advisory boards

Training for advisory board members

This morning I attending a training session for members of town boards. (I was appointed to the Board of Adjustment last summer.) About 40 people were there. I thought it was a good session. We were reminded that local governments are limited by the state legislature; the rules about open meeting and public access to information; the new flow for development projects and the general purpose of the boards. Just a bit of trivia of about the attendees: most were white, I don't think any Asian-Americans or Latinos attended with perhaps three African Americans participating; about 10 had gray hair (only my beard is graying so I didn't count myself); even male: female ratio and about 1/3 wear glasses.

Chapel Hill Advisory Board Reorganization Moves Forward

Up on Monday's Town Council agenda is the next iteration of the advisory board reorganization process. I have generally supported reworking the advisory board structure to ensure that the work of citizen board members is meaningful and provides Council with the type of input they need in order to make decisions. Making advisory boards' role in development review clearer for developers, and citizens, isn't a bad idea either. But the proposal the Town Council is considering Monday night isn't ready for adoption yet. While I think the committee descriptions are reasonably sound in a broad sense, it isn't clear to me that the proposals have been fully vetted by the existing town boards to be sure that all current board responsibilities have been captured and assigned.

LUMO rewrite announced (and other things you have missed in Chapel Hill government this summer)

The Chapel Hill Town Council may still be on summer break, but staff and citizens have been busy!

Advisory board restructuring input sessions provide a new way to have your voice heard

The Chapel Hill Town Council is moving forward with its advisory board restructuring process. As I described in an earlier post, the first stage of this process deals with creating a new advisory boards to oversee development review. Starting tomorrow (July 8) at 6:30PM, and continuing for the following five Mondays, there will be public input sessions at the Chapel Hill Public Library. The first session will describe what the input on this process will look like, and the next five meetings will focus on a specific board:

Transportation and Connectivity (July 15)
Community Design (July 22)
Environmental Stewardship (July 29)
Community Housing (August 5)
a restructured Planning Board (August 12)

Is Chapel Hill ready for a Public Engagement Advisory Board?

With all the talk about restructuring Chapel Hill's advisory boards, I thought it might be good time to publicly share my idea for a new board to help foster better civic engagement and more open government, while also addressing the gap left by firing the technology advisory board 7 years ago. I shared this proposal with the Mayor's Committee on Communications in late 2010, but there didn't seem to be much interest at the time. Maybe now there is an opportunity to do something to make Chapel Hill more participatory and democratic.

Not enough Chapel Hill residents participate in public meetings and advisory boards. This lack of engagement leaves the Town at a disadvantage without the valuable input of a broad range of Chapel Hillians, and also leaves many people feeling frustrated and cut off from decisions that impact their lives and issues that concern them.

Advisory Board Restructuring: Two Information Sessions This Week

Tonight is the first of two public information sessions regarding changes to Chapel Hill's advisory board structure. For the past several years, the Town of Chapel Hill has been in the process of reevaluating most of its operations. This includes changes in department organizational policies and procedures, employee compensation and classification, and Council guidelines for more efficient meetings. However, one area of the Town's operations that has not yet been restructured are its advisory boards. There has been a Council committee in place since 2010 (currently comprised of Council Members Gene Pease, Laurin Easthom, and Matt Czajkowski) to evaluate the advisory boards, and last Wednesday Council Member Pease presented their recommendations for board restructuring at a Council work session

Shortbread and Joint Development Review: critiquing the process

This Wednesday, the Chapel Hill Town Council will be holding a public hearing on the proposed Shortbread development- a seven-story mixed-use building across from Breadman’s on Rosemary Street. The residential component of the building will be rental units that will cater to students- a much-needed addition to downtown that will help alleviate pressure on the adjacent Northside neighborhood.

Lots of openings on Orange County advisory boards

Info from the county below. Put your money where your mouths are, people!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release Date: August 8, 2011
Contact: Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board of Orange County Commissioners, 919-245-2130
Orange County Seeks Applicants for Boards and Commissions
ORANGE COUNTY, NC – One major way citizens can have a positive impact on the future of Orange County is to volunteer to serve on the various County advisory boards and commissions.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners is recruiting citizen volunteers for the following advisory boards.

Orange County EDC in Limbo

The Orange County Economic Development Commission still exists, I know this because I am a member of it! Yet the County is functioning as if the board has been disbanded even though it has taken no such action. This is the culmination of a dysfunctional history in Orange County Economic Development. But the part that really bothers me now is a closed session being held tonight by the county commissioners on the topic of economic development without input from citizens, citizens who were appointed by our elected officials to advise them on the diverse set of opinions held by residents of Orange County.

To me this sunsetting of the Orange County Economic Development Commission is a tactic to silence dissent. It's true there are many people on the Orange County Economic Development Commission who did not agree with the former director on policy or plans. It's true that many of our meetings were frustrating. But to subvert democracy when you no longer find it agreeable is wrong. I hope as we consider a new organization to represent us in economic development matters that we remember how the county has acted.

Getting students on board

Apparently students have been applying to serve on the Town of Chapel Hill's Transportation Board, but none have been appointed recently. I'm a bit surprised to see this, but it's hard to draw conclusions without knowing the details of each applicant. In the past students have contributed a lot to the T-board (and others). In fact, joining the board when I was a student in 1991 is one of the things that got me hooked on participating in local politics two decades ago!

With a seat on the board, Medlin said students would have more of a voice about routes and bus schedule times.
Dakota Williams, student body treasurer, said students should embrace the higher fees and advocate for better representation.
“If we’re paying 41 percent … there is no excuse for a student not to be on that board,” he said.
“Those decisions need to be made by the people who are paying for them, which is students more than ever,” he added.

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