Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

regular session of the board of county commissioners for june 22nd 2026. um let's see here so before we start i'm going to read the public charge vice chair alum would you read the land acknowledgement okay so i'll get us started by our public charge The Board of Commissioners asks 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 residents 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. Vice Chair Lum.

As we convene for the Durham County Commissioner's Meeting, it's crucial to recognize the painful truth of history. We stand on the stolen ancestral lands of the Catawba, Eno, Okaneechee, Shikori, and Tuscarora peoples, whose deep connection to this land predates our arrival. We acknowledge with humility the unjust displacements 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. Commissioner Burton, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Okay, next item on our agenda is agenda adjustments or changes?

Chair Lee? Not an adjustment, but just would like to entertain a motion for an excused absence for Commissioner Jacobs.

Okay, we can do that now. So moved. Second. It has been moved and probably seconded that we have an excused absence for Commissioner Jacobs. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, please use the same sign. That is noted. Agenda review and adjustments. Any changes? Hearing none, I'll accept a motion to accept the agenda as presented.

So moved. Second.

It's been moved and properly seconded. We approve the agenda as presented. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed, please use the same sign. All right. The agenda passes unanimously. So we're about to go into announcements. However, I do want to make a statement here. I want to clarify one of the items before the board tonight. Tonight's public hearing concerns a proposed amendment to the ordinance provisions governing the process and requirements for adopting development moratoria in general. The board is not considering to adopt a moratorium on data centers tonight. Public hearing comments should be focused on the text amendment that is before the board tonight. So if you were here, there's kind of stories and maybe misinformation out on social media and the news media and so forth that tonight we were considering a moratorium on data centers. That is not correct. This is a different, a different adjustment. This is a different adjustment altogether, okay? Just wanted to put that out there. I'll probably say that again right before the public hearing. Okay. On to announcements. Clerk Wallace.

Good evening, everyone. I'll be reading the announcements published in tonight's agenda. Durham County youth can get free meals at schools and community sites throughout Durham during the summer months through the Sun Meals Program. The program from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction provides nutritious breakfast, lunch, and snacks for anyone 18 and under now through July 31st. No application, ID, registration, or proof of income is required. There is a link that you can visit that shows the locations, dates, and times of operation near you. For the past six months, Durham County government has partnered with the city of Durham to better understand the causes of violence in our community and identify the strategies that make an impact. Now we're bringing that work to the community at the Summit on Saving Lives on Wednesday, June 24th from 8.30 a.m. to 12.15 p.m., a hybrid event to share what we have learned and turn that learning into action. Together with residents, local leaders, national experts, we will examine local data, weigh the evidence, and align on a focused set of strategies tailored to Durham's unique challenges and strengths. Registration for in-person seating has failed. However, you can watch the entire summit on the City of Durham's YouTube channel, and there is a link. Durham County Department of Social Services is developing a fatherhood program to support fathers involved with Durham County DSS within the Children and Family Services Division. You're invited to help shape services that reflect the needs and experiences of fathers while strengthening their roles as parents, providers, and community members. There is a link for a survey that needs to be completed. To learn more about the survey and the program, you can contact Child Welfare Social Worker Taequann Lynch at 919-560-8459. Get out in the community and eat some great donuts and other treats this summer with the Durham County Library Donut Crawl. Pick up your donut tracker from any library location or email sarahgibson at sgibson at dconc.gov and start visiting some great local businesses. The crawl runs through August 1st. You'll earn a completion sticker for each location you visit in Durham. Visit five or more locations and get entered into a final drawing for a four-pack of Durham Bulls tickets. Trackers must be turned in by Saturday, August 8th to be entered, and registration is not required. It is open for all ages, and there is a link for additional information. And lastly, watch the June episode of In Touch with Durham County. In this month's episode, host Deborah Craig-Ray, Durham County's Chief Communication Officer, welcomes first-time guest Crystal Harris, Director of Community Intervention and Support Services, and introduces Seth. Kaminsky, Durham County's new chief EMS paramedic. You can watch the full episode on our YouTube channel, and there is a link as well. That concludes the announcements on tonight's agenda.

Thank you, Clerk Wallace. Are there any other announcements? Commissioner Valentine, you were going to say something.

Yes, Chair, I'd just like to take a moment of personal privilege and acknowledge the loss of Minister Paul Scott, who was an activist and a minister in local community. He served our community for many years and was committed to our youth. And so I just wanted to make sure that we acknowledge that we lost a giant in our community over the past week. Thank you.

Commissioner Burton.

Yes, I just want to echo what Commissioner Valentine said. Minister Paul Scott, he was one of the first people I met when I first came to Durham. I worked at Stanford L. Warren Library, and he was a frequent patron of that library will often come in. This is over 30 years ago. He will often come in to check out books, things like that. He was just a wonderful human being and we attended a book discussion on gun violence, not too not too long ago we sat right next to each other so he will be greatly missed and i also want to acknowledge the sudden passing of our colleague in orange county commissioner jamesetta bedford she died suddenly on sunday and i had the pleasure of meeting her when i first became a county commissioner just a wonderful person so i just wanted to lift that up so thank you um any others

um minister scott will be missed out at old oxford and uh dan you he used to sit there with books handing out books and i told him at one point we were gonna figure out a way to fund his books so he could keep giving them out and so after he passed um i was talking to my wife i was like you know what i would love to build one of those little library you know little it looks like a mailbox, but it's like a little library to put it there in his honor right there at that bus stop. And I may try to do that on my own, you know, to put it because that is where he was. That was his place. And so I think that would be a good representation. I'm going to see about how I can organize doing something like the little library right there. I don't live too far from there. So, um, so for me, as far as announcements, um, So it's June and many of you know, two years ago, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and I'm past that and so forth, but I decided every single June in the last meeting that we have in the month, well, at some point in the month, I'll just ask everyone in attendance and the millions of people who are watching, if you know someone over 40 a male over 40 have them get their psa levels checked it is part of a blood test there's no probing there's no anything i know how some people we get about that it is a blood test you go to the doctor anyway they draw blood all they have to do is check a box for psa levels It can literally be the difference of saving your life, saving your life or not. Prostate cancer is one of the most curable cancers out there. I'm living proof of that. And once I started talking about it, so many people came up to me, said, oh, I lived through that, I did, I had the same thing. People that I knew that I had no idea that they were dealing with that. People are very private about that. There's reasons for that, but I'm not. So please have your loved ones, males over 40, get your PSA levels checked. If you have questions, call me. I've spoken to over 100 people since, 100 males since, actually, wives and males. I've spoken to them about what to expect in prostate cancer. I don't, I am not shy about my experience and I'll speak at the tops of my lungs to get everyone checked. So please take a moment. If you know someone, know a male over 40, it used to be 50 by the way, a male over 40, have them have their PSA levels checked. That's a favor from Commissioner Dr. Mike Lee, all right? All right. Next item on our agenda, make sure I'm not skipping anything here. Well, were there any other announcements?

Okay.

Next item on our agenda is the approval of the minutes for June 1st, 2026 work session and June 8th, 2026 regular session meeting. So moved. Second It's been moved and properly seconded that we approve the minutes dated for June 1st 2026 in the work session and that's a work session in the June 8th 2026 regular session any further discussion all in favor say aye aye all opposed please use the same sign it passes unanimously Now we have our ceremonial items. We have three to be recognized and a few to be acknowledged. So the first one is the recognition of Tyler Fitz as Durham County's new Chief Fire Marshal in the Office of Emergency Services.

Good evening, Commissioners, Madam Manager, Madam Attorney, Mark Lockhart, Director of the Office of Emergency Services. It's my pleasure to be here tonight to introduce you to our new Chief Fire Marshal for Durham County. While he's not new to the county, he assumed his new role in late April. Tyler Fitz brings nearly two decades of fire service experience in local government, along with more than eight years of dedicated service here with Durham County. Tyler was raised in Durham County and is a proud graduate of C.E. Jordan High School and that lifelong connection to the community anchors his commitment to public safety. Tyler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire and Safety Engineering Technology with a concentration in Fire Administration from Eastern Kentucky University. I've had the opportunity to work with Tyler now for almost six years, and I can tell you that he is a very passionate advocate for not only community risk reduction, but fire prevention and code enforcement as well. Chief Fitz.

Thank you, Director Lockhart. Good evening, Chair Lee, Commissioners, Manager Hager, Madam Attorney, Durham County leadership, and members of the community. It's a privilege to be here tonight and address you this evening. Having begun my career in the fire service here in Durham County in 2006, I'm honored for the opportunity to continue serving this community as the next Chief Fire Marshal for the Durham County Office of Emergency Services. The Fire Marshal Division is comprised of a highly dedicated team of professionals, and I look forward to serving alongside them as we uphold recognized standards with the level of professionalism that our citizens and customers both deserve and expect. As we continue advancing our internal processes and procedures, as well as recruiting skilled and committed individuals for our team, we remain grateful for the steadfast support provided by the Board of County Commissioners and county leadership. I look forward to continued collaboration with the Board, county leadership, and stakeholders as the Office of Emergency Services Fire Marshal Division continues to prioritize safety for all of those who live, study, work, and visit Durham County. Thank you again for this opportunity.

thank you very much and congratulations on your appointment any comments Commissioner Burton yes thank you so much I was just talking with Tyler about the importance of the fire marshal particularly to the schools because you have to check I guess how many days you have to check each school building we conduct semi annual inspections 120 days apart so twice a year Right. And so as a former educator, I always had to make sure there was nothing that would, you know, catch, you know, the fire marshal when they would do their, you know, rounds off guard. We had to make sure things were taken down and understanding that, OK, it's protecting the students and making sure there's no fires or any damage to property. So your role is really, really important. So thank you for serving in this role. And I'm looking forward to working with you.

Fire Marshal Fitz. So this public announcement has been anticipated for a number of months. I know I had an opportunity to talk to quite a few people who were interested in knowing who was going to be the person to fill those shoes. And so it's my hope that you get an opportunity to get out into the community and ingratiate yourself in your new role with Durham County. And we look forward to you leading the best services that can be provided. Thank you and welcome again.

Thank you. Vice Chair Lum.

Yes, congratulations on your appointment and thank you so much for your years of service to Durham County. I'm so grateful and glad that, you know, we have talent from within Durham County that knows our systems, knows our processes, and has been serving and knows the community so well. And glad that you are willing to step up into this new role out of your care and love for Durham County. And thank you, Dr. Lockhart, for developing such a strong and amazing team here within Durham County that we've been able to

lift up from within thank you all right thank you very much and congratulations thank you for being one quick comment thank you Tyler for your commitment to the county I know you will continue to do a phenomenal job we are grateful to have you with this thank you so much

okay the next item on our agenda is a another recognition is recognition for Eddie Cloverson soil and water director for his 42 years of service 38 years with Durham County and his retirement effective July 1st good evening commissioners manager Dwayne Brinson assistant county manager

i have had to do something recently that nobody has had to do in a long long time and that is participate in the recruitment process for a new soil and water director after 42 years of service 30 38 years with durham county mr cobelson is retiring I just recently have started working with Eddie within the last year, and the passion for his work, everybody can see it. It's there. The department is an award-winning department. The best in the state. And we are grateful for the work that you've done here. like to recognize his wife he's got his granddaughter here with him we know that our jobs extend beyond these walls and beyond these doors so definitely want to thank his his family for uh given given his service to us for so long i know how important that is this position it reports to the county it also it's a unique position also reports to the soil and water board So we have Mr. Waller here, who is the vice chair of the district board. So offer a few comments as well. Mr. Waller.

Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak. And if I'm going to say good words about this man here, we're going to be here a long time. I am on the Soil and Water Board and have served with Eddie and the staff with Brother Duane forgot to mention we were five, in his tenure, we were number one in the state for five years. So not just one year, five years. And every time we go to a convention, accolades come to Durham. We've got three other awards this past year. But more than a supervisor, I'm the owner and operator of Waller Family Farms in Durham. And representing the hundreds of farmers that Eddie has helped throughout his years here in Durham. It's just incredible. If you drink clean water and if you see soil in place that is not in the reservoirs, mostly because of this man here and his staff. They're an incredible group. Being a Duke fan and a state fan, a state graduate, it pains me to say that he is the Michael Jordan of soil and water. And not just for me, but when we go to the conventions and other meetings, people stand up and pay this man accolades that are well-deserved. So I thank the board for the time to recognize him. Thank you very much.

Thank you, commissioners, and for the opportunity to stand before you. Yeah, 48 years, Kenny Chesney said it best, don't blink, because it goes by in a hurry. I remember starting out in Chatham, and about 88, I applied for a job here in Durham. I applied for the same job in Wake County, and there's Wake with a brand-new facility, final fence, new building. And Durham, I'll say, had bars on the windows and wasn't nobody out on the street like it is today. You guys have turned it around, people that have sat in your seat. have made the right decisions, and downtown Durham is alive and active now because of folks like yourself. So you've done that right. And I'll tell you another thing you've done right. I've served many county managers over my time, and you've got it right right now with Manager Hager. And I'll give you an example, and Deborah Craig Ray can second this. When I came to work, we were talking about with a present manager, well, do we ever get off for snow days, inclement weather, do we get to go home at any point? He said, well, when the snow reaches my window seal, you'll get to go home. That was bad enough, but he was on the second floor on top of that. So needless to say, you guys look after the employees, and that goes a long way. I remember the Lake County Becky Herron commissioner. She said, Eddie, you've got to ride the valleys with the hills. And I can count on my hand. less than five times that the county, that the staff for Durham County government did get some kind of raise or bonus during the year. And from my point of view, that was outstanding. But again, thank you for a great career. And I think, I think I told Kathy, Kathy Everett Perry in H&R, one of the benefits you need to list is the people here in the county. You know, because the buildings are just structural, but the people are what makes Durham County what it is. And that's something that I'm going to take with me the rest of my life, is the relationships that I've built over this time that I've been here. Now, I've got plenty to do. I've got my lovely wife there giving me orders, and I've got this little girl right here keeping me busy. But again, thank you very much for your time. and your service. And if you need me, call me. Just phone call away. Thank you.

Vice Chair Lum.

Mr. Culverson, You are leaving big, huge shoes to fill. I know I've only been on the board for six of your 38 years here, but I feel like the soil and water district has just been synonymous to your name. That everyone knows the amazing work that you have done, but also it's so important to highlight this because it's a part of local government that often gets overlooked. when it's so vital to us. It's our safe drinking water, it's the land that we are able to grow our crops on, to be able to feed our communities, and not just our community here, so many of our farmers provide food to all across the country. And right now, especially as we see unprecedented droughts and we see food prices going up higher and higher because it's just harder to keep crops alive, it's harder to keep livestock, and for us to have had you Stewarding Durham County to be prepared for these types of situations to make sure that our farmers were as supported as possible, that they're able to keep up their livelihood as well. So thank you so much for all the advocacy and work you've done for all of Durham County's residents, but especially our residents out in the county who have been the most dependent on your services and works. Thank you so much.

Commissioner Burton.

yes i just want to echo what my colleague vice chair alum says i'm always in awe of people like you um eddie mr culberson who just serve right you serve you know you give it your all you know you're you're a breed that's not around where people they just quit you know they don't like it they quit but you stuck with it for 38 years and i'm so glad that we're celebrating you and like vice chair alarm says your work is so important to this county but it's hidden because your your team making sure that we have you know good drinking water the soil is good for farming etc so Congratulations on your retirement. Enjoy your grandbaby. I know she's going to keep you busy, and I look forward to celebrating you on Thursday at the Redwood Ruiton Club. So thank you.

Commissioner Valentine. Thank you, Chair. Congratulations, Ms. Colbertson, on a long and impactful career. Your 38 years of selfless service reflects greatly upon you, upon the Department of Soil and Water, also to Durham County. And I join my colleague, Commissioner Burton, and hope to see you at that good send off. on Thursday out there in the Redwood community. Thank you so much for your service to our community.

Thank you. And I'll say, I can only, after 42 years of working somewhere, I can only wish that I looked that good. I'll tell you that. Congratulations on your retirement. We really appreciate your work here in Durham County for 38 years. And I am hopeful that I can make it out there to the thing on Thursday. I would really like to see that happen. Thank you so much and commit.

Yeah, I'll save my comments for Thursday. But Eddie, thank you. You have been a gift to Durham County with your steady hand and your discipline and your focus. and your ability to facilitate sometimes when it was hard, but you stayed at it and we're stronger for it. So again, thank you for your years of service. We have been so fortunate to have you. Thank you.

All right. Thank you so much. Thank you again. Okay. Next item on our agenda is a resolution celebrating 50 years of service by General Services to Durham County government and the Durham community. Commissioner Valentine is going to read the proclamation, I mean the resolution.

Whereas, throughout the past five decades, the Department of General Services has exemplified an unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement in fulfilling its vital mission to ensure that all county facilities and properties are maintained and operated in a safe, efficient, and responsible manner, thereby safeguarding public assets and enhancing the quality of services to the Durham County community. And whereas, The Department of General Services was established on July 1st, 1976, guided by the leadership of Director Wade Copeland, who's deceased July 1st, 1976, through April 30th, 1981. Director Mike Turner, May 1st, 1981, through December 30th, 2009. And Director Motiro, January 25th 2010 to the present and through their stewardship has faithfully served in Durham community for 50 years with dedication professionalism and integrity and whereas under the direction of Wade Copeland the Department of General Services was established with a staff of five employees in the building services division laying the foundation for the department's future growth and expansion of services and whereas during the tenure of director mike turner who also served as manager of the durham county memorial stadium the department of general services experienced significant growth expanding to 79 employees including 44 in building services, 18 in animal services, and 17 in solid waste. And whereas under the leadership of the director, Montoro Quiembrero, the Department of General Services successfully navigated transition of animal control to a separate department under the Office of the Sheriff in 2012, and has since continued to grow and strengthen its operations, now employing 110 staff members across the division of buildings. HVAC, electrical, janitorial, plumbing, and preventive maintenance, grounds, warehouse, fleet, mail services, stadium, facility use, solid waste, security, and business services. And whereas employees past and present of the Department of General Services have contributed their knowledge, expertise, and service to strengthen the organization and enhance the well-being of those it serves. And whereas the collaborative partnerships built by the Department of General Services with internal departments, community stakeholders, and partner agencies have been instrumental in achieving meaningful and lasting impact. And whereas the 50th anniversary represents not only a milestone of longevity, But a testament to the dedication, resilience, and professionalism that define the Department of General Services. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Durham Board of County Commissioners hereby recognizes and congratulates the General Services Department and its staff on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. This the 22nd day of June, 2026. Signed, Dr. Mike Lee, Chair. Night Alarm, Vice Chair, Michelle Burton, Commissioner, Wendy Jacobs, Commissioner, and Stephen Valentine, Commissioner.

Thank you, Commissioners, for recognizing General Services' 50 years of service. We have a small gift for each one of you, as well as for the members of the organization. This 50 years has been very exciting. Behind me are the people who do the work, who actually put in the days, the hours, the services to make sure that all of our facilities are cool, comfortable, and workable for our community. So they are the ones who actually should be acknowledged in this document. Sean Swatakis in charge of building services. Security managers, Isaac Alderman. Our maintenance services with environmental services is our, assistant director, and he's also serving as my replacement. I'm a figment of your imagination. I am on birthday vacation, wedding vacation, and fix my house vacation. So Sean Davis is actually serving in my capacity, as well as taking care of all of our environmental issues like janitorial services, grounds, and those services. Next to him is our manager over our solid waste division, Chrissy Corabue. And the last and most important one who actually wrote this resolution for general services is my senior operations manager. And her name, what is your name? Tina Green. But these are the people behind me that make things work. And each of their staff members, all 110 of them, now that we have been granted through your budget, seven more employees in our security division. Yay! We are now at the staffing levels of 110 and very grateful for the recognition for today. So we have a small charm that you will see on the panels of our vehicles that recognize our 50 years. And thank you to Deborah Craig Ray for approving that. And it was designed by our We have a sign shop, Ken Ketterer is our sign shop, and he actually designed the 50 year celebration. So what you have is a magnet, and the second, the second item that's kind of square is actually a bookmark.

Okay.

We wanted to make sure the librarian would be happy with the bookmark. But thank you for recognizing us and our 50th years. We will have a 50-year celebration. Our 50th anniversary celebration will be on July 16th at the Spruce Pine Lodge, and we welcome all of you to attend. we are planning a great celebration for this 50th anniversary.

Let's make sure we have that on the calendar. Yeah, it is, all right. Very cool, thank you. Commissioners. Vice Chair Lum.

Thank you all so much for literally keeping our buildings and services running. It's so, so important to have you all on our team because if our residents aren't able to actually come into the buildings because the HVAC is down, because the roofs are leaking or any sort of maintenance issues, then we're not doing our job as Durham County government in providing those services. So y'all have really gone above and beyond in making sure that our service to our residents is as uninterrupted as possible. And whenever there is unforeseen circumstances, you jump on it and you've got in there. I still remember, what was that, two years ago when we had that county commission meeting that the HVAC in this whole building went out and needed to be repaired that without missing a beat. Mo, you and your team got together and found us a space at Public Health, got all the tech and everything set up so that we could continue our county commission business and have that meeting, make sure residents were still able to attend, provide public comment, all those. And I would be remiss if I didn't give a special shout out also to Mr. Alderman, because we had a personal interaction just a few weeks ago. It wasn't my favorite way to get to know you, but it made me very grateful that you are part of our Durham County team when I think it was like a month or so ago when I was receiving Very threatening harassing calls and messages as well as packages sent to me that you reached out to check in and took those threats very seriously and escalated it necessarily to the proper levels and made sure that not just myself but everyone within Durham County government is safe. So thank you so much for your service.

Commissioner Burton.

Yes, I just want to say 50 years and when I was getting ready for the meeting today and I saw 110 staff, I was thinking, okay, as Durham County grows, General Services grows because that means our footprint is getting bigger. yes and so just like with soil and water our residents don't see all the work that you do to make sure this county is running smoothing all the buildings that durham county owns and when we went to the detention center to take a tour sean was there and just you know i was thinking about all the things that general services has to do and maintain to make sure things are running smoothly for our residents and making sure everything is just tip-top shape. And so thank you. Thank you for this beautiful bookmark. I will use it. I think it's very, very cute. So I can't wait to come to the celebration in July. So thank you so much.

Valentine. Director Kay Umbro-Arrow. Let me help you. I just call you boss lady.

K-A-M-B-R-O.

thank you for representing general services on the occasion of the 50th anniversary um i think it was uh extremely humbling to hear you honor your staff here today and uh put yourself and others in the background put the unsung heroes people that we don't generally see a lot to the forefront I think that is indicative of someone who works hard every day on behalf of Durham County putting the people first and so thank you and I look forward to that celebration in July all right thank you all very much and I've said this before to other areas

You can tell the importance of an organization is when people contact you. People only contact you all when something's wrong. People don't know you exist when everything works right. So I deeply appreciate you all's work Most of the time, the overwhelmingly most of the time, things are working right. So that means you and your staff and your team are doing exactly what's needed to be done. So thank you all very much. Manager Hager.

I'm going to be very short. Thank you. At any time of the day or night, this team is responsive. And as Chair Lee said, When they're reached out to it is sometimes because something has happened unexpectedly and they always are responsive in a way that makes you feel good you're part of Durham County government and I know these were mentioned but it's over 2 million square feet that they support. over um 180 acres and over 70 buildings and although the team has grown it has not kept up with the the number of buildings that we have taken on board so we see you we thank you and appreciate you and look forward to celebrating thanks all right thank you all very much

All right, the second part of our celebrations are to be acknowledged only. And the first one here is a proclamation, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, as the board has requested to proclaim June 15th, 2016, as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Okay, now this. Are we just speaking? That's fine. Go ahead.

All right, good evening, Manager Hager and the board. I'm Travis Williams, the Assistant Director of Aging and Adult Services, and we just want to thank you for acknowledging World Elder Abuse Awareness. On behalf of Director Clapp and the whole DSS organization, We want to thank you again for that because it is such a very important event that we recognize our seniors. And so we at DSS take this very seriously, and we work hard to make sure that our seniors are definitely safe. So for you all to acknowledge us at this time, we do appreciate that. So thank you.

Thank you so much. I've actually been reading a lot here about elder abuse, and I was just unaware. I was just unaware. So this is extremely important to bring forward. So yes, thank you so much for bringing this forward.

Thank you.

The next proclamation is the proclamation for Durham Refugee Day. The board is requested to proclaim June 20th, 2026 as Durham Refugee Day celebration in Durham.

Good evening, everyone. Thank you. I am very honored to receive this proclamation on behalf of refugees in Durham. And as you know, since 2025, everything has been very difficult for refugees. And we thank you for your support and thank you for the work you're doing. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you. The next proclamation is Summer Learning Week. And that is the board is requested to proclaim July 6th through 10th, 2026, as Summer Learning Week in Durham County. Do we have someone to speak on that?

Chair, Dr. Lee, she may not be in attendance. It was an outside organization, so I will follow up with her and make sure it gets mailed.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you. And that is it for our celebrations. Or is it celebrations? Am I saying the right thing? Ceremonial items, my apologies. The next item on our agenda is consent agenda. So we have items on our consent agenda. We're going to need to pull three for public comment. We have item number 26, zero three three four item number twenty six zero three three seven and item number twenty six zero three three six so those three items will be pulled and we will get to those at the end of the meeting but at the section that says items pulled from consent Everybody aware? Go ahead, Commissioner Valentine.

Yes, Chair. With respect to the 260344 appoint voting delegate, do you want to handle that on the front end?

It gets approved when we vote and approve the consent agenda.

Okay. Did you want to pull it and discuss it?

So, to my knowledge, we didn't make, who's the delegate that Who will be appointed as the delegate, as the voting delegate? It's not in my, I don't remember seeing that.

It's me and then Michelle as a, Commissioner Burton as the alternate.

Okay. Right.

That's what we have. Okay. Okay. All right, so those three items have been removed, and again, we'll discuss those is gonna be right after the boards and commission appointments. So outside of those, I'll accept a motion to approve the consent agenda minus three items previously identified.

So moved. Second.

Chair, I just have some unreadiness. Unreadiness. With respect to 260321, I'm not going to hold that item up, but I would like to make several comments. Feel free.

That'd be okay.

Go ahead. Okay. So with respect to the adoption of the annual FY 2627 annual opioid settlement fund ordinance and related spending resolutions, I just want to highlight that I believe that we need to have a comprehensive review of our processes involved in the allocation of resources with respect to the opioid settlement funds um i know during our our budget season i had requested uh some additional information and i had received received that to date and i actually would be interested in the staff i know that they're following up on that but i still would be interested in receiving that Also, I think that we have some work to do as members of this commission with respect to giving this particular advisory board guidance about how these resources are spent. Currently, the resources are being spent 60% with respect to the county and 40% out into the community. I had mentioned during the budget season that I thought that that was not a good idea with respect to how we budget. that we should not be using opioid funds to support our regular budget, particularly where we need additional assets and resources in public health, for example. And some of the money is being used to support the director's position in the Sheriff's Department. I think we should handle those sorts of things within the normal budgetary process. And also, this is my last comment, I believe that the funds are to be used to expand services in the community so that we can actually tackle this problem. I'm not exactly sure that the way we're allocating money currently does that. And so I think that that's a conversation that we need to have as a board in giving policy guidance in the next cycle. Maybe we'll take a look at that.

So is that your request to ask the staff for us to come back and discuss this?

Yes, yes. I believe that's actually something that's already in the works.

yes we talked about coming back to the board in the fall with the framework for next year's process and also to evaluate where there were areas that needed refinement with the current one based on board member feedback as well as community input does that work for you uh commissioner valentine yes chair thank you okay any further comments on consent agenda

I just have one. I really am glad to see that the surplus vehicles from the sheriff's office are going to be, six of them are going to be used for Durham Tech's police department. I know there were some questions during budget about the number of sheriff's vehicles that we purchase, things of that nature. and that many of the vehicles, when they're not, the mileage is up or maybe they're just unfixable, what have you, they go into surplus, so it's really good to see that some of the vehicles are being reused and that county resources are being used well. So I just wanted to uplift that. Okay.

All right, we already have a motion on the floor that's been properly seconded to approve the consent agenda minus the three items previously pulled. Any further discussion? all right all in favor say aye aye all opposed please use the same sign consent agenda minus the three items pulled has been approved okay next item on our agenda is uh the public hearing for zoning map change rupert landscape this is the first of two

to public hearings this is zoning map change for rupert landscape i will now open the public hearing and hear from staff good evening chair dr lee vice chair alum county commissioners i am javar jones with the durham planning and development department and i'm here tonight to present Z2500028 Rupert Landscape. The proposal includes the rezoning of one parcel of land totaling .4 acres and located at 3513 Angier Avenue. The existing zoning is residential suburban 20. The applicant proposes to change this designation to industrial light with a textual development plan to allow parking for an adjacent landscaping business. Staff recommends a place type change to suburban commercial due to the proposal being inconsistent with the current place type. The existing zoning is residential suburban 20. Sorry, there we are. The site is surrounded by residential suburban 20 and industrial light. As you can see, the aerial map shows the general location of the project and just to the south of the red outlined area is where the existing landscaping business is. The property is currently designated established residential on the place type map. The proposed zoning was determined inconsistent with the designated place type. If approved, staff recommends a change to the place type map designation to suburban commercial. The applicant has included a text commitment that prohibits a payday lender, adult establishment, indoor firing range, nightclub or bar, hotel, car wash, and gasoline sales. Additionally, the applicant commits to using native plantings for all required plantings on the site. The applicant held neighborhood meetings on September 29th, 2025. and March 18th, 2026. One community member attended the first meeting while there were no community members in attendance for the second meeting. Additionally, no comments have been received for this proposal on the Durham rezoning explore. This case was heard by the Planning Commission on April 14th, 2026. The Planning Commission voted 12 to zero for a positive recommendation. as previously mentioned the proposal is inconsistent with the place type designation of established residential if approved staff recommends a change to the place type map to designate the property as suburban commercial the proposal is also consistent with 24 of 29 applicable comprehensive plan policies i want to thank you for your time i'm staff as well as the applicant tish shapiro morningstar law group is available to answer any questions

okay thank you very much i think we had someone to speak good evening chair members of the board my name is leticia shapiro i'm an attorney with morningstar law group here on behalf of the applicant rupert landscape a jar did a great job of outlining and summarizing the details of the application so i would just like to highlight a few points Both the subject property and the adjacent parcel where Rupert Landscape currently operates its landscaping business were purchased simultaneously. The proposed rezoning would align the zoning districts of the subject property with that of the adjoining property. Rupert Landscaping has been a valued member of the community for over five years. And during our neighborhood meeting, the one member of the community who joined us that evening said that Rupert Landscaping is a good neighbor and is engaged and cares about its community. While the request is not currently consistent with the established residential place type designation, Staff has recommended amending the future land use map designation to suburban commercial. This recommendation is consistent with the character of the adjacent properties and the broader development pattern that you see along Andrew Avenue when one travels south from I-885. And as you heard, the request is also consistent with several applicable goals and policies of the comprehensive plan. applicant is seeking a rezoning to light industrial with a textual development plan and this approach not only allows the subject property to be zoned consistently with the existing rupert landscape operation next door it is in the spirit of being a good neighbor that it also prohibits that number of other otherwise permitted industrial light uses that javar mentioned earlier would be incompatible with the surrounding area and for these reasons we respectfully request your approval of the rezoning application and i thank you for your time this evening and we would have we would appreciate your rec your approval this evening and i'm here to answer any questions you might have thank you okay thank you any questions from the commissioners direct questions yes to the applicant

So it's my understanding that this action is necessary because of a notice violation, is that correct?

There was a zoning violation in that it was zoned RS-20 and it is currently being used as a parking lot. Yes, that's correct. And this would resolve, the rezoning request would resolve that.

Okay. Any other questions? All right, I'll close the public hearing and now hear comments from the commissioners.

yeah i think this the owner is just trying to make sure that they're following the zoning rules to make sure that the property is in line with the way they're using it i believe they're using it as a parking lot so i think this is a good thing so right okay

Chair, I'm inclined to support this action. It's not very often that the planning commission comes together and votes unanimously for this type of action. And so in light of that, I'm inclined to support it.

Okay. And just for the record, I closed the public hearing because there was no public comment signed up for this particular item. So there was no pre-signed up public comment, so that's why I closed it without asking for public comment. Okay, there was none.

Okay, all right, any other comments?

All right, I'll accept the motion to, let me make sure I'm getting this right. Do I have a motion here? Okay, there's two motions. I'll read the motions. I'll accept the motion to adopt the ordinance, a mandated unified development ordinance by taking property out of residential Suburban 20 and establishing the same as industrial light with a textural development plan. And we'll do one motion at a time. So that's the first motion.

So moved.

Second. All right. The motion has been read out and has been properly seconded. Any further discussion for the first motion? All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed please use the same sign. The motion passes unanimously. The second motion is to adopt a consistency statement as required by North Carolina general statute section 160D-605. So moved. Second. Our second motion has been properly moved and seconded. Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, please use the same sign. It passes unanimously. All right, that is our first public hearing. We're going to go into the second public hearing, but I wanted to reread what I said at the very top of the meeting here just for clarity's sake. So before I open the public meeting, I want to clarify the item before the board tonight. Tonight's public hearing concerns a proposed amendment to the ordinance provisions governing the process and the requirements for adopting development moratoria in general. The board is not considering to adopt a moratorium on data centers tonight. Public hearing comments should be focused on the text amendment that is before the board tonight. I read that because we have 13 public comment signups for this. I just wanted to make sure I was clear about that. Okay, I will now open the public hearing, the development moratorium unified development ordinance, UDL text amendment, Robin.

good evening my name is robin schultz with the planning development department here to present to you all on tc 26 0002 which is a staff initiated text amendment this amendment seeks to remove the additional barriers imposed by the current unified development ordinance or udo on the governing bodies required to institute a development moratorium Additionally, it will remove redundant standards which are already required by state law, more specifically NC General Statute Section 160D-107. Staff is available for any questions. Thank you.

Okay. Any questions from the commissioners at this time? Okay. Now we have public comment signed up for this session. or this item. Okay, so we have 13, and I'll read them maybe four at a time, so you guys, you all can line up against the wall over there to be ready here. All right. The Foyotu Shagun. Did I get close? Because it's phonetically spelled out here. All right. Tema Okun, Sharla Rios, and Ashley Daniels. Those are the first four. Okay, and it's going to be Because of the number we have, we'll be doing a one-minute each. So, here we go. There we go.

Good evening, party commissioners, everyone that's watching. My name is F.P.O.T. Jagoon. I am a resident of Durham County. My address is on file. One minute is kind of crazy, but I'm here in support of the text amendment. And I would advise you when time comes to pass as strong of a data center moratorium as possible. I advise matching the city's 12 month moratorium with a ban on existing data center. Thank you very much.

My name is Tema Okun. I'm a longtime Durham City and County resident. Yes, I'm also asking you to please pass this text amendment, and I feel like you should be shouting from the roofs that you're going to pass this text amendment because you want to also be able to pass a moratorium. I'm noting how We honored the land of our ancestors and then we honored a man who has been protecting our water and my father was a water and sewer man and he was very proud of Durham water and I just feel like passing this amendment is the first step to making sure we can protect the public resource that is our water.

Good evening, commissioners, Chair Lee, co-chair Alam, and others. Thanks for hearing my comments. My name is Charla Rios. I'm a lifelong North Carolinian. I've lived in this area for about 10 years, and I'm speaking tonight in support of the UDO text amendment. This text amendment is supported by the Planning Commission, and I was glad to see that this item aligns with Durham County's strategic goal of sustainable infrastructure and environment. maintaining protecting and improving the natural and built systems to support a sustainable community and this amendment will open the possibility for the ability for the county to adopt longer moratoriums on a variety of issues it's important that we slow down that we do the sufficient research for a lot of different issues but in this case specifically for data centers and i was struck by what co-chair Alam shared earlier around our land acknowledgement, and we need to make sure that we're doing just by that as well. Thank you.

Good evening.

Good evening.

My name is Ashley Daniels. I'm the program and organizing director with Toxic Free NC. Durham residents are being directed to conserve water to ensure we don't run out. What similar directive would be given to a data center in the event that Durham sees another season of historic drought in the future? And how would this directive be enforced? By what percentage would energy bills for Durham residents increase from a new data center? And how would the county mitigate these costs? Researchers all report the damaging impact data centers have on air quality. If Durham were to allow data centers access to the county.

We need to stay to the topic, please. This data center is not the topic, thank you.

So I'm making a point for why you need to change the UDO, but I was limited to 60 seconds, so I can't fully make that point.

Let's put it back at 30 seconds. We need you to stay to that topic, please.

So I had several other questions that need answers and the need for these answers and others are the reason for Durham County to amend the UDO and allow for the moratorium needed to protect Durham residents, thanks.

All right, next we have Janaya Sims, Omar G, I can't. Gomez, oh yeah. Edgar Aretica, Aretica, Aretica. And Raphael Mazer. Please forgive me if I'm not getting these names right. We'll do those. I thought that was four. Raphael. Okay, go ahead.

Good evening. My name is Jaina Sims. I'm a resident of Durham and Durham County. Thank you for letting me speak tonight. I am here in support of the UDO text amendment. I'm glad to see that y'all are putting this forward, that it's supported by the Planning Commission. This is, to me, a step towards demonstrating a culture of care that we want to see from our leaders in the community. Passing this UDO allows us to look at things in the future like data center moratoriums so that whenever we're looking at and evaluating what the community needs, we have the time to look at that and the time to really get into and find the research that is needed to truly evaluate what is good for the community, what really centers a culture of care and not just centers what is good for a company, for the profits of a company, I want to see our leaders in our community really demonstrating that they care for the people of the community, and part of that is really giving us the time to look at and evaluate new changes. Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Hello, my name is Omar and I haven't been in Durham for too long. I've only been here for about four years. Part of what I really enjoy about Durham is the community culture and the care that we give our communities. And I'm here in support for that DUO. because we really need to invest a lot more time and research on what the downstream effects are. You earlier were praising some of these city workers, which I do believe should be praised for the hard work that they've been doing in keeping our water and environment safe. By adopting this, you are upholding that commitment, and I think that you need to really match what the city has done, if not expand further to a 32-month moratorium. all of it to give us enough time to do the research really plan and really strategize not just to put profit for just a handful of businesses that will eventually replace all of the workers for ai and other work workforce so i really strong strongly recommend that you adopt this thank you thank you good evening commissioners

My name is Edgar Arrieta. You were close, don't worry. And I'm here as part of a coalition of community members and organizations in support for the UDO text amendment. You know, we've been in and out of City Hall for the past few months and now we're here and we'll be here a little bit more often because this is yet another bastion to help protect the health and the futures for Durham residents. So I'm here in support for this text amendment. You know, it's not just a simple sentence change and it's providing us with more tools to fight against. As some people have said, these corporations, they care more about their profits than they do the city and the people within it. And it opens doors to not just passing a city moratorium, but passing a countywide moratorium that should be as strong, if not stronger. than the one that the city of Durham just passed. And if that moratorium's on the table, so is a lot of other things. To set a good example, to help fund the heart of our city, its workers, its teachers, its firefighters, other city workers, by opening up better avenues for the city to really see what we're funding.

Appreciate it. Thank you.

Okay.

And I did call Raphael Mazer. Okay, and then we'll have the other ones here to be Leslie St. Dre. We got Eleanor Weston. Eva Paige Banuk. Danielle Pirifoy. And then Pablo Friedman.

Yes, sir. Thanks, Rafael Mazur. And I support this process for all the reasons mentioned before and also because I think we need to pause this until we figure out a fair approach to taxing data centers. It was frustrating to read. One of the largest reductions in tax value was for a data center when at the same time myself and my neighbors had our appeals reviews paused and rescheduled without our permission because they claimed it was new data which we had submitted to them in writing five months before. and then surprised us at the rescheduled hearing when we didn't have a chance to say when we wanted the hearing and so couldn't have our experts, surprised us with a 40-slide, 30-minute presentation using 2025 data, which is not allowed, because it ends in December 2024. So if we're gonna be railroaded in the tax process, we need to figure out a way to tax data centers fairly along with us as residents. Thank you.

Good evening, I'm Leslie St. Dre. I'm here as part of the Stop Data Centers in Durham Coalition. I highly support this text amendment so that we can move more quickly when we need to to stop development that is harmful for our residents. I've talked to most of you. You know that we are fighting for a long data center moratorium so we can get the best permanent protections, and that's how you can use this text amendment. I'm also here today to demand a people's refund for a people's budget. We are gonna collectively claw back the $19 million y'all handed out to corporate landlords. This is gonna be workers, firefighters, nurses, tenants, homeowners that are working together to get back the money y'all gave away wrongfully we demand you replace the boer as well it's time to stop prioritizing developers and landlords over people who need housing truly affordable housing fair wages and community services and programs thank you

My name is Eleanor Weston. I am a longtime Durham resident. I've been here for about six years. I'm also here representing the Triangle Hub of the Sunrise Movement, which is a youth-led movement for climate action and a livable future. i support this text amendment to the udo i think it's very reasonable for the local elected officials to have the power to pass longer moratoria especially on things that would harm our community data centers are not good neighbors and i think it is very reasonable for you all to have the power to pass a longer moratorium on building them in our county thank you

Hi, my name is Eva and I live in Durham County outside of city limits. I'm here today to ask the county commissioners to pass the proposed text amendment to the UDO that would enable us to follow in the city's footsteps and move forward with the longest possible moratorium on new data centers. This proposed rule change would improve the county's ability to take the time needed to pause and plan, not just for hyperscale data centers, but for any other potential issues that may arise. In my lifetime, I'm only 33, we've gone from paying long-distance charges to call Chapel Hill on a landline, paying a dime for every text that we sent or received, and using dial-up internet to where we are today. Communities have had little time to respond to the rapid changes and the rising threat of hyperscale data centers, and we may continue to face similar situations as technology continues to change rapidly. This new threat to our safety and environment progressed with alarming speed, and the Durham County needs the flexibility this rule change would allow to be responsive to this and other urgent issues that may be on the horizon. Thank you.

good evening commissioners my name is danielle purifoy i am a 36 year resident of of durham i've lived in three different neighborhoods grew up in durham public schools and i currently live in old east durham i am calling here in support for the udo text amendment so that we can have echoing others so that we can have the tools to pass the strongest possible moratorium on new data centers There are several threats to our water right now, including in my neighborhood, in Old East Durham, where they're meeting right now as we speak about Brintag's contamination of our water. We're in one of the biggest droughts in this state's history, right here in our region. Lake Mickey is dry, folks. Falls Lake is drying up. We have a responsibility to our water, to our future, to protect our water and soil from the development of these new data centers. So please pass this text amendment so that we can actually regulate these new data centers. Thank you.

Good evening, commissioners and members of the public. I'll dispense with pleasantries just for the sake of time. But I first want to begin by expressing my support for this tax amendment. I think it's a step in the right direction. And for those of you who may not know, and I found out about this when talking to elected officials, I want to salute you, Madame County Attorney. Because the reason this whole process started was because you called folks at the city and said, wait, how are you moving forward with this because the UDO doesn't allow for this? So based on your legal analysis, we're on this path, which I think is the right legal path to go on. Second of all, I think it's important to have a moratorium because there's some issues we have to work through. I don't think in Durham County some developers are going to come here and build a data center. The bigger issue is existing data centers and loopholes and whether or not folks can have capacity. For example, Duke University, a multi-billion dollar entity that doesn't pay property taxes, is building a data center. Are they gonna use city water? Are they gonna impact the local electrical rate pair? I think these are important questions that need to be reconciled through this pause. I think 12 months is the minimum. Surry County, a much more Republican county, went to 24 months, so I'd encourage you to look at that as well. Thank you.

OK, I will. Already asked for questions from the Commissioners before public comment. Then now I'll close the public hearing and I have comments from Commissioners. Vice chair alone.

Yes, I want to actually echo comments Mr. Pablo Freeman has shared of thanking our county attorney because this was something that was a staff led initiative. So thank you to Attorney Williamson for seeing that we were putting when we already are in a state with so many preemptions and limiting what local governments can do. the fact that we as a local government as a city and county had even more restrictions on ourselves around the time limits around moratorium so thank you attorney williamson and thank you to our planning staff for jumping on it so quickly and getting this text amendment to us so that we can approve it because i think it's really important for us to be able to have the power and ability as a local government whatever power and abilities that we can hold in states like ours where they keep trying to grab it away from us so i for one am very supportive of this uh text amendment and look forward to our future discussions um that we'll have next month or in august

Yes, thank you, Chair Lee. And I just want to acknowledge everyone who spoke on this issue tonight. So I hear you. I hear you loudly. I'm in support of the UDO text amendment. I think it puts us in a proper posture to move forward in the direction that we see fit as a commission. And I also want to be mindful as we move forward that we are thorough. I want to be on the right side of history, and I believe everyone else here does as well. And so we'll deal with this text amendment, and then we'll move forward.

All right. okay and um i support the text amendment as well i'm on the joint city county planning committee and it was unanimous that we removed this well a justice language if you will so that we can discuss what it means, not just for any particular reason, but just kind of any type of moratorium that may come in the future, or so forth, or any type of development. We'd have a little bit more flexibility. So I support this all together. Let me look at these motions here. All right, so we have two motions. and I'll read them here. Motion one, to adopt an ordinance and mandate a UD, the unified development ordinance incorporating revisions to article three, applications and permits.

So moved. Second.

Our motion has been properly moved and seconded. Any further discussion on motion one? All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, please use the same sign. passes unanimously motion to is to adopt a consistency statement required by North Carolina general statutes one six zero D that's six zero five so moved second it's been we have a motion on the floor that's been moved and properly seconded any further discussion for motion to all in favor say aye aye all opposed please choose the same side both motions pass unanimously okay thank you Next item on our agenda is board and commission appointments. Attorney Williamson. Williamson.

Okay, I won't take it personally if you leave. That's fine. Good evening. We have quite a few vacant positions that the board is filling. The first commission is the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission. There are three vacant positions, and the board has selected Mary Fontana, Edward Rizzuto, and John Lawler for that commission. Next, we have the Board of Adjustments. We have two vacant positions, one city resident and one county resident position. For the city resident position, The board has selected Michael Tarrant for the county resident position. The board has selected Scott Mofield. We have the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee. There are two vacant positions for this committee. The board has selected Tanya Dixon and Mike Systrom. For the Durham County Women's Commission, we actually have a tie for that one. So we are going to move that to the next meeting so that we could do that again. And moving on to the Durham Open Space and Trails Commission, we have two vacant positions. The board has selected Ben King and Carrie Brannon. For the Durham Planning Commission, we have one vacant position. The board has selected Drew Wooten. For the Durham Sports Commission, we have one vacant position, and the board has selected Mike Morrill. For the Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees, we have one vacant position. The board has selected Thyshandre Edmonds. For the Environmental Affairs Board, we have five vacant positions, and the board has selected Astrid Cook-Daly, Luna Homsi, Ashley Hillard, Edgard Nigaboyamahina, I apologize if I didn't pronounce it correctly, and Lola Shafitelli. For the Homeless Services Advisory Committee, we have one vacant position. The board has selected Renee Vaughn. And finally, for the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, we have two vacant positions. The board has selected Alex Hurdle and Seth Candle. Congratulations to all of the selected applicants.

All right. Thank you all for your willingness to serve. And those who did not get selected, Please continue to apply. There are always opportunities and roles that we could use you in.

So thank you all so very much.

Next on our agenda are the items pulled from the consent agenda. They're pulled for public comment. There's three. The first one, and all three of them are from Antoinette Hawes, Ms. Hawes. The first one is 260334 approval to enter in a service contract with Recovery Innovations Inc. in the amount of $51,000 to provide after hours and telehealth services for detainees and the mental health concerns housed in the Durham County Detention Center. I ask that your public comments be specifically for this item.

My name is Antoinette Haas, and yes, I am here to support and everything that he is trying to do over there at the jail and trying to get the support to the citizens who are struggling and detained for whatever reason. I'm not sure about telehealth, and I know that there's another item, but the point is that my understanding is that the population that he has are primarily mental health. And when you look at the people in this homeless community, a lot of them are suffering mental health too. And I just kind of feel like Durham is just not doing what the community need them to do. You're not pouring into the community. I support Burkhead in any efforts he's pushing to get services for mental health for his detainees. But I'm also pushing the county to do what needs to be done for the citizens. so that we can live proper lives and positively impact the community instead of doing a quick recovery after something is blown up. I mean, I really don't think that Durham is really working hard. to support the community, the citizens itself. And mental health is a big deal. And I really feel that the money that you're implementing for DSS to have their psychoeducational program, that program would need to be at the jail. It would need to be at the county level for the Sheriff's Department because most of the people who are detained have the list of issues outlined in their program for Maggie to manage. And for someone who can't pass a state audit and someone who's got staff performing at a mediocre level based on the training required by the state and the supplements that implemented. The Sheriff's Department is the best place for this psychological educational program for intellectual disabilities, mental illness, depression, eating disorders, all those things, all those people in the jail are suffering because they lack the community's resources to function in the community. And that's your fault. It's your fault that you're not serving the citizens. It's your fault that we can't get it together.

Let's make sure we stick to this particular contract.

I am sticking to the subject matter as mental health at the jail. That's the issue. The issue is you're not serving the community or they wouldn't be there if you poured an ounce of humanity into their cup. That's all I'm saying.

Okay, thank you. All right, the next, yeah, no need to walk back. We're at 260337, that is approval. to enter into a service contract with Just a Clean House, Inc., in the amount of $124,000 to operate a six-bed transitional living facility for individuals receiving services from the Durham County Justice Services Department in fiscal year 26-27.

Which is, my understanding, another extended incarcerated program. Am I wrong about that? another public service failure. The people don't, they don't have the ability to have their own place to recover and to become strong, productive citizens. They have to do it within the confines of an institution. I am in support of it, though. I am in support of it, but again, I feel like the psychoeducational program needs to go to Burkhead because he's the sheriff and over there with the district attorney and the DA and that that program would be more resourceful and useful for the detainees who are already needing services who have exhausted their remedies outside of a correctional institution Again, Durham is not doing what they need to do for the citizens. They wouldn't have to be there anyway. It's poverty, it's lack of housing, it's lack of opportunity, it's lack of education. All these things that this program that Maggie's getting ready to get is saying that they're going to support. But it is not in Maggie's best interest to take on anything else It is Burke's responsibility. Every time something goes down at that jail, he's always on the line. And he's always on a quick recovery program. But we need to be proactive. And I think that Durham has a financial problem, but I think it's allocation. I really do think it's allocation instead of shortfall. And it's your fault. Again, it's your fault. What's the next one?

Okay. Just for clarification, I actually mixed the numbers up for those two. That you just spoke on was 260336. Now we're going to 260337. Okay. The one you just spoke on was 336. Okay. The one we're speaking on now is 337. Just for record, record keeping here. And this one is approval to enter into a service contract with psychiatric services. and consultation in the amount of $204,000 to provide mental health services to individuals in the Durham County Detention Facility in fiscal year 2026-27.

Yes, I am in support of that. I'm always in support of anything that Burkitt is doing to improve the quality of life of his detainees. Again, the psychoeducational program is developed for people who are in this cohort. They're legitimately a cohort of patients. You have a mental institution at the Durham County Jail. It's a mental institution. and given Department of Social Services, Child Protective Services, that program and those fundings is a misappropriation of funds, legitimately. I think so, and I'm gonna stand on that. It's misappropriation. When the program participants are right there at the county jail. i really do think that if you are going to have this program that burkhead's correctional institution or county jail would be the best place to have these services to meet the needs of the public and that's why we're here right to meet the needs of the public again durham county is failing the citizens you have got to appropriate funding for durham county citizens so that we can stay on our feet getting up on your feet is one thing but staying on your feet is another and pouring all this money into these programs and you know giving it here and moving it here and switching it there It's an appropriation issue. That's what it is. That's what we have. And again, we need to audit Maggie. Forensic.

Thank you. All right. Those are the three items that were pulled from consent agenda. Are there any further comments from commissioners on the items that were pulled? All right. Hearing none, I'll accept a motion to approve item number 260334, item number 260336, and item number 260337 that report from the consent agenda so moved second the three items we pulled from consent agenda has been moved and properly accepted and properly seconded to approve any further discussion all in favor say aye aye aye all opposed please use the same time that passes unanimously that brings us to the end of our meeting tonight I'll accept the motion to adjourn.

So moved. Second.

Has been moved and properly seconded that we adjourn. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? We are adjourned. Thank you.