December 2012
Tonight at the Central Orange Senior Center (103 Meadowlands Drive, Hillsborough), three new members will be sworn in to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. A reception will take place at 6 pm with the business meeting starting at 7. Follow @orangepolitics for live tweets from the meeting.
After taking their new seats, the first item on the agenda (PDF) will be to elect a chair and vice-chair for the next year. New commissioners Renee Price, Penny Rich, and Mark Dorosin were elected in a primary in which voters seemed strongly intent on change (incumbents lost in both districts). They join a group with a strong record of environmentalism, and with good intentions on social justice and economic development. I'm looking forward to seeing what this new board of comissioners can accomplish together.
In a 5-2 vote, the Chapel Hill Town Council tonight reaffirmed Chapel Hill Transit (CHT)’s bus advertising policy with minor adjustments. The policy, which was technically a draft that had been erroneously enforced by staff, makes town buses a “limited public form,” and prohibits advertising that is “disparaging, disreputable or disrespectful.” The main debate of the evening centered around subjective terms like “disparaging” and “disrespectful” would be interpreted by staff. Council Members Eastrom and Czajkowski were the two dissenting votes. Council Member Pease was absent.
The Council also approved resolutions limiting the number of ads with the same message from the same source that can appear on a single bus and allowing staff to place disclaimers with bus ads stating that they do not represent the views of the town government.
Last night I stepped into the lion's den. In other words, I attended a Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) reditricting hearing. These meetings are legendary and this one did not disappoint.
See my tweets (and other people's responses) on Storify or below.
Leave it to Dan Coleman to finish on a strong note. Attending his last regular meeting as a member of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, Coleman spoke about the dream of Carrboro, and he urged his colleagues and neighbors to seek out creative ways forward in a world of seemingly insurmountable challenges.
From the Town of Chapel Hill:
The Chapel Hill Town Council has established the process for filling the vacancy on the Council resulting from the resignation of former Council Member Penny Rich. The Town Charter provides that this vacancy be filled by appointment for the remainder of Council Member Rich's term of office, until December 2013. Residents of Chapel Hill who are registered voters and otherwise qualified to hold office are invited to apply to fill this vacant seat on the Town Council.
There is no official form for applications. Applications must include the name, residence address, and signature of the applicant. The original application with an original signature must be submitted and received by the Town Clerk by 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. The Town Clerk's Office is located in the Communications and Public Affairs Department on the second floor of Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill, NC 27514.
Applicants may include information in support of the application if they wish and are encouraged to provide a written statement (500 words or less) outlining the applicant's view of issues facing the Town of Chapel Hill and interest in serving on the Town Council.
Applicants will have an opportunity to make brief remarks regarding their interest in serving on the Town Council at the special meeting of the Town Council at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, in the Council Chamber at Town Hall. The Council will then consider making an appointment to fill the vacancy at a special meeting/public hearing on Jan. 23, 2013.
Information: 919-968-2743
Date:
Monday, January 7, 2013 - 5:00pm
Dan Coleman will be missed in Carrboro. I have a couple of sisters who lived in Australia. I've already written to Dan offering what help I can with his transition. But I know that he will enjoy his new adventure in Australia.
Which means. A vacancy will soon be opening on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. And my mind turns to matters of political ‘establishment,’ the righteousness of challenge in a community, and what makes me itchy.
Now. Let's get clear. There is a political ‘establishment’ in Carrboro. This is not necessarily a bad thing. So, why the itch?
Well, I get itchy at any appearance of an 'establishment' coronation.
I get itchy at any sense that one has to be a part of an homogenous 'establishment' to make progress. That the primary attribute of a candidacy should be that one has worked one's way up the ladder of 'establishment,' allowing its members to get comfortable with one.
I get itchy at the suggestion that a community is, indeed, homogenous. When patently no community is homogenous.
Folks, it's almost here. Orange County Commissioners will hold mandatory public hearings on three items at 7 pm Tues 12/11 Southern Human Services Center Homestead Rd:
- 1/2% Durham/Orange sales tax,
- $7 annual Orange County vehicle registration fee, and
- $3 Durham/Orange vehicle registration fee.
Commissioners have all three items on the agenda right after the hearing. The Durham Commissioners had their hearing and final vote on the sales tax two weeks ago. If approved by Orange, then the TTA Board will vote on the sales tax Friday at 1 pm, and that will be final vote. Collections would begin 4/1/13.
It's time to implement the transit plan.
As Gerry Cohen noted in a recent post, on Tuesday of this week, the county commissioners will take up three resolutions to begin implementing the Orange County transit plan. The transit plan describes how investments will be made in public transit in Orange County and the funding sources for those investments—including a new half-cent sales tax levied by Triangle Transit, a new $7 vehicle registration fee levied by the county, and an additional $3 vehicle registration fee levied by Triangle Transit.
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