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Business Meeting

Orange County · Board of County Commissioners
Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Regular meeting Budget and appropriationsGrants and outside fundingHousing and affordabilityIntergovernmental agreementsAppointments and personnelHomelessness and shelterSchools and educationBroadband and technologyComprehensive planContracts and procurementEnvironment and sustainabilityFarmland and open spaceFire and EMSParks and recreationTax rate and revaluationTransitWater and sewer

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 6.aAuthorize Notification Regarding Potential Change in Student Projection Methodology Used by the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Technical Advisory Committee Approved unanimously
  2. Approved 6.bCommunity Climate Action Grant (CCAG) – FY 2024-25 Project Selection Approved unanimously
  3. Approved 6.cAmendment to the Network Development Agreement for Broadband Deployment with Lumos to Extend the Project Deadlines Approved unanimously
  4. Approved 11.aOrange Water and Sewer Authority Board of Directors – Appointment Approved unanimously

Another 1 item passed on the consent agenda, which is a single motion covering routine business. See the list.

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Orange County commissioners opened work on the 2025-2029 consolidated plan, the document that steers federal housing money through the county's HOME Consortium with Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. They also decided how the county will count future students, awarded a year of climate grants, and gave a broadband contractor another twelve months.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

Commissioners voted to change how Orange County projects student enrollment, replacing the five historical formulas the schools adequate public facilities agreement has used since it was written. Staff told the board those formulas track past growth well but cannot see a change coming: a large new development produces no signal until its children turn up in classrooms, and even then a three, five or ten-year average absorbs it slowly. The board authorized notice to Chapel Hill, Carrboro, both school districts and the county's own staff that the method will move to either the Operational Research and Education Laboratory's or Carolina Demography's, with comment invited. Notice is due by February 1. One commissioner noted the county has had the opposite problem lately, with elementary enrollment falling, and asked whether the new numbers might support consolidation or more pre-kindergarten.

The Community Climate Action Grant round drew 25 applications asking $1,151,873 against $262,500 available, and no school projects were funded this year. The board approved the ranked recommendations from the Commission for the Environment and the Human Relations Commission. Top of the list: $50,000 to plant 260 native trees and hand out 2,600 seedlings across 13 schools, weighted toward rural ones, and $50,000 toward rooftop solar on 14 new Habitat for Humanity houses against a $100,000 request. Commissioners questioned the scoring, saying greenhouse gas mitigation counted for too little in a program meant for exactly that.

The Lumos broadband deadline moved a year, to December 31, 2025. The 2022 agreement committed $10 million in American Rescue Plan money to reach 6,370 unserved locations, paid against benchmarks; $1 million went out at signing and $3 million when the first 3,000 homes were passed, with the final $6 million contingent on all 6,370. Construction slowed in spring 2024 over construction and budget problems and picked up again late in the summer. Staff said the change does not risk the federal money, whose spending deadline is December 2026.

One speaker addressed the housing hearing. The board also heard the Partnership to End Homelessness report that COVID-era relief funding is exhausted, more than half of Orange County's renter households are cost-burdened, and demand for inclement weather shelter has outrun capacity. It appointed a member to the OWASA board, and adjourned at 9:29 p.m. with no closed session.

How the votes went

All recorded votes were unanimous: opening and closing the housing public hearing, the student projection methodology change, the climate action grant awards, the Lumos contract amendment, the consent agenda, and the OWASA appointment.

From the published minutes.

Who spoke

1 member of the public spoke.

  1. The executive director of EMPOWERment, Inc. said its Peach apartment building, 70 percent complete and due to open in spring 2025, will serve households at or below 30 percent of area median income, and that the group could not afford a 9.4-acre Carrboro property with ten two-bedroom homes it had hoped to buy and hold as naturally occurring affordable housing.

One person spoke at the housing hearing, the head of a nonprofit housing developer, arguing that the gap between what such groups can raise and what property costs is what keeps existing affordable housing from being preserved. Earlier in the meeting a state representative thanked county staff for installing and unveiling a memorial bench along the Hillsborough River Walk.

Read from the records the government published after the meeting. Members of the public are private residents and are not named or indexed.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Jump to an item (13 on this agenda)
  1. 1Additions or Changes to the Agenda
  2. 2Public Comments
  3. 3Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members
  4. 5.aPublic Hearing for 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan for Housing and Commun…
  5. 6.aAuthorize Notification Regarding Potential Change in Student Projecti…
  6. 6.bCommunity Climate Action Grant (CCAG) – FY 2024-25 Project Selection
  7. 6.cAmendment to the Network Development Agreement for Broadband Deployme…
  8. 6.dBOCC Boards and Commissions Assignments
  9. 7.aOrange County Partnership to End Homelessness – Data Report
  10. 8Consent Agenda
  11. 11.aOrange Water and Sewer Authority Board of Directors – Appointment
  12. 13Closed Session
  13. 14Adjournment

Agenda items (13)

Procedural · 3Staff or committee report · 2Appointment · 2Public hearing · 1Discussion item · 1Budget action · 1Contract or award · 1Consent agenda · 1Closed session · 1
  1. 1 Additions or Changes to the Agenda
    Procedural
    No changes.
  2. 2 Public Comments
    Procedural
    A state representative described the recent installation of a bench along the Hillsborough River Walk in memory of John 'Blackfeather' Jeffries, approved earlier by the board, and thanked county staff for the unveiling.
  3. 3 Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members
    Staff or committee report
    Commissioners reported on Cooperative Extension, which ran Kids Voting for the first time with more than 747 students taking part, on packing supplies for western North Carolina, on the RTP Regional Partnership, and on local holiday events.
  4. 5.a Public Hearing for 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development Needs
    Public hearing Budget and appropriationsGrants and outside fundingHousing and affordabilityIntergovernmental agreements
    The first hearing on the county's next five-year consolidated plan, the framework for spending federal Community Development Block Grant and HOME money through the Orange County HOME Consortium. Chapel Hill runs the block grant program and the county's housing department runs HOME. Staff reported the county has spent $1,438,339 in HOME funds since FY20-21, mostly on homebuyer assistance and rental assistance, and that each program runs about $400,000 a year depending on the federal budget.
    Hearing opened and closed, both unanimous
  5. 6.a Authorize Notification Regarding Potential Change in Student Projection Methodology Used by the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Technical Advisory Committee
    Discussion item Comprehensive planIntergovernmental agreementsSchools and education
    The board authorized staff to notify the parties to the schools adequate public facilities memorandum of understanding that the student projection method will change to the Operational Research and Education Laboratory's or Carolina Demography's, and to invite comment. Notice is due by February 1. The current method uses five formulas built on past growth, which staff said cannot register a large new development or a policy shift until it shows up in classrooms.
    Approved unanimously
  6. 6.b Community Climate Action Grant (CCAG) – FY 2024-25 Project Selection
    Budget action Environment and sustainabilityGrants and outside fundingHousing and affordabilitySchools and education
    The board received rankings from the Commission for the Environment and the Human Relations Commission and approved the recommended awards. Twenty-five applicants sought $1,151,873 against $262,500 available, and no school projects were funded this cycle. The highest-scored awards were $50,000 to plant 260 native trees and distribute 2,600 seedlings across 13 Orange County schools, weighted toward rural and underserved ones, $50,000 toward rooftop solar on 14 new Habitat for Humanity houses, and $19,800 for an electrical panel and solar installation labor at the Peach Apartments. Commissioners questioned whether greenhouse gas mitigation was weighted heavily enough in the scoring.
    Approved unanimously
  7. 6.c Amendment to the Network Development Agreement for Broadband Deployment with Lumos to Extend the Project Deadlines
    Contract or award Broadband and technologyBudget and appropriationsContracts and procurementGrants and outside funding
    The board extended the deadline in its 2022 agreement with Lumos Fiber from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025 to reach all 6,370 unserved locations. The county funded the partnership with $10 million in American Rescue Plan money paid against benchmarks: $1 million at signing, $3 million when 3,000 homes were passed, and $6 million on completion. Construction slowed in spring 2024 over construction and budget problems before resuming late that summer. Staff said the federal spending deadline of December 2026 is not at risk.
    Approved unanimously
  8. 6.d BOCC Boards and Commissions Assignments
    Appointment Appointments and personnel
    Commissioners' assignments to boards and commissions.
  9. 7.a Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness – Data Report
    Staff or committee report Homelessness and shelterHousing and affordability
    An overview of the partnership's work and the system-level data filed with HUD this year. COVID-era relief funding is exhausted and partners report smaller grants and fewer small donors while need stays high. Fair market rents have risen enough that over half of the county's renter households are cost-burdened, and the end of emergency housing assistance has pushed up first-time homelessness. Emergency shelter capacity grew in 2023 and served more people than ever, but inclement weather demand still outran it. The partnership is funded by Orange County at 39.5 percent, Chapel Hill at 39.7, Carrboro at 14.3 and Hillsborough at 6.5.
  1. 11.a Orange Water and Sewer Authority Board of Directors – Appointment
    Appointment Appointments and personnelWater and sewer
    The board appointed Johnny Randall to a partial term as a county resident member of the OWASA board, expiring June 30, 2026. No vacancies remain among the board's two appointments.
    Approved unanimously
  2. 13 Closed Session
    Closed session
    None held.
  3. 14 Adjournment
    Procedural
    Adjourned at 9:29 p.m.

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