County Commissioners
I'm at the Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting tonight to hear the latest on the landfill and Rogers Road mitigation. I'm spending a night outside the school district and talking about issues that won't help me get elected, so it must be important. The attachment (link below) has a county manager proposal that closes the landfill in 2013, and also addresses some of the mitigation items requested by the community. Looking forward to BoCC reaction -- are we going to finally do something for this community or push it further along the road?
The Orange County Economic Development Commission still exists, I know this because I am a member of it! Yet the County is functioning as if the board has been disbanded even though it has taken no such action. This is the culmination of a dysfunctional history in Orange County Economic Development. But the part that really bothers me now is a closed session being held tonight by the county commissioners on the topic of economic development without input from citizens, citizens who were appointed by our elected officials to advise them on the diverse set of opinions held by residents of Orange County.
To me this sunsetting of the Orange County Economic Development Commission is a tactic to silence dissent. It's true there are many people on the Orange County Economic Development Commission who did not agree with the former director on policy or plans. It's true that many of our meetings were frustrating. But to subvert democracy when you no longer find it agreeable is wrong. I hope as we consider a new organization to represent us in economic development matters that we remember how the county has acted.
The news this week that the Orange County Board of County Commissioners has voted to charge a new tipping fee at the landfill to raise money for remediation in the Rogers Road neighborhood
- a move that seemed somewhat ham-fisted to municipal governments (see
below about that) - reminded me of a very interesting conversation I had
last month. I attended oral history performances by a UNC class that conducted interviews with civil rights activists.
Two students had worked closely with David Caldwell and Gertrude Nunn
and learned about their neighborhood's 3-decade challenge of trying to
get justice for living with the landfill that serves all of Orange
County.
One grad student who is very familiar with local politics
turned to me afterward and asked the same question that was in my mind:
our County Commissioners have to be one of the most liberal boards in
the state. How is it that the Rogers Road neighborhood has been stymied
by them repeatedly, instead of being championed by the environmental and
social justice advocates on the Board?
With the month of May coming, it time for flowers to bloom and for our school district to trim resources. Every year when this happens I appreciate the flowers and figure there has to be a better way to fund our schools. Below is the text of a letter I send to Representative Insko with copy to County Commissioner Alice Gordon. There has to be a better approach that what we have now. Thoughts and comments are appreciated.
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