Orange County Board of Commissioners discusses changing election method for board members

The Orange County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday to hear annual reports from county boards and discuss the election method for board members. Staff writer Molly Horak live-tweeted the meeting.

i know everyone has been missing my live meeting tweets but never fear — I'm back again tonight at the Orange County BOCC meeting

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 28, 2017

Amy Jeroloman from the Carrboro Northern Transition Area said traffic is a main concern

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 28, 2017

Recommendations made by Jeroloman to amend traffic flow along Eubanks Road, Old NC 86 and that new parks plan for more traffic

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 28, 2017

Susan Poulton from the Carrboro Planning Board addresses flex zoning, eligibility and site-specific plans for mixed use areas

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 28, 2017

Poulton said that Carrboro has approved a second hotel for the town to accommodate more visitors

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 28, 2017

Morgan Creek Trail along Merritt's Pasture has been problematic for Chapel Hill Parks and Rec dept., said Mary Musacchia

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 28, 2017

A bridge will be build adjacent to 15-501, Musacchia said. Her department is working with the state DOT on the project

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 28, 2017

Chapel Hill PGR department has been left out of development commissions, Musacchia said

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 28, 2017

PGR commission applauds the purchase of the 36-acre tract of American Legion land, Musacchia urges BOCC to be involved in the project

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 28, 2017

BOCC moves on to next agenda item, annual reports from county boards and their representatives.

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Adult Care Community Advisory representative Max Mason said he sees facilities struggling to make ends meet

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

"Something has got to give here," Mason said. "We're assuring the resident's rights are upheld."

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

The state reimburses facilities roughly $36 dollars a day, Mason said

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Chair of the Advisory Board of Aging said they are working on their five year plan, which all has to do with Medicaid funding

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Commissioner Jacobs said from personal experience he has seen very different levels of care, asks if there are problem facilities

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

A master aging plan will be presented in May to address goals and objectives of the Board

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

"Our senior centers have been recognized across the country as extraordinary, but they are bursting at the seams," Cohn said

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Affordable Housing Advisory Board is trying to find the best models that will work in Orange County, will push heavily towards rentals

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Arts Commission is still under probation, but is working diligently to alleviate concerns, said commission chair Tim Hoke

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

A partnership between Agricultural Preservation Board and Animal Services mentioned matching feral cats with farms

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Issue of bonafide farms is a topic that the BOCC worked on earlier this week, board is looking at matching NC standards for these farms

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

A new focus of the Animal Services Advisory Board is on the pets of the homeless, Hoffman said

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Board of Health just completed four-year community health report, said board chair Lisa Lackey

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

"I don't know what the future is of the Visitor's Center," said Rosemary Waldorf of the Orange County Visitors department

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

"HB2 has hurt the county a lot," Waldorf said. "We are doing a lot of marketing to get out the message that we are welcoming to everybody."

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Jim Kitchen of Economic Advisory Board said the small business grant program has created and retained over 245 jobs since its creation

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Housing Authority has ability to give priority housing vouchers to local residents, veterans, disabled — but homeless is not a preference

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Ending homelessness is a high priority and is now added as a preference that will trump all others said Jean Bolduc, Housing Authority chair

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Monica Richard, chair of Human Relations Commission, said they are looking into a hate crime hotline

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Human Relations Commission is also creating a public forum to discuss issues within schools

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

BOCC moves to last item on the agenda, a discussion regarding election method for members of the BOCC

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Currently, five district seats on the Board are filled based on district residency and two are based on countywide nomination and election

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Mark Dorosin asks if the districting information is still consistent to what is anticipated in 2020

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Mark Marcoplos said he thinks that cumulative voting empowers significant minorities in the political system

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

"There's a large portion of people in the county who are not represented, and frankly, it's republicans," Marcoplos said

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

"I think someone has to raise it so people know about it," Marcoplos said

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Commissioner Burroughs said she likes the idea of cumulative voting but wants to keep issue out of legislature and within the county

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

"We don't change how we elect commissioners very often, so if we do change, let's do something that makes a big difference," Marcoplos said

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

Dorosin directs staff to look into both cumulative voting and non-partisan voting policies

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

And with that, the BOCC meeting is officially over!

— Molly Horak (@molly_horak) March 29, 2017

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