Minutes
INC Delegate Meeting
-- DRAFT --
February 24, 2009
The March INC Delegate meeting was called to order at 7:09pm by President, Craigie Sanders.
Introductions were made. In attendance:
Alexandra Ross Moises Rivera Bill Anderson Mike Shifflett
Rosemarie Kitchin Patrick Byker M. Milliken Christina Fish
Scott Carter Zondra Miller Mike Brooks Colin Crossman
Bertha Johnson Tom Bonfield S. Keith Lane Mike Ruffin
Mark Schultz Lynwood Best David Harris Jeane Bross
Avery Book Melvin Whitley Ken Gasch Tom Miller
Dedreana Freeman Antoine Freeman Myers Sugg Leslie Page
Announcements
President Craigie Sanders welcomed everyone and spoke briefly about the upcoming March meeting during which we will have an exercise to prioritize INC’s goals going forward.
Colin Crossman spoke about the new website, which is up and running. All minutes, pending resolutions, handouts, etc. will be on the website for easy access. The new website address is http://www.Durham-INC.org. A new feature of the website is that registration of neighborhoods and dues payment can now be done online. Another idea put forward was to use the website as a clearinghouse for articles neighborhoods might use in their newsletters.
Rosemarie Kitchin spoke briefly on some thoughts for celebrating INC’s upcoming 25th anniversary. She asked for help putting the event together. Bill and Patrick agreed to assist. Rigsbee Hall has agreed to host the 2009 Heroes Awards Banquet and there is serious consideration being given to combine the two events. If you’d like to help plan or volunteer, please contact Rosemarie directly.
Tom Miller spoke on a proposed Durham County Charter amendment and presented a Resolution and copy of the proposed amendment. Both can be found here: NPO Resolution. A motion to take the Resolution back to the neighborhoods for consideration was seconded and approved with 1 dissenting vote.
Rev. Melvin Whitley brought a representative from ACORN to discuss universal health care. After some dissent that this was not an appropriate forum for this topic, it was motioned and seconded to discuss this issue at the March delegate meeting. Motion was approved with 2 dissenting votes. Handout from Acorn is available here: http://www.Durham-INC.org
Presentations
Drs. Mozingo and Pittman from Durham Public Schools gave a presentation on school choice. The power point presentation can be seen here: http://www.Durham-INC.org
Mike Ruffin, County Mgr. and Tom Bonfield, City Mgr. spoke about the impact of the current economic woes on the budget process.
The County will hold 2 meetings with the county on March 3 from 7-9pm at the Museum of Life and Science and March 4 from 7-9pm at White Rock Baptist Church.
Highlights from the presentation:
- Durham County anticipates a $14.2M shortfall for FY 2008-2009, which has been covered.
- Sales tax collections are due in March and are expected to be off significantly from budgeted amount.
- Potential 25% shortfall for FY 2010 and projected deficit of $16M.
Tom Bonfield and Bertha Johnson from the City of Durham projected:
- $5.5M deficit for FY2009, which has been covered so far.
- Anticipating December sales tax revenue to be down and may require additional budget cuts.
- FY2010 projected at $24M.
Old Business
Urban Hens Resolution was not taken up at the meeting since it passed City Council prior to the February INC delegate meeting.
Bullet Ownership Bill Resolution (text here: Bullet Ownership Bill) passed unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report was approved by consent. According to INC bylaws, only delegates from neighborhoods who have paid their dues may vote at the monthly Delegate meeting. So far, only 14 neighborhoods have paid their dues for 2009 and have eligible voting delegates. A current list of the paid member neighborhoods and their authorized delegates is kept on the Durham INC website.
January Minutes were approved by consent.
Other Business
Colin Crossman presented a motion to amend the INC Listserve guidelines to allow the listserve administrators to temporarily set the moderation flag on list participants who engage in ad hominem attacks. After discussion, motion passed unanimously.
Tom Miller presented a Resolution opposing a text amendment to the UDO to allow Billboards in Durham County to be upgraded and digitized. Text of Resolution can be found here: Billboards I . Motion to take the Resolution back to the Neighborhoods for a vote at the March Delegate meeting was seconded and passed unanimously with 1 question regarding Article III of the Resolution.
Rosemarie Kitchin presented a Resolution supporting Digital Billboards. Text of the Resolution can be found here: Billboards II. Motion to take the Resolution back to the Neighborhoods for a vote at the March Delegate meeting was seconded and passed with 3 dissenting votes.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:10pm.
