County meeting sparks ?ery email exchange

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated there was a “fiery exchange” between Penny Rich and Del Snow. The emails were sent to members of the Chapel Hill Town Council, not each other. The story has been changed to reflect this.

A Dec. 11 Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting has resulted in a fiery exchange of emails from County Commissioner Penny Rich and Chapel Hill Planning Board Chairwoman Del Snow to the Chapel Hill Town Council.

At the meeting, the commissioners discussed how to implement a half-cent sales tax increase approved in November to support expanded transit services.

Snow was among 10 speakers at the meeting. She spoke on behalf of the Chapel Hill Planning Board regarding the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization’s long-term transit plan.

In an email to Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt on Dec. 29, Rich said Snow stated in the meeting that the Planning Board does not support the long-term transit plan — and she also said Snow’s presence was unwelcome.

“In my opinion this was highly unusual for the Planning Board chair of one governing body to come and speak in front of another body unless asked to do so by council,” Rich said in her email.

“I think it is appropriate that council ask her to resign her position on the Planning Board.”

Rich declined to further comment.

In response to Rich’s accusations that Snow over-stepped her bounds, Snow defended her position as “entirely appropriate, germane and true” in an email to Kleinschmidt and the other members of the Chapel Hill Town Council.

“I am certain that the commission can appreciate the difference between an affirmative vote made by the Town Council and recommendations of an advisory board,” Snow said in the email.

Snow said in an interview that she stands behind her actions and her representation of the town at the county commissioners meeting.

“All I did was represent the unanimous planning board recommendation, and what was presented to the council was already a matter of public record,” Snow said.

She said the Planning Board supports the transit plan but recommends that some changes be made.

Rich also brought up Snow’s current lawsuit against the Charterwood development and the town of Chapel Hill as a reason to remove Snow from her post.

But Snow dismissed this point in her email.

“Certainly, people who sue based on a dispute with the town do not give up the right to serve the town,” she said.

Kleinschmidt said he doesn’t think there is any need to take action against Snow for her comments at the meeting.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think that had any impact on the votes,” he said.

But he said there needs to be better communication to the Planning Board as to what its specific duties are.

“I do think we need to work to clarify for our hard-working volunteers that serve on our boards exactly what their role is,” he said. “I think we can handle that without much more controversy.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.