The Orange County Board of Commissioners are looking for ways to make Orange County facilities a priority to all that are in need.
During their Tuesday meeting, one of the first topics up for discussion was the need to accommodate children from disadvantaged homes in the recreation facilities.
Mary Musacchia, Chapel Hill Parks, Greenways and Recreational Commission representative, said the excessive use of the facilities that are already available is causing a lot of problems both within the community and financially in Orange County.
"All of our facilities are heavily used and overtaxed so we are constantly struggling to keep up with the demand on what we have," Musacchia said.
"We have a large number of children from disadvantaged homes coming in."
Next, the board began to discuss the seriousness of the lack of protection for its own senior citizens that actively walk around Orange County.
After a tragic accident, Alex Castro Jr., chair of the Advisory Board on Aging, said Orange County is not providing enough protection to these senior citizens, and as the board and leadership team of the county they need to step up.
"We have a growing population of seniors and we encourage everyone to get out there to exercise and walk, but we don't provide safe conditions for them," Castro said.
"We ask that you devote leadership attention to this matter and try to cut across bureaucratic obstacles to get action done before someone else is killed."
Commissioner Barry Jacobs eased the situation by explaining that commissioners are aware of the ongoing issues and are already taking action to prevent future accidents.
"We asked staff and staff agreed to look at all of our facilities to make them more accessible, especially for pedestrians," Jacobs said.
The Board of Commissioners also took time to discuss the Arts Commission and what the members can do as leaders to give more of their time and resources.
Jacobs said there have been instances where the board was critiqued for their lack of involvement with the Arts Commission.
"There has been some criticism that we don't have a wide enough outreach to the arts community," he said.
Notable:
Tamara Dempsey-Tanner, Orange County Board of Social Services representative, said the board received an incredible amount of money for child care in Orange County to support a large number of children.
"We received an additional one million dollars from the state that we didn't anticipate," Dempsey-Tanner said. "We are currently serving 700 kids with our funds."
Quotable:
"A city person doesn't like the smell," said Commissioner Renee Price, in reference to farmers and agriculture.
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