This series of posts will be made weekly on Chapelboro to help inform our community about local government meetings. All meeting days, locations and times may be subject to change. Check town, county, and school district websites for additional information.
Last week was a lighter one for local government meetings, but elected boards are reconvening this week with busy agendas. Orange County Commissioners will appoint a new board member and consider amending their policy on long-term emergency declarations (like the recent one for COVID-19); the Carrboro Town Council will consider a resolution supporting LGBTQ residents in the face of a controversial bill before the General Assembly; and the Orange County school board will tackle the problem of recruiting new teachers and staff to address ongoing shortages.
Here’s a rundown of local government meetings this week in Durham, Orange, and Chatham Counties.
Orange County
Orange County Commissioners meet on Tuesday, February 7, at 7 p.m. in the Whitted Building. Commissioners will vote to appoint a new board member to fill the seat left vacant by Renee Price after her election to the General Assembly; the four applicants are Horace Johnson, Phyllis Portie-Ascott, Brenda Stephens, and Natalie Ziemba. In addition to that, commissioners will also vote on whether to approve a contract with a consultant to begin developing a new strategic plan for county government. And they’ll also consider amending the county’s ordinance on emergency proclamations to limit the board chair’s ability to declare an emergency for more than 30 days without board approval. Click here to read the full agenda for Tuesday’s meeting.
The Carrboro Town Council also meets on Tuesday, February 7, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. Council members will consider a three-year office lease in Carr Mill Mall and get an update on two town-owned cemeteries; they’ll also vote on a resolution supporting LGBTQ residents and denouncing Senate Bill 49, the so-called “Parents Bill of Rights” that’s currently being debated in the General Assembly. That bill contains a handful of anti-LGBTQ provisions, including one that would ban discussion of “sexuality” in K-4 classrooms and another that would require schools to notify parents if students want to go by different pronouns. Click here for a link to the full agenda.
The Chapel Hill Town Council meets on Wednesday, February 8, at 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel Hill Public Library. This week’s agenda contains only three items: council members will receive updates on downtown parking, plans to update the town’s land use management ordinance, and the county’s “OneOrange” racial equity framework.
And the Orange County School Board meets in the Whitted Building on Monday, February 6, starting at 7 p.m. in open session after an hour-long closed-session meeting. Board members will hold a work session on redistricting for the 2024-25 school year and discuss an incentive plan to recruit more teachers and staff for the district. Get the full agenda here.
Chatham and Durham Counties
The Pittsboro town board does not have a regular meeting this week, but board members will convene in closed session at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, February 6, to discuss the ongoing process of selecting a new town manager.
In Durham, the City Council meets twice this week: first at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 6, followed by a work session at 1 p.m. on Thursday the 9th. Thursday’s work session has the longer agenda, including a presentation of GoDurham’s 2022 annual report and a discussion of the town’s Eviction Diversion program. Click here for links to both agendas.
Durham County Commissioners also meet on Monday, February 6, in a work session beginning at 9 a.m. in commissioners’ chambers. Among the agenda items: commissioners will receive an annual report from the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO); they’ll receive an update on the operations of Durham County Memorial Stadium; they’ll discuss the next steps for distributing funds from the national opioid settlement; and they’ll hear a presentation on “E3 Durham,” a program to support local entrepreneurs from underserved communities and groups. (“E3” stands for “Equity for Every Entrepreneur.”) Click here for the full agenda.
Finally, the Durham school board is holding a work session on Thursday, February 9, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Board members will get a budget update for the 2023-24 school year, and they’ll discuss the process of appointing a new school board member to fill an existing vacancy. Click here for the full agenda.
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