County commissioners expand Rogers Road Task Force

County leaders voted Tuesday to extend the Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood Task Force for six more months, echoing a similar vote made in late January.

But this time, the Board of Orange County Commissioners’ decision came with a condition: The group must report back to the commissioners by Sept. 17.

The commissioners voted unanimously to extend the task force.

The board had already voted Jan. 24 to extend the life of the task force by six months, which means the task force will disband on July 24.

Commissioner Penny Rich said she felt the time between the disbanding of the task force and the board’s first meetings in September would be adequate for the group.

“I think that’s plenty of time to get a report together,” Rich said.

But Commissioner Mark Dorosin said he thinks the board should not start counting the six-month period until after the towns of Orange County have appointed their task force members.

Dorosin said he felt it was important not to limit the time given to the task force.

“You want the thing to be meaningful,” he said.

The commissioners also requested that the Rogers Eubanks Neighborhood Association confirm that the task force should continue and elect two members to the task force.

The task force — made up of representatives from across Orange County — was created in February 2012 after the commissioners voted to close 2013 the county landfill, which has been housed in the Rogers Road neighborhood since 1972.

The group is responsible for making recommendations to local government officials on improvements of the water and sewer service and the construction of a community center in the Rogers Road neighborhood.

In January, commissioners also voted unanimously to push forward with plans to build a community center for the historically black, low-income neighborhood.

Officials hope that allowing the task force to continue working for six months will quicken the process of helping the neighborhood along with its community center.

“I think the whole point was to not have this thing dragging on forever,” Commissioner Renee Price said.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.