ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AGENDA BOCC Virtual Work Session April 22, 2021 Meeting – 7:00 p.m. Due to current public health concerns, the Board of Commissioners is conducting a Virtual Work Session on April 22, 2021. Members of the Board of Commissioners will be participating in the meeting remotely. As in prior meetings, members of the public will be able to view and listen to the meeting via live streaming video at orangecountync.gov/967/Meeting-Videos and on Orange County Gov-TV on channels 1301 or 97.6 (Spectrum Cable). (7:00 – 8:50) 1. Volunteer Advisory Boards and Commissions – Annual Work Plan Summaries (8:50 – 9:35) 2. Orange County Crisis/Diversion Facility: Findings and Recommendations by the Orange County Behavioral Health Task Force (9:35 – 9:40) 3. Arts Commission – Appointment Discussion (9:40 – 9:45) 4. Board of Health – Appointments Discussion (9:45 – 9:50) 5. Chapel Hill Board of Adjustment – Appointment Discussion (9:50 – 9:55) 6. Historic Preservation Commission – Appointment Discussion (9:55 – 10:00) 7. Orange County Parks and Recreation Council – Appointments Discussion (10:00 – 10:05) 8. Orange Water & Sewer Authority Board of Directors – Appointment Discussion Orange County Board of Commissioners’ meetings and work sessions are available via live streaming video at orangecountync.gov/967/Meeting-Videos and Orange County Gov- TV on channels 1301 or 97.6 (Spectrum Cable). 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 22, 2021 Action Agenda Item No. 1 SUBJECT: Volunteer Advisory Boards and Commissions – Annual Work Plan Summaries DEPARTMENT: Board of Commissioners ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Listing of Annual Work Plan Summaries Clerk’s Office, 919-245-2130 PURPOSE: To provide feedback and/or direction on the second group of boards and commissions’ annual work plan summaries with their Chairs (or representatives) in attendance. (The first group of boards and commissions’ annual work plan summaries were presented at the Board’s March 9, 2021 work session.) BACKGROUND: In the past, as part of the Board of Commissioners’ annual planning and goal setting retreats, the Board requested and reviewed/provided feedback on annual plan summaries from the County’s internal advisory boards and commissions. This information provided the Board with a yearly overview of the boards and commissions and their projected goals for the upcoming year. This particular process ended in 2007. The Board decided at its April 13, 2010 meeting to reinstate this process independent of the Board’s annual retreats. Advisory Boards and Commissions Represented at this meeting: Board Name Representative(s) Presenting Animal Services Advisory Board Ed Tiryakian Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee Anthony Carey Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee Vibeke Talley Board of Health Quintana Stewart Affordable Housing Advisory Board Erika Brandt Human Relations Commission Annette Moore & Frances Castillo Orange County Parks and Recreation Council Haywood Rhodes Historic Preservation Commission Todd Dickinson & Art Menius Agricultural Preservation Board Cecilia Redding & Portia McKnight Commission for the Environment Kim Piracci Climate Council Brennan Bouma Arts Commission Katie Murray & Fred Joiner 2 FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with this item. SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal is applicable to this item: GOAL: ENABLE FULL CIVIC PARTICIPATION Ensure that Orange County residents are able to engage government through voting and volunteering by eliminating disparities in participation and barriers to participation. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There is no Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal impact associated with this item. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board review the annual work plan summaries from advisory boards and commissions and provide feedback and/or direction. 3 NAME OF BOARD: Animal Services Advisory Board Report Period: 2020-2021 ORANGE COUNTY ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ANNUAL REPORT/WORK PLAN FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS The Board of Commissioners welcomes input from various advisory boards and commissions in preparation for its annual planning retreat. Please complete the following information, limited to the front and back of this form. Other background materials may be provided as a supplement to, but not as a substitute for, this form. Board/Commission Name: Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB) Person to address the BOCC at Work Session—if applicable and contact information: Currently, Amanda Schwoerke, ASAB Chair; and/or Bryan Stuart, ASAB Vice-Chair. Primary County Staff Contact: Bob Marotto, Animal Services Director How many times per month does this board/commission meet, including any special meetings and sub-committee meetings? The ASAB meets monthly except for the months of July and December. These meetings ensure that there is sufficient time to listen to stakeholders and address issues in a timely manner. Three (3) ASAB members serve on the Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool. They chair the appeal hearing panels convened under the Unified Animal Ordinance. Three (3) members of the ASAB serve on the review committee for the Pat Sanford Animal Welfare Award. Every fall, the committee reviews applications and makes a selection based upon award criteria. Finally, sometimes the ASAB creates task forces to examine specific issues. Oneexamined ordinance provisions for keeping and displaying wild and exotic animals. Another is examining shelter requirements for working livestock guardian dogs. Brief Statement of Board/Commission’s Assigned Charge and Responsibilities. The ASAB is a sounding board for policy issues raised by residents or identified by the BOCC. Residents are referred to the board as a critical step in any consideration of stakeholder concerns, before bringing an item to the Board of County Commissioners. 4 Integral to this general responsibility is a concern with ensuring that the practices and outcomes of Orange County Animal Services meet or exceed prevailing professional standards. A good illustration is the ASAB’s support for the county’s Community Spay and Neuter Program and its effort to manage free roaming cats in more proactive and humane ways. Also integral to this responsibility is receiving feedback from the board members who serve on the Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool. This is one basis for the ASAB to work with staff to maintain a list of challenges and problems that may be addressed through the amendment of the Unified Animal Ordinance. Finally, the ASAB is concerned with the human aspects of animal issues as well as animal welfare. Fundamental is the relation of animals to public health, safety, and community welfare. Indeed, one board member is the veterinarian for Orange County Health Board. What are your Board/Commission’s most important accomplishments? The ASAB missed several meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed meeting as soon as it was possible to do so. The board has been meeting virtually since September and it has worked diligently to discharge its duties since then. As a result of its concern with legislative affairs, the board formulated a recommendation for Orange County’s 2021 Legislative Agenda. The board is recommending that North Carolina’s dangerous dog law be amended to allow for a review and revocation of this declaration. It did so on the basis of experience with the recent ordinance amendment allowing for such review under the ordinance, recognizing that the incredible frustration residents experience when they discover that there is no recourse for a statutory declaration for the life of their pet. One ASAB task force worked with Animal Services staff and a staff attorney to revise ordinance provisions for the keeping of animals dangerous to persons and property. The effort is continuing and it is expected to include ordinance provisions for the display of exotic and other animals before being brought forward for consideration by others. Another task force is examining racial equity in the area of animal welfare given the concerns arising in the aftermath of events in Minneapolis and national protest. This effort is driven by the recognition that animal services and the human-animal bond is no different than other areas of concern in our communities, county and country. 5 A third task force is examining the whether the shelter requirements in the Unified Animal Ordinance are appropriate for working livestock guardian dogs (LGD). This effort is a response to a concern raised by an Orange County farmer who uses LGDs to protect his livestock but can’t meet the current ordinance requirement for shelter. In addition, the ASAB worked with staff to develop a resolution which the BOCC adopted designating Orange County as a socially conscious animal community. This approach to animal welfare is new and exciting and it is more holistic and socially responsible than most prevailing pwractices. It expresses many of the practices Animal Services has established and at the same provides a valuable perspective for evaluating programs and practices going forward. The ASAB worked with staff to provide a number of other deliverables. One was the review of applications for the annual Pat Sanford Award (and as needed, outside agency funding applications). Another is developing and sustaining various community partnerships. A good example is the relationship that was created with the Agricultural Preservation Board