1-24-22 BOC Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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VI. NEW BUSINESS VI.A Lee County Youth Council — Moved to the beginning of the Agenda. VI.B Approve Resolution Establishing Lee County Youth Council Vice Chair Arianna Lavallee read the Resolution Establishing Lee County Youth Council, of copy of which is attached and incorporated into these minutes. Resolution - Creating the Lee County Youth Council.docx Motion: Motion to approve the Resolution Establishing the Lee County Youth Council. Mover: Arianna Lavallee For: 6 —Arianna Lavallee, Dr. Andre Knecht, Cameron Sharpe, Kirk Smith, Bill Carver, Mark Lovick Absent: 1 — Robert Reives Motion Result: Passed VI.0 Presentation from the Sanford Equity Task Force Bishop Malette (252 Palace Drive) served as the facilitator on behalf of the City of Sanford Equity Task Force appearing before the Board to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion and to present an Equity Task Force report and recommendations. The City of Sanford launched the Sanford Equity Task Force in September of 2020, appointing 18 members to the task force and instituted experts from UNC Chapel Hill to assist in providing a report which identified areas relative to the county which were documented with recommendations made and shared with the Board. Twenty experts were used to form the report. Findings and recommendations were provided in the areas of education, health, and criminal justice, which are areas relevant to the quality of services the County provides. Jermaine White, Superintendent for Harnett County Schools, provided information on the findings related to education. Page 17 of the report identified significant economic disadvantages among students in public schools and identified a need to address suspensions and disciplinary actions in schools. The Lee County Promise Program at CCCC has low enrollment rates of students of color. The task force found that many people in the community are not aware of the program or its benefits. The Task Force recommended that the County collaborate with Lee County Schools to provide information about poverty and resources in education, as well as adopt measures to diversify staff. Attorney Fred Webb (5507 Swann Station Road), a practicing attorney in the community for over 30 years focusing on high-level felonies, presented information and recommendations related to criminal justice provided on page 10 of the report. Criminal justice was identified as an important area of concern. The Task Force found there are not enough opportunities for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17. Adult supervision is critical between the times of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., which are prime times for youth violence/crimes. The Task Force recommended partnering together for an accessible youth center with the City of Sanford to plan for adolescents in high-density low-income neighborhoods. The Task Force also investigated strategies for decriminalizing poverty. Failure to pay fines could cause someone to remain in jail for days or weeks due to the inability to pay court fines related to traffic issues. Dr. Vonda Reives, a family nurse practitioner in Robins, NC, said the Task Force found health was an important focus. On page 22 of the report, 17% of 5