Good evening everyone thank you so much for joining us for our Durham County Board of of Commissioners regular session today is Monday August 26th the Board of Commissioners met in close session no action was taken and for the clerk I can text you later but the motion was made by commissioner Jacobs to seal the minutes and seconded by Vice chair Burns and it was unanimous okay the Board of Commissioners asks its members and citizens to conduct themselves in respectful courteous manner both with the board and fellow citizens at any time should any member of the board or any citizen fail to observe this public charge the chair will ask the offending person to leave the meeting until that individual regains personal control should decorum fail to be restored the chair will recess the meeting until such time that a genuine commitment to the public charge is observed I'm going to rotate it around Vice chair Burns would you like to read the land acknowledgement absolutely.
As we convene for the dur Board of Board of County Commissioners meeting it's crucial to recognize the painful truth of History we stand on the stolen ancestrial lands of the kadaba Eno okichi Shakari and Tusc peoples whose deep connection to this land predates our arrival we acknowledge with humility the unjust displacement and violence that occurred leading to the disposition of indigenous peoples from their homelands their resilience in the face of such adversity is a testament to their strength and spirit may we humbly honor the ancestors and Elders of these nations both both past and present by committing ourselves to fostering understanding healing and justice for all who inhabit this land let us walk forward together with Open Hearts acknowledging the past and embracing a future Guided by compassion respect and Unity thank you Vice chair Burns and then we'll have the Pledge of Allegiance by commissioner Auten.
To the flag of the United States of. America with liberty and justice for all thank you all I will now pass it to clerk Wallace for the announcements good evening Commissioners and staff I will read the announcements published in tonight's agenda we invite all community members to attend a virtual community Forum to introduce our new resources for youth success and empowerment rise assessment center from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday August 27th these informative and engaging Community forums will provide community members with the chance to learn about the new programs and its benefits to the Durham Community join the session via Microsoft teams and there is a link if you have additional questions you can also email rise r y e at DC nc.gov in the latest installment of these serieses the Durham County Department of Public Health host What's the 411 diabetes and food food labels at 6: pm.
On Tuesday August the 27th the virtual session is free come and learn about how to read food labels what's recommended when you have a chronic disease such as high blood pressure or diabetes and much more you can contact Ivonne RZA at 919 56072 23 or you can register online sponsorship of the 2024 minority Enterprise development week from Durham County and the City of Durham are now available sponsorships build excellent visibility for your business in the community at large and to the many Business Leaders and decision makers who participate in the week's events sponsoring Med week is a great way to associate your business with a positive proactive movement for the celebration of minority entrepreneurship and development of diversity the deadline for sponsorship registration and payment is Monday September 1st there are several links to visit to find out additional information and those links are available on our County website and you can also download a sponsorship packet announcement for regarding the covid-19 vaccines per the Department of Public Health they've shared an.
Announcement from the FDA we ask that you do visit dcoic health.org vaccines for more information and there has also been updates to their social media Pages please join aging well Durham on Wednesday September 25th from 11:00 a.m. To 2: p.m. at Duke Memorial UMC located at 54 West Chapel Hill Street to receive updates on the Durham Aging plan enjoy table top activities and refreshments registration is required for this event for additional information you can contact 919 599 9642 and lastly on Monday September 2nd most Durham County government offices will be closed for the Labor Day holiday all offices will reopen with normal business hours on Tuesday September 3rd to see impacts on certain services please visit DC nc.gov that concludes the announcements published in tonight's agenda thank you clerk Wallace and to that last announcement that means that our next work session will actually be on Tuesday instead of that Monday and that's Tuesday September 3r 3rd we'll be meeting here in the chambers at 9:00 a.m. okay commissioner Vice chair.
Burns so mine is really quick I don't know I I blame myself too but we didn't do a proclamation for it so maybe we can retroactively do one but I would like to say happy women's equality day no one cares all right all right all right it is this is a historic allom board and no matter your political affiliation for the first time in this nation's history a major political party has put forth a woman to seat in the highest seat in the office so even though this will no longer be a historic woman board we have women who are shining all over the place so please take some time and thank the women in your life for all the things that they do and let us all strive to get closer and closer to pay Equity that was my only announcement thank you anyone else in the spirit of continuing to disperse actually no first we will have the minutes for the August 5th work session and the August 12th regular.
Session so moved second okay move for approval by commissioner Jacobs seconded by Vice chair Burns all in favor say I I any opposed okay minutes are approved 5 to Z we have one ceremonial item with the proclamation for leaders in Equitable Economic Development month I will pass this one to commissioner Carter to. Read okay good evening everyone the Durham Board of Board of County Commissioners Proclamation leaders in Equitable Economic Development month 2024 whereas Equitable economic development can help all of North Carolina communities Thrive by making sure resources for economic success are accessible for all and whereas sadly we witnessed government sponsored urban renewal projects that intentionally dismantled black economic centers in urban areas throughout the state today historic neighborhoods that were the epicenter of black Commerce the hati business Community Weston neighborhood and Parish Street called Black Wall Street of Durham are experienc ing a period of rebuilding and thriving while growing equity and prosperity and creating a new generation of entrepreneurs in communities and whereas during this month we pause to celebrate traditionally.
Underrepresented minority Business Leaders who have successfully worked with less access to Capital and opportunities to build wealth to create successful businesses and whereas we recognized both the Legacy and vital importance of blackowned businesses which contribute much to the nation's economic success and whereas we further use this time to reflect on the history and Legacies of many well-known black Business Leaders in Durham such as John Merrick Aaron Moore CC Spalding John Wheeler WG Pearson and Andrea Harris who have helped lead and inform those seeking to successfully own operate and grow businesses and whereas it is crucial that local state and federal governments work to offer Outreach events to assist black and underutilized businesses who want to learn how to successfully bid bid on and receive greater numbers of contracts to provide goods and services needed for those entities so that they may continue to contribute to the nation's economic well-being now therefore I Nida Allam chair and on behalf of the Durham Board of Board of County Commissioners do hereby Proclaim.
August 2024 as leaders in Equitable Economic Development month in Durham County we urge all Durham County residents to celebrate the legacy of historically black and underutilized businesses in our community and to work to empower and support a new generation of entrepreneurs who strive to find success and to build wealth for their families and the Greater Community at large this the 26th day of August 202 for thank you commissioner Alston and we have Chief of Staff Shannon trap good evening Madam chair Madame Vice chair Commissioners staff we come before you on this black business month to celebrate our black businesses here in Duram and we do so with this Proclamation on Equitable Economic Development and so we in Supply diversity we hosted two weeks ago a hub meet and greet where we brought our Hub vendors in and they could actually meet with our Department directors 101 talk to them about opportunities we had over 140 registrants and we think we got about all of them to come in so that was a.
Great event you just heard the announcement about Med week that will be coming up in October and pretty soon we'll also be coming forward to you about our mwb Evolution program and the contract to start that second cohort thank you Chief of Staff trap come see Vice chair Burns is ready random question because I walked out to announcement came in where will I know it might be in multiple locations cuz it's midweek but will we be in Health and Human Services we be in oh that's anir so we'll be back downtown this year okay we will be but in various locations and so the event is October 14th through 17th the 14th is a Hub certification day that will have one location the 15th will have a different location as the business Fair our 16th we will celebrate Black businesses and minority businesses and we will invite all of you to go out take photos take selfies spend your dollars in those small and minority owned businesses and then on the 17th we.
Will have our keynote and lunching which will be held at the convention center and so all of those events are on the website if you go to Deco nc.gov Supplier Diversity you'll see a tab for Med week and all of the events are listed there with their actual locations but I'll make sure to get that to you all specifically as well because you will probably also receive some invitations to maybe participate thank you man I'm listen sounds good thank you I just want to uplift also our team members within Durham County that help us achieve our goals and making sure that we don't just talk the talk but we walk the walk you know like Perry man's and his team when it comes to development we have Tammy Hall who's an expert in this Arena and then as well as Andy Miracle who makes sure that when we have the econ the companies that are coming to Durham that they uphold these standards that we set and that everyone should set and.
Really are the bare minimum we should really be striving and achieving for higher than that but thank you to the whole Durham team that helps us reach these goals for ourselves Madam chair while you're shouting out Durham team members I do want to shout out our director of General Services because mreo has about 40% participation and we have a county goal of 25% and so she is our shining star thank you Mo yes absolutely shout out to Mo as well any other commissioner Jacobs yeah I just wanted to Echo your comments that I've just seen just a lot of efforts to do Outreach internally within County departments and out in the broader community and I really appreciate it I think this is being being a county commissioner for 12 years this is an area where you can't just set a goal I really come to understand that it's it is about building relationships and connections and really addressing what what are the barriers and changing the culture and people's behavior and so I I.
Just appreciate I can really see the difference in the work that everybody is doing so thank you so much thank you thank you Chief SE trop if there's no one else okay commissioner Carter just real quickly that I wanted to just mention that discover Durham has a great resource on their web page about the black businesses in Durham or minority businesses in Durham so if people are you know wondering what are the specific businesses that we can support that's a a great resource and I would encourage everybody to check it out thank you so much yes that brings us.
To our consent agenda oh commissioner Jacobs one Madam chair I want to apologize because I think I missed the opportunity with agenda adjustments I may have actually just skipped over that I apologize oh okay but yes commissioner Jacobs you have an adjustment for the agenda yes and I want to apologize to my colleagues I sent a very last email last minute email about some legislative goals that I would was requesting that we could add to our consent agenda so if you look at your email at 6:59.
P.m. but if you could just take a quick look at that and see if people are in agree agreement about I wanted to request that they be added to our consent agenda and so that we could also submit those to ncac excuse me I know I spoke to their staff and they said that if we adopted them tonight we could submit them yes thank you Deborah thank you okay I just want to make sure so Monica is included on this email so she has it should we read them just for the public knowledge okay I can go ahead Wendy Jacobs would you like to read them or I can do that you're eating what either way whatever you prefer you can go and read it okay okay so the first goal is was already adopted by the ncacc in 2324 and that is to support legislation to expand the Good Samaritan protection of covered offensive offenses in North Carolina General statute 9 - 96.2 C3 to include all opioid and Drug.
Offensives to encourage reporting of drug overdoses and reduce overdose deaths and also also previously supported was legislation that promotes opioid and other substance use prevention intervention harm reduction treatment and Recovery initiatives so resubmitting those and then the new goals for consideration is seek legislation to require that recovery housing operators do not have any barriers or restrictions for residents to use prescribed medications for Behavioral or physical health conditions given that medications for substance use and mental health disorders can be life-saving and also seek legislation that requires all recovery housing to be National iance for Recovery residents n ARR certified to address unethical and illegal practices in recovery housing and then third is seek legislation that requires jail facilities to assess inmates substance use status treat those with opioid use disorder with medications and provide follow-up treatment and care coordination after release which is something that our Detention Center currently does so those are those are the goals okay and I know Vice shair Burns has one additional now that we've started the conversation.
Right no this was one from last year so it's not necessarily new I think it's one that we can all agree on we've had some some decent bipartisan support and it was the one that made it out last year that made it into committee so I would like to also raise up again increase the North Carolina High School Dropout age from 16 to 18 so that one made it out of commitment so if y'all are okay with that one also and I will send the language to Monica so that was the one I wanted to add do I hear approval or a motion to approve adding those items legislative goals to the consent agenda so moved a moved by commissioner Alston second by commissioner Jacobs all in favor say I I I any opposed okay the legislative goals have been added to the consent agenda and with that now we will move towards reviewing and approving the consent agenda are there any items that any commissioner wants to pull hearing none I'll entertain a.
Motion for approval move by commissioner howon second second by commissioner Jacobs all in favor say I I any opposed okay the consent agenda is approved that now bring brings us to boards and commission appointment did we give you enough time Curtis yes. Ma'am yes ma'am you have appointed to the bicycle and pedestrian advisory commission John Lawler to the criminal justice advisory committee Tanya Dixon to the dangerous dog appeal board Elizabeth Wier and Brian Mulligan to the environmental Affairs board Larry Hall and stone Yan to the library Board of Trustees ivanho Francis and Leah Josephson thank you attorney Massie congratulations to everyone who has been appointed to the board for folks who weren't selected this time please continue to look at our boards and commission appointments there's a lot that continue to be posted we need vacancies for I see commissioner Alston has her hand raised I just wanted to comment that I really was so impressed with the Deep competence and capabilities that were demonstrated in the backgrounds that were provided to us.
On this particular round of appointments and you know I always am am impressed but in particular there were some very difficult choices that we had to make this time and so I do really want to endorse what you're saying Madam chair that people continue to seek seek appointment either on this same particular you know board or commission or others yeah commissioner Jacobs I want to ditto that there was one particular board that there were there were many highly qualified people and it was really really hard so if you did not get appointed and you applied please keep your application in please don't feel dis urge please continue to seek appointment on that board clerk Wallace is there a way for like folks who may not have been appointed to kind of be on like have their application in and be reconsidered next time applications do stay on file for a year they perfect okay commissioner Vice chair burs well mine wasn't about the boards and commissions by all means you know I Echo.
Those sentiments but I would also say Lobby and speak up for yourself cuz I think every month we have very qualified people that do not get do not get elected or do not get selected I can say with full transparency and the clerk could look in the record before I was a county commissioner I applied to 17 boards I was never put on one so you run for something maybe then you'll get but I apply for 17 boards with the county and I was never voted on one so yeah keep keep trying you know it at some point it'll work out but that was not my announcement mine was something that commissioner Alston said only because it is women's equality day I'm sorry to say do she made me think when she said discover Durham has a decent list of minority owned businesses also if you go to DDI downtown Durham Inc they actually have a list of all the women own businesses downtown so as we seek to.
Go out and support those that is another place that has a list of our of businesses that you might want to might want to go and spend some dollars but that was my only one thank you I got excited I was like Wow record meeting and then I remembered we have close session with that then now brings us to our close session items that concludes our regular session items the board is entering into close session for two reasons to consider the qualifications competence performance character Fitness conditions of appointment or conditions of initial appointment of an individual public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee or to hear investigate a complaint charge grievance by or against an individual public officer or employee pursuant to General statute 14331 18.11 A6 and to consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to preserve the attorney client privilege between the attorney and the public body to discuss the national opioid litigation which privilege is hereby acknowledged pursuant to General.
Statute 143 31811 A3 do I hear a motion to move in close session second move by commissioner Auten second by commissioner Alston all in favor say I I I any opposed okay we are in close session for the recent sted thank you all so much for joining.
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