Good morning everyone. Welcome to the December 1st, 2025 work session of the Durham County Board of County Commissioners. And as you can see, I am not the chair. I am Lissa Williamson, the Durham County Attorney.
And the reason why I'm sitting in this seat is because on the first Monday meeting of December, we have the honor of electing our chair. And until we do that, the Durham County Attorney is charged with presiding over the meeting. And at the time that the chair is elected, the chair will then uh preside over the remainder of the meeting to include the chair of the vice I mean the election of the vice chair. So with that being said, we'll start with the public charge. The board of commissioners ask its members and residents to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner both with the board and fellow
residents. At any time should any member of the board or any resident 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. Commissioner Valentine, would you read the land acknowledgement?
>> Yes. As we convene for the Dorm County Commissioners meeting, it's crucial to recognize the painful truth of history. We stand on a stolen stolen ancestral lands of the Kotaba, the Eno, the Okonichi, the Shakuri, and the Tuscaroras peoples whose deep connection to this land predates our arrival. We acknowledge with humility the unjust displacement and violence that occurred leading to the dispossession 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 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. So, we will start with the election of the chair.
I will now open the floor to nominations for the chair of the Durham County Board of County Commissioners. Madame Attorney, I would like to nominate uh Dr. Mike Lee for the role of chair. >> Commissioner Lee has been nominated.
Are there any other nominations? Hearing none, the nominations are now closed. And I will ask Madame Clerk to do a roll call and I will ask each commissioner to say yes or no when um when your name is called. Madame clerk. >> Commissioner Long.
>> Yes. >> Commissioner Burton. >> Yes. >> Commissioner Jacobs.
>> Yes. >> Commissioner Lee. >> Yes. >> Commissioner Valentine.
>> Yes. >> It is unanimous. Commissioner Lee is now chairly. Congratulations.
And I will gladly relinquish this chair to you. Thank you all. I'll say something after we do the vice chair. Um, okay.
So, now we must elect the vice chair. I will open the floor for nominations. >> Thank you, Chair Lee. I would like to nominate um Nida Allam to be vice chair. >> Okay, we have a nomination for
commissioner Allam for vice chair. Are there any other nominations? Hearing none. Nominations are closed.
I will ask the clerk for a roll call vote. >> Commissioner Long. Yes. Commissioner Burton, >> yes.
>> Commissioner Jacobs, >> yes. >> Chair Dr. Lee, >> yes. >> Commissioner Valentine, >> yes.
>> Passes unanimously. Um, Commissioner Alum is vice chair Allam now. Congratulations. Would you like to say anything?
>> I would just like to say thank you all so much for the honor of allowing me to be chair for the past two years. I have really appreciated all the ways that we've collaborated. I know one of those years was with the previous board, but this year especially has been really great to collaborate uh and learn and support our new commissioners as they transitioned onto the board. And I'm really excited to be able to continue to
serve in leadership as vice chair. And I appreciate you entrusting me with this position. And I'm very, very excited for Dr. ly to take the reigns of the chairmanship.
Um, and I will continue to be here by all of your side to support this board and work with all of you. And I know we're going to have an amazing year, um, even through a difficult budget, uh, and difficulties with what is happening, you know, nationally and throughout our communities. But I know this board is united in standing up and representing all of Durham and making sure that everyone in Durham has the opportunity to thrive here. Thank you, Vice Chair Allam.
Um, I want to just really quickly just thank everyone. Um, but I'm going to start by thanking um, vice chair Allam for uh, allowing me to tag along and learn from you. Um, I spent a lot of years on the other side of this dis on the school board and I
saw a lot of different things and had a lot of different opinions from that side. But being able to uh experience your leadership, your knowledge, your guidance over the last year has um I'm not really sure I can put into words how grateful I am to have been able to learn from your um from what you do. um your your spirit, your love for Durham and your leadership shines and I think that's undeniable and um what you've been able to do the what you've been able to navigate um from the previous board and the transition to a new manager to a new uh county attorney to a new board is uh magnificent. um your leadership and your your stamp on Durham will live forever for what
you've been able to do. Um I'm grateful what you've done, what you continue to do, and what you will do for Durham. So, thank you to my uh colleagues uh Commissioner Valentine, Commissioner Jacobs, and Commissioner Burton. I am deeply grateful for your trust in me to lead this um this wonderful board um into whatever's next.
I do not take this lightly. Um I do not uh take um what you've bestowed lightly at all. This is very important and it is my honor to do to do that. I look forward to continuing our coffees, our lunches, our text, our regular chats because I think I speak to everyone like all the time at least few times a week
and I look forward to continue do continuing doing that to Durham. I look forward to uh representing you um as your chair. It is just a it's just a title. I'm still just a commissioner.
I'm still just mikely. But this this reminds me of a um my third year being chair at the count a board of education. It was during an election and my older son, he's 18 now. " He said he that's what he said. And I actually did a speech about that that year.
What I'm asking for Dur Durham is for us to just do do good stuff. Just like Nick said back then, just do good stuff. As you all know, many of you know, I drive a bus, which is where I was running in from this morning. My route ended and had to rush to get here at 9.
And I know that I am blessed and privileged to be able to do that with a flexible job and everything. And I'm not asking I'm not saying that everyone should do can or should do that. But there is something here in Durham that we can all do that is above and beyond what our that is within the privilege that we have. We can volunteer, we can support, you know, DPS, DSS, whoever we can support in some some capacity. And that's what I hope to um
hope to lead to is a spirit of of us making Durham what it could be. I'm just a parent. I'm a parent. I have a full-time job.
I'm a taxpayer. I have a house where my taxes went up. I'm no different from anyone else here. The only difference is I have the ability to voluntarily volunteer but uh have the ability to do something a little bit extra that live that 1% more to make Durham the place that we all wanted to be.
And I hope that I can convince more people to do the same. So I look forward to uh this role. I look forward to working with you all. um, Attorney Williams and Manager Hager, who I've known a really long time. So, I'm I get really excited about working with her and the staff. I look
forward to being your champion here in Durham. I believe I am a leader in my regular job. Well, my other job, because this is a regular job. Um, and I always tell I always believe that if we can make our employees happy, work just happens.
Work just work just h productivity happens. And I look forward to working to make sure our staff has what they need to be productive for the residents of Durham. So, thank you all very much. I really appreciate I really appreciate this and I'm honored to be chair today.
Okay. So, the next item on our agenda is uh citizens comments and we have three. We have two in person and we have one virtual. But I want to um I want to read a little bit of um
thought about citizen comments and how we how we move forward here. Um, the board of county commissioners provides time for public comment period at a meeting once a month. Any resident of Durham County wishing to speak shall have an opportunity to do so. For those speaking today, please state your name and if you're speaking on behalf of an organization, provide your name and the organization's name.
We ask that you keep your comments to three minutes. The clerk will start the timer and share and share when it is time for your comments to begin. She will inform you when there when the three minutes has ended. All speakers are requested to to refrain from addressing issues related to personnel matters. Finally, everyone will listen carefully and consider your comments, but we will not engage in discussion
uh with speakers. So, our first well our two inerson comments, we'll do the virtual comment last. Uh two will be the first one is Antonet Halls. Hope I'm saying that correct.
And then Doug Hajes, you can come line up right behind her there. Okay. >> Hello. My name is Antonet Haw.
I'm at 5610 Catskill Court Steel. I am calling here. I am here today in objection. And I do understand that you don't want to talk about personnel matters, but How else would we be able to express our grievances? Uh, the Department of Social Services director has filed a no contact order for one of our community leaders. didn't say the
name. And um we are talking about a person who has actually worked in the area of um social services as an investigator, someone who is experienced, someone who has worked with the community, someone who is got leadership and and rallying the community uh not just in Durham but you know throughout the United States with the um Mother's March on Washington DC 3 years now. So, her commitment to the community uh goes without saying is she is an awesome person and this no contact I understand is like the second one that the department has put on her and that is simply because they don't want to be accountable. Um, we read the reports and we know when you've cut and paste and we see when the graphs are not reflective of the actual data and the
problem is being held accountable for the quality of care that they're providing the citizens in Durham. Um, it is not happening. The children are not receiving their visits. The parents are not getting the representation.
the children are suffering and the community is suffering and lacking and of course uh the morale is down. We we don't have confidence in you. We don't have confidence in the department. And of course, it is um an outrage that the county manager has co-signed to a complaint that has no police report investigation, no evidence, no information pertaining to how the manager was agreved other than saying, you know, you must be held accountable.
We want you to provide us this. We we're going to hold you to the fire. We're expecting results. We need you to confirm.
We need to hold you accountable for your AY's failures in the community. So, I think that that um that no contact is is outrageous and and we are appalled as a community and we are holding this board accountable since the county manager is not willing to do the right thing and and hold the department director. >> Thank you. We're going to hold on.
>> Thank you very much. Our next speaker is going to be Doug Hodes, please. Good morning. My name is Doug Hodges.
I'm the executive director and founder of Swing Pals. Uh Dr. Lee, congratulations on chairmanship. Uh probably if your son went to one of my six schools that I serve and maybe I coached your son in the gymnasium at one of those schools. Uh the reason I'm the reason I'm here is because I know that you all care deeply about the community. Uh um so um I wanted to in I wanted to
share what I do in Durham uh to ensure that Swing Powers is no longer the best kept secret. Uh just so I can share a little bit about myself. Uh I have now volunteered over 40,000 hours serving this city and I'm very proud to share that we have worked with over 10,000 Durham public school students in the last six years. We serve Neil Middle School, Lowe's, Shepard, Githans, Rogers Herur, and Brogden.
Swing Powers is a nonprofit. We help young people build resilience through mindfulness and golf. We help them develop the emotional regulation skills to be able to create a safe environment so they can unlock their potential and have the freedom to be. So, as I mentioned, we're in those six schools.
Um, we deliver coaching in schools to students at those six schools. We deliver after school programming at Hillenddale Golf Course and we also deliver homebased programming. As I said, I volunteer my time, 40,000 hours in the last 12 years.
Dr. Lee, your comments were very moving. As a citizen of this great city, I am here to serve you and as commissioners and county employees and city staff and city council, and I will continue to serve as best I can. And at the same time, I ask for your support.
The city of Durham have committed a almost a million dollars to build out Hillanddale golf course. So it is the jewel that serves the community as it should be. On that golf course, we are going to build a 3,000 foot privately funded facility so Durham public school students I serve in schools can come to Hillinddale and have the space to develop those emotional regulation skills. We'll have a workforce development program.
We will create the opportunity for Doran public school students that are underserved and oftentimes marginalized to be able to unlock that potential. My ask of the commissioners and I appreciate I only have three minutes and so I made a package for each of you. My ask is please come visit and see Swing Pals in
action at Neil Middle School. We'll be there for three weeks. We rotate between the six schools between first semester and second semester. Come see us at Neil Middle School by the end of January and the first two weeks of February.
Come see a paradigm shifting program that we have built over the last 12 years that has the ability to unlock the for these young people to unlock their potential and challenge the status quo. I ask for your support. Manager Hager, thank you for your support. Thank you for a huge shout out to Miss Harrove.
You guys have been awesome and I appreciate each and every one of you. And please take this personal invitation. >> I just >> I appreciate you all. Thank you.
>> You can Yeah. Yeah. You can leave it there. >> Thank you everybody.
>> Okay. And we have one virtual public comment. Uh that is Amanda Wallace.
Um do we have Yes. >> Can you hear me? >> Okay. Yes, we can hear you, Miss Wallace.
Okay. Is my time starting? >> Yes. >> Okay.
Sorry. Yeah. You know, this virtual thing is new to me. I'm usually in person.
Um, so my name is Amanda Wallace and I am the founder of Operation Stop CPS and also a resident of Durham. And like I said, I'm usually there in person, but I can't be today because the county has taken out a no contact order against me on behalf of every employee in Durham County. So, it is not simply the director of social services, but every county, making it pretty much illegal for me to come to a public Durham County meeting. And so I just really want to say for the record um how this is infringing upon my right to freedom of speech and being able to redress the government. And so like I said, I'm the founder of Operation Stop
CPS and our mission is to abolish the family policing system. And that what some people call is child protective services or child welfare services, but it's a department that you five county commissioners both govern and finance. Right? You financed this department and you have known for some time about the failures of this agency and of this department.
Wendy Jacobs has sat on the board of social services for two years and has seen no change. Steven Valentine is also currently sitting on the board of social services. And when he shows up for those meetings, he acts as if he um is concerned about the welfare of children and he and he empathizes with what parents are going through, but it seems like more of lip service than actual action. But again, just to frame the issue, over 70% of the children in Durham County custody
are black. of the children that stay in custody, they are in custody over two years, right? Over two years on average, even though their parents do service after service, go to visit after visit, right? You know, all of these things.
This is not new information. And so, so we're at this place now, right, where the where the county has taken out a no contact order because they don't want to keep hearing the truth. Well, that's just unfortunate and and you know, we're just going to have to see I'll just see you in court to talk about that. But the reality is, right, you you guys y'all see these failures, but this system was designed to do exactly what it's doing.
Exactly what it's doing. This system is a tool to control black bodies. Regardless of how you don't want to hear it, the truth is the truth. And so, of
course, of course the county is protecting their leader, right? Of course you are going to protect the leader of the Department of Social Services. She is running your slave ship. >> That's your three minutes.
>> But I will thank you. Thank you very much for your comment. >> The next item on our agenda and there's no other p public comments that that was a two and then the one virtual is the consent agenda. It's listing our packet.
Um, so do we want to vote? Do we >> Yeah, you want manager Hagar will read them and then we'll >> Okay. Good morning everyone. We have a few items that are on the consent agenda for this morning and the first one is 25602. This is an approval of budget ordinance amendment to recognize a gift of $10,000
from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The next one is 25605. 85 85 um for 45 stair chairs in the amount of $319,7745 and seven Lucas devices in the amount of $181,23127 for a total purchase of $865,27357. And this is to support our office of emergency services EMS division as they provide service to our residents.
The next item is 25631. This is an approval of a budget ordinance amendment um for cooperative extension to recognize $1,500 in grant funds for disaster risk management training from North Carolina and T State University. And the last item is um our annual um encumbrance role. 1 million. And these encumbrances are outstanding year-end commitments that were entered into by the county um for either services or goods that were um in process but not
completed. So the dollars roll forward from the prior fiscal year into our current fiscal year. Okay. Commissioners, these are all of our um items for consent.
We've heard the consent agenda. Um, >> may I have a point of personal privilege? >> Absolutely. >> Wonderful.
Thank you. I just wanted Sorry I didn't say this before. I was waiting for a delivery to come, but I just wanted to let folks know that where you sign up for public comment, there are toolkits of whistles um that have been organized. This is actually middle school and elementary school students assemble these packages as we know that we'll have an increased presence of ICE and CBP agents across Durham. These are kits with whistles as well as um some information about knowing your rights. Uh if you see any ICE or CBP um agents around, so please feel free to take one.
they are free to just keep a whistle around you. So that way we can just make sure all of our neighbors are safe and welcome. And also um know that your rights are that if you do not have to answer if you're pulled over, you do not have to answer any questions regarding your place of birth or your citizenship um unless the officers have reason to believe or a warrant to ask you such questions. >> Thank you.
>> Okay. Absolutely. I'm going to have to go get get one of those. I thank you for having those delivered here.
And thank you to the elementary school kids, you said. >> Yeah, it was elementary middle school kids assembled these. >> Oh, man. That's >> And as we take them take if you have friends who need them, they will continue to replenish them.
>> Mhm. >> So, >> all right. >> Very good. So, we've heard the consent agenda.
Um, do we have any comments about the consent agenda? >> Because those uh the consent agenda moves on to the regular session. Um
did we have another I think the presentation a piece? >> We do not have another presentation. There was um an item that there were a couple of items we've moved to the January meeting. There is one item we'll um bring to the regular board meeting.
>> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Yes. Uh Michelle.
>> Yes. I I'm going to make this brief but I wanted to find out how can um we as commissioners know about what's the procedure when a child is taken into um child protective services and how that works because I'm just curious for myself just to know because it's really um I know social services is doing a really great job around it But just for us to know what is the procedure? Um do I just get with you manager Hager or um Director Clap? Well, what we will do and we've it's
been a while since we've had a board conversation about um how those procedures are. we will send that information to you and um we will also um have a conversation at one of our work sessions and I know some of our other um commissioners can weigh in as well. >> Go ahead uh Commissioner Jacobs. >> Um yeah, I think that's a great suggestion.
on the DSS board. We've had an entire, you know, hour-long presentation from child protective service staff who can explain um what the state statutes are. um we have to follow state statutes and there there's a whole process for how a um and there's actually obligations for every person related to um child abuse and neglect. And so we our staff have to follow the law and then there's a process for
investigations and then different levels of intervention and there's the role of the uh courts um and the judges. So I you're absolutely right. It's it's a very complex system and um it would be great to have our DSS child protective services staff and our DSS attorneys come and present for not just our board but for educating the entire community. So thank you for asking that.
>> Yes. Yeah, because I think it's important for since people are coming to us and understanding what this process is because again I know it's the states, it's the courts, it's all these systems that are involved and um I just want to make sure we understand and our community understands and um because I know our department of social services, they're doing a great job. I know director Clap is doing a good job. Um so this is nothing against them. I just think, you know, as long as we know and we can have their backs and things like
that. So, thank you so much. >> Yeah. And if we have that presentation from DSS come, I think it'd be good also to have maybe um Chief Judge Clayton Jones or somebody from the judicial system come to be able to share like that the court.
>> That'd be great. That would absolutely be great. Well, and I was going to say that I can make sure that my office coordinates with the manager's office. So that way um you can hear the presentation from the employees that are on the ground, but then also what happens after that when you're actually talking about the court system and and how that works in general.
So we can definitely get that coordinated. >> And sorry, also the public defenders office because I know they also are involved in the system. >> Yes, we can we can do all that. That was a great suggestion, Commissioner Burton.
Thank you for that. That's a great suggestion, Commissioner Valentine. >> Yes, Commissioner Burton, thank you for uh bringing that uh forward today. Um having experience in social work on the
ground in both investigations and treatment. And so I know a lot about this system, but I know how complex it is and multiple agencies involved. And so the more that the public is informed with respect to state law and what our role is in the county um is instrumental in ensuring that uh people operate from a position of knowledge and understanding. And so I look forward to the discussion that we're going to have on this subject matter uh in hopes that uh we can uh clarify some of the misconceptions related to uh the work that's done in the department of social services u particularly in the area of child welfare.
So I look forward to that discussion. >> Okay. So we'll try to plan for this to be a work session item in January. Ahead of that this week we'll send you um the framework the broad framework. We've had conversations with the board in the past, so we'll um make sure the most current information is there and um get
that to you this week, but plan for the January work session. >> Okay, >> that'll be great. Thank you, manager Haver. >> Okay, and that brings us to the end of our agenda um for work session.
Do we vote for adjournment? >> I'll I'll accept a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. Second.
>> It's been moved and properly seconded. We adjourn. All in favor? Uh, any discussion?
All in favor say I. >> I. >> All oppose, please use the same sign. We are ajourned.