County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4 ("Animal Control 41 Ordinance"), as provided in the Orange County Code of Ordinances, Section 4-53 Appeals, and 42 also potentially dangerous dog appeals as prescribed by North Carolina General Statute §67- 43 4.1(c). It is the responsibility of pool members to conduct fair and impartial hearings for these 44 appeals, and members receive training in both law and proper procedure prior to participating in 45 a hearing. 46 47 The Board of County Commissioners appoints twelve (12) members, with representation from 48 various fields. There are also two (2) members representing the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, 49 and Hillsborough. 50 27 1 Since the work of this body is dependent on hearings, it has not historically submitted an Annual 2 Work Plan. 3 4 The Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool does not make recommendations for appointments. 5 6 The following individuals and positions are presented for Board consideration: 7 NAME POSITION TYPE OF EXPIRATION DESCRIPTION APPOINTMENT DATE TERM Michael Town of Chapel Hill First Full Term 03/31/2028 Delafield (reappointment) Lynne DuBose At-Large First Full term 03/31/2028 Unincorporated (reappointment) Allan Polak Animal Services Second Full Term 03/31/2028 Advisory Board Member Deborah Hill Animal Services First Full Term 03/31/2028 Advisory Board (reappointment) Member BOCC At-Large First Full Term 03/31/2028 Appointee 8 9 If the positions listed above are filled, the following vacancies remain: 10 POSITION EXPIRATION VACANCY INFORMATION DESIGNATION DATE Town of Carrboro 03/31/2026 Vacant since 03/31/2023 Town of Chapel 03/31/2026 Vacant since 03/31/2023 Hill Town of 03/31/2028 Vacant since 03/31/2022 Hillsborough At-Large 03/31/2026 Vacant since 03/31/2023 11 12 Tara May introduced the item. 13 The Board agreed by consensus to appoint the recommended applicants. 14 Chair Bedford suggested Cathy Munnier for the vacant at-large position. 15 The Board agreed by consensus to appoint Cathy Munnier to the vacant at-large 16 position. 17 18 19 4. Board of Equalization and Review—Appointments Discussion 20 The Board discussed appointments to the Board of Equalization and Review. 21 22 BACKGROUND: The Board of Equalization and Review is a quasi-judicial body that hears 23 appeals from residents concerning various property tax issues, including valuation and 24 exemption appeals. The Board of Equalization and Review is charged with ensuring that all 25 taxable property is appraised and assessed according to the standards required by the North 26 Carolina General Statutes. 27 28 1 The Board of County Commissioners appoints three (3) members, seven (7) alternates, and 2 designates the Chair. 3 4 Appointees serve two-year terms, but there is no limit to the number of terms an individual may 5 serve. 6 7 Since the work of this body is dependent on hearings, it has not historically submitted an Annual 8 Work Plan. 9 10 The Board of Equalization and Review does not make recommendations for appointments. 11 12 The following individuals and positions are presented for Board consideration: 13 NAME POSITION TYPE OF EXPIRATION DESCRIPTION APPOINTMENT DATE TERM Tony Blake Member Fourth Full Term 03/31/2027 Barbara Levine Member Fourth Full Term 03/31/2027 Leon Meyers Member Third Full Term 03/31/2027 Hunter Beattie Alternate Second Full Term 03/31/2027 Saru Salvi Alternate Second Full Term 03/31/2027 Shannon Julian Alternate Second Full Term 03/31/2027 Vaughn Alternate First Full Term 03/31/2027 Compton Richal Vanhook Alternate First Full Term 03/31/2027 BOCC Alternate First Full Term 03/31/2027 Appointee BOCC Alternate First Full Term 03/31/2027 Appointee 14 15 If the positions listed above are filled, no vacancies remain. 16 17 Chair Designation: 18 NAME POSITION TYPE OF EXPIRATION DESCRIPTION APPOINTMENT DATE TERM BOCC Appointee Chair Full Term 03/31/2027 19 20 Tara May introduced the item. 21 Chair Bedford asked for information about term limits on the Board of Equalization and 22 Review. 23 Tara May said the term limits in the Advisory Board Policy do not apply to the Board of 24 Equalization and Review. She said there is a resolution that sets the length of the term to two 25 years, and term limits are not mentioned. She said the state statutes do not set a term limit. 26 Commissioner Carter asked about members of the Board of Equalization and Review 27 serving on multiple boards. 28 Chair Bedford said in the past that the Board has said that serving on the Board of 29 Equalization and Review does not preclude them from serving on other boards, because the 30 Board of Equalization and Review does not meet very often. 29 1 Commissioner Carter said that serving on other boards could be factored in when 2 making decisions. 3 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if alternates can vote. 4 Tara May said that alternates only attend and vote if a regular member cannot attend. 5 She said with it being a revaluation year, there will be many opportunities for people to attend 6 and participate. 7 Chair Bedford suggested moving Tony Blake and Barbara Levine to alternate positions 8 and having Leon Meyers as Chair. She suggested having Saru Salvi as a regular member 9 instead of Tony Blake. 10 Commissioner Carter suggested Richal Vanhook as a regular member. 11 Chair Bedford suggested Shereese Alston as an alternate member. 12 The Board agreed by consensus to appoint Leon Meyers as Chair, Saru Salvi and 13 Richal Vanhook as regular members, and Tony Blake, Barbara Levine, and Shereese Alston as 14 alternate members. 15 16 17 5. Historic Preservation Commission —Appointments Discussion 18 The Board discussed appointments to the Historic Preservation Commission. 19 20 BACKGROUND: The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is charged with undertaking an 21 inventory of properties of historical, prehistorical, architectural, and/or cultural significance. It 22 recommends areas to be designated or removed as "historic districts" and reviews and acts 23 upon proposals for alterations, demolition, new construction, etc. 24 25 In considering new applicants, the HPC is required to follow the guidelines from the State 26 Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in order for the County to remain eligible to participate in 27 the state's Certified Local Government (CLG) program. Those guidelines include the following 28 language governing the qualifications of prospective HPC applicants: "All members shall have 29 demonstrated experience or knowledge in history, architecture or related disciplines that is 30 supported by resume information sufficient to allow the SHPO to confirm the qualifications of 31 members, pursuant to 36 CFR Part 61." 32 33 The Board of County Commissioners appoints all seven (7)At-Large members. 34 35 The following individuals are recommended for Board consideration: 36 NAME POSITION TYPE OF EXPIRATION DESCRIPTION APPOINTMENT DATE TERM Dr. Anne At-Large Second Full Term 03/31/2028 Whisnant Art Menius At-Large Second Full Term 03/31/2028 Todd Dickinson At-Large Second Full Term 03/31/2028 37 38 If the individuals listed above are appointed, no vacancies remain. 39 40 Tara May introduced the item. 41 Chair Bedford asked about the requirements for the Board. 42 Tara May said there are specific experience requirements for the Historic Preservation 43 Commission. 30 1 Commissioner Carter said she is thinking about other people in the community who have 2 long histories in the community and if they would be interested in the board. 3 Chair Bedford asked if everyone on the Historic Preservation Commission have to meet 4 the requirements. 5 Tara May said every member has to meet the requirements. 6 Chair Bedford asked if those are county requirements or state requirements. 7 Tara May said it is by state statute. 8 The Board agreed by consensus on the recommended applicants. 9 10 11 6. Orange County Housing Authority Board —Appointment Discussion 12 The Board discussed an appointment to the Orange County Housing Authority Board. 13 14 BACKGROUND: The goal of the Orange County Housing Authority Board is to provide decent, 15 safe, and sanitary housing for the low- and moderate-income families in the County. 16 17 The Board of County Commissioners appoints all seven (7) members. 18 19 The Orange County Housing Authority Board does not make recommendations for 20 appointments. 21 22 The following position is presented for Board consideration: 23 NAME POSITION TYPE OF EXPIRATION DESCRIPTION APPOINTMENT DATE TERM BOCC At-Large Partial Term 06/30/2027 Appointment 24 25 If the position listed above is filled, no vacancies remain. 26 27 Tara May introduced the item. 28 Commissioner McKee suggested Terri Buckner. 29 Commissioners Greene and Fowler suggested Monica Richard. 30 The Board agreed by consensus to appoint Monica Richard. 31 32 33 7. Orange County Planning Board —Appointments Discussion 34 The Board discussed appointments to the Orange County Planning Board. 35 36 BACKGROUND: The Planning Board studies Orange County and surrounding areas to 37 determine objectives in the development of the County. It prepares and recommends plans to 38 achieve that development, including the suggesting of policies, ordinances, and procedures. It 39 reviews development applications and makes recommendations to the Board of 40 Commissioners. 41 42 The Board of County Commissioners appoints all twelve (12) members. 43 44 The Planning Board does not make recommendations for appointments. 45 46 31 1 The following individuals and positions are presented for Board consideration: 2 NAME POSITION TYPE OF EXPIRATION DESCRIPTION APPOINTMENT DATE TERM Statler Gilfillen Eno Township Second Full Term 03/31/2028 WhitneyWatson At-Large Second Full Term 03/31/2028 Elizabeth At-Large Second Full Term 03/31/2028 Bronson BOCC Cedar Grove First Full Term 03/31/2028 Appointee Township BOCC At-Large Partial Term 03/31/2026 Appointee 3 4 If the positions listed above are filled, no vacancies remain. 5 6 Tara May introduced the item. 7 Commissioner Carter suggested appointing new members who have not already served. 8 Chair Bedford said they have two applicants for Cedar Grove Township. She said one 9 applicant is already on two other boards, including the Board of Adjustment. She said they have 10 talked about avoiding appointing the same people to both the Board of Adjustment and the 11 Planning Board. She suggested Venkat Yendapalli for the Cedar Grove Township position. 12 The Board agreed by consensus to appoint Venkat Yendapalli for the Cedar Grove 13 Township position. 14 The Board agreed by consensus to reappoint Statler Gilfillen for the Eno Township 15 position. 16 The Board agreed by consensus to reappoint Whitney Watson to the at-large position. 17 Commissioner Carter said that Elizabeth Bronson is currently serving on the Board of 18 Adjustment. She suggested Jonah Garson for the vacant at-large position. 19 Commissioners McKee and Portie-Ascott agreed on the suggestion of Jonah Garson for 20 the vacant at-large position. 21 Commissioner Fowler suggested Noah Rannells. 22 Commissioner Greene suggested Felix Ortiz. 23 The Board agreed by consensus to appoint Jonah Garson to the vacant at-large 24 position. 25 Chair Bedford asked if the Board should not reappoint Elizabeth Bronson since she 26 serves on the Board of Adjustment. She said she was supportive of reappointing Elizabeth 27 Bronson. 28 Commissioner McKee said he did not feel she should be removed. 29 Commissioner Greene agreed. 30 Commissioner Carter said there is an opportunity to bring more representation to the 31 Planning Board. 32 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said it causes confusion in the community to have people 33 serve on both. 34 Chair Bedford asked if they should find out her preferences. 35 Commissioner McKee said he would want her to continue to serve because he would 36 not want to penalize her without cause. 37 Chair Bedford said it would not be for cause, but because of a potential conflict of 38 interest. 32 1 The Board agreed by consensus to reappoint Elizabeth Bronson to the at-large position 2 on the Planning Board. 3 4 5 8. Parks and Recreation Council —Appointments Discussion 6 The Board discussed appointments to the Parks and Recreation Council. 7 8 BACKGROUND: The Parks and Recreation Council consults with and advises the Department 9 of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation, and the Board of County Commissioners on 10 matters affecting parks planning, development and operation; recreation facilities, policies and 11 programs; and public trails and open space. 12 13 The Board of County Commissioners appoints all twelve (12) members with representatives 14 from each of the county's townships plus its municipalities, as well as two (2) non-voting youth 15 delegates. 16 17 The following individuals are recommended for Board consideration: 18 NAME POSITION DESCRIPTION TYPE OF EXPIRATION APPOINTMENT DATE TERM Gregory At-Large First Full Term 03/31/2028 Husketh (reappointment) Trevor At-Large First Full Term 03/31/2028 Robinson (reappointment) 19 20 If the individuals listed above are appointed, the following vacancies remain: 21 POSITION EXPIRATION VACANCY INFORMATION DESIGNATION DATE Little River 03/31/2026 Vacant since 08/18/2023 Township Hillsborough 03/31/2028 Vacant since 05/03/2024 Township 22 23 NOTE: There are no applicants from the designated townships, but the Board may 24 consider appointing residents outside of these townships due to the length of vacancies. 25 All applications that may be considered are attached. 26 27 Tara May introduced the item. 28 The Board agreed by consensus on the recommended applicants, Gregory Husketh and 29 Trevor Robinson. 30 Chair Bedford suggested Jody Eimers and Robert Zurek for the two vacant positions. 31 Commissioner Fowler suggested Kristofer Cason. 32 The Board agreed by consensus on Robert Zurich and Kristofer Cason for the two 33 vacant positions. 34 35 36 ITEM ADDED TO AGENDA: 33 1 The Board discussed a letter from the county to the county's Senate and House of 2 Representatives delegation regarding federal funding. 3 4 Commissioner Carter introduced the item and reviewed the letter: 5 6 TO: Senator Thom Tillis 7 Senator Ted Budd 8 Representative Valerie Foushee 9 10 FROM: Orange County NC Board of Commissioners 11 12 DATE: March XX, 2025 13 14 RE: NC Association of County Commissioners— Common Concerns 15 16 17 Executive Summary 18 19 On March 1 —4, 2025, the National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference was 20 held in Washington, DC. At this conference, NACo, as well as the NC Association of County 21 Commissioners (NCACC), identified areas where current White House and Congressional 22 budget reconciliation discussions may have major impact on county government services to our 23 communities. 24 25 These areas included: 26 1. Medicaid cuts 27 2. Cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for 28 Needy Families (TANF) and Child Protective Services 29 3. Elimination / Reform of FEMA 30 4. Removal of Federal tax exemption on interest received on municipal bond holdings 31 32 There was strong bipartisan concern expressed about cuts in these areas and their impact. We 33 share this concern. 34 35 Below, we share specifics with how these programs support our county's residents, and we are 36 writing to urge you to avoid these impacts to our counties across North Carolina. 37 38 Potential Impacts 39 40 1. Medicaid cuts: 41 42 As of December 1, 2023, Medicaid was expanded in North Carolina and now also covers 43 people aged 19 to 64 with incomes up to 138% of the Federal poverty level (about 44 $20,000/yr for an individual and $34,000/yr for a family of three). 45 46 North Carolina statute requires that any cuts that would reduce the Federal Match below 47 90% will result in termination of expanded Medicaid benefits. 48 49 In our county, 50 34 1 o More than 4,600 residents have been enrolled in the expanded Medicaid 2 program since 12/01/2023. (2) 3 o Over 21,000 residents were enrolled in "Traditional" Medicaid coverage in 2024. 4 (2) 5 o Approximately 3,900 individuals currently receiving Medicaid (19%) are older 6 adults or adults with disabilities. 7 o For reference, statewide, almost 50% of total Medicaid expenditures are for 8 services geared toward this population and include nursing facilities, personal 9 care services, home health services, CAP/services for disabled adults, and 10 hospice. (1) 11 12 References: 13 1. https://medicaid.ncdhhs.gov/reports/annual-reports-and-tables 14 2. https://medicaid.ncdhhs.gov/reports/dashboards/enrollment-dashboard 15 16 17 2. Cuts to SNAP, TANF and Child Protective Services: 18 19 The stories of individuals illustrate how these supports enable breadwinners to continue 20 working and reinforce stability for families in our community: 21 22 "1 walked in the front door of[Orange County]Social Services... went through the 23 application processes and within a couple of weeks 1 received a phone call from 24 Employment Services asking if 1 wanted to participate in the Employment and 25 Training (Now More than a Job NC) program. / was nervous but excited. 1 started 26 taking classes offered to me by the program. The opportunity arose to work in a 27 temporary position. /jumped at it!"— Former Client A.S. 28 29 "Food Stamps[Food and Nutrition Services]were very beneficial and helped with us 30 saving money and being able to put our money towards things we very much needed 31 outside of food (housing, car, etc.)"— Client D.S. 32 33 34 SNAP 35 o 5.9% of our residents received benefits from 2017-2021 vs. 13.7% NC-wide 36 (1) 37 o Program served 10,016 people and 5,368 households in December 2024 (2) 38 o Direct benefits to recipients just under $22M in 2024; with $2.2M Federal 39 costs for program administration in 2024 (2) 40 41 TAN F 42 o $1.OM in Federal dollars supports child welfare staff, employment services 43 staff and employment programs 44 45 Child Protective Services 46 o Provided assessments for over 570 households for abuse or neglect, 47 placement and support services to 80 children in DSS custody and protective 48 services to more than 70 families receiving monthly in-home social work 49 services (2024 budget data; $2.5M in Federal dollars for staff and program 50 payments). 51 o Child Care Subsidy; direct benefits to recipients ($6.8M). 35 1 2 References: 3 1. Orange County 2023 Community Health Assessment 4 2. https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/social-services/program-statistics-and- 5 reviews/fns-caseload-statistics-reports 6 3. 17-Jan 2025 BOCC packet p 84 7 3. Elimination / Reform of FEMA 8 9 Counties agreed that reform is needed and that adding NACo to the new FEMA 10 Review Council is crucial for the effectiveness of the reform effort. 11 12 Counties also agreed that eliminating or reducing FEMA would cause irreparable 13 harm at the local level. 14 15 Many of the emergency capabilities built in Orange County since 9/11 have been 16 federally funded or supported: 17 18 o The annual Emergency Management Grant Program (EMPG): 19 Supports upfits to the Emergency Operations Center, training/exercises, 20 and creation of the Countywide Emergency Operations Plan. 21 o The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant: 22 Supported acquisition of the County's new mobile command post. 23 o FEMA's Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP): 24 Funds the State's Domestic Preparedness Regions and has supported 25 the acquisition of generators, prime movers (tow vehicles), hazmat 26 decontamination capabilities, explosive ordinance disposal capabilities, 27 and interoperable communications. 28 o The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program: 29 Funded the purchase of electric stretchers. These devices have 30 improved safety for patients and cut our worker's compensation 31 injuries by nearly 50%. 32 o The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP): 33 Enabled acquisition/elevation of flood-prone properties locally. 34 35 Regarding disaster recovery: 36 37 o The State's capability to support counties is largely funded by administrative 38 costs associated with Major Disaster Declarations. 39 North Carolina has not historically funded the positions necessary to 40 execute recovery. 41 o Diminishing the Federal or State's ability to administer these programs would 42 cause recovery to drag out even further. 43 This will force localities to dip into reserve funds, if they are 44 available, to finance disaster response. 45 46 4. Removal of Federal tax exemption on interest received on municipal bond 47 holdings 48 49 NACo shared that the impact of such a change would equate to an additional 2.1 50 percentage point increase in bond interest rates. 51 36 1 Orange County has a AAA credit rating and assuming a 2-percentage point impact: 2 3 o For the existing bond portfolio, this would introduce an additional cost of$78.2 4 million over the life of the bonds. 5 o For Orange County's new school bond program, this would add $50 million in 6 cost over the life of the bonds. 7 Commissioner Fowler said she supported the letter. She said on the first page, she said 8 she would add stronger language, such as "we oppose these changes." She said she would 9 also reiterate that on the last page. 10 Chair Bedford asked if references to NACo and NCACC both should be included. 11 Commissioner Carter said she had also heard feedback that the letter should be 12 referring to federal cuts, and that references to NACo and NCACC should be included in the 13 body of the email. 14 Commissioner Greene said at the end of section 2, there are three references but she 15 only saw two references. 16 Commissioner Carter said that was a typo. 17 Chair Bedford suggested removing the page break around the child protective services 18 section. 19 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she thought they should move the quotes to after the data to 20 be more consistent. 21 Chair Bedford said the sentence "This will force localities to dip into reserve funds," was 22 too weak. 23 Commissioner Greene suggested the phrase, "This will strain the localities reserve 24 funds." 25 Commissioner Fowler said she liked that because it made it shorter and easier to read. 26 Commissioner Greene said she would use the word "summary" instead of "executive 27 summary." 28 Chair Bedford said it would come back for approval on the Consent Agenda on March 29 18. 30 31 Adjournment 32 33 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Fowler, to 34 adjourn the meeting at 10:35 p.m. 35 36 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 37 38 39 40 Jamezetta Bedford, Chair 41 42 43 Recorded by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board 44 45 Submitted for approval by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board. Attachment 2 1 1 DRAFT MINUTES 2 ORANGE COUNTY 3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 4 BUSINESS MEETING 5 March 18, 2025 6 7:00 p.m. 7 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Business Meeting on Tuesday, March 18, 9 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, NC. 10 11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jamezetta Bedford, Vice-Chair Jean Hamilton 12 and Commissioners Marilyn Carter, Amy Fowler, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, and Phyllis Portie- 13 Ascott 14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None. 15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts 16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Travis Myren, Interim Deputy County Manager 17 Caitlin Fenhagen, and Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified 18 appropriately below) 19 20 Chair Bedford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All commissioners were present. 21 22 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda 23 None. 24 25 2. Public Comments (Limited to One Hour) 26 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda 27 None. 28 29 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda 30 (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 31 32 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members 33 Commissioner Fowler said the Board of Health held a retreat during which they discussed 34 the Board of Health strategic plan. She said they did a tour of the school that was for African 35 Americans in the 1950s and then reviewed the legislative agenda. She said they are hoping to 36 promote screen-free week in May, and they will send the information to the BOCC. 37 Commissioner Portie-Ascott attended the Partnership to End Homelessness meeting and 38 they have reviewed the data of performance over the last year. She said that the goal is that 39 someone who is unhoused and comes to them would not be unhoused for more than 90 days. 40 She said once they are in permanent housing, only 11% become homeless again. She said she 41 attended the Housing Matters event focused on housing affordability. She said that there is a 42 shortage of 9,555 units in Orange County and this includes substandard and new units needed. 43 She said in 5 years, Orange County will need 13,000 units and this does not include subsidized 44 housing. She said she attended the evaluating the manager class with some other commissioners 45 and the county manager. She said it was very interesting and they shared tools they can use to 46 make it specific to Orange County. She said she attended the tax and finance steering committee 47 meeting with the NC commissioners, and they discussed changed that will have an impact on the 48 counties. She said she also attended the legislative breakfast. 49 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she attended the legislative breakfast the previous day. She said 50 that Representative Buansi and that Representative Price shared the bills they are working on 51 and took time to listen to the Orange County requests. She said there was not a quorum, so there 2 1 will not be minutes because it was not an official meeting. She petitioned for a subcommittee of 2 three commissioners and appropriate staff to be developed to review existing evaluation methods 3 of the manager, attorney, and clerk and she asked that this be done after budget season. She 4 also petitioned for a dashboard on the county website showing the impact of federal funding cuts. 5 Chair Bedford reminded the Board about the ribbon cutting at the Drakeford Library 6 Complex and that they have time allotted for remarks. She said her husband went to the Repair 7 Cafe and encouraged people to bring broken items to a future event so they can be repaired and 8 reused. She said that they were able to fix a clock that he brought and that it was all for free. She 9 said it is a non-profit and they volunteer time and supplies to fix broken items for free. She said 10 that she created a document with the learning needs they want to go over and she is mentioning 11 this to get it in the public record. She said they need more time to pay attention so they will not 12 be able to follow the calendar exactly as planned. 13 Commissioner Greene said she is part of the interview process for a new GoTriangle CEO 14 this week and they have four more to go. 15 Commissioner Carter said the vernal equinox will be on March 20. She said there are 16 many people who celebrate the first day of spring and wished everyone a happy day. 17 Commissioner McKee said he is happy spring is here. He said the Orange Grove FD put 18 on a breakfast and he attended that on Saturday. He suggested that people go and enjoy the 19 fellowship. He echoed Commissioner Portie-Ascott's comments on the number of housing units 20 needed in Orange County. He said they will need to figure out some way to address affordable 21 housing needs in the county. 22 Commissioner Fowler said on Friday, May 30 the Orange County Health Department will 23 host an event regarding measles at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough. 24 25 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations 26 a. OWASAAnnual Update Presentation 27 The Board received a presentation and information from the Orange Water and Sewer Authority 28 (OWASA) on recent activities. 29 30 BACKGROUND: At the beginning of each calendar year, OWASA representatives appear before 31 the Board of Commissioners to make a presentation on recent OWASA activities. Orange County 32 appointees Michael Hughes and Johnny Randall and OWASA Executive Director Todd Taylor will 33 present the annual update. A presentation on the Water Bill Relief Program will be given by Mary 34 Tiger, OWASA Director of Community Relations. 35 36 Michael Hughes, Orange County appointee to the OWASA Board of Directors, introduced 37 OWASA staff in attendance and made the following presentation: 38 39 Slide #1 Orange Orange County • - OWASA Annual Update March 18,2025 Johnny Randall. D Mary Tiger, Director of Community RC14ZLOA5 rr-r 40 41 3 1 Slide#2 AgendaPresentation • WaterTreatment Plant — Capital Improvements • OWASA's Care to Share Program • Water Bill Relief Program • Celebrating 15 Years of Reclaimed Water • OWASA Supports Western NC o • QUA 2 3 4 Slide #3 What are PFAS? . . Substances) • A large group of synthetic chemicals Aw manufactured since 1940s • PFAS can accumulate in the environment and in of„„T,„G �• humans. • Linked to adverse human health effects Common consumer Q oo.w.wf products with PFAS „. Source:NC State Extension � F0.(.1GihG PE1TiCIPf3 Iii • Example PFOA molecule, acid form :,eofe,s,xw, roPcanf eeas tep�P(S�RtraM 5 6 7 4 1 Slide#4 Treatment 06 r sin Emironriment PFAS _ FireFightingfoem wastewater in the � Treatment Landrrlls&Wastewoterireamrent Environmentndustry W,s l,fr—r,, r"e prinking water and Food MEMO• 2Z ViL Human Exposure lmoge.Illinois Environmentol Protection Agency 2 3 4 Slide #5 OWASA's PFAS Timeline EPA lowered Health Advisory Levels; EPA finalizes regulations; ©WASH engaged consultant and OWASA began pilot and Began Wastewater expanded drinking water design of drinking water Monitoring Program monitoring program treatment technology 2019 2022 2024 116 2018 2021 2023 2029 Began Drinking Water Launched PFAS EPA released proposed April 2029 Monitoring Program Dashboard drinking water regulations; Compliance Date OWASA completed initial for EPA PFAS limits technology review 5 6 7 5 1 Slide#6 April 1 EPA established drinking water regulations for PFAS. Four(4) parts per trillion is equivalent to 3 tablespoons - in the 3-billion-gallon Cane Creek Reservoir. 2 3 4 Slide #7 ti. Red= biosolids application fields for b found another utility (landPFAS ..-_ application ceased in in samples2017.)of former biosolids s application '+ fields &TC 4 ,. 7 / !J( N P 'Y TE 1 ER FIf; } Source.Division of Water Resources Non-Dischorge Permit Records,2U!8 5 6 7 6 1 Slide#8 Our process r PFAS compounds. PFOS PFOA 110 i n0 90 0 60 70 u 60 50 c a 40 30 `a u 10 PFoS pF4A v 0 MCL=dppt MCl m 4ppt F E Cane Creek Reservoir Treated drinking water Cane Creek Reservoir Treated drinking water 2 Quarterly Monitoring Results 2018-2024 3 4 Slide #9 Objectives of - Full-Scale PilotTest of PFAS Treatment Technologies • Evaluate effectiveness of different media • Understand how variations in source water A quality affect treatment performance l • Inform design and operational strategies • Estimate life of media to help inform future OW —J. operation and maintenance casts '` r 5 6 7 1 Slide #10 How are wegoing • remove PFAS Facility Preliminary Concept Q2 .� _ 2 3 Michael Hughes showed a conceptual plan for future OWASA building improvements in 4 slide#10. He said a clear well is a large tank which serves as onsite storage as well as a chlorine 5 contact chamber for chlorination, which has a serpentine flow to ensure that the chlorine is 6 effective at removing bacteria before it goes out to elevated tanks. 7 8 Slide #11 How are we going • remove ConceptPFAS Facility Preliminary _ y 1 T` 9 10 11 12 8 1 Slide #12 History • Bill o $100 18% $90 `� 16°% n m � c $e0 - 11% ^ O f1 S S $70 12"% p O $60 m 10% m a+ $50 A 2 Boy a r $40 m t .2 0111111,049" 6% E p 7 $30 n C $20 4% H o $10 2% mn $0 0% 1111 'LO$ 11P 'LopO 'LO.yo 'LOy'L 'LO.ya 'LO16 ryO,tiR �O,yO 'Tpy'L ryaya t Average Bill Amount based on 3,000 gals —b—Rate Increases CPI% 2 3 4 Slide #13 Capital Improvement Program - As Proposed What will it cost? 10 Year Planning Horizon — 3 Options G FY 2031- 4IM2026 FY 2.. FY 20 2029 FY 2030 2035 &J&Year Tata) Option 1 $32.5 $74.71 $81.2 $56.9 $27.3 $180.3 $452.9 Option 2 $30.0 $56.0 1 $52.2 $44.7 $61.3 $208.6 $452.8 Option 3 $30.6 $58.2 1 $55.6 $47.3 $61.3 $208.6 $461.6 Potential Water Rate Increases FY 2026 1 FY 2027 1 FY 2028 1 FY 2029 1 FY 2030 CIPOption 1 11% 10% 91,6 9% 3% CIPOption 2 8% 7% 7% 7% 7% CIPOption 3 8% 8% 8% 7% 7% 5 6 Michael Hughes said that the planned projects may not be able to be done at the same 7 time, but the clear well needs to be done first. He said that the median water bill will double in 8 the next ten years. 9 10 9 1 Slide#14 What's Next in the Process of Determining Rates for NextYear - FY 2026 • Board Review of the FY 2426 Draft Operating Budget-- March 13 h • Public Hearing on OWASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Rates--- May 8"' • Board Approval of the OWASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Rates —June 1211 • New Rates go into effect— October 2025 • Rate Study— to be Completed next Year • Cost,of Service:The study will analyze the costs of providing our services • Rate ❑esign:The study will include analyzing billing consumption records to determine customer usage profiles • The rate study will evaluate potential rate structure modifications and the impact of those modifications on customers.Rate structures not currently used by OWASA (and allowable under state statute,bond order,etc.) may also be considered. 2 3 4 Mary Tiger continued the presentation: 5 6 Slide #15 ProgramWater Bill Relief Proposal discussion I ! ' County Board of County ! ! March 18, 2025 Our community's trusted part n a r for clean wat a rand a nvironmenta I proteEhon. 7 8 9 10 1 Slide #16 Strategic Priority: Equitable Services SIC PLAN • Goal:Increase the "''"'' adequacy and accessibility of customer assistance funding ', i'' • Initiative:Evaluate and ? update customer xd assistance program 2 3 4 Slide #17 The Current State of OWASA Bill Affordability Water Bill Assistance Care to share • Supported 84 families in 2024 CARE W • Donations:$25,702 r SHARE • Assistance provided:$18,475 • Significant effort to increase donations and increase households served Other ❑., '❑. 4'y Assistance provided by other entities in 2024: `k 3 $8,587 it a SCAN ME 5 6 7 Slide #18 The Current State of OWASA Bill Affordability Disconnections forNon-Payment 598 accounts disconnected for non-payment in 2024 Of these,167 were disconnected for non-payment multiple times 8 11 1 Slide #19 The Current State of OWASA Bill Affordability Rates Projected Rates f * f • $ 1 15.551month for 4,000 gallons • Requires 15.9 hours at minimum wage (pre-tax) • 5-year rate increase projected: 42-49% increase z 3 Mary Tiger said if you add any of the three rate option projections, they will amount to 42- 4 49% in five years. She said that they will try to keep increases low, but they will need to continue 5 to provide the services customers expect. 6 7 Slide #20 Ow t r Provide sustained water bill support to low-income High-Level Goals households served by OWASA for Sustained r Minimize administrative burden for residents to Water Bill Relief apply and qualify for sustained water bill assistance, thereby increasing the use of the program Program Proposed Strategy:Utilize FNS assistance qualification to pre-qualify recipients of water-bill relief 8 9 10 11 12 1 Slide#21 Program ■ ■ ! ■ ■■ Costs ■ Impact Resident FINS-Receiving Assistance Pe rce n t of Ave rage Annual Cost ofEligibility OWASA Customers (Remaining to Be Paid) $57.781month 50%($57.78) $60,317 Qualify for 87 FNS;55+ $1 15.551month 100%($0) $120,634 $57.78/month 50%($57.78) $P 72,647 Qualify for 249 FNS $1 15.551month 100%($0) $345,263 2 3 Mary Tiger said the numbers on slide #21 are examples and estimates of the impact. 4 5 Slide #22 Do County Commissioners support • a of this program? Is the Board of County Commissioners willing to support the program Mary Tiger, Director of Community • 537-4241 1 mtiger@owasa.org www.owasa.org 6 7 Commissioner McKee asked if OWASA can't set a sliding scale for rate impacts. 8 Mary Tiger said that was correct. She said under state statute, OWASA is required to 9 charge reasonable rates, and ability to pay cannot be a factor. 10 11 13 1 Johnny Randall, Orange County appointee to the OWASA Board of Directors, continued 2 the presentation: 3 4 Slide #23 Celebrating -ars of ReclaimedWater! — rlllti'" ' 1 ` UNC conserves drinking water by flushing with reclaimed water in this building. i Caution-Do Not Drink This Water"-No Tomar that we,really thought you would North Carolina Botanical Garden,UNC-Chapel Hill 5 6 7 Slide #24 Celebrating Reclaimed Water! • Reclaimed water became available in 2009 and is an essential component of OWASA's efforts to conserve water and increase community drought resilience. • Highly treated wastewater is taken through additional disinfection and pumped through about 5 miles of separate pipes to UNC-Chapel Hill,UNC Hospitals,NC Botanical Garden,and St.Thomas Moore Catholic School. • The system treats and distributes around 1.8 million gallons per day and is designed to accommodate 3 mgd as demand increases. • Since inception—OWASA has supplied 3.6 billion gallons of reclaimed water to our partners,which is enough water to fill all three of our reservoirs. 8 9 10 Update: OWASA *+ t Support to , Western North Carolina Hurricane Helene LL 912712024 NCWaterWarn Desk _ ISIC EOC Center — Raleigh • What is NCWaterWARN? • OWASA has been a member of • „ .s_ NCWaterWARN since 2017 • 5 OWASA employees staffed the f '.• NCWaterWARN EOC desk for 14 shifts. • Received requests for Labor,Equipment, Materials and other resources needed from utilities impacted from Hurricane Helene. • Connected utilities like OWASA and Fayetteville PWC who volunteered to help restore water and wastewater services with utilities who requested resources. r _ •�`l"`S i V' •� J' • R l A- Coordinated with utilities from the state to locate and provide much needed resources to the affected areas. OWASADelivered emergency repair materials from d �. PWC.and Durham Black Mountain.a •R • 15 Slide Mountain, NC ❑epfoyment 1 : MainslSerYices •�i before repai ng a waterline in Black Mountain. a • Mobilized and provided resources to assist with res[oring water service to the � tf, �+ communi[y. • Worked with Black Mountain team to plan �� - and prioritirye repair activities to expedite �' rex[vracivn of water service, • Performed mukiple repairs Including: • locate,repair or abandon damaged I.5"- 10" waeermains • Service Line eransfers to restore service[4 business and residential cuseomers. Slide #29 r ` f e-water ser�.ce And P r I r.. r d •, q� I, r �,- � Repairing A large hole in a 6" OWASA and PWC Crews building an a n ng a damaged watermaiin that atermairim the Swannanoa River to earthtin darn to isolate and repair a IT' feeds the western end of Black Mountain restore tank site transmission main in Swannaricia River. • Slide #30 Black Mountain, NC Q}eployrnent 2:5ervicesfYalves • Provided resources ev assise with restoring , water service tta heavily impacted • Performed valve and service repairs and 4 _ � � i restoration including: • Locate,excavate.inspeee,and operate 157 Water� me€ers and 90 isolation valves. • Locate,restore,repair,and replace damaged valve ,� and meter infrastruceure from erosion and debris. • Backfill,restore.and protect exposed vratermains �' t 1� -�• � in heavily eroded areas. - e - � • Demobilised CJWASA resources when assignment `.� was campleee. 16 1 Slide #31 t Heavy erosion which affected valve, Our team uuhaing,valve truck to locate, Ethan Nall working on a meter under a meter,and hydrant infrastructure, aceess,and inspect valves and meters.. home that was moved dwe to Rodding. Z 3 4 Slide #32 Asheville, NC Deployment 3:Lab Relief/Sampling Provided labor and resources to relieve Asheville VVTP laboratory compliance Per-formed distribution system water quality sampling. Sampleo� an analyzed profiles for surface 4r water quality at North Tree Reservoirs. Performed laboratory supplementalquality parameters. Asheville,a]WASA.and Davidson Water teams ready to Irk the Soil Water Advisory. 5 6 7 Slide #33 eF r .,..VV l - Izzy testing,for metals and turbidity in 'Simon sampling for water quality at Ixay sampling for chlorine concentration Asheville WTP lab. the outermost extents of the in the Ashevillei water distribution distribution system, system 17 1 Slide #34 Beech Mountain, Deployment 4:CCTV Inspection n} Utilized specialized offroad equipment to access and inspect• •.1 Inspected—15,000 LF of sewer mains along ! outfalls. What ! •we find? Damaged1missing pipe Pipe blockages with rotk,dirt,and debris if Sanitar-y Sewer C Overflows debris from eroded areas �nJ • ' :`*�aah Fuller and Jackson Laxhley performing 2 CCN mspett,ons in an outfall vn Beech Mtn. 3 4 Slide #35 l W6 K f Jackson lowering camera into an Inspecting a damagedAerial crossing Working with Beech Mountain ream xo inaccessible debris covered manhole. along a creek channel in the valley. locate and address damaged sewer main. 5 6 7 Slide #36 i We Come We cannot forget to recognize the folks that stayed Together• behind continue to support OWASA so chat we could provide this vital support" Staff performed an After Action Review to celebrate successes and capture lessons learned. 18 1 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she supports the Care to Share program. She said that county 2 commissioners are faced with a lot of needs in the community and are getting ready to go into 3 budget discussions. She said that she appreciates having the numbers, but she doesn't know if 4 they can provide funding. 5 Commissioner Carter applauded OWASA's efforts in western North Carolina. She asked 6 if the county has provided funding in the past to OWASA customers during rate increases. 7 Mary Tiger said county assisted with ARPA funding. 8 Commissioner Carter asked if there has been a role for the municipalities. 9 Mary Tiger said Carrboro and Chapel Hill provided funding through ARPA. 10 Chair Bedford said she believes that legally, if the county provided water bill assistance 11 for OWASA, she thinks they would also need to provide funding to all of the water utilities that 12 serve the county. She said she had previous experience in water usage and assistance and data 13 shows that a customer must pay a portion of the bill otherwise they have no incentive to conserve 14 water. She said that she liked the scenarios presented for types of assistance. She said the county 15 is looking at the outside agency process and said that staff and the County Manager could look 16 at the bigger picture. She said it is important to see what the county would have to cut in order to 17 provide $300,000 or more. She said these leave big budget questions. She said that water is 18 number one in the hierarchy of needs. 19 Commissioner Fowler agreed with Chair Bedford on equitable funding across the county. 20 She said that some residents do not pay their water bill, but it is included in the cost of their rent. 21 She said that brings an equity issue. She said that is one of the questions that she has. 22 Chair Bedford said some multifamily have individual meters, but it varies. 23 24 b. Child Abuse Prevention Month Proclamation 25 The Board approved a proclamation declaring April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month. 26 27 BACKGROUND: April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The Department of Social 28 Services (DSS) and other community organizations are concerned about the continued incidence 29 of child abuse and neglect in Orange County and in the state of North Carolina. In Fiscal Year 30 2023-2024, 574 reports of suspected child maltreatment were assessed in Orange County. For 31 the state of North Carolina, there were 58,419 reports assessed within the same period. Currently, 32 61 children are in the custody of Orange County Social Services due to serious abuse and neglect 33 issues within their families. As of December 2024, there were 10,899 children in the custody of 34 social services across the state. 35 36 Most child abuse and neglect issues reported to Social Services involve substance use, domestic 37 violence, unsafe discipline, supervision, or care of children. Social Services is working to increase 38 education and awareness of these issues and to identify strategies to improve the safety of 39 children in the community. 40 41 Community members can make a difference in the life of a child by making connections. Lending 42 a helping hand or listening ear to a parenting neighbor or friend can help alleviate stress and 43 provide a positive impact on a child's life. Increasing social connection and providing concrete 44 support are integral protective factors. 45 46 Parents, grandparents, and family members can ensure children are safe in their care by properly 47 securing the firearms and ensuring all medications or potentially harmful substances are 48 inaccessible to children. 49 19 1 DSS encourages all individuals to "Wear Blue" on Friday, April 4, 2025, to kick off Child Abuse 2 Prevention Month. Social Services is planning to provide awareness materials to community 3 members at the Sportsplex Family Fun Day on April 5, 2025. 4 5 The Board is asked to support this effort and to encourage the community to become more aware 6 of the issues impacting children and families. 7 8 Brittany Mann, Program Manager for Orange County DSS, introduced the item. 9 Commissioner Carter read the proclamation: 10 11 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 12 13 PROCLAMATION 14 CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH 15 April 2025 16 17 WHEREAS, child abuse and neglect is a serious problem affecting every segment of our 18 community, and finding solutions requires input and action from everyone; and 19 20 WHEREAS, in Fiscal Year 2023-2024, 574 reports of suspected child maltreatment were 21 assessed by child protective services in Orange County; and 22 23 WHEREAS, child abuse can have long-term psychological, emotional, and physical effects that 24 have lasting consequences for victims of abuse; and 25 26 WHEREAS, children who are loved and nurtured grow up to be healthy, creative, and productive 27 community members; and 28 29 WHEREAS, it is the goal of Orange County to improve the quality of life of all children who live 30 here; and 31 32 WHEREAS, we acknowledge that we must work together as a community to increase awareness 33 about child abuse and to continue to promote the social and emotional well-being of children and 34 families in a safe, stable, and nurturing environment; 35 36 NOW, THEREFORE we, the Board of County Commissioners of Orange County, North Carolina, 37 hereby proclaim April 2025 as "Child Abuse Prevention Month" and call upon all residents to join 38 together to prevent child abuse. 39 40 THIS IS THE 18t" DAY OF MARCH, 2025. 41 42 43 44 Jamezetta Bedford, Chair 45 Orange County Board of Commissioners 46 47 A motion was made by Commissioner Carter, seconded by Vice-Chair Hamilton, to 48 approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation declaring April 2025 as Child Abuse 49 Prevention Month in Orange County. 50 51 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 20 1 5. Public Hearings 2 None. 3 4 6. Regular Agenda 5 a. Periodic Review and Approval of Amendments to the Orange County Board of County 6 Commissioners Advisory Board Policy 7 The Board conducted a periodic review and approve amendments to the Orange County Board 8 of County Commissioners Advisory Board Policy. 9 10 BACKGROUND: The Advisory Board Policy was adopted February 21, 2012, and included a 11 provision that the BOCC would conduct a periodic review of the policy. The last periodic review of 12 the Advisory Board Policy took place at the BOCC's November 10, 2022 work session. 13 14 The current version of the Advisory Board Policy is included as Attachment 1. 15 16 Attachment 2 includes suggested amendments by Clerk's Office staff. 17 18 Attachment 3 includes information on all of the boards to which the Board of Commissioners 19 makes appointments, including type of board, board descriptions, composition requirements, any 20 special appointment or recommendation requirements, term lengths and limits, and the relevant 21 policies. 22 23 Tara May, Deputy Clerk to the Board, introduced the item and reviewed the background 24 materials. 25 Chair Bedford reviewed the suggested changes on Attachment 2. She asked how 26 individual advisory board policies and procedures were developed and approved. 27 Tara May said individual advisory board policies and procedures were developed by the 28 County Attorney when the BOCC Advisory Board Policy was developed and approved. 29 Chair Bedford asked for clarification about the difference between "domicile" and 30 "residence" in the suggested changes. 31 Tara May said there is not a clear way to determine "domicile" from "residence," and the 32 change is suggested to be more inclusive of residents. 33 John Roberts said that many years ago, there was an issue of a Planning Board member 34 who was alleged to have their permanent residence in another state. He said that the change 35 was made to address that issue. 36 Commissioner Fowler clarified that was when the word "domicile" was added. She said 37 schools use the word "domicile." 38 Vice-Chair Hamilton said that in other instances, "residency" is defined by how long you 39 have lived in an area. She said that kind of definition is not in the advisory board policy. 40 Chair Bedford said she looks at the number of years in Orange County on advisory board 41 applications. 42 Commissioner Fowler said they would have to attend monthly meetings. 43 Vice-Chair Hamilton said people can come from elsewhere to attend meetings. She said 44 it may be something to think about in future updates. 45 Chair Bedford said in other states there are questions about electing people who spend a 46 large portion of the year out of state. 47 Commissioner Carter asked why there was a strikethrough of item D.5 under Section III, 48 Membership. 49 Tara May said item D.5 states"may direct," and there is another section on orientation and 50 how that will be handled. She said the other reference is under Section V, Organization, and it 51 discusses how they will do orientation. 21 1 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked to look at item B — Composition, under Section III, 2 Membership. She asked what steps the Board will take to make sure that they are appointing 3 members to advisory boards that are representative of the community. 4 Tara May said that they can have a conversation about that at a future date. She said she 5 has worked with Community Relations in the past, and she can continue working with them for 6 advertising and reaching out. 7 Chair Bedford said it would not go under a policy document, but they could have a general 8 discussion about different methods of reaching out to new groups. 9 Vice-Chair Hamilton said it is important to look across all the advisory boards when 10 considering representation. 11 Commissioner Fowler brought up keeping members who have extensive experience as 12 ex-officio members, thereby opening positions for new applicants. She said ex-officio members 13 could keep working on projects they'd been involved in, but they couldn't be a voting member. 14 Chair Bedford said she felt people should roll off boards and then reapply in the future. 15 Commissioner Greene said she did not recall having ex-officio members. 16 Chair Bedford said that they've let people have an extra year two or three times, once for 17 the Economic Development Advisory Board. 18 Commissioner Greene said she liked Commissioner Fowler's idea. 19 Commissioner Carter said she supported the idea of having ex-officio members to keep 20 continuity on the board. 21 Chair Bedford asked if it is needed. She said they've done it three times and they've said 22 they won't do it again. She said she has concerns about undoing their efforts to improve 23 representation on boards. 24 Commissioner Portie-Ascott mentioned Section III, Membership, item E, "Terms," which 25 describes the number of terms an advisory board member can serve. She said that they've 26 discussed not allowing people to serve on the Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board at the 27 same time. She asked if this was the appropriate time to discuss the issue. 28 Tara May said the way this has been applied was that of the boards listed in the BOCC 29 Advisory Board Policy, an applicant couldn't serve on more than two of those. She said typically 30 they haven't included a quasi-judicial board or a town board, for example. 31 Commissioner Carter asked if they should have language for specific boards. 32 Chair Bedford suggested that John Roberts and Tara May bring back an amendment to 33 the BOCC if there was consensus to add language to the advisory board policy stating that 34 applicants could not serve on both the Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board at the same 35 time. She noted the majority of commissioners were nodding their heads in affirmation. 36 John Roberts said that policies and procedures for individual advisory boards take 37 precedence over the advisory board policy approved by the Board of Commissioners. He 38 suggested putting that requirement in the Planning Board policy or rules of procedure. 39 Commissioner Fowler said she thought there used to be a requirement that one person 40 serve on both Planning and the Board of Adjustment. 41 Chair Bedford said that was a misunderstanding. 42 Vice-Chair Hamilton said there is an understanding that not serving on two boards only 43 applies to boards under the BOCC Advisory Board Policy. She asked if that could be changed to 44 apply to other boards as well, such as quasi-judicial boards. 45 Tara May said yes, it is the Board's policy, and they can make that change. 46 Chair Bedford asked what other quasi-judicial boards this could apply to. 47 John Roberts said the other quasi-judicial board is the Animal Services Hearing Panel. 48 Vice-Chair Hamilton said even the Planning Board was not created by the county and 49 operates according to state statutes. She said there are other similar boards, such as the Board 50 of Health and the DSS Board. 22 1 Chair Bedford said that John Roberts and Tara May can work on that language and bring 2 it back to the Board. 3 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about item H, "Removal." She asked how Tara May is 4 notified of attendance. 5 Tara May said she receives attendance reports quarterly. 6 Commissioner Fowler said the Board used to see those reports, and she asked why they 7 were no longer included in agenda items. 8 Tara May said there was discussion about what to include as attachments and it was 9 decided to not include attendance reports. 10 Chair Bedford asked if that process is working. 11 Tara May said yes. 12 Vice-Chair Hamilton said it was good to have a review of the policy. She asked Tara May 13 if the word "commissions" should be kept. 14 Tara May said it was noted at the beginning that all boards and commissions would be 15 referred to as advisory boards in the policy. 16 17 A motion was made by Commissioner Greene, seconded by Vice-Chair Hamilton to 18 approve the amendments to the BOCC Advisory Board Policy. 19 20 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 21 22 7. Reports 23 a. Medicaid Expansion in Orange County One Year After Implementation 24 The Board received an update on Medicaid Expansion in Orange County one year after initial 25 implementation. 26 27 BACKGROUND: State lawmakers approved legislation in early 2023 that called for Medicaid 28 expansion in North Carolina, and then-Governor Roy Cooper signed it into law in March 2023. On 29 December 1, 2023, the legislation went into effect in North Carolina expanding Medicaid access 30 to more North Carolinians. Medicaid now covers people ages 19 through 64 years with incomes 31 up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level. This is about $20,000 for an individual and about 32 $34,000 for a family of three. 33 34 Medicaid provides comprehensive medical coverage including services like primary care, 35 maternity care, hospitalizations, prescription drugs, and hearing and vision. Those previously 36 receiving full Medicaid coverage under other programs were not affected by these changes and 37 have continued receiving services. 38 39 Orange County Social Services staff worked hard to prepare for and implement the expanded 40 Medicaid program in Orange County. In FY 2023-2024 the Orange County Board of County 41 Commissioners approved the creation of nine (9) new, permanent positions to support the 42 increased workload. Social Services staff developed plans for hiring, training, and rollout of the 43 new program and began taking applications on December 1, 2023. 44 45 As of December 31, 2024, more than 4,600 Orange County residents have been enrolled in the 46 new Medicaid program. 47 48 23 1 Lindsey Shewmaker, DSS Director, introduced the item and made the following 2 presentation: 3 4 Slide #1 ORANGEa Medicaid Expansion Year Orange C Board of County Commissioners March 18, 2025 ✓7b 5 nim uen�os 6 7 Slide #2 ® 01 r, 0 0 0 Background Orange County Outreach E-hIa Demographic Tmeliness.and Federal Changes Questions Expansion Date Data Accuracy end possible Impacts M•li f N 8 wcui»c° 9 10 24 1 Slide#3 Background: Medicaid in Orange County Medicaid Recipients by Category • There are currently(February 2025) 21,367 Orange County residents xz% receiving Medicaid • Medicaid currently covers pregnancy through end-of-life care • North Carolina's Medicaid program "%' covers several optional services in addition to federally mandated coverage and is considered excellent health insurance • $170,400,638.46 in Medicaid expenditures for Orange County residents in SFY2024 •�'e a; „mese, •EnpaM W M„�i- 2 dO8 f1E•�ME]MfSS 3 Lindsey Shewmaker said that over half of the recipients are children. OWL 4 5 Slide #4 Expanded Medicaid in Orange County • Social Services began taking applications for expanded Medicaid(MXP)on December 1,2023 • Orange County DSS hired 9 additional staff to manage the new program • There were a large number of initial applications that staff worked hard to process • By the end of December 2024,4,603 Orange County residents were covered by the new,expanded Medicaid program(MXP).This is 86%of the estimated enrollment in Orange County in Year1 J 6 i5 7 8 25 1 Slide #5 Total • • ' County by • Orange County Medicaid Expansion Enrollment am. 4603- s000 3.502 3799 3929 3,253 8]11 4181 I 4283 4419 3.x17 4068 2.1e*3 I 4000 2512 I 2101 3000 2000 1000 0 November. C—b- January.2024 February, Merch.2024 April,2024 My.2024 lune.2024 luVy,2024 August.2024 September. October, November, December, 2023 2023 2024 2324 2024 2024 2024 ■OtaFlgeCounry Mcdlceid Expenawn 6nrolkment � � • 0M affm'4F 2 3 4 Slide #6 Orange County MXP Recipients February 2024 Orange • }j 1 r MXP Recipients through February i Alz i �clrce:n .. j1 M%P RrJnlanb pma4y -rJ • • A uFsaa Eiko ffi 6 Lindsey Shewmaker these maps give a better idea of where recipients live. 7 8 9 26 1 Slide #7 Orange County MXP Recipients December 2024 Fr^ 3c \ Orange throughMXP Recipients December 2024 �. J� nsaae.oeaow:iy�cnvvMns _ • • • �x 2 °Escxle�rcirMSE"= 3 4 Slide #8 Demographic Observations • N+CDHHS built a Medicaid Expansion Dashboard and updates data monthly https:l/medicaid.ncdh hs.gov/rtaportslraic:dic�rid-oxpta nsiorl-dashboa rd • In the first year of enrollment,Orange County residents receiving MXP were mostly: Not Hispanic In chapel Hill, mmm (>75.7%) Hiltsborough 0M 5 6 7 27 1 Slide #9 Outreach EffortsEvents Southern Orange County and Southern Orange County and Northern Orange County and Chapel Hill Carrboro Hillsborough •• !M 3 4 Slide #10 Timeliness w r Measures rw Medicaid Report Passed every month in 2024 Card 95-9911/o timeliness in 2024 Recipient Passed every month audited in 2024 Eligibility Determination 90-100%accuracy in 2024 Audit(REDA) 5 6 Lindsey Shewmaker said that the state did not change or waive any of the reporting. She 7 said they drew the unlucky straw as being in the audit during the same year as expansion and 8 they passed each month. She said this is a huge testament of the work the staff does daily. 9 10 28 1 Slide #11 Orange County's Medicaid Expansion Team k I � 1 From left to right:lune Cafes.Kizzy Laws,April.Martindale.John Beasley,.Louise Moize Shawntia Dawson,Cathia Ortiz.Murlat Wickman-Dixon 2 Not Pictured:Angie Dinarte ueniyvr ut xx:t,u somas 3 4 Slide #12 Federal Changes and Possible Impacts • Work requirements • Estimated 47%of North Carolina Medicaid enrollees would be impacted by work requirements" • Cessation of Waivers North Carolina currently has 7 waivers either approved or pending approval • Includes 1915b waivers(Innovation)and 1115 waivers that would provide ongoing coverage for children • 6lockgrant/Funding reduction • Reduction of services Reduction of coverage groups • FederaI MedicalAssistance Percentage changes `Med,cn,d WorK neaurements Could Put 36 Million Peoplc at Risk oO Losing Health Coverage Cameron Budget and Policy Priorities 5 6 Lindsey Shewmaker said that information is changing almost daily right now. She said that 7 NC has legislation that automatically adopts any work requirements that are imposed at the 8 federal level. She said that they do not know what those look like, but she said they tend to be 9 burdensome for recipients and staff. She said that they usually do not lead to more recipients 10 being employed because only 8% of them would be able or eligible for work. She said that it is 11 estimated that caps would result in $30 billion dollar cut in federal funds to NC Medicaid over ten 12 years. She said that any cut in federal funds will impact recipients including hospitals and 13 pharmacies. 14 Commissioner Fowler asked if Innovation waivers would go away. 29 1 Lindsey Shewmaker said it is unknown at this time, but the federal government has a lot 2 of discretion over what happens with waivers. She said the 1115 waivers just got approved by the 3 General Assembly, but they can be terminated. 4 Vice-Chair Hamilton asked for a description of the waivers so everyone could understand 5 them more fully. 6 Lindsey Shewmaker said she could get that information to the Board because they can be 7 very complex and have a lot of pieces. 8 Commissioner Fowler read part of the statutory wording for 15B waivers. 9 Chair Bedford said the overall purpose of those has been to keep people with disabilities 10 out of institutions and provide different services. She said that has over 17,000 people on the 11 waiting list in North Carolina. 12 Lindsey Shewmaker said the waivers allow changes based on the state's desires to move 13 in a different way from the federal government policy. 14 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the waivers are cut immediately or if they would have 15 time to prepare. 16 Lindsey Shewmaker said there is a lot of discretion and complete unknowns. She said 17 they really do not know. 18 Chair Bedford said that the budget reconciliation process doesn't need the 60 votes in the 19 senate and that could also have an impact. 20 Commissioner Carter asked about the impact of the evaluation audits if they were 21 implemented every year rather than done every 3 years. 22 Lindsey Shewmaker described the administrative burden for audits. She said during the 23 audit, they will pull ten approvals and ten denials and those are sent to staff to make sure all 24 documents are uploaded for the auditor. She said it takes the auditor a full month for the twenty 25 cases. She said if there are any issues they have 30 days to rebut the findings. She said that it 26 takes staff supervisors 4-5 hours a month. She said it is more stressful than anything else because 27 if they make an error, the county is financially responsible for those errors. She said the audits 28 demand perfection. 29 30 Slide #13 Optional .d ,d Services and Groups * Carolina (ExpansionServices Groups • Prescription drugs * Adults 18-64 up to 1330/a FPL • Personal care services(PCs) * Non-M Aged,Blind,Disabled . . .0%FPL Dependent• Adult dental and optical services - • Inpatient psychiatric services . Pregnant women 134%-196%FPL • Non-mandatory practitioner services - Children 0-17 134%-211%FPL • Health clinics * Family Planning 134%-195%FPL e Medically needy - Working disabled - Recipients of State-County Special,Assistance - Participants in the Breast and Cervica(Cancer Program t'74 31 u� t 30 1 Slide #14 Federal - • • - • When Medicaid Expansion legislation(NC Session Law 2023-7)was written in North Carolina,it included specific provisions related to the federal medical assistance percentage(FMAP).If this rate falls below 90%,Medicaid coverage for the expanded population in North Carolina"shall be discontinued as expeditiously as possible" • This would cause the loss of benefits for most of the 4,600 Orange County residents enrolled in expanded Medicaid • Itwould also increase uncompensated care for providers,including UNC Health, Orange County Health Department,Orange County Emergency Services,pharmacies and other medical providers J� 2 3 Commissioner Greene asked for clarification on FMAP. 4 Lindsey Shewmaker said that the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP)and that 5 is the rate that the federal government matches for the states that expanded Medicaid. She said 6 that North Carolina is responsible for 10%. She said this is an area where the federal government 7 cuts would make an impact and they are concerned. She said that cuts to agriculture will most 8 likely hurt SNAP benefits. She said the materials are not happy reading, but it is important to 9 follow. She said that staff in Raleigh think that the most likely impacts would be to the work 10 requirements and the required matching percentages. 11 12 Slide #15 Q • Lindsey Shewmaker,Director lshewmaker(Porangecountyn o/ Louise Moize,Human Services Supervisor lmoize@orangecountync.gou •• AW 13 14 15 31 1 b. Occupancy Tax Uses Discussion 2 The Board discussed the potential usages of Occupancy Tax proceeds for future year budgeting. 3 4 BACKGROUND: The County has collected Occupancy Tax for several decades through State 5 authorization of Session 1991-392 (Attachment 1). This three percent (3%) levy on all room and 6 lodging rentals is collected by the County and used to fund the Visitors Bureau division of the 7 Economic Development Department, the Arts Commission division of the County Manager's 8 Office, and some related Outside Agencies. This authorization provides broad flexibility to the 9 County to utilize Occupancy Tax. However, the law applicable to Orange County predates the 10 current State guidelines for Occupancy Tax statutes (Attachment 2). The current guidelines 11 recommend that new authorizations restrict two-thirds (2/3) of Occupancy Tax proceeds to be 12 used to promote tourism and travel, and one-third (1/3) to be used for tourism-related 13 expenditures. The information below relies on this higher standard in its analysis, as the County's 14 authorization is subject to change by the North Carolina General Assembly. 15 16 In reviewing the prior year actual expenditures and current year budget for the Visitors Bureau 17 Fund, the County easily exceeds the two-thirds (2/3) standard for Occupancy Tax. The Visitors 18 Bureau also maintains a long-term contract with the Town of Chapel Hill that the Town provides a 19 set amount of its Occupancy Tax funds to the County to support the County's Visitors Bureau. The 20 funds have been used to increase advertising for summer events in Chapel Hill in FY 2025. In the 21 table immediately below, the expenses in the Visitors Bureau Division exceed both the revenue 22 generated by the Town contract and two-thirds (2/3) Occupancy Tax guideline by $234,740 in FY 23 2024, and is budgeted to exceed the guidelines by $801,423 in FY 2025. BudgetRevenue and Expenses FY 2024 Actuals FY 2025 Revised Town of Chapel Hill Contribution $ 457,439 $ 531,855 2/3rd of Occupancy Tax $ 1,482,399 $ 1,526,871 Guideline Revenues $ 1,939,838 $ 2,058,726 Visitors Bureau Division Expenses $ 2,174,578 $ 2,860,149 Expenses Above Guidelines $ 234,740 $ 801,423 24 25 During the FY 2024-25 Budget adoption process, there was a proposed Commissioner 26 amendment to redirect $69,000 of fund balance from the Visitors Bureau to fund General Fund 27 expenses. That amendment failed by a vote of 3-4, with the majority of the Board preferring to 28 revisit the issue in greater detail prior to the Board's FY 2025-26 Budget process. 29 30 The following chart provides a summary on the recent revenues and expenditures in the Visitors 31 Bureau Fund. Occupancy Tax has been very volatile in the last 10 years, due to the pandemic 32 and the inflation that followed. There are a few items to identify in reviewing these trends. First, 33 the revenues in the fund bounced back from the pandemic faster than anticipated, resulting in an 34 accumulation of fund balance in FY 2022, FY 2023, and FY 2024. The intent of the FY 2025 35 budget is to spend down a significant portion of that accumulated fund balance. The department 36 has needed to come back to the Board through budget amendments to recognize additional 37 revenues during the last four (4) years and identify spending plans. The majority of the fund's 38 expenditures fund the staff of the Visitors Bureau, the fixed costs of the visitor center, and the 39 programmatic costs of the Visitors Bureau: advertising, market research, and publications. As 40 Occupancy Tax revenues have rapidly decreased and then increased, the majority of the change 41 in expenditures has occurred in the programmatic costs. Those were cut to as little as $260,000 42 during the pandemic and have grown to as much as $1.8 Million during the FY 2025 budget. The 32 1 Arts Commission and some outside agencies are included in the fund's budget but are less than 2 10% of the FY 2025 budget. 3 Allocation of Revenues and Expenditures in Visitors Bureau Fund $4,000,000 $3,500,000 $3,000,000 $2,500,000 $2,000,000 $1,500,000 $1,000,000 ' $500,0$0 0 v v v v v v v v v W a) a) a) a) v a) 7 7 7 C C C CG C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C a) () a) a) a) () a) a) ai a) a) a) a) () a) () a) a) a) > CL > CL > CL > CL > CL > C- > n > n > n > n a) X a) X a) X Q) X N X a1 X aJ X X X X W W W W W W W W W W 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Rev Bud ■Occupancy Tax Revenue ■Town of CH Agreement ■Other VB revenue VB Personnel Costs ■VB Fixed Operating Costs ■VB Programmatic Operating Costs ■Payment Back to County ■Net Arts/Outside Agency 4 5 6 For this discussion, County staff will present the recent budgets and actual expenditures in the 7 Visitors Bureau Fund, and how those usages align with the Occupancy Tax guidelines and the 8 County's strategic plan. Staff will then address three broad categories of options for the Board to 9 discuss: 10 1. Retain the current allocation and usage of Occupancy Tax between the Visitors Bureau 11 and the Arts Commission. 12 2. Direct a portion of the Occupancy Tax funding to cover other existing County expenses 13 that meet the Occupancy Tax guidelines. 14 3. Direct a portion of the Occupancy Tax funding to start new initiatives that meet the 15 Occupancy Tax guidelines. 16 17 Staff will also briefly discuss the Visitors Bureau Board's Fund Balance policy of fifteen percent 18 (15%). This policy has not been recognized by the BOCC, but has often been followed by staff in 19 practice. Staff will discuss how this policy could be codified by the BOCC, and how a fund balance 20 policy for a restricted revenue fund would differ from a General Fund fund balance policy. 21 22 The County maintains several programs in funds outside of the General Fund. The most 23 discretionary of these funds are the Inspections Fund, Visitors Bureau Fund, Article 46 Fund, 24 Sportsplex Fund and Solid Waste Fund. The County does not have formal fund balance policies 25 for any of these funds, but weighs the following issues when reviewing the fund balance during 26 the budget process — the current and upcoming obligations of the fund, the long-term debt and 27 capital requirements, and the stability of the revenue source. The Visitors Bureau Fund does not 28 fund any long-term capital or debt, and does not have any upcoming obligations, but has been 29 highly variable over the last ten (10) years, and is more vulnerable to downturns during 30 recessions. Therefore, the fund does not need to maintain a significant fund balance, but will 33 1 either need to significantly reduce expenses or rely on County subsidy in the event of a recession 2 or other major disruption. 3 4 Kirk Vaughn, Budget Director, made the following presentation: 5 6 Slide #1 r ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA Occupancy Tax Use Discussion March 18, 2025 BOCC Business Meeting s 9 Slide #2 OCCUPANCY TAX STATUTORY AUTHORITY • Orange County has authority to collect Occupancy Tax through 1991 law. — 10% of revenues used for visitor informational services and support cultural events. • Predates modern NCGA guidelines on Occupancy Tax, which places greater restrictions — 2/3rds for promoting tourism and travel — 1/3rd for tourism-related expenditures • As the statutory authority is subject to change by NCGA and state courts, staff recommend aligning broadly with stricter guidelines in future allocations. ORANGE COUNTY NORTL 1 CAROL] 10 11 Commissioner Greene asked if the county uses 100% of the funds. 12 Kirk Vaughn said that in current usage exceeds the higher guidelines. He said that they 13 are above the 2/3s guidelines. 14 15 34 1 Slide #3 VISITORS BUREAU FUND • Occupancy Tax revenues are budgeted in a special revenue fund - the Visitors Bureau Fund • Other major revenue in the Fund - Town of Chapel Hill contribution. — Town provides a portion of its prior year's Occupancy Tax to the Visitors Bureau Division through long standing contract. Funds specified for visitor center activities • Majority of Visitor Bureau Fund supports the Visitors Bureau Division • Fund also supports the operations of the Arts Commission, and some related outside agencies. — Less than 10% of Fund's FY 25 Budget ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 Kirk Vaughn said that the funds also include the Arts Commission. 4 5 Slide #4 VISITORS BUREAU FUND REVENUES $3.900,000 $2,500,000 38%Average 5-7%Average Annual Increase 32.000.000 Annual Increase 50% $1,500,0D0 Revenue Loss $1,900,000 5500,000 $- 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2921 2022 2023 2024 2025 Rev Rud ■Occupancy Tax Revenue ■Town of CH Agreement •Other VH revenue — Revenue has been quite volatile, but has grown much faster since Covid than Pre-Covid trend ORANGE COUNTY NOWITI CAROLINA. 6 7 8 9 35 1 Slide #5 VISITORS BUREAU FUND USES $4.000.M $3.500.060 S3.a00.660 6 $2,$00.000 $2.010,000 $i„857N S1.500.000 $1,2"K s K $ K $87$K $1,000,000 $500.000 $- 2016 2417 2010 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2424 2025 Rev Bud •VB Personnel Costs ■VB Fixed Opemting Cos6s N VB Programmatic Operating Costs. •Net Arts/Outside Agency a Payment Back to County — As revenues changed drastically, the county mostly reflected changes in Visitors Bureau's programmatic expenses ORANGE COUNTY • Advertising, Market Research, Promotions NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 Commissioner Carter asked about the payment back to the county. She asked if it would 4 hold steady. 5 Kirk Vaughn said it would hold steady in FY26 and then would not continue. 6 7 Slide #6 PERFORMANCE MEASURES OF VISITORS BUREAU • Visitors Bureau tracks how it supports Tourism & Travel for County — Visitor attraction at 25 key sites — Media coverage of county — Visitor and business inquiries — Tourism economic impact — Demand for hotels & meeting facilities Publish visitor materials — Advertise small business and farms in county — Operate a walk-in visitor center — Business referrals ORANGE COUNTY NORTH C.AR01,INA 8 9 10 36 1 Slide #7 PERFORMANCE MEASURES OF VISITORS BUREAU Performance Measures 2021-2022 1 2022-2023 2023-2024 2023.2024 2024.2026 Actual Actual I Budget Projected Budget Service:Tourism Communications Outcome Measure:Increased media coverage,visitation,and interest in visiting Orange County. Strategic Plan Priori : 6.Diverse and Vibrant Econom Build attraction visitations—The Visitors Bureau racks numbers of visitors visiting 25 major 1.78M 1.97M 2.11VI 2.1M 2.51A elect attractions throughout Orange County Media Stories on orange County—The Visitors Bureau sends press releases and works with ravel writers and digital influencers to write 247 276 250 250 260 stories about Orange County,Includes stories with and without Bureau assistance Fulfill inquiries of potential visitors and 3,040 3,500 4,500 4,725 business travelers Annual Tourlsm impact—Economic impact is measured by spending,employment,payroll $194M $236M $248M $248M $250M and tax revenues from the hos ital ty industry Service:Tourism Sales Outcome Measure:Increase number and variety of leads to hotel properties with meeting space. Strategic Plan Priority-, 6.Diverse and Vibrant Economy Definite meeting bookings 25 31 1 30 1 34 36 ales leads for hotels 98 154 1 100 1 125 135 FY 2025 Budget Document ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #8 CURRENT COMPLIANCE WITH GUIDELINES • Both in 2024 Actuals and 2025 Revised Budget, County easily exceeds stricter guidelines for Occupancy Tax usage. Revenue and Expenses FY 2024 Actuals IFY 2025 Revised Budget Town of Chapel Hill Contribution $ 457,439 $ 531,855 2/3rd of Occupancy Tax $ 1,482,399 $ 1,526,871 Guideline Revenues $ 1,939,838 $ 2,058,726 Visitors Bureau Division Expenses $ 2,174,578 $ 2,860,149 Expenses Above Guidelines $ 234,740 $ 801,423 • Board could redirect funds for Tourism-related Expenditures and maintain 213rds rule. • Visitors Bureau would still have $1 M programmatic expense budget in FY 24 and.25 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 5 6 7 37 1 Slide #9 ALTERNATIVE USES FOR 1/3RD OCCUPANCY TAX Tourism-related Expenditures — Expenditures that are designed to increase the use of lodging facilities, meeting facilities, and convention facilities in the county by attracting tourists or business travelers. Can include capital expenditures, Related Strategic Plan Priorities - GOAL 2: HEALTHY COMMUNITY • OBJECTIVE 7. Invest in services and programs that improve the health and quality of life of the community (e.g., recreation and public open spaces,arts,etc.) GOAL 6: DIVERSE AND VIBRANT ECONOMY • OBJECTIVE 1. Provide family-oriented and inclusive programming or other cultural events for residents and visitors - — ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #10 ALTERNATIVE USES FOR 1/3RD OCCUPANCY TAX Tourism-related Expenditures — There are plenty of activities that a county funds that could be reasonably interpreted as being related to travel and tourism. • Operational costs and debt service related to regional parks & athletic facilities • Funding cultural events and art events • Public Safety support at special events • Parking Decks, Water & Sewer and other infrastructure investments in commercial areas ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 5 6 7 38 1 Slide #11 OPTIONS FOR BOARD DISCUSSION • Option 1: Retain the current funding trends for Visitors Bureau, Arts Commission, and Outside Agencies. • Option 2: Identify existing county investments that fit reasonable definition of tourism-related expenditures to charge to Visitors Bureau Fund, possibly decreasing General Fund tax burden. • Option 3: Plan new initiatives that fit reasonable definition of tourism-related expenditures to charge to Visitors Bureau Fund. ORANGE COUNTY NORTH C:AROLI NA 2 3 Commissioner Carter asked if the county would be in compliance with current occupancy 4 tax guidelines with option 1. 5 Kirk Vaughn said the county already exceeds the guidance. He said they are above 66% 6 so option 1 would provide additional funds above what the statute requires. 7 Chair Bedford said all three options meet the current guidelines. 8 Commissioner Carter said she had misunderstood the required spending and the 1/3 was 9 the floor but it was clearer now. 10 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if additional help for the Arts Commission would fall 11 under option 1 or 2. 12 Kirk Vaughn said he saw that as a combination of options 1 and 3 since they already fund 13 from those. He said they are not exclusive so they could provide additional support to option 2. 14 Chair Bedford asked about the lease on the consent agenda for the Eno Arts Mill. 15 Kirk Vaughn said that it is in the Visitors Bureau fund, but the lease is funded through 16 revenue generated by the Arts Commission. 17 18 Slide #12 VISITORS BUREAU FUND BALANCE POLICY • Visitors Bureau Board's Fund Balance Policy- 15% minimum unassigned fund balance • Not recognized by BoCC, but followed in practice • Due to revenue growth„ $1,125,806 has accumulated in available fund balance. — FY 25 Budget plans some draw down of fund balance • No requirement to maintain minimum fund balance. General Fund backstops all other funds. ORANGE COUNTY NM I'lf CA ROI 1 NFA 19 20 39 1 Slide #13 VISITORS BUREAU FUND BALANCE POLICY • During Budget Process, staff review fund balance for various funds based on following criteria: — Current or Future Obligations — Long Term Capital or Debt — Volatility of Revenue • Visitors Bureau Fund does not have extensive obligations or capital expenditures but has shown significant volatility. — During future recession, fund will either cut expenses significantly, or receive county subsidy ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 Commissioner Carter asked about the county's fund balance policy and how it is affected 4 by advisory board fund policies. 5 Kirk Vaughn said that there are no other advisory boards with fund balance policies except 6 the Visitor's Bureau. He said the fund balance policy that the county has is specifically for the 7 general fund. 8 Commissioner Fowler asked if during the pandemic if the 15% got spent down and then 9 came to the Board for a backstop. 10 Kirk Vaughn said yes and if you look at the balanced since then, they exceeded that 15% 11 and then rebuilt because of the fast revenue growth. 12 13 Slide #14 DISCUSSION/QUESTIONS • Questions for staff? • No formal vote by Board required • Staff will incorporate Board direction into FY 2025-26 Manager's Recommended Operating Budget, Presented May 6cn 1 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 14 15 16 40 1 PUBLIC COMMENT: 2 Wendy Smith said she is the Executive Director of the Arts Center. She said she is a native 3 of Chapel Hill. She said that Tourism is a big business in Orange County. She said that she is one 4 of the former owners of Cameron's. She said that the county has a Visitors Bureau that brings 5 the community together, keeps them updated on trends, and spends time scouting for new 6 sources of business through advertising, marketing, and direct sales. She said the Franklin St 7 location allows them to help people six days of the week. She said that she supports the Arts 8 Commission Board and the Visitor's Bureau. 9 Ashley Nissler said she has served on the Arts Commission and the Orange County Arts 10 Alliance for about 12 years. She said that due to the occupancy tax they have been able to grow 11 the work the Arts Commission does and invest in staff. She said they have paid more than 500 12 artists for work done. She said that the occupancy tax has made it possible for events like the 13 Uproar Festival for Public Art. She said that it is an economic driver during slow summers. She 14 said having served on both boards, she said they are thankful for the occupancy tax funding and 15 the need is even more than the allocation allows. She said they will continue serving and engaging 16 the community and invited the Board to visit the Eno Arts Mill. 17 Richard Ellington said he is the President of the Chapel Hill Historical Society. He said it 18 is important for people to know the history of Orange County. He said that our community would 19 not be the same without visitors to Orange County. He said when Orange County was created it 20 contained all or a portion of what is now 13 counties. He said the Visitor's Bureau brings culture, 21 economic opportunity, and magic to the community. He said they have worked with the Visitors 22 Bureau to create walking tours, lectures, and events. He said they have a QR code trail, and it 23 provides history so that they know where we have been so we can be cautious of where we might 24 end up. 25 Meredith Sabye thanked Commissioner McKee for coming to the fire department 26 breakfast. She said she is the co-founder of the Center of Regenerative Agriculture and the owner 27 of Blue Hill Coffee. She said the Visitor's Bureau has been integral in connecting them to the 28 community. She said she has served on the Visitors Bureau for a year and a half. She said they 29 can see the positive and encouraging results from the efforts. She said that people are seeking 30 unique destinations and experiences. She said that tourism helps the many small businesses. 31 She said agri-tourism is critical to the long-term success of the farming community. She said 32 visitors love Orange County and come from all over the world to be part of what they have in this 33 region. She thanked the Board for their continued support for the Visitor's Bureau. 34 Lili Engelhardt said she is a former member of the Visitors Bureau. She said she serves 35 on the diversity community to create a marketing campaign of BIPOC friendly businesses to show 36 the world the inclusive and welcoming community that they are. She said she is a strong supporter 37 of tourism in the community as economic development. She said according to the NC Department 38 of Commerce, tourism in Orange County had solid growth in 2023 and a 13% growth rate in visitor 39 spending from the previous year. She said the state average is 6.9% and Orange County has 40 almost doubled the state average. She said tourism supports almost 2,000 jobs in Orange 41 County. She said tourism generates over $10 million in state tax revenue and over $8 million in 42 local tax revenue. She said tourism generates benefits in many areas. She said it supports 43 families and taxpayers and local businesses. She asked for the Board to continue their support 44 of the Visitor's Bureau. 45 46 Commissioner Greene asked for clarification on the origins of the conversation about 47 Visitors Bureau fund balance. 48 Travis Myren said this came from a proposed budget amendment during the FY25 budget 49 discussions about applying some of the occupancy tax funds as a suggestion by Commissioner 50 Hamilton. 41 1 Commissioner Greene said in the terms of the operating budget, she feels strongly that 2 this aspect is going well. She said they are trying to market to new markets. She said she supports 3 keeping the budget the way it is. 4 Commissioner McKee said a key factor is the better the Visitors Bureau does, the better 5 small businesses in the county do. He said if the economy goes south, the revenues go with it. 6 He said they do not have major retail bringing people in and rather have arts and programs that 7 bring people in. He said people would not know about this without the Visitors Bureau. He said 8 he has seen the amount of work that goes into getting a program developed to advertise and he 9 agrees with Commissioner Greene and would not want to tweak something that doesn't have a 10 problem. 11 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she supports the Visitors Bureau and the work that it does. She 12 said it makes sense to her for part of the occupancy tax to be available for other parts of the 13 county. She said that visitors won't have a good experience in the county without the infrastructure 14 and services. She said she looks at all the revenue the county gets and how are they going to put 15 it to its best use. She said they are going into a budget situation that is going to be very 16 challenging. She said it is not economically efficient to have different buckets of revenue and has 17 further questions about why it is separate, but ultimately thinks there could be better uses that are 18 in line with state statutes that would help them reduce the tax burden on residents and the general 19 fund. She said she supports option 2. 20 Commissioner Fowler had a question on slide #5. She asked if the green was marketing 21 primarily. 22 Kirk Vaughn said that is the advertising, the market research, promotions, and 23 programmatic expenses of the department. 24 Commissioner Fowler said it would be nice to track and see if they are getting their return 25 on investment over the next few years. 26 Laurie Paolicelli, Visitors Bureau Director, said that can be tracked. She said that she and 27 the Economic Development team can bring tourism more to the conversations moving forward. 28 She said she can bring that information to the Board. She said they get requests from other 29 visitors'centers to partner with them. She said that outside users of facilities need assistance with 30 planning events. She discussed some of the many things that the Visitors Bureau does to market 31 events and businesses. She discussed the start of the Visitors Bureau. She said that the Visitors 32 Bureau board does not believe that occupancy tax should not be used for capital, and they believe 33 that the current structure works. 34 Commissioner Fowler said she sees one option has meeting their needs. She asked if 35 they continued to have ongoing needs. She asked if they are still feeling held back. She said that 36 earlier there were people asking for help with water and the Board must deal with the needs of 37 the entire community. 38 Laurie Paolicelli said that there is increased demand for their services, and expenditures 39 continue to grow but expenses also have increased. She introduced Hanna Hemphill, budget 40 director to discuss the increase on the slide. 41 Hannah Hemphill said they have received increased funding from the Town of Chapel Hill. 42 She said they have been able to increase some funding based on that. She said they have had 43 increased programmatic expenses with things like soccer tournaments and music festivals. She 44 said they have participated in other events throughout the year. She said some of the 45 programmatic increase is because of the drawdown of fund balance that Kirk was talking about. 46 Kirk Vaughn said they accumulated a fund balance and that spending that shows an 47 increase. 48 Chair Bedford said there is a slide that shows they are still accumulating. 49 Laurie Paolicelli said the Town of Chapel Hill's partnership gives the Bureau $200,000 per 50 year and then 50% of anything over a million dollars. She said that went immediately to the 42 1 marketing budget. She said it doesn't look like an obvious tourist destination. She praised their 2 staff and partnerships. 3 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if Laurie Paolicelli is concerned about the economic 4 outlook. 5 Laurie Paolicelli said that they are unsure of how they will be affected. She said that many 6 federally funded programs are not allowing staff to travel. 7 Commissioner Carter referred to slide #13. She asked how fund balance is reflected in 8 the revenue chart. 9 Kirk Vaughn said the difference between the expenditures and the revenue is the use of 10 fund balance in FY25. 11 Commissioner McKee referred to slide #5. He said he thinks that the increase from 2023 12 to 2025 seems to be a trend that will continue. He said that other areas are also experiencing this. 13 He said they will have to work harder to get the programs and events to Orange County. 14 Laurie Paolicelli said that one advertisement in Our State magazine is $25,000. She said 15 they must use key words and digital strategies. She said that$100,000 is their advertising budget. 16 Chair Bedford said she also served a term on the Visitors Bureau and appreciates the 17 work that they do. She said that they can project the revenue that they will likely get with increased 18 numbers of events. She said she had concerns about continuing to market in the same ways 19 each year. She said that they've heard the need for performing arts space and that there is no 20 space in Orange County. She said that the Eno Arts Mill need additional staff. She said that park 21 space is used by many people from other places. She said that she agreed that the occupancy 22 tax should be used to support other county expenses that support these facilities and events. She 23 said that could free up dollars for the greatest of needs. She said that the work that is done to 24 broaden and diversify is important. She said the pre-COVID weekday space use is not going to 25 return. She said it is important to have a budget and she supports preserving what they have 26 along with staying flexible. 27 Commissioner Fowler said she agreed with the need for the Visitors Bureau to have a 28 budget. She said she likes to see the numbers and the impact. She said she would like to see 29 an increase in sales tax if the county can't use the occupancy tax. 30 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she would like to see occupancy tax funds used for 31 tourism-related expenditures going more in the arts. She said she was supportive of option 2 on 32 slide #11. 33 Commissioner Carter said that she believes that the convergence of the arts with tourism 34 is a unique opportunity, and she would like to see more of that. She said that it is unlikely in a 35 tough year that the county would grow 50%. She said they should plan for a flattening out or even 36 a recession. She said there appears to be flexibility, and that she was leaning towards something 37 like an option 2. 38 Commissioner McKee said he doesn't want to tinker around the edges of something that 39 works, and that's how he sees option 2. He said he supports more funding for the arts, but he 40 does not support tinkering around the edges. He said he doesn't want to see an impact on local 41 businesses and if they continue what is successful, he thinks it is on the verge of turning Orange 42 County into a destination. 43 Commissioner Greene said she agrees that if they go with option #2, it should go to the 44 arts. 45 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked for clarification on slide #5 regarding the funds raised 46 by the Arts Commission. 47 Chair Bedford said that the purple shows the expenditures. 48 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said with that information, she is unclear on what problem 49 they are trying to solve. 50 Vice-Chair Hamilton said one of the things she learned about funding non-profits is that 51 expenditures are not based on the funding source because the funding can change. She said that 43 1 Chair Bedford mentioned the diminishing marginal returns. She said that if you are only spending 2 based on revenue flow, it is not efficient fiscal management. She said it doesn't make sense to 3 her for all of occupancy tax funds to go to one department. She said she thought it should have a 4 budget. 5 Chair Bedford said the Visitors Bureau does have a budget. 6 Vice-Chair Hamilton said that it should be a budget that is based on need. She said many 7 say it is arts. She said that to have a successful tourist experience, they have to have a county 8 were everyone is functioning well because the residents are paying for it. She said she wants 9 occupancy tax to help support infrastructure, and that money should go to the best use. She said 10 in economic downturns, the county stepped in to help. She said she thinks there should be a 11 budget and anything above the budget could be spent on something else. She said it is hard to 12 tease out what the tourism budget brings to the occupancy tax because there are so many factors. 13 She said they need to look at the best use of every dollar. 14 Chair Bedford said the problem with the budget this year is that they had people get 15 evicted because they can't pay rent. She said if they can redirect some of the occupancy tax 16 dollars, then dollars are freed up to help people with housing or to support housing. She said it 17 frees up the general fund and allows more flexibility with the dollars. 18 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if it is complicating for them to have a separate fund. 19 Chair Bedford said the budget directors can manage that and it is not a worry. 20 Commissioner McKee said it is a unique area and there are unknowns that they can't plan 21 for. He said the amount of money that comes in, impacts mom and pop stores. He said the fund 22 balance does not need to continue to grow over 15% and that is what the county has. He said he 23 only supports option 1. He said that if they get soccer events, they need the flexibility to adapt 24 and move forward. 25 Commissioner Carter said she is confused why a county department has a fund balance 26 policy in addition to the county's fund balance policy. She said she understands this has been 27 the policy for a longtime, so any changes need to be carefully reviewed. She said she would like 28 to see a plan to come back in the future to discuss economic conditions because it is tough to 29 plan for economic uncertainties. She said she would like to invest in the arts and using the 30 Visitor's Bureau with that as they move forward. She said that she wants to visit the conversation 31 of fund balance policy and she questions why a department has a fund balance since the county 32 has one. 33 Commissioner Greene said she thinks of this like an enterprise fund, and they are funded 34 by the occupancy tax. She said that it is a special revenue tax and the reason that the department 35 has a fund balance policy. She said she does not feel like she knows how to micromanage the 36 expenditures. She said she can support some reduction of the fund balance, but she is only willing 37 out of compromise and ultimately, the Visitors Bureau knows what they are doing with their money. 38 Chair Bedford said she doesn't think they should have a fund balance if they go with option 39 2. She said 15% is too high, and she thinks it should be how much it costs to make payroll and 40 other fixed expenses for a certain number of months like they do with the schools. She said she 41 would agree to bring it down or set a dollar amount. 42 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she is not in favor of a department having a fund balance since 43 the county will step in if need be. 44 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said the county's budget is complicated. She said she thinks 45 they have done a tremendous job accumulating the funds, but it is hard for her to understand the 46 spending of savings. She said she doesn't know how much of a backstop they can be to all 47 departments, and she is not sure she is in favor of spending it down. 48 Commissioner Fowler said they are the backstop for all departments. She said they 49 function like an enterprise fund. She said that it's not for salaried positions, but for marketing. She 50 said maybe they need $500,000 for those purposes. She said the return on investment is what 51 she is focused on. She said they have growth in occupancy but the growth in sales tax was not 44 1 great. She said that the proof is in the pudding, and she is not sure that it has been proven that 2 the occupancy tax increases the income tax. 3 Travis Myren said he did not hear majority support to use occupancy tax funds to offset 4 general fund expenses but there is majority support for spending some on the arts, and in terms 5 of fund balance, there is an appetite for reduction, but not elimination. 6 7 c. Master Aging Plan Balance Discussion 8 The Board discussed the outstanding balance of the Master Aging Plan project and how the 9 Master Aging Plan should be budgeted in future fiscal years. 10 11 BACKGROUND: The County's Department on Aging has had a long-standing relationship with 12 Carol Woods.As Carol Woods is a continuing care retirement community, it does not pay property 13 taxes to the County. Carol Woods has instead provided a $175,000 annual charitable gift to the 14 Department on Aging, which the County reserves for use for the Master Aging Plan (MAP). Over 15 the last several fiscal years, the Department has accumulated a large reserve of the donated 16 funds, detailed in the table below. The primary causes leading to this accumulation are, first, that 17 the Department had access to one-time Federal grants that needed to be spent down, and second 18 that there has been a higher rate of vacancies in the temporary staff that were funded out of the 19 MAP program. For example, of the seven (7) identified temporary staff positions that are intended 20 to be funded out of the MAP program, only two (2) or three (3) of those positions were filled at 21 any given time over the last three (3) years. 22 MAP Balance FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 Starting Balance $ 99,880 $ 128,263 $ 163,864 $ 251,570 $ 377,911 $ 469,734 $ 579,105 Expenditures $ 146,617 $ 139,399 $ 87,294 $ 78,659 $ 100,965 $ 90,138 $ 130,659 New Revenue $ 175,000 $ 175,000 $ 175,000 $ 205,000 $ 192,787 $ 199,509 $ 216,459 Annual Surplus/(Deficit) F 28,383 $ 35,601 $ 87,706 $ 126,341 $ 91,822 $ 109,371 $ 85,799 23 Ending Balance $ 128,263 $ 163,864 $ 251,570 $ 377,911 $ 469,734 $ 579,105 $ 664,904 24 25 In response to this balance, the FY 2024-25 Manager's Recommended Budget redirected 26 $75,000 of the new Master Aging Plan funds to offset the Aging Department's expenses in the 27 General Fund. There was also a proposed Commissioner amendment to the Budget to redirect 28 the remaining $100,000 to offset General Fund expenses. That amendment failed by a vote of 3- 29 4, with the majority of the Board preferring to revisit the issue in greater detail prior to the Board's 30 FY 2025-26 Budget process. 31 32 For this discussion, County staff will present the recent budget history of the Master Aging Plan, 33 the programs that the MAP program supports (Attachment 1), and three broad categories of 34 scenarios of how the funds could be spent down. The scenarios are: 35 1. Expand Aging programming within the MAP project to spend down the balance over 2-3 36 fiscal years. 37 2. Utilize the balance to offset the cost of the Department on Aging in the General Fund for 38 multiple fiscal years. 39 3. Identify other County initiatives consistent with the donation that could utilize additional 40 one-time funding. 41 42 As the Board discusses the three (3) options, it should keep two (2) considerations in mind. First, 43 utilizing one-time revenues for ongoing expenses will create a budget gap in future years. Second, 44 while the County has broad latitude to utilize existing Carol Woods donations, Carol Woods could 45 withhold future donations. 46 45 1 As the Board discusses the use of the balance, staff will also seek Board input on how to budget 2 future annual Carol Woods contributions. Currently, Carol Woods provides its donation each 3 December, and the funds are provided directly to the Department on Aging, to be used as 4 supplemental funding for programs communicated by the department to Carol Woods. The 5 breakdown of MAP supported programs has not been included in the Manager's Recommended 6 Budget. The MAP program utilizes its own steering committee and domain teams to identify 7 priorities and assign funding. 8 9 Kirk Vaughn made the following presentation: 10 11 Slide #1 GRANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA Master Aging Plan Discussion March 1$, 2425 BOCC Business Meeting 12 13 14 Slide #2 MASTER AGING PLAN HISTORY • Orange County has received charitable gift of $175,000 from Carol Woods for many years. • County reserves funds for funding Master Aging Plan (MAP) identified projects in a multi-year project ordinance. — MAP project also includes cost-share donations for R Place and Handy Helpers programs • MAP began in 2000, and we are currently in year 3 of the 2022-27 MAP. • Due to underspending, the MAP project has accrued a significant balance, $665k at end of FY 24. Estimated $595k balance by end aLEY-25 OKANGE COUNT Y NMI 11 CAROLINA 15 16 Kirk Vaughn said that the department received additional ARPA dollars, so now the fund 17 balance is estimated at $650,000 at the end of FY25. 46 1 Slide #3 MASTER AGING PLAN HISTORY • Master Aging Plan funding decisions occur outside of the BoCC annual budget process. • MAP sets priorities through formal strategic planning based on AARP Age-Friendly Communities framework • Goals and objectives set in 8 Domains of Livability, as determined by MAP leadership team and Aging Advisory Board. • Stakeholders from county, town leadership, healthcare, non-profits and advocacy organizations included in steering committee. �1 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #4 HISTORY OF MAP BALANCE • MAP project has typically had some unspent carryforward funding but has grown significantly over last 5 years. MAP Balance FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 202D FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025 Estimate Starting Balance $ 99,880 $ 128,263 $ 163,864 $ 251,570 $ 377,911$ 469,734 $ 579,105 $ 664,904 xpenditures $ 146,617 $ 139,399 $ 87,294 $ 78,659 $ 100,965$ 90,138 $ 130,659 5 194,886 ew Revenue $ 175,000 $ 175,000 $ 175,000 $ 205,000 $ 192,787$ 199,509 $ 216,459 $ 124,375 nnual urplus/(Deficit) 87,706 $ 126,341 nding Balance $ 128,263 $ 163,864 $ 251,570 I$ 377,911 $ 469,734$ 579,105 $ 664,904 $ 594,393 • Causes: - Disruptions from Covid - One-time Federal grants that needed to be prioritized - Turnover in temps charged to project ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 5 47 1 Slide #5 MAP PROGRAMMING • Current MAP Projects — Simplified from Abstract Materials — Handy Helpers — safety and accessibility projects for homes. MAP funds temp and materials. — Senior Employment Program — Provides employment assistance to seniors. MAP funds temp. — Bilingual Social Worker— Provides casework assistance to Mandarin population. MAP funds temp. — Outreach Coordinator— connects with Karen, Burmese, refugee, and faith communities. MAP funds temp. — Durable Medical Equipment Loan program — provides medical equipment to client homes. MAP funds temp ORANGE COUNTY NORTH.CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #6 MAP PROGRAMMING (CONT.) • Current MAP Projects — Simplified from Abstract Materials — R Place —Volunteer community caregiver respite program. MAP funds temp and supplies. — Communication Assistant — Provides communication support for all Dept Aging functions. MAP funds temp. — Fit Lot Construction — built outdoor fitness equipment at Seymour Center. $71k of one-time costs to MAP — Various: Invoicing Coordinator, PhD intern, SHARP awards, Project EngAGE, marketing ORANGE COUNTY N(lWTH CAROLINA 5 6 7 8 48 1 Slide #7 MAP PROGRAMMING • Of the temps identified in prior slides, only 2-3 roles have been filled at any given time in the last few years. — Projects would either be on held or been progressed by permanent staff or partner agencies during temp vacancies • County does not fund permanent staff in the MAP project. • FY 2025 Budget - $75,000 flat allocation of new Carol Woods Donation to support Aging dept in General Fund, rather than MAP project. ORANGE COUNTY NORTH.CAROLINA 2 3 Kirk Vaughn said that this $75,000 is being used for permanent staff to support the MAP 4 project. 5 6 Slide #8 PERFORMANCE OF MAP Master Aging Plan reports on 188 indicators, available on OC website. Dept identified 68% of indicators have been either completed or have serious progress at the end of Year 2. Related Strategic Plan Priorities- GOAL 2: HEALTHY COMMUNITY • OBJECTIVE 2. Expand access to quality, affordable healthcare services. (e.g., Crisis Diversion facility, Medicaid expansion, crisis response, healthy living campaign). • OBJECTIVE 7. Invest in services and programs that improve the health and quality of life of the community (e.g., recreation and public open spaces,arts,etc.) GOAL 3: HOUSING FOR ALL • OBJECTIVE 7. Expand resources and invest in housing designed for our aging and disabled residents. • OBJECTIVE 8. Preserve existing housing stock from disrepair arlt avoid displacement. ORAN O N I Y XOR I I I t \11471 PA 7 8 Kirk Vaughn said this is only for projects for the MAP project and not every project on 9 aging. 10 49 1 Slide #9 OPTIONS FOR BOARD DISCUSSION • Option 1 : Allow Aging dept to utilize balance on MAP and expand programming • Option 2: Utilize balance to offset county cost of Aging dept • Option 3: Identify other county programs that are consistent with the donation that could utilize one-time funding • Or combinations of above: Balance could be split between three options ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #10 OPTIONS FOR BOARD DISCUSSION Option 1 : Allow Aging Dept to utilize balance on MAP and expand programming • Aging has suggested additional programs that could spend down the funding — FIT Lot Instructor- $27k per year — Consultant for School Agism Awareness-$25k per year — MAP Evaluation and Development-$30k per year — Project EngAGE Retreats,Video Production, Encore Music Program,Wellness Programming—$5-10k each per year • Rate of spend down Ihighly dependent on temp vacancies on existing and new programming • If all positions were filled, MAP program would be spent down by FV 28 or FY 29. Programs then would have to be stepped or funded by county. ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 5 6 7 50 1 Slide #11 OPTIONS FOR. BOARD DISCUSSION Option 2: Utilize balance to offset county cost of Aging Dept • Funds would be used to offset county Aging costs. — For example: $190k subsidy to GF for 3 years. • Dept would only be able to use new donations to fund MAP projects. • County would be using one-time revenues to support ongoing expenses, creating future budget gap when balance is depleted. • Could jeopardize future Carol Woods donations. ORANGE COUNTY NORTH.CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #12 OPTIONS FOR. BOARD DISCUSSION Option 3: Identify other county programs that are consistent with the donation that could utilize one- time funding • County Staff investigated other department programs to look for collaboration opportunities — Aligns with Strategic Plan — Aligns with MAP efforts,Caro]woods charitable gift and targets aging demographic — Dept has ability to utilize one-time funds without creating ongoing operational obligations • Housing Urgent Repair Program Can utilize funds based on existing relationships with contractors Community advocacy group identified $2 million backlog of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing repair work. Can adjust existing program to restrict funds for aging residents and include aging safety investments O ANGE COUNTY N(lWTH CAROLINA 5 6 7 51 1 Slide #13 BUDGETING NEW DONA'T'IONS • Currently donation is made in December each year, but amount is already anticipated in budget. • Specific programs or priorities for MAP project are not specified in budget process. • FY 25 Budget did specify how much of the Carol Woods donation should support the Aging dept in General Fund and how much could be used for MAP project. • Going forward, what role should BoCC have in directing how future donations are budgeted? — Continue to specify split funding of donation between GF and MAP project — Or expand to specify individual project funding in MAP project ORANGE COUNTY NORTH.CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #14 DISCUSSION/QUESTIONS • Questions for staff? • No formal vote by Board required • Staff will incorporate Board direction into FY 2025-26 Manager's Recommended Operating Budget, Presented May 61" or in upcoming Budget Amendment ORANGE COUNTY N(lWTH CAROLINA 5 6 Commissioner Fowler asked if Carol Woods require that their donation be used for MAP. 7 Chair Bedford said yes. 8 Commissioner Fowler said since that is a finite amount she would recommend that as the 9 number one way to spend it. 10 52 1 PUBLIC COMMENTS: 2 Ryan Lavalley said he is one of the coordinators of the Orange County HOME Coalition. 3 He thanked the Board for looking for funding for home repairs, but asked the Board to not use 4 MAP funds for that gap. He said since 2017 they have coordinated the layered home repair 5 network and now, they know the extent of home repairs needed. He said it is more acute in the 6 upcoming fiscal year due to losses from other revenue streams. He said that the MAP funds are 7 not an effective place to find the additional funds. He said that the Home Preservation Coalition 8 revealed the need for home repairs in the county and this would stifle the program that shined the 9 light on the need. He said Aging staff has effectively steered the budget strategically and 10 collaboratively. He said there are 2.5 years left in this plan. He said when they build age friendly 11 communities, they built friendly communities. 12 Ann Bradford said she is the chair of the Orange County Advisory Board on Aging, and 13 they are responsible for completing the goals in the MAP. She said for the 2017- 2022 MAP, a 14 formal evaluation was completed and revealed 90% of projects were completed. She said even 15 during the pandemic, the department was able to achieve great success. She said some of the 16 balance is from one-time federal grants. She said there are times that funds have not been used 17 by other providers and offered to Orange County. She said a capital project will receive the ARPA 18 $62,000 and will not use existing ARPA funds. She said they anticipate depleting the fund balance 19 at 2027-2028. She said they need the funds to remain in the department so they can complete 20 the MAP goals as developed. She said that as the Carol Woods representative to the community, 21 the funds were specifically given to the department to fund the MAP. 22 23 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she is struggling in differentiating between the MasterAging Plan 24 and Master Aging Projects. 25 Janice Tyler, Director of the Department on Aging, said that the Master Aging Plan is not 26 the strategic plan for the Orange County Department on Aging. She said the Master Aging Plan 27 is the plan for the community. She said it was a massive effort and it was not done in a silo. 28 Vice-Chair Hamilton said that helps, but it also brings up that its overall for the community. 29 She said that people don't have food, and if the basics aren't done, she struggles with innovating 30 when there are still basic needs to be met. She said she is interested in the flexibility of using 31 funds when we have them because of what they are dealing with. She said everything counts. 32 Janice Tyler said the community set the priorities. She said there were seven workgroups, 33 and 160-175 people in the process. She said they had to prioritize the work. 34 Vice-Chair Hamilton said conditions change, and maybe that's the tension with this MAP. 35 Commissioner Fowler said she struggles with the idea of not using funds for housing 36 because it was uncovered by the MAP. She said it would be reckless to not have basic needs 37 before going into other items. She said that putting some money towards housing would be a 38 reasonable use. 39 Chair Bedford said it sounded like Commissioner Fowler was interested in a combination 40 of options 1 and 3. 41 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she her understanding of the need for senior housing 42 and housing repairs. She asked if there was a way to do both and the requests in option 1. 43 Chair Bedford asked Janice Tyler asked if the Handy Helper projects are different from the 44 urgent projects. 45 Janice Tyler said Handy Helpers are more about accessibility with items like ramps and 46 grab bars. 47 Ryan Lavalley said the issue is between the Urgent Repair programs spend about 48 $15,000-$20,000 and those are the ones that are most needed. He said they need large repairs, 49 and the need is more than what the Handy Helper program can provide. He said one example is 50 a mobile home fund. He said it takes a lot of money to do the comprehensive repair that is needed 51 in the county. 53 1 Chair Bedford said she wanted the Department on Aging to keep the money, and to spend 2 it as best they can. She said that if Carol Woods keeps sending the funds, it might need to be 3 spent on something other than positions. 4 Commissioner Greene said this was a charitable gift that was directed for supporting the 5 MAP. She said for that reason, she wanted to stick with how it was given. She said it's not broken, 6 and they don't need to fix it. 7 Commissioner Carter said that there is a donor supporting important work in the county, 8 and they should try to fulfill the objectives of the donor. She asked if all the fund balance is due 9 to underspending of the donor contributions. 10 Janice Tyler said there are donations of other monies as well. 11 Kirk Vaughn said the balance is from Carol Woods because the other donations have 12 equal expenditures. 13 Commissioner Carter said she agreed with Commissioner Greene. 14 Commissioner McKee said that it was a gift, and he feels the same about this item as the 15 previous. He said that Carol Woods provides this donation and directly to be used as 16 supplemental programs communicated by the department to Carol Woods. He said that there is 17 communication between the department and Carol Woods on what the donation is used for. He 18 said the only option he sees is option 1. 19 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she did not realize that all the money was Carol Woods 20 money. She said she supported option 1. 21 Chair Bedford said it seems to be clear now and she asked the department to spend down 22 the funds. 23 Kirk Vaughn asked the Board if they would like to discuss during the budget process on 24 how the Carol Woods funds are going to spent. 25 Chair Bedford said it's nice for the Board to know. 26 Commissioner Carter said she would like to be consistent across departments. 27 Chair Bedford said other departments don't receive large gifts. 28 Janice Tyler invited the Board to the steering committee meetings. She said they happen 29 once or twice per year and the next is on May 16t" 30 Chair Bedford suggested that it be an information item. 31 Commissioner Fowler said she didn't understand the question because they can't specify 32 how donations are used. 33 Chair Bedford said that now that option 1 is the choice, the donation discussion does not 34 come into play. 35 Commissioner Carter said she would want to have a fund balance policy discussion. 36 Chair Bedford said no one else has a fund balance except the Visitors Bureau. 37 38 8. Consent Agenda 39 40 • Removal of Any Items from Consent Agenda 41 • Approval of Remaining Consent Agenda 42 • Discussion and Approval of the Items Removed from the Consent Agenda 43 44 A motion was made by Commissioner Fowler, seconded by Commissioner Greene, to 45 approve the consent agenda. 46 47 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 48 49 54 1 a. Minutes 2 The Board approved the draft minutes for the February 4, 2025, February 11, 2025, and February 3 17, 2025 BOCC Meetings as submitted by the Clerk to the Board. 4 b. Recommendations for Rate Renewal of Employee Health and Dental Insurance and 5 Continued Participation in the North Carolina Health Insurance Pool 6 The Board approved the Manager's recommendations of employee health and dental insurance 7 premium equivalent rates for plan year, July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, and approved the 8 County's continued participation in the North Carolina Health Insurance Pool. 9 c. Eno Arts Mill Suite 27 Lease Amendment 10 The Board approved Amendment Three to the Eno Arts Mill Suite 27 Lease Agreement. 11 d. Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget Amendment#7 12 The Board approved budget, grant, and capital project ordinance amendments for Fiscal Year 13 2024-25. 14 e. Orange Grove Road Sidewalk Professional Engineering Services Contract and 15 Approval of Budget Amendment#7-A 16 The Board approved an updated Professional Engineering Services contract for the Orange 17 Grove Road Sidewalk project and approved Budget Amendment#7-A. 18 f. Dedication of Six (6) Bus Shelters to the Town of Hillsborough 19 The Board approved the dedication of six (6) bus shelters to the Town of Hillsborough. 20 g. Amendment of the Boundary Line Between the University Lake Protected Watershed 21 and the Jordan Lake Unprotected Watershed on PIN 9851-43-7477 (Maslow Property, 22 Bingham Township, Orange County, NC) 23 The Board amended the University Lake Protected and Jordan Lake Unprotected Watershed 24 boundary line on the unaddressed property with Orange County Parcel Identification Number 25 (PIN) 9851-43-7477, Bingham Township, to reflect a ridgeline that was professionally surveyed 26 on the property in January 2025. 27 h. Acceptance of Art Hanging System Donation 28 The Board accepted the donation of an art hanging system from the Friends of the Southern 29 Branch Library. 30 i. Construction Contract Award for Piedmont Food Processing Center Heating, 31 Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Replacement 32 The Board: 33 1) Approved the County entering into a construction contract with Brady Trane Services, Inc. 34 for the replacement of the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units at the 35 Piedmont Food Processing Center; and 36 2) Authorized the County Manager to execute the Agreement, subject to final review by the 37 County Attorney, and any subsequent amendments for contingent and unforeseen 38 requirements up to the approved budget on behalf of the Board. 39 j. Appointments to the Orange County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) 40 The Board approved appointments to the Orange County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council 41 (JCPC). 42 k. Boards and Commissions—Appointments 43 The Board approved the Boards and Commissions appointments as reviewed and discussed 44 during the March 11, 2025 Work Session. 45 I. Approval of Letter to the County's US Congressional Delegation 46 The Board approved a letter to the County's US Congressional Delegation regarding federal 47 funding and the impact on local services. 48 49 55 1 9. County Manager's Report 2 Travis Myren reminded the Board about the joint meeting with the Town of Carrboro on 3 March 27. 4 Chair Bedford said she would not be present. 5 6 10. County Attorney's Report 7 John Roberts had no report. 8 9 11. Appointments 10 None. 11 12 12. Information Items 13 • Memorandum — 2024 Annual Report of the Community Child Protection Team (CCPT) 14 • February 2025 Child Care Subsidy Monthly Report 15 16 13. Closed Session 17 None. 18 19 Adjournment 20 21 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Hamilton, seconded by Chair Bedford, to adjourn the 22 meeting at 11:00 p.m. 23 24 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 25 26 27 Jamezetta Bedford, Chair 28 29 Recorded by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board 30 31 Submitted for approval by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board Attachment 3 1 DRAFT MINUTES 2 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 3 CARRBORO TOWN COUNCIL 4 JOINT MEETING 5 March 27, 2025 6 7:00 p.m. 7 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a joint meeting with the Carrboro Town 9 Council on Thursday, March 27, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in 10 Chapel Hill, NC. 11 12 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Vice-Chair Hamilton and Commissioners Marilyn 13 Carter, Amy Fowler, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, and Phyllis Portie-Ascott 14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Chair Jamezetta Bedford 15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT. John Roberts 16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT. County Manager Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager Caitlin 17 Fenhagen, and Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified 18 appropriately below) 19 CARRBORO TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Barbara Foushee, Mayor Pro Tem 20 Danny Nowell, and Council Members Catherine Fray, Randee Haven-O-Donnell, and Jason 21 Merrill 22 CARRBORO TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Cristobal Palmer and Eliazar Arturo 23 Posada-Orozco Jr. 24 CARRBORO STAFF PRESENT. Town Manager Patrice Toney (All other staff members will be 25 identified appropriately below) 26 27 Vice-Chair Hamilton called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. She announced that Chair 28 Bedford will not be present at the meeting, and Commissioner McKee will be arriving late. She 29 invited Mayor Foushee to make comments. 30 Mayor Foushee announced that Council Members Palmer will not be present, and Mayor 31 Pro Tem Nowell is checking with Council Member Posada. 32 Vice-Chair Hamilton and Mayor Foushee welcomed everyone to the meeting. 33 The Carrboro Town Council Members, Orange County Board of Commissioners, and staff 34 introduced themselves. 35 36 1. Initial Thoughts on Drakeford Library Complex Activities 37 38 Jody Smith, Assistant Library Director, began the following presentation: 39 40 Slide #1 Initial Thoughts on Drakeford Library Complex Activities SHARRON i, _,IV -ASSISTANT DIRECTOR,OSS JODY SMITE! -ASSISTANT DIRECTOR,LIBRARY 41 2 1 Slide #2 Southern Branch Library 2 3 4 Slide #3 Timeline Monday,January 13:Move-in day. Monday,February 3:Soft opening with reduced operational hours(Monday-Friday). Saturday,February 22:opened full operational hours with weekends. Friday,March 21:Orakeford Library Complex grand opening.. Stats compiled on Mondoy,Morch 24(seven weeks of doto). 5 6 7 3 1 Slide #4 Door Count Southern Branch February 2025 9,879 7,326 17,205 March 2025(TD) 9,307 10,464 19,771 Total 19,186 17,790 36,976 Hiehl iehts Daily Averages(February-March) Main:392(49 operational days) • Southern:414(43 operational days) Drakeford Library Complex Grand Opening:791 2 3 4 Slide #5 New Library Cara Registrations Southern Branch . . February 2025 250 810 1060 March 2025(TD) 170 969 1139 Total 420 1779 2199 Highlights Daily Averages(February-March) • Main:9 new cards per day Southern:41 new cards per day In all of 2024,700 new cards were issued at the Carrboro Cybrary. The library courier now runs Monday-Friday. 5 6 Jody Smith shared that the number of new card registrations surprised even Library staff. 7 8 4 1 Slide #6 Study Room Usage Number of Reservations Southern Branch February 2425 234 107 341 March 2025(TD) 187 160 347 Total 421 267 688 Number of Users Main Ubrary Southern Branch February 2425 392 176 568 March 2025(TD) 275 278 553 Total 667 454 1121 2 3 4 Slide #7 Programming Throughout February and early March,staff surveyed the public to learn about ideal days,times,and subjects.Survey highlights: Top subject areas were"Build Community"and"Get Creative." Arts&Crafts was the most popular program type. Examples of specific requests:Nature/birdwatching;foreign language discussion groups,film screenings and discussions. First family storytime on March 15(attendance: 18). First baby storytime on March 18(attendance: 14). First youth storytime on March 20(attendance: 42). Adult programming begins in April. Town of Carrboro Recreation, Parks,&Cultural Resources Department has expressed interest in supporting and partnering with us on storytimes and other programs.. 5 6 7 Commissioner McKee arrived of 7:09 pm. 8 9 5 1 Slide #8 2 Partnerships Examples of active outside partnerships: Girl Scout Junior Troop 2375(Chapel Hill) t installed a community food pantry in early - ` March. The Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition(OCCRC)soil exhibit will move from the .a$' Main Library to the Southern Branch in late April/early May. 1 We are excited to work more closely with fellow Drakeford tenants:OC Skills Development/NC Works Career Center,Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department,and Durham Tech. 3 4 5 Slide #9 Public Feedback The public has been incredibly supportive and patient as we've troubleshot early glitches. "°""" 5.0 Lots of comments from residents about how o.rq.0 tyS—th U—wh appreciative they are to have a library within """ "°`a" walking distance. All public feedback submitted via email or paper form receives a direct reply. Positive early reviews. ONE OWN—', IN 6 7 8 6 1 Slide #10 Skills Development/NC Works Career Center 2 3 4 Sharon Hinton, Assistant DSS Director, continued the presentation: 5 6 Slide #11 Employment & Training Services Adult/Dislocated Worker NEXTGen Youth Employment Mare-Than-A-lob Employment and Training Business/Employer Services Hiring Events/lob Fairs Job Search Resume Assistance Tutoring 7 8 Sharron Hinton said the Skills Development/NC Works Career Center has a variety of 9 employment and training services available to the public, and staff is proud to have a continuum 10 of services that meet community needs. 11 Sharron Hinton said that the Adult/Dislocated Worker and NEXTGen Youth Employment 12 programs are funded by the Department of Commerce through the division of workforce solutions. 13 She shared that the More-Than-A-Job Employment and Training program specializes in assisting 14 individuals who are receiving FNS benefits. It was previously known as the Food and Nutrition 15 Services Employment and Training program. She said the Center provides assistance to 16 employers and local businesses with respect to recruitment and training, hiring events, and job 1 fairs, and has a resource room available on-site where individuals can come in to do their own 2 job search, receive resume assistance, and even receive some tutoring support. 3 4 5 Slide #12 Partner Engagement/Re-Engagement Durham Technical Community College Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools Alamance Community College National Caucus and Center on Black Aging(NCBA) UNC Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Orange County Literacy Council Hillsborough-Orange County Chamber of Commerce Triangle Disability Awareness Council The Compass Center Orange County Veterans Services Josh's Hope Vocational Rehabilitation Orange County Local Reentry Council NC Department of Commerce/Division of workforce Hope Renovations Solutions(DWS) Hargraves Community Center Central Piedmont Community Action Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association(RENA) Orange County Schools 6 7 Sharron Hinton said this slide highlights the Center's numerous partners throughout the 8 county. She said Durham Tech is also on-site and is a major partner in the career center. She 9 explained that they provide HRD as well as CNA and other services. She said individuals who are 10 seeking a class that's not available at Durham Tech also have access to Alamance 11 Community College. She said the relationship with UNC is through the nursing program. She 12 explained they utilize space at the Center for health assessments for participants and other 13 customers. Finally, she highlighted the partnership with the National Caucus and Center on Black 14 Aging, which is a program that provides support to individuals who are 55 and older. 15 16 8 1 Slide #13 Other Available DSS Services Public Assistance Food& Nutrition Services Medicaid Child Care Services DSS Youth Services •LINKS •Second Family Foundation Financial Counseling 2 3 Sharron Hinton said there is also touchdown space available for other DSS services like 4 Food and Nutrition Services, Medicaid or childcare services. She said they also offer other DSS 5 youth services including LINKS and Second Family Foundation, which are both programs that 6 provide assistance to individuals or youth who are engaged in foster care or who have aged out 7 of foster care. She said staff will also provide financial counseling to help individuals with their 8 budget. 9 10 Slide #14 Opportunities for Synergy Change County Southern Branch Library Carrboro Recreation, Parks and Cultural Resources Department 11 12 Sharron Hinton said this is the first time that the Skills Development Center is not a 13 standalone facility. She said they've already had conversations with Carrboro Recreation and 14 Parks about partnering with their teen center and our youth employment center. She said due to 15 the increased foot traffic at the Library and Recreation and Parks, there will be more people that 16 see the Center and learn about the services they offer. 17 Commissioner Fowler asked if Durham Tech and Alamance Community College have 18 classes lined up in the facility. 9 1 Sharron Hinton said Durham Tech will have a Certified Nursing Assistant class, Human 2 Resource Development classes, and a GED program there, but is unsure of the schedule at this 3 time. She explained that Alamance Community College will not be onsite, but the Center pays for 4 the tuition for classes there. 5 Commissioner Fowler said she noticed there were meeting rooms and classrooms when 6 she toured the facility. She asked if they will be available to the public and nonprofits. 7 Council Member Fray said they spoke to a member of Carrboro Parks and Recreation 8 staff, and they indicated those spaces will be available for the public to reserve through the 9 Carrboro Parks and Recreation website. 10 Council Member Haven-O'Donnell asked Jody Smith to add the numbers he shared during 11 his presentation to the library's website for the public to see. She thanked the Board of County 12 Commissioners and staff for following through with the new library and highlighted its importance. 13 Council Member Fray said they are glad to see that there will be non-career/work services 14 offered by DSS. They asked if individuals needing assistance with food and nutrition, or childcare 15 could be told to go to the Drakeford Center. 16 Sharron Hinton said yes, there will be staff there on a rotation to provide those services to 17 residents. 18 Council Member Fray said residents and visitors are delighted to have the Drakeford 19 Center. They said the only critical feedback they have heard is related to coming in and out of the 20 library once in the parking deck, so some additional signage would be beneficial. 21 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if financial counseling is available to all residents. 22 Sharron Hinton said it has typically been utilized by participants in DSS programs, but it 23 would not be an issue for other individuals to make an appointment to receive those services as 24 well. 25 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if DSS has a Certified HUD Financial Counselor on 26 staff. 27 Sharron Hinton said the Financial Counselor is not HUD-Certified. 28 Commissioner McKee asked if the Terrace is also available for the public to reserve. 29 Carrboro Town Manager Patrice Toney said yes. 30 Mayor Foushee expressed Kudos to both boards and staff for getting the Drakeford 31 Complex done. She highlighted the importance of libraries and their community benefits. She 32 relayed a concern about building safety that a resident brought up to her. 33 Carrboro Town Manager Patrice Toney said internal staff is working together to come up 34 with a security plan. 35 Council Member Fray asked about the plan to replace temporary fencing around the 36 bioswale feature in the front of the building. 37 Alan Dorman, Orange County Asset Management Services Director, indicated that 38 permanent fencing was approved today to go into that area. 39 Commissioner Carter echoed comments from Council Member Fray at the Grand Opening 40 and acknowledged the work of former board members and others that developed and followed 41 through on this project. 42 Council Member Haven-O'Donnell mentioned another concern with the parking deck. She 43 said there is a sharp turn that can be difficult to navigate and asked staff to address that area to 44 avoid a potential accident. 45 Alan Dorman, Orange County Asset Management Services Director, said his staff will look 46 into that along with additional signage. 47 48 10 1 2. County Budget Update — Federal Impacts & Orange County Partnership to End 2 Homelessness 3 4 Travis Myren made the following presentation: 5 6 Slide #1 GRANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA Orange County Federal Funding Overview March 27, 2025 Joint Meeting with Town of Carrboro 8 9 Slide #2 Federal Funding County receives over$20 million in ongoing federal support Over$235 million in federal benefits are also provided directly to residents and childcare centers that benefit the local economy Department Aging $533,005 Child Support Services $1,480.632 DEAPR $28,651 Emergency Services $3,283 Health $1,014,617 Housing $8,027,923 Social Services $9,334,625 Transportation $212,736 TOTAL $20,634,872 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 10 11 1 Travis Myren shared that county staff is on high alert regarding federal funding and the 2 cuts being made to federal agencies that will impact the county's ability to work with federal 3 partners and provide services to residents. He explained that some of the federal funding goes 4 directly to residents through the county departments, and some includes administrative funding 5 that pays for county staff positions. 6 7 Slide #3 Federal Funding - Aging Federal Grantor/Program Title Program Description Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Mobility Grant provides rides for community members and includes a volunteer driver Disabildies program.Granf supports staff position as well. Home and Community Care Block Grant-Access Grant provides in-home services,and other support services to remain independent. S201.280 In Home Support Services Grant also supports county positions- Special Programs for the Aging-Ttte III Part C- Congregate meals provided by caterer five days a week.Grant also supports county $142,158 Nutrition positions. (_)E�ANGE COUNTY :,,(.)R-FH CAR[-.)LINA 8 9 10 Slide #4 Federal Funding — Child Support Expenditures Child Support Enforcement Funds represent a reimbursement of administrative costs. $i,460.632 ORANGE COUNTY N(-)WrU-f C:ARC)LINA 11 12 1 Slide #5 Federal Funding - Housing DescriptionFederal GrantortProgram Title Program Provides funding for street outreach,emergency shelter, Emergency Solutions Grant Program homelessness prevention,rapid re-housing asslstanoe,and dela SBB, 8 collection. Provides formula grants to fund the building,buying,and rehabilitation HOME Investment Partnership Program of affordable housing for rent/ownership.Funds can also be used for $429,498 rental assistance to low-income people. Funds.are used to provide permanent housing,transitional housing, Continuum of Care Program supportive services,data collection,and homelessness prevention. $359,745 Grant also supports county positions that provide these services. Rent subsidies to low-income families.Most of this funding goes Housing Choice Vouchers directly to residents.Funds also supports county positions that provide $7,148,994 these services. ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 Travis Myren said the most federal funding flows through Housing and the Department of 4 Social Services. 5 6 Slide #6 Federal Funding — Social Services Federal Grantor/Program Title Program DescrIption Food and Nutrition Services(or Food Slamps)for low-income residents to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) purchase food.Funds represent just the administrative cost to the county to $Zi2I8d$77 manage[his program. Workforce innovation and O WIOAgrant provides workforce training.education and support.Grant also Opportunity Act{WIOA} supports county positions that provide these services. $160,989 Medicaid provides low-income indKiduats and families access to health Medical Assistance-Administration insurance.Grant Funds represent just the administrative cost to the county to 53,497,462 manage this program. Grant provides in-tome services,case management,family planning counseling Social Service Block Grant and guardianship.Grant also supports county positions that provide these $395,866 services. CNld Care Development Fund-Administration This grant provides county funding to manage the Child Care Subsidy Program. $276.021 This just represents the administrative costs to the county. ORANGE COUNTY NnRTI-i CAROLINA 7 8 9 13 1 Slide #7 Federal Funding — Social Services DescriptionI PF.of rai Federal GTantor/Program Title Program =.p nclittims The Temporary Assistanoe for Needy Families(fANF)program is designed to help families TANF-Work Fant Admin and Services with Children experiencing low-income achieve economic security and stability.Provides $1.005,157 employment services.child welfare and childcare.Grant also supports county positions. CPS IV-E provides services la address and identify child maltreatment issues in serious risk rJ_g CPS p y $97,36$ of foster care placement Grant also supports county positions. Provides funding for allowable pra-placement administrative actittities for eligible children IV-E Foster Cars determined to be at imminent risk of removal who,absent effective provision of preventive 1,161,535 sar,6oes,would be placed in foster Care.Grant also supports county positions. ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA Z 3 4 Slide #8 i-ederal Funding — Social Services Federal GrantorlProgram Title Program Description LIHEAP provides federally funded assistance to reduce the costs Low Income Hama Energy Administration associated with home energy bills,energy crises,weatherization,and minor energy-related home repairs.This grant represents administrative $194.301 costs of managing the program. The Integrated Care for Kids(InCK)Model is a child-centered local service delivery and state payment model that aims to reduce Integrated Care for Kilo Model expenditures and improve the quality of care for children under 21 years $108,179 of age covered by Medicaid through prevention,early identification,and treatment of behavioral and physical health neads. GRANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 5 6 7 8 9 10 14 1 Slide #9 Federal Funding — Transportation Fede ra I G rantorIP rog ram T it le Program Description Federal Expenditures Formula Grants for Rural Areas and Tubal Transit The Formula Grants for Rural Areas program pmvldes capital, Program(5311 Admin) planning,and operating assistance to States to support public $19$.035 transportation in Waal areas. 0RAN(JE COUNTY I t I CAROLINA 2 3 Travis Myren said much of the federal money that goes to transit agencies flows through 4 the states, so it doesn't show up on this report. 5 6 Slide #10 Federal Funding — Social Services County residents and childcare centers also receive federal funds/benefits directly 7Foodand nefits $2(35,454,830 trition Service Benefits $21,986,484 Crisis Intervention Program— $230,278 Assistance with Heating and Cooling costs Low Income Energy Assistance Benefits $520,792 Child Care Subsidy $6,821,392 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 7 8 Mayor Foushee asked what conversations have been had about the threat of losing this 9 federal funding. 15 1 Travis Myren said, to the extent possible, the County will provide some of the services at 2 a lower level. He said if the administrative funds are cut in Medicaid or Food and Nutrition 3 Services, there would have to be a reduction in force. 4 Council Member Haven-O'Donnell asked if there is anything the municipalities can do to 5 help with this. 6 Travis Myren said staff can put heads together to think about some partnerships that might 7 serve residents better. 8 Commissioner Fowler thanked Travis Myren for providing this information and said it would 9 be great to have on the website to keep people informed of the potential impacts. 10 Council Member Merrill asked if there is any kind of proactive communication plan for folks 11 that might be directly affected by federal cuts. 12 Travis Myren said right now, programs that may be impacted are being identified, but until 13 there is clear direction, reaching out to individuals may cause more anxiety than it eases. 14 Council Member Fray asked if there are certain points in the year that federal funds are 15 expected that would indicate whether or not a payment will be made. 16 Travis Myren said there is a funding notification that usually goes out this time of year. He 17 said some notices have been received that grant funds are being put on hold. He said that this 18 morning he received a stop work order from DHHS for two grant funded positions that may not be 19 reimbursed effective two days ago. He said there is some uncertainty and there is new information 20 every day. 21 Vice-Chair Hamilton reiterated her petition from at an earlier meeting to have a dashboard 22 on the county website with information on federal cuts and the impact on Orange County 23 residents. She said with this reality, the Board will likely have to prioritize the most vulnerable in 24 the community, and that may mean that other services that are also important may not be able to 25 be provided at the level they are now. 26 Commissioner McKee said he just came from a community meeting about the revaluation 27 and several people voiced their concerns about being able to stay in this community with their 28 property value increases. He said the most vulnerable are those on the lower end of the wealth 29 scale and the increases are going to impact them. He said he would caution playing up federal 30 cuts too much until it becomes fact in order to avoid ramping up concern even more. 31 Vice-Chair Hamilton asked Travis Myren to remind everyone of what the revenue neutral 32 rate is. 33 Travis Myren said the revenue neutral rate is the tax rate that would generate the same 34 amount of revenue as it did this year with our new tax base. He explained that when there are 35 dramatic increases in property value or assessed value, that revenue neutral rate naturally falls. 36 He said the revaluation actually distributes the tax burden among taxpayers based on the value 37 of their home, which is based on sale prices and what one could get in the market if they were to 38 put their home on the market. 39 Commissioner McKee asked what percent increase will for sure see an increase in their 40 tax payment even if the Board adopts the revenue neutral tax rate. 41 Travis Myren said staff can figure that out. 42 Commissioner Carter asked Travis Myren to explain the scope of the county setting tax 43 values vs. the municipalities. 44 Travis Myren said the county approves the county's tax rate as well as the fire district tax 45 rates, and the special district tax for CHCCS. He said each municipality sets its own tax rate based 46 on their budgets. 47 Mayor Pro Tem Nowell asked if there is any opportunity for municipalities to dedicate 48 excess funds to help mitigate some of the impacts of important cuts on residents of the county. 49 He said municipal boards would have to agree, but it is an idea. 50 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she appreciates that thought because they have to think about 51 everything in this environment. 16 1 Blake Rosser, Housing Director, made the following presentation: 2 3 Slide #1 6 1 ORANGE COUNTY 0 HOUSING DEPARTMENT OCPEH Discussion—2025 4 5 Slide #2 Agenda -Terms & Organization Data & Initiatives — 10 year Plan, Gaps Analysis, etc. Governance and MOU Budget n ORANGECOUNTY O HOUSING DEPARTMENT 6 7 Slide #3 Organization Terms & ORANGE COUNTY j► HOUSING DEPARTMENT 8 17 1 Slide #4 AMI—Area Median Income In 2024 in the DurhamlChapel Hill metro area,this is$105,900 for a family of four Low-income 80%of AMI--$84,700 for a family of four;$59,300 for a single person Very low income 50%of AMI—$52,950 for a family of four;$37,100 for a single person Extremely low income 30%of AMI—$31,750 for a family of four;$22,250 for a single person CoC—Continuum of Care HUD Definition: "A community plan to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency.It includes action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness." OCPEH The CoC for Orange County:Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness HOME Committee Collaborative partnership operated by OCPEH in which area service providers meet twice monthly to discuss clients and refer for services Transitional Housing Temporary housing with supportive services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness,with the goal of interim stability and support to successfully move to and maintain permanent housing.A client in transitional housing is still considered homeless and not in a form of permanent housing.An example is IFC's shelter,which can be from 90 days to 1 year. PSH-Permanent Supportive Combines rental assistance with voluntary supportive services to address the needs of chronically homeless Housing people.The services are designed to build independent living and tenancy skills,and connect people with community-based health care,treatment and employment services. Rapid Rehousing A program offering housing search,move-in and rental assistance along with case management, on a temporary basis(no longer than 2 years). The goal is to quickly re-house someone who recently became unsheltered and transition them to more permanent housing. Housing First A policy that advocates unconditional, permanent housing as quickly as possible to homeless people, and other supportive services afterward(House first,add supportive services later). Rapid Rehousing is an example of a Housing First program. HCV—Housing Choice The modern name for Section 8 rental assistance program serving"very low income'residents Voucher nORANGECOUNTY a► HOUSING DEPARTMENT z 3 4 18 1 Slide #5 OCPEH Program and Staff Breakdown Housing Nrcraf Helpline (3.5) Iwiller� 6�Y1i�hlia� tAYw3lt�wiMw N�[at Yamt SOHRAO] SOHRAD Street Outreach, (3.5) Harrn Reduction andj1 Deflection "60"M Housing RRH Rapid Rehousing Undowfi"WiM i ar Access(1 SOAR SSI/SSD1Outreach. A%*G1 fwrS�.rtNwipw5�1 Access and Recovery (mdxWb" p�[�¢ fAi WWW hrS.�rwtart�rrSOrfl �(2 Er.�nprQride Ihwslpw wipuSlril 5f)AR(1) SIM4w.wlr aiiwfww Cold Weather ORANGE COUNTY ;Q� HOUSING DEPARTMENT z 3 4 19 1 Slide #6 Interdepartmental Collaboration r -1.F-------q-q'I Fpr-,--1 Emergency DSS Services CWC L 41J SOHRAD / HCVIFYI Housing Helpline HOME Committee ■ Utility Assistance FYI Foster Youth to CWC Independence CWC Cold Weather Cots SOHRAD Street Outreach, Harm Reduction SOHRAD and Deflection SOAR SOAR SSIISSDI CWC Outreach, Bridge Housing Access and Recovery ORANGE COUNTY 0 HOUSING DEPARTMENT z 3 4 5 20 1 Slide #7 nORANGF COUNTY Q HOUSING DEPARTMENT 2 3 Slide #8 Most recent Gaps draft indicated partial progress •Gaps Filled: Housing Access Coordinator Homelessness Diversion Funding Street Outreach Accessible, housing-focused shelter •Partially Filled: •Rapid Rehousing •Housing Helpline •DV Shelter -Youth Housing Program •Landlord Incentives •Housing Locator n ORANGE COUNTY •Bridge Housing Q HOUSING DEPARTMENT 4 5 Slide #9 Remaining Gaps require larger, sustained investments ®Remaining Gaps: -Permanent Supportive Housing -income-based housing Furniture and Household Goods Bridge Housing -Crisis Diversion Facility -Integrated Service Center -Medical Respite Beds n ORANGE COUNTY Q HOUSING DEPARTMENT 6 21 1 Slide #10 Monthly data reports to commence for Leadership Team OCPEH Manager will begin data reports at April LT meeting, to include: - Contacts by Housing Helpline - Coordinated Entries conducted • Exits from homelessness • In shelter at IFC, IFC Cold Weather, and County Cold Weather • Unique engagements by SOHRAD - Landlords added/lostORANGECUNTY HOUSING DEPARTMENT z 3 4 Slide #11 Current Initiatives focused on emergency shelter and low-barrier housing 2nd site, or larger volume primary site for county Cold Weather Cots Satellite cold weather shelter in Hillsborough Low-Barrier Housing Work Group to identify opportunities for development/acquisition Integrated Services "Day" Center ORANGE COUNTY Q HOUSING DEPARTMENT 5 6 22 1 Slide #12 • ' Performance Numberof a r rhoused: . r homelessnessReturning to pt.decrease) Number of eo r r 4: (17%increase) decrease)Nationally: 18% Chronically Homeless: 26(8% Entering Shelter/Homelessness: + 1 (BothFirst time homeless: 274 Median days homeless.288(13%decrease) Median1 *All numbers from 2023 Point-In-Time(PIT)Count Danielle Butler RANGE COUNTY OGPEH Manager IHQUSING DEPARTMENT dabutier@orangecountync.gov 2 3 Blake Rosser said the data from this year's point-in-time count conducted in January will 4 be available soon. 5 Commissioner McKee asked Blake Rosser to speak to what is driving people entering 6 homelessness. 7 Blake Rosser said he can only speak anecdotally, but believes it is due to the end of 8 COVID-era benefits combined with a huge spike in housing prices, both rental and homeowner. 9 Commissioner McKee said if staff could identify the driving factor ahead of time, it might 10 intervention could happen before people become homeless. 11 Blake Rosser said his counterpart in Raleigh spoke about their approach which includes 12 lowering the cost of housing combined with increasing incomes. He said that requires a lot of 13 funding sources that are not accessible here. 14 15 Slide #13 ORANGE COUNTY HOUSING DEPARTMENT 16 23 1 Slide #14 rrE Amcunt Unique Clients Assisted V Annually(Approx.) Housing Helpline 2.5 - 3,700 . - Rapid Rehousing 1.5 $250,000 15 Administration 0.2 - Cold Weather Cots - $30,000 80 Bridge Housing $95,000 48 Landlord Incentives $20,000 12 Permanent Supportive Housing - $150,000 8 SSI/S5DI Outreach,Access,and Recovery 1 - 15 Rapid Rehousing 1 10 Street Outreach,Harm Reduction and 4 100 Deflection Housing Helpline 0.5 800 Housing Access Coordinator 1 50 Bridge Housing - $148,000 48 Administration 1.525 *OCPFH consists of contributionsfrom four OC municipalities broken down in the following proportions: • 39.7%-Chapel Hill • 39.5%-Orange County • 14.3%-Carrboro • 6.5%-Hillsborough 2 3 4 24 1 Slide #15 2025-26 Expansion Request CHAPEL HILL QOUNGE CARABORO HILLSBOROUGH Percentage Split 1 39.70% 1 39.50% 1 14.30% 1 650% Description Total PORTION PORTION I PORTION PORTION OCPEH E>,pa union Budget(Bold indicates request vn top of Continuotivn Budget) CaC Persorne 2,625 FIVE:1.0 Homeless Programs Manager,,.625 Homeless $197,560.71 $111,888.1D $111,324.43 $40,302.26 $18,319.21 Programs Coordinator CoC Operation $54,332.00 $21,569.80 $21,461.14 $7,769.48 $3,531.58 Cold Weather Cot Personnel,Operations,and Supplies 550,000.00 $19,850.00 $19,75D.GD $7,150.00 $3,250.00 (rollover fund) Permanent Supportive Housing(transferred from county $59,273.29 $23,531.50 $73,412.95 $8,476.08 $3,851.76 funding to offset deduction of HAC 1.0 FTE SOHRAO Persorne 4.0 FTE:1 Clinical Coordinator(GIRD),3 Peer Street Navigator $356,957.34 5141,712.06 $140,998.15 $51,044.90 $23,202.23 (OCPEH) SOHRAO Operations $35,407.00 $14,056.58 $131985.77 $5,063.20 $2,301-46 Increase to he able to assist with m costs and cower other gaps to facilitate housingnclients,such as $10,000.00 $3,970.00 $3,950.00 $1,430.06 $650.00 application fees Bridge Housing 0 FTE-2/3 of annual operational costs(OCPEH is currently Operations funding four of the six beds available.The two remaining beds $147,887.00 $58,711.14 $58,415.37 $21,147.94 $9,612.66 (Wonderful House) are funded by Alliance). Coordinated Ent Theexisting Coc grant provides funding for personnel for 2.5 CE Persarm staff Funding is needed to provide salary support for a 0.5 FTE $41,120.06 $16,324.64 $16,242.40 $5,880.16 $2,672.80 CE staff to address the increasing eammunityneed.. TOTAL EXPANSION $952,537.34 $411,613.82 $409,540.21 $148,263.92 $67,392.70 BUDGET Additional local(county)investment Landlord Incentives 20,000.00 1.0 Housing Access Coordinator,1.0 OAR Caseworker,1.0 RRH Personnel $ 278,931.29 caseworker,1.0 HH&Outreach Coordinator,030 Grants Coordinator � O R A�N G F COUNTY PSH FundingPermanent ent Supportive Housing TOTAL CDUN $ 369,658.04 �► HOUSING DEPARTMENT INVESTME Z 3 4 Slide #16 CPEH Federal Grants 155,416(January-December 2025)-OV 0.9 FTE Rapid Re-housing Case Manager(OV);Rental CoC Gran Rapid Re-housing grant transfer sista nce $ 165,416.00 191,764(October 2025-September 2026)-2-5 FTE:2-5 Coordinated Entry(Housing Helpline) CcsC Gran Supportive Service Only:Coordinated Entry Specialists $ 191,76400 . CoC Gran 161,920(November 2025-October 2026)-0.3 FTE for RRH Case Manager and Homeless $ 161,920.00 Rapid Re-housing Programs Coordinator;Rental Assistance HOME Grant(TBRA 136,499 FY 24-25-Rapid Re-housingTenant-Based Rental Assistance(TBRA) $ 136,499.00 FSG Annual 39,338(January 2025-December 2025)- Rental Assistance $ 39,33$-00 Rapid Re-housing CoC Planning Gran .2 FTE:Homeless Programs Coordinator;Stipends for $ 50,000.00 50,000(Jul,2025-June 2026-anticipated)people with lived experience OTAL GRANTS I i $ 744,937.06 2025-26 OCPEH BUDGET $2,087,132.34 Joint Funding("Expansion Budget") $952,537.34 County Funding{"(Local Investments") $389,658.00 Federal Grants{"OCPEH Grants") $744,937.00 2024-25 OCPEH BUDGET $1,963,545.00 ORANGE COUNT i nt Funding ion Budget") $868,611.00 County Funding("LocalsInvesstments") $309,294.00 � HOUSING DEPARTMENT Federal Grants("OCPEH Grants") $785,640.00 5 6 Council Member Fray asked if the Drakeford Complex is still being considered as a 7 possible location for the cold weather shelter. 25 1 Blake Rosser said that space was considered, but there are challenges with using that 2 space and he doesn't think it is feasible except in the case of an emergency. He said the 3 preference is to have one standard site. 4 Vice-Chair Hamilton encouraged staff to begin thinking about increasing staffing at cold 5 weather shelters next year, as more people may be in need. 6 Blake Rosser said he thinks the shelters will be in a better position next year because 7 there was a lot of new staff this year and they have already learned a lot about how to improve. 8 Council Member Haven-O'Donnell asked if schools gyms have been considered as a 9 possible site for shelter. 10 Blake Rosser said that is one of the places that first comes to mind for shelter, but 11 unfortunately the schedule of most schools is in conflict with what he would consider to be fair 12 and dignified treatment for clients. He said they would have to get up and out of the gym when it 13 is still dark to be able to clean up for when the kids are coming to school. 14 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if a cold weather shelter in Northern Orange County is 15 still being considered. 16 Blake Rosser said yes. He said there are two churches, Hillsborough Presbyterian and 17 Saint Matthews Episcopal that are eager to help out. He said he has done walk throughs at both, 18 and they are on the path to securing a space. 19 Mayor Foushee asked Blake Rosser if he foresees gaining the funding for the partially 20 filled gaps he indicated in his presentation, and if there are any gaps in particular that are priority. 21 Blake Rosser said the short answer is no, but keeping the Housing Helpline would be 22 priority. He said that is basically the front door to the homelessness system. 23 Mayor Foushee asked what types of meetings and partnerships are happening to address 24 homelessness with other entities like the Chambers of Commerce, Downtown Partnership, etc. 25 Blake Rosser said there was a meeting he attended Monday with a lot of community 26 partners. He said they all agreed they need to meet more and make a more concerted effort to 27 address homelessness. 28 Travis Myren said in terms of actually putting people into housing, it is important to build 29 out the rapid rehousing program more with supportive services. 30 Commissioner Fowler recognized all the great work that Housing and their partners have 31 done. She said pre-COVID it felt like there were only gaps, so it is important to recognize the 32 progress and the fact that there might even be progress on those remaining gaps. 33 34 26 1 Slide#17 Orange Department IF W. Tryon Hillsborough and 2501 Homestead Road Chapel + ' i 1 orangecountync.gov/Housing Blake Rosser ORANGE COUNTY bossroc Housing Q HOUSING DEPARTMENT rosserc[r�.orangeeoun#ync.gov 2 3 4 3. Affordable Housing (Greene Tract, Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation Assistance, 5 HOME Funds, etc.) 6 Cy Stober, Planning and Inspections Director, explained the three handouts the Clerk 7 passed around, including the Interlocal Agreement, Statement of Work, and the Greene Tract 8 Master Plan. He said he is going to focus on updates that have happened within the past 5 years 9 rather than doing a deep dive. He said along with the 2021 ILA, there was also a Resolution to 10 adopt a concept plan that identified the Headwaters Preserve, the development acreage, and the 11 school site. He said part of the resolution was also to recombine the property to put the Headwater 12 Preserve solely within Orange County ownership, which was accomplished in 2022. He reviewed 13 the contents of the Public Participation and Decision-Making section of the ILA. He said this ILA 14 is in the automatic renewal phase. He said the ILA and the Resolution identify that the Rogers 15 Eubanks neighborhood has been historically impacted disproportionately by the historic use of 16 the property. He said the discussions therein and their voices are prioritized in all decision-making 17 and input to date. He said in 2023, contracts were signed with Gensler and Thomas and Hutton 18 to develop the Master Plan. He said there was a very robust effort to engage the public in the 19 creation of the Master Plan. He said the Master Plan was either endorsed or adopted by all owners 20 in October 2024. He brough their attention to the Guiding Principles adopted with the Master Plan 21 and explained that they are about respecting the historic character and integrating with the 22 surrounding neighborhoods in a compatible way. He said the Master Plan includes a maximum 23 build out potential of 660 housing units on the Greene Tract, including multifamily, single-family, 24 and townhomes. He said the owners have contracted with the Development Finance Initiative of 25 the UNC School of Government, who will look at what subsidization will be necessary to achieve 26 certain affordability targets within the Greene Tract. He said DFI is in the data gathering phase, 27 but he expects to hear more in the coming year. He explained that as owners of the property, the 28 elected boards can set affordability in ways that they can't for properties that are not publicly 29 owned. He indicated that all of the information he shared can be found on the Greene Tract page 30 on the county's website. 31 Vice-Chair Hamilton said the public engagement process for the Greene Tract was one of 32 the best she's ever seen for Orange County. 33 34 27 1 Blake Rosser began the following presentation: 2 3 Slide #1 n ORANGE COUNTY HOUSING DEPARTMENT Overview of Services — 2025 4 S 6 Slide #2 Affordable Housing Low-income residents pay no more than 30%of income on housing costs(rentlmortgage+utilities) AMI-Area Median Income In 2024 in the Durham)Chapel Hill metro area,this is$105,900 for a family of four Low-income 80%of AMI-$84,700 for a family of four;$59,300 for a single person Very low income 50%of AMI-$52,950 for a family of four;$37,100 for a single person Extremely low income 30%of AMI-$31,750 for a family of four;$22,250 for a single person FMR-Fair Market Rent Calculated annually by HUD,for 2025 DurhamlCH it is$1,637 for a 1BR,$1,872 for 2BR,and$2,334 for 38R CoC-Continuum of Care HUD Definition:"A community plan to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency.It includes action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness." OCPEH The CoC for Orange County:Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness HOME.Committee Collaborative partnership operated by OCPEH in which area service providers meet twice monthly to discuss clients and refer for services Transitional Housing Temporary housing with supportive services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness,with the goal of interim stability and support to successfully move to and maintain permanent housing.A client in transitional housing is still considered homeless and not in a form of permanent housing.An example is IFC's shelter,which can be from 90 days to 1 year. PSH-Permanent Supportive Combines rental assistance with voluntary supportive services to address the needs of chronically homeless Housing people. The services are designed to build independent living and tenancy skills,and connect people with community-based health care,treatment and employment services. Rapid Rehousing A program offering housing search,move-in and rental assistance along with case management, on a temporary basis(no longer than 2 years). The goal is to quickly re-house someone who recently became unsheltered and transition them to more permanent housing. Housing First A policy that advocates unconditional, permanent housing as quickly as possible to homeless people, and other supportive services afterward(House first,add supportive services later).Rapid Rehousing is an example of a Housing First program. HCV-Housing Choice The modern name for Section 8 rental assistance program serving"very law income"residents Voucher OCAHC-Orange County A group of area agencies working on affordable housing from all angles:development,acquisition, rehabilitation, Affordable Housing Coalition rental assistance, and homelessness OCHPC-Orange County A group operating out of UNC's Community Practice Lab(CPL)which coordinates repair and rehabilitation Home Preservation Coalition applications from low-income residents and refers them to participating community partners. AHAB-Affordable Housing Volunteer advisory board which advises the Board of County Commissioners on affordable housing priorities for 7 Advisory Board the county. 28 1 Slide #3 Civil Rights Program(Fair Housing) (0.5) Department Eviction'Diversion 2 Emergency Housing Assistance 1 $450,000 Civil Rights Program 2 Funding n�g e - Housing Choice Voucher 6 $7,000,008 as- ��111111 Client Needs $16,000 HOME Investment Partnership 0.5 $350,000 Overview HOME-ARP $400,000 Urgent Repair Program{NCHFA} $120,000 Essential Single Family Rehabilitation(NCHFA) $160,000 Longtime Homeowner Assistance $250,000 Bond/CIP $1,666,667 Emergency Repair Fund (Fee-funded( Urgent Repair Program 2 $40,000 Administration 2 Housing Helpline 2.5 Rapid Rehousing 1.5 $250,000 Administration 0.2 cold weather cots $30,000 'OCPEH consists of contributions Bridge Housing $95,000 from four OC municipalities broken Landlord Incentives $20.000 dawn in thefollowing proportions: Permanent Supportive Housing $150,000 39.7%-Chapel Hill r 39.5%-Orange County 551/SSRI Outreach,Access,and Recovery 1 • 14.3%-Carrbora Rapid Rehousing 1 6.5%-Hillsborough Street Outreach,Harm Reduction and Deflection 4 Housing Helpline 0.5 Rapid Rehousing 0.5 "Administrative personnel includes Housing Access Coordinator 1 Director(partial),Business Officer, Bridge Housing $148,000 Grants Coordinator,and 2 Administration 1.625 Administrative Assistant equivalents Administrative Personnel— <5 2 3 4 29 1 Slide #4 r HOME Investment Partnership O.S $350.000 HOME-ARP $900,000 Urgent Repair Program(NCHFA) $120,000 Essential Single Family Rehabilitation(NCHFA) $160,000 Longtime Homeowner Assistance $250,000 Bond f CI P $1,666,667 Emergency Repair Fund (Fee4unded) Urgent Repair Program 2 $40,0110 Administration 2 nORANGE COUNTY HOUSING DEPARTMENT z 3 4 Slide #5 CommunityDevelopment nORANGECOUNTY Q► HOUSING DEPARTMENT 5 6 7 1 Slide#6 Community �errelopment HOME Federal Grant.Approximately on now in federal funds disbursed annually to our program, which we then award to applicants for a variety of activities including: New deuelopment of affordable housing • Repan-/Acquisition of existing housing • Homebuyer assistance • Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Affordable Mousing Band. Similar to tMS. s process but with local funds...less strings attached. Aaron • ORANGE COUNTY Community Development Manager acohen@orangecountync.gov Slide Community [�eu►elopment Aaron Rimmler-Cohen Urgent Repair and Single Family Rehabilitation. In collaboration wiith the Housing Preservation Coalition, uses state and local funds to preserve existing affardat7le housing, allowing residents to age in place. Longtime Homeowners Assistance. Another preservation strategy: reimbursing longtime homeowners for their increasingly burdensome property taxes ORANGE Community Development ■ HOUSING DEPARTMENT acohen@orangeCOLintync.gov 31 1 Slide#8 Community Development Minimum Housing aa - Our Public a Rehabilitation Officer fielr r investigates concernsa about compliance rcal minimum housing code. Affordable Housing Advisory Board. A citizen advisory board that recommendspolicy to the County.Board of County Commissioners about how best to address afforclable housing issues in Orange Aaron Rimmler-Cohen ORANGE COUNTY Community Development Manager p, HOUSING DEPARTMENT acohen@orangecountync.gov 2 3 Blake Rosser shared that there have been 6 informal minimum housing code complaints 4 received and resolved this year and 1 formal complaint. 5 6 Slide #9 Strategic Plan Objectives advanced: • Objective 1: Allocate predictable funding sources to contribute or support adding to affordable housing stock.. Objective 4: Prioritize and select County-owned land and/or facilities as part of an overall plan of facilities to create crisis, bridge, low barrier, affordable, and permanent housing Objective 7: Expand resources and invest in housing designed for our aging and disabled residents. Objective 8: Preserve existing housing stock from disrepair and avoid displacement, ORANGE COUNTY Q► HOUSING DEPARTMENT 8 9 32 1 Slide #10 Community Development NumberPerformance Measures • - . . 0: • HOME funds • • Bond/ClP fundsspent i CourtTrinity applicants assisted / ' i Aaron Rimmler-CohenURANGE COUNTY Community Development Manager HOUSING DEPARTMENT acohen@orangecountyne.gov 2 3 4 5 Slide#11 Orange County Housing Department 00 W. Tryon Street Hillsborough and 2501 Homestead • . . . Chapel 919-245-2490 Blake RosserORANGE COUNTY Director, QC Housing HOUSING DEPARTMENT brosser@orangecountync.gov 6 7 Vice-Chair Hamilton asked where the funds that haven't been drawn down yet will be 8 spent. 9 Blake Rosser said once funds are awarded, they must be drawn down within 8 years. He 10 said they have been awarded funding in the past for the downpayment assistance programs with 33 1 Habitat, which is paid out as invoices are received, and also the tenant-based rental assistance. 2 He said they are reading to draw down around $100,000 for tenant-based rental assistance in the 3 next month, and likely another $100,000 by the end of the fiscal year. 4 Commissioner Fowler asked if the federal HOME ARP money will still available. 5 Blake Rosser said the HUD staff administering those funds are very intent on getting the 6 money to Orange County as quickly as possible. He said things could change quickly, but there 7 is no definitive answer right now. 8 Commissioner McKee asked how quickly staff is able to either approve or disapprove 9 repair requests. 10 Blake Rosser said it can take months for an urgent repair request, but the average time 11 has gone down in the past year. He said they work with the Home Preservation Coalition to triage 12 different requests and prioritize them and then distribute them among the community partners 13 based on which program is best suited for the specific request. He said after that it is just a matter 14 of how many projects are in the queue and how much funding is available. He said he received a 15 question earlier from Commissioner Portie-Ascott and wanted to share that two people have been 16 assisted through Habitat's Homebuyer Assistance Program, and no one has been assisted yet 17 with the Housing Choice Voucher Homebuyer Assistance Program, but staff is in the process of 18 working with one person. 19 20 4. Expansion of the Mobile Crisis Team (CARE) 21 Caitlin Fenhagen made the following presentation: 22 23 Slide #1 Crisis Assistance, Response an • Engagement (CARE) Team -. 24 25 26 34 1 Slide #2 2 CARE CARE Team t� � • Crisis Assistance, Response and Engagement Team • 2-year pilot program currently serving Town of Chapel Hill. • Partnership between Orange County and the Town of Chapel Hill,but goal is to be county-wide after two years.. • Provides remote or on-scene immediate mobile response and incident follow-up to behavioral and mental health,substance use, low level criminal offenses&IDD related calls that are non-emergency and do not require a law enforcement or EMS response. 3 4 5 Slide #3 0 CARE CARE Team • Team Location • Franklin Street(Formerly Walker's Funeral Home) • Team Supervision Chapel Hill Crisis Unit Supervisor,CHPD Police Chief, Emergency Services Director, EMS Director, CAD Director • Evaluation • UNC School of Government's Criminal Justice Innovation Lab providing technical assistance and will complete an evaluation 6 7 8 9 35 1 Slide #4 —0 CARE ' CARE Team • Staff • Mobile team-Crisis Counselor, Peer Support Specialist and Community EMT • Crisis Counselor in the 911 Call Center • Hours of Operation M-F,8am-4:30pm • Referral Source Responds remotely or in person to behavioral health related calls routed through 911 that do not require another emergency response • Funding Source Alliance Healthcare and NC DHHS grant-April 1,2024-June 3o,2a2S 2 3 Caitlin Fenhagen said a funding request has been submitted for the program for next fiscal 4 year as well, and is awaiting approval. 5 6 Slide #5 CARE Team Outcomes Data from the start date of May 6,2424—February 28,2425: • The CARE Team responded to 203 calls directly from the 911Call Center • An additional 220 eligible calls came in during CARE team business hours that met the determinants for dispatching the CARE Team.The CARE team did not respond to these calls because they were either on another call,were erroneously coded as unavailable in CAD,were in training or were unavailable due to other reasons or were called off the response because of a safety concern. • We review these calls and the reasons there was not a CARE response each month. ■ Total number of unique individuals served by the CARE team is 721. • Total number of events responded to by the CARE Team is 1,288. • Percentage of events that were diverted from an arrest or charge:98% • Percentage of events that resulted in a transport to hospital for medical emergency:2.8% • Percentage of events that resulted in a transport to hospital for behavioral health emergency:3.7% • Number of 911 calls diverted to the 911 Call Center Clinician and did not require a mobile response:14 7 8 9 36 1 Slide #6 CARE Team Expansion • Carrboro is currently hiring a dedicated crisis counselor • Town of Carrboro officials, including Chief Atack, have requested expansion of CARE team to Carrboro and have started meeting with the CARE team supervisors • CARE Team is ready to expand to Carrboro if this new position is dedicated to the Team • Next Steps for Carrboro: hire the Crisis Counselor, meet weekly with the CARE team supervisors, start the position training with the CARE Team, and work with 911 Call Center to establish the CARE Team response determinants for Carrboro 2 3 4 Slide #7 i 10-0 411 lob 3JA�N3 ,, .� CARE 1 5 6 Commissioner Carter said she attended the NCACC's Health and Human Services 7 Committee meeting this past week and there was a whole slide dedicated to the CARE Program 8 that was shared with Commissioners across the state. 9 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how the CARE Team will impact the future Crisis 10 Diversion Center. 37 1 Caitlin Fenhagen said there are things that need to be in place in order to support the 2 Crisis Diversion Facility, and a mobile crisis team is one of them. She said the hope is that this 3 team might be able to work from the Crisis Diversion Facility so they can assist with bringing 4 people there and also being available for folks who might need to be transported once they've 5 completed their stay at the facility. 6 Commissioner Fowler said as a parent of someone on the spectrum, she is appreciative 7 that Orange County is looking at different ways to intervene with crises. She said she thinks 8 regular law enforcement officers should also continue to receive proper training on de-escalation 9 and recognizing mental health problems or IDD and how to respond appropriately. 10 Caitlin Fenhagen said that is very important and law enforcement partners with this team 11 and social workers to ensure training is received. She highlighted the importance and impact of 12 all agencies coming together on this issue. 13 Commissioner McKee extended appreciation for this team and other important services 14 like Resource Court and its success in diverting people from arrest. 15 Vice-Chair Hamilton asked for an example of a success through this program. 16 Caitlin Fenhagen shared a story with those present about a girl struggling with suicidal 17 ideation and how she was successfully taken by the team to receive treatment. 18 19 5. Areas for Joint Advocacy (including NCSL 2024-57) and Transportation Safety 20 Projects) 21 Vice-Chair Hamilton invited the person who raised this topic to speak. 22 Council Member Fray said they proposed this topic because the federal funds that are at 23 risk for Carrboro are for transportation improvement projects. They said there may be opportunity 24 for the county and Town to collaborate on this in the future. 25 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she would like staff to work together on potential areas for 26 collaboration. 27 Mayor Pro Tem Nowell reiterated Council Member Fray's comments. He also indicated a 28 desire to meet or collaborate with the Board of Commissioners more often on topics of mutual 29 interest, like the Greene Tract. 30 Vice-Chair Hamilton said the Board of Commissioners is meeting-heavy but opportunities 31 for the Council to attend work sessions or other meetings where there are relevant presentations 32 would be welcomed. 33 34 Adjournment 35 36 As there were no further items on the agenda to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 37 9:25 p.m. 38 39 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 40 41 42 Jamezetta Bedford, Chair 43 44 45 Recorded by Tara May, Deputy Clerk to the Board 46 47 Submitted for approval by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board